My dad used to always tell me Waste Not - Want Not.

How frugal are you when it comes to standard living habits?

For the last month I have had a woman here pretty much everyday and many nights.
I quietly watch her habits.
Her standard living habits are very wasteful.

I am on fixed income.
I do say something when she leaves the lights burning in a room she is no longer using.
I do say something when she leaves the water running, leaves the shower dripping and the door open with the heater on.

While I am polite and explain how it is running my bills up that takes money away from us being able to buy or do things we want, I have to remind her over and over because it is her standard living habits.
Where she lives, her utilities are included in her rent.
I pay for mine.

Even when I was working, I was aware of the waste and taught my kids to mind their habits. Money was not such a big issue then but dad always taught me Waste Not - Want Not and it makes sense to me.

A few questions for discussion on this topic:

How conscious are you of your standard living habits?

Do you just tolerate waste and pay the higher bills or do you say something to try to keep it manageable?

If someone were so minded, would you be offended if they point it out to you? (she isn't because I do it with respect)

Would you purposely try to change those habits on your own to be more frugally minded?

We all have wasteful habits.
What are some of the things you do that is wasteful that you tolerate for convenience or some type of need?

My X always ran the kitchen tap at full blast while she cleaned. I think she needed the "white noise" as some kind of comfort.

My son plays the TV while he cleans.

I tend to buy two of some of the grocery items I use.
I have the old "Just In Case" thinking my dad had because he experienced the great depression and always tried to make sure he had something to eat if money evaporated.
That "Just In Case" mentality I have causes me to waste food as it expires.
(Not as much of a problem now that I can cook for someone that can eat)

Thanx for your opinion on this....

I didn'y grow up poor..on the contrary...

But yet my dad was cheap on a lot of ways..buying store-brand soda...etc.

I turn lights off in rooms I am not in.
I keep the heat low..and the AC warmer than I'd like, because utilities aren't cheap.
(my late husband and I had a wood stove where we lived..we only used the electric heat for a few hours overnight when the stove burned down too low to make much heat)
I seriously doubt even if I had money to blow that i would have it so cold in the summer you could hang meat..or so warm in the winter you could go about the house in a short-sleeved shirt...
Didn't grow up that way...don't like being in people's house who *are* that way...

Water?
I had well water for 30 years, and..while never wasteful when I still lived at home where we had city water growing up (unlike your ex).....I became concious of being frugal/ careful with water...
Right now I have city water...and the water people are mystified how I keep my bill so low...LOL

When I run the water in the kitchen until it gets hot (for doing dishes)..I catch that water in a milk jug, and use it for the chickens...or to water plants.

The one thing I *do* that is "wasteful" in some people's eyes is I leave the TV on 24/7...
Since I live alone..it makes it seems less "lonely"...
And really doesn't add up to much in the course of a year.

If I got involved with someone, and they stayed here (not likely)..and they did wasteful stuff...I sure *would* say something..

As far as "offended"..I *could* recycle more stuff....and have had people say that, but..I just don't...

I am a good budget person, even though I spend money on myself doing what I like doing. I am blessed to pay my bills!

I don't like stingy men it's ok to be conservative but I know the difference

I don't want to go on a picnic, I like Fine dinning. I have hard times meeting a man who holds his own at times.

Relationships take money, honestly, trust but also Cash.

I will pass on High debt no control in spending money , especially mine.

I don't waste money, and I don't want to have a relationship with a man that does.

Thanx, I_love_bluegrass!

I'm met people that make a really big deal out of it and are rude or insensitive when they find others wasting in their house.
Yelling, screaming and stomping their feet.

I disabled my screaming buttons while my kids were teenagers and it helped a lot in maintaining a peaceful household. I can get pretty loud if I want to. Being of Welsh descent, I also know how to yodel. (LOL)

I've watched enough people over the years, in their own habitat (home or at work), to know that most people are not very mindful of their own wasteful habits but are very mindful of others wasteful habits.

I've actually had to go the other direction a fair amount.

I grew up with a strong anti-wastefulness sensibility, especially on my mothers side. She was herself, the twelfth child in a depression era midwest family, who ALWAYS wore only hand-me-down clothes, and who kept pretty much anything that "might be useful later." And our family was never well-to-do, so there was never any such thing as "that one works, but it just looks old, so we need to buy a new one."

