It was my friend Biden who told me to watch the reality show Extreme Cheapskates which made my husband, son, and I all cringe as we watched all seven episodes.
When I was young my dad told me a rich cheapskate is as good as someone who’s broke. He taught me not to hold on to money so tightly because giving it away or spending it actually makes it go back to you in a good karmic way.
Of course you’re not supposed to spend more than you can afford.
My friend, fashion designer Mich Dulce has the best cheapskate stories, a lot of which has to do with her travels abroad.
Mich is deathly afraid of overweight luggage, so every time she checks in and is 10-15 kilos overweight, she pretends to speak no English and adapts a Japanese accent.
The frustrated passenger service agent will usually let her go without paying due to loss in translation.
Mich got away with it a couple of times. But a third time, the airline employee finally called in a Japanese translator, so Mich panicked and had to pay.
One time, Mich and her assistant Kitty traveled to Bali with her fashion collection. Upon checking in for their return flight to Manila, Mich was told they were 10-15 kilos overweight. Her solution: Mich and Kitty wore the entire collection in layers—including platform shoes. “As in, ang init!” Mich said.
As someone who can’t hold on to money, I have to say I learned a few lessons from watching Extreme Cheapskates.
Last week I was really thirsty at the Podium mall, and instead of automatically buying bottled water, I entered Starbucks to see if I could get a free sip of water. Unfortunately I did not see any cups next to the pitcher. So I ended up ordering a crepe at Café Breton to get a free glass of ice water.
This year I want to cut down on my spending. I am not allowed to buy any makeup, shampoo and conditioner due to all the press freebies I have amassed these last couple of years (I should take a picture!).
I should probably try to squeeze more toothpaste out of a tube, like Roy below:
Jeroen wishes he could unsee the video of this woman who doesn’t use toilet paper
And I really got sick to my stomach watching this man cook goat’s head for his wife.
While some of the cheapskate practices featured in the show are really disgusting (such as eating food from the dumpster bins), some of the things they do are actually good for the environment.
To know more about Extreme Cheapskates, click HERE.
they were kind of cute.
Joel Cruz
Twitter: briandelro
Reply:
January 13th, 2013 at 11:20 PM
Yes I also remember those 70s “bidets” hehe. That style is also popular in Japan I think, where they have those high-tech toilets that wash your bottom haha!
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