We don't watch a whole lot of TV — and we only have basic cable anyway — so I'm not a regular watcher of Extreme Cheapskates on TLC. The first time I had heard of the show was through a video on MSN.com.
This particular one-minute clip features four extreme cheapskate tactics:
- Cutting open toothpaste tubes to get at the last bit of toothpaste
- Sharpening the blades from disposable razors on the striking surface of a box of matches
- Pulling apart two-ply toilet paper to get two one-ply rolls
- Hanging up paper towels to dry
Life is a giant exercise in opportunity cost
Learning how to do more with less, and how to get by with less, is a great skill to learn. What happens most of the time with doing more with less, though, is that it takes precious time to do more with less.
TLC ends this clip with Roy, the money saver featured in the clip, saying the following:
“Toilet paper is a lot like life in general. The closer you get to the end, the faster it seems to go.”
I'll give him clever points for that statement, but am I the only one who thinks that this statement drips with irony? There is an opportunity cost associated with every activity we do. The time that we spend doing one activity we can't spend doing another. The time we have is irreplaceable, and is consumed at the alarming rate of twenty-four hours each and every day, never to be consumed again.
Or, put another way: You can make more money, but you can't make more time.
To apply this to the activities in the clip, there's a point of diminishing returns for these activities. Cutting a tube of toothpaste open when the tube is almost empty is probably all right. It takes two seconds to cut the tube and another ten to wash the toothpaste off of the scissors. Sharpening a disposable razor on a matchbox is probably fine if you do it right. Keeping it in a glass of mineral oil probably works too. Splitting up a roll of two-ply toilet paper is borderline too much. I mean, it works, but … ?
Reusing paper towels, though, seems way more trouble and time for the potential gain. Roy says that he's saved $2,000 over the past ten years on paper towels alone. Let's take this at face value and call it $200 per year. First off, that's a lot of paper towels anyway. We buy maybe two big packages a year for $40 total. Secondly, what about a package of shop rags? Those would last for years and they're meant to be re-used. (Isn't the purpose of paper towels to throw away the germs?) Or go even cheaper and use old cut-up shirts. Lastly, and most importantly, it looks like a part-time job wringing out and hanging that paperware on that makeshift drying line in the living room. Just the time spent squeezing another three to five uses out of a paper towel means that he's working for about 1.4 cents per hour. (Approximately.)
“Making it do or do without” is fine, but doing so shouldn't fly in the face of common sense, should it?
I think this is really a case of a person who has a potentially unhealthy obsession with doing things he thinks will save money but in reality do not. Toilet paper is a perfect example, a lot of people are going to use twice as much toilet paper when it’s 1-ply so you really save nothing (in fact the woman I assume is his wife in the video confirms that’s what she does).
I think, too, that the hard core people like that are looking for the pride of being able to say that they’re doing time consuming stuff like that instead of being proud of the money that they’re saving. It’s like the doctor who will take measures to say that it was all that they could do.
We’ll occasionally have ‘no power’ days here at the house, where we go with candles only – but even that is a bit inconvenient.
I don’t get why everyone is so eager to criticize these extreme Cheapskates, or even anyone “more extreme” than themselves. So the guy splits his TP to “save money” and the benefit is minimal. So what? He probably also does 20 other things where the benefit is more than minimal. Perhaps it is a hobby or lifestyle or mindset, more than a cost benefit calculation for him. Maybe he cares that it’s better for the environment or something.
Instead of totally ripping the guy apart, maybe you could profile his entire life, and learn from his example and make your own life better, rather than criticize the guy for doing just one thing that YOU think is sooooo extreme. Geez.
My wife and I were having a conversation similar to this the other day regarding utilities. My utility (gas & electric) averages $70 per month. Could it be any lower? Maybe, but is it worth the additional effort. I feel the same way about many of the things you mentioned. I already get 2 months out of my razor. At a $1.24 each, how much effort should I expend to increase the life?
my parents used to reuse paper towels. i hated it and didn’t think it was very sanitary. they would just wipe their wet hands from the roll and just leave it there until next use. I think you’re assessment is correct though. I don’t spend more than $40 on paper towel rolls and the most I would save is $20 a year by reusing. simply not worth the effort.
Why not use dish rags, like normal people? I reserve paper towels for spills that I want to throw away the germs or mess immediately (like puppy accidents — boy did I spend a lot on paper towels while potty training my pup!). I can’t imagine washing, drying and reusing paper towels!
