The crazy lengths people will go to in order to save money, chronicled in Extreme Cheapskates

MEET the world’s biggest cheapskates - urinating in a jar, saving other people’s unfinished drinks, using a friend’s breast milk instead of baby formula...

WHAT would you do to save a few bucks? Maybe you’d take your own lunch to work instead of buying it, or walk places rather than drive.

What about peeing in a bottle to avoid flushing the toilet, therefore saving a few cents? That’s just one of the crazy measures taken by a next-level penny pincher.

Extreme Cheapskates is an eye-opening reality show from the United States that airs on Foxtel and chronicles the lives of people who are obsessed about saving money.

Here are just a few of the more bizarre examples.

PEEING IN A BOTTLE

Victoria Hunt is very conscious of her water usage, but not because she’s an environment-loving conservation. She’s all about saving a few bucks.

That’s not apple juice ... rather than flush her toilet, Victoria urinates into a container and empties it in the garden once or twice a week. Picture: Supplied

For a grand saving of $10 per month on her water bill, Hunt pees in a bottle. Yep. Instead of flushing her number ones, she stores them in a container next to her loo.

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Then, once or twice a week, she empties the waste into her compost heap.

In a further effort to save cash, she only showers at the gym where she works out most days.

MAKING A SHOWER SCHEDULE

While we’re on the topic of water, the Leibee family has a regimented system to ensure they’re not wasting money.

Time starts now ... Angela and her two daughters each shower only two days per week for 10 minutes max. Picture: Supplied

Angela and her two teenage daughters have a roster for showering, which gives each of them two days per week — and 10 minutes max — to bathe.

“There are two days they’re allowed to take a shower and for that I save about $335 per year,” mum says.

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Leibee also makes her youngest daughter bring home the scraps of food her friends don’t finish at lunch. Seriously.

WHO NEEDS BABY FORMULA?

Apple Malecia wasn’t able to breastfeed her baby herself, but the diehard cheapskate wasn’t willing to shell out for powdered baby formula.

Sharing is caring ... Apple enlists her friends to give her their breast milk for her daughter to drink, to save money on formula. Picture: Supplied

So she enlisted the help of her female acquaintances to share their breast milk.

But these aren’t close friends — the donors include someone from her yoga class and a mum she met at the park. By Malecia’s estimate, she saves about $1000 per year.

She saves more money by not buying baby wipes. Instead, she recycles her homemade wet wipes and uses those.

Stocking up ... Apple has a freezer full of breast milk that her friends have donated. Picture: Supplied

That’s right — Malecia makes her own kitchen wipes and, after using them to clean up mess, pops them in a box to use on her child later.

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She also cuts up old T-shirts to fashion her own nappies.

CHRISTMAS ON THE CHEAP

Did you know that by celebrating Christmas a few days after December 25, you could save tens of dollars?

Sure, you’ve got to go dumpster diving after regular people have thrown out their trees, decorations and wrapping paper. But surely it’s worth it.

Tis the season ... Shannyn found this perfectly good tree in a bin and took it home for her own Christmas party — on December 28. Picture: Supplied

Shannyn Allen sure thinks so. She throws a big shindig on December 28 and decorates using other people’s discarded trimmings.

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For snacks, she heads to the blood bank to make a donation in exchange for free cookies.

STEALING FAMILY PRESENTS

Sarah Gracel goes one better when it comes to saving money over the festive period, especially when it comes to getting gifts for her family.

They look familiar ... Sarah stole her sister’s sunglasses and then gave them back to her for Christmas. Picture: Supplied

Over the course of the year, this light-fingered penny pincher swipes various items from her loved ones and then gives them back at Christmas.

For those she really cares about, Gracel goes to the tip to dig for prized items that have been dumped.

It’s the thought that counts, right?

FREE MEDICAL VISITS

Regular check-ups at the doctor in the US can cost a pretty penny, so Mark Peresi has found a unique way of getting them for free.

He enrols in various clinical trials across the year, each of which come with a full work up by a medical professional.

Plus, he gets to make a few bucks on the side — like the time he was the first human recipient of an experimental Ebola treatment!

Extreme Cheapskates airs on TLC on Foxtel on Tuesdays at 10pm.