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52 People Who Prove There’s A Very Thin Line Between Frugal And Painfully Cheap
In the current economic climate, many (if not most) of us are forced to pinch our pennies. The rising cost of living around the world leaves little room for luxury and extravagance, unless you’re really rolling in the dough. But there’s a big difference between being frugal and being cheap.
By all means, make your coffee at home instead of buying a cup every day; cut down on dining out; walk somewhere instead of driving… Heck, even grow your own food if you must. But charging a friend $2 for a slice of frozen pizza in your home? Now that’s crossing the line from saving some money to being downright stingy.
Someone asked, “What's the stingiest thing you've ever seen someone do?” and a shocking number of cheapskates got outed. Bored Panda has put together a list of some of the wildest responses. And it seems many people deserve a big plastic medal for their sheer dedication to being extremely cheap.
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#1
The federal government refuse to create a policy to make health care accessible to all when we have more than enough money to fund ICE and the military.
Grape Walls of Ire 5 hours ago
Except we don't have enough for that either. It's why we're over $40T in debt.
Prudent, thrifty, economical and sparing. These aren't necessarily bad qualities to have. In fact, being careful with money/resources and avoiding wastage are totally necessary in this day and age. Besides the obvious benefit to your pocket, living within your means can help save the planet.
Not to be confused with being cheap, frugality is about spending money consciously and only buying what adds value to your life.
"For example," explains the Bankrate site, "a frugal person may find that canceling a cable TV subscription saves money without impacting life in a negative way, making it worth doing. But the same person might splurge on something else they love, such as gardening or woodworking, because they don’t mind spending on what matters most."
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#2
Have the American tax payers fund their medical research, then charge said tax payers for the final product, their money helped develop.
David Paterson 4 hours ago
Bill Gates plowed enormous amounts of his own money into medical research. That's after-tax money.
#3
I used to bring cakes and cookies to share at a table outside our Operations department office. Anyone on our floor or in our headquarters office was free to take what they wanted. Accounting was on the same floor and this one particular Accounting Clerk was a frequent visitor to take treats that I put out.
One day, the Secretary for the Accounting Department came over to invite me to treats that Accounting had put out on their table. When I went over to get a bagel, that same Accounting Clerk told me I couldn't have any because that was for Accounting only. Fortunately, the Secretary overheard this and told me to ignore the Clerk and said that the Clerk had not even contributed to the purchase of the treats and was just trying to make sure there were leftovers that she could hoard.
A year later, that same Accounting Clerk ended up getting fired and going to prison for embezzling company funds, so she wasn't just stingy, she was also a crook.
According to Andy Hill, host of the Marriage, Kids and Money podcast, the biggest difference between being frugal and being cheap is that a cheap person is someone who’s willing to cut corners and spend the least money, no matter the consequences.
They might always go with the lowest price regardless of the quality, or they might even deny themselves the things they love even if they have the money to pay for it. In certain scenarios, cheap people will go to great lengths to save money, even if it's to the detriment of those they love.
#4
I work in the service industry. It’s always the wealthy people nickel and dime-ing you over the small stuff.
#5
Not the worst out of all of these, thank God. But I had a friend who, when it was time to pay the dinner check or for ordering food, would take out his wallet, pull some money out, count it, and put it back in his wallet and put his wallet back in his pocket.
It took us a bit to figure out why we always seemed short when we got the money together, then we noticed that.
Not a bad guy in other areas, but money was all his family had, so it was more than currency to him. It was like a symbol of love and he hated parting with it.
When we gently corrected him about needing to pay, he would use his watch calculator to add up exactly what he owed, no tax or tip, and pay that. We just stopped inviting him places.
Chich the witch 5 hours ago (edited)
Worked with one guy years back who often had to go back in because he forgot his coat or something. One of the other guys was in the loo and came out to find him pocketing all the (cash) tips we'd left on the table.
#6
My friend at uni wanted me to go to MacDonald's with him. I said I didnt have any money but he said he had a buy one get one free so I said thanks and went along. He ate both of them.
“Someone who intentionally shops deals at the grocery store is frugal, but someone who leaves a small tip at a restaurant is cheap,” says Cody Berman, podcast host of The FI Show. “Someone who buys a used car is frugal, but someone who won’t replace balding tires is cheap,” he adds.
Another example of being cheap is going out of your way for a good deal and then ending up spending more anyway. For example, driving further than usual for gas that's 10 cents cheaper, or spending hours clipping coupons to save a few bucks.
"A frugal person values their time, so they won’t spend all day driving to different gas stations or clipping coupons to save a small amount of cash," notes Bankrate's team. "Instead, they might find ways to drive less or create meal plans that help cut down on grocery waste."
