Where Cheapskates Put Their Money

By JANE NEPOMUCENO

September 6, 2010, 7:43pm

When you’re out doing your monthly grocery shopping, do you always think about what you may gain or lose when buying a certain product? Do you often veer away from grocery alleys with novelty items that you believe you don’t need at home?

At home, do you find it a waste to throw away toothpaste bottles without squeezing out all of its contents? And do you not throw away Q-tips without using both ends?

If you answered yes to all the questions above, you’re probably a self-confessed cheapskate or have been called one a few times.

You are a cheapskate if you rarely spend even if you have the resources to do so. You have the money but you simply refuse to spend them.

These people usually spend most of their money on promo items and products with free items and most times, would only spend money on things that they believe will save them some more.

It’s no wonder that marketers have buyers on items like toothpaste squeezies and soap savers.

As reported by the Associated Press, the most effective way to get penny pinchers to spend is to pitch products that promise to save them money.

So it wouldn’t come as a surprise that demand for kitchen and bath gadgets that squeeze out that last blob of toothpaste and help get the suds out of tiny slivers of soap is rising.

Consumers buy these items believing that they can save more money by reducing waste on the products that they use on a regular basis.

Big companies like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and The Container Store and a longtime "As Seen on TV" pitchman are stocking up on items claiming to help people save a buck.

These items include caps that keep the fizz in opened soda cans; digital day counters that count the days and hours food has been in the refrigerator and new, stylish versions of pants extenders that let people wear their clothes even when they gain or lose weight.

However, there is an open question whether the truly frugal are too cheap to buy the gadgets that can cost up to $20. Who needs a soap saver when an old washcloth or a pair of pantyhose will do?

According to Lynnae McCoy, who runs the blog beingfrugal.net, "Surely, people who lived through the Great Depression found ways to use up all their soap without needing a soap saver."

"Are these products convenient? Some of them, yes. But are they necessary? No. And in some cases, they're probably a complete waste of money." (With a report from AP)

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