Extreme Money Saving

I read an article yesterday on Yahoo about extreme money saving ideas.  Things that were beyond anything I would ever do to save money.  For example, one woman who loved to make arts and crafts using fake flowers would dumpster dive at the local cemetery after funerals for craft supplies.  Ummmmm....that is super weird.  Another person said that they saved condiment packages (and even had close family members save them also) and filled up their ketchup, mustard and mayo bottles at home with the packages.  I see two problems with this plan.  One, they must be going out to eat in order to get these condiment packages which is not inexpensive.  And two, who really spends that much on ketchup, mustard and mayo?  I think I buy those like once every six months or so.

While none of the ideas were things I would ever do, it did get me thinking about extreme ideas for saving money.  I can't honestly say I have ever done anything extreme.  I have washed out Ziploc bags before to reuse, but not necessarily because I wanted to save money, more because I didn't see throwing it away when it was still good.  We eat leftovers instead of throwing them out, we make our own pizzas most of the time instead of ordering out (I like ours better anyway because I can put fresher ingredients on mine), and we don't go out to eat very often, but none of that is extreme. 

So, I would like to know, have you done anything that could be considered extreme when it comes to saving money?  Anything that you might be slightly embarrassed to tell someone?  I want to know. 

As for mine, the most extreme thing I can think of is the fact that Jason and I buy plants that are almost dead to save money.  At Lowe's or Home Depot or even nurseries around town, you can usually find plants that have stopped blooming and are almost all the way dead for a MAJOR discount.  We buy those plants, bring them home and rehab them and then plant them in our yard and they look great.  We got a great tree one time for $25 and it is now doing great in our front yard.  Our azaleas were $1 each and look great.  We also get cuttings of plants from friends and family to grow in our yard.  Yes, we still spend money on landscaping, but not as much as we would if we bought everything new and healthy!!!

Let's hear your extreme ideas!