Cheapest thing a person has ever done

[Unorganisedchaos2]

Inspired by the children's birthday party thread, Im sure this has been done so many times but humor me as Im stuck at home with a poorly DD...

Our family once knew a couple who were convinced that the baby they were due to have shouldn't cost them any more than the family allowance and a grant I believe you used to get in the early 2000's. Some of the things they did:

• Commented that it had worked out well that the baby was born 2 months prem as they had been able to claim family allowance but he hadn't cost them anything yet as the hospital were providing nappies, milk etc.
• Refused to visit the baby until the hospital had issued a free parking pass then only visited 3 times a week because they were tired and as it was a 30 minute it was already costing a lot in petrol.
• Did a separate food shop for him of all supermarket own brand food and £1 meals, she actually had "his money" in one of those money bags the bank used and made the checkout person run it through as two separate shops.
• Spent hours in charity shops buying up the next few years with of clothes for him, at his second birthday they were asking us to buy clothes for 7-8 year old.
• Asked my mum to register as a childminder so they could claim childcare but expected my mum to do it for free (not honestly sure how that was ever going to work out)
• Not child related but he refused to drive above 50 MPH because he believed it was uneconomical, even if he was late for work or holding up a queue of traffic.

Mum friend of mine used her old clothes (from the 70s and 80s!) for her children.
She also used her old Terry towel nappies for them.
Who saves nappies 30 years??
She's probably saving them for her grandchildren, they'll be a family heirloom.

Oh my goodness. That’s just so awful. I’m so sorry for your loss but also sorry that your former husband could be so callous.

This was about a decade ago but one time I bumped into my friend at the gym. The gym was outside my workplace so I already had a train ticket home but she insisted on giving me a lift home (it was about a 15 min drive altogether, and we lived two roads away from each other).

She text me afterwards asking for 25p towards petrol...

Yes, very believable. An old friend of mine had a baby prematurely and barely stayed with him because her husband’s dinner had to be on the table when he got home from work.

If you’re not going all in don’t bother. Meanness is anathema to me. It says so much about a person and none of it good. Mean with money=mean of spirit

My exFIL was (still is probably) the cheapest man alive. Cuts corners on everything, drives slower to conserve petrol, tries to order off the kids menu (and make other people do the same) and when that fails, asks them to point out the cheapest thing on the menu, and many other examples. Oh actually the worst was when the dog chewed up some of the baby’s plastic toys and he was adamant they wouldn’t need replacing, just cleaning. Actually no, because there were now sharp edges and they were wrecked. He’s not skint by any means. I do wonder if it’s because exMIL loves to spend money so he’s trying plug the giant holes where money used to be that she’s blowing in the joint account. Either way it’s fucking tiresome and embarrassing and I’m glad those 2 aren’t my problem anymore.

My GD shot himself in the foot. He retired to warmer climes where he could enjoy the local food and wine. He decided that he would live on a set amount per week. 25 years later he was trying to live on the same amount ignoring the increasing cost of living. He ended up collapsing and being rushed to hospital in a confused state with a suspected stroke but he actually was malnourished. This was a relatively well off man. We think he couldn't afford both so was just living off wine.

Fuck's sake, that's made me properly cry. My DS had to go to SCBU for only few hours and I visited him there, he was a bit poorly but nothing serious.

Yes those were they and I'm sure they wld have dated from the 50s.

My great aunt was a 'careful' housewife. Her bathroom had a neatly displayed toilet roll. The cut up squares of newspaper were in the cupboard under the sink.

I could tell a million stories of tightfistedness when I worked in retail
The one that stands out is some bloke complaining because he felt he had been swindled out of ONE nectar point 🙄

This was back in the 1970's. Friend was notoriously tight and selfish. We were both still at school and she had a Saturday job, I didnt. If we were ever out shopping she would always insist we went for a coffee, I wasn't bothered. On one occasion she asked if I could pay (it was her turn) as she "didn't want to break into a tenner". I handed over a fiver which she paid with and pocketed the change! I was so stunned I didn't say anything. Then in the very next shop she broke into her tenner to treat herself to some expensive Klorane shampoo. I still kick myself about that, we soon parted ways after I left school.

You've reminded me of the time a woman in front of me didn't get her 1p change at the supermarket till @Dollymylove . The cashier on the till was apologetic and had made a mistake by shutting the till without taking the change. I was doing a big shop and this woman stood there for a long time getting in the way and staring at the cashier until I paid and she could get her penny. Me and the cashier were doing covert eye signals to each other. I nearly just gave her a penny but I was feeling bloody minded. This was in the past couple of years.

