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Are you ever embarassed by your money-saving ways?

edited 17 November 2009 at 8:32PM in Old style MoneySaving
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  • Skint_CattSkint_Catt Forumite
    11.5K Posts
    leed wrote: »
    Quite often if we go out for a meal and I can't eat all the meat I put it in a paper napkin and bring it home for the dog - she always knows when I've got something in my bag. One time after doing this and getting home my son looked very bemused when the dog went crazy smelling my bag. He hadn't seen me put the left over meat away!
    If we are having pizza and can't finish it I ask for it to be put into a pizza box to take home - the waiter usually is quite happy to do this - I've paid for the food and I begrudge wasting it. Before now we have even taken a partly finished bottle of wine home - I know your not supposed to as the restaurant normally doesn't have an off-licence licence but well, again if we have paid for it why not take it home and drink it?
    :beer:

    If a restaurant has an 'on licence' then they always have the 'off licence' too - it's the other way round that isn't always the case.
  • Kerry_WomanKerry_Woman Forumite
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    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
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    Am not at all embarassed by my money saving ways. Have gone to charity shops to buy trousers for work. My aunt was suprised when I told her as she said she would not buy things from there. She is fine by giving to charity shops. I am embarassed by my spending and not sorting out some of my finances sooner.
    Frugal Living Challenge 2023 Mortgage free as of 1st August 2013
  • _Layla__Layla_ Forumite
    356 Posts
    I can remember being absolutely humiliated 15 years ago when the first Lidl opened in my home town and my dad actually SHOPPED there! He brought the shopping home in THOSE carrier bags and my friends were at my house!!! I was mortified to the point of tears and tantrums.
    Well, here I am, aged 28 with my own little family. . and I personally find Lidl over-priced now! haha!
    Cheer up. The worst is yet to come - Mark Twain
  • zippychick wrote: »
    Must have a look round next time I am shopping, see what else CONvenience can buy me! :rotfl: (and for how much!)

    I love that word play - brilliant - ' con-venience' sums it up in a nutshell ;)
    :heartpuls The best things in life aren't things :heartpuls

    2017 Grocery challenge £110.00 per week/ £5720 a year






  • My children usually say 'imitating me', HOW MUCH YOU, MUST BE JOKING !!.
    Believe it or not my eldest daughter has just paid over 300 quid for a coffee table I think she's nuts myself ,plus she has got to wait 6-8 weeks for delivery of it. For that sort of money I would want it a darned sight quicker than that.
    I have not long returned from shopping for Christmas presents in London today and I am pleased that I have spent about 35 pounds and bought loads of stuff for the grandchildren and saved almost that again by careful shopping.I think its far more sensible to make your cash streeeetch further than to get into debt ,especially at this time of year. I buy lots of small gifts,ornaments candles ect from my local charity shop.Wrapped up and tied with pretty ribbon and tags made from last years discarded christmas cards they look great.i have never had anyone say they didn't like what I gave.because I try to make the gift fit the person and their needs.One of my sis-in-laws loves detective books and you can get them virually brand new from a CS,along with a small box of chcolates or home made biscuits they are a very acceptable gift.I also make a small hamper for a friend of mine filled with small tins of things that I know she wouldn't buy herself .I just add as I go shopping each week as I get my own shopping one or two extra bits and she is always thrilled to get some little treats in a pretty box coverd with christmassy paper.Gifts don't have to cost a fortune if you shop around
  • I used to feel embarrased buying more than one loaf of reduced bread but now there are self service check-outs I have no trouble. OH has no such problems, he will fill the basket with whatever he can find reduced.
    Like another poster on here we toured the states and and I was amazed to see so many left-overs taken home. The staff in restaurants had boxes and bags at the ready for this.
  • _Layla_ wrote: »
    I can remember being absolutely humiliated 15 years ago when the first Lidl opened in my home town and my dad actually SHOPPED there! He brought the shopping home in THOSE carrier bags and my friends were at my house!!! I was mortified to the point of tears and tantrums.
    Well, here I am, aged 28 with my own little family. . and I personally find Lidl over-priced now! haha!

    Hee hee, my mum used to threaten to give us a farmfoods carrier bag for our PE kit if we didn't behave. Farmfoods had the same stigma when I was at school - 1994. Now I try and persuade my mum to go to Aldi and Lidl and she refuses!
  • SallyForth wrote: »
    Personally, I think the more open everyone becomes, the less embarrassing it will become. It will become the 'norm'.

    Nobody will think twice about asking the waiter to bag up the food you can't eat, so you can take it home (no need for wrapping it in a napkin under the table)

    Charity shops will become a valuable resource where people can search out a bargin.

    And the world will be a happier, less wasteful place.

    Be glad people, for you are ahead of the game, you are the trend setters!

    I agree....
    I do believe that the majority of people, are happy to be thifty, at the moment, as long as its sugar coated... its green, its recycling, it tastes better, it has no additives, ect ect....

    I have to say, I do, sugar coat my thriftyness to some degree, for certain people.
    Sometimes they just dont get it, so, by saying, something like, "at least I know what is in my own cooking" somehow, makes them understand why I cook from scratch.
    Yes, it saves me money in the long run... but some people dont think this reason enough to do it...for some, there always has to be another reason :confused:
    Personally, I dont get, what they dont get;)

    I am not embarrassed to be money saving.
    I actually find it quite amusing when other do find it embarrasing:rotfl:
  • Generally i'm not too bothered, last year when i put bubblewrap on the hallway windows, my parents commented that i was a bit weird:rotfl: but this year they just said i was doing it a bit early!! guess they are used to my money saving weird ways!! :rotfl:

    we have recently got back into contact with DH's sister(lost contact a few years back) and at the weekend we invited them over for dinner, i went to put out the salt and pepper - salt in a proper nice looking shaker thingy and the pepper was a pot of value ground black pepper - DH made me put them back into the cupboard as he didn't was his sister seeing all our value products, me on the other hand didn't care a jot, his face almost looked like a beetroot when she asked for some pepper!!:rotfl::rotfl: mainly as they are very well off and don't have any debts and can afford to buy what they want, when they want.
    while we were eating we started talking about food waste, i said i don't waste a drop of food and was almost hyperventilating at the thought of how much food was gonna be wasted tonight as everything was on serving dishes and normally we just dish up for everyone!! i wasn't in the slightest bit embarrassed by it ....... luckily for me i had a little too much wine so i never did find out how much food was wasted!!:o
  • mamanmaman Forumite
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    I know what you mean about 'dressing up' thriftiness. My take is that I've worked hard for the money I have so I'm not going to waste it or be ripped off. Fortunately I'm not short of money but it's my choice how I spend it.

    I always put our meals in serving dishes but anything left goes in the fridge for another meal. When I entertain large numbers (have 30+ around for a hot meal at Christmas) I always make something freezable like lasagne or a casserole.

    About the taking wine home: just this week, I was at a Weatherspoons in London for a pre-theatre drink. When we asked for 2 glasses of wine the barman told us it was only £1 more for the bottle. We bought the bottle, had a glass each, then I put the bottle in my (enormous:D) handbag. At the theatre, we picked up 2 plastic glasses from the bar and finished the bottle in the interval. Much cheaper and more convenient than getting interval drinks.
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