#7
Multi billion dollar insurance companies not forgiving small debts of poor people who pass away, and instead outsourcing debt collectors.
#8
A friend charged me $2 for a slice of frozen pizza at their place lol.
#9
When I was 15, I went with my aunt and 17(f) cousin shopping. I had brought cash, but when I made my last purchase I needed 5 cents more. I asked my cousin, who hesitated, looked super upset, and said, "Well...you have to pay me back." I was flabbergasted, but of course I agreed.
When her mom brought me home after, she said, "I'll wait while you go get the money." I walked in the house and told my mom I needed a nickel to pay back my cousin. She couldn't believe that my aunt actually sent me in to ask her.
She handed me a dime, told me to tell her to keep the change.
Being frugal is about being smart. Toni Graham is the founder of the Simple Frugal Life blog, and considers herself an expert in frugal living. Graham turned to a more simple lifestyle at the age of 48, after suffering physical and mental burnout because of her demanding public sector job. She was facing an uncertain future with more than £70,000 worth of debt. Today, she is debt-free and lives on a small pension.
"My mother was mortified when I gave up my good job and started living this way to improve my health. She thought it meant that I was a failure," Graham told Northern Life Magazine. "In contrast, I feel like a winner as I feel like I have beaten the system, as living simply has made me more independent and self-reliant, and I don’t want the things that society dangles and tries to entice me with anymore. I have stopped being money or status orientated. I am not in competition with anyone, and that feels so good."
#10
Setup a crypto coin to take bribes from corporations and countries while simultaneously taking shelter, food and health care from the people who he vowed to make great again instead he has been selling their democracy to the highest bidder.
#11
A sister in law's family would perk a fresh pot of coffee on Sunday. And then every day for the rest of the week, she would add one teaspoon more of coffee to the same Sunday basket and reperk. They would set the basket in the fridge at night.
They also had a home wall phone back then, and for 10 bucks a month they could make 30 local calls. She had a chaulk board by the phone to keep track. She had a coffee can and if you made a call from her house it was a quarter. Even though they charged her a nickel a call. Back before cell phones and before free long distance.
She made them use wash cloths instead of toilet paper for a #1.
She made the kids take turns oldest to youngest with the same bath water. Girls could wash hair on Saturday to be clean for Sunday church only. They had city water, not a bad well or anything.
And if you came to see her and we all went to her church or out to eat. She would insist we meet at her house. 20 minutes past anywhere we would go. She would insist we all go in her station wagon. And she would insist you chip in for gas. A dollar a person. 9 people at a time.
They would use one sink of dish water until it was so nasty you had to dump it. Days at a time.
Her husband was the head engineer of the local state department of transportation hub. And then in 1985 made $100,000 a year.
Edited to add...she gave a ton of money to her church. And dressed in the finest new clothes while her kids dressed in goodwill and church freebie box clothes. Thats why I think she is stingy.
#12
I had a roommate once who wanted to prorate utilities/internet anytime they went out of town.
Some of Graham's self-proclaimed "extreme" frugal habits include putting boiling water from the kettle into a flask to use later, and saving the excess oil from tuna, peanut butter, or a jar of sundried tomatoes, to cook with. "I also save bacon grease," she reveals.
Graham walks to the shop instead of driving. This doesn't only help her save fuel but also restricts her from buying too much "as I have a couple of miles to carry it back." However, she says she rarely visits a supermarket. Instead, she cooks from what she available, can grow, or forage.
#13
My friend bought me a sandwich on a road trip. Like two years later we were on a snowboard trip and was like "You should buy me the sandwich since I bought you one." We called him BradPiece cuz we was a piece of trash.
Like we would always, in our group, share everything so it wasn't a big deal for someone to buy someone a sandwich....but he held onto it for two years. It was like 5 bucks...but he must have been thinking about the sandwich all the time.
Lyone Fein 2 hours ago (edited)
I don’t know. I think $5 is a significant enough amount of money that, if you don’t reciprocate or pay it back in a week’s time then you’re the one being cheap.
#14
My boyfriends grandma. Would go out to eat with us. Buy the most expensive meals. Appetizers. The whole shebang. Then she would get a to go box and put all the little scraps from everyones plate. The fat cut off a steak. The bone. The crust left over from a sandwich. The shell of a baked potato. Stuff like that. And take it to her husband who literally, not making this up, worked double shifts 7 days a week, for his lunch. And he would come out and get it. And be greatful.
I_Exist_=D 3 hours ago
The poor guy... If that happened to me I would just pack up my things and vanish
#15
My brother (48 yrs old)
Squeezes ketchup packs taken from restaurants to fill bottles at home.