I just remembered how cheap my ex could be sometimes. He was very generous with things like gifts, but once read me the riot act for giving a homeless person 50p. Admittedly this was the early 90s but you'd have thought I'd given him £50. Cue lecture on how 'charity begins at home'. (I hate that expression.)

For context, we were doing fine financially but he was very much a product of the Thatcher years and constantly striving for personal wealth and status symbols (he drove a sports car he couldn't really afford, that kind of thing). I've always hoped he got his priorities sorted once he had kids after our split.

Working in retail made me question humanity at times 😂

I used to work in a small-ish supermarket as a second job for a while, after doing 8 hours in an office I was in no mood to be dealing with idiots and there were plenty.

We used to get a guy in who would try and barter the total, so if his shopping came to £5.65, he would "offer" £5.50 - in the end I just started laughing at him.

We also had a lady who must have been her 70's always filthy dirty and smelly buy only reduced items, she caught me throwing out some meat from the day before and begged for it for her cats. It turned out she was a widow of a pharmaceutical heir, owned a good number of the rental properties in the town and was worth millions (and didnt own a cat); apparently her house was in such bad repair she didnt even have hot water and heating.

AIBU to think that she was very, very unlikely to spend the full tenner in the first place?!

God, that's heartbreaking.

This sounds like a great product tbh I want some!

Yes!! This!!
If someone tried to make me pay for their shopping I wouldn’t hesitate to say « actually these are only for you, let me separate the items » and just pay for my own.
This type of things.

However, I’ll contribute to the thread, presenting my DH, earning 6 figures but re-using tea bags, leaving paper towels to dry and re-use when they have only been used to wipe up water and adding water to soap/shampoo/etc bottles to make them last. He is also still wearing tshirts from 20y ago at home (with holes etc) to save his good ones.
It’s a state of mind!

That reminds me, my ex used to tear a strip off a piece of kitchen roll rather than use the entire sheet. You'd think it was woven from spun gold. 🙄

I never quite dared enquire into whether he applied the same approach to toilet paper.

Through work, I used to know a middle-aged man who was rich and owned multiple properties, but was known to be a skinflint. He wasn't very attractive and I got the impression that he rarely if ever dated. But one day, he got together with one of my then-DP's friends (who was a good-looking woman) and was clearly thrilled. Sadly, his idea of a romantic gift was a cheap plastic rose which might have come from Poundland. DP's friend thought it was awful and that was the end of the relationship.

Go to ebay and put in Vintage Split Twin Pan or Half Pans and as the name suggests these are the half ones. There were also the 3 sets we also had. I was not in the UK when my mother passed away and when I got back my "posh" sister said - oh I have thrown that rubbish away. I was furious as I asked her not to. Will see if I can find the triple ones.

This was the 3 style although ours had their own handles not the camping style.
"Vintage Aluminium Swan Triple Pan Set space saving pans campervan Christmas" on ebay. But you get the idea.

My dad actually a nice man but has a complete blind spot when it comes to money and clearly is a serious mental health issue now I read it back! He once moaned when as an adult and I'd forgot my wallet that I'd forgot it on purpose so he would have to buy us a coffee (made us sit outside as was cheaper). He used to turn lights off as we went up the stairs when we were kids (!) so our Victorian house was largely in darkness, would wait outside the bathroom ask us to get out of the shower quicker, question why do we need to use a hairdryer every day. When I was 18 he invited me to France with another couple who were his friends as they were thinking of investing in property out there. Got us a room together (awkward!) and made me pay for my own food/snacks the whole time. As adults would only visit us if he needed to pass through our towns or go to an airport. Wouldn't let my mum turn the heating up or use a tumble dryer that my brother had bought her. He's diluted crunchy nut cornflakes with regular cornflakes to make them go further, same with tomato soup and reuses tea bags. Once admitted that he had thought of asking his kids for contribution for food/heating when visiting over Christmas. Also another one who drove at 55 to be most economical. However if you are buying dinner he's guaranteed to order a steak! And the infamous family meal where he decided without consulting anyone that he didn't want to pay for everyone as he previously always had and told the shocked waitress that we would like individual bills. It was absolutely mortifying!!

@ainsisoisje I know someone who got their DC to sign a contract, when they left uni at 21, to say they would never ask or expect to receive any more money or pay for anything from them again. Obviously DC were incredibly hurt