I'll just have water

[rontaki]

Earlier this year as I arrived at work I picked up some trash to put in the parking lot trash urn.

In the urn was three $100 bills and four $50 bills totaling $500

I reported it to leadership and was told to keep it as it was in the trash.

Later that day a nurse reported $500 stolen from her locker… she was going to Western Union to wire money after work.

I asked her to retrace her steps… out of the car, tossed a Starbucks into the trash and changed for work.

She said three $100 and four $50 stolen…

Anyway, my windfall was not to be as I said I found this cash in the trash… and I was glad nothing was stolen… we are fortunate in not having an employee theft problem.

Your trash ain't nothin but cash . . .

 

[rontaki]

Gotta love California. Don't have the manpower or budget to catch thieves or investigate property crime, but they'll send a SWAT team if you try to use a gas string trimmer or put something recyclable in the trash.

And they're making just about every recyclable have a redemption value, so just tossing into the comingled bin just fattens the corrupt government wallet. I'm a diehard recycler, but this makes me just want to throw out all into the trash. Can't wait to put the current state regime into the trash bin - certainly do not want to recycle it.

 

[2manyrocks]

IMO, when a city, county or state can't even balance its own checkbook, that's a sign that some people need to get fired.

 

[BnRidge]

For us, old nails and lumber used on previous projects got straightened and reused. Years ago I helped tear down an old building, and started straightening nails as we went. The one who bought the building said just throw them away. Oh the trama, so so contrary to what I grew up with. My depression era parents, vs physician's sons turned dairy farmers. We would have recycled everything, nails, lumber, iron, piping. They did not. They wanted the 2x10 rafters and that was it, scrap the rest. Memorable experience.

 

[2manyrocks]

Still remember my Dad trying to fix a roof leak straightening the copper nails to reuse them. The roofing contractor hired by my Mom to replace the whole roof sure didn't bother. Tore that roof off 20 years later and still found a few copper nails.

 

[WinterDeere]

For us, old nails and lumber used on previous projects got straightened and reused. Years ago I helped tear down an old building, and started straightening nails as we went.

Classic “time is money” problem. I remember when I got my first manufacturing job, being admonished for taking the time to bend over and pick up screws or dropped wiring terminals. The wage they were paying me was worth more than the bit of hardware, so I was costing them 2 cents trying so save them 1 cent.

Go back to wrought nails, and then to a lesser degree cut nails, and they may have been worth the time to straighten. Wrought nails were crazy expensive, it’s from where we got the “penny” designation still used today. But modern wire nails are so cheap that you’d be a fool to waste time trying to straighten them under most normal circumstances, you can buy a thousand more for a few dollars.

Likewise with lumber. When it was hand-hewn or pit-sawn 300 years ago, it was worth its weight in gold, you had so many man-hours invested in each timber or plank. But today, there does reach a point where the cost of saving is greater than the cost of replacing.

 

[2manyrocks]

There was a point in US history when they used to burn old houses to get the nails.

 

[Torvy]

I tend to shop around for best prices. Today I needed bearings for a AMCO disk that I am trying to restore. The local dealer had them for $240 each. I just ordered them online for $70 each.

I hate using plastic water bottles. I think it's such a waste of money. I did some figuring a few years ago, and the bottled water was 600x the cost of water out of the faucet. I know it's not always convenient to drink out of the faucet, like when out on a job. Now I buy the case of 40 bottles for about $5.50, so the cost has come down a good bit. But I still drink out of the faucet whenever possible.

I use plastic, but reuse them a lot. I get the powdered Gatorade zero and mix it in reused bottles. 90% of the time its just water, but this time of year, I need the Gatorade. The bottles help me track my intake. I usually have 1 in the fridge all of the time and rotate so I always have a cold bottle.

 

[Torvy]

I really ought to, but it's a big adjustment.

Wife has one. They work for light jobs only. Not nearly enough pressure to replace paper.

 

[Torvy]

I can't believe I forgot the number 1 thing: (puts on flame-proof suit)

• If you want to save money, don't have kids. That is not my main reason for foregoing having children, but it is definitely an advantage.
• Bonus Answer: If you get married, find someone who does not have expensive taste and is not enamored with material possessions.

Lack of replacement population is a huge problem that is about to smack us in the head.