What is the stingiest thing you've ever done / seen someone do?

[Teadrinker11]

Yourself or someone else, what is the most stingy, mean, miserable thing is that you have ever done or seen someone else do?

@woodhill

Fraine - they were using the facilities for free so needed to buy a drink in return

It's like being in a cafe. He was being tight

Ah, sorry, ai thought the company would pay for the cost of the drinks, but I see it was a committee, sorry.

@Nanarchy

There's a difference between thrift and stinginess! My former husband had a new lady friend, who moved in with him and they agreed to share costs. He stood outside the bathroom while she showered and timed her so that he could estimate how much hot water she had used . He then presented her with an itemised portion of the electricity bill! She 'phoned me and asked if I had left him because of his extreme meanness. (I did!) I said I wasn't going to say anything, and that she must draw her own conclusions. She left a week later, and now he has the household bills all to himself.

I could not have sex with a man like that. He should have had a shower with her. That would have saved water in a much sexier way.

My very ex husband came home from a work trip with a pocketful of sachets of sugar that he had taken from a cafe. He would never have paid for a drink in a cafe but he went in with his colleague. He sat emptying the sachets into our sugar bowl, laughing to himself about how clever he was getting about 4p worth of “free” sugar.

I think that is the nadir of his penny pinching tightfistedness.

@echt

Collect pine cones use them as firestarters. Collect branches on every dog walk year round burn them through the winter

How is that stingy? Good dry kindling is ridiculously expensive. When it's been very windy, the eucalypts drop twigs and branches galore where I live. I see loads of dog walkers collecting them. Why wouldn''t you use them? When people cut down trees, they often leave the logs on the nature strip for anyone who wants them. Is that stingy of those who pick up free firewood?

I love free wood.

@Chelsea26

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£60” 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!”

What did you do?!

My auntie washes used clingfilm and then dries it on her cupboard doors for reuse.
She also brings home made traybake squares of cake to family events, on washed polystyrene meat trays, covered in the washed cling film.

When we visit her we always say we've just eaten. No-one is prepared to eat her food

@ScotInExile

"Smallkeys

I attended a funeral the other day and there was a collection box outside I was in the Q behind a couple who pretended to donate !

A lot of funerals I have been to have a collection for a charity favoured by the person who has died. Is that not common?"

I have never seen or heard of a collection box at a funeral. Is this a new thing?

This was normalwhere we lived in England but it's not done where we live in Northern Ireland where it's usually donations for chosen charity sent to undertakers. The donations at the funeral always seemed like a good idea as more people mostly give quite small amounts but people will only go to bother of posting a more substantial amount to undertaker. Means usually that overall more is collected, it's anonymous, and saves people trouble of writing a cheque, posting etc and often intending to do it but not getting around to it.

@TheDogsMother

Well I didn't think it was stingy I was berated by the decorator I was making a cup of tea for because I used the teabag to make two cups. Both his and mine at the same time, not reusing later.

I think you’re getting too much stick for this. You can get 2 decent cups out of a teabag if you do it properly. I’m a northerner down south and I can get a better cup of tea this way than many that have been made for me. So many people make tea that tastes like the bag’s been shared between 5 not 2.

@Fraine

That was the first time I’d really realised she was absolutely taking the piss, rather than just a bit tight/absent minded. My ex called her out and she paid, with bad grace, and from them on we were on alert…

I used to re-use flour sprinkled on the worktop when rolling out pastry.

I still stick the old soap onto the new bar.

[quote Chelsea26]@Fraine

That was the first time I’d really realised she was absolutely taking the piss, rather than just a bit tight/absent minded. My ex called her out and she paid, with bad grace, and from them on we were on alert…[/quote]
Glad to hear it! ☺️

I hope you’re on to PIL as well? They don’t sound much better.

Reading all these examples has made me think. What people do in their own homes/ lives is fine; it only affects the person doing it so, if they are being stingy or mean, the only person they spoil the quality of life for is them. Its really only a problem when they inflict it on their friends or loved ones, or people they work with. Not paying your way, taking things that aren't yours, taking tips that belong to waiting staff, bringing something cheap and nasty to a party and then eating all the good stuff is foul. I don't know why people do it. I would be mortified if someone thought I was mean. Maybe it is time we stopped putting up with this rubbish. I knew a couple of people like this and I no longer see them. I don't want the stress of their excuses for not paying, not contributing, not sharing. My family aren't like this so I don't have to deal with that but my husband's family are. His sister is a fun sponge and one of the stingiest people I know. My husband and other siblings used to put up with it to avoid conflict. We have developed strategies foe heading it off now. Its very satisfying.

