Cheapskate Stories

I worked with two brothers at the Post Office. Neither of them had ever been married or even had a relationship as far as I know. Inherited fully paid for house and land from their parents. They each had a mid eighties 4 cylinder Chevy S-10. They had several more at home for a parts pool. Always had a peanut butter sandwich and mason jar of milk for lunch.

Took vacation only during deer season. Once the filled their tags, they would cancel the vacation and come back to work.

We always used to bust on them about being cheap. THeir response was, "Wait till retirement, we got all kinds of plans."

I saw Johnny several months ago at the credit union. Still driving an old S-10, still counting pennies!
 

applecruncher said:
Thought of another one.

About 25 yrs ago I worked at a small non-profit. Things were pretty casual, and during nice weather we usually went out for a group lunch on Fridays.

One woman would ALWAYS get up and go to the restroom when it came time for everyone to chip in on the check. Supervisor would let it go and he usually paid more anyway. But this woman thought she was slick. It made me mad to help pay for her lunch. :mad:


When supervisor's wife had a baby, everyone chippoed in on a gift. That same woman always had an excuse "left wallet at home, only enough money for gas home, will bring it tomorrow". She never did.
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I'm not a fan of 'chip in for the check'. If someone wants to have an expensive meal and I don't, why should I pay for part of their luxury meal? Do you eat escargot at home?

Separate checks please is my motto. Then the bathroom trick doesn't work and you only pay for what your meal was.
 
Camper6 said:
I'm not a fan of 'chip in for the check'. If someone wants to have an expensive meal and I don't, why should I pay for part of their luxury meal? Do you eat escargot at home?

Separate checks please is my motto. Then the bathroom trick doesn't work and you only pay for what your meal was.
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:rolleyes:

Camper6, what on earth are you talking about? This is another situation where you twist what someone has said then insert information you've pulled out of the air. I notice you do that a lot in an attempt to start arguments with people. How lame.

If you read the post, I said it was a casual atmosphere. I never said anything about an expensive restaurant - in fact we went to very low priced restaurants. The woman I referred to always ordered a big lunch and dessert then disappeared, thereby scamming meals and not paying. We always got separate checks. Apparently you think Dine & Dash is okay. I don't live like that, but since you do, well, good luck with that.

I don't like escargot, but if I did and chose to eat it at home it wouldn't be any of your business.
 

applecruncher said:
:rolleyes:

Camper6, what on earth are you talking about? This is another situation where you twist what someone has said then insert information you've pulled out of the air. I notice you do that a lot in an attempt to start arguments with people. How lame.

If you read the post, I said it was a casual atmosphere. I never said anything about an expensive restaurant - in fact we went to very low priced restaurants. The woman I referred to always ordered a big lunch and dessert then disappeared, thereby scamming meals and not paying. We always got separate checks. Apparently you think Dine & Dash is okay. I don't live like that, but since you do, well, good luck with that.

I don't like escargot, but if I did and chose to eat it at home it wouldn't be any of your business.
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You are a cranky sort of person. I have my own opinion about chipping in and the restaurant makes no difference.

I twisted nothing.

Pay for your own meal and what you are complaining about will be eliminated.First of all you said chip in. Then you say you got separate checks so what the heck are you talking about. You said she went to the bathroom. So just wait for her to come out. For you to say I condone dine and dash is b.s.
 
uh...Camper6....."chip in" as in "pay for your lunch" and leave something for the tip. Yeah. she always went to the bathroom when the checks came and stayed there until people were getting into their cars. She never paid a dime.

The baby gift was another matter. She wasn't obligated to chip in, but committed to doing so then never came thru.

And you DID try to twist the story by making it sound like it was an expensive restaurant.

I've seen quite a few threads where you start an argument with someone then go on and on and on and on. This is not going to be one of those. I'm done with explaining to you.
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I know someone who had a $35 dinner, and left a quarter tip. 25 cents. He was serious!
Any adult should know better, even if they don't get out much. I'm not real fond of the tipping culture - it's gotten out of hand - but on a $35 dinner with good service, a tip of $5 would be minimal.
 
