Get all the liquid out of cartons

[toocheap?]

Have you ever noticed when you buy drinks in paper cartons that when you think it is empty and then you shake it, you can still hear a little bit of liquid inside? That's because most people pour out of the plastic pour spout that the cartons all now have, but this pour spout traps a bit of liquid in the carton that is not easy to get out. The solution is to open your cartons the old fashion way by pulling the sides apart on top -- this will allow you to get all the milk or juice out of every carton. Too cheap?

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

No problem. This doesn't hurt or cheat anyone.

[disneysteve]

No problem at all. That's being smart.

My wife and daughter both use the same hair gel that comes in a plastic tube with a hard plastic cap. When they can't get any more gel out, they throw away the tube. I noticed this and realized there was still a decent amout remaining so I started prying off the cap which then allowed me to further compress the tube and squeeze out a fair amount more gel. I just put it in a small container and they use it from there. Each tube is about $3 and I can probably get one tube's worth out of every 8-9 tubes. That's a pretty good savings over the course of the year.

[GREENBACK]

toocheap?, I hope you work half as hard on the real savers in life like housing, transportation, insurance, retirement...etc. as you do on the items you've mentioned. You'll be a millionaire before you know it if you do:rolleyes

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by GREENBACK

toocheap?, I hope you work half as hard on the real savers in life like housing, transportation, insurance, retirement...etc. as you do on the items you've mentioned.

That's a good point. Although the little things can and do add up, what buries most people is the big things. Buying too much house or too much car, borrowing too much for college, overpaying for things like insurance and such. What you save peeling bananas in the store in 5 years is less than you could overpay with the wrong insurance policy in a couple of months.

[toocheap?]

Originally Posted by GREENBACK

toocheap?, I hope you work half as hard on the real savers in life like housing, transportation, insurance, retirement...etc. as you do on the items you've mentioned. You'll be a millionaire before you know it if you do:rolleyes

Feel free to roll your eyes all you want...I am quite used to it now. I'm not sure why you would assume that I don't take care of my other financial areas as meticulously and frugally as I do the stuff I have mentioned here. I certainly do.

[kork13]

Originally Posted by toocheap?

Feel free to roll your eyes all you want...I am quite used to it now. I'm not sure why you would assume that I don't take care of my other financial areas as meticulously and frugally as I do the stuff I have mentioned here. I certainly do.

I can almost guarantee that it wasn't intended as a personal attack or mockery toward you -- the problem is that honestly, many people DO forget to take care of the big stuff. We get a lot of people on these boards, and sometimes they'll ask about something small (for example: strategies for squeaking better gas mileage out of their car) when they have a much bigger problem (such as the fact that they're leasing a hummer for the next 5 years). That kind of revelation normally only comes out after a few questions to gauge the "full picture" of their situation.

[Gary Barzel]

Unfortunately people tend to focus more on the little things because of the old adage of keeping up with the Joneses. They need to buy expensive things for others to see, but struggle with the little things at home because they really can't afford it. If only people were bold enough to stand up the social pressures they would be better off in so many different ways.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by toocheap?

I'm not sure why you would assume that I don't take care of my other financial areas as meticulously and frugally as I do the stuff I have mentioned here. I certainly do.

That's great. Most people don't. Look around the supermarket next time you go. Chances are you'll see people using 25 cents off coupons at the register only to roll their carts out to the parking lot and load their purchases into a humongous 50K SUV. Or people going out to eat 4 or 5 times a week with coupons when they'd save a whole lot more money cooking at home. Or people buying clothes at the thrift shop while paying for variable whole life insurance policies. As the old saying goes, penny wise and pound foolish. Too many people focus on the little things and forget the big things.

Originally Posted by kork13

the problem is that honestly, many people DO forget to take care of the big stuff. We get a lot of people on these boards, and sometimes they'll ask about something small (for example: strategies for squeaking better gas mileage out of their car) when they have a much bigger problem (such as the fact that they're leasing a hummer for the next 5 years).

Exactly.

[GREENBACK]

That's what I was referring to. toocheap?, It's not a personal attack. Just pointing out what the others have stated. I personally focus mainly on the big ticket stuff but that's just me.

[bjl584]

Originally Posted by toocheap?

Feel free to roll your eyes all you want...I am quite used to it now. I'm not sure why you would assume that I don't take care of my other financial areas as meticulously and frugally as I do the stuff I have mentioned here. I certainly do.

That wasn't a personal attack. You definitely took that the wrong way.

Anyway, I've been known to squeeze all I can out of toothpaste tubes. I can usually get at least 5 more brushings worth when it looks like it's empty. That can really add up over time.

[toocheap?]

I have maximised all the "big things" as much as possible so I choose to focus on the small things now.

[DebbieL]

The fact that you've discussed hanging out beside restaurant trash cans and begging people for their leftovers is likely coloring some people's opinion of you. It's pretty hard to take someone seriously after a post like that one.

[toocheap?]

I do not beg for the food. I ask politely if I can have it.

[BuckyBadger]

Originally Posted by toocheap?

I do not beg for the food. I ask politely if I can have it.

So it's only "begging" if you're rude about it? I've seen plenty of polite panhandlers.

[toocheap?]

Originally Posted by BuckyBadger

So it's only "begging" if you're rude about it? I've seen plenty of polite panhandlers.

No. begging implies that the person asking is in need of it and using some sort of guilt to get it (out of work, homeless, etc). I sit at a table (that happens to be next to a trash can in the restaurant) in a shirt and tie working on my computer. When someone is about to throw away perfectly good food, I ask politely if I can have it.

If you ask your neighbor if you can have some of the fruit on their tree that will rot if it isn't picked, is that begging? if you believe that is begging, then I will agree that I am begging, but otherwise I am asking politely.

[photo]

You should ask your neighbors for their empty cartons so you can suck out all the liquid to save even more money.

[toocheap?]

Originally Posted by photo

You should ask your neighbors for their empty cartons so you can suck out all the liquid to save even more money.

I prefer to teach them how to do it themselves. I'm not greedy.

[suvanni]

Hey I'm new to this but why all the hostility? If you like the idea - use it...if its too much for you then don't. Why the rudeness?

[hulegu3]

I am going to have to say too cheap on this one. If you drink from the carton, then you are just drinking backwash.