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!

Actually I must attract them because my dh is quite tight. He will treat himself to things but there are things that really need replacing around the house that he point blank refuses to spend money on. I have a nice light coloured raincoat that I wear most days for the school run and realised today that it has a big dark blue stain on the back, I've tried to get it out but it's ruined. No idea what it is. Showed dh and said how disappointed I was as its a really lovely jacket, he said well it will still be fine! Ffs it's almost white, with a hand sized dark blue stain right on the shoulder, it looks awful. He definitely wouldn't wear something so badly stained, but he will happily let me wear it twice a day to save spending any money.

bobstersmum please tell me you have some independence with your finances. Otherwise I think you should be googling 'financial abuse'.

Not tight per se but amusing all the same to me - I live in the same area as one of the wealthiest women in the country and have seen her countless times in Tesco with her trolley piled high with Tesco Value products and scouring the Reduced items for a bargain.

God your "friend" sounds utterly repulsive PenelopesChat. Why would you be friends with someone like that?

I understand how it's not easy calling out this behaviour but can't imagine ever behaving this way.

A best friend of mine struggles for money, 3 teenagers and virtually zero help from her ex. She works full time and does well to stretch what she has. When we go out for a few drinks I'll insist on getting the lions share and Ubering her home. If she's out with my chap and I we don't let her pay for any drinks. If we stay in she'll come with wine or the cracking Aldi gin and tons of snacks. It took a while for me to get her to accept that I wanted to pay for her and she should let me, and there was no reciprocity expected, other then her amazing friendship and the laughs we have.

I ended a decades long friendship with a tight person. She was never tight with me but was with other friends. I ended the friendship because of her awful treatment of mutual friends over and above her tightness. Being tight at the expense of others really does indicate an unpleasant character.

CaveMum

Insecurity. Money and having it pile up is her God and Saviour. Nothing wrong with Value items either, but the pursuit of it is a bit ugh when you don't have to. I am sure there is probably 20 quid more charge in Waitrose or wherever. Shock horror.

And that applies to most described on this thread too imo.

One of the neighbours has just been in hospital with a bad chest for a couple of weeks. This was partly due to having no hot water or heating on in the house for 2 weeks.She got quotes from 5 different gas plumbers for the boiler to be fixed, but her husband refused to entertain the repair.
They have the money he just didn't want to spend it, so she nearly died instead. This is an elderly lady in her 80s who cant breathe and has other health problems.

My DF tried to sell me some trainers he got from lost property! 😂

I can't see what's wrong with taking tea bags or cereal on holiday?
To me tight is constantly thinking how to shave off pennies when you really do not have too.

Esp parking! People paying 20p less but walking an hour to get to the destination...

To begin then being all holier than thou because they saved 20p.
Tensing up over bday and Xmas, always talking about how expensive things are.... Never relenting not even Xmas day...

I was v heavily pregnant, hot day, in bar by village fete with fil and dh.I said I was desperately thirsty and needed a drink.

I went to bar and asked fil dh, what they wanted.
Big payment tussle, fil insisted on paying. I said I wanted TWO fizzy water... I said this three times.. Laughing saying how thirsty I was.

Fil brought drinks and very purposefully sat down, and had one fizzy drink, gave me the other and dh drink.

I wish now I had directly asked him what was going on.. Had he forgotten my second bottle!

He's an absolute control freak and utterly panics if you might go off piste and want to choose your own drinks.

On the maybe 3 occasions we have been out with them in 15 years, I've never been asked what I would like to drink r eat and

JemilyJ That's appalling. No wonder she's now an ex friend. Talk about using people!

Thought of another, my daughter and partner moved in together recently. I don't have a partner myself so not loaded but I wanted to get them something they needed which was a sofa. They were so chuffed and I loved buying it for them. Daughters partners parents, very well off got them a set of Nando's sauces from a supermarket, i seriously thought it was a joke. Great gift for their son, still cannot get over it.

our darling mother [not never has been and never will be] when my sister had her son she already had a daughter aged 21 months mother said she would go down to visit and help out [where did that conscience come from?] my sister lived and hour and a half away from us, my mother said she would go to the shop if anything was needed? yes please a loaf of bread please, mother actually asked my sister for the money for the bread, and as my sister had just had her son she thought something quick for tea that was in the freezer fish fingers came out...……………..mother said weeks later 'I had to eat rubbish fish fingers when I came to yours' yes mother but you had a choice I would gladly have shoved them down her throat had I been there, or go hungry!! mother doesn't have a maternal bone in her body she's now 91 and wonders why neither me or my sister have visited for 16 years!! maybe the fact that we knew they wanted boys and got two girls was our first mistake and they never let us forget it and boy we paid dearly for it!!! hence now mother is very alone and bitter!!!

bobstersmum Oh no! Could you possibly get it dyed a darker colour if you still like it?