AC...

I think maybe you need to go back & read what you posted.

First you say "chip-in" indicating one check, then you say we always got separate checks ? Confusing , Then you say it made you mad helping to pay for her lunch ? How did you if it was separate checks...Again confusing ? Then you say something about someone else picking up her check, and she paying nothing at all? That's the fault of who ever was picking it up. Don't and she'll have to pay her own.

Sorry if I'm butting in...as i am just trying to follow the thread.
 
rgp said:
AC...

I think maybe you need to go back & read what you posted.

First you say "chip-in" indicating one check, then you say we always got separate checks ? Confusing , Then you say it made you mad helping to pay for her lunch ? How did you if it was separate checks...Again confusing ? Then you say something about someone else picking up her check, and she paying nothing at all? That's the fault of who ever was picking it up. Don't and she'll have to pay her own.

Sorry if I'm butting in...as i am just trying to follow the thread.
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I see what you're saying.

(btw this happened decades ago...not a current problem.)
But the point is that everyone except the referenced cheapskate woman paid for their meal while she ate/drank and paid nothing. It happened several times. One check, 6 checks, she paid nothing. She had it down to a science......finish meal, right before server came she went to restroom and wasn't seen again until we were in the parking lot. Boss wasn't the type to ask her for her share of the money.
 
applecruncher said:
I see what you're saying.

(btw this happened decades ago...not a current problem.)
But the point is that everyone except the referenced cheapskate woman paid for their meal while she ate/drank and paid nothing. It happened several times. One check, 6 checks, she paid nothing. She had it down to a science......finish meal, right before server came she went to restroom and wasn't seen again until we were in the parking lot. Boss wasn't the type to ask her for her share of the money.
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LOL...what you all should have done, is get up and go to the ladies room with her, then follow her out, then...well you get the point. Sooner or later she'd have realized the gig was up.

Boss sounds like a nice guy.
 
I was the only other female, and the guys were engrossed in conversations. Hindsight 20/20 ...wish I'd followed her and said "Well, we better get back to the table....time to pay up".
 
**** A little off topic , but it reminded me ~~~~ Speaking of tips ....... that's how my mom met my dad. She was a waitress and she waited on him and he left her a penny tip. She was so PO'd , she waited for him to come in again to give him "what for" ..and the rest is history ! LOL

Sorry ..... carry on !
 
applecruncher said:
uh...Camper6....."chip in" as in "pay for your lunch" and leave something for the tip. Yeah. she always went to the bathroom when the checks came and stayed there until people were getting into their cars. She never paid a dime.

The baby gift was another matter. She wasn't obligated to chip in, but committed to doing so then never came thru.

And you DID try to twist the story by making it sound like it was an expensive restaurant.

I've seen quite a few threads where you start an argument with someone then go on and on and on and on. This is not going to be one of those. I'm done with explaining to you.


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I twisted nothing. The phrase do you eat escargo at home came from my boss who used to question salesman's expenses.

You have a knack of trying to put words in my mouth. I detest it and won't put up with it. I don't care what you have to say about other threads or nitpick at me. I get plenty of positive reputations and even one on my response today.

Just copy over what I posted and respond to it. Don't make stuff up. It's dishonest. You didn't say separate checks or I wouldn't have bothered.
 
------I was at a gathering a few yrs ago and a friend had the rest of us laughing and shaking our heads about her brother. He’s a single guy, has a good job, car, dresses nice, and lives in a nice apartment. She stopped over to visit him, and he asked if she would like some leftover take out from a Chinese restaurant. After she took a bite, she asked if he had any soy sauce. He handed her a bottle and she noticed the label had been removed (scraped and washed off). She asked him “What kind of soy sauce is this?” He reached into the bottom compartment of his refrigerator and pulled out a plastic grocery bag full of packets of soy sauce and various other condiments. He told her he never bought condiments (including salt, pepper, and sugar). Instead, he always took handfuls from fast food and other take out places, then took time to squeeze the contents into bottles or other containers.

