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?

Someone I know runs her own cleaning business and does very well too.She mentioned once that she never buys dishwasher/laundry tablets,I thought maybe she had discovered an economic way to make her own but no,she takes them from customers houses.
Not frugal,just stealing.

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

OK, it wouldn't make any difference to the chippy, but I'm amazed that restaurants allow this. Same as above with parents buying children's portions for 15yos (or one between two 15yos) or for themselves. They have a limited number of seats and table spaces and providing these is a cost to their business set against the income from people buying food and drink. It's kind of like expecting a theatre to allow you to go in and sit down free in the auditorium if you promise not to watch or listen to the performance.

As for the kids' meals, these are often a loss-leader/minimal profit to enable parents to come out and spend money on standard menu items, where they make the real profits. Parents who buy a kiddie's meal for a 15yo aren't just getting one over on a restaurant but are also short-changing their own child; going home satisfied themselves whilst the teenager is still hungry - nasty.

Although they're obviously not doing anything wrong, I'll bet restaurant owners' hearts sinks when they see a family with one or two parents and loads of young kids come in - almost certainly less profitable for them than a couple without children (or with babysitters) occupying just two seats and a small table and also more likely to be drinking, without children to look after.

The poppies are made by ex-servicemen and women, employed for these jobs.
The poppy factories started as part of the Earl Haig Poppy Fund, and employed veterans who could not get a job anywhere else.

These are real people, doing real jobs.

Thanks for that interesting info, TrashyPanda - it hadn't actually occurred to me that some people would be doing it full-time for their livelihood.

So that means some well-meaning people are deliberately re-using old poppies but still giving each year, to support the ex-servicepeople; but actually, in so doing, indirectly taking away from their income potential....

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll

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

OK, it wouldn't make any difference to the chippy, but I'm amazed that restaurants allow this. Same as above with parents buying children's portions for 15yos (or one between two 15yos) or for themselves. They have a limited number of seats and table spaces and providing these is a cost to their business set against the income from people buying food and drink. It's kind of like expecting a theatre to allow you to go in and sit down free in the auditorium if you promise not to watch or listen to the performance.

As for the kids' meals, these are often a loss-leader/minimal profit to enable parents to come out and spend money on standard menu items, where they make the real profits. Parents who buy a kiddie's meal for a 15yo aren't just getting one over on a restaurant but are also short-changing their own child; going home satisfied themselves whilst the teenager is still hungry - nasty.

Although they're obviously not doing anything wrong, I'll bet restaurant owners' hearts sinks when they see a family with one or two parents and loads of young kids come in - almost certainly less profitable for them than a couple without children (or with babysitters) occupying just two seats and a small table and also more likely to be drinking, without children to look after.

I have to admit we tended to do this as long as possible tbh

But wouldn't let my dc be hungry.

It's not nasty just makes it affordable

The Swiss rolls upthread reminded me of a time at uni when we were clearing up and packing to vacate the accommodation for the summer.

A bag containing two or three very elderly tomatoes had been hidden at the back of a cupboard and was discovered by somebody packing away the plates, who instantly screamed "Eeuurrgghh!!!!" and hurled it straight into the bin.

One friend was horrified at this 'waste' and angrily berated said person for chucking away 'good' food, and retrieved the bag to take home herself. The tomatoes were basically liquid at this point!

A work colleague I had invited round to watch the football, I cooked a big curry for everyone (about 15 of us) with all the trimmings . He bought a opened bottle of wine, sat with it between his legs and proceeded to drink loads of beer and eat lots of food, we had supplied . Then took the wine home

@converseandjeans

I knew a family that plastic runners on their carpets in all rooms to protect them from being walked on

We also had this. Another thing was only making phone calls at certain times as it was cheaper after 6pm. All phone calls had to be made in the hallway so it wasn't conducive to a decent chat.

I remember this about only phoning after 6pm on a landline when I was a teenager - but it really was a massive difference in price before and after 6pm iirc...

But wouldn't let my dc be hungry.

It's not nasty just makes it affordable

As long as there's enough food for their age/appetite, I'm not blaming any parent for buying a child's portion for their kids - that's exactly what they're for; although a lot of places have an age limit of 12.

However, if you have, say, a family of four - two parents and two older teenagers - with four people with adult appetites, and actively decide to have two of them eating until they're full whilst the other two go hungry, I would say that's remarkably uncaring and unnatural parenting. Surely it would be fairer for all four to have a cheaper full adult dish rather than two have sirloin steak whilst the other two six-footers get left with a few chicken nuggets and a couple of cucumber sticks, designed to fill somebody a third of their age?

When money is really tight (and obviously restaurants are out of the question), most parents would instinctively make sure the kids had enough, even if it meant going hungry themselves - not the other way around.

When I finished at uni, I had quite a lot of tinned/packet food left over that I couldn't easily transport back home on public transport. One of my flatmates (who I had always considered to be super stingy anyway) took it all home in their parents' car. They were a very typical 'father works in the City' type Home Counties family with plenty of money. No offer of reimbursing me the cost of the food they took. Okay, so it might otherwise have gone to waste but possibly not. It was mainly tinned and unopened packets that could easily have been left in the cupboards by the landlords for the next intake of students.

On the subject of teenagers eating kids meals, in may restaurants the policy is under 11s only, to stop this practice. However, I would say, based on DD's friendship group, that there are quite a lot of teenage girls who would only eat the equivalent of a kid's meal in lots of restaurants, so to pay for an adult portion for them would be wasteful on several counts.

@loveliesbleeding1

Someone I know runs her own cleaning business and does very well too.She mentioned once that she never buys dishwasher/laundry tablets,I thought maybe she had discovered an economic way to make her own but no,she takes them from customers houses. Not frugal,just stealing.

