Friday, January 4, 2013

Six Super Stingy Savings Scenarios


"Stingy" is a dirty word, isn't it?  No one wants to be seen as Stingy!

Credit The Penultimate Word

Well, I've discovered that being just a little Stingy with some products I use on a daily basis can lead to Big Savings!  Here are Six Stingy & Super Stingy Savings Scenarios that will convince you to think twice before you waste again!

 1.  Laundry Detergent:  In the past, I have been so guilty of filling the whole cap with laundry detergent/softener and pouring it in.  Instead, I now only fill detergent to the first line of the cap.  Especially since I have an HE washer, I only need a little bit!
Tide® Liquid 2X Concentrated Laundry Detergent, Original Scent, 50 fl. oz.
Credit
Laundry Detergent Savings Scenario:
One 96 Load Tide Bottle = $21.99.
Filling to the 2nd line (and I am guilty of more) will result in only 48 Loads for $21.99.
My family does an average of 8 loads/week = 416 loads/year, requiring about 8.5 Bottles of Tide.
Total:  $186.91/year for laundry detergent!  Yikes!

BUT, if I am stingy and stay true to only filling the cap to the first line, I cut that amount in half!
Stingy Savings:  $93.46/year

Tide is too darn expensive, so I use Aldi's brand of Tandil detergent ($6.99/64 loads) instead and save even more at a cost of only $45.43/year!
Super Stingy Savings:  $141.48/year



2.  Dryer Sheets:  Ditch 'em altogether and either make your own for $0.005 (half a penny) per load or use aluminum foil balls for just about $1.00/year.
Credit
Dryer Sheet Savings Scenario:
I use Snuggle dryer sheets at a cost of $4.99/80 Sheets.  My family does an average of 8 loads/week = 416 loads/year.
Total:  $25.95/year for dryer sheets!  

BUT, if I am stingy and make my own dryer sheets, a year's worth of laundry only costs me $2.08/year!
Stingy Savings:  $23.87/year

If I am Super Stingy and just throw in an balled up piece of aluminum foil to fight static cling, I only spend $1.00 in foil!
Super Stingy Savings:  $24.95/year


3.  Juice:  My son drinks at least one large glass of juice each morning.  I have begun pouring half a glass of juice, then fill the rest of the glass with water.  Juice is usually too sweet anyway and adding water will half the calories and double the life of the bottle!
Credit
Juice Savings Scenario:  A 1-Gallon Jug of Motts Apple Juice is $5.49.  If my son drinks about 16 oz (2 cups) of juice/day, then that gallon is only going to last me a maximum of 8 days.  It's shocking to think, but that means I need to buy at least 45 gallons of apple juice/year!!!
Total:  $247.05/year 

BUT, by simply substituting 1 cup of water into his morning drink, I can cut that cost in half!
Stingy Savings:  $123.52/year

If I ditch the brand name and go for Aldi's brand of Apple Juice at only $1.19/64 oz bottle, then add water, I am only spending $53.55/year on juice.
Super Stingy Savings:  $193.50/year


4. Tissues:  We have a bad habit of always pulling TWO tissues out of the box to blow our noses.
Kleenex
Credit
Tissues Savings Scenario:  
A box of Keleenex double-ply tissues costs about $1.25/75 count box.  Conservatively, I estimate that my family goes through at least 3 boxes of tissues/month.
Total:  $45.00/year

BUT, if they're already double-ply, then using two tissues at a time is a total waste.  Pulling only one at a time will double the life of a box!
Stingy Savings:  $22.50/year

Once again, skipping the name brand can save me even more!  Aldi's two-ply tissues sell for $0.95/224 tissues!  With that many tissues in a box, I will only need about 12 boxes/year = $11.45/year.
Super Stingy Savings:  $33.55/year


5. Garbage Bags:  I also have a bad habit of gathering up all of the small bathroom garbage bags and stuffing them into the large one in the kitchen.  I also confess that I am not the best at recycling. I mean, I do recycle many things, but I sometimes get lazy and throw a bottle, can or newspaper in with the regular trash - I could be more dedicated.  I estimate that I use at least two additional large kitchen bags/week doing this for a total use of 6 bags/week.
Tall Kitchen Drawstring Bags packaging product image
Credit
Garbage Bag Savings Scenario:
One box of Glad Drawstring Kitchen Bags is $8.79/45 count box.  We would need about 7 boxes/year to manage our trash.
Total:  $62.79/year to literally throw away!

BUT, Is it really necessary to double bag the trash?  Instead, I've just been transporting all of those little bags to the garage and saving myself some room in the kitchen trash.  Stepping up recycling will save me 2 bags/week!
Stingy Savings:  $40.62/year

Once again, ditching the name brand and going for Aldi's trash bags at $4.99/80 count box, I only spend $12.95/year.
Super Stingy Savings: $49.84/year


6. Paper Towels:  Ah, paper towels, how I love you!  Let's say I use two full pieces of paper towel for every wipe-down I do per day.  That's wiping down sinks and counter-tops after each use (yes, yes, I have OCD tendencies).  A conservative, but honest estimate of my paper towel usage would be   Ugh - it's a lot - perhaps 4 rolls/week (hanging head in shame).
Credit

Paper Towel Savings Scenario:
Bounty paper towels costs $11.99/8 count package.  It is absolutely shocking when I estimate that I use approximately 208 rolls of paper towels/year!
Total:  $311.74/year - Ahhh!

