What interesting things low spending people do, that others know nothing about?
11 evolve2k 19 5/19/2025, 1:51:50 PM
A question on the home page is concerned with a similar question but for wealthy people. I’m interested in things low income and low spending folk do that others engaged in ordinary commerce maybe barely do or better yet never think to do of know anything about.
Keen to hear your stories. Sometimes the best things in life are free.
I drive way across town to go to a wholesale grocery stores to buy produce in bulk. This is what I look forward to on the weekends. I have to pass nearly a dozen supermarkets to get there, but its worth it. I can typically get a 30 pound box of tomatoes for $19. Sometimes I can get 40 pound box of bananas for $20 or less. I can sometimes get a giant 10 pound wheel of Brie from France for $7 or a 40 pound wheel of Asiago for $19. Last week they were selling 12 6-packs of flour tortillas for $1 and 40 pounds of high quality dog food for $29.
I have a tiny yard, but I also have multiple fruit trees. I get several dozens pounds of grapes off one grapevine (pink Iona) and this year expect to get thousands of figs off my large fig tree (florea) and several dozen persimmons. For my persimmon tree I ordered a mini-chocolate persimmon, which is like an Asian Hachiya persimmons that are just a little larger than American persimmons with deep brown fruit, but immediately after I planted it the tree genetically divested a second trunk producing American persimmon leaves and American persimmon fruit. Next year I am also hoping for dozens of pounds of cherries off a Lapins Cherry tree. We also in the past grown cabbage and broccoli, but by far the most productive salad crop is okra.
I bought my second Kia Soul for $17,000 and still drive it 8 years later. I have never had a mechanical failure on it. I am on my third battery and only gone through a flat tire once. I don't need any security package because it is a manual transmission, and of course who wants to steal an old Kia Soul?
Interestingly for me, they often carry a hammock with them and when they find the most beautiful of spots, they tie it up across a couple trees and just hang out. Once they had it slung across two trees at the water’s edge and hung there above a lovely creek. They picked it up second hand, and there no cost to head out in nature with it week after week.
I try to DIY everything. In my head, every piece of hardware, broken furniture, or random screw has a future use. My default mindset is always repair before replacing. And even if I can’t fix something, I’ll go on a mission to find some other way to use it and look for a used replacement. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad trait, but I do know it drives my wife a little nuts at times!
Still, I take pride in being the guy with the only 20-year-old Toyota on the street, rust patches and all.
For me, this mentality has lead to a sort of hoarding, in which everything I own has a potential future use, but little of it has been used, even after years of being in my possession. This is partly due to the fact that the quantity physically obscures many of the items and I forget that I own them. It is also because many of the items have near-zero use-value; I can imagine a use for almost anything; I can only actually use a small fraction of that.
Recently, I have been aggressively throwing away possessions; if I see it and I can't remember using it (or I have replaced it with something I use more frequently), then I throw that thing in the trash ASAP. I don't care how much it's worth; space, time, and labor; every possession has mental load.
Lasts me forever. Presentable for all occasions
- Ride public transportation.
- Everyday sorts of maintenance (Home/auto).
They are not necessarily "interesting" but I (a low spending person) hove done, enjoyed, and gained from these activities.