What is the most cheapskate thing you have done?

[Anonymous]

I rinse out and dry used dental floss and use it again.

[Anonymous]

I was super poor in grad school and used to attend events on campus just for food so that I wouldn't have to buy groceries for dinner. Any events. The best free food was served at Young Republicans meetings at ANOTHER university. I didn't attend that university, and I'm not a Republican, but I sure used to appreciate the free spicy salmon rolls.

During a low point, I once went into McDonalds, bought a black coffee, then took a bag of ketchup packets, which I ate for dinner. As I've explained, I was super poor in grad school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:During a low point, I once went into McDonalds, bought a black coffee, then took a bag of ketchup packets, which I ate for dinner. As I've explained, I was super poor in grad school.

Whoa! Super poor indeed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I rinse out and dry used dental floss and use it again.

I never bought into replacing toothbrushes every three months. I'll use them until they're frazzled -- at least a year.

[Anonymous]

only houseguest never vacation or hotel or rental.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I haven’t bought napkins in years....I just take a big bunch whenever I got out to eat.

My husband does this and I cannot stand it. I cannot stand seeing a big wad of mismatched, different sizes, different colored cheap, thin restaurant napkins he shoved in our napkin holder on the kitchen table. Keep them in your car? Fine. Doing the above? No, we need to have SOME standards. Please.

OMG my husband does this too! No, I don't want the bright green and yellow Subway napkin on the dining table, sorry.

[Anonymous]

Make sure my cell phone is fully charged before leaving the office and heading home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For 4 years after my divorce, I taught in a public school that was majority FARMS. A lot of kids would not drink the milk (lactose intolerant probably) and put it on a shelf by the trash after breakfast. The cafeteria was not allowed to reuse it so it was there for anyone to take until 8:15 am. After that, they were supposed to throw it away. At 8:16, I’d stop by and take whatever was left. Usually 4-6. Then, I ate cereal for breakfast and put the other bottles in the fridge for cereal for lunch or to take home to my own kids.

NP. Not cheapskate, I think. Frugal. I'm glad someone was using the milk instead of tossing it. Same thing with the bagel pp.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I once was charged taxes on tax free day. I told the store they were wrong and they refused to believe me. So I escalated the charge to my councilman and received a refund the next day. The shirt I bought was $6. My refund was $.30. I am that cheap

I could see doing this on principle. Also, they may have been doing this to hundreds of other customers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My mother was really cheap. Would wash out plastic sandwich bags, cut paper towels in half, reuse aluminum foil, cut paper in half to reuse if there was nothing written in the bottom half, etc. She had hoarding tendencies and our house was full of stuff because she couldn’t throw anything out. She kept my clothes from 4th grade, etc.

She dropped dead in her 70s and it was awful cleaning up the mess. She saved a lot of money but did not get to enjoy any of it, too busy washing out plastic bags...

This was my thought. These stories are all so sad. So many people missing out on life while trying to game the system to save a buck. What’s the point?

If you had ever been poor you would get it.

PP. My mother wasn't just poor but lived through a war as a small child, was a refugee. Lost her father. Her hoarding was from trauma and her "cheapskate" actions reached the level of mental illness. I have other relatives and know others who lived through the same thing and they didn't do this.

Growing up she had piles of used washed out plastic bags, aluminum foil, etc. that got bigger as she grew older and all the kids left. Just a mess. Crazy mess. By the end, my siblings and I couldn't even go into the house we grew up in because it was full of garbage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My mother was really cheap. Would wash out plastic sandwich bags, cut paper towels in half, reuse aluminum foil, cut paper in half to reuse if there was nothing written in the bottom half, etc. She had hoarding tendencies and our house was full of stuff because she couldn’t throw anything out. She kept my clothes from 4th grade, etc.

She dropped dead in her 70s and it was awful cleaning up the mess. She saved a lot of money but did not get to enjoy any of it, too busy washing out plastic bags...

This was my thought. These stories are all so sad. So many people missing out on life while trying to game the system to save a buck. What’s the point?

If you had ever been poor you would get it.

PP. My mother wasn't just poor but lived through a war as a small child, was a refugee. Lost her father. Her hoarding was from trauma and her "cheapskate" actions reached the level of mental illness. I have other relatives and know others who lived through the same thing and they didn't do this.

Growing up she had piles of used washed out plastic bags, aluminum foil, etc. that got bigger as she grew older and all the kids left. Just a mess. Crazy mess. By the end, my siblings and I couldn't even go into the house we grew up in because it was full of garbage.

People react differently to trauma. My mom hoards. One brother became an alcoholic. A sister had four divorced. The youngest brother is so morbidly obese he had seven strokes before age 50.

[Anonymous]

I go to get my hair cut and colored at a home salon. Half the price of regular salon. However her house is FILTHY. Like dead mouse in the bathroom filthy. I can afford to go to regular salon, but I’m a cheapskate.

[Anonymous]

My best friend is beyond thrifty. We were staying at her house, she bathed her kids (four of them) in the same bath water. She left it standing for me to put my kid in. No way. I drained the water, cleaned the tub and put my kid in nice fresh bath

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My mother was really cheap. Would wash out plastic sandwich bags, cut paper towels in half, reuse aluminum foil, cut paper in half to reuse if there was nothing written in the bottom half, etc. She had hoarding tendencies and our house was full of stuff because she couldn’t throw anything out. She kept my clothes from 4th grade, etc.

She dropped dead in her 70s and it was awful cleaning up the mess. She saved a lot of money but did not get to enjoy any of it, too busy washing out plastic bags...

This was my thought. These stories are all so sad. So many people missing out on life while trying to game the system to save a buck. What’s the point?

If you had ever been poor you would get it.

PP. My mother wasn't just poor but lived through a war as a small child, was a refugee. Lost her father. Her hoarding was from trauma and her "cheapskate" actions reached the level of mental illness. I have other relatives and know others who lived through the same thing and they didn't do this.

Growing up she had piles of used washed out plastic bags, aluminum foil, etc. that got bigger as she grew older and all the kids left. Just a mess. Crazy mess. By the end, my siblings and I couldn't even go into the house we grew up in because it was full of garbage.

People react differently to trauma. My mom hoards. One brother became an alcoholic. A sister had four divorced. The youngest brother is so morbidly obese he had seven strokes before age 50.

My mother has two sisters and they are nice normal people with clean houses... not crazy/drug addicted/married only once/ slim/etc so some people go through the same trauma, but don’t end up so completely damaged.

[Anonymous]

When I was at college I would occasionally go another part of town and one time I was offered a ride with the classes car pool club. Everyone insisted so I accepted the ride
A month later the same happened. Then I was told by the driver that the other students, people I knew, were getting angry at me riding for free. I was shocked that they would do that when I only occasionally accepted and would have taken the bus if it hadn't been for their insistence.

She was lying and just wanted me to pay her for the ride. I accept she wanted to charge me, but not that she used the others and lied