Article makes fun of frugal people

[khaski]

''Lisa, 32, said: "Each bag's enough for three cups, so it's a waste to chuck them. If the banks and government were as careful, the economy wouldn't be so bad." how very right she is!

The only thing I find disturbing is having to wear coats in the house at night to stay warm....I'm all for putting on a sweater or some more layers, but no child should have to wear coats in the house to keep warm! A little extreme for my taste but otherwsie- hats off to them!

[oheoh's momma]

That was just precious. I reuse my tea bag 2x. We huddle under blankets, light candles, save change, turn off the lights. WE eat left overs now, I bowl full of taco sauce, arby 's sauce, and barbque sauce. We don 't eat out much but the kids eat their lunch here rather than eating in a restuarant so they use the bottles and leave jobs of condiments. I line dry clothes, use vinegar as fabric softner with liquid softner. I wash bags that has veggies in them throw away meat. I reuse foil if meat has not touched it.Hubby throws it away.
I have a stocked pantry, stocked freezer, stocked on health and beauty. Need a few cleaning supplies. Paid cash for 2 car repairs this month paying cash for radiator repair this week. All bills paid in full and are up 2 date. paying cash for gifts including 3 birthday gifts and 2 baby gifts. No credit card s for me. if people were more like mined maybe we would not be in the economic crisis we are. Go frugal people.

[Incognito]

Thanks polly, but if lukewarm coffee makes me grumpy, I hate to think what cold coffee from refrigerated coffee grounds would do to me...I'd likely be downright cantankerous. (lol)

Reading a few posts back, these teens are dressing in mod styles, and I'm sure every penny saved is a help to the budget. And they're learning if you want something, you have to work, save or sacrifice for it. In a few years, they probably won't want to dye their hair, and will be saving that very money for something they value more. But the main thing is to learn how to manage money as you learn to make better choices.

[Contrary Housewife]

I pinch a few pennies here and there myself, but IMO 3 cups is too much to expect from a tea bag, even the english ones which are larger and stronger tasting than american ones. Unless you like your tea really weak. Super weak. I might make two cups at once, but leaving the tea bag to get cold makes it go bitter so I don't generally re-use them . I'd rather cut back on tea than re-use a cold one.

I guess there's a whole new generation of British kids who don't understand what it's like to not have everything handed to you.

[DaveP]

Seems so they would save a lot more money, by not going into the fast food places in the first place.

Yup, that one jumped right out at me too. As for the tea bags they're intended to be used for 2 cups anyway - and I do. 3 does seem excessive though (maybe if you put 2 that had been used twice in that 3rd cup it might be okay.)

[Nana2two]

I love my blueberry tea so i use them 3x on the 3x time i use a new tea bag plus the already used one.Or if i make ice tea i will save 6 or 7 tea back that i have used and make a 1/2 gallon thing of tea with lemon.

[Nana2two]

Plus tea over there is very pricey. My ex friend now brought me a sampler set of different teas from England hubby and i figured the value its was $47 in U.S money .

[2ndGenGranola]

Coffee Filters:
I also discovered that the cheap, round, white coffee filters can be rinsed, dried and reused for up to a week, without tearing. I use 2 per day, then drop them into a little bowl half full of water. At night, when I do my dishes, I rinse them in the bowl to rinse off the coffee grounds, then hold them under the tap-water to final rinse them. Squeeze out water lightly, then lay them on a dishtowel, pat dry, place each one over a small juice glass to dry overnight. It's good to go next morning. The coffee grounds in the bowl of water get thrown onto the backyard garden. My coffee filters will last 7 times longer this way, so I'm saving money. The brown filters can also be washed and reused, but disintegrate sooner than the white ones.

Why not just buy a reusable filter and done with it? I only paid a dollar or 2 for mine.

[HappyMama]

Why not just buy a reusable filter and done with it? I only paid a dollar or 2 for mine.

I bought a reusable one as well, saves tons of money and I love it.

For the tea, a wise person told me to get my tea in bulk as it was better quality and cheaper. I love it, have tons of different kinds and use a silver tea holder and make pots of tea. Saved tons over the years and have a better quality cup.

"Loose tea makes a better cup of tea. The tea that goes into tea bags is called fannings or dust - it's low grade tea that is left over at the bottom of the barrel when all the loose tea is removed. Many tea bags are made using paper that has been bleached. A tea infuser will cost you a few dollars, but it will last a lifetime, or close to it. And speaking of the economics of tea, high quality loose black tea is much cheaper than tea bags. With tea bags you don't pay for the quality of tea, you pay for the packaging. And then you throw it all away."

Rhonda Down to earth

[greekislandgirl]

I love that an article making fun of these folks resulted in so many great frugal tips!!!

I also would have thought that eating at fast food places is not a good choice on a budget but then I thought a) their kids are still learning great frugal lessons and b) if that's what they want to spend their EXTRA money that they SAVED, that's their choice - of course it wouldn't be my choice, but I'm also not cooking for 6 or 7 people every day so I don't want to judge. But yeah, if they were asking "what can we do to save more money?" my first thought would be "stop eating at fast food places."

[NikoSan999]

Seems so they would save a lot more money, by not going into the fast food places in the first place.
Also the mom and I think one of the kids color their hair. So they could save money by not buying hair color products.

Like another poster said...that jumped out at me too. Especially the hair coloring.

[Incognito]

Why not just buy a reusable filter and done with it? I only paid a dollar or 2 for mine.

I tried that for awhile, but didn't like the taste of the filter (it was plastic). I tried purchased cloth filters, didn't like the taste, and they were very thick, so the coffee-drip was too slow, and the coffee was too cold. I also made my own coffee filters from cotton fabric; soaked them well beforehand to remove any sizing, etc; they worked fine for awhile, but then acquired a 'fishy taste', might be from our town tapwater. I also tried laundering them, but then the coffee tasted slightly of detergent; tried soaking them, but it was too much bither-bother. So gave up on all that, and just bought a pk of 100 filters for $1 at the dollar store, wash/dry/reuse each one 7 times, and I'm happy.

I've been a tea connosieur all my life; parents used to use real grounds for tea. But I don't like the bitter taste, and don't like the tea grounds sitting around waiting for the next use. I prefer my own little system of using 1 Red Rose tea bag + 1 Tetley Herbal tea bag to make 2 quarts + 1 pint + 1 cup of delicious regular or lemon tea (not weak, either). But each to his own; this thread isn't about competition, but about sharing our own ways of doing frugal things that make us happy.

[indigo53]

In regards to the coffee filter, I paid $3 for a plastic reusable filter and its lasted me 10 years. It was only supposed to go 3 years but I've washed it and even had it in the dishwasher a few times. It has no signs of wear. It probably costs a little more now but it's THE best way to save on coffee filters!

[indigo53]

Didn't notice the post before mine about the reusable filters. We noticed that after a few uses the plastic taste goes away. Now it's all stained and coated with coffee so the taste is great.

[greekislandgirl]

My previous coffee maker came with a metal reusable one but the grounds would come through into the coffee. The holes were too big. I bought regular grind coffee. I never tried a reusable filter after that debacle.