I bet they know. I had someone do this to me.

However, I would say, based on DD's friendship group, that there are quite a lot of teenage girls who would only eat the equivalent of a kid's meal in lots of restaurants, so to pay for an adult portion for them would be wasteful on several counts.

It's an interesting one to ponder. There are probably a lot of elderly people with very small appetites too, who won't eat the whole meal; but there's also the factor for the restaurant that your occupation of a chair and table space is a cost to be mitigated against what you buy.

Our favourite local pub offers a standard Sunday roast meal and an XL one for another couple of pounds, which I think is a great idea. I've thought this for a long time, really: how restaurants have one standard adult portion when the range of people ordering them will differ hugely.

Maybe it should become A Thing for restaurants to offer two (or even three) different sizes of meals across the menu. That way, people with smaller appetites won't feel deterred (or annoyed at paying for far more than they want) and people who eat 'heartily' (or just fancy a big blow-out for a treat) will be happy too - as long as they're not too stingy to pay the extra for what they order!

I tend to order children’s meals for myself.

It seems such a waste to order big meals knowing I wouldn’t eat it all

@NewModelArmyMayhem18

When I finished at uni, I had quite a lot of tinned/packet food left over that I couldn't easily transport back home on public transport. One of my flatmates (who I had always considered to be super stingy anyway) took it all home in their parents' car. They were a very typical 'father works in the City' type Home Counties family with plenty of money. No offer of reimbursing me the cost of the food they took. Okay, so it might otherwise have gone to waste but possibly not. It was mainly tinned and unopened packets that could easily have been left in the cupboards by the landlords for the next intake of students.

A food bank box in a supermarket would have been an idea, but they only started appearing a few years ago.

@Fraine, yes that's what I was thinking as I typed that post. Unfortunately food banks weren't a thing at all back in the day. Or I guess the stingy flatmate could have donated the equivalent money to a charity. But as I said there was no generosity of spirit there at all.

@Soubriquet

I tend to order children’s meals for myself.

It seems such a waste to order big meals knowing I wouldn’t eat it all

I’m not sure if restaurants approve, but it’s good that places like KFC have those self service tills now, you can order a kids meal without feeling judged 😊 Same with McDonalds.

I bet they know. I had someone do this to me.

Yes. It sounds like a brilliant way of both saving yourself a few quid over the month and also directly leading to you ending up losing jobs that pay far more than that - as well as a reputation that will go ahead of you.

Cleaning jobs especially require a large element of trust. Unlike stealing toilet rolls and soap from work toilets, where there's nothing else much to steal, being in somebody's home on your own would give you the opportunity to steal loads, if you're dishonestly inclined.

Once the homeowners know that you steal something then they figure you could start helping yourself to anything. When they no longer feel able to leave their things around in their own home, because of you, it will be game over for the job very soon after that.

[quote NewModelArmyMayhem18]@Fraine, yes that's what I was thinking as I typed that post. Unfortunately food banks weren't a thing at all back in the day. Or I guess the stingy flatmate could have donated the equivalent money to a charity. But as I said there was no generosity of spirit there at all.[/quote]
I know. I like to think I’m generous with family and friends but I do get put off by grasping behaviour.

The more someone is grabby, the less I want to give them!

[quote Mistysnow]@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[/quote]

Maybe just head it off at the pass and firmly order what you want to eat PLUS what he'd generally choose for himself - and then hand him his and say "there you go, that's yours!"

@Anoisagusaris that's what I was thinking 🤣

Well, I went on a second date with a guy and he ordered lobster and 'forgot his wallet'. I literally sat there in near tears as it meant I couldn't afford my weekly tube card to get the work the following week. I was in my 20s and earning peanuts.

Also I saw a friend steel all the tip money the group had put it. I went ballistic, most was put in by my (now) husband's mates and they had been generous. The friend hasn't even put a tip in!

He had been scrounging off me for years anyway saying he was skint. Turned out he was saving heavily for a house deposit, despite me renting a small room in a house share. We stopped being mates not long after that, as he announced he was off to travel the world. Always felt like I own a door or two in that house or paid for part of his trip lol!

@CSJobseeker

Imagine the stink of hard boiled eggs on a plane. That was my immediate thought.

You don't necessarily have to physically eat them on the plane. You spend plenty of time in airport lounges etc. when getting flights - I always take my own sandwiches as the cafes are usually a rip off.

Yes but I’m thinking the (free) food in the First Class lounge trumps those eggs

@Redsquirrel5

Billeted not billowed. Predicted text 😫

🤣🤣 and then predicted not predictive 🤣🤣

Even the concept of 'a children's meal' for under-12s (or whatever limit) isn't very helpful. It assumes that a 3yo will eat the same as an 11yo, which is very unlikely.

As long as it's for good motives and not deliberately trying to take advantage of a small business (like with the hobby group upthread), I don't see anything wrong with ordering an appropriately-sized portion. Also, calling it a 'small meal' would probably sit much easier with self-conscious older girls with tiny appetites than a 'kids' meal'.

And it's not just the quantity but the type of food on offer. An adult with a very small appetite would most probably prefer a smaller normal meal than turkey dinosaurs and potato funny faces!

It reminds me of a story I heard once of a workplace where new safety rules required all of the men (they were only men there) on the factory floor to wear yellow wellies at all times at work. They all gave in their sizes for the order and then, when a big box arrived, it contained lots of pairs of large plain yellow wellies.... and one small pair with little cartoon duckies on the side for the man with size 4 feet

My main point - as per the theme of the thread - is parents who deliberately buy kids' meals for older children whom they know very well will go hungry. I've seen it myself when eating out with friends with teenage boys: their hearts visibly sinking when they see their parents looking at the menu and hear "Oh, Tim & James will be fine with a kid's meal".