The Scottish Frugality Thread

[grouse_hunter]

Originally Posted by saskbooknut

Previous post saying that he hunts his own meat rather than buying it - hilarious !

I usually carefully avoid calculating what my game meat costs.
$73 for tags and license, say....$300 for gas ( optimist), we'll not count the trips to the range to practice, reloading costs, depreciation, gift to landowner.....

Game meat is priceless.

I've had a few deer that cost me over a thousand dollars in expenses...
This year, money is tight, so I bought 4 250-300 lb pigs at $250 each. Right now I'm cutting up a beef calf which cost me $2 per pound of live weight. I also butchered 27 chickens, which were free ranged, weight around 7-9lbs and cost $15 per bird.
You don't have to be a Scot to be cheap, I mean frrrrugal

[Dacotensis]

If your wife or daughters are one of those high maintenance, nail polish wearing types, you can refill their nail polish remover with your can of acetone out in the garage.
It's the same stuff. Smells the same and will do the same for pennies compared to dollars.

Also your windshield washer fluid is just as good as the jug of windex and much cheaper.

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by Au revoir, Gopher

Where are you getting your welding cable? Best price I could find for #2 cable was about $3.80/ft but I found a set of 20ft #2 jumper cables for about $120 (on sale)...

Kijji

Worked out to about 40 cents a foot. Princess auto puts it on sale for about a buck twenty a foot too.

[tikka250]

For shooting whenever im the only guy at the range i go to the pistol berm and pickup all the lead bullets that acumulate then melt them down for more pistol bullets. Its more time getting the lead but less time sorting out lead from zinc wheel weights.
Buy the coffee in metal cans and peanut butter in big jugs and use the empty containers for brass and bullet storage.
I got rid of my tv service and even my tv and for less than half of the charge for satelite tv i watch everything online on my computer.

[newtoab]

- Don't buy anything unless you need it.
- Cook all your own meals.
- Buy food in bulk. Freeze and vacuum pack the excess.
- Make do with second hand tools and equipment whenever you can.
- Wait for things to go on sale before buying them.
- Track food prices.
- Use student discounts (eg. for internet), even if you're no longer a student.
- Search around for discount codes before making an online purchase.
- Use a cheap old cell phone with a pre-paid plan.
- Use your phone over wifi instead of using "minutes"/"data".
- Avoid the latest fads and technology.
- Download all your entertainment for free on the internet.
- Drive old, used vehicles.
- Don't throw out anything that might be useful in the future.

[roger]

As a trades person (plumbing and gastitter) we tend to save trade specific things, like a cutoff piece of pex, copper or threaded pipe..how short does it have to be to keep..
Electricians throw out cut off chunks of wire. I have repurposed those (two foot ) pieces of electrical wire and put a (receptacle) in a location that utilizes the entire length of that wire. Rather than see it trashed. I recycle maretts and lots of those Itty bitty electrical pieces.
It seems I like to harvest and repurpose things that are not in my chosen trade. Mostly because I'm in constant contact with my trade related supplies.
Oddly though I cannot stand having excess anything or clutter in my world. But can't stand a simple dropped marrett or new deck screw getting tossed out or covered with dirt. They do gave to be new condition. I'm weird.

[bobinthesky]

I peculate my own coffee and almost never buy from Timmies or Starbucks!

[bobinthesky]

I'm like Roger... just can't walk past a dropped deck screw without picking it up and taking it home....

[kmacisaac]

My old man used to make my brother and I take big steps so we wouldn't wear our shoes out so quick.

[CaberTosser]

Roger, I hear you on the materials aspect. I'll collect wafer screws dropped by the fellows putting in steel stud framing to have enough for my needs, wire scrap left on the floor joins my copper scrap collection. I have a bucket in which I'll toss pex fittings that have been cut out and every once in a while I'll go at them with my pex ring cutters and have them useable again. I wish there was recycling bins for pex tubing and ABS pipe, but I do try to minimize waste. Obviously old copper and brass is saved and becomes my 'fun money'.

I'm shameless about dumpster diving construction sites I might be on. Last year I was needing short 2"x4"s for a project and I called up my framer buddy, I went and grabbed all I could from his jobsite that was either cull lumber or bracing that was coming out. A place I formerly worked would have a a roll-off bin for annual inventory time, I never put anything useful in that bin but I sure scavenged lots out from it; there were even boxes of multiple new light fixtures, I dropped them at my Dad's and we split his Kijiji take on them (retired fellows have more time for that than I).

