Whats the cheapest thing I ever done well running down the hall and play chase with daisy mae the weiner dog no just kidding there,  cheapest thing thing I have down is putting tape on a coffee can lid area and making a piggy bank out of it I finally had it I even taped to the can a sign donnot open period if this makes me save then Im going for it out of side out of mind when it coomes to seeing money may sound really goofie to you all but I see green I want to blow the green the change is to much of a pain so all goes in so I don't see it its called -method to my maddness....

cheapChic:

I don't see it its called -method to my maddness....

 

Me too!!! I am teaching myself to put away $5-$10 a day (I am a waitress) for big expenses. It is hidden to the point only my boss and I know and the amount is written on the container!

I am addicted to Coke, but it gets expensive. So I collect the caps and enter the codes online to receive free Coke. At first, I just asked my coworkers to save them. Now I will take the caps off bottles in the trash. I found a lot of caps at my college!

Suggestion for the clothes pin lady how about using old jeans that don't fit cut at the crotch like the do purses. They work well too :O) drop clothes pins in I have one.

 I use twist ties to hold my tea bags to the side of the container so I don't have to fish them out of the jar of tea

I re-use my freezer ziploc bags that hold my Oamc meals since I usually just slide a 8 x 8 pan in them.

Currently re-using a syrup container for homemade chocolate syrup that I make

I re-use jars/ containers the close well or screw on for bags of beans or spice mixes

I am sure there is more I do :O)

That's really funny! disgusting, but funny. I have a personal care client, and her son is constantly flossing his teeth and leaving the used dental floss everywhere! kathi

Probably not the cheapest thing I've done, but I'll plant autumn lettuce in milk jugs this year.

 

Saved pretty cereal boxes to make accordian-fold books/

Picked up free twigs from museum grounds for chiminea fire and roasted hot dogs on a stick.

Recycling your zip-top bags?  Pish!  Re-using your dental floss?  That's nothing!  Here's some REALLY cheap ideas.

 1.  A few years after my divorce, when I didn't have much money, I dated a man who held radically opposite political views from mine.  He was racist, sexist, bigoted, and you name it.  However, every Wednesday, he stopped at a pizza place and bought 2 large veggie pizzas, which he then brought over to my apartment.  He and my daughter and I would have pizza for dinner.  We kept the leftovers, and my daughter and I had pizza for dinner at least one other night that week.  Yes, I dated him for food.

 2.  About 10 years ago, my new husband and I lived in a home built back in the 40's, with an unfinished basement with one of those 2-sink washtubs in it.  The washer emptied into one of those tubs.  Previous owners had installed central air conditioning as well as a humidifying system, and both of those drained excess water into the other side of the washtub.  I started saving that water in a gallon bucket and then pouring it into the top-loading washer.  I figured it was relatively clean water, since it was either excess humidity removed by the AC, or "leftover" water from the winter humidifier.  It certainly wasn't drinkable, but with some detergent and added hot water, it was perfectly fine for washing clothes.  I think this is called "gray" water.

A washing machine fills up with water on the basis of "is it full?" unlike the dishwasher, which fills for a specific time period.  Different types of clothes absorb more or less water, so the washing machine has to get filled to a certain level.  This meant that, no matter how much gray water I poured into the washer, if it was set for a full load, hot or warm water would fill the washer the rest of the way, and not overfill it.  On a good day, I could fill the washer halfway with gray water.  It was "our" water, why waste it?

And, of course, I hung a lot of the clothes on lines strung in the basement....

The better question might be: what haven't you done in the name of saving money?

Here are some of my more "questionable" habits:

>cleaning out vacuum filters for the umpteenth time because a new one costs $20.  [I buy one a year, usually during black friday.  One year I got a filter for $4.99! Limit one, though]

> adding extra water to beverages to make them go further.  My MIL made orange juice with only 3 cans, and my son said, "Yuck.  This is too thick." 

> finding furniture and things people throw out and re-selling them.  Our city has an annual clean up week.  This year I made $714 from the things I found and sold.

> always trying to buy used before new, or repurposing something I already have.  Best bargain this month: a used canner and 26 jars at thrift stores.  I only had to buy the lids, and still spent less than $10.

> learning to do things myself.  I had a plugged sink drain and called a plumber.  The cheapest was $77, but he said it was probably just a "snake job" so I went to a hardware store, bought a snake for $13, got instructions from the nice clerk, and did it myself!  And now I have the snake and the knowledge if a drain gets plugged again. 

I could go on and on...