Aika Kanda Calls to Rethink the Image of Frugal Living

Is being frugal dirty?

Lately, I’ve been getting invited to variety shows more often as a so-called celebrity who loves saving money. There are all kinds of segments — ones where frugal celebrities share their personal money-saving tricks, and others where they bring in big spenders and have us face off in frugal vs. spender story battles. As a side note, whenever I’m called in for a saving-money segment, actress Kii Kitano and comedian Oideyasu Oda are always there too. The three of us have never appeared together in any other type of segment, but somehow for saving money, we’re always together. At this point, I consider them my comrades.

Let me share a few of the frugal tricks I often talk about on TV:

● Egg carton labels: When I buy a 10-egg pack, I carefully peel off the label before throwing the carton away. These labels are sturdy and large, so I cut them into whatever size I need to use as tape when sticking something down. Because of this, we’ve never bought scotch tape in our house.

● Bathwater levels: Our bath has an automatic fill feature with 10 levels. I set it to 2. Since my husband baths in the morning and I bath at night, we’d otherwise be filling it twice a day — such a waste. You have to really lie down to get fully submerged, but with this system, the two of us combined only use 4 worth of water.

● Tights in winter: After a few wears, tights tend to fuzz up around the toes and heels. It looks shabby when taking off your shoes in front of others, but throwing them away feels wasteful since they’re not ripped. So I turn them inside out. The inside still looks smooth and new. The threads might stick out at the toes, but honestly, my eyesight’s going, so I can’t see them anyway.

● Half-finished throat lozenges before a show: When my throat feels scratchy before going on air, I’ll suck on a lozenge. But often the show starts before I finish it, and since I don’t like biting them, I take it out, wrap it in tissue, and save it for afterward. People tell me won’t the tissue stick to it! but I’ve practiced separating them perfectly with my tongue, so it’s fine.

I have plenty more money-saving tips, but I’ll stop here — because there’s something I want to ask you all. Every time I share these personal tricks on TV, without fail, there are comments on social media and news sites saying things like, “That’s gross!” “Why would you do that when both of you make good money?” “I wouldn’t go that far to save a buck.” I truly don’t understand why. I don’t have this perspective myself, so I’m curious: where do these reactions come from?

A two-birds-one-stone invention

To begin with, saving money is actually a task that requires a lot of brainwork. Anyone can easily come up with solutions that involve spending money. But people who practice frugality deliberately avoid that route and start thinking of other ideas. To find alternative things or methods, you need a multifaceted perspective on the problem you want to solve, along with the flexible thinking to not be bound by an item’s original purpose. Only those who can do this are able to achieve true frugality.

For example — the label stuck on an egg carton serves to display product information. But if it’s stuck on, maybe it can be peeled off. If it still has adhesive left, maybe it can be stuck on again. In that case — hey, you can use it as tape!

People might think, “Setting the bathwater to level 2 is way too shallow!” But bathtubs generally narrow more at the bottom than at the top, so the same level 2 fill at the bottom actually has decent depth. Plus, it makes it easy to do a half-body bath for health benefits — a two-birds-one-stone solution!

As for partially-eaten candy — sure, it’s got my saliva on it, but hey, people swap saliva when they kiss. In that case, putting something from my own mouth back into my mouth is no big deal! And so on. That’s how my mind works.

So whenever I meet someone who’s practicing a cost-saving method I’d never have thought of, I always feel that person must have a flexible mind, a rich imagination, and sharp intelligence.

Frugality is invention. Those who don’t want to do it don’t have to. But I wish more people would understand that frugality is a product of wisdom and creativity — and something that deserves respect, not scorn.

Kanda Aika — Born in 1980 in Kanagawa Prefecture. After graduating from Gakushuin University’s Faculty of Science, Department of Mathematics, she joined NHK as an announcer in 2003. In 2012, she left NHK to become a freelance announcer. Since then, she has been active mainly in variety programs and is currently a regular main MC on the daytime show Pokapoka (Fuji TV network).

★ Her first book compiling this series of essays, “Ōdō tte iu michi, doko ni tōtte masu ka?” is now on sale and enjoying strong popularity!

From “FRIDAY”, June 20, 2025 issue.