My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

AIBU?

To ask about the tightest person you've ever met

568 replies

GunpowderGelatine · 14/10/2019 10:23

I'm not talking about skint people, frugal people or those doing good for the environment - but who have you met who is the biggest tightwad without the need to be tight?

Mine is my mum unfortunately. She's just been for a week-long visit and I swear she gets worse with age (though she's not even 60 so not old). She's well off enough that she retired aged 47, hasn't had a mortgage since 2002 and her husband earns a very good living. She wears designer clothes and has lovely jewellery, so I don't think she's secretly skint or anything.

We went shopping in town one day during her visit and both got the odd thing from places like Primark, Superdrug etc ie nothing expensive. Because I had DS in the pram which is awkward round small and busy aisles, when coming to pay one of us took the others' stuff up with them to pay whilst the other one of us waited by the doors with the pram. Stuff we bought cost us each no more than a fiver altogether. We then went for lunch in M&S, mum got a table whilst I went up with a tray, got toasties and coffees and paid then and there. Cost about £19 for the 3 of us to eat and drink.

At the end of the day I figured we were probably even in what we'd paid for and I would've said nothing more about it. However 10 minutes after getting home she presented me with 3 receipts for places where she'd gone up to pay for stuff, with my stuff highlighted (she must've brought a highlighter with her as I don't have one in the house 🤣) and the amounts written on - the amounts were £2.99, £2.62 and £1.49Confused

She then said she wanted to "treat us all" to the cinema as the kids wanted to see the Lion King. So off we went, I packed some mini bags of popcorn from M&S and some bottled drinks as otherwise I'd be spending around £20+ for the equivalent in the cinema. I packed enough for everyone (this is allowed in our cinema). When we went to buy the tickets, she bunged me a fiver (the cost of her ticket) - so much for treating us! And then I thought we were going into the cinema but to my surprise she proceeded to get a large popcorn, large coke, a hot dog and Maltesers for herself. Which cost her £16.99. We had to all carry something as she had so much 😂 I was Confused and thought it's a good job I have a sense of humour. She then wouldn't let my kids have some of her maltesers because "your popcorn is enough you'll get sick" - and then left a half full packet on her chair at the end Shock

I don't think I've ever known such a tightwad! She's like this with other people - she gives her elderly neighbour a lift to the supermarket when she goes, and takes petrol money off her! Even though she's going anyway.

And no I didn't ask for money for lunch and what I paid for in shops, or for lunch, because i refuse to be like that. I also didn't want to mention about her treating us at the cinema because she'd no doubt say something passive aggressive like "oh I didn't know you were skint" 🙄

Cheer me up please by regaling me with your best tightwad stories!

OP posts:
BendingSpoons · 14/10/2019 10:38

Someone I know (lets call her Jo) used to buy cottage cheese at uni. She wouldn't buy the one with pineapple in because it was 7p more.

Another friend (Sue) is registered disabled and can often get a free/reduced carers ticket to places. If I go with Sue she usually offers we pay half of the total each even though I feel I should pay full price. (She can't walk that far etc but I'm definitely not caring for her, just going as a friend.) Jo always insists she has the free/cheap ticket when she goes out with Sue. She also asked Sue to pay her bus fare as Sue gets free bus travel. Again Jo is not caring for Sue, they are just friends. Sue also has a reduced income as she is only able to work part time and Jo knows this.

MegaMonsterMunch · 14/10/2019 10:43

My sister, without doubt. She looked after my son once and then charged me for petrol, for a less than a mile drive from my house to my mums.

IncrediblySadToo · 14/10/2019 10:45

@bendingspoons
Why are you and Sue still friends with Jo - she sounds dreadful. I don’t believe anyone that selfish & mean can be nice in other ways

@GunpowderGelatine I’m sorry about your Mum. She’s really tight and selfish. I guess all you can do is not fall into her way if things. Each just pay fir your own shopping and say no to going to places if you don’t want(l to (or can’t) soend the money

I hate to think what she’s like when you visit her!

BendingSpoons · 14/10/2019 10:51

IncrediblySad I get frustrated that Sue goes along with it but that's up to Sue. I see Jo when Sue invites us both to things but we aren't friends.

SarahAndQuack · 14/10/2019 10:52

My FIL.

He's been sanctioned for having far more savings than he was allowed and had his benefits stopped, so now his adult son and daughter, who live with him and MIL, pay all the bills for the house. He recently inherited a substantial chunk of money (proceeds from the sale of a house, split between him and his sister, so really quite a lot). Yet he continues to expect BIL and SIL to pay for bills and rent.

He doesn't allow his wife to have a bank account. The justification for this is that she doesn't have any sense with money. This is true, but probably the fact that she's never been allowed to deal with money at any point in her adult life has something to do with her having no sense with money!

FIL expects his word to be law about all family outgoings. SIL recently decided to take MIL on a (very rare) holiday break to Scotland; she asked FIL for spending money for the trip and he gave her ... a tenner.