Yes, he takes the time to do this..
Yes he works full time.
Yes he has admitted to this many times.
Graham uses potato or apple peeling to make crisps, and also makes apple cider vinegar (scrap vinegar) out of apple peelings. "[I] cut off and save the loops inside clothes that keep clothes on coat hangers," she adds. "These are great to hang Christmas decorations, use on gift tags, or use as ties."
The expert says she tries to have as many "no spend" days in a year as possible. Needless to say, she rarely spends money on entertainment and "never" buys take aways. "I make ‘fakeaways’ that are healthier and cost a fraction of the price," she writes on her blog.
#16
My brother makes about 75k a year and expects the world to pamper him while he gives maybe a dollar and plays dumb. He also won’t lift a finger but expects his sisters to do manual labor for him and he would never do the same.
Crystalwitch60 3 hours ago
Sounds like a parent problem to me. bought him up to be an incel pos and entitled with it .they created a monster .
#17
I dated a girl and we went out to dinner with friends. She wasn’t paying the bill, I was.
She insisted on dividing the pizza BY SLICE and charging accordingly. Mind you, we were staying for free at a friends parents house (who was there eating with us!).
Again, I was paying the bill. She lost her mind over it.
Patrick 1 hour ago
Conversely, I had a business that was doing poorly. I don't know how to run a business. Just fix computers. Along comes new girlfriend, future wife, now ex. But as soon as I started calling her boss and letting her mind the books we were thriving. It was awesome until it wasn't.
#18
I was in an a cappella group in college. We recorded an album after spring semester was over. Two full days in the studio. After end of day two, we all celebrate with dinner. One guy breaks out a bottle of champagne to toast our accomplishment. Thought that was cool. After the toast (bottle split 12 ways, so let's say it was a splash each) he then announces that the bottle cost $12, and asks each of us for $1. 😳.
Berman, meanwhile, believes one of the best ways to be frugal is simply to consume less in general. Whether this means learning to live with what you have or borrowing and bartering with people you know, it'll help you save money in the long term.
For Graham, consuming less was the key to her current happiness.
"Simple living is about getting rid of all the things in your life that are no longer essential and concentrating on the things that are the most important to you. This isn’t just material possessions," explains the frugal living expert. "It is hard as it totally goes against consumerism and all the values that we have been taught in school, and have probably lived by for most of our lives. It is a mindset and a way of life, and you become very selective about who and what you allow into your world."
This, she says, gives you space to be who you want to be, or who you really are.
#19
Years ago, an ex friend came with me to a different city where I had to sit an exam. We rented a car so we could explore a bit, and once back home, received a hugely expensive speeding ticket.
We spoke about it and decided to split it, rather than argue over who may have been driving.
I then noticed the date/time on ticket and it was when I was sitting my exam.
My ex friend said ‘oh yeah, I knew that but just didn’t want to pay the whole thing’.
She was living at home, working full time and had a huge trust fund; I was a broke university student.
One of many examples of her stinginess before I wised up and ended the friendship.
#20
I went out for dinner with a friend. We were splitting the bill with cash. And she took out her coins and started counting out the change. I thought it was so weird. I told her to forget it I would pay the extra.
#21
Arranged for a business dinner at my favorite upscale restaurant. There were 12 of us and the President of our company hosted. Due to my connections at the restaurant we had the best server and the dining room manager assisting. At the end of the evening I was in a position to watch him sign the check. He put down a 15% tip. As the others wandered out I approached the server and gave her more in cash than he’d put on the credit card. What a cheapskate.
#22
Make themselves a cup of tea and not ask if I wanted one too.
#23
A couple I know belong to a tennis club. You have to pay a monthly food bill whether you use up the full amount or not. They never use it up so near the end of the month, they invite their young relatives to have dinner with them…and then they venmo these poor kids the bill for their portion later.
#24
I watched a friend eat a helping of mozzarella sticks he found. In a trash can. On Bourbon Street.
#25
My dad‘s girlfriend would reuse dental floss. She’s hang it all over the towel rack to dry out. There would be five or six pieces hanging with food and blood all over them.
#26
My mom wouldn’t let my brother or me drink milk growing up because she wanted to make sure she always had some for her coffee and didn’t want to spend the money buying milk for us. She claimed we were allergic to it. Then some years later, she divorced my dad, got remarried and adopted his 3 young children. And guess what! Yup, all 3 were miraculously allergic to milk. So greedy.
#27
I was invited to dinner by a friend to say thank you for helping her out with some divorce stuff. She was living with her (absolute jerk of a) father, who insisted that he was going to join us and cook.
