I am sure many of us have encountered cheapskates or cheapos in our lives which can be an eye-opener for many of us. For some of us, we are looking for ways to optimize & save our money but for others, it can be in extreme ways that they are labeled as cheapskates. There is no right or wrong on how some of us go to the extreme to save money since we are all having different approaches & situations in life which have shaped us into different people with different views.
I consider myself a person that spends my money carefully while trying to optimize my spending differently. Based on my post on How To Live Frugally Without Looking Cheap, this is exactly how I live my life except for point no 7 because I rarely shop for luxury items or buy something that has second-hand value. In today’s post, I will share the more extreme methods of how to save in a cheapskate way that is applicable to most Malaysians. This is based on some of the experiences that I had with some of my friends or observation of what others have done so far.
1. Tapau Buffet FoodThere are times when you will be invited for a family or friends buffet dinner, and they will usually pay for the meals. Always remember to bring a plastic container or plastic to pack some of the food. All you have to do is, put food on the plate, bring it back to your table & transfer it to the container when nobody sees it. Keep it & smuggle it home at the end of the dinner.
2. Go For Any Business Opening Or Neighbour’s Open HouseThis is the most common way where some people pack free food from any business opening or their neighbor’s open house. If you are not invited, you just have to have thick skin & show up to the event. Congratulate them, eat & tapau.
3. Eat The Cheapest MealThis can be applied for both dinings in & out. For those who are dining in, go for the cheapest vegetables such as cabbage, rice & eggs. Or if you are eating out with friends, you can suggest the cheapest place to eat such as hawker place & pick the cheapest food.
4. Do Not Order Drinks Or Order Ice WaterThis is a common thing that some people do at hawkers. Either they pay 50 cents for a cup of iced water, or they will not order any drinks. Another common way is to bring your own water.
5. Eat With Your Friends & Always Forget To Bring Your WalletWhenever you eat with your friends, you can always tell them to pay first because you “forget” to bring your wallet & never pay back.
6. Be The Last Who Pay & “Forget” To PayIf you are out eating with friends in a kopitiam or restaurant & when the receipt comes, always be the last to pay. Usually, there will be a “leader” that will pay first. You can “forget” to pay until they remind you to pay. Usually, they will be “paiseh” to ask for that small amount of money too.
7. Pay Less Than What You EatContinuation on no 6, even if you plan to pay your friends back, you can always pay the minimum without the tax or pay lesser than the actual amount you eat.
8. Take Free Stuff or CondimentsFast food places usually have “free flow” condiments that you can easily take without them questioning you about it. You can take it for your home cooking as well. The same goes for those who work in the office, they have biscuits, sugar, coffee, Milo & other stuff that are prepared for you. You can also bring that back for your home supply.
9. Free Soap, Tea, Coffee & Others From HotelsIf you are traveling, aside from taking the existing supply home, you can also request extra to bring it home.
10. Meet Friends or Work At Commercial CafeThis applies to places such as McD, Starbucks, Coffee Bean & others where there will not be any waiter or staff who will ask you what to order or ask you to leave if you are not ordering. You can suggest those places to your friends & not order any drinks or food too. If you plan to work from out, those places have good seats, airconds & washrooms where you don’t have to worry about anything else except for internet access.
11. Feast On Sample FoodThere are plenty of food fairs or even Lotus where they will be offering customers sample food during the weekend. This works best, especially in food fairs where you can fill your empty stomach with all those sample food.
12. Eat The LeftoversIf you have extra food that you can’t finish eating, you can always freeze it or keep it in the fridge for your next meals.
13. Portion Your MealsThis applies to those who are small eaters where you can portion a meal of 1 into 2 instead. Or break 2 meals into 3 depending on whether you are a small eater or medium eater.
14. Save Electric At HomeYou can save electricity by using a fan instead of aircond. You can also on the light whenever you need it & off it when you don’t use it to connect to nature.
15. Use All Your Items Until It Is Not UsableThis applies to any furniture, appliances, gadgets, or even clothes. Even if your clothes are torn, you can wear them until it is fully torn. Those other items such as furniture, appliances & gadgets, use them until they can’t fully function anymore before you replace them.
16. Repair While You CanBefore you change any of it, you can also try to repair it first on your own before you source any other place to repair the items. DIY is the key.
17. Ask For A Discount Over AnythingWhatever you buy, you can always try your luck by insisting on a discount. If you can’t get it, insist on a free gift.
18. Exercise In A Park or DIY Your Home GymYou can either connect with nature while working out in a park or you can also DIY your own home gym. If you are too lazy to DIY, you can also do some bodyweight workouts that you can find on YouTube for free.
19. Use Free Trial Pass For Gym AccessThere are some gyms that are offering 1 week up to 1 month trial for their potential members. All you have to do is to go to each gym & repeat the process until they recognize you & ban you from the Free Trial access.
20. Free Community ClassThere are some gyms or parks that are offering the public a free community class which they can have unlimited access to it. All you have to do is to find 5-7 free community classes for the whole week & your workout will be free.
21. Travel FrugallyThere are many ways you can travel frugally. The best way to do it is by copying how those extreme backpackers do it & you can save a lot from it. Hitchhiking may work in other countries but it only works in Malaysia if you are a foreigner from a selected country/region.
22. CarpoolCarpool can definitely help you save money. The best way is to carpool with different individuals over a different period of time to different destinations so it won’t be obvious that you are taking advantage of them.
23. Cut Your Own HairRather than spending on average of RM50 a month for your haircut, you can do it yourself or ask your family to do it for you.
24. Stay At Your Parent’s PlaceSince most of us are living with our parents since we are young, this might be the only rental-free place even if we are adults. You can save at least RM500 or more by just staying with them.
25. Take Unwanted Clothes From FriendsAll you have to do is to ask your friends if they have any unwanted clothes & most probably they are happy to give you their old or unfitting clothes.
26. Watch Free StreamsThere are a lot of illegal streaming sites out there that you can watch for free. Instead of subscribing to Netflix or others, you just have to stream those illegal sites for the latest shows or movies.
Conclusion:
The points above are mostly based on what I have experienced from my surroundings from friends or family. Whether it is right or wrong, it is best for us not to judge this since we are all having different views & morals in life. I am sure many have done 1-2 of them ourselves especially on point 26 before Netflix came to Malaysia. Anyway, as I mentioned earlier, it is based on my experience with my surrounding friends & family. You can use those ideas if you want or it can be a pure entertainment post for your light reading.
OSS!
You can also check out my latest YouTube video on How To Invest Like Warren Buffett:
