TV show- Extreme Cheapskates

[kathryn d]

Last night, for the first time, I watched this show.
Roband I are frugal, but we were disgusted by most of this show.

There is something wrong with these people mentally, or it is exaggerated for ratings..probably a combination.

Taking your spouse out to the restaurant and then hassling the other patrons for their leftovers is wrong. After other patrons have left a bunch of food on the table, and you want to take it home ...as pet food food..possibly. This man was consuming it.

Finding enough change ($7.50) and then going to the butcher and requesting something frugal for the anniversary meal for him and his wife. He buys two goat heads with their teeth and eyeballs still in it, is not frugal.Disgusting !
There were a ton of other choices he could have made, that his wife would have enjoyed.

Going to a doughnut shop and reciting a poem for a free pastry is just odd. No one cares, especially the cashier. They just want to get rid of you.
He then goes to a barbershop and works cleaning andsweeping in exchange for a haircut. That may be reasonable. The owner said he welcome back. (My own hairdresser barters all the time with some of her clients..no, not me)

A man states he bought a shirt for $8, wore it for years. It got an ink stain, and so he donated it to a goodwill. Then he purchased it back, after they cleaned the ink out, for a dollar. That just doesn't happen.They would have tossed it into a rag bucket. (by the way, hairspray does remove ink..my son's pen leaked in his brand new pants I just bought him..when he was a child)

Going to a fast food place and requesting ketchup packets, and then squeezing the contents into his bottle at home. That to me is similar to stealing.

Here is frugal.(our day today)
We go to Ikea for lunch.We like going there.We have a card and that makes our tea/ coffee free.Lunch was $5.05 for chicken nuggets and fries, and 2 cinnamon buns.We allowed the people in front of us to use Rob's coffee card (that might not be ethical..but then we told them how to get their own card)

I have been trying for weeks to find another pair of sandals.They need to be comfortable, not thongs, and waterproof. I am giving up, at least until we get to the store in Tennant Creek, NT where I bought these ones, 2 years ago. Instead I bought some velcro, and will do a temp repair. cost $1.49

Went to the grocery store. Cooked chickens are on sale for $8. We get one.
Then we look at the reduced food. We could get a reduced splayed or organic one, but instead opt for an uncooked basic plain chook, at regular price..which was cheaper...cost $7.21 (it's for the freezer)
Not everything we buy is reduced.

 

[DaveM]

Extreme Cheapskates - sound like a name for Skater's business (or my new web store to compete with her haha!)

 

[sanj]

Finding enough change ($7.50) and then going to the butcher and requesting something frugal for the anniversary meal for him and his wife. He buys two goat heads with their teeth and eyeballs still in it, is not frugal.Disgusting !
There were a ton of other choices he could have made, that his wife would have enjoyed.

This is the one thing i dont have an issue with. We can learn a lot from the rest of the world about using secondary cuts of meat which are often tastier than prime cuts but need more time.

Some of the great cuisines of the world and dishes came from poor people having to be creative with secondary cuts, think of osso bucco, feijoada, so much of chinese food with its use of brisket, tripe, tendons etc, indian food, even mexican with things like beef tongue tacos etc. even ragus which australia has embraced wholeheartedly (typically in bolognese) use secondary cuts

For the same amount people spend on rubbish scotch fillet at woolies you can get cheaper but higher quality secondary cuts, the snobbery/squeamishness at times is astounding.

some of the best dishes ive tasted come from using pig's head

 

[MTR]

Hi Sanj


But times are achanging???

not all cheaper meat cuts are actually cheap anymore, prices for these are rising.

Cooks like Jamie O have started a trend, rustic cooking...using cheaper cuts in various recipes and they are becoming very popular.

Lamb shanks were always considered inferior, tough meat and was once very cheap, not anymore, shoulder lamb was also another cheaper cut of meat, public now realise this is better than leg of lamb, once again pushing prices up.

 

[sanj]

Hi Sanj


But times are achanging???

not all cheaper meat cuts are actually cheap anymore, prices for these are rising.

Cooks like Jamie O have started a trend, rustic cooking...using cheaper cuts in various recipes and they are becoming very popular.

