See, now I need to have my wife read this thread. About two weeks ago when she brought the groceries home, I opened a new carton of milk only to find that is was sour. She got in my truck that only gets 13 mpg in town, drives six miles to the market to exhange it, and on top of that spends another twelve bucks on stuff we didn't need. My goodness, I ain't gonna get to retire until I am a hundred and sixty five!

 

WHAT!!!! Then my wife will want more stuff,not to mention that I have to clean all the cobwebs from my wallet.

 

My great grandpa would spend $2 in gas to save 10 cents on bread. And he stole some corn once...for that nites gathering..turned out it was no where near ready to eat....

 

My boss is cheap. Makes 6 figures a year but shops at the dollar store. He only gets a hair cut every few months and then at the cheapest place in town. He wears the same outfit (same shirt/pants) all week.

And now that he is 65 he calls places all the time finding out if he can get a Senior discount. Even the tax office.

 

I made the mistake of announceing at work that I was going to subway for lunch, People gave me orders and cash, Then this one cheap guy asks what I'm getting (to make sure his deal will work) then gives me some sort of local promo card good for 50c off a sandwich, 2 couplons, and the 83 cents that it will end up costing him. I threw it in my pocket and bought him lunch that day......


....A few weeks later I was at subway, in walks the cheap co worker... It took him 15 minutes to pay for his food with his coupon method

 

I'm so cheap I'm always hurting myself. I've been needing a shed forever but couldn't make myself buy one, so I've spent the last two months scouring the the ads looking for some one giving one away. Found one twoo weeks ago and went there every day after work for four days in the dark and in the rain to take it apart. I got it tore down and mover only to find the base of it was so rusted I had to grind the screws of and pop them like rivits. (it's a metal shed from the late seventies. I'm still trying to patch holes, bent out kinks and remember how the heck it went together! I should have just taken on a second job and bought a tough shed!

 

I'm not trying to start a fight or anything, I just have to point out that the professor sounds like a very smart person...

I'm using the dreaded word - "assuming" it has to be a metal wire fence as that is the only type I can think of that would require staples be used.
If you leave the staples in the broken post in the field, as the post rots the staples are exposed. You do not want to pay for vet bills for x-# of cattle stepping on staples over the next few years that you could have taken out when fixing the fence, do you?
When you fix a broken fence, you have to remove the fence from the post - hence pulling the staples, may as well re-use them right?
If you decide to burn the broken post then you have staples in the ashes. The ashes are good fertilizer for gardens when mixed proper with dirt. Do you want staples in your carrots?

Lots of people still use dial-up internet, it is all that is available in some areas. If you only use your computer on "clean" websites then win95 should still be fine. Lots of people only use it for e-mailing relatives and nothing else. FTE warns users against posting pictures in posts because a lot of users are still on dial-up.

Salvage title cars are fun IMHO. A new project, you own it, you can fix it or modify it at your convenience without worrying:
about it being your primary transportation
about screwing up a warranty from a dealership
about making a payment on it
Sounds like a good hobby to me.

A motorist with active interest in his car(s) has better chances of making it home reliably than one who never takes it to a dealer or checks under the hood...

 

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Did you notice if it was a "combined" trip? Did he retrun the screws and then buy something else while he was there?

I would probably throw extra screws in those little plastic drawers I have in the garage to use later.

If they were specialty screws that I was not certain I would use anytime soon, I'd probably take them back if I was going there anyway, might be a special order item for the store, better that the screws are there for the next person who needs them and not sitting in my garage.

Although...if they were S.O. that would mean my returning them would mean the next guy would probably still be one screw short, Murphy's Law at work!

 

I know folks so cheap, that thye use both sides of the toilet paper.

 

I guess you have to put me in with the "cheap" crowd. I've been known to reuse McDonald's coffee cups for more than one day... although in my defense, I would argue that I was not being cheap per se, but merely lazy. Saved emptying the dishwasher if I used the Mickey D's cup, ya know.

 

Maybe that was just one of many errands he had to run in that shopping center and thought as long as he was there he would return the un-needed screws.

Maybe he is on the verge of death and was thinking about his next of kin having to go through all his crap when he kicks the bucket and was trying to help them out.

Maybe he is just cheap.


I like to look at myself as frugal not cheap. I don't mind spending money on a worth while investment but I hate to waste money.

 

I've got a friend that didn't bat an eye at spending $700,000.00 (cash) to have a home custom built for her while she's living in a 4,000 sf place now that she owns free and clear, but saves every piece of paper, scrap of foil or plastic she can find to take to a recycling place that buys it from her. She gets like a penny a pound for the stuff, pays me 20.00 to take it to town in my truck and bi*ch*s if I just take it to the dump when I go.

 

No this was not a combined trip. He just came in the door returned the screws then left.

I would also have hung on to the screws for use later.

No, Nothing special about them..

 

THat's why she has the money to pay cash for the house..

A quote from Rich Dad Poor Dad book says " You can become rich by being cheap, but when you become rich you are still cheap". Or something like that.

 

I got a freind who returns uneaten egg mcmuffins (days olds) for fresh ones