Silliest things you did to save the smallest amount of baht?

By the time I got here I was rather like #32. Did my penny pinching elsewhere. Had some very good free meals in supermarkets in Chile by testing all the free samples, including wine. But I was never a real "scummy backpacker" and have always felt really guilty haggling for pennies with "poor" people. I will normally have an idea in my head what I am willing to pay for something and only haggle if the opening bid is above that.

Enjoyed reading this thread except for the comments by the morally indignant from up on their high horse.While they may even be right they miss the point and the humor of the sometimes idiotic things people will do in the name of budgeting.Usually those things get ofset 10 fold by some totally unnecessary spending down the line.For instance I bargained like a bandit at the market,more for the fun than saving money,and then payed over 2000B for shipping because I did not want to be burdened.
Have taken the 3hour city tour on public busses but more for the experience and curiosity than saving money.I have been known to use the pool at some nice hotels I did not want to shell out the big money for but allways order drinks and tip well for the privelidge.
It is amusing how one can haggle over a 30baht tuk-tuk fare and then go to the NEP and blow 2000baht.go figure

The poor old budget baby is getting a roasting on here these days!

Those 5 baht bottles tops are annoying though and the straw they give you in the 7 -11 is never big enough.

Like # 37 I enjoyed this post except for the people with no sense of humor who feel the need to admonish and preach. The whole post, I believe, was meant to be light-hearted and taken with a sense of humor, talking about 'silly' things you have done to save money...........as the original title says. Those people on their high horse should be given a little uniform and a booklet of tickets. They could travel around other countries and, instead of enjoying themselves, they could issue citations to people who are politically incorrect, violate environmental issues and people who are morally and behaviorally corupt. Not really like police, more like little hall monitors. Sorry, I just get so sick of those people who feel the need to jump at every chance to correct others.............much like I seem to be correcting them right now.

What a tight bunch we are. During my travels throughout S. E. Asia I haggled over most things, walking around towns with a rucksack looking for the 100 Baht rooms etc. Then would go out in the evening and spend 1000s on beer etc without even keeping count.
No wonder most Thais seem to think we're rich and tight.

But Chancao. Selecting the 5 Baht water bottles with the re-closable lids and re-filling in pharmacies..... 'genius'! Maybe you should travel throughout Thailand giving your tips to some of the poorer people, for a fee of course.

Good call
This is triple sad & gets worse
girlfriend & me decided to go to tesco lotus five miles out of town, she jumped on a motorbike taxi ..." I'd get the next one "
as soon as she left they suddenly became scarce, hour and a half later dripping with sweat & after turning down two because they wanted 20b.
Arrived at the store she was in tears being comforted by the staff, we had a massive row & got a cab home and didn't speak for the rest of the day.

Well she left you first. She was at fault. :)

Anyway, one more: In the days that the same beach bungalow for 2 people was cheaper than that very same beach hut for one, I once pretended to be travelling with someone to save the 20 or so baht difference. (Price for two was cheaper because 2 eat more than one; this again was at the time that beach bungalow operators expected their inmates to eat at their restaurant too). This by the way was after already choosing a reall crappy beach too far away from everything because I desperately wanted to avoid the main beach which I imagined would be touristy. Not to mention that all the pick-up taxi drivers went in that direction, so I imagined those places were paying the commission, so I set off (by foot) in the other direction, ending up on a really boring (but admittedly pretty much deserted) beach. :) This was Ko Tao in 1994, so even the main strip was not touristy by any sort of definition... Just a collection of 80 baht beach huts. :)

buddaddy, I didn't say anything about people who just do things out of curiosity and haggle at a market (if you read my post caerfully you'd know) - I'm just sick of people trying to save money on the expenses of other people, other people end up paying for them!

Everyone haggles, and at a market it is fine, as if you haggle too much and they make a loss, they wouldn't even sell it to you. So, if you thought you bargained a lot and they still sell the stuff, then you know you still have paid too much ;o).

But this whole waterbottle and newspaper things is just weird.

I think you just missed my point, I NEVER said anything about haggling!

I still haggle those wristbands the Akha grannies sell down to 5 baht. Just for the fun of it. :) Back in the days when I was really saving money though I would have never seen the fun in such a frivolous purchase, and besides, those strings tied around your wrists by monks are free, and actually cooler in a 'real-traveller' sort of way. (Ok you're supposed to donate some money for those monk-strings & blessing too, but mostly if you save up 2-3 of those 25-satang coins then nobody sees how much you actually throw in.

Wow, I'm really sorry I came in on this one so late! I've read the story about the elusive 0 baht day and all but this is just plain crazy. Let me know when you have had a 10,000 baht day (only paying 1000 for room). I'd like to hear about it because I don't quite remember mine.