I recently took the kids to Airkix, where it's a simulated sky di inf experience in a wind tunnel. There was a family sat there for hours, just watching other people. Had packed their own snacks and everything. I thought it was mean to take your kids and not let them have a go. I heard they were quite regular visitors.

I ordered a pizza with two girlfriends once. One girls husband came home and the other girl wanted him to pay to have a piece. In his own house no less. (awkward).

Years ago l used to do a lot of competitions. Within a month l won two, one to ltaly and one to Egypt. Asked (who l considered to be) my best friend to go with me. l even got £500 spending money with one of them, and l split it with her. So it cost her nothing.
The Egyptian one was just bed & breakfast in a 3 star hotel, but the ltalian hotel was really nice, and you could open a bar tab on your room. She drinks quite a lot. l don't. At the end of the week she was not happy when l asked her to pay her share of the bar bill, and only dobbed in half of it. Then on the flight home, when l was expecting her to drop me off at home when we got back to hers (l lived about 5 miles away from her, she lived nearer the airport), she started drinking on the plane. Then she asked how much money l had on me. lt wasn't a lot as l wasn't expecting to need any. She said "well you'll have to get a taxi home from mine because l've had a drink." So the 'free' holiday she got from me, plus £250 spending money, actually ended up costing me half her bar bill and the taxi fare home. We're not in touch now besides Christmas and birthday cards.

I used to work with a guy who would use the same teabag over and over throughout the day. Maybe about 5 or 6 times. He'd leave it sitting there on the kitchen sink for next time. Bleurgh.

I recently took the kids to Airkix, where it's a simulated sky di inf experience in a wind tunnel. There was a family sat there for hours, just watching other people

I saw the same at Chill Factore. One of the kids asked "Are we going to go on anything?". It wasn't like they were scoping the place for a future visit either

My dad! He has grafted for every penny and by no means rich but also very comfortable with no mortgage hadn’t worked for over a decade and needs various bank accounts to spread his savings.

Wouldn’t by his granddaughter a €3 slushy on holiday (he didn’t not goes away if we take him) as it was too expensive but got himself a pint. I was livid

I'm completely stunned by the amount of tight people out there. My ex and his parents are the definition of tight. They literally live to work and spend as little as humanly possible. Years ago we all went out for tea (including my folks). My dad who is always the first to get his hand in his pocket paid for everyone. Exs dad declared that next time the meal was on him. This never happened in the 10 years that followed. Hey ho.
Shrouds don't have pockets peeps😊

My ex won't pay for parking. Drives me fucking nuts. Thing is that he's fucking stupid with money in other ways and loses a fortune because of it eg not shopping around for cheap flights, not claiming back when trains are delayed (he travels a lot) so he'll spunk his money up the wall and then literally walk a mile after driving around for twenty minutes trying to find a non metered space when he goes to the station. He's fucking mental and it drives me nuts. I've said repeatedly look fuck it I'll just pay because I honestly can't be arsed with this but he refuses.

One of my past friends. She would never pay for a round of drinks, yet would order expensive spirits+mixer or large wines. When it came to her turn, and we would call her out for her round, she would either leave, claim she only had £10 and therefore could not afford to buy the whole group a drink and order herself a soda and lime. When invited for meals to people's houses, she'd turn up late and declare she didn't have time to buy a bottle or a gift for the host. She'd eat and drink a plenty and never ever host herself. She would never contribute towards gifts or give any gifts. Going out to restaurants she never paid her fair share. She became a long standing joke among our circle of friends. However, after several years of her CF behaviour, no-one keeps in contact with her anymore.

Me ex, financially abusive really, used to take all my wages every week. He charged his DIL £50 Pw for her and her daughter to live there. Whereas he "charged" me £250 pw. His excuse for this was that it was to cover the school holidays in advance, for which I didnt get paid for. We had been together 6 years at this point, living together for five. He wasnt short of a few bob either. Thankfully he is now an ex

Not sure if it’s tight. More just giving a weird gift but lived in a flatshare and one person moved his girlfriend into his room for a few months because she was between places. We continued to split everything the same and at the end she gifted us a frozen £2 pizza each as a thanks. The money bit wasn’t really an issue for us but was more cramped and difficult sharing one bathroom between us who as a woman tended to take longer than the men in the morning getting ready etc

Actually got a better one. As children my brother and I once were gifted a selection box by an albeit distant Great Aunt but they’d taken or ate all the chocolate already. They said they thought we might appreciate the snakes and ladders game on the cardboard box!