To ask about the tightest person you've ever met

[GunpowderGelatine]

I'm not talking about skint people, frugal people or those doing good for the environment - but who have you met who is the biggest tightwad without the need to be tight?

Mine is my mum unfortunately. She's just been for a week-long visit and I swear she gets worse with age (though she's not even 60 so not old). She's well off enough that she retired aged 47, hasn't had a mortgage since 2002 and her husband earns a very good living. She wears designer clothes and has lovely jewellery, so I don't think she's secretly skint or anything.

We went shopping in town one day during her visit and both got the odd thing from places like Primark, Superdrug etc ie nothing expensive. Because I had DS in the pram which is awkward round small and busy aisles, when coming to pay one of us took the others' stuff up with them to pay whilst the other one of us waited by the doors with the pram. Stuff we bought cost us each no more than a fiver altogether. We then went for lunch in M&S, mum got a table whilst I went up with a tray, got toasties and coffees and paid then and there. Cost about £19 for the 3 of us to eat and drink.

At the end of the day I figured we were probably even in what we'd paid for and I would've said nothing more about it. However 10 minutes after getting home she presented me with 3 receipts for places where she'd gone up to pay for stuff, with my stuff highlighted (she must've brought a highlighter with her as I don't have one in the house 🤣) and the amounts written on - the amounts were £2.99, £2.62 and £1.49

She then said she wanted to "treat us all" to the cinema as the kids wanted to see the Lion King. So off we went, I packed some mini bags of popcorn from M&S and some bottled drinks as otherwise I'd be spending around £20+ for the equivalent in the cinema. I packed enough for everyone (this is allowed in our cinema). When we went to buy the tickets, she bunged me a fiver (the cost of her ticket) - so much for treating us! And then I thought we were going into the cinema but to my surprise she proceeded to get a large popcorn, large coke, a hot dog and Maltesers for herself. Which cost her £16.99. We had to all carry something as she had so much 😂 I was and thought it's a good job I have a sense of humour. She then wouldn't let my kids have some of her maltesers because "your popcorn is enough you'll get sick" - and then left a half full packet on her chair at the end

I don't think I've ever known such a tightwad! She's like this with other people - she gives her elderly neighbour a lift to the supermarket when she goes, and takes petrol money off her! Even though she's going anyway.

And no I didn't ask for money for lunch and what I paid for in shops, or for lunch, because i refuse to be like that. I also didn't want to mention about her treating us at the cinema because she'd no doubt say something passive aggressive like "oh I didn't know you were skint" 🙄

Cheer me up please by regaling me with your best tightwad stories!

The elderly parents secretly being millionaires is my fave.

A co-worker's mum died in her 80s. She was single, on benefits, lived in council housing. Worked as a cleaner most of her life. Was a WOC immigrant who arrived in this country with nothing. My friend was a lovely daughter to her, fussed over her, always driving her and paying for her groceries, buying her treats.

When she died they found that she owned MULTIPLE houses (at least 3). In London. She's been buying them for years on the sly and renting them out. It was a huge nightmare because she'd been claiming benefits without declaring it.

Oh I just remembered one. I worked on a play in the west end about 10 years ago as a stage technician. I was one of the lowly crew but on a few nights we all went out with the cast for drinks. There were three very famous actors in it - all UK household names. One night we went To a private club in the west end. There were about ten of us. Everyone had a cocktail or two and when the bill came it was a couple of hundred quid and everyone put down some money. The waiter brought back the change and it was a fiver and some shrapnel. One of time actors (who made a million pounds for a BT add campaign around that time) looked around the table and said if no one’s taking this I will, and took the fiver rather than leave it as a tip. I was only about 25 then but now I think I’d have to say something. He was a coco all round to be fair.

Ex husband used to charge me petrol money to drive me and our baby DD to visit my parents, it was less than ten minutes to drive!

Ex husband also used to say parking costs were a scam so refused to park at the hospital for midwife appointments and made me walk with sciatica and whilst vomiting almost constantly. I fainted and he told the midwife I’d skipped breakfast- all so he didn’t look tight

My Dad’s Wife’s mother gives me free samples for birthdays/Christmas

Work with a woman who is so tight she only breathes in, if you don't fancy what you have brought in for lunch she will shout "I will eat it "and also she reuses her poppy every year, so she doesn't have to buy a new one! A bloke I used to work with would sneak pennies into a collection, when he got married he opened an account at a travel agent so people could contribute to his honeymoon! Needless to say nobody put a penny in it, serves him right.

And no I didn't ask for money for lunch and what I paid for in shops, or for lunch, because i refuse to be like that. I also didn't want to mention about her treating us at the cinema because she'd no doubt say something passive aggressive like "oh I didn't know you were skint"🙄

This is exactly why people like your mother get away with it. They're hoping people will say nothing and allow them to take the piss. They are enabled.

I have to say that I hate rounds as well. I find them completely unfair and too expensive. 7 people go for a drink on a weeknight - you'll never buy 7 rounds and not all rounds cost the same either. I try not to take part in rounds and I find this much easier for women - there's too much pressure on men to take part.

Old work mate I once had, I helped him move on my day off, he said I’ll give u a fiver for the petrol I said do t worry ad I was doing him a favour. He nearly came in his pants.

Another time I said I have an old computer console I was looking to rid of, he said oh I’ll have it I said ok say twenty quid? He was shocked I asked lol

Another tome we went fishing, i drove him there, he used bait me and other fiend brought, went to pub after and he “forgot his wallet” he also took the left over bait for his dinner.