One other employer was culling out shop inventory to please the accountants and they had a few 50 gallon drums full of new brass valves and such that they were just going to scrap! I asked permission and grabbed some circuit balancing valves and ball valves from the lot. As a kid my Dad would have me wire-wheel used steel pipe nipples clean on the bench grinder so I came by it honestly.

[357xp]

Originally Posted by roger

As a trades person (plumbing and gastitter) we tend to save trade specific things, like a cutoff piece of pex, copper or threaded pipe..how short does it have to be to keep..
Electricians throw out cut off chunks of wire. I have repurposed those (two foot ) pieces of electrical wire and put a (receptacle) in a location that utilizes the entire length of that wire. Rather than see it trashed. I recycle maretts and lots of those Itty bitty electrical pieces.
It seems I like to harvest and repurpose things that are not in my chosen trade. Mostly because I'm in constant contact with my trade related supplies.
Oddly though I cannot stand having excess anything or clutter in my world. But can't stand a simple dropped marrett or new deck screw getting tossed out or covered with dirt. They do gave to be new condition. I'm weird.

Hey I thought I was the only guy picking up marrs behind the sparkys, they r like gold to me. Can't believe how many they waste. Connecters, marretts, sometimes almost full rolls of the good electrical tape.

[trailraat]

You can easily re-purpose old kitchen cupboards and countertops for your workshop instead of buying a bunch of storage cabinets and the like.
Old book shelves make great storage as well.
When I used to live in an apartment I found a few pieces of old furniture I was able to fix or re-purpose

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[roger]

I just had to go purchase 4 big maretts and that was like .80 c each.
just painful...but gladly went for coffee right after...
Recently built a pole shed 32x48 with 12' wall cold storage.
I ordered the roof, wall and various length tin in 8 separate orders over a two week period..reason. was that every order that arrives often have a cover sheet the exact same colour and length. Plus the packing pallets are made out of 2x4's the same length so once dissaembled I had enough to almost build a colour coordinated woodshed for virtually nothing.
I used some stupid philips head screws that had been kicking around for years.
I hate philips (and blade screws too) so it was refreshing to see them all used.
...when my African taxidermy returned to Canada in a 4x8x4 foot plywood crate. Stamped with African symbols and flight inspection insignia. The four soft wood sheets have a unique open looking grain and almost intrigues me more than the critters...I hope use it one day for something neat but I'm scared to cut a piece if wood worth $35k!!!
Could be canadian spruce for all I know and exported to them and sold back to us.

[hilt134]

Well the swiss aspect would be your not saving 20% your spending 80%. If your going to buy it put money into it and only ever have to buy it once. Hang drying clothes, woodstoves for heating when possible, buy vechicals from auctions amd do the work your self. All things my swiss father has passed down. Now the mennonite side of the family says never tip, Buy beans by the sack and cook them your self, fit as many people as possible in the smallest house. Being cheap doesnt bug me but people who give you crap for spending your own money on somthing. We have a friend who you cant take to the movies because if you get the expensive popcorn she lectures you. I go once a year if that. Ugh i hate that. Regardless good points folks.

[crazy_davey]

Originally Posted by ceadog

I'm waiting for someone to say hunting for meat because it's cheaper....

Hunting for meat is cheap if you live in the right area, when you can kill animals five minutes from your door or even sometimes shoot right from your deck. Fill tags and butcher at home, cheap and easy

[Mattzlaff]

There's a whole blog I actively follow dedicated to being frugal, early retirement ect.

wont post the link because I'm not sure it's allowed here, can PM if you want.

They do some pretty extreme stuff, and stuff that doesn't quite work in the frigid north.

I follow most of the advice to cut spending and increase saving but, of course, everyone needs their vices!

[bobinthesky]

Originally Posted by crazy_davey

Hunting for meat is cheap if you live in the right area, when you can kill animals five minutes from your door or even sometimes shoot right from your deck. Fill tags and butcher at home, cheap and easy

Well there's certainly nothing cheap about buying meat in a grocery store these days.

[HighlandHeart]

Make your own ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce, peanut butter, beer, sauerkraut, bread, jam and whatever else you can at home for pennies on the dollar compared to what you pay for these things in stores. Go to the library for books and movies, used bookstores (paying 40$ to read a book once makes no sense to me). Get a travel mug and make your own coffee, paying 2-3$ for a coffee makes about as much sense to me as paying 40$ to read a book once. Try to do your own repairs around the house using you tube videos if you can instead of paying someone just to have a look. When it comes to tools and equipment that you use often, buy nice or buy twice. You don't save money by cheaping out and having to replace stuff often. Convince your wife that she has tonnes of clothes, that they all look great and fit her well. Convince yourself that you have enough outdoor gear and don't need to get a new gun, fishing rod, snowmobile, quad, boat or RV. Even if you are not of Scottish descent, now is a great time to get frugal before the interest rates go back up.