BUT, instead, for kitchen & bathroom cleanups, if I can avoid a paper towel by using a dish rag or purple rag, I will do it.  I also keep a stack of old raggy face-cloths in the bathroom for daily wipe-downs.  By doing this, I estimate I save at least 2 rolls of paper towels per week.
Stingy Savings: $155.87/year

Bounty is my favorite, I confess, and Aldi's paper towels are not up to snuff by comparison in my opinion, but just for fun, let's see how much I can save by being super stingy!  Aldi's price is $2.99/4 pack = $77.74/year.
Super Stingy Savings:  $234.00/year


That was fun!  Now let's add it all up!

Total Non-Stingy Spending: $879.44/year

Total Stingy Savings: $459.84/year

Total Super Stingy Savings: $677.32/year



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20 comments:

  1. If you like Bounty, then you need to try the Bounty Basic. Also, with paper towels, you have to watch the total sq. foot amt in the pack...you'll find a lot of the nonbrands have about 1/2 the amount that the brands do, so you're really not saving any money.

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  2. When we started cloth diapering we started using Charlies soap for our laundry. It works great and if you buy in bulk is cheap. We just bought 1000 loads for 108 dollars on Amazon. We won't have to worry about shopping for it for a long time now and it is about the same cost as the aldi's brand per load and I will say it does a great job, got out stains in the diapers that previous detergents had left behind.

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  3. Great comparison charts.. Love the amount of money you can save.. great ideas... only thing, wish I had an Aldi!! I saw one in Germany this fall.. but none in Maine!!!

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  4. My daughter likes the savings at Aldi, so I've sent her a link to this post. Great ideas.

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  5. I stopped buying the bulk package of paper towels and now only buy the two pack. I keep them under my sink so everyone uses cloth towels and I use rags for cleaning. I only use paper towels sparingly. When you aren't using them for cleanup the cheap ones do the job.

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  6. I've been doing the 50/50 juice/water for years because you're right, it's too sweet otherwise and it stretches.

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  7. Great tips. I love them. We use cloth rags most of the time in the kitchen too.

    About the laundry detergent. I normally either buy the Aldi or Menards brand. But most times I make my own, which is super cheap and easy to make. Here's the recipe I use: http://www.daily-journal.com/archives/dj/display.php?id=452258

    Margaret @ Live Like No One Else

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  8. Gotta love a Super STingy woman like you. May I suggest another 'frugal' idea....I buy Streakfree Microfiber cleaning cloths...yes, they may seem costly (I buy 15 or more for $3 each) but save paper towels when cleaning windows and mirrors because these 'magic' cloths don't need wiped dry. They dry streakfree! They are amazing and a terrific investment. They are washable and have a lifetime of 3 years. Quite a deal if you ask me. Thanks for sharing these. I love Aldis too.

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  9. I noticed I save so much on cleaning supplies, I make my own laundry soap and fabric softener and dishwasher detergent and all the other cleaning goodies that you have posted on this site. The only cleaning products that I do buy are clorox wipes ( I love them !! which you can get a four pack at sams club for eleven dollars) and the paper towels, but I buy the cheap ones and with everything spend about 100 a year for everything.

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  10. I love being frugal! I know alot of my friends think I'm nuts but I don't care what they think. I'm 43 and our home should be paid for in5 years and my daughter will go to university debt free. So if making my own detergent.. etc. will allow those things to happen then I'm making detergent. My Grangpa once told me " it's not about how much money you make but how much money you KEEP."

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  11. I love being frugal! I know alot of my friends think I'm nuts but I don't care what they think. I'm 43 and our home should be paid for in5 years and my daughter will go to university debt free. So if making my own detergent.. etc. will allow those things to happen then I'm making detergent. My Grangpa once told me " it's not about how much money you make but how much money you KEEP."

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love being frugal! I know alot of my friends think I'm nuts but I don't care what they think. I'm 43 and our home should be paid for in5 years and my daughter will go to university debt free. So if making my own detergent.. etc. will allow those things to happen then I'm making detergent. My Grangpa once told me " it's not about how much money you make but how much money you KEEP."

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love being frugal! I know alot of my friends think I'm nuts but I don't care what they think. I'm 43 and our home should be paid for in5 years and my daughter will go to university debt free. So if making my own detergent.. etc. will allow those things to happen then I'm making detergent. My Grangpa once told me " it's not about how much money you make but how much money you KEEP."

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love being frugal! I know alot of my friends think I'm nuts but I don't care what they think. I'm 43 and our home should be paid for in5 years and my daughter will go to university debt free. So if making my own detergent.. etc. will allow those things to happen then I'm making detergent. My Grangpa once told me " it's not about how much money you make but how much money you KEEP."

    ReplyDelete
  15. If you have old baby washcloths (you know, you got like 50 of them at your baby shower?!), move them to the kitchen & use them for wiping hands & faces, along with little spills throughout the day - great way to repurpose what was headed to Goodwill & save you some $$ on napkins & paper towels.

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  16. I have bad allergies so I am constantly blowing my nose and typically it's just a little drip. I made myself a handful of flannel hankies, they work great and get thrown into the wash when done.

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  17. Bounty is the "Kind". You can't beat 'um. Use the select-a-size to save. I re-use some towels when I just wipe up water, or other clean stuff. I made a Bounty catcher out of a large peanut jar and they are often dry when I reach for one.

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  18. Wow…outstanding service and products to meet our office needs. I Love all and the colors you choose are perfect. I want this furniture for my new house. Thanks a lot for sharing
    Traditional Wooden Cot

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  19. This was so cool delivery on the issue of stingy. Yeah, previously stingy was treated as bad one. But I think, stingy now can be termed as a good habit that helps you get out off debt and lead a simple and smooth life. When you do not want to spend penny for you are need really, it's can be defined as bad stingy. But if can make a good monthly budget plan to value your needs and desire it's really good as stingy. However, I appreciate your super stingy saving scenarios. It was incredibly helpful. I can also recommend a site that is really useful for leading your excellent living stingy.

    ReplyDelete

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