Lamb shanks were always considered inferior, tough meat and was once very cheap, not anymore, shoulder lamb was also another cheaper cut of meat, public now realise this is better than leg of lamb, once again pushing prices up.

true on both counts above, i saw some idiot charging $18/kg for beef cheeks recently.

it is still cheaper though, just not as cheap as before.

 

[MTR]

true on both counts above, i saw some idiot charging $18/kg for beef cheeks recently.

it is still cheaper though, just not as cheap as before.

Damn it, however if you go to Farmer Jacks, Girrawheen well there are many cheap cuts of meat, very good value. You can purchase magnificent duck cooked Chinese style for $18 cheap

 

[The Fence]

We are just finishing a side of beef (half a body, all you need is deep freezer) bought from the local butcher for $5.69/kg.

Yep, from fillet & t-bone to snags, all at just $5.69/kg.
AND, it's prime yearling beef.

Tonight it's the osso bucco in a slow cooker and just about to consume it, the smell of it cooking has driven me mad all day.

 

[sanj]

Damn it, however if you go to Farmer Jacks, Girrawheen well there are many cheap cuts of meat, very good value. You can purchase magnificent duck cooked Chinese style for $18 cheap

yes it is fantastic!

also worth trying is the small burmese takeaway in that shopping centre called mums kitchen. their mohinga is very tasty and only $5!

 

[TMNT]

its all about relativity,

I have a friend who refuses to use any form of coupons, discounts, at all, (he thinks you are the ultimate tight butt if you even use any of them)

I can see where he is coming from,

my local shopping centre had a promotion, spend $50 in the centre, and bring your reciept and they will give you a $5 voucher to spend anywhere,

firstly, the shops were probably more then 10% over priced,

secondly, using the $5 you probably have to spend another $30 to find a product that is about $35, and chances are you'd probably buy something that you wouldnt buy any way

thirdly, the queue was absolutely ridiculous!!! for me its not worth it

for others it may be

 

[weg]

Taking your spouse out to the restaurant and then hassling the other patrons for their leftovers is wrong. After other patrons have left a bunch of food on the table, and you want to take it home ...as pet food food..possibly. This man was consuming it.

Husband and guys that work for him went out for Chrissie drinks and later for a meal at one of our favourite restaurants.

They noticed a couple who were seated at another table had ordered a chargrilled seafood platter for 2 (these are huge) but left not long after receiving the meal which looked like it was as good as untouched - he said they were obviously on a first date .

After a quick table conference one of them approached the waitress and asked if they could have it, then after they got the OK lunged and grabbed the meal.

People on another table told them they were eyeing it off and wanted it too but weren't as brave .

Amazing what a few drinks can do.

sanj, I still remember mum trying the 'you won't be leaving the table until you finish your sheeps head soup' ploy with me and me stitting there for about an hour until she gave up .

The only other time they cooked it was when I was an adult and had left home, but agree often it's about what you're accustomed to and enjoy - parents certainly didn't eat it because it was cheap.

And yes the eyes were still in the soup.

 

[VYBerlinaV8]

Hey Kathryn D - I read your post out to my wife and she laughed her butt off. She loves being cheap (as do I), and this really made our night.

Thanks!

 

[MTR]

Hey Kathryn D - I read your post out to my wife and she laughed her butt off. She loves being cheap (as do I), and this really made our night.

Thanks!

If this is the case you guys need to try living the "Freeganism" lifestyle.

Watched a show featured in UK on this, most of their food comes from shopping dumpsters, food rejected by the likes of Coles/Woolies etc. Could spend as little as $8 per month. Make sure you wear the right attire for this job

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/columnists/grub-in-the-garbage-210681131.html

MTR

 

[kathryn d]

Hey Kathryn D - I read your post out to my wife and she laughed her butt off. She loves being cheap (as do I), and this really made our night.

Thanks!

Thanks

I was a bit hesitant after making this thread...I wondered if I was going to catch a lot of flack instead.

