Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Illysook]

I'm thinking about things that don't save very much money, but are perhaps tacky, or at least make you feel like you are beating the system.

So, I usually make my own coffee. That's pretty ordinary, but when I buy my favorite iced coffee somewhere else and find that I've carried the cup home, I reuse the cup the next time that I take coffee with me as I head out the door. Then, I can throw it away somewhere and don't have to figure out whether my building considers those cups recyclables or not. I try not to have trash that isn't recyclable, not because I love my world, but because I'm friggin' cheap!

[chellovek]

I'm guessing a cheaper thing would be to not drink coffee at all. Pilfer those Maksim coffee sachets they have at work.

[Fox]

[Janny]

I am not cheap. I buy whatever I want. Luckily, I am not a big shopper and only buy 'things' (bags, clothes, housewares) I need. This ensures I have enough money to buy the import foods I like.

I can't think of anything cheap I do, other than NOT shop for crap I don't need. Is that cheap? I guess you could look at it that way. I boil water sometimes and add it to my bottled water / juice...

chellovek...love the avatar. I like it best when you slow it down.

[Illysook]

I brought my cat to Korea and she must have her spoonfuls of canned food when I come and go, but it costs 3000 won per can...so if I'm cheap about some things, I figure it evens out...still, it struck me as silly when I was avoiding the purchase of a small trash bag! This thread is about those silly things we do to save a few cents here and there.

[nukeday]

sometimes i'll get off the bus to run an errand or get my haircut or something and then haul ass back to the stop to make sure i get my free transfer.

oh yeah,and i havent paid for a single piece of media other than books for the past five years.

[Underwaterbob]

Relatively, my autobaikeu (motorcycle).

Initial investment: 300'000won + minimal registration fee (10'000won? I forget)
Minimum Insurance: 140'000won/year
Oil Changes: 10'000won/year
One repair in two years: 40'000won

It looks like it belongs in a junkyard and runs kind of funky, but shows no signs of quitting anytime soon and feels perfectly safe, as far as motorcycles go. I'd like to see someone try and own and operate a motor vehicle for the same amount of money in Canada.

[AsiaESLbound]

Climb a big hill after work most days with an IPOD charged on my schools electricity and a bottle of water filled from their purifier. Why buy electric and water if you can use someone elses? LOL. Download a movie instead of going to a movie theater where 20% of the movie is covered up with subtitles. Surely people blow all that money, because the knock your socks off sweet buttery popcorn is so alluring. Walk to get there faster than a taxi due to gridlocked city center traffic. Why take a taxi a fairly short distance? Surely people blow money and time on that just to look important or their leg got broke by a hard hat mac motorcyclist on a sidewalk or to simply avoid cigarette smokers operating their diesel engines. LOL

[Sector7G]

I thought being "frugal" just meant being prudent with your money, not being wasteful, while being "cheap" suggests something a lot more tacky, to use Illysook's term.

I don't really see many good examples of being cheap here so far, with the exception of AsiaESLbound's post.

[chellovek]

[Sector7G]

[chellovek]

[djsmnc]

Instead of going to prossies, I flatter ugly girls to have my way

[Illysook]

I like the idea of hauling ass to the bus stop to avoid paying for a transfer.

I did the free water from work thing quite blatantly at the hagwon last year, but this year I'm at a public school so I'll use a smaller bottle on the down-low, which doesn't preclude buying water. Typically, I use bottle for drinking and then tap water for cooking.

I wouldn't pilfer instant coffee because I don't like it, but I appreciate the sentiment.

Again, this is about foolish things that you do to save money...it's not that you don't save, but maybe it's only enough to buy a can of cat food or a cup of coffee once a week and doesn't make a real dent in one's budget.

[chellovek]