Best one was that he used to grow his hair for 6 months for the winter , and shave it all off ( right down to the skin) for summer so he didn’t have to pay for haircut or buy a hat

Ooh another colleague was caught nicking milk, she was pouring it into a flask to take home, she didn't contribute to our coffee and milk either she was notoriously tight.

I would never be able to be friends with such tightwads.

When my dgm was in hospital after an aortic aneurysm +surgery - now exh asked me after every visit had a mentioned +he needed petrol money?
He had 2 jobs and never gave me a penny. Cb was all I ever had.
He paid bills and that was all.
When she died he asked could I ask my aunt for it all!!

Gosh some of these people! I do hate rounds though. We aren't big drinkers (so I tend to have a soda and lime, or just alternate an alcoholic and soft drink each time) so it feels like a bit of a sting, especially when a few people are drinking big glasses of naice wine.

Same goes for splitting bills. I'd never say anything but when DH and I are having veggie meals and water, and have to split with a couple who have steak and wine...then drop them off because I'm designated driver, I feel a bit Puts me off eating out!

I once had a colleague who said he was broke so he never carried money. On Fridays, when everyone went to the pub at lunchtime, he would go along too, and wait for someone else to buy him a drink. Every Friday. He never ever bought anyone else a drink.

This has reminded me of the office fruit thief!

Years ago I worked in a very large office. Presumably in a bid to encourage healthy eating the company provided a small amount of free fruit- so each area had a bowl of fruit delivered in the morning enough for about 1 piece each per day. A colleague was found out to be going round the office early most mornings taking a piece of fruit from several baskets and putting them in his desk drawer to eat later/take home. He earned a decent wage and lived in a large house with his parents, who also made him sandwiches to take to work every day, so clearly was not starving through lack of money.

My brother. He had a handsoap dispenser in his car, you know the ones some people have on the bathroom sink, Carex etc.
He’d take it out with him and fill it up in public toilets.

There are clearly a lot of tight arses out there!!
An ex-friend of mine was a nightmare the usual never offering to buy a round of drinks but would be the first to say yes of someone offered. She never put in a tip in restaurants (ok if not your thing) but a couple of times went to take what myself and other two friends had put in as a tip as her change. We did pull her up on it...

If you go to someone else's you take a bottle or contribute to food for a barbecue etc. Once she brought a vodka bottle with about two measures left in; mostly she wouldn't bring anything but most laughable was the one veggie sausage she took to a barbecue....

A friend of mine's MIL is the tightest person I know,and is a CF to boot. She is seriously loaded,but when she has gone to stay with my friend at Christmas for 2 weeks (she lives nearly 300 miles away),she didn't give my friend a penny towards her food or keep for the fortnight. My friend's husband had even picked her up and taken her home.
The CF-ery came into play when they went out for a meal together. My friend had a voucher giving 50% off the cost of the meals,and her MIL totally expected to be included in this.
When my friend made a comment a few months back about needing to start saving some money for when her DD started university in a few years,MIL said sarkily 'Well,you needn't bother looking at me!'. Old bitch. She literally has hundreds of thousands in the bank.

@PooWillyBumBum rounds thing is easy enough just say you arebuying your own.Same goes for splitting bills. I'd never say anything but when DH and I are having veggie meals and water, and have to split with a couple who have steak and wine...then drop them off because I'm designated driver, I feel a bit hmm Puts me off eating out!

Stop splitting the bills then.Just say we each pay for our own.Its not that hard,especially you know what they are like.

These remind me of my much loved and missed auntie who upon talking about her stingy friend said "She's tighter than a crab's arse.....and that's watertight!"

My ex husband. We sold a sofa to a friends daughter, and ex offered to deliver it. When he arrived at her house he told her he’d cut the material under the sofa cushions to check for any change that might have gone down the back of it. He’d actually pulled over to the side of the road to do this out of my sight as he knew I’d have gone crackers. The sofa was unusable as the cushions just sank though when you sat on them.

Friend didn’t tell me till years later after I divorced him. I was mortified.

I've had a few tight bosses ,
Boss 1 - head of finance would hate spending any money I get he's in charge of the money but he was too tight sometimes. If say Someone bought milk for the company and came with the receipt to get the money back he used to say see me later or no money in petty cash . I've known colleagues give up but others got wise to him and would insist.
The worse one a colleague was quite ill been in hospital but he refused to pay sick pay so she dragged herself in work still in pain . By lunch time she had enough and had to go home he docked the 1/2 day pay . I was disgusted and encouraged her to complain to the MD who reprimanded him he paid her back the 1/2 day back . she left a couple of months later and had deducted the 1/2 day from her final pay .
Boss 2 - also stingy , my job was to order the office stationary would insist I find cheapest supplier which was fine I got that , one time a supplier sent a £10 voucher for Tesco's he was livid as it's bribery even though I hadn't received it , I was fuming that he kept it as we could've bought some biscuits etc for the office . A box of chocolates from a customer left on his desk for months eventually he passed them round they were out of date .
A bottle of wine on his desk also from a customer for months just left on his desk . I took it on my last day I'm not sorry

Enjoyed reading these. Friend from school was just a miserable tight wad.

We were in a cafe once and he announced he couldn’t finish his cake, so offered it around. He then asked to be reimbursed proportionate to how much we ate.

Ex BF booked a holiday for my birthday present. Cost was £600 for both of us. He asked if I could lend him £300 spending money and £300 to cover my half. This was the day of my Grandads funeral. He had already accidentally spent £600 of my previously and let me believe I have been robbed.