ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Review: The Learning Channel (TLC) Special - Extreme Cheapskates

Updated on January 22, 2014

While flipping aimlessly through the endless sea of TV channels on the remote last night, I happened upon the TLC Special - Extreme Cheapskates. It seemed interesting so I tuned in.

http://thefreedictionary.com defines a cheapskate as a miserly person, tightwad, a stingy hoarder of money and possessions (often living miserably).

The show highlights several individuals who are known "extreme cheapskates," meaning that they utilize unusual measures to save money. These people were definitely tightwads but they didn't seem miserable. As a matter of fact, they seemed rather proud of their accomplishments in saving every little bit they could. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.

The Ultimate Cheapskate

Some of the examples of this intense frugality shocked even me:

♦ Cutting apart fabric squares to make reusable toilet paper. After each square is "used," it is placed in a basket and washed, ready to use again.

♦ Purchasing two-ply rolls of toilet paper and separating them into two separate single-ply rolls.

♦ Bartering for goods and services.

♦ When dining in a restaurant, boxing up other guests' leftovers to take home yourself and eat later.

♦ Squeezing ketchup packets (like the kind at fast food restaurants) into the ketchup bottle at home.

♦ Making your own household cleaners like laundry detergent and window cleaner.

♦ When the tube of toothpaste has no "squeeze" left, cut it in half and there's still enough to use for another week.

♦ Diving (really) into dumpsters and retrieving items as the wife's wedding anniversary gifts. Examples include: dead roses, a tea kettle and a bottled water.

♦ Reusing paper towels. After one use, carefully rinse out and hang to dry.

♦ Scoping the town to find loose change. After collecting more than $7.00 (quite a find, I think), the gentleman heads to the butcher to purchase two goat heads that he takes home to cook and eat.

Now, I admit I am frugal. I was brought up that way. I do use coupons when available, I do make my own laundry detergent and a number of other things (see some of my "frugal" hubs on the right).

I can't quite get past the toilet paper thing. The fabric squares must certainly be more "comfortable" to use as the husband says. But I don't care how much bleach you use, there are still obvious "stains" on the re-washed "clean" wipes.

I don't think I would have ever married the guy who dumpster dives for anniversary presents. This is also the guy who picked up the rice from the ground that was thrown at them when they got married. He took it home and cooked it to eat.This is definitely saving to the extreme. I love to repurpose old things and go to yard sales for used items and love a good bargain, but give me a break.

I wouldn't mind trying to use that last bit of toothpaste in the tube by cutting it open. Even the most expert toothpaste tube squeezer still can't get that last little bit out. I'd have to keep the open tube in safe place, though, because the cats would likely want to check out the taste.

Bartering for goods and services is definitely not a bad idea, especially since it's been around for hundreds of years. If you have a talent that you could trade for something you need, it might be worth a shot.

Taking other people's leftovers seems very unsanitary. Sharing germs of those I know is bad enough but from a perfect stranger? No way.


The show will be aired again on TLC (The Learning Channel) so check your local listings. It definitely was interesting to watch (although disgusting at times) and forces you to think about how your family saves money (if you do).

Let me know what you think!

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)