Cheapest things your parents did while you were growing up to save money?

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Nov 30, 2021
9:30:34am

wannnacruise All-American

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wannnacruise

Previous username: magical cow0
Bio page: wannnacruise
Joined: Aug 31, 2007
Last login: Apr 25, 2024
Total posts: 5,364 (1 FO)

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Messages

Author

Time

Cheapest things your parents did while you were growing up to save money?

wannnacruise

11/30/21 9:30am

Powdered milk. Barf.

Blueto

11/30/21 9:31am

Ya, that was a traumatizing money saver. It was like dirty water.

Marc Spector

11/30/21 9:33am

I distinctly remember going to a friend's house and trying real milk for the

Blueto

11/30/21 9:35am

When my mother mixed imitation milk and powdered milk 1/2 and 1/2...

lbmango

11/30/21 9:35am

My parents did something like that but wasn’t Hawaii. “It tastes the same.”

Jay_L

11/30/21 9:37am

Yep. One of the daily evening chores was mixing the milk. Or, warm milk on the morning cereal. Oh, and no “sugared”

valcorger

11/30/21 9:44am

and cloth diapers

RockyBalboa

11/30/21 9:45am

Yuk. Those are soooooo nasty. Blech.

Marc Spector

11/30/21 9:48am

That stuff was the worst.

justAnotherCoug

11/30/21 9:54am

I'm still not a big milk fan, and I wonder if that is why.

ochobeeguy

11/30/21 10:24am

My Dad would get us to bring powdered milk from home when we went to IHOP so he

irmocoug

11/30/21 10:59am

Kept the heat at 62 in the winter, no air conditioning.

sortsol

11/30/21 9:31am

<< Deleted >>

Buffalo

11/30/21 9:32am

Didn't start us in private school until kindergarten age

Non-mo Coug

11/30/21 9:32am

My mom never let us get a drink other than water at fast food restaurants.

markis_cougarfan

11/30/21 9:33am

Ouch. That would make for a less fun childhood.

TNT

11/30/21 9:33am

You got to go to fast food restaurants?

No touching

11/30/21 9:36am

Only on special occasions if we got a gift card from someone.

markis_cougarfan

11/30/21 9:37am

We went about twice a year. We thought McDonalds was the most special, magical place.

KingDave

11/30/21 9:40am

Growing up we got to pick where to eat out on our birthday. We'd all choose

markis_cougarfan

11/30/21 9:43am

Same with us

Doctor Rosenrosen

11/30/21 9:45am

Its right up there with Disney World in July.

Pangare

11/30/21 9:57am

We normally don't buy drinks...but with fast food combos there really is no diff

Fdnman

11/30/21 9:49am

I don't do that for health reasons ... I don't want my kids growing up thinking

runnincoug

11/30/21 9:52am

Oh I totally agree, and my wife and I do the same thing with our kids.

markis_cougarfan

11/30/21 9:58am

Ha, yes, the promise of future rewards for current abstinence is hard for kids

runnincoug

11/30/21 11:29am

I still do that.

ochobeeguy

11/30/21 10:24am

Fired the butler so they wouldn't have to pay a Christmas bonus.

Faceman

11/30/21 9:33am

My best friends dad loved getting toilet papered because he would reuse it.

fiberpost

11/30/21 9:33am

AC and Heat. Their net worth is 10 mil + and they still won't turn on

Chefcurry

11/30/21 9:34am

Well now that frugality will eventually accrue to you.

Coach's Dad

11/30/21 9:53am

So you are on Cougarboard, aren't you Dad?

Chefcurry

11/30/21 9:59am

If I was, I certainly wouldn't pay to be a subscriber.

Coach's Dad

11/30/21 10:24am

I was the last child, my parents were over bring frugal and spent money like crazy

JOPE

11/30/21 9:34am

Follow up to my own post - I remember several times going to Five Guys

wannnacruise

11/30/21 9:35am

One of 8 kids, regular dishes in the dinner rotation included:

ChadFromCougarTown

11/30/21 9:36am

You win. That sounds horrible.

fulano

11/30/21 9:46am

Our eating out was 8 whoppers and 8 waters (only when whoppers were .$99)

Pangare

11/30/21 10:00am

Sleeping bags on the hotel floor

stealth

11/30/21 9:36am

You stayed in hotels? We only camped and stayed with relatives.

