Plot Synopsis

EXTREME CHEAPSKATES follows individuals who go to remarkable lengths to cut costs for themselves and their families -- by any means necessary. From people who dumpster dive for dinner to those who flush their toilet only once a week, each 30-minute episode features one or two extreme savers, including: Kate, who finds most of her savings in the dumpsters of fine dining restaurants in Manhattan; Terence, who picks up loose change, doles out a tiny allowance to his family, refuses to buy furniture and never takes his family out to eat; Greg, who only flushes his toilet once per week, reuses plastic utensils, and makes money by participating in medical tests; Victoria, who is a self-made millionaire obsessively keeping track of her budget, using personalized urine jars that sustain her flush-free lifestyle; Roy, who reuses his dental floss, picks through trash, and makes his own household cleaning supplies; Ben, who uses his dishwasher detergent to clean his clothes, makes his own toothpaste and uses cornstarch to keep himself cool; Jeff, who claims he's saved over $50,000 riding his bicycle and takes low-cost vacations by couch surfing; Vickie, who hunts for road kill for gifts and refuses to shell out cash for a telephone, a television or even new clothes for her five kids; and Abdul, who negotiates a cheap price for everything -- from fast food, gas, and utilities, right down to the balloons and cake for the anniversary party. TLC first aired EXTREME CHEAPSKATES as a one-hour special on Wednesday, December 28, 2011 at 9pm ET/PT.

TLC premiered Season 2 of EXTREME CHEAPSKATES on Wednesday, October 30, 2013 at 9pm ET/PT with back-to-back new episodes. The premiere episode featured a couple who competes to be the thriftiest. After a morning routine of sharing shampoo, a toothbrush and even dental floss, Karissa and Rick log their electricity use and number of toilet flushes to determine who owes more money at the end of each month. In the same episode, Torski, a Virginia mother, completes the majority of her cleaning, cooking and housework between the hours of midnight and 5am to take advantage of lower electricity rates with her local power company. Subsequent episodes in Season 2 featured these cheapskates: a firefighter who books his daughter's sweet 16 at a strip club because he got a great deal; a pregnant woman who is relying on her husband to save $200 by building a homemade breast pump; and many more self-proclaimed frugalistas.

Immediately following an all-day marathon (1-9pm ET/PT), TLC aired the Season 3 premiere of EXTREME CHEAPSKATES at 9pm ET/PT on Wednesday, September 24, 2014. The third season opened with a one-hour episode, "Guide to Love," which revealed how people can save money by reusing funeral flowers for a date, redoing bedrooms with used hotel sheets, buying thrift store lingerie, and planning vow renewals for almost nothing.
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On Monday, June 21, 2021 at 10pm ET/PT, TLC premiered the fourth season of EXTREME CHEAPSKATES. In the season opener, "The Watsons," penny-pinching mother of two Shelley takes on some serious money-saving projects as she attempts to plan a wedding and throw a Christmas celebration. Her family worries that her extreme budgeting will ruin their special occasions.