[densa44]

Grand dad caught the salmon and Granny could cook anything, never with a recipe. Wonderful woman!

I reload .410 shot shells. The crimp was a problem with my very old mec loader, so I went with a diy roll crimp with over shot wads made with a garage sale mallet and a "leather punch" that I got from Princess Auto.

They work great (I use #4 lead) and the longers and maybe the best shot was 45 yards that hit the bird in the beak!

[Puma]

I do my own plumbing .....

Kidding, kidding, settle down now Caber.

[Newview01]

Shop garage sales, and barter whilst doing so.

In reference to the original post, we dont even use soap

[ETOWNCANUCK]

I use those detergent pods, actually get 120 Loads for a box of them from Costco. And don't have the mess from liquid/powder.

[Twisted Canuck]

Frugal is good, but a word to the wise about used furniture. Don't. Not off Kijiji or from the second hand store, not off the curb for 'free'. I had a friend who picked up a cheap couch and chair while going to Uni and renting a basement suite. Bedbugs. Lots of bedbugs. By the time he realized what was going on it had spread to the landloard's upstairs suite. They pretty much had to get rid of all the furniture and burn the place to the ground to get rid of them. I don't know what the all in cost was, or who paid what, but it was huge.

No used furniture. Ever.

[fitzy]

Originally Posted by Twisted Canuck

Frugal is good, but a word to the wise about used furniture. Don't. Not off Kijiji or from the second hand store, not off the curb for 'free'. I had a friend who picked up a cheap couch and chair while going to Uni and renting a basement suite. Bedbugs. Lots of bedbugs. By the time he realized what was going on it had spread to the landloard's upstairs suite. They pretty much had to get rid of all the furniture and burn the place to the ground to get rid of them. I don't know what the all in cost was, or who paid what, but it was huge.

No used furniture. Ever.

I've heard this horror story a couple times. Gotta say I agree.

[Unregistered user]

I quit smoking, that's a $5000 a year habit.
I use my coffee maker, keeps me out of the Timmies' line ups, gotta be $1k/year.
Leave the front door open, hopefully to rob a burglar. Hasn't worked yet, guess we need more bait.
We drive beaters- no payments.

[The Cook]

We buy a steer every year which we split with a neighbor, better meat and help out the rancher that lets me hunt his land. Burn wood most winter days(I get it when it's free and easy). Put up our own pickles and fruit and lately have become addicted th sausage making.

[grouse_hunter]

Originally Posted by Puma

I do my own plumbing .....

Kidding, kidding, settle down now Caber.

I do. I took out a permit, installed a new hot water tank in my house and had a local plumber sign off on it. I've done the same with electrical work. I guess my arms don't grow out of my buttocks!

[MountainTi]

Keystone light.........the new Bud light. Well the cans the same color anyways

[Davey Boy]

Here's mine.

When you turn on your water, you pay both a rate for water and another rate for amount used in sewer. Even when watering your lawn.

So 2-3 times a week, wife baths or showers, leaves the water in tub. I only shower so go after her.

Tub is full. I drain the water from the tub to the washing machine with a sump pump (small) that is used to just start the water siphoning into the washer. Two story so once started water drains without using pump.

I pay for water used once and sewer once, but use the water twice.
First washer load is soapy water anyway and then it rinses clear. So what the hay. LOL

FIL used to scoop the water from the tub and water his garden and flowers with gray water and never seemed to harm the plants.

Every day that I do that I save 25-30 gallons. Thinking daily in summer for my trees and lawn.

[Spidey]

- I brew my own coffee and take a thermos to work every day while watching my colleagues come to work with Timmies where they are paying up to 3$ or more as well as idling their vehicles in the drive-through.

- I just finished buffing and shining my work shoes vs. tossing and buying new

- Other than the staples (bread, milk, eggs) I refuse to buy grocery items not on sale (except at Costco). I also keep this policy when shopping at Canadian Tire.

- I research the heck out of upcoming purchases that I don't need immediately (eg. furniture, tools, electronics, paint, pet food). This is a good website for Canadian retail shoppping: www.redflagdeals.ca

- I've never made a vehicle payment and do my own maintenance

- Although a work in progress, we are trying to waste less food that we buy

- We only eat out very occasionally. Because we live in a tourist area, we wait until the two shoulder seasons (fall and spring) when restaurants offer specials (eg. 2 for 1 buffet, locals discounts, etc.)

- when turning on taps in kitchen or bathroom and waiting for water to get hot, we hold a watering can under the tap and use that water for plants or the dog and cat.