Kilgore Trout

11/30/21 9:38am

Scout cots work well for this also 🙂

Fdnman

11/30/21 9:42am

Haha we do this now. I don't consider myself poor.

pinolero

11/30/21 10:13am

Hotels? What a humblebrag.

ochobeeguy

11/30/21 10:26am

My dad would bring a slice of cheese to Carl's Jr. to turn a hamburger

Rhubarb

11/30/21 9:40am

Big brain thinking right there

wannnacruise

11/30/21 9:41am

I’ve done it too. I ain’t paying a buck for a cheese slice that costs 5 cents

Bovine University

11/30/21 9:52am

Parents would let us theater hop ie drop us off at theater we would pay for 1

brick oven

11/30/21 9:42am

They encouraged their kids to steal movies to save money? That is odd

fulano

11/30/21 9:43am

didn't say they encouraged only allowed us as kids to do it

brick oven

11/30/21 9:45am

so the kids paid for the first movie themselves?

fulano

11/30/21 9:47am

yes I would pay for my movie and then see 2 movies(matinee price was $3)

brick oven

11/30/21 9:52am

Margarine instead of butter. I ate about 46 rolls at my grandma's house once and

fulano

11/30/21 9:42am

We almost never stayed in a hotel. It was either camping or sleeping at a distance acquaintance’s house on their floor.

KingDave

11/30/21 9:43am

We built our own runway on our properties to avoid the outrageous airport fees.

Zaphod

11/30/21 9:43am

<< Deleted >>

seacougar

11/30/21 11:05am

Single ply toilet paper

SausageKing

11/30/21 9:45am

This is a scam. You end up using just as much. Unless you only go 1 square…

ochobeeguy

11/30/21 10:28am

not at my house. my family pulls until the roll reaches the ground.

Pangare

11/30/21 10:35am

We rarely ate out and when we did it was a cheap burger spot. Each of us would get our own burger, we’d share fries and

Zach Morris

11/30/21 9:46am

My parents took us to drive by Disneyland just so we could see what it was like. At least we had the beach

Odysseus

11/30/21 9:47am

My mom washed and reused Ziploc bags LOL

BYU Grounds

11/30/21 9:54am

Beat me to it by seconds!

CougaRR4L

11/30/21 9:55am

My mom washed and saved bread bags too.

fulano

11/30/21 9:56am

we used those in our boots in the winter to keep our feet dry LOL

BYU Grounds

11/30/21 10:01am

same. That was her main reason for saving them! I would tell her...those make my

fulano

11/30/21 10:04am

You guys had store bought bread?

ochobeeguy

11/30/21 10:32am

Store bought bread was cheap except for Wonder Bread. Moms home made bread was

BYU Grounds

11/30/21 10:36am

I still do that.

JuicyJam

11/30/21 10:00am

Yup. I washed a lot of ziploc bags growing up

justAnotherCoug

11/30/21 11:17am

My wife still does that today

Fdnman

12/1/21 5:17am

Reused ziplock bags, including those stained by spaghetti sauce etc.

CougaRR4L

11/30/21 9:54am

Went on vacation, Ate $1 Burger King whoppers for about every single meal.

Fly'n Cougar

11/30/21 10:00am

I remember mom adding water to the milk to make it 'stretch' till payday

Pangare

11/30/21 10:03am

Kept all the condiments packets

Samsonite

11/30/21 10:03am

Mixed milk with the eggnog and added extra can of H2O to frozen OJ concentrate.

ReyOso

11/30/21 10:13am

All of our bowl were margarine containers

bubbastats

11/30/21 10:14am

My mom saved the Kraft cheese glass containers as shot glasses for OJ

BYU Grounds

11/30/21 10:15am

This thread is very enlightening and entertaining.. For better or worse I can't

cougfanz

11/30/21 10:14am

Oh man, I currently do a lot of these things. Not sure if I should feel proud or

pinolero

11/30/21 10:15am

Nobody seems to be presenting this as worst childhood ever, so it's probably ok.

ochobeeguy

11/30/21 10:30am

Unless you are mixing powered and real milk-- then you are a monster.

CougaRR4L

11/30/21 11:04am

LOL that is what my parents did, until my older brothers kept drinking the whole

BYU Grounds

11/30/21 12:10pm

To my parents defense or credit, they were children of the Depression. My dad..

BYU Grounds

11/30/21 10:24am

My grandparents were just like this so many of those habits passed

CougaRR4L

11/30/21 11:18am

When we got McDonald’s, we had a choice between the double cheeseburger and spicy chicken because they were each a

vegasnative

11/30/21 10:41am

Many of the above practices were do to what our mothers and wives learned

calblue

11/30/21 10:43am

Just thought of one, my parents would make some hamburger out of deer or elk

pinolero

12/1/21 7:26am

Oh, 100% this happened at my house

justAnotherCoug

12/1/21 10:34am

I must admit, the best goulash I ever had was made with moose meat

Fdnman

12/1/21 10:48am

I learned this morning that my wife's parents made their six children share

Cachanilla83

12/1/21 8:44am

We used already used advent calendars... no chocolate to be had.

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