Poor Man's Thread (Post your money-saving tips here)

[Sirius Glass]

I won't get into the politics or legality.....but if you are in London and want photo supplies cheaply....and if you have banknotes in your wallet....Process Supplies will gladly help you...

Photograph aside, most places will be willing to take my cash or credit card and relieve me of my money.

 

[MattKing]

I won't get into the politics or legality.....but if you are in London and want photo supplies cheaply....and if you have banknotes in your wallet....Process Supplies will gladly help you...

Process Supplies is probably selling for cash at a discount equal to the tax, and then calculating and remitting the tax due on the reduced price.
If so, it isn't the tax authorities that they should worry about, it is the credit card processor that they do business with, because at least over here the contracts they insist on make that sort of practice a breach of contract.

 

[cramej]

Process Supplies is probably selling for cash at a discount equal to the tax, and then calculating and remitting the tax due on the reduced price.
If so, it isn't the tax authorities that they should worry about, it is the credit card processor that they do business with, because at least over here the contracts they insist on make that sort of practice a breach of contract.

In the US, credit card transaction surcharges are prohibited but cash discounts are allowed.

 

[MattKing]

In the US, credit card transaction surcharges are prohibited but cash discounts are allowed.

In Canada, there was litigation over the issue that ended up with a settlement.
Retailers are allowed to communicate their preference for cash or lower cost direct debit payment, but it remains a breach of contract to offer a discount for either mode of payment.
And the credit card and payment processing companies do send out "secret shoppers" to check!

 

[Luckless]

Tip #1 ...take up knitting...saves$$

Have you looked at prices of good quality yarn these days? I'm not sure you're saving much compared to photography...

 

[Sirius Glass]

Have you looked at prices of good quality yarn these days? I'm not sure you're saving much compared to photography...

Have you seen what has happened to the price of wool in the UK over the past decades? Twenty-five years ago I could not find a decent wool sports coat in the UK. There was a time when many men wore tweed sport coats in the UK.

 

[removed account4]

Have you looked at prices of good quality yarn these days? I'm not sure you're saving much compared to photography...

you need to get a sheep, make your own yarn and take up knitting. unless you have to trade it in for the newer model.

 

[VinceInMT]

Must be good to be rich, I bet you can afford to fuel with super all the time....

Yes, I use it in my 1959 Volvo because, even though the car run fine on regular, the alcohol in the regular dissolves my fuel lines and the super is alcohol-free.

And, yes, I use an indicator stop. It's a splurge in my otherwise frugal existence. After all, I drive a 1959 Volvo.

 

[removed account4]

Yes, I use it in my 1959 Volvo because, even though the car run fine on regular, the alcohol in the regular dissolves my fuel lines and the super is alcohol-free.

And, yes, I use an indicator stop. It's a splurge in my otherwise frugal existence. After all, I drive a 1959 Volvo.

Being from MT you probably are raking it in from all that dental floss you harvest and sell in town.

 

[BAC1967]

In the US, credit card transaction surcharges are prohibited but cash discounts are allowed.

As of January 27, 2013, these rules have changed. Businesses are now allowed to charge checkout fees to customers who use Visa and MasterCard credit cards (NOT debit cards!), and may continue to surcharge Discover and American Express, who were not involved in the recent settlement.

 

[Luckless]

you need to get a sheep, make your own yarn and take up knitting. unless you have to trade it in for the newer model.

A few sheep can mean self-reproducing/expanding collection of sheep... Assuming you buy the right ones to start with. Having a half dozen rams and nothing else in the collection is probably going to be problematic in a few ways.

Could also subsidize the hobby by renting the collection out as a natural lawn mowing and fertilization service to the neighbours! However I fear my landlord might object to this hobby, given that they said some silly thing about no pets.


But for a more on topic viewpoint: I find my biggest money saving decision has been to just set a budget, and work within it. At least if I manage to actually stay inside said budget. [Oddly enough most of my recent over-budget adventures actually came out of my girlfriend prompting me after spotting some nice deals on cameras she liked the look of... She probably wouldn't be happy if I ever told her which other budget I took the extra cash out of, given how often she 'hints' at the idea of a ring...] I avoid trying to 'stretch' my photo-dollars, and instead focus on buying decent gear and materials suited for what I want to do. And if I don't have the money at the time for all the film and paper I might want to use, then I just don't use it.

If my main goal is to explore photography then I would much rather work with film and chemistry I can rely on to be consistent rather than roll the dice on trying to cut corners on the price of consumables. [This of course is not true if I work on a project where the goal is to explore alternatives or chemistry. For the last while I've been toying with cyanotypes, which so far have been pretty consistent failures. But I'm not overly worried over that, because they have been worked on with a very limited budget overall that hasn't negatively impacted the rest of my photo work. At some point I might eventually cut development costs after experimenting with making my own developers, but that would come out of a project to learn more about the chemistry of development itself, rather than coming out of a goal of reducing costs.]

