weird things you did to save money???

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posts from hell

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A conversation sparked this, so i thought it would be interesting to start this thread since a lot of us are creative with saving money...

When I was much years younger I scored a softball game in the town I was in. The problem was my softball equipment was at home, 25 miles away. I did not have money at the time for gas to go home and back to game and back to home.

What I did: I went to a car dealership, talked a few about cars and stuff... Asked if I could test drive one for a bit, an hour or so. Got the keys... I went directly home and got my softball equipment..

The Maxima was very nice though. :cool2:

Any creative stories?
 
I don't know if you would call this weird or strange, but definitely not in much use nowdays. I am currently out of work and nearly flat broke. I had intended to pay a friend of mine to make my mother a quilt for Christmas. Well without a steady income the quilt thing was out of question as I had no way to pay her for it. Well I went to her house yesterday as she wanted to show me her long arm quilting machine, so I went. I get there and we were discussing the work situation then she just starting digging for some material, handed me a pair of scissors and said start cutting, so I did. Then she told me to plug in the iron and press the seams so I did. What she had done was if I was willing to work, she was willing to help me out on this one. So now we have worked out a deal in which I will do some work for her to pay off the efforts of the quilt. Hopefully this works out well as I would very much like my mom to have a nice quilt for her bed that is in her favorite theme - Chickens. I felt a bit out of my element working in her quilting shop, but at least I got somewhat comfortable with it and I will likely return this coming weekend to do more work for her. I will perhaps probably rake some leaves, bag them, then haul them off for her. Other things include setting up a wireless network for her computers and printers in her house.
 
Dixie said:
I don't know if you would call this weird or strange, but definitely not in much use nowdays....
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Not weird at all. It's called bartering. We've done it, too.
 
posts from hell said:
A conversation sparked this, so i thought it would be interesting to start this thread since a lot of us are creative with saving money...

When I was much years younger I scored a softball game in the town I was in. The problem was my softball equipment was at home, 25 miles away. I did not have money at the time for gas to go home and back to game and back to home.

What I did: I went to a car dealership, talked a few about cars and stuff... Asked if I could test drive one for a bit, an hour or so. Got the keys... I went directly home and got my softball equipment..

The Maxima was very nice though. :cool2:

Any creative stories?
Click to expand...


Oh .... so that was YOU??? I have been wondering where that maxima went. I got fired over that incident btw :cool2:
 
Driving thru George Washington Bridge from NJ is costly - $8. If you do carpool (3 people or more), it's $2. So to save money, I stop by at this bus stop right before GWB and pick up 2 strangers.

Sometimes while I wait for bus at that same bus stop, some stranger came by and asked me to hop in. I pay nothing. Bus fare is $1.50. NJ Transit w/ disability discount = 75 cents.
 
oh - some people have EZ Pass but avoided paying toll by driving w/ bike rack that covers their license plates and also covered their EZ pass tag with static bag so that it won't get reads by machine.
 
Jiro said:
oh - some people have EZ Pass but avoided paying toll by driving w/ bike rack that covers their license plates and also covered their EZ pass tag with static bag so that it won't get reads by machine.
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it would be better if they used LED lights around the plate...
 
posts from hell said:
it would be better if they used LED lights around the plate...
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illegal. you can easily get pulled over for that so why risk $$$ ticket for $8 toll?

Better way is to use the "phantom" cover on plate. Visible to your eyes but invisible to flashing camera. This is illegal in this state but many people do it anyway.
 
Jiro said:
illegal. you can easily get pulled over for that so why risk $$$ ticket for $8 toll?

Better way is to use the "phantom" cover on plate. Visible to your eyes but invisible to flashing camera. This is illegal in this state but many people do it anyway.
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no, dont turn the lights on :) just leave it off, the cameras will not be able to see past it.
 
posts from hell said:
no, dont turn the lights on :) just leave it off, the cameras will not be able to see past it.
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lol I thought so but GWB has cops watching the tolls everyday around the clock :roll:

also - one problem... in NJ - it's required to have front and rear plates so that kinda defeats the purpose but some people cheated by placing their front plates on their dashboard and if they get pulled over - they will claim that front plate holder broke off.
 
I plan my routes when going out to pay bills, saving on gas. Also, using any left over meats, I make a homemade soup.....get my bread, rolls & pastries at the Bread store, make my own french fries, since bagged FF are expensive. Go to the Farmers Market for veggies.....buy Generic brands a lot (if they're tried & true), even Meds.
Love to barter at garage sales/Flea Markets. Never pay the price they're asking. Finding brand name clothes, new & the tags still on them at some Thrift Stores....we also save pennies for a rainy day! Still have that old habit. "A penny saved is a penny earned." Wash my own car!
Dunno if this sounds weird to some people....but it's just became an old habit that I've not broken.
 
I use discount cards, cut out coupons, and pick up every single coin I find on the ground... You can make thousands of dollars a year from people's discarded pennies. I'm not kidding you.

And for the EZ pass... I should have thought of it when I was living in NJ!!! I live in NY now so I no longer use the EZ pass... Only when I have to leave NY.
 
lanapoo said:
I use discount cards, cut out coupons, and pick up every single coin I find on the ground... You can make thousands of dollars a year from people's discarded pennies.
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I still pick up coins whenever I come across them. One day in NYC last Summer I found $11.25!
 
lanapoo said:
I use discount cards, cut out coupons, and pick up every single coin I find on the ground... You can make thousands of dollars a year from people's discarded pennies. I'm not kidding you.

And for the EZ pass... I should have thought of it when I was living in NJ!!! I live in NY now so I no longer use the EZ pass... Only when I have to leave NY.
Click to expand...

why not just keep EZ Pass opened? it's free and it's $1-2 cheaper than cash lane.
 
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