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.

A friend gets a taxi every 2 werks with a group. they all live within a mile or so of each other. she makes sure she's let out last. Everyone gives get say half the fare to their house. she gleefully tells me how much she 'makes' on the fare every time .

Yes and more absorbent.

We had the cloth nappies that looked like disposable nappies as opposed to ones you had to fold. You put the cloth on like a disposible nappy and then had a waterproof cover that you put on over the top of that just like a disposible nappy.

We were lucky and nursery were happy to use them although some of the staff just couldn't figure out that they looked and were used the same way as disposibles. We'd pick my son up and they'd be back to front, inside out, on one occassion the cover was inside the nappy. My favourite though was when they put her in a disposible nappy with the cover the top. 🤣We did wonder if it was the nursery staff protesting against using them but were assured it wasnt an issue.

But I don't know why? No-one has to be aggressive, just say something. Point out the obvious. I don't know why people enable this sort of behaviour, yet complain about it.

So many sad tales, my heart goes out to all of you.

Mine's a bit more light hearted. I shared a flat in London, I got on really well with one of them so we would get a pizza to share.

Pizza was £9.99 delivered (yes it was a long time go).

So we ordered pizza and the first time he gave my £5, so I gave the pizza delivery driver £10.

All fine.

Then the next time we ordered I did the same, but my housemate asked for his 1p because he had paid £5 last time.

Lighthearted, but my DH bought games socks from the 2nd hand uniform shop at our DD’s prep school. They were thick with mud (and sweat), cue an awkward convo about why on earth he thought that was a good idea. I’m a big advocate of 2nd hand clothes generally, especially well-made uniform, however I draw the line at under garments.

That's a different take on it. CF taxi-sharers normally try NOT to be the last one out, so they're never there when the taxi needs to be paid for!

Often, if anything, they'll push a derisorily tiny amount in the hands of the others as their 'share' and then consider it dealt with.

Either that, or they'll pull the 'oh, but you were going there anyway' card and 'justify' it that it isn't costing any extra for them to share the journey. It conveniently never seems to occur to them that, except for maybe the last half a mile after they've got out, you could turn it around and say exactly the same to them.

Someone I used to work with would boil kettles at work and fill up 3 vacuum flasks so that he didn't have to use his kettle at home.

My mums family were really poor. My Nan was a nurse in WW2 and used to rationing.

when my mum and uncle were young my Nan would often go without food to be able to feed them. She had 2, sometimes 3 jobs as my grandad was often out of work as a painter. He was lazy.

My Nan never, ever let her kids or grandkids go without. She spent her whole life going without, charity shop clothes, 2nd hand carpets.
shopped at all the cheap shops.

A friend gets a taxi every 2 werks with a group. they all live within a mile or so of each other. she makes sure she's let out last. Everyone gives her say half the fare to their house. she gleefully tells me how much she 'makes' on the fare every time .

Common in bedsits back in the 70s as you usually only had one ring to cook on

@Politicians247UnderwearExtinguishingService CF friend knows ths others are generous. she tried the taxi, get out first & no cash sorry

I realise that many of these examples are just CFs royally taking advantage of other people to avoid having to pay themselves; but for some of them, I think it must be some kind of mental health issue.

Just like somebody suffering from anorexia may focus on how seriously they think a very tiny bite of food will affect their weight, when people are worrying about actual pennies? We all know the old saying about looking after the pennies, but the sheer amount of mind and effort it must take for them to (in some cases) maybe save a pound or two over an entire year.

I had a family member who commented once about how, by remembering to turn off the pilot light on his boiler overnight and then turning it back on again in the morning, he saved something like about £3.50 each year. He was genuinely surprised that most people didn't bother to do this. 730 extra things on your mental to-do list and 730 additional small tasks to do each year, for the sake of saving less than a penny a day. He wasn't even hard up.

People who refuse to spend literal pennies here and there, and go to great lengths, spend so much time and mental energy and/or do without very basic pleasures in life rather than spend the tiniest amount of money... and then they die leaving millions of pounds. They can't seriously be well, can they?

