'I'm a huge cheapskate, I only drink tea when at work and use rainwater in my toilet'

A woman has shared how she goes to extreme lengths in order to keep her costs low as she turns to frugal measures to save some extra . With the being at an all time high, we're all holding onto our pennies a little tighter but this self-confessed 'cheapskate' said she stocks up on free food, only ever drinks tea at work and collects rainwater to use in her toilet.

But she said these measures have meant she's saved enough to now be mortgage-free. The frugal mum shared her five hacks as she took to to share a day-in-the-life - and has left viewers stunned at the measures she takes.

The mum also revealed she uses the food collection app Olio, which means anyone can pick up free food from an Olio volunteer to save on food waste. The mum shared the contents of her free food package, which included some bread, vegetables and fruit, aa she stocks up on the freebies.

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She said she also manages to make money aside from her job by selling on Vinted, but will refuse to pay for parcel bags to package up her items in, so will use boxes or bags she already has lying arorund her home. The TikToker also revealed how she has bought period pants, so she doesn't have to pay for sanitary products every month either.

"It's one of those sustainable swaps I'd been putting off because it costs money to buy them in the first place," she said. Another cost-saving method she shares is when her toilet is broken and won't flush. To get around it, she uses a bucket of rainwater to get it going again.

"Of course, the cheapskate in me loves this because we're not using paid-for water to flush the toilet, we're using rainwater," she said. Then she explained how she won't ever buy tea or coffee at home and waits until she is at work to have one, as the company pays for it.

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"Now that I'm at work, I'm taking full advantage of the free coffee. I've said before I don't drink tea or coffee or anything other than water when I'm at home, but when I'm at work and it's free, I might as well."

The clip which has racked up 437,000 views was shared on her TikTok account @and viewers have shared their thoughts on the extreme ways of living.

One person wrote: "You work and you have an extra income. Yes olio is for all but someone might genuinely have nothing and that bag of food could have gone to someone less fortunate than yourself!"

While another asked: "This may be too invasive but are you genuinely happy with being frugal or does this come from a place of being poor growing up? if ur legit happy then it's no one's business how u live imo!" To which the woman simply replied: "I’m happy with my life."

Do you have a story to share? Email niamh.kirk@reachplc.com

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