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.

Aldi is four of the same item but it's hidden away somewhere in teeny writing that isn't obvious

Ah right, thanks. It's a good thing selling cheap veg (probably not for the farmers) so everyone can have some at Christmas but I suspect it's a loss leader marketing strategy by the supermarkets & people will buy other more expensive stuff whilst they're there.

DD rang when she got home and was horrified, but you know whats worse? I wasnt particularly surprised. Disgusted? Yes but surprised? No.

She is 28 and perhaps hasnt seen quite so much of the nastier side of people as her 52 year old mother has.

ETA just seen that there are probably limits so I cant help wondering if they would have been told at the till, one would hope so.

😮

A woman I used to work with had met someone through OLD who ran a caravan site. Changeover day was a Friday and he would go through the fridges and cupboards before the cleaners were allowed in, and gather up all of the leftover bits of food that people hadn't binned or had forgotten about.

On the very odd occasion there would be something like an unopened pack of sliced ham or a block of cheese but mostly it was things like half a jar of jam, a quarter of a loaf of bread, a couple of slices of ham, a wee bit of butter, some cereal etc etc.

He was absolutely thrilled about this, apparently there were a lot of caravans so he said that that was his lunch and dinner sorted for a good few days. What I thought was funny though is the fact that when he told her, she was so excited about it too, and would drive straight there on a Friday after work for what she called "picky bits tea"! I'm guessing she is or was on MN because I hadn't heard that phrase until I joined here.

Yes, I think you're right. Like the cheap beans that were all the rage back in the day 😂

Sounds like they were made for each other! Are they still together?! Bet their wedding buffet was interesting if they got married!

I wonder why it's not clearly stated that you can only have four?

It's hardly going to put people off. How many guests would you need for four of each veg to not be enough meaning you need to shop somewhere else.

CarrieMoonbeams
"picky bits tea"

From leftovers of unknown origin. 😧That's up there with the bloke who saves the scraps from other people's plates.

As far as I know they are still together - as another colleague said, "When God made them, He matched them!". As you say, imagine the wedding buffet if they did get married - they'd probably gather up random bits from other parties/funerals etc beforehand, and then dine on the leftover leftovers for weeks to come!

@AquaForce , exactly, that's what reminded me. Yuk!

I am sitting here giggling with the image in my head of a buffet table of half packets of ham and curly week old sandwiches!

I'm starting to feel sick ! Bleugh...🤣

My ex in laws could be as cheap as anything.

Laughed in our faces when exh told them we had bought soup spoons, “if that’s what you want to waste your money on”.

Moved house in November and took all of the light bulbs with them.

Never bought gift tags for Christmas presents so spent the day shaking or peeking a look at each present so they could tell whose it was. The incubator for their grandchildren, aka me, wasn’t even worth buying wrapping paper for. My presents were put in nice Christmas boxes that I had to give back immediately. Not sure why they bothered, my presents were always hand soap and stuff for the house. My exh was always strictly told to be careful with the wrapping paper on his presents and not to rip it, so they could reuse next year.

They were/are very comfortable.

It is not "four of each veg"

It is a four bags full. Prepacked. E.g. 1kg carrots, 2.5kg potatoes.

And it is stated in the ads, the catalogue, and the sign on the shelf.

Look at this page and see if you can find it.

https://www.aldi.co.uk/product/nature-s-pick-carrots-000000000000339791

https://www.aldi.co.uk/super-6

@AquaForce

"you need to shop somewhere else"

You are welcome to shop somewhere else if you want to.

But they have plenty of "normal price" veg, and the four packs limit does not apply to them,

Yes, I know it's four bags and not four carrots FFS. Thanks for the link I've never seen a bag of vegetables before.....

Neighbours in the flat about my parents asked if they could use their wifi and Dad gave them the password. I told him that wasn't a good idea - was worried about their security (I am no expert) - so we went throught the faff of changing the password again. They are in their mid 80s and anything internet related is a nightmare. This couple are obviously comfortably off, so not sure what the issue was. Presume they now have their own provider, unless they are cadging off another neighbour

That's reminded me of a playdate that DS went on once - from late am. Later we were chatting about it and I asked him what he had had for lunch. I was taken aback when he said he hadn't had any. It turns out that at lunchtime, when they all sat up, the mum, the sister and the friend ate a meal but she gave DS a plate with two biscuits. Having had a zillion playdates (including that child), I couldn't believe she wouldn't feed a child. If you miscalculate forgetting you have an extra mouth to feed, offer a sandwich or something! Personally I'd have the sandwich so the child could have the meal. DS was quite happy having biscuits instead of lunch (obvs) except he would have liked a few more of them (he came home hungry)! I did double check with him that she hadn't offered and he'd said no (like if it was something he didn't like) but he was quite clear there had been no offer.

Presume they now have their own provider, unless they are cadging off another neighbour

I think we can all probably guess! They're obviously the kind of people who see it as a terrible waste to pay for something that they perceive somebody else has 'already paid for'. Just like the folk who ask for a lift to where you're going and naturally assume that they shouldn't contribute anything.

You can tell that they're CFs - if they were just people with an eye out for a 'bargain' and wanting to make the most of unlimited/plentiful resources, they would be suggesting that you both pay half for a service in one person's name, rather than each paying the full whack and 'doubling up'.

If they discovered that you're not on a water meter, they're the kind who would be expecting to run a pipe off your supply to theirs and merrily let you pay for both of you.

Absolutely @Politicians247UnderwearExtinguishingService and takers are always mean and ungenerous not treating others how they expect to be treated.

I bought four packs of carrots and sprouts, and 2 bags of white potatoes. But I also bought four each of full-priced packs of leeks, roasting potatoes, sweetheart cabbages, cauliflowers and loads of other veg.

I’m doing two Christmas dinners on the 25th and the 27th for around 15 people each time so I need a LOT.

MIL, in winter when it's really cold, turns the heating on for half an hour, off for an hour, on again for half an hour and off for an hour and so it goes on throughout the day!
She never reciprocates if given anything. A neighbour did several jobs around the house for her and was a few hundred pounds out of pocket. She resisted reimbursing the neighbour for his costs. DH will send him a gift voucher as a thank you over Christmas as she certainly wouldn't do it.
In the 35 years I have known her, she has never given me a gift ever despite the fact that we have given her many gifts!
She is very well off! Oh yes, and she reuses tea bags too!
What a miserable life!

Having your heating on for 1/2 hour out of every 1 1/2 hours is quite a lot though. Most people don’t just have it on all the time.

If you have central heating, wouldn’t the thermostat turn the heating on and off to maintain whatever temperature you wanted?

Only if you want it to cost a bloody fortune.