Believe it or not, in 1965, we were still using a washing machine that required us to pull the clothes manually out of the tub, and push them through huge rollers, to squash the water out, before taking them out into the back yard, and hanging them up with clothes pins. When something was broken in the house, we would try to repair it ourselves, or live without. No doubt, a fair amount of my fix-it skills and interest are a result of that.

Coming out of that background, I've had to force myself TO throw things away. Not only when they are broken, that's tough enough. But I have to also throw things away that are perfectly good, but no longer useful, because nowadays we aren't allowed to GIVE most things away any more. At least, not without spending more than I can afford, in order to do so.

Also, I spent a great deal of effort to alter my thinking on things like household supplies. I will never again buy bargain brand toilet paper , paper towels, or even cheap dish detergent.

For two reasons. One, because the cheap stuff isn't a good economic choice: it doesn't work half the time, and when it does, it takes twice as much to get the job done. It does no good at all to save thirty percent on a roll of paper towels, if it takes more than twice as many of them to clean up the mess.

And as for toilet paper, and good tasting food, I realized that my life consists of moment by moment experiences of RIGHT NOW. It does NOT consist of experiences happening in the future. There is absolutely no way to save money on toilet paper, and suffer using sandpaper because it's cheap, so that some day I can...what? Say I "earned" a comfortable tukas for my 70's, by having a thoroughly bad time of it until then?

Charmin all the way.

But no. I try not to waste anything. I bought special soft spatulas, so that I could easily make sure to get as much of the sauce out of a jar of spaghetti sauce as I could, before putting the jar in recycling.

I can relate to so much of that. Especially the wringer-washer and the generic products.
Being in a hurricane prone area, it is prudent to stock a lot of canned foods and sealables.
I shop by grocery list.
I write down what I use and replace it when I go shopping.
I don't buy everything at once, I spread it out.
I keep all my boxes (and packing material) for the appliances I buy.
I keep my gas tank full in my truck (never less than 3/4 tank) just in case I need to 'bugout'.
I still fix (or try to fix) things when they break.
I don't throw away things that work because they are old unless they are energy hogs.
Dad kept boxes of old stuff in the basement, just in case and I seen him go down and bring up an old item when he needed it.
Every year, we would go out and put plastic on the windows and caulk or seal drafts for winter prep.
He kept the coal room filled, even recycled the ash for sidewalk traction.
I've been cracked in the head (gib'd before it was known as being gib'd) for leaving the lights burning in a room I wasn't in or leaving the door open or just standing there looking in the fridge.
When he grew up, the ice box was actually a box that you put ice into and ice was bought from the iceman.
Since I do buy quality products, I'm not really a frugal prude but I am a stickler for not wasting things.
Its really difficult for me when I have to throw food away.
I've had meat so long in the freezer that when thawed it smells bad (over a year).

When someone else is in my home and is being wasteful I notice.
I used to make a big deal about it but now, I try to educate and treat others with respect. I find in most cases, people are not aware of their wasteful habits because nobody ever takes the time to teach them how not to be. Respectfully teaching them the ins and outs of frugal living is more effective to the end result than flying off the handle, yelling, degrading them, screaming and throwing a tantrum.

Another thing I do is crush the air out of plastic bottles, collapse boxes and cut up can rings. My trash is picked up twice a week but it takes one and a half to two weeks for me to fill up the outside bin.
I've had to work on trucks that broke down at the landfill and I know just how much trash people generate. I've seen birds stuck in plastic rings and bottles/jars. I can't in my right mind contribute to that but I must, so I try to minimize my impact.

I liken the condition of wasteful lifestyle to impulse buying.
I guess you could call it "impulse wasting".
Mainly because people tend to waste without thinking about it.

As for toilet papaer..if you want that plushy stuff..you go right ahead.
I can't stand that plushy stuff..and the stuff with "lotion"in it...???
Egads..I just don't feel clean...to me it feels "ooky"...
I use Scott..the single-ply..1248 sqr ft.
A multi-rool package lasts forvevr, and I know it's getting all the "stuff"..
"Sandpaper"??
I guess that's a personal thing, as I don't think it is like that..
I have used Charmin..and I *vastly* prefer this.

Paper towels, yes..many times the "cheap" brands fall apart when wet, and are therefore useless..
Again, check the total sqr. ft on a package.
Compare..and get the most sqr footage for the price.
Sparkle brand works for me..

Only one earth...

