very! i have to pay for it all some how.

no i'm always on the look out for more and better ways to get more from less

i do that daily

mostly for me it's willingly paying more for better product or not going out of my way to save a nickel by spending a buck.

that gas station is always the cheapest but when i fill up there i get noticeably worse gas mileage. or i won't drive way over there to save 2 cents a gallon but burn 3 gallons doing it.

and i for one will not shiver in my one home. the heat stays at a comfort level suited to me. however i have found setting back the thermostat at night or when i leave for the day actually uses more fuel than leaving it at my comfort level continuously.

Do you live in a barn? Well, do you?
Shut that bloody door lad

Where do you think you are? Blackpool illuminations?
Turn that bloody light off

Do you know that there's kids starving in Africa.
You will eat it, even if I have to serve to you for the next 2 days, because you'll get nothing else.

Just a few of those chestnuts parents and grandparents throw at you. Waste not, want not. Indeed. Another. I totally agree.

Mind you I confess, I've never darned the holes in my socks. My grandma used to do that for me. And I'm a bugger for take away and nice sandwich shops. I don't go out much, I tell myself, therefore it's okay to order that nice pizza

In short Tom, me old China... Some people have more money than sense

Yeah, the inspiration for this thread came from the behavior of people that don't have much money. If someone has plenty of money, its not a priority to save a buck.
But, when someone struggles week to week or month to month to pay their basic living expenses, saving a buck is a big thing.

When someone is wasteful in general or pays no heed to costs or duration of use, it makes me wonder when they're broke all the time?
I mean, why should you get help, a loan, a government benefit when you waste what you have?

I get my check at the end of the month.
I pay my bills first and I am mindful of my usage to try to keep those bills as low as I can.
I mind my usage and regulate my consumption so I don't run out of things before the money is there.
I reserve my spending to just before my check gets here. I put any money I didn't use into savings and start my month fresh.
I'm very conscious of my usage on nearly everything.

Saving money is not buying something you don't need on sale.
That money could go for other more important things.
Getting the most out of something and making it last saves money in the long run. Mainly because you don't have to pay for it when it gets used up, worn out from abuse or wasteful habits like tolerating a leaky facet or having all the lights in the house lit all day and night.

Yet, people do this, a lot.
Then they claim they need more money for living.
They complain about not having enough money.
They over extend themselves and stay in a state of constant stress.

I know, because I was like that all thru my working career.
I got paid on Fridays every week but was flat broke by Tuesday.
I fought life to buy clothes, food, pay utilitys and other 'normal' expenses.
I was living above my means but couldn't see that as the on-going problem.
It was always "Just not enough money" which caused me to have to work a tremendous amount of over-time.

Then I got disabled and ended up on fixed income.
I got 1/4th what I got per week, now getting my income per month.
I changed my outlook and my discipline and now I live below my means and I have plenty of money but my bills didn't really change.
I gave up all my impulse buying, impusle wasting and I experience a difference.
I wish I was making as much as I did when I was working but I often wonder if I would go back to wasting with much more money in my pocket?

I like to think I would not.

I never was wasteful...or had a "thing" for shopping..
I *hate* shopping, always have..do it only when i have to..
And this was back when I *had* money.

I didn't grow up poor..., but yet my dad was frugal as *hell*...
I think I took after him...LOL

Not that anyone cares..but I checked my water bill the other day...
They bill for a *minimum* of 1000 gallons..but, i never *use* anywhere near that...
I average between 500-700 gallons..
Yes, I shower...*yes* I wash dishes...I'm just not wasteful about it...

My one "luxury" is cable/ satellite TV..
I love certain channels...that's my "kick"...(old B&W and art/ foreign films)
And, ironically..I pay less for my phone, internet, *and* cable than most do for just their cell phone and data plan...
So, they can sod off with their opinionating on how i should do what *they* do, I'd save money.....LOL

Yeah, I use less than my minimum of water as well.
When I dropped of the check this month I had to pay an additional $5.50 because the city had a standard rate increase. So now, I pay more for water than I did but I didn't change my usage. Since I don't exceed the minimum, I can't save any more money by wasting less water but if I waste more water, I will pay more than I would have.

My disability income is maxed out. Its been maxed out for 4 years.
This means at the beginning of the year when Social Security grants a cost of living increase, I don't get anything more at all.
I won't get an increase till I turn 65 and switch from disabled to retired. Then I will get my full amount.

This means that every year I must absorb cost increases with no offset except in how I mind my own usage. I fear there will be a tipping point before I reach 65. A point where my income cannot sustain basic living costs. I expect to have to make more adjustments to my living standards to accomodate the changes.