Don't Try This At Home: When Frugality Goes Wrongby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 08 Jan 2007 12:06 PM
In an effort to be frugal, sometimes people will unknowingly do things that are illegal or put themselves and their families at risk. Here is my list of some things you should not do while practicing a frugal lifestyle: 1. Compromise baby safety. I see plenty of people who curb shop (pick things up from the curb) or tag sale for car seats, cribs and high chairs. This is a dangerous idea. Chances are pretty good that those items as tossed for a reason. Most thrift stores and charities won't even take them. This is because they have no way of knowing if the car seats, cribs and high chairs meet safety standards. The car seat could be expired (yes they do expire) or it could have been in a crash. 2. Practice bad taste. I wasn't sure if this next one should go under the thievery category or the bad taste. It is a bit of both. I have heard of people driving around the cemetery the night before to collect flowers to use for a wedding the next day! For a more bit of bad taste, when an elderly relative of mine passed, the family was gathered around the living room of her retirement community townhouse. it was the night before the funeral and burial. There was a knock on the door. A neighbor down the street heard there was a passing and wanted to know if there was anything we might not want to keep. He offered to come in and look around. I think he thought he was doing us a favor, but yikes. I almost lost it then. 3. Making your family and friends think your nuts. I recently ran into a friend who has been born frugal. She has a lot of great tips that have really helped me establish my frugal lifestyle. However, sometimes her tips are a bit much for me. Her latest idea: instead of toilet paper, use newspaper! Um no. My family would send me to the funny farm if I suggested that they walk around with newsprint on their butts. Plus, have you ever been familiar with the bathroom habits of a young boy? I can just imagine... Or, do you think I am overreacting and should try this one? What do you think? Would you like to see more "Don't Try This at Home" blogs? Related Articles: How Far Will You Go to Be Frugal? (1) How Far Will You Go to Be Frugal? (2) Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments  Mary Ann Romans (26791) 09 Jan 2007 07:59 AMOh good, Linda, then it isn't just me! Would you like to know more weird things people do? Nola Redd (7081) 09 Jan 2007 10:51 AMI heard a story of a woman who taught her kids to only go #2 when they went out (which they scheduled daily). They also did some kind of weird thing where they would shower at some public place, but I don't remember where. Those were the two that stood out. Another vote for the 'no newsprint, thanks' gang! Mary Ann Romans (26791) 09 Jan 2007 12:26 PMNola, that seems a bit extreme to me. I'm too much of a germaphobe to think of making everyone go out to potty. She might be better using the sawdust toilet!  Valorie Delp (49340) 09 Jan 2007 08:58 PMHmmm. . .there are just a few things that we spare no expense on. Feminine products. . .fabric softener and definitely toilet paper!  Andrea Hermitt (5472) 09 Jan 2007 09:04 PMThat last idea made me feel itchy... and the plumbing problems could be expensive! Mary Ann Romans (26791) 10 Jan 2007 04:15 AMValorie, I'm with you! What is everyone's opinion on toilet paper: cheap vs fluffy? Do you save more with the cheap kind (I find we use more when the sheets are thin)? Mary Ann Romans (26791) 10 Jan 2007 04:16 AMAndrea, I would imagine that the newspaper is disposed elsewhere? Now I have the itchies too! Andrea Hermitt (5472) 10 Jan 2007 01:31 PMewwwww! Mary Ann! Ewwww... when it comes to toilet paper I just go ahead and buy scott towel or the generic version of it... it is neither soft, nor cheap... but it the better value because 1 roll lasts longer than 4 rolls of the soft stuff. misskitty (15) 10 Jan 2007 01:42 PMif anyone using toilet paper that is less soft than cottonelle than i suggest sand paper may be just as good a substitute. otherwise, my family runs around crying "fire in the hole"!!!! Mary Ann Romans (26791) 10 Jan 2007 01:59 PMAndrea, does it really last longer? Wow I will have to try it. Andrea Hermitt (5472) 10 Jan 2007 02:37 PMYes, my mom swore by it and I have tested it against several other brands... 1 roll of scott or scott type lasts longer than 4 of the others. Mary Ann Romans (26791) 10 Jan 2007 04:26 PMMoms just have the best advice. That is great Andrea, thanks for the tip!  Julie Gentry (5915) 11 Jan 2007 03:07 AMI agree, Andrea. Scott (or Marcal) lasts so much longer. And white only. We're on septic, so newspaper would cost a thousand times more than t.p. in the long run. Julie Gentry (5915) 11 Jan 2007 04:34 PMThe dyes in the colored toilet paper can be irritating to ..um, "sensitive" areas :-). (Who'd have thought toilet paper was so interesting?! LOL) Mary Ann Romans (26791) 11 Jan 2007 05:58 PMJulie, Isn't it funny? I'm laughing at myself because of the number of potty type blogs I haved been writing lately! siageah (1845) 14 Jan 2007 05:58 AMScott definitely lasts longer than the soft stuff. DH prefers the soft stuff, I prefer Scott. And since I am the one that figures out the deals with the coupons every week, we usually get Scott, LOL! He'll want the soft stuff and I'll say, "But we still have 2 12 packs of Scott left dear!" and since that lasts sooo long... Heh, he doesn't get the soft stuff very much. And DH, before he was DH once brought me "dead people flowers" from a funeral he attended. Now granted, they were beautiful and I've been known to get flowers from dumpsters from time to time...but DEAD PEOPLE FLOWERS!?!? I freaked! And we have yet to forget it! Mary Ann Romans (26791) 14 Jan 2007 03:41 PMSiageah, you could always get him some of the soft stuff for his birthday. I agree, the dead people flowers are a little creepy. geminicricket (40) 25 Nov 2007 01:12 PMTrue story: My cousins were raised on a farm without indoor plumbing. They had a 2-holer in the cow pasture behind the house. On each wall inside the outhouse was a nail. On each nail was a burlap bag. In each bag were newsprint, Sears catalogs, junk mail, any kind of paper other than toilet paper. They turned out all right. You just don't want the glossy full color paper. This being an outhouse, it had no flush toilets. Donations went directly to a compost pit. Mary Ann Romans (26791) 25 Nov 2007 03:35 PMThat is definitely one way to recycle. Was the glossy paper non-absorbent? Community Tags car seat safety, extremely frugal, newspaper toilet paper, wedding flowers Discuss this article
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When frugality goes wrong, it really goes wrong. There are just some things that are not a good idea to practice, no matter how much you want to save. 
