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.

Exactly. The guy knew we had the office buffet the next day & went with his plastic box specifically to scrounge some free grub.

Other posters have said they don't see a problem if the food was only going to be wasted, but my issue was that you don't know how long the food had been sitting there at the wake, before then being brought into the office the next day.

Yup. Blooming vulture and risking his colleagues health. @RosesAndHellebores who mentioned giving leftovers to a homeless charity, that is a really good idea, it goes to the needy & doesn't hang around breeding germs.

Sorry edit fail, should be @SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius

Thank you, @CherryRipe1.

I worked at a homeless charity and we’d always get people offering party leftovers but they were refused because we had no idea where they’d come from or if they’d been refrigerated/touched by 1000 filthy hands.

Yes, but if they had taken the leftovers, that would have been different wouldn't it?

How fussy.
We gave to a homeless charity a few years ago and they were happy to have it.
I do regret that we did it though because my colleague who approached the building got harassed by the homeless people.

Wow, I dont know if you intended this to sound as awful as it does, I hope not!

Would you eat something from an unknown source, given that you didnt know where it came from, how it had been stored and whether it was safe to eat?

Your comment smacks of "Well they are homeless so they should be grateful for anything!", which is unpleasant to say the least.

"Would you eat something from an unknown source, given that you didnt know where it came from, how it had been stored and whether it was safe to eat?"

Yes, it's the case for anything you get at a pot luck buffet really.

"Your comment smacks of "Well they are homeless so they should be grateful for anything!", which is unpleasant to say the least."

Like I said, when we donated, it was welcomed.

Which is why I dont eat at pot luck buffets!

But the thing about normal catered buffets is that they need to follow strict rules about storing, labelling and dating food before it is put out. Buffet food degrades relatively quickly and can only be out for service for a certain amount of time before being disposed of. Add into that the fact that some people are disgusting creatures and for every 10 people who will simply touch what they are taking, there is always one who has a prod and a feel and a double dip at everything on the table.

So I wouldnt be happy eating those leftovers and dont see why anyone else should be expected to, just because they are homeless as if they somehow deserve less.

I am genuinely surprised that a charity took the leftovers, we have two local places and they only accept fresh food from local supermarkets due to the above issues, nowhere else.

"So I wouldnt be happy eating those leftovers and dont see why anyone else should be expected to, just because they are homeless as if they somehow deserve less."

It's not just because they are homeless. Most people eat at pot luck buffets. I know there are quite a few people on MN who don't eat anything home made, but most people do!

i get that but the point I was making is that food hygiene regs are very strict. I work in the industry and there is no way that food that had been out for consumption would be ok to pass on to somewhere else.

Its a food poisoning risk. No decent charity should accept it. Its for safety reasons.

@PyongyangKipperbang has explained the reasons very well, that you PK.

That buffet food could have been sat in a warm kitchen for four solid days before they donate it. Most homeless people are immunocompromised. The food poisoning risk is higher for them than for you or me.

I’m sorry your friend was harassed. Most homeless people are addicts/ex-offenders/personality-disordered/have complex mental health disorders. Our workers/volunteers would never work alone and I would never recommend anybody, especially female, visiting a homeless shelter or hostel alone if they are a stranger.

"I would never recommend anybody, especially female, visiting a homeless shelter or hostel alone if they are a stranger."

It was an order from above that we couldn't refuse.

A colleague of mine pretends it’s her birthday every time she goes out for a meal she will mention it to the server when ordering and say anything free for the birthday girl?. She is that convincing and hard faced she’s always gets something free like a glass of wine or a dessert, and no she isn’t skint.

Similar charity worker here (community centre). Most likely they thanked the donor politely and then threw all or most of it away.

Potluck dinners are one thing, potluck dinners which have been displayed once and then moved to a second location are another thing. I wouldn't risk it, so I wouldn't expect more disadvantaged people to risk it either.

I have a friend who went to a weekend away hosted by friends who had a bit of land for camping. Food was a group effort. People with transport were all bringing it all and those with out would put money in to help pay for it. Seemed fair to me. Instead of doing that, she asked if she could take money OUT of the kitty as she was a bit skint that week. Unbelievably they said yes and she helped herself.......

She once decided she wasn't paying for the internet anymore and asked a friend if she could use theirs. The friend thought it was a one off but it wasn't. When they went on holiday, my friend asked for the password so she could sit on their front doorstep and still use it. Unsurprisingly, they said no.😂

@AquaForce
We had similar with previous neighbours years ago. They asked to use our broadband as a one off. When we changed the password, they asked what the new password was. No way.

@AquaForce@Changename12Good heavens, some people are just so brazen cheeky feckers!

Not sure if this counts as cheap as such but its fucking selfish and awful. Definitely counts as stingy and greedy.

Lidl have their 5p veg thing on at the moment in an attempt to make sure that even the very poor can get something decent for Xmas. A couple got a trolley and were emptying the lot into their trolley. They had walked in with a basket and went back for a trolley when they saw it. DD was behind them and security went up and told them that they had to put it all back. The man started arguing that they have family coming for Xmas and the security guy said that unless he had a family of 200 there was no way he needed all that veg. In the end they got chucked out but I cant help feeling that they will try again, people like that are absolutely shameless.

I suggested that they might be taking so much to sell it on but DD said that they didnt strike her that way, see said that they seemed like a normal couple rather than a wide boy on the make!

The homeless charity we donated the food to is the one my late FIL used to help at. The hotel where we had the wake regularly donates food to them, and they are always very happy with the donations, @Nevermind17.

It's incredible. It borders on admirable that they can be so confident with their demands and can't see why it's such an issue 😂

I've just seen a YouTube video this morning about the cheap Aldi/Lidl veg and ideas for what to do with it. In the comments someone said they'd bought extra, returning in different hats and coats each time.......

I can't imagine they make much profit on those deals. It's nearly free but it's great there's something available for all pockets. No one should be going without, now or any other time of year.

To be honest though, I wouldn't buy brussels sprouts even if there was a tenner in the bag with them. Ghastly things 😂

@PyongyangKipperbang@AquaForceDear oh dear, the sheer effrontery & greed of some people really is on another level. So entitled and brazen. I'm glad that security man chucked that couple out. I got some 5p veg yesterday in Lidl, one bag of sprouts and a swede, I didn't see any signs up about limits, perhaps they should stick up large notices saying only 1 or 2 items of each per customer so everyone can get fair dibbs.

Good God, I'm glad they were caught out. What awful people.