The most popular post I’ve ever written was a self deprecating entry where I was so absurdly cheap that I literally spent close to an hour shaving, consolidating and melting candle wax from the edges of an old burnt candle to use that wax in a new candle.
Not only was I cheap, but also dumb inefficient after my readers informed me that I could have used a candle warmer to melt all the wax and just pour it into my new candle in seconds.
Since everyone seemed to enjoy that post so much, I wanted to do a follow-up on something else I frequently do that could definitely be considered “cheap”, but in my opinion one of the most thrifty, delicious things I’ve ever done in my life.
All you have to do is open up the top, pour some white milk into the chocolate syrup bottle, close the top, shake, and enjoy the most chocolaty, scrumdillyumptious milk you’ve ever had in your life. You don’t even need to get a glass dirty; you just drink it right out of the chocolate syrup bottle! Could life get any better?
It can if you’re drinking this delicious treat and your roommate’s new girlfriend shows up at your front door. It’s the perfect opportunity to make a great first impression! (see video for details)
I actually spoke to Lindsey (the girl from the video) tonight and reminded her of our clandestine meeting, and we still laugh about it. I hope you find it as hilarious as we do. Oh, and I don’t really know what clandestine means, so I’m not sure it applies here? Please help in the comments.
The lesson to be learned here is that when you buy a 24 oz bottle of chocolate syrup, you better make sure you get all 24 ounces of chocolate syrup!
So here is today’s Thousandaire Question: What thrifty tricks do you have to share that can save people money?
P.S. Don’t forget to check out the bonus footage at the end of the vlog. There’s a lot of outtake goodness considering it was just a 10 second reenactment.
Picture courtesy of Sammlung J.P. Adlbrecht
Kevin McKee is an entrepreneur, IT guru, and personal finance leader. In addition to his writing, Kevin is the head of IT at Buildingstars, Co-Founder of Padmission, and organizer of Laravel STL. He is also the creator of www.contributetoopensource.com. When he’s not working, Kevin enjoys podcasting about movies and spending time with his wife and four children.
Wait, there are people who don’t do that?
Ha, at least none of my friends go to the trouble of doing this. Maybe I should find new friends.
I do the same to get ANYTHING vaguely liquid out of a container! Except usually it’s water not milk (think dressings, pasta sauce etc).
Good call. I haven’t done this with many other things. I bet it would work with non-food items too like shampoo and stuff.
1, the video is awesome/hilarious
2. I write about stupid things I do to save money ALL THE TIME! Glad I’m not alone 🙂
Yes! I was hoping someone would like my video! For the 10 minutes we were making it, I had a lot of fun. Tag on the other hand…
I try not to wash my hand with soap after taking a dump. That way I save money on soap and water. Does my cheapness turn you on Kevin?
When it’s good it’s good.
I also use a special spoon to scrape out melted chocolate or yoghurt from a tub.
In fact, anything i can cut open and use the product of, I do.
Nice post! I store all my bottles (syrup, mustard, sauce, etc.) upside down, so that the very last bits come out easily.