I have no clue why my BIL and SIL don't move out.

Highfivemum · 14/10/2019 10:57

My cousin. If he found a plaster he would cut himself. Last Christmas he invited him mum and dad to his house for Christmas. ( first time as him and his family usually go to theirs. ) and he charged per head. ( 32 pound each ) and said they have to bring own alcohol as he has only budgeted for soft drinks. 😱😱😱

Iamthewombat · 14/10/2019 10:59

I love these threads.

In my first job, my then boss asked me to make friends with a bloke my age because she was worried that he didn’t seem to socialise much. I was on the grad scheme and had loads of friends from that, so I invited him to come to a pub quiz with us.

Response: no, I’d have to buy drinks in the pub and that’s expensive.

Me: just get your own then.

Him: yes, but it’s still more expensive to drink in a pub.

Me (losing patience): just have lime and soda then.

Him: I can get a bottle of lime cordial from Asda for 50p and make it with tap water. Why would I pay 50p for a pint of it in a pub?

To enjoy yourself, maybe? I gave up after that.

We won the pub quiz that night and split the cash prize between eight of us. He complained for weeks that if he’d come with us and just drunk water he’d have been £5 better off.

Hamandcheesebaguette · 14/10/2019 11:10

My ex.

I was just about over a very very bad illness of tonsillitis and glandular fever at the same time, mostly felt better but still very tired, groggy and miserable.

I asked him to get me something nice from the shop as he was going anyway.

He came back with a child's size milkybar not even the family sized bar, left the receipt on the counter and said you can pay me back for that once you're feeling 100%

It was 39p.

It was literally like 11 years ago and I'm still raging.

soulrunner · 14/10/2019 11:12

My ex’s dad who used to literally climb into the supermarket loading bay and dumpster dive after closing time rather than pay 10p in the last 30 mins of yellows ticketing. He was a millionaire!

YouKnowExactlyWhoYouAre · 14/10/2019 11:12

There's being tight -not spending anything - and being a CF - spending other people's money!

The tightest person I have ever met was more of a CF, aka boss from hell!
She had a small business in the suburb, but liked to think of herself as a top entrepreneur. She refused to pay for cleaners, and made the staff clean the entire office on a rota - what female employee doesn't love to have to clean men's loo Hmm. let's ignore the fact that someone wasted working hours doing something else, the money saved was used to pay for her and her "directors" to have a Christmas and summer party GrinGrinGrin
5 employees, 3 directors!

She also threw a few tantrums because people were drinking too much milk, and staff was only allowed one cup of tea a day - the rest of the milk was for her, the "directors" and obviously clients.

The list goes on.

thecatsthecats · 14/10/2019 11:13

My mum is brainlessly frugal. We were going out for the day from their rural home. They needed more bread - no problem, we'll stop at a shop.

But no. We have to go to Aldi. It has the cheapest bread. Dad and I point out that it's only a couple of pence cheaper, but also ten miles out of our way.

No. We're ganging up on her. Bullying her even. We have to go for the damn bread on a ludicrously hot day, diverting for a full hour to Aldi. She buys a couple of extra bits in there too, "so we can have a picnic".

We end up sitting on the seafront eating the 'picnic' (bread, spread and salad...), whilst she goes on about how lovely it is, and how her way is better.

She's nuts, and half our childhood was spent thus, but my dad enables her - at the end of the day, she can't drive (possibly behind her complete inability to include the cost of petrol). He could just put his foot down and say nope, not doing it.

LakieLady · 14/10/2019 11:14

Back in the days when lunchtime drinking with workmates was a thing, I had a colleague who was so tight he'd stand for 45 minutes with an inch of beer in his glass rather than finish his drink and have to buy the next round.

He worked in a different building from most of us, and as we walked to the pub, I spotted him lurking in a phone box near the pub, so he could make sure he didn't get in first and have to buy the first round (it was later confirmed by the landlord that Tightarse had popped in, had a look round, and popped out again). On another occasion, we saw him go into the pub, but there was no sign of him when we got in. He was lurking in the lavs to avoid buying a round!

None of my other colleagues (almost all men) would call him on it, but they all used to moan like mad about the tightarse. Every few days, I'd just say "Tightarse, I think it's your turn to get a round, you haven't got one all week". He'd then go through a pantomime of patting all his pockets, before announcing that he'd come out without his wallet, whereupon I'd lend him a tenner* so he could get the drinks in.

We became good friends eventually, as we knew a lot of people in common, and he was actually quite generous. I've never been able to grasp why he was so tight with workmates.

Awwlookatmybabyspider · 14/10/2019 11:16

“I don’t mean skint people”.

That’s the thing, though Skint people will give you their last penny.