I completely agree with on this one. Most of that stuff takes extra time and that time could be spent saving money. I do agree with using rags instead of towels. We use both and know that the rags are insurance for the environment which is important to us but some things I don’t want to wash out so I use the paper towel! Only you know if something like that is worth your time or not. If it leads to too much time it doesn’t seem worth it to me.
I have heard of this show but have not watched it. I don’t know if this guy is so extreme in every area of his life, but I know several people who will drive all around town to find the lowest gas price and save maybe $1.00 because they find gas two to five cents cheaper. Then, they just turn around and waste money on lottery tickets or something else. I guess the bottom line is, as you say, your time value and what is important to you.
I feel like reusing a paper towel is very unsanitary. I have watched people wash their hands, dry them then use that same paper towel in the cooking process. Which totally grosses me out. You do not see that in a professional kitchen and there is a reason why… It is not sanitary ( the health dept would have a field day with them)! I have actually been snapped at for throwing away used paper towels that I paid for in my own kitchen!!!! I feel if you want to use and reuse towels then use a regular towel. To keep reusing it and spreading around germs is defeating the purpose of a paper towel.
A friend of mine raised pretty rich could not or would not clean his stove and kitchen tops. To come and visit him and have even a cup of tea became a big chore of cleaning against the oil he used liberally as an Italian. His funds ar right in old age and he wouldn’t buy paper towels. I bought them new plus rags. Still he would not do it. One day in a fancy golf club I saw that the bathroom bins were overflowing with high quality paper towels used once by clean hands.
I brought this stubborn old fool a big bag of these and away he went. He started cleaning after every meal!
Unsanitary? Well which was worse? Total neglect and built up grease or a lot of comet and tough paper towels slightly used?!
I wouldn’t have expected that.
But you did a good thing. He wasn’t cleaning anything before, and if he’s using some other kind of cleaner along with the paper towels, it doesn’t seem that unsanitary. It’s probably cleaner than it was before.
Does he re-use the paper towels you gave him, or does he toss them after he cleans with them?
That’s what got me with the article in the post. It seemed like a ton of misplaced work to take care of completely, utterly disposable items.
I know this is an old article, but I would like to say something on the topic still. I was raised by a grandmother and she used kitchen towels vs paper towels and it used to and still grosses me out. She would handle raw meat for example, wipe her hands clean with the towel or rag, then proceed to leave the towel/rag there for later use. She would wipe down the stove top and countertops with that same towel/rags. That is so unsanitary to me and I can remember her complaining to me about handling raw meat, washing my hands and using paper towels to dry them then throw the paper towel away (those aren’t free or cheap ya know) I can still hear her voice in my head today. To me now I do find them to be fairly cheap and well worth the money to be able to dry my hands from the germs and bacteria of raw meat and then throw them away. I can also see the veiwpoint of people wanting to save money (or help the environment) by re-using paper towels.. To me it’s just not worth the time or effort in re-using them and possibly falling ill do to some bacteria I could have easily wiped away with a paper towel and thrown away… Again that’s just my personal view and preference. I can’t even start to explain how crazy it would be for me to separate a 2-ply toilet roll to gain an extra 1-ply roll lol. I can only see me using twice or possible three times the 1-ply roll to get clean and feel comfortable. That is just my opinion though
I hear you! (And thanks for stopping by!)
It may be a generational thing … my grandmother didn’t have a dishwasher, and she would wash the dishes in cold water. I don’t think it ever bothered me but she was a teenager / young adult in the Great Depression and that could explain part of the uber-frugality.
I disagree with you in your echo chamber. To my horror yesterday I saw in the garbage can 8-10 clean rumpled thick quilted Bounty paper towels from my stepdaughter. Yes I use reusable kitchen towels for many kitchen things. I fished the paper towels out and re-used them to clean floors, wipe oil/food from plates before washing. People shed dead skin cells constantly and if you live together you already breathe in their debris. I reuse paper towels for dirty jobs instead of getting a clean one because it is environmentally better, every bit counts. Not because I am trying to save money although that is a good side effect. The majority of Americans are too wasteful.
Thanks for your comment, Christine.
I do appreciate, and practice, frugality. I also am pretty sure that everyone has a list of money-saving activities that they will not do because they’re more trouble than they’re worth. If reusing paper towels is on your “sure, I’ll do that” list … fantastic! (And to be fair, fishing clean or nearly-clean ones out of the trash to use is a bit different than *caring* for them by washing them and hanging them up to dry. I still maintain that’s more trouble than it’s worth.)
Very good article. You might save a few $$, but your time might be worth more than those $$ you “saved” by doing those hacks. Greetings from Indonesia