I agree, @Politicians247UnderwearExtinguishingService
I am always reminded of that phrase, that some people know the cost of everything, and the value of nothing.

Her frugal ways are probably the reason why she has a paid off house and s good pension 😆

I have a distant memory of a phone-in radio show, where people shared really cheap behaviour they witnessed:

• Someone's dad would split matchsticks lengthwise into 4 using a razorblade (dangerous?!) so that one box would last four times as long.

• Another one's best friend would, when it was raining, switch off the windscreen wipers in her car when going under the local not-very-long bridge to save energy.

• This one was sad/enraging. Her husband would remove the electric heating control knob every weekday morning to stop her switching it on when he wasn't there. The presenter did tell her that wasn't right, and she should consider divorcing him.

See, I'd have thought it was counter-productive not to even offer anything at all.

This thread has lots of examples whereby CFs have benefited to the tune of hundreds, or even thousands of pounds, but then risked shutting off the fast-flowing money taps by pushing it that bit too far to the final straw of asking for £1.58 back or whatever - thus opening the eyes of their victims once and for all to how disgusting and abusive their behaviour truly is.

Surely a nominal little investment here or there would be worth it for their plans, wouldn't it? Yes, you've spent thousands on providing me with accommodation, travel, amenities and food... BUT I gladly paid for a carton of milk myself for the house when it ran out once, so it's just normal give and take between friends here!!

Does it actually save much money boiling a full kettle once rather than boiling a mug's worth of water a few times a day, though?

I'm sure there was a silly Viz tip once on this topic: something about keep boiling the kettle throughout the day, so that, when you want a cup of tea, it will already be hot and will only take a few seconds to get to temperature, thus 'saving money'

And the extra time and water to wash the flask too?!

I think they get pleasure from saving those tiny amounts. It might seem daft to us but not to them.

Not in the same category as some of these heartbreaking stories but I have a school mum friend who is very frugal, obsessed with vinted and charity shops etc.. I bought the reception whole class picture to keep for my child one day and when my son handed it to me at home time she asked if she could take it home with her first to scan it. She just makes me laugh but I couldn't live with anyone like that.

This is your post isn't it?

Because it reads like a pretty sweeping observation.

If you had PND, as you say, then I'm genuinely surprised that you would have written this?

Someone's dad would split matchsticks lengthwise into 4 using a razorblade (dangerous?!) so that one box would last four times as long.

Razor blades cost a lot more than matchsticks - and matchsticks are thin enough as it is, so a quarter of one would surely snap when you tried to use it. Also, how do you divide up the phosphorus on the head so that each new quarter gets enough?!

As you say, it's very dangerous. Just one slip and the cost of the plaster for your finger (as well as anything that the blood gets on to and spoils) will more than nullify the cost of goodness knows how many cheap matches!

I'm undecided as to what I reckon (imho). Yes, I can see how some may gain satisfaction from tiny little wins; but I also wonder whether it comes from an irrational fear of being poor (even when they're loaded) or an obsessive compulsive mental grip to do it, even though any actual gains are virtually worthless?

Maybe it brings them great joy; but it seems such a waste of life. Investing 20 minutes to shop around and save yourself £150 on your annual insurance renewal premium makes great sense; but taking an hour to painstakingly cut down a cheap box of matches into quarters - that will then be too thin to work properly anyway - when a box of matches is super cheap and will normally last ages anyway... bonkers!

@Mothership4two I honestly cannot fathom how some people's minds function. I get that everyone grieves differently, but the sheer lack of empathy is horrific.

@KitWyn

Another one's best friend would, when it was raining, switch off the windscreen wipers in her car when going under the local not-very-long bridge to save energy.

My Dad worked with a man who did that! His colleagues thought it was hilarious. Surely the power used is negligible and the car battery recharges? My knowledge of cars is also negligible though.

And why aren't you pulling her up on this?