What’s the stingiest thing you’ve ever seen a friend do?

[zappp]

I have an (ex-)friend who is very stingy. She earns plenty and is happy to splurge on herself and show off, but when it comes to others, she is mean with money to the point where I’ve felt really taken advantage of on multiple occasions. It’s almost like it’s a game for her; seeing how little she can pay and how much she can extract from others.

The friendship fizzled out when I started calling her out on it and stopped covering her costs (I previously didn’t want to make things awkward, especially in a group setting, but it got to a point where I was too pissed off to keep being polite).

Against my better judgment, I recently attended a group dinner that she was also part of - a mutual friend was in town and this was the only time we could see her. In the WhatsApp planning group, she’d enthusiastically agreed to the restaurant choice - it was definitely a nicer place, but not extravagant.

When she got there, she claimed she wasn’t hungry and didn’t order any food, only to ask the waiter for an empty plate and help herself - rather generously - from everyone else’s food!!! She also asked for a glass for the wine we’d already ordered, which would’ve been fine, except guess how much she chipped in to the bill…? Exactly, zero.

It was also a bit embarrassing towards the restaurant; it’s hard to get a reservation and the group was small enough that it was strange for one person not to be eating at peak dinner time, especially as we were seated at a big table.

This time I didn’t even bother calling her out - it was so brazen that she basically called herself out.

I know you never truly know someone else’s financial situation, but she’s certainly spending enough on clothes, holidays, and skincare to make me think she could afford a plate of pasta and glass of wine…

Anyway, rant over, I want to hear other stingy stories!

That's unbelievably gross. And staggeringly rude!

Poor kids, did they not get any cake?

maybe not stingy per se but unusual I think and certainly not something my own dad would do in a million years. My FIL got his kids to pay for their mum’s headstone. He had 2 houses fully paid off and the kids were early/mid 20s just starting out, or with young families, etc.

Reunion with a group I hadn't seen for about ten years. We had a meal with a bottle of wine and each had a glass, the waiter filled each about half full. Partway through the meal one of the women reached for the bottle and poured what was left into her glass - it was almost at the brim! No attempt to share it out, no apologies for finishing. When we were settling up she refused to pay towards the second bottle because she hadn't had any, despite the fact she'd had more than twice the amount the rest of us had from the first. She also unexpectedly bought her year old baby to the meal (fine) but tried to help herself from everyone elses meal to make up a plate for him. It was very much 'I'll have that potato Jen and those beans Ann. Mary, pass me your carrots. If she had asked it might have been different. Some people did say no as the portions were not overly generous and he was mostly smearing the food in his hair.

And again maybe not stingy per se but again weird. I had a colleague who on work night outs used to pull out a dog poo
bag and scrape everyone’s plates into it to take home for her dog.

We were invited to a 30th birthday party for a well off friend just before Christmas, turned up to the venue they’d booked to find it was an odd buffet of cous cous and cold left over turkey, ok a bit odd but never mind we all had a nice time chatting and having a few drinks from the bar (which we had to pay for) and as we were leaving we were collared by friend’s mum asking us for the £13.50 each for the buffet 😱

I would relate a cracker, but she’s on here. 😂

Agreed. I know an ex friend who used to steal toilet rolls and glasses from pubs and nightclubs when we were younger. She used to charge any friends for petrol if she gave a lift to the pub because she was ‘skint’.
She bought a flat near Notting Hill shortly after that.

Do you have any inkling as to what makes him like this?
Something in his history?

Took MIL around posh garden centre- you know the type with a landscaped garden. Mortified when she snipped "cuttings" off plants when she went round, then tip all salt sugar etc into her handbag in the cafe.
Having said that she grew up with not much so you could understand the mindset- still embarrassing though

I had a friend who was not above taking back her share of a tip left for the waiting staff if she thought I couldnt see ie if I had nipped to the loo. She was another “let’s split the bill” one if I was driving ( and giving her a lift btw) so not drinking while she was having her g and t and several glasses of wine….

My sister and her husband sharing a fish and chips off the same plate in the local Morrisons cafe. I had taken dc in for tea 1 night before getting some shopping. Sister was in there tucking into her half of fish and chips. Her husband had only just started walking the 10 minute walk from work. She had finished her half when we spotted him out the window walking over the bridge.🤣🤣🤣 Obviously by the time he arrived his share was stone cold.

A lot of these don't impact anyone except themselves and seem like sensible ecomomies to me. I can't abide people who don't pay their way, but not spending unecessarily in other ways makes sense.Look after the pennies...

Many years ago when I lived with my ex he was totally stingy with money. We both worked when he moved in with me when I found out I was pregnant. he never contributed to the rent on the flat I lived in. He spent a few quid on curtains. He was sat watching TV a week after he moved in and randomly asked if the shop was still open I said yeah why he goes oh I wanted to get a pack of cigs, went to the shop with him and he said actually I don't have any money can you get them? I paid as I also smoke so I didn't mind as I'd have some of them too, only I went to light one up and he actually told me no they're his and I couldnt have one!!! The next day we were in town and he'd got a call from his mum, he went over to her and gave her £100. I went mad and told him I thought he had no money considering he asked me to pay for his cigs. He said his parents were still forcing him to pay towards the bills he was contributing to whilst living at theirs. He also didn't pay towards shopping. I kicked him out after a month as he was totally taking the piss. I'd paid our weeks food shop the day before and when I asked him to leave he cleared out my fridge whilst I was out taking all of my food and cans of pop that I'd got to do lunches for work for the week. Couldn't believe it. I text him when I got home to an almost empty fridge asking where all my food was he said well I took it it's mine. Bloody cheek.

