How cheap are you?

denverpilot

denverpilot

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DenverPilot
Pilots generally seem to be either cheap or spend like there's a hole in their wallet.

For the cheapskates, how cheap are you?

I went to get a haircut today (yeah I know, bit of a splurge but I hate cleaning up the bathroom if I buzz it myself), and it was about a 40 minute wait.

So I bopped past the gun store (ok I was tempted but I'm good right now on everything) over to the local Goodwill store.

Browsed around and found three nice shirts with no defects and plenty of miles left on them, including one from the local aviation museum. All marked $4.95.

Then when I got in line to go to the register I noticed "50% Off Everything!" signs everywhere. Woooot!

My lunch burrito after the haircut cost me more than three new-to-me shirts. Wasn't a bad score for a spare 40 minutes. And I made it back to the haircut place with 5 minutes to spare.
 
Cheap enough, I spose. I make most of my savings in retail shopping. Clothes are only bought on sale, most items beyond usual groceries I shop around for and find the best deal, groceries I shop on coupons and sales as much as possible while staying away from whole foods and other "boutique" grocery stores.

If I order delivery I always use coupons. Eating out I keep to a minimum but when I do I certainly don't limit myself.

This allows me to splurge once in a while and I don't feel bad about it because Im still building a cash reserve.
 
Paid the car off in 5 months....i keep cars at least 200k miles. Paid the house off in 7 years, paid cash for the airplane. Family philosophy was if you don't have the cash (other than the house) you probably don't need it.
 
Are we talking cheap,or are we talking frugal.
 
Cheap enough I refuse to buy bottled water where tap water is fit to drink.
 
I guess I'm not cheap at all.

At an event, I can walk by a table where they are giving away free stuff (e.g., small pieces of candy, pens, little stuff like that).

I'm willing to pay a fair price for a car - the car dealer and salesman deserve to make some money.

On business trips, I'll tip the waitress a bit higher % because I don't drink (my share of the meal is usually less than others because they'll have one or two beers).

I'm willing to pay for quality work and for quality items.

I've never picked a stopover based on the price of gas.

I trust the plumber and electrician to give me a fair price. I've used the same plumber and electrician for more than 30 years.
 
We aren't cheap, but we are frugal. Our newest car is 12 years old. I do all the maintenance on them. Costs way less than owning new cars and we like them. We just bought some new DeWalt tools that pay for themselves about 3x over on the one job we need them for now, and they'll last a long time. The "last a long time" is why we didn't go cheap and buy Harbor Freight versions (plus better quality/accuracy).
 
FastEddieB said:
We generally wash and reuse plastic bags.



Cheap enough for you?
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I lived with someone, actually a couple people, who did that...

I don't consider myself either cheap or frugal. I can be an impulse-buyer but I'm not into many of the "toys" some people have.
 
I eat peanut butter sandwiches at my desk for lunch. Between the cost of buying lunch and the cost of driving to lunch, that's easily a $10/day savings. Sadly, after doing this for years, I'm weary of PB sandwiches.
 
I only buy clothes on clearance, even at the discount stores like Burlington Coat Factory.
 
I'm pretty cheap. I think it comes from making jack squat during the early years of my career. These days I'll happily open my wallet for travel, socializing with friends, and that sort of thing. I'll also spend money on clothing for going out. But when it comes to splurging on just myself, it's a really difficult thing for me to spend much more than I feel I have to.

Even my accountant tells me I need to spend more money.
 
kyleb said:
I eat peanut butter sandwiches at my desk for lunch. Between the cost of buying lunch and the cost of driving to lunch, that's easily a $10/day savings. Sadly, after doing this for years, I'm weary of PB sandwiches.
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Add some jelly...... :D
 
Bob Noel said:
I'm willing to pay for quality work and for quality items.
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I'm big on this but my biggest thing is value per dollar spent. I'll also be willing to pay more for a better shopping experience (nicer area, knowledgeable employees, etc).