I'm not really wasteful.


But, i will admit to littering, on occasion.
There is a plus side to that.

Picking up litter, gives the kids from juvie
something to do on the weekends.

Dear Tom ... I understand her ways ... it is a habit hard to break ...
if she has a place where every thing is included ...

I grew up in a moderately house hold ... and use to get yelled at for leaving the lights on ... and running the dryer for one pair of sneakers ...always got a smart remark ...money does not grow on trees ... but if someone would have explained it to me ...like you had said in a nice way ... would have understood it more ... now being on my own & fixed income ... I used to have garden lights I would leave on all night ...
but that bill went up ... on where only night lights ... so I stopped ...
now even Christmas ... I decorated ... but all go out when I go to bed except for maybe 3 ...leave a couple night lights on in the house...
wash sparingly ... after 5 ... was told it is less expensive ... shutting PC down heard save $... food is another story ... I don't like to waste ... but my taste buds are weird ... so when able I try to give to a neighbor... if I don't want food after a few bites of it ...+ I recycle ...

I had been doing good... up until my car accident ... now in debt and feeling the pressure & stress ... which I hate ... being so money wise & thrifty before... so if you keep telling her... this will be more money for us to do things ... it will start to stick ... and she will break the habits ... good luck ... always good when you find someone ... being patient with her will help ...
till she understands ...

Most people have expenses. Some people don't Budget and many have their Priorities wrong. Imo

I don't want Any mate like that !!

No matter what we are currently doing, we can save more in one way or another.

Some lessons in life have a greater impact than others.
Age brings wisdom and no matter what anyone may tell you or even how they tell you, unless you experience it, you will never learn.

Frugal living is one of those things that requires a hard knock sometimes. Even growing up in my dad's home, I never really grasped the Waste Not/Want Not ideology he had till later in life when hard time hit me and my family. It was then that his lessons helped me the most.

Its a cause and effect standard that most people don't notice till they are forced to. If you have bails of money and never fret for anything, you're not likely to ever learn those lessons. However, if you look at the lifestyles of the rich, most are rich because they waste not/want not. They just don't call it that.

The people that this topic pertains to is the ones that are struggling week to week, month to month, year to year with financial hardships. More often than not, if ya look at their lifestyles, you can point out many places where they could spend less money without losing wealth.
Its that 'Impulse Waste' that I'm referring to.

We can all cite ways we 'use up', get the most of something.
Its those things we are not aware of that tend to creep in and cause problems that we can't finger to fix.

All I'm wanting is for people to look at their living habits and notice the things needing fixing and take a proactive measure to prevent waste.
Being reactive is already "water under the bridge" as dad would say.
Proactive stops it from happening in the first place.

If I want something[anything]; I'll buy it with my own money.

Yeah, that's not what this topic is about.

Its about having a sense about wasting money and using what you have to its fullest.

Oh THANK YOU FOR CLEARING THAT UP FOR ME BUT I totally realize what the topic IS. I just find it so idiotic to talk about recycling toilet paper or turning lights off because I've left a room... Big deal if I leave the lights on for weeks on end-which I do;} But I pay my own bills so who cares?

You obviously don't understand the concepts involved.
That's okay, we all have our own ways.

Who might care that you leave the lights on for weeks at a time is someone you might be seeing or living with that is mindful of the waste associtated with the act.
When considering your own home and your own money, it may not be an issue but when you leave my lights on and I have to pay the bill, it matters to me.
If you can't understand that concept, oh well, there is nothing in this topic for you and you should just move along to something else.
If you have money issues...Waste Not/Want Not.

I didn't see any mention of recycling toilet paper.

When we were kids my stepdad tried to get us to count the sheets of toilet paper, certain amount for #1 and another for #2. He would time us in the shower, if we were in too long he'd turn the water off. At Christmas, as we unwrapped our gifts we had to do it carefully so we could save the paper for the following year. There were 6 kids doing this. He grew up during the depression times.

With that said, I am careful of wasting but not to his extreme. Certain items I will pay more for because as Igor stated,economically it better, such as dish soap, laundry soap..I also am one that is always cold, so I probably put heat on before most people. I do turn down the thermostat at night though.

I try not to be too wasteful. I bring my own bags to the supermarket to use so no extra plastic or paper and I get 5 cents back for each bag. I bring my used egg cartons to my organic store because local farmers use them to sell their eggs and I buy them often.