She ordered what she wanted (mostly stuff that nobody else had asked for, or liked!)

Would you send a message asking for an extra 13p each, especially after a couple of people had already replied to the original message to say that they had paid? I certainly wouldn’t be chasing 78p, but to each their own I suppose 😂

My (thankfully) ex-SIL was really tight, so were PIL, they’d come and visit us and we’d (I’d) stock the fridge, home cook them breakfast, lunch and dinner and had all the booze in. When we went up there, there would be no food in, they’d suggest takeaways and then wait for us to pay, and, if I was lucky, they’d buy me 1 bottle of wine for weeks stay over New Year.
I used to ignore it but one time really annoyed me. I was pregnant so I was driving, SIL asked if o could drive them to save the taxi. No bother, it was three round trips to get us all there but whatever not far. So I finally park up and SIL dashes to the car park machine and gets a ticket. This is unusual so I glanced at the parking charges as I went past. £1
Anyway in the restaurant, SIL, BIL and their 2 school age children, ex husband, me and our 9 month old. SIL, BIL get stuck into loads of beers, order food for the four of them etc, we order our food, nothing for baby as he shared mine.
When the bill came SIL grabbed it and said “you owe c£100, I saiid “how so?” And she said “50/50 yeah”
I pointed out that there was 4 of them, two of us and we weren’t drinking and she said, (you’ve guessed it) “but I paid for parking

My brother has been friends with a woman for 40 years and shes been stingy for all of them. She jumps out of taxis before it's her turn to chip in and has to be made to buy a round. The worst thing though was when she went on honeymoon with her brother and his new wife. And shared the room.....She is of course very well off, well you would be if you lived like that.

Not a friend, but my sister’s ex. He charged her petrol money to take her to her chemotherapy appointments at a hospital about 5 miles from home. He charged her 30p a mile, this was in 2005 so he made a good profit. She died in 2011 and he turned up at the funeral-I couldn’t look at him.

Over 65p?!

Come on now.

What a cunt

A friend asked my husband to help her husband fit a new kitchen abroad where we both had apartments. He paid for his own travel (fine). No payment (again fine). However, each end I they would go out to eat and split the in half !!! 2 of them and one of him of him!!!

No idea

He's the youngest child of 4 (next siblings up is 15 years older) and was very spoilt growing up

He lost his mother (my granny) when he was 19

He does admit he used to like drinking in his youth (that he will spend money on-he had a shit fit when his beer went over £1 a bottle)

He has always made sensible decisions with money (as in bought his own house/made very good investments)

There's nothing that I can see in his childhood that makes him like this-hes always been an 'old soul' and not very materialistic but there is tight and there is him

I remember we went to the seaside (I paid petrol) and I decided to buy (then) toddler dd and ice cream (I needed to get away from the beach-wed sat on it for 7 hours by that point-they even refused to buy her a bucket and spade-the one they brought was the one i used as a child and it was knackered)

They dragged us up and down the seafront to find the cheapest ice cream and he found a stall,just off the seafront that was 'buy one scoop,get one free'

My mother asked for a vanilla ice cream and stood back while I paid for it

As we walked away,she dropped it

Now I would have swallowed it and bought another,but they both stood arguing with the girl (who was about 15) for another one

It was embarrassing to watch but they finally got a scoop in a tub for free (believe me i tried to get them to walk away but they kept pushing me away)

They walked away moaning that the girl hadn't given them their 'free' scoop

I just wanted to die of shame-they didnt even buy the first ice cream but got a freebie and where crowing about it for months

Then I found out (years later) that she'd trained my dc to put sugar/milk/teaspoons/ketchup/napkins/knives/forks/spoons/salt/pepper etc into her handbag in cafes

I'd grown a set by then and went mental at her-its theft-she tried to deny it (with tears) but I banned her from taking them into cafes

Her cutlery drawer is all local cafes stuff

Shes now banned from her local Morrisions cafe for swiping too many 'freebies'

I really want you to have a nice win on the lottery after that.

I leant a friend a book to take on holiday and she ended up leaving it there because she didn't have room in her suitcase to bring it back because of all the new clothes she bought. But she'd totally give me the address of the friends she was staying with and she was SURE that if I paid them, they'd send it back.

When I refused her Very Generous Offer and told her she owed me a book she:
Tried to buy me a paperback (No, you lost my hardback copy, you buy me another hardback copy)
Asked if I minded waiting until she could find one in a charity shop
Asked AGAIN if I was sure I didn't want to just contact the people she stayed with.

I eventually got a replacement hardback but it was like pulling teeth.

told this story many times but it bears repeating.

Billy Big Bollocks was (I think) the son in law in a large family that met up about every three months or so in the restaurant I was working in. They would all pay for themselves and chuck cash for their share plus a tip onto the plate. BBB would then say he was paying by card to went to the bar with the plate, would pay for his meal with their tips and trouser any change. He did this every time. One of my colleagues got sick of this and did something amazing!

She took 20p from the till and put it on the tray with a reprint of the receipt and took it to the table, she went to the opposite end of the table from BBB where his FIL (we think) was sitting. She said that he had forgotten his change at which BBB waved her away with "oh thats for you love", she put it down in front of FIL and said "no thank you". Well all hell broke loose! Once FIL checked the receipt and they realised what he had done he came and asked if we had ever had any tips from them, so of course we had to say no. The row was unholy! They made him empty his wallet to give to us (a LOT of money) and I dont know if they made him pay them back but he never went out with them again!