 

[Ausprop]

reminds me of a boss in the UK - said he was a starving student so they got a rabbit free to a good home. it came with some carrots... the hutch was firewood to keep them warm, the rest was winner winner rabbit dinner. a bit off bit incredibly efficient.

there's a difference between being tight and being miserable

 

[geoffw]

Sanj is right about the Mexican food. One rare treat is pozole, which is a soup with a variety of ingredients including pig's head- which can be bought for $5 each at the local markets- or even less on late Sunday afternoons when any unsold meat goes cheap.

Pata is a very tasty pork dish, used for taco fillings, made from pig's trotters.

 

[BayView]

Thanks

I was a bit hesitant after making this thread...I wondered if I was going to catch a lot of flack instead.

there's still time!

Those sorts of shows would be partially staged for sure.

I can't watch them; they are ridiculous to me.

I prefer one or the other - total realistic shows such as doccos or sport or news, or total fiction such as movies.

I can enjoy a couple of the property shows such as Selling Houses and Grand Designs, even the Sara Beeney ones aren't too bad.

But not those heart-string wrenching shows/ads via product placement types such as Ground Force or Backyard Blitz.

 

[BayView]

its all about relativity,

I have a friend who refuses to use any form of coupons, discounts, at all, (he thinks you are the ultimate tight butt if you even use any of them)

I can see where he is coming from,

my local shopping centre had a promotion, spend $50 in the centre, and bring your reciept and they will give you a $5 voucher to spend anywhere,

firstly, the shops were probably more then 10% over priced,

secondly, using the $5 you probably have to spend another $30 to find a product that is about $35, and chances are you'd probably buy something that you wouldnt buy any way

thirdly, the queue was absolutely ridiculous!!! for me its not worth it

for others it may be

quite true ^^^.

A good example is the fuel discount vouchers from the main supermarket players....

We do the bulk of our fruit and vege, meat chicken and fish from the Dande-thong Market, which is quite often half the price of these other places, and the rest from Aldi wherever possible.

So, the fuel discount vouchers have the cost loaded into the price of the groceries.

Incidentally; I went and did the shopping at Aldi at 8am last Sunday morn....heavenly experience of no humans queuing up ahead of me.

 

[fernfurn]

I used to have a girlfriend who was so cheap. Her and her partner would goto the local chinese and order one meal and 2 forks. She actually argued with them when they asked her not to come again. They used to fill up partners' company car with petrol and then siphone it out into her car. Argued bitterly with supermarket when they charged her 20c extra for half a chook ( to cover cutting cost). She would ask me to come and visit and then when I was on the way, ring me and ask me to call in down the local pizza and pick up their order, plus ice creams from the milk bar, then never offer to pay me back. I could go on and on. Last straw was when we were going on holiday for 3 months she rang me and asked if her partner could come too as it would be lovely for him. He aslo was tyhe sort who wouldnt have offered to pay for anything, car hire, accommodation, petrol or food! Needless to say I gave the whole thing a miss after that

 

[kathryn d]

Fernfurn,
I can understand the sharing of a restaurant meal. Rob and I do that a lot because the portions are so huge.
We watched a tv show last night, which showed how the 'supersize' started (actually at a movie theatre in Chicago).
After that it was a show on how in the Depression, the restiction of food, actually increase life expency by 6 years.This was a big surprise, I guess.

The other things your friend did/does is being cheap, because it affects others.

 

[MTR]

Fernfurn,
I can understand the sharing of a restaurant meal. Rob and I do that a lot because the portions are so huge.
We watched a tv show last night, which showed how the 'supersize' started (actually at a movie theatre in Chicago).
After that it was a show on how in the Depression, the restiction of food, actually increase life expency by 6 years.This was a big surprise, I guess.

The other things your friend did/does is being cheap, because it affects others.

Hi K
I am not surprised. I lived in US some years ago and when we went back to US 2 years ago, I could not believe the huge meal serves at restaurants, its insane, no wonder there are so many obese people in US. No doggy for these guys, they just eat the lot.

Also, I found it interesting that most restaurants we went to had healthy options, choice was amazing, even included the calories per serve and then there was the high carb/fat heart attack option