LakieLady · 14/10/2019 11:16
  • Of course, a tenner now would buy 2 pints and 2 packets of crisps. It seems inconceivable that it was once enough to buy a round for 6 people or thereabouts.
Hippee · 14/10/2019 11:21

I used to work for a relative on Saturdays when I was at school (late 1980s). She paid £1 per hour and knocked 50p off for my lunch half-hour. She couldn't bear for us to be doing nothing, so if there were no customers she would find a job for us. The funniest was getting my colleague to paint a chain link fence. I could have left and got a job that paid double, but I liked my co-workers so much I stayed.

dayslikethese1 · 14/10/2019 11:25

Has anyone watched that show 'Superscrimpers'; there's some insanely tight people on there.

Awwlookatmybabyspider · 14/10/2019 11:26

Whether it’s a rumour or whether it’s true I don’t know but....
Some one I know of My Dog walkers mums cousins wife’s best mates dads barber (type of thing) took their kids on a day out to their local shopping centre to play on the escalators. Grin

SunshineAngel · 14/10/2019 11:28

I have a friend who is notoriously tight. He went into a Co-Op once a few years ago and individual bottles of Coke were BOGOF, so he came out with two as they said he might as well take it, but he said he didn't know what he was going to do with the other one, as he didn't want/need it, so did any of us (we were with a group of friends) want it. I said I'd have it if he didn't want it, so he gave it to me.

Later that night when we'd got home he text me asking whether I could bring the 60p for the coke tomorrow. He'd got it for free! And had halved the cost of his coke. It's not like I'd asked him to get me one, in which case yes I would have paid. It's that he was actively trying to get rid of a spare one, which cost him nothing anyway.

BlancoNita · 14/10/2019 11:31

My mil, plenty of money, but shopped in charity shops etc which is fine, I like to pick up some bits in them also, but she gave ds a walker for xmas one year, and when we opened it up from it lying flat frame, no box obviously as it was from charity shop , there was the remains of a biscuit from previous toddler squished into the side of it. Lovely.

Also would gift the kids toys from c.s and books which one had foul language scribbled by whichever brat had owned it before. Thanks Bobby for the lovely words :s

One day she came over to mine with some makeup she had picked up in the bargain bin in Superdrug , a horrible blue cream shadow, knew I loved make up so said here blanco do you want this I have no use for it, I didn't but didn't want to come across rude so took it, on the way out she asked me for the £3 it had cost her, and stood waiting whilst I rummaged around the presses for the change. CF of the highest order.

SarahAndQuack · 14/10/2019 11:31

That’s the thing, though Skint people will give you their last penny

See, this isn't true. I don't know why people sometimes make out that you can't be both poor and really bloody tight, as if it's somehow a virtue to be hard up. You get rich people and poor people who are tight. It's how they are. FIL being a case in point. Tight as badger's arse when he was hard up, inherited a load of money ... and still tight as a badger's arse.

Thetiss · 14/10/2019 11:32

For my birthday a few years ago my dad sent me an opened, 3/4 full miniature bottle of Baileys. I don’t think you can even buy them singly so either it came out of a multipack or a hotel minibar.

SimonJT · 14/10/2019 11:33

An ex colleague, we used to take it in turns to go and collect lunch on a Friday. One Friday my lunch was £5.10 and I only had a £5, I asked if I should paypal her the full amount or just give her the £5 and she asked for the note.

The next monday she was stood by my desk when I got to work and asked for the 10p, I didn’t have it as I didn’t have any cash on me. This went on until Wednesday, when I had now remembered to bring some change into work. I was however too late, she had gone to HR as I had stolen money from her and was refusing to pay it back.

I have no idea how HR kept a straight face, we were also both on six figure salaries so I doubt 10p was a financial problem.

After that she didn’t take part in Friday lunch club as she had “lost all trust” in her colleagues.

Don’t want to miss threads like this?

Weekly

Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!

Log in to update your newsletter preferences.

You've subscribed!

SesameOil · 14/10/2019 11:33

There's being tight -not spending anything - and being a CF - spending other people's money!

Yes I think there can be a distinction between the two!

JudyDenchsBloomers · 14/10/2019 11:34

I have three best friends and one of them is notoriously tight. One of them was getting married and my tight friend, bearing in mind we've known each other since we were 11, thought it would be fine to give half a bottle of wine as a present. Not a half sized bottle, no, a half drunk bottle of wine Shock. This to her friend of 26 years. She also didn't know you couldn't wear white as a guest..

Thankfully me and my other friend just started laughing and telling her she was being ridiculous on both counts and to wind her neck in. She is not short of a quid.

RichTwoTurkeyFriend · 14/10/2019 11:36

My ex, delightful person that he was, would insist on me paying him back for half of ANYTHING he brought home when we lived together, eg, ‘I bought a litre of milk home, it was $1.50 so you owe me 75 cents’. And then would remind me at least daily until I gave it to him.
Also when we went out if there were an uneven number of drinks rounds between us, would make a note and demand he was bought an extra drink the next time to ‘even things out’.

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.