Hard-up Brits are hanging teabags on the washing line so they can use them again to save cash.
A shocking study has found skint people are also cutting their own hair, swiping condiment sachets and eating breakfast cereal for dinner in a cost-cutting drive.
More than one in seven - some 15% - leave teabags out to dry so they can use them more than once, revealed the survey of 2,012 UK adults by vouchercodes.co.uk.
Women are more likely to hang out teabags to dry with 16% confessing to the habit - compared to 14% of fellas. The practice is most rife among over-55s, with almost a fifth of the age group (19%) reusing bags multiple times, while for Brits aged 45 to 54, the figure drops to 18%, and 15% for 35 to 44-year-olds.
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Younger people are the least likely to use old teabags again, with just 7% of Gen Z (18 to 24-year-olds) and only 9% of Brits aged 25 to 34 doing it. Meanwhile almost a third of us have turned to DIY crimping to avoid costly trips to the barber or hairdresser.
And the same number nab complimentary pouches of ketchup, mustard and mayo from eateries, so they can dodge forking out for supermarket bottles. More than a quarter admit eating up random combinations of food to limit buying more groceries or munching on out-of-date produce.
Almost as many sniff their dirty laundry to see if they can wear stale clothes again, while 13% don pants an extra day to escape putting a machine on.
Meanwhile some 24% chow down on cornflakes for their evening meal as a cheaper alternative to a pricey cooked feast and 17% dilute the washing up liquid to make doing the dishes more cost-effective.
The website’s savings expert Anita Naik said: “We’ve all had the hard-hitting realisation when we’re only halfway through the month and our bank funds aren’t looking too healthy.However, our research shows that people are getting more creative with the ways in which they save money around the house.“
It appears a whopping 15% of the population have attempted to save a few pennies by reusing their teabags.“It seems the old trick of squeezing every last bit out of the bag could be making a comeback as Brits look for quirky and creative ways to save cash.”
Residents of Aberdeen are the biggest penny-pinchers with 92% attempting unorthodox methods to cut costs, followed by folk from Sheffield (87%) and Cardiff (85%).Brits aged 25 to 34 are the most stingy with 87% indulging in money-saving fiddles - compared to 69% of over-55s.
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