Not sure if its the stingiest but it really irritates me... my partner everytime we go out for a meal or even to the chippy he insists we just share whatever i order rather than placing two separate orders... as its cheaper. I am a massive foodie this annoys the life out of me plus im veggie and he doesnt care so i order my thing and he just asks for 2 plates with it

@Mistysnow

Not sure if its the stingiest but it really irritates me... my partner everytime we go out for a meal or even to the chippy he insists we just share whatever i order rather than placing two separate orders... as its cheaper. I am a massive foodie this annoys the life out of me plus im veggie and he doesnt care so i order my thing and he just asks for 2 plates with it

Of course it’s stingy! Do you pay for it?

@maddiemookins16mum

My brother. He used to take an empty hand wash bottle out with him and fill it up from toilets in pubs and restaurants. Keep in mind this meant the bottle was layers of different soaps. He’d also visit pubs and steal toilet roll, napkins and sauce sachets/salt and pepper.

This isn't mean. It's theft

@Chelsea26 this made me howl!! possibly the worst. Id of been furious and found it so hard to not just laugh and say something back

@Gilly12345

My friend used to recycle her Christmas card for her Husband, so tight, funnily enough they are not together now.

This isn't a stingy story but my late OH and I never sent each other Christmas cards then a couple of years ago I noticed a Wife card on his chest of drawers, seperate rooms because of his snoring, but it didn't appear at Christmas and was still on the drawers when he died suddenly at the start of lockdown 1 so now I put it out, twice so far. Some may think it weird but it seems he's still a part of my Christmas.

@JudgeJ that’s so sweet and sad. Sorry for your loss.

@Fraine yes well it definitely is but i cant think if its even the worst , sometimes i pay and sometimes him we often just take it in turns. I always do try and encourage him to order his own though... needless to say ive learnt and we dont go out much now for food to avoid this situation

Ex partners mum gave my dd some pocket money in the form of an out of date pound coin.
They are loaded and their shrouds will have very large pockets😂😂

@Mistysnow i think you need tell him that you want your own dish and he needs to get his own.

It’s not a good sign that you don’t want to or feel able to say that to him.

He doesn’t sound like a keeper?

Years ago, pre budget airlines, when you got a free drink on domestic flights, I was on a morning flight from Belfast to Exeter. I was surprised when the elderly lady beside me ordered a brandy and ginger. The brandy was in a miniature which she popped in her handbag. She said to me, " I always order that so I can keep the brandy for the Christmas cake". Presumably she got another one on her return flight. I actually thought it was very clever.

@Mistysnow

Not sure if its the stingiest but it really irritates me... my partner everytime we go out for a meal or even to the chippy he insists we just share whatever i order rather than placing two separate orders... as its cheaper. I am a massive foodie this annoys the life out of me plus im veggie and he doesnt care so i order my thing and he just asks for 2 plates with it

Firstly, DUMP HIM. My SIL tried this the first time I went on one of their siblings and spouses weekends. She decided she would just pay for a salad but would share the chips I had ordered. She doesn't like vinegar so requested that I didn't use it. I love vinegar. I just laughed and told her she would not be having any of my (vinegar covered )chips at any point , ever. She looked astonished that someone had actually said no to her. My other SIL would have just obeyed and shared the chips and then paid for them. She has never tried it since. She has also stopped telling me that I have to clear my plate In restaurants and that I can't have a pudding if I have left my mains. She tried it twice. I was not brought up with that particular rule and in a restaurant I have no control over portion size, so I will eat what I want, and then stop. If I want to pay for a pudding , with my own flaming money, I will bloody well have one.

Here in Denmark we have significant refunds on plastic bottles and cans and you see guys in town going round all day emptying the bins and picking up off streets all day— it’s kind of upsetting , but kind of hearwarming too , as a bin bag full can give you about £8 off a shop.

just to say it also gives us amazingly clean streets and city centres