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If I have leftover packets of ketchup or soy sauce I toss them into the frig, then if I forget to use them within a few weeks I throw them out. I can’t imagine saving a bunch then ‘squeezing’ them into a bottle.

------A couple of ex-coworkers bragged about how they would walk thru the lobby of a downtown hotel, find out if there was a convention with a buffet (at lunchtime) and somehow mingle and help themselves. (I remember thinking: This is something to brag about? ) I don’t know if they ever got confronted or tossed out; if so, they would never admit it.
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------ Back in the 80s one of my uncles had a neighbor who repeatedly had utility shut-offs. The guy wasn’t poor or struggling; he just choose to spend money on other things. He had 2 souped-up motorcycles, a truck, sat in his yard drinking beer, had 2 big dogs, and talked a lot about playing poker and winning/losing various amounts of money.
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His water got shut off. So he came over and asked uncle if he could get buckets of water from uncle’s outside faucet (“just for a couple weeks”) and then he would pay uncle for the courtesy. Uncle was the type who found it difficult to say “No”. But it went on for a couple months, and at my aunt’s insistence Uncle told him he could no longer get water. The guy gave Uncle $2.00 - two dollars, and tried to shame Uncle about “not helping a neighbor”. ​
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I have encountered several people who came from poor beginnings, and even after they became wealthy they could not get away from acting like they were poor.
 
My mom said her mom was so cheap she didn't want to spend any of her money. She told her she can take her money with her when she passes and she'd write her a check. :playful: My mom had control of her bank account at the end of my grandma's life.
 
I had a relative in San Diego who would drive 45 miles from his home to get gas at a station to save 2 cents per gallon. (!!??!!??) He would brag about it but didn't understand the 90 mile drive to fill his tank made no sense!
He also would cut a piece of typing paper into 3 inch by 3 inch squares because everything you can write on a large piece of paper can be written on a tiny piece of paper, and scotch tape? Instead of using 2 or 3 inches, you can just use 1/8 of an inch to do the same thing! hahaha!
 
Unfortunately, I kind of fall into the cheapskate category. I would take being boiled in oil rather than pay for a First Class Plane ticket. OMG!!! The Saints Alive!!! Don't those in coach get there at the same time as those in First. Premium gas??? Wha HA HA HA Hamburger vs. steak? Store brands??? Hyundai vs. Rolls. I own a 2009 Elantra
Actually, I never really notice how much of a cheapskate I truly am. It's no coincidence that this is a free forum.
 
We have friends that we get-together with a lot over the course of summer for barbecues and such, this year being the exception (i.e., Covid-19), nonetheless, the Mrs., always serves a half select-size paper towel to each guest and it drives me nuts.

A half doesn't do the job, and I always get up to get another half before my meal is through, yet she's hell bent and determined to continue serving half of a paper towel at mealtime.
 
There is a saying: penny wise and pound foolish. Another is: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Another saying is: to not judge another until you walk a mile in his shoes. I suppose a cheap skate would prefer to walk that mile in his shoes so as not to wear out his own. :) Example: my wife and I, when taking a road trip of any real distance, will rent a car rather than put the miles on our own.

Anyway, weigh these sayings to decide whether we, ourselves, are being frugal or ridiculous, while at the same time giving other people the space to decide these things for themselves. We all have different financial priorities and we each grew in different circumstances that helped form how we make decisions for our own lives today.

Tony
 
tbeltrans said:
There is a saying: penny wise and pound foolish. Another is: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Another saying is: to not judge another until you walk a mile in his shoes. I suppose a cheap skate would prefer to walk that mile in his shoes so as not to wear out his own. :)

Anyway, weigh these sayings to decide whether we, ourselves, are being frugal or ridiculous, while at the same time giving other people the space to decide these things for themselves. We all have different financial priorities and we each grew in different circumstances that helped form how we make decisions for our own lives today.

Tony
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Thanks for the laugh, Tony! :)
 
This thread topic reminds me of the short-lived television series... Extreme Cheapskates, where (in my opinion), much of what was aired was a put-on for viewers rather than true honest-to-goodness cheapskates.
 

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