Expired food and furniture from the dump: 5 stories of thrifty people who have accumulated capital

A penny spares a ruble – this proverb has become the life credo of the heroes of our material. Their economy crosses all boundaries (some characters have sanitary ones as well). They count every cent, are ready to dig through garbage dumps. They deny themselves almost everything and are not afraid of expired food. At the same time, most of the misers are not poor people. Many have managed to accumulate impressive capitals and acquire prestigious real estate.

Nikita Crump

Moved to live in her own car and became a famous travel blogger.

American Nikita Crump, 31, from Florida, got into debt after graduating from college. She had to pay her tuition, rent and utilities bills. Nikita worked two jobs to survive. But out of her $1300 salary, $1200 was spent on the mandatory payments on the bills! That is, there was only a measly hundred left for food, clothes and medicine.

“I was so sorry to give money for rent – because they just went into the void,” said Nikita.

In despair, the girl gave up a small apartment, collected the rustic stuff and arranged a cozy nest in his old car.

Washed Nikita in gyms. Combined pleasant and useful. First trained, and then straight into the shower. Washed laundry in laundries, and for physical needs ran to the toilets of cafes and restaurants that met her on the road.

Yes, the girl did not stay in a place for long. She slept in her own car in the back seat. For the night she looked for quiet bedroom neighborhoods. Nikita was never chased away or robbed.

The American attached a tray to the steering wheel, at which she ate breakfast. Lunches and dinners she often cooked at a friend’s house. Dressing room became the trunk, which enterprising thrifty Nikita divided into four containers: for storing clothes, shoes and other things.

In this way she lived for three years! During this time, Nikita saved $ 25 thousand, paid off her debts and became a famous blogger. Since she began to talk about her road life in social networks, the number of her subscribers has increased to a million.

Now the American woman earns quite well on advertising posts. Nikita even quit her official job and decided to travel on her modest car throughout the states of America.

“As soon as I moved into the car, everything improved. I went from a broken depressed person to an unflappable active optimist,” says Nikita.

Elizabeth Aimee

A millionaire who eats cat food.

The fortune of Elizabeth Aimee from Las Vegas is more than $ 5 million. With such money you can eat lobster and black caviar every day. But for Elizabeth this is an unacceptable and silly luxury. Everything in the 50-year-old rich woman’s budget is clearly laid out.

If Elizabeth suddenly realizes that she has exhausted the monthly limit of $ 1 thousand, she buys cheap cat food for 59 cents a can. While the millionaire has no pets (apparently, also in order to save money).

Elizabeth makes sandwiches and salad out of cat food. She says it tastes as good as canned tuna. One of the woman’s friends became a guest on a talk show, where he admitted that he was horrified to learn about it. After all, by an unfortunate coincidence, he had to taste those very sandwiches.

“She asked me if I wanted to have lunch. I said, ‘Sure.’ Elizabeth made me a tuna sandwich. At least that’s what I thought. So I’m eating it and I’m thinking, ‘This tastes suspicious. What kind of tuna is that? And then I looked at the countertop and noticed empty cat food cans,” the man said.

Pathological economy affected not only food. For example, Elizabeth does not throw away kitchen sponges for months, even if they have already fallen into disrepair.

“Until a sponge falls apart and rots, I don’t see the point in throwing it away!” she exclaims. – exclaims the hostess.

Elizabeth inherited the house from her ex-husband. And the mansion would have fallen into disrepair if not for her ex-husband. He regularly cleans it in return for her services as a trainer and nutrition consultant.

The millionairess hasn’t bought clothes in decades, and drives an ancient car with a 17-year-old license plate. “I know my frugality annoys people. But I don’t really care. After all, for what it’s worth, I’m rich,” says Elisabeth.

Heinz B.

A retired millionaire who eats at the dumpster.

Heinz B., 80, from Darmstadt, Germany, may look homeless. But do not rush to judge by the clothes – in front of you is a millionaire and owner of 10 houses. The man once worked as an engineer, in his old age he was left alone and decided to start saving money. He found food in garbage dumps, clothes – in the same place, he refused to use electricity and used wood chips and other wooden waste to heat his house. He saved the money he saved. But he didn’t hide it under the mattress. Here Heinz showed great ingenuity.

