Extreme Frugalism – How Cheap Are You?

by Sandy L on December 16, 2010

Today I thought I’d just post a fun quiz.

I thought I’d list some things that perhaps some or all of us have done or thought about doing in the effort to save a buck.

1. When you’re at the end of the toothpaste roll do you:

A)  Throw it away

B)  Curl it up and use all your arm strength to get the last bits out

C)  Start with B and then cut the toothpaste open with scissors to get every nook and cranny out.

2. When paper towels go on sale do you

A)  Stock up

B)  Drive Around Town with all your extra printable coupons to maximize your deals

C)  Laugh at all those suckers that aren’t using cloth yet

3. You think Freeganism is:

A)  A politically motivated new age diet

B)  Going a little too far

C)  An economical use of your time

4. Your idea of a nice family vacation is:

A) A trip to Disney

B) Visiting Family

C) Setting up a Tent in the Backyard and pretending you are camping.

5. When you buy a whole chicken you:

A)  Buy it already roasted on your way home from work for a quick and easy dinner.

B)  Buy it raw and cook it at home.

C)  B + you have at least 2 other meals, plus you use the bones for stock.

6.  You use Vinegar for:

A) Salad Dressing

B) Cooking and Cleaning

C) About 150 different house hold tasks

7. To Conserve Water you:

A) Stop watering your lawn during dry spells

B)  Only flush when it’s #2

C)  Bath multiple kids in the same tub, and then use that water for laundry or plants.

8.In the winter, you keep your house at:

a) 70 Degrees

b) 68 with a programmable thermostat down to 62 at night

c) Just above the pipes freezing level and you supplement with a wood burning stove with wood that you found for free at the dump

9. On Garbage Day you:

A) Take out your trash but separate out the returnable cans and recyleables

B)  Are happy when you have one trash bag or less.

C) Are amazed at what people throw out and have gotten some of your most favorite items on trash day.

10. When food starts getting questionable in the fridge you,

A) Throw it out

B) Try to use it quickly by cutting the rotted bits of or cooking the wrinkly veggie in a soup.

C) Don’t remember the last time you threw anything out, ever.

11. When you need a new outfit you:

A) Check TJ Max and Marshalls before you hit the mall

B)  Go to the thrift store and see what you can fish up.

C)  Look through your fabric stash and sew something cute.

12)  When You go to a Restaurant You:

A) Skip the Appetizer and Dessert

B) Order waters to drink and split the entree.

C) Going out to dinner? You packed a lunchbox instead.

13. To Conserve Electricity You

A)  Replaced your incandescent bulbs with fluorescent.

B)  Run around after your family shutting things off room to room

C)  Are constantly getting yelled at for doing things in the dark.

14. Your idea of a frugal present is:

A) Something under $30

B) A home cooked Dinner

C) Nothing

15. You’re favorite money saving blog is:

A) Shopping and coupon blogs

B) Blogs Discussing Balancing Fun and Savings

C) Extreme blogs about how to reuse bread bags

Are you more of an A, B, or C person? Babci is almost always a C (with the exception of heating her house). I actually have had answers that were A, B, and C. I’m way more frugal about some things than others.

{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }

Moneycone December 16, 2010 at 7:43 AM

Gonna go with B (with some exceptions!). Some things I won’t compromise, a dripping faucet bugs me!

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Rachael Myers December 16, 2010 at 9:06 AM

I would say I am mostly a B, but someone I won’t name ( not my husband, though) is a C, the question about the heat and using wood from the dump to supply heat is a common method implemented by one of my family members. I had no idea other people did that, too! 🙂

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Crystal December 16, 2010 at 11:36 AM

I am mainly B’s peppered with a few A’s, lol. I didn’t answer anything with C. In fact, most of the C answers scare me. Oh well, I knew I was barely toeing the “frugal” line as it is, lol.

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Everyday Tips December 16, 2010 at 6:14 PM

I was probably more As with a smattering of Bs…

Fun quiz!

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Little House December 16, 2010 at 7:40 PM

I answered many of these questions with B answers, however I had at least two A answers and maybe two C answers. I guess I was all over the place!

P.S. I love quizzes!

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101 Centavos December 16, 2010 at 11:00 PM

All over the place, I guess.
Look for my upcoming post, “101 fun ways to reuse bread bags”

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Suba @ Wealth Informatics December 17, 2010 at 3:28 PM

Mostly Bs, with a couple of As and Cs…

Fun quiz!

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Squirrelers December 17, 2010 at 5:43 PM

I’m mostly A’s, some B’s, and one C – (the no gift answer).

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Sandy L December 18, 2010 at 6:06 AM

Thanks all. I’m glad most people had some A answers. I guess most of my readers don’t fall into the tightwad category. I do have a love of trash picking though, so you can guess which ones I answered C on.

Centavos – funny. I’d be interested in seeing how you wrap (ha bad pun) that topic into how to buy penny stocks.

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Molly On Money December 18, 2010 at 11:03 AM

I had no A’s, mostly B’s, a few C’s and then these exceptions that make me seem weird:
1. I don’t use toothpaste- I’m a baking soda girl (and my teeth have never been whiter)
5. I don’t buy whole chicken- I raise my own to eat.
9. We save paper & plastic trash to make concrete blocks (papercrete) to build stuff.

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Kellen December 18, 2010 at 10:20 PM

I have a friend who has gone dumpster diving for food. I appreciate the concept and understand that there is plenty of still-ok food in there, but I’m usually the one dumping out the still-pretty-edible food. I’m way too picky. We should come up with a way for people like me to give our food to people who don’t mind stale stuff – without them having to dig it out of the yucky garbage.

@Molly – what is papercrete and what kind of stuff do you build with it??

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Sandy L December 19, 2010 at 8:20 AM

Molly, you need a whole category of your own. You’re my hero. You should do a post on papercrete. I’d love to learn about it.

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Gavin December 18, 2010 at 12:48 PM

Fun fun fun! I was all over the place on my answers… My wife would be solid Cs and some Bs… she introduced me to digging into the toothpaste tube and hitting up TJ Maxx or Marshalls for new dress shirts and slacks – I’m afraid I only hit up thrift stores a couple of times a year, they are pretty picked over where I live, however she still goes often. I would have added this one for us: “D: Charge your laptops and cell phones at work so you don’t use your own electricity.”

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Sandy L December 19, 2010 at 8:23 AM

The electricity at work thing is definitely the right mindset for the extreme frugal. Do you also like doing all your serious bathroom visits at work so you don’t have to use as much toilet paper at home?

Although I work from home now, when I used to go to the office, I used to think that part of the benefit of going to work is that they would heat and cool me 8 hours of the day and I didn’t have to use as much energy at home.

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Barb Friedberg December 19, 2010 at 2:31 PM

Mostly b’s with a few a’s and c’s. It depends on the item. Not a big goodwill shopper, but I keep my clothes a long long time and mix and match a lot. I always cut off the bad part of food and then reuse. Unfortunately, my husband has accused me of “poisoning” the family, although, I disagree 🙂

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Angela December 20, 2010 at 7:24 PM

So fun!!! I was mostly c’s with some b’s and laughed at the a’s… I guess that I’m a frugal freak! Thanks for this quiz!

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Lori Dyan December 24, 2010 at 9:02 AM

This was fun! I was mostly B’s with a few A’s. The only time I came close to C was cutting the toothpaste, but I only do it with hair product 🙂

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Ardes March 25, 2011 at 3:16 PM

Re #14: I wrote my son a note on his birthday telling him that I once gave him life and anything else would pale by comparison.

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