I'll shop at Marshalls, Goodwill, Ross, and other discount stores for high dollar items. My fiancé has been cutting my hair for years. The clippers has paid for itself many times over. I don't do it to be cheap, I just get an easy haircut. Plus, the money we save with mine, gets spent on hers.

I do all of the maintenance on our cars but I buy quality replacement parts. An average oil change run about $55 for me. However, I go about 8,000-10,000 miles between changes.

Yadda, yadda, yadda. Money we save in one place gets saved and then spent in another place.

For the sh*tty financial situation we're in, I think we're doing a great job.
 
FastEddieB said:
I mentioned this post to Karen, and she wants me to clarify...



We wash and reuse them mainly to keep them out of the landfill, and environment, for as long as possible - not just because we're cheap! :no:
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On second thought, maybe I am cheap, because when I'm in San Francisco I use reusable bags at stores rather than paying 10 cents for a paper bag...
 
I am not cheap, or rather, I view time as my most valuable asset. If I can get back free time by throwing money at something, I am likely to do that. I don't mind finding something on sale, but I am unlikely to spend a lot of time looking for that sale.
 
Not cheap at all......

Lunch is usually more than $10 daily. In fact I think the last time I took lunch to work was....hell, I have no idea. I cannot walk past a gun shop. Ever. I don't think I have ever been in a second hand store. As close as I have been is a Tuesday Morning with my wife. And my MX loves me. He will call and say something like, " hey....have you seen those new Whelen LEDs! They are so effin bright it's stupid bright." To which I will respond, " I'll bet you hav a set in Stock, don't you? Put me on. Let's see how bright we can make this starship!!!!" He knows my check book is open. Hell, I should probably just put him on my account and give him his own checks.
 
Everskyward said:
On second thought, maybe I am cheap, because when I'm in San Francisco I use reusable bags at stores rather than paying 10 cents for a paper bag...
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Heh. I thought they put you in jail out there if you don't do that? Hehehe.

Unit74 said:
I cannot walk past a gun shop. Ever.
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Haha. It's a stretch for me, too. But it was the small local place that doesn't have much selection and surly sales guys. Plus I've already spent money there, and...

New one opened up a mile up the road and the steering wheel keeps trying to turn into their parking lot but I've managed to wrestle it straight so far. :)
 
Cheap. I see Goodwill as overpriced. There are cheaper places to get stuff. Always get the house brands at the grocery store. Haven't paid a penny in interest for anything other than House mortgage for over 20 years. Yeah, had to tighten up the belt for a couple years to get on a cash basis. Now when I open a hole in my wallet more money dribbles out for the really important stuff, like flying.
 
luvflyin said:
Always get the house brands at the grocery store.
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While that is definitely being cheap, it may not truly be frugal. It heavily depends on the specific item, but it's good to read ingredients lists. Sometimes the store brands use better ingredients, but usually worse.

This also depends on your preference of ingredients. If you have no preference, cheap away! :)
 
Fine line between being frugal (good) and being cheap (bad), also between saving money vs having fun. After all you can't bring your money with you and no one makes it out of life alive
 
luvflyin said:
Cheap. I see Goodwill as overpriced. There are cheaper places to get stuff. Always get the house brands at the grocery store. Haven't paid a penny in interest for anything other than House mortgage for over 20 years. Yeah, had to tighten up the belt for a couple years to get on a cash basis. Now when I open a hole in my wallet more money dribbles out for the really important stuff, like flying.
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You sound like I guy I knew. He was so cheap, he went online and fabbed up some sort of filter system for oil. He'd ask us for our used car oil, filter it and run it in his cars/truck/equipment. He also worked at the Airport and would get the sumped fuel from the trucks, mix it and run avjetA in his gas powered VW Golf. For at least 4 years, I don't think he bought a Drop of gas from a station.

