What Stupid Things Have You Done to Save a Few Bucks?
This weekend, one of the many projects we tackled around the house was to make use of a wall in our kitchen by painting a section with chalkboard paint. The kids would love it, it would give them something fun to do while I cook, and it would make good use of the big old blank wall.
Hubby went to Home Depot and bought some chalkboard paint and came home to get started. He taped the area he wanted to paint - low enough so the kids could draw and reaching high enough for a space that only he and I can reach to write down things for the household. Then he got painting. It took 3 coats, so the project went from Friday afternoon until completion Saturday morning.
After it was dry, the tape was ready to come of so we’d have a perfect beautiful chalkboard square on our wall. I started peeling, and you wouldn’t believe it, but not just the wall paint started to come off, but the drywall started to peel. Oh it was ugly and disastrous. I instantly turned to hubby and asked “is this painter’s tape?” He tried to tell me it was, but I knew before I even asked that it was not. Painter’s tape does not rip apart walls.
I would excuse the mistake, maybe…MAYBE if he had just not wanted to drive all the way across town to Home Depot for a $2 roll of tape. But you’ll recall I mentioned he was already there getting the paint. And chose not to spend 2 more dollars to get the correct tape.
He wanted to save $2 and instead ended up having to put up wood trim around the chalkboard to cover the drywall disaster. The trim cost almost $20. It looks really nice now and it worked out okay in the end. I may have actually requested trim anyway, but the fact that he wanted to save a couple dollars and then was forced to spend 10 times that to fix it is still amusing to me. There is frugal and then there is just dumb.
So…I am sure you all can join in my stupid frugality fest and share some stories about you or people you know making dumb decisions to save a few bucks that end up costing much more in the end. So, let’s hear it! Share your stupid frugal stories with me.
I need a picture now - I too heart chalkboards in the kitchen!
Denises last blog post..going going gone
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I did laugh at your story, that is something my husband would do too! But I have confess to my most stupid thing…instead of buying a new kitchen I thought that re-painting the cupboard doors would do the trick. It was something I’d done at an old apartment of mine and it work beautifully but those cabinets were wood and the ones in my new kitchen are melamine. They looked fabulous for the first day, then Lily and the dog have slowly trashed them I didn’t put on the right primer (because I had something in the cupboard that I thought would work). The kitchen now looks much worse than when I started and my husband is very smug because he told me not to do it - oops!
Liz@VioletPosys last blog post..Monday Link Love
LOL, that’s funny! Glad it worked out in the end though, sounds like a fun wall! I am contemplating some chalkboard paint in my kitchen, too…
I am sure I have done stupid things trying to save a buck, too…just can’t think of anything right now, darn! If I do, I will come back and post
Bella
Bella Casas last blog post..HomeGoods Grand Opening And Other Shopping Adventures
Coffee from the dollar store. That’s all I’ll say about that.
Writer Dads last blog post..The Ninth Wonder?
Funny.
Well, it’s funny now.
I can’t think of any frugality-related mistake right now, but I am an avid declutterer and had my share of occasions where I threw out or gave away something, only to realize that I still needed it. Then I have to go and buy a new item. Stupid, AND costly.
Vered - MomGrinds last blog post..Almost-Wordless Wednesday: Correct Your Nose Without Operation!
LOL! See, my husband is the type that will use eight screws where one will do, so that’s not happened coming from him.
Me, on the other hand… well, this kind of thing happens a lot!
BeThisWays last blog post..Captain Obvious Reports: Sixteen-year-olds Maybe Shouldn’t be Licensed
what a nice idea that is though! i like it. a chalkboard right there in your kitchen. I had no idea that one painted chalkboards on
though I can’t imagine how I thought they got anywhere. yes. I have done many dumb things to save money. i think a classic is to try and use one thing as if it were some other, i.e. a canvas bag as a piece of check-in luggage or some such. or buying a really cheap thing and then having to go buy the expensive one because the cheap thing fell apart right away. i’ve done that with shoes and coats.
neimanmarxists last blog post..Tips For Sleeping
it was the universe’s way of getting you to add the trim earlier.
and buying the cheap thing is definitely a huge mistake!
deepalis last blog post..the downward slide
We call these things happy accidents. Although in this case I guess it would be a happy stupidity? Glad all is well and of course, we need the photos to prove it!
Funny story!
Melissa
melissa @ the inspired rooms last blog post..Decorating Your Bedroom: Fresh Inspiration
LOL! Funny story (since it turned out o.k.)! I’m sure it’s happend to me, I just can’t think of any right this minute.
Manuela
the pleasures of homemakings last blog post..White Pumpkin Makeover
heheh, that’s at least a small stupid thing! I once kept $1000 worth of insurance money from a car accident, only to later have to pay over $2,500 for repairs because I had neglected it… that was awful! While I’m here, if anyone is looking for a good online HYSA with 3.5% interest, here’s one from the bank I work with, ShoreBank: http://shorebankdirect.sbk.com/ ShoreBank gives great rates and service, and also has a long history of supporting community and environmental projects.
We flipped a house fairly recently — There were a LOT of stupid things we did just to save money. We also did stupid things to not have to walk into the other room to get the correct tool! I had a a great tip on my blog about Chalkboard Chalk Tips that I thought you might like to see.
Have a great day!
Kristin
Kristins last blog post..Are you OK?
There is frugal and then there is dumb.
HAHAHAHAHHAHAH That should be a tagline for your blog.
Darla - UltraBeautyBoutiques last blog post..Potty breaks.
[...] wrote last week about the stupid thing hubby did while putting up a do it yourself chalkboard on our kitchen wall. A few of you requested then to [...]