How thrifty/kiam siap can a person get?

[jedamum]

autumnbronze:

But that said, they are v v generous (not to the extent of spoiling though) to their own kids .... its only towards themselves that they are thrifty. I think its because they came from a humble backgrd and that humility never left them even aft they \"upgraded\" in life.

:celebrate: i think quite a lot of older generations grandparents belong to this category.
my mum will walk that extra distance to a further supermarket for that cheaper groceries (even by a few cents), but will not say no to her grandkid's request for macdonalds breakfast.

[jedamum]

wait...pertaining to title of thread...'thrifty' and 'kiam siap' are different leh.... :?

[auntieM]

jedamum:

wait...pertaining to title of thread...'thrifty' and 'kiam siap' are different leh.... :?

Do you think it is better to 'thrifty'?

[MMM]

autumnbronze:

[* They switch off hot water flask b4 going to bed.

That reminds me of turning off the rice cooker once the rice is cooked.... In my mum's house, she don't do that.

[MMM]

autumnbronze:

And like MMM's ILs, they are V self-sufficient financially. And that is also how they also managed to send 2 kids for overseas education w/o taking a huge huge loan.


They also managed to move from a 4 room HDB flat to a house. In fact, it is thanks to my MIL. She worked REALLY hard giving tuition, to the extent of walking and not taking the bus if she could, to save that few cents.

Actually it's true. In my pils' case, only my fil is working and they have 5 kids to support. I think my mil helped by being a part time nanny. I think that is the key reason why they are so thrifty. Despite that fil is normal technical level staff, he is keen on investment is able to attain a sizeable savings. Heard from hubby that he was poor in studies when he was young and fil also saved up for his overseas education but he “miraculously” made it to local uni so fil managed to save that.

[tree nymph]

auntieM:

jedamum:

wait...pertaining to title of thread...'thrifty' and 'kiam siap' are different leh.... :?

Do you think it is better to 'thrifty'?

yes, thrifty is good, but kiam siap is not.

i know of someone - birthday presents for their own kids - lego sets etc. birthday presents for their parents - gifts from the stuff they buy, say for eg, the gifts from say Chanel cosmetics - they use it as birthday gifts for their parents. birthday presents for their own nephews and niece - $1.99 store or $2 stuff from Diaso... even though they were treated to good restaurant for lunch/dinner. i think this is kiam siap...

[mintcc]

Mum n mil both very trifty.

- collect coupons and buy different things from different Supermarkets or market to save money
- rice water use to water plants
- plant own herbs and spices for cooking
- walk rather than take bus for short distance. almost never take taxi
- water from rinsing cloths used for flushing toilet…
- diy pumbling stuff
- sew and resew clothe that are old so that they can last a long long time
- diy curtains, kids cloths, pillows to save $$
- network to source for cheap sources of everything
- recycle : scrubs for dishes gets down grade to for the floor after prolong usage. Old papers and cloths and curtains are sold to karong guni for a few cents.

[MMM]

Not forgetting… my fill go to NTUC every tuesday to shop so that he get more discount for senior citizens.

[jedamum]

tree nymph:

yes, thrifty is good, but kiam siap is not.

i know of someone - birthday presents for their own kids - lego sets etc. birthday presents for their parents - gifts from the stuff they buy, say for eg, the gifts from say Chanel cosmetics - they use it as birthday gifts for their parents. birthday presents for their own nephews and niece - $1.99 store or $2 stuff from Diaso... even though they were treated to good restaurant for lunch/dinner. i think this is kiam siap...

i agree.
also got people can afford car, afford expensive toys for kids, but cannot afford give parents allowance or give only when being reminded- that is kiam siap.
those who scrimp and save on themselves, but share whatever they have with their loved ones - that is thrift.

[foreverj]

mintcc:

- rice water use to water plants
- plant own herbs and spices for cooking

i tot the rice water is more nutritious for the plants than water and planting own herbs and spices for cooking is so 'ang mo chef\" - u know, just the kind of thing jamie oliver would do?

- water from rinsing cloths used for flushing toilet...

this is really environmental

- sew and resew clothe that are old so that they can last a long long time

hmmm, this is a good chance for the children to bring them go shopping for new clothes!

- network to source for cheap sources of everything
this makes good financial sense and if they have a lot of time on their hands, say after retirement, its actually good for them to pass time.

- recycle : scrubs for dishes gets down grade to for the floor after prolong usage. Old papers and cloths and curtains are sold to karong guni for a few cents.

hehe, most of the things u said, my ah-ma was guilty of. but proud of her for setting a good example that it pays to be careful with money. she took care of the entire household, raised seven kids and saved up quite a enough to be able to leave something behind for all her kids and grandchildren!