He used his savings to buy a house, rented it out, and continued to live in his old one. He saved again and invested in new real estate.

The habit of saving was deeply ingrained in Heinz’s life. Even with a pension of € 3500, the elderly man spends only € 5 per month. He doesn’t have a cell phone, but he does have a laptop. Heinz often watches webinars and various business lectures.

“I live frugally, that’s how I was brought up. I don’t spend even € 5 a month on food. Sometimes I can buy a little frying oil or something else. But most of the food I find in the garbage. People are wasteful and throw away enough to feed a whole family,” Heinz explains.

Now the German has only € 15 on his account. And that’s because he only recently bought his 10th house for € 700 thousand.

The old man’s neighbors know about his frugality and often hang bags of groceries over the fence. Most of them are expired. When asked who will inherit the impressive inheritance? – the lonely pensioner just shrugs his shoulders.

“Maybe I’ll just gift it to the tenants,” he says.

Rosanna Tren

Life in a luxury home and a daily trek through the dumpsters.

Roseanne Tren calls herself “the queen of frugality” and her large family “insanely frugal Asians.” Together with her eldest daughter, she spends almost every day at the dump looking for useful things that the previous owners have gotten rid of.

However, Rosanna does not forget about safety – in order not to hurt herself, she wears shoe covers with wooden plates on her feet and thick gloves on her hands. Then a special sonic rat repellent goes into the entrance.

“We hate rats, we’ve already had a few nasty cases, so now we scare them away,” Rosanna admits.

The Tren family lives in a big, beautiful house and can well afford to buy nice (and new) things. But saving money has become a fascinating process for them, which they find very fun and rewarding. “Going through the trash is our way of life,” jokes Rosanna.

The woman confesses that the example for such economy was her parents. They, on the contrary, never knew how to count money, spent a lot on food and entertainment and ended up bankrupt. So Roseanne decided that she will not repeat such mistakes.

Her children say that at first they were confused by their mother’s excessive frugality. More than once they became objects of ridicule at school. Classmates would come in with new clothes, backpacks and school supplies, and the Tren children would wear each other’s clothes. Over time, the daughters and sons also got into saving money and began to help their mother sort through junk at the dump. In a month, the family can sometimes save up to $10,000.

“Yes, you may find this distasteful. But in the trash cans of what only good things we did not find: jewelry, furniture, appliances,” – says daughter Roseanne.

Kate Hashimoto

An accountant who lives in one of the world’s most expensive cities but spends $200 a month.

New Yorker Kate Hashimoto has been limiting herself to absolutely everything for years. And looking at her life, it is hard not to be horrified. However, Kate herself is happy with the situation and is not ready to change her principles. On the contrary, the woman proudly states that she has not bought underwear since 1998! To every thing she treats with manic thriftiness.

“I hate spending money and love to save money. For the sake of it, I am ready to eat food from garbage cans,” – honestly says Kate.

The woman has been living in New York for three years, and although it is one of the most expensive metropolitan areas to live in, she has found ways to outsmart everyone. And those methods are really shocking.

For example, Hashimoto does not wash things, but bathes directly in them. So she’s clean and the clothes are clean. But, as you understand, water procedures on a schedule – once a month. Even Kate does not wash her hands at home. Only in public places. All to save water.

Kate walks the upscale neighborhoods of New York every day. But she is not interested not in sights and iconic places, but in garbage cans near luxury homes. Here, according to the woman, you can find expensive delicacies, and even untouched.

There is almost no furniture in Kate’s tiny apartment: the bed was found in a landfill, and the mattress is made of several yoga mats. Glossy magazines serve as a dining table.

Kate keeps a close eye on promotional materials and free gifts at events to replenish the bathroom with various toiletries. There are soaps and shampoos in the room. There’s no paper, though. But there is a water bottle and bar of soap by the toilet.