For me, photography is very much a sideline thing, rather than a dedicated income source. As such I keep the bits of photo related income strictly within the photo budget.

 

[Anon Ymous]

Being from MT you probably are raking it in from all that dental floss you harvest and sell in town.

Haha, good one.

 

[koraks]

The whole purpose of a hobby is to consume copious amounts of time and money, isn't it??

 

[Disconnekt]

Dollar store film clips:
View attachment 229496
Also from the Dollar store - graduated measuring containers and a few other useful bits from the kitchen department.
If you use anything that involves measuring, it helps if you can check them against something known to be accurate.

I was just about to recommend the hanger clips too from the 99cent store/dollar store, got a 4-pack from there a couple months ago.
Another 99cent store/dollar store buy right now that halloween is around the corner is 4-pack/multipack plastic syringe's for liquid developers (e.g. hc-110, rodinal, etc.), which can be found in the halloween isle
Another one is Power Plus brand masking tape, good for bulk loading film.

 

[mpirie]

There was a time when many men wore tweed sport coats in the UK.

Some of us still do!

Mike

 

[firemachine69]

In Canada, there was litigation over the issue that ended up with a settlement.
Retailers are allowed to communicate their preference for cash or lower cost direct debit payment, but it remains a breach of contract to offer a discount for either mode of payment.
And the credit card and payment processing companies do send out "secret shoppers" to check!

Right before you hope on the Coquihalla, check out the Flying J (?) fuel station. The sign reads a cash price, then rolls over to a credit price.

 

[Helios 1984]

Have you seen what has happened to the price of wool in the UK over the past decades? Twenty-five years ago I could not find a decent wool sports coat in the UK. There was a time when many men wore tweed sport coats in the UK.

Beware of fake Harris Tweed from China. Always purchase your Harris Tweed from a seller in the Outer Hebrides. That’s the only way to be sure.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Have you seen what has happened to the price of wool in the UK over the past decades? Twenty-five years ago I could not find a decent wool sports coat in the UK. There was a time when many men wore tweed sport coats in the UK.

Don’t use credit cards, you’ll loose


Beware of fake Harris Tweed from China. Always purchase your Harris Tweed from a seller in the Outer Hebrides. That’s the only way to be sure.

I solved the problem by now wearing sport coats.

 

[GRHazelton]

Right before you hope on the Coquihalla, check out the Flying J (?) fuel station. The sign reads a cash price, then rolls over to a credit price.

The dual price structure is true of many gas stations here in the Atlanta GA area.

 

[Helios 1984]

I solved the problem by now wearing sport coats.

Britain without tweed sport coats, the idea makes me sad. At least, you’re still drinking tea. Thank God.

 

[Cholentpot]

All of you arguing about developer stop-bath and fixer and ignoring the real saving.

Amateurs.

Oh sure you'll save a buck here or there but the real savings is finding film that is way way below the market price. I'm talking .10 a roll or less. You'll need to make some sacrifices but that's the way it is when you go cheap.

So, for 35mm film. Get shortends from a movie production. And if any of you here on the 'pug have contacts for me please share. If you have the contacts you can get more shortends then you know what to do with. Bulk loader and some used canisters and you're almost scot-free. Downsides is living with the REMJET and development. But I've pushed one of those Tetanol kits to 30+ rolls without any major issues. So that's 35mm covered.

120 you say? Get/build/steal/borrow a slitter and search for 70mm film. You'll need to DIY the rolling and source some backing paper but even paying $80 for 100 feet ($160 for two and you get free shipping) of Rollei you're way below the cost pre-rolled roll.

16mm? You can reload from Kodak Microfilm which when developed with Rodinal (Another cheap option) looks real nice. This will work to reload 110 also. Just find and old cassette and crack open.

Instead of saving a few dollar here or there you're now saving potentially hundreds of dollars.

However most here on Apug already are pretty thrifty, I know some shooters who use a lab for everything. Dev and scanning. That is really really expensive. Bulk load, dev and scan and home and you're ahead of the game.

 

[MattKing]

The dual price structure is true of many gas stations here in the Atlanta GA area.

All the ARCO stations I have seen in Washington state do as well.

 

[awty]

Make your own Technorama 612 for a few dollars saving $$$$$, just paint it black add a linhof badge and nobody will be able to tell the difference.

 

[removed account4]

The dual price structure is true of many gas stations here in the Atlanta GA area.

up here in paswonquitte its illegal but in the bay state they do it...

 

[Cholentpot]

Make your own Technorama 612 for a few dollars saving $$$$$, just paint it black add a linhof badge and nobody will be able to tell the difference.
View attachment 229896

How do I do this? I have a 104 Land that is done for. I have no more peel apart film.