14 Ways to Save Money by Mooching Off Your In-Laws
“Who’s cell phone is plugged in over here? Â What’s going on, Rebekah? Â Are you charging your phone here so you don’t have to use your electricity at home?”
I was having supper at my in-law’s house and I needed to charge my phone while I was there. Â I was heading out for the evening straight from their house and I wanted to be sure my cell phone wouldn’t die on me.
My in-laws love to tease me and didn’t miss the opportunity to make fun of me for mooching off of them so I could save money on my own electric bill. Â Their joke got me thinking though. Â There are tons of ways to save money by mooching off your in-laws!
14 Ways to Save Money by Mooching Off Your In-Laws
1. Always charge your phone, laptop, other devices while at their house.
2. Make sure to use the bathroom before you go home to save on water and toilet paper expenses. Â Bonus points are earned if you go #2 (since that usually takes more toilet paper).
3. Stop by over meal times whenever possible.  Family doesn’t let family go hungry, so they are likely to offer to feed you.  You’ll save on your grocery budget and get out of cooking!
4. Never say no to taking home leftovers. Â In fact, bring your own containers so you can passive aggressively ask for leftovers.
5. Put way more food on your plate (or your kids’ plates) than you can actually eat. Â Then you have an excuse to take the food with you so you don’t “waste it.”
6. If you are given a menu choice (like perhaps for your birthday or another special occasion), always pick something expensive that you are too cheap to ever make at home.
7. Sneak extra tissues into your pockets when no one is looking. Â When you get home, carefully fold them and place them next to your own tissue box. Â You can also do this with toilet paper.
8. If you ever swap vehicles with your in-laws (perhaps so you don’t have to move carseats) make sure that your own car’s gas tank is almost empty so they have to fill the tank for you. Â Plus be sure to do a ton of errands while you have their car so you can use up their gas.
9. Visit your in-laws on the coldest and hottest days of the year so you can save money on heating and cooling in your house while you are away.
10. Pretend your kids asked for a snack. Â Say, “What’s that Timmy? Â You are hungry? Â Let’s ask Grandma for a snack.” Â Then eat half of it yourself or sneak it into the diaper bag for later.
11. Pretend that your washer and dryer are busted so you have to use theirs. Â Forget to bring laundry detergent with you so you have to use their detergent. Â You get bonus points for guilting them into letting you drop it off so they will do it for you.
12. Anytime they get a new movie from Netflix, go on and on about how much you’ve been wanting to see that movie so they end up letting you borrow it. Â You’ll get the perks of having Netflix without actually paying for it!
13. Never buy any special appliances, kitchen gadgets, or tools. Â Instead save your money and borrow them from your in-laws as you need them.
14. Don’t pay for a babysitter. Â Grandparents were invented so parents could have free babysitters!
If you follow all of these tips, you will save hundreds (possibly thousands!) of dollars each year! Â Of course you’ll also be at risk for damaging your relationship with your in-laws, but you will have to weigh the pros and cons of that.
Note: This post is obviously meant to be a joke. Â My in-laws truly did tease me about charging my cellphone, but that is the only truth to this post. Â Don’t be a cheap jerk. Â Unless your in-laws really will do your laundry for you. *wink*
Did I miss any ways that you can save money by mooching off of our in-laws? Â Which of these ideas have you already tried?
If you live far away, call them when you want to chat (or feel obligated to), then fake a problem with your kid or something, and ask them to call you back in five minutes. Then they’re the ones paying for the long distance for the longer chat.
Good one, Jenny!
Very funny – you had me laughing the whole time I read it. Glad we could inspire you. Good job!! 🙂
I love that you laughed at this. I love even more that you end up treating us to lunch today! I successfully mooched today without even trying! Haha!
Just last week my husband said we could invite his parents along on vacation because they would buy whatever the kids want. Our kuds wiuld get all the extras without breaking our bank account. It sounded like something to consider until we realized we’d have to spend our vacation with his parents!!!
Haha! Grandparents certainly are great at spoiling kids.
I hope I don’t sound like I can’t take a joke, but this post seems rather hurtful. . . I love both my parents and in-laws and would never expect them to fill up my gas tank for me. If they offer, that’s great, but I wouldn’t purposefully leave the car low for them.
Just saw the disclaimer! :p
Mandy, I hope you are able to see the humor in my post. It truly isn’t meant to be hurtful. My own mother-in-law thought it was hilarious (and I did ask her if the post was okay before I wrote it).
I think taking them on vacation with the kids is a fabulous idea… Not only will they help keep your pocketbook heavy but there’s free babysitting available so you and hubby can enjoy a night out alone!! 😉
Nicole, babysitting on vacation is heavenly! We’ve done it a couple of times on big family vacations and it is just the best!
Don’t forget seniors get that golden age passport …which means free entry into any national parks for everyone in the car….did you say family roadtrip?…load up gram & gramps & hit the road!
What?!?! I didn’t know this!!
Nice one! 🙂
The sad thing is, though, my in-laws would read this list and think it’s all perfectly reasonable.
You better keep a close eye on your toilet paper stash. 😉
This is fantastic! I have found I can use my in-laws as slave labor. There are roughly a billion of them (my hubby has 12 brothers and sisters). I figure if I play my cards right I could get them to build a whole house.
I LOVE this! Here’s what I do: live with my in-laws! We have hardly any expenses AND built-in babysitters. Of course it is a trade-off because it means we have to LIVE with my in-laws but we’ve been able to pay for my husband’s grad school without taking out any loans so it’s worth it.
Erin, that sounds amazing! School loans are no joke. I hate them. I HATE THEM! Congrats to you for being able to pay for graduate school with cash. That rocks.
Just move in with them. They love the grandkids after all!
(This is the Grandma/mother in law) speaking from experience!
Good one, Colleen!!!
Run out with them to the grocery store…and conveniently forget your purse/wallet. Pick up milk, bread, steak etc….
😉
LOL!! Milk, bread, STEAK!!! Hahaha!!!
Love this!! So funny! I’m am fortunately blessed with pretty amazing in laws. A few weeks ago my MIL went with me as I ran to Sams Club to buy diapers. My debit card would not work, and MIL saved my day and wouldn’t let me pay her back! So grateful!!
This is too funny! My husband and I lived with my parents for about 2 weeks after we were married, as well as for about a month before and after the birth of our daughter, and we would all joke about how extremely “cheap” he is. Joking or not, though, he could probably cross at least half of these things off his “To-Do” list.
One of mine is homeless and the other is unemployed. I do have a lot of brothers and sisters I can do at least half these to. I actually don’t cook much anymore, just exchange babysitting time for completely feeding my entire family for the day
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