He ended up with a Mechanical engineering degree and gained about 150lbs with it. Too many FBo cookies he proclaimed. Also the uneaten food off the exec jets that would come in. He'd even call us up and ask us if we wanted some.
 
I thought the thread was going to be about cutting corners on planes, maintenance, fuel, etc. for flying. I was prepared to be shocked. ;)
 
Oh I got stories. Mostly from when I was young and frugal. In the late 70s I bought my first house, and I could get my elec use down to where I could stop the meter except when the fridge ran. I lived alone in the house, so I got a small apartment fridge.

I've fixed my own cars, with parts from the junk yard in some cases for many years.(but I have good quality Craftsman tools)

Do most of my own yard work. buy and sell my own properties(no commish), keep the thermostat at 80 in summer and 69 in winter.

The 'Free' classification in craigslist is my favorite section. I got a pretty nice Hammond organ for my kid in the free section. It needed repair to the pedals which took me all of 2 hours to solve.
 
My grandmother used to say, "so-and-so is so cheap, they'd squeeze a nickel till the buffalo s**t." :rofl:
 
GA pilots are cheap by necessity. I once sold my plasma to fund flying, cuz there was zero wiggle room in the family budget.

Here's a real world example: During the summer season, when our hotel rates are at their highest, we see very few pilot guests. Now, part of that is because pilots are weather dependent and often wait till we are sold out to try to book a room, but a lot of it is that they are simply cheap.

Now that we are past Labor Day, and rates are deeply discounted, we are seeing lots of pilots! ;)
 
rpadula said:
My grandmother used to say, "so-and-so is so cheap, they'd squeeze a nickel till the buffalo s**t." :rofl:
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We get a lot of "Winter Texans" on our island -- retirees from Up North who are on a fixed income and come here for a few months to escape winter.

The saying here is that "copper wire was invented by two Winter Texans stretching a penny".
;)
 
Back in the 70s I worked with a fellow that would follow us into a restaurant for lunch. He would order a glass of tea. Then wait for us to finish eating, then clean up our plates. He didn't stop there. If people at other tables left food on their plates, he would clean those up as well.

Once someone tossed their trash out of their car and into our can. He saw the McD bag, opened it up and found a cheese burger still in the wrapper, and ate it. No telling how old it was.

But in his defense he was raised on a farm during the depression. Food was not wasted back then, same as my house right now. My wife and I spent the summer in Homer, AK. She could not believe people were throwing the heads away off the salmon. She would take those and cook them up for her meals.
 
denverpilot said:
Heh. I thought they put you in jail out there if you don't do that? Hehehe.




Haha. It's a stretch for me, too. But it was the small local place that doesn't have much selection and surly sales guys. Plus I've already spent money there, and...

New one opened up a mile up the road and the steering wheel keeps trying to turn into their parking lot but I've managed to wrestle it straight so far. :)
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I think you messed up your quotes. I can easily walk by a gun shop...

I probably wouldn't even notice it.
 
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kyleb said:
I eat peanut butter sandwiches at my desk for lunch. Between the cost of buying lunch and the cost of driving to lunch, that's easily a $10/day savings. Sadly, after doing this for years, I'm weary of PB sandwiches.
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Quit being so cheap and sla some jelly on them. :D
 
How cheap am I? I survived two graduate degrees! Enough said.
 
LDJones said:
The fact she's been your fiancé "for years" may be the bigger indicator of "cheapness"!! :rofl:
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:D She's only been my fiance since April. I won't say how long I made her stay around before it happened.

The ring wasn't cheap :no:
 
All my clothes are made from Fast Eddies' cleaned plastic bags.
 
I do have a non-cheap admission to make: Gave up on the various off-air antennas out here right on the edge of the Denver "contour maps" and had DirecTV installed this morning.

Holy hell, I'm in football heaven. And it's definitely going to take a bigger TV to watch eight games at once. Haha.

I've just stared at it for two hours. RedZone channel is like football ADD on meth. Hahaha.
 
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