Very kind, I thought. Until I turned up after a 10 hour shift on an industrial site, to be presented with 2/3rds of a Tesco salmon fillet, three small boiled potatoes and 3 pieces of broccoli. Tight jerk - who takes 3 foreign holidays a year, btw, he told me during dinner - had bought a 2 pack of fillets and split it between 3 of us. I swear it was less than 10 bites, and I had to excuse myself quite early so I could grab a Maccies on the way home.
#28
A friend who has a well paid part time lawn mowing job asked me to mow the lawns at a property while he had a foot in plaster. I figured it was only once and I would do it as a favour. Ended up doing it twice but had to meet with fussy owners beforehand as they were going overseas. In the end with travel times I spent 12 or more hours. They paid him. He bought me a sandwich and a coffee and pocketed the money. Never again.
#29
Visited my brother and sister-in-law. I generously offered to buy pizza for their 3 kids and ourselves. She ordered the food and I gave her the money to pay the delivery man. He was two minutes late so she didn't pay him (guarantee). She kept my money!
#30
Watched my MIL rub makeup on a bra in Target, take it to the checkout, have the girl run it through and and pay for it - then pick it up and 'notice' the makeup and ask for a discount, which she got.
#31
My boss used to take the button battery out of his Casio digital watch every night to save power. He was upset when it “only” lasted 12 years.
#32
My grandma had to go to work at 12 to pay her parents for her room and board. One day when she was about 20 she invited her finance to come meet the family. They gave her a bill for the meal he ate.
#33
Dr. Dipak Desai— found guilty of second degree m****r while “double-dipping syringes into propofol bottles used on multiple patients” during colonoscopies from AIDS and hepatitis. The man was worth $200 million and he order his staff to reuse syringes to save a little bit of money during procedures.
This one hit close to home as immediate family had a colonoscopy performed at Desai’s office while this practice was in place. Thankfully, the family member didn’t contract anything.
Chich the witch 5 hours ago
Died in prison "regional health investigators linked at least nine and as many as 114 cases of hepatitis C to Desai clinics. Desai was convicted of causing the d***h of one patient and blamed, but not charged, in the d***h of another. He was sentenced in July 2013 to 18 years to life in state prison on charges that included neglect of patients and insurance fraud."
#34
I saw someone take a dirty cup out of the trash for a “free refill” at Starbucks.
#35
My father, God rest his soul, was an immigrant, and grew up very poor. He would buy 2 ply toilet paper and pull them apart.
#36
My father (whom I no longer talk to) took his ex-fiancé girlfriend (she gave the ring back because she didn’t like “how I was raised” but they continued to date) on a pizza date and paid.
they brought the leftovers home and she slid the box between the bottom shelf and top drawer in the fridge so that I wouldn’t see it and eat “their” pizza
to his credit, he offered it to me and made a remark about how selfish she was.
#38
A woman I have known for a long time somehow got thrown out of her house when she was on housing. She lived with a friend for 2 years and paid no rent. My son and I helped her move out and she took all the food from her friends house because it was hers. The friend didn't drive so she basically left her no food .
Ace 4 hours ago
"on housing"? I'm guessing this means in council accommodation, still quite common in some parts of the UK, used to be that whole areas, known as "council estates" would be full of these low-rent houses or flats. It's really difficult to get evicted, hence the "somehow" in the post.
#39
My parents hosted my brother's wedding and reception at the family farm, supplied a roasted hog and all the side dishes, plates cutlery and labor plus access to our swimming pool.
His wife's family brought a keg of beer with no cups (our parents supplied those)and sat around it guarding it like it was gold, would not allow anyone to touch the tapper and refilled guests cups 1/2-3/4 full until her family decided to leave and they took the remaining beer which was probably half the keg with them. Never offered to help with anything and left the mess from the party for us to clean up.
#40
The old people in South Florida order a "Boca cocktail" -- tap water and a ton of lemons. Squeeze them, add some sugar and -- voila! -- free lemonade. God, I hated Boca Raton.
#41
My boss wrote down like 6 zip ties on his material list so he could charge for them on the customers bill. This was for a Kohler 12k backup generator install that cost probably 11k to install.
#42
$20,000, 10 day trip to Disney and asked me to drive them 90 minutes to the airport at 5 am.
ADHD 5 hours ago
JFC you ppl are being robbed blind for everything, and your pedophile cvnt of a president has the audacity to blame the rest of the world for it lol, for 20k you would be able to tour Europe and do it nicely, on second thoughts, dont come to Europe, until you drop your fascism
#44
My cousin, who is married to a millionaire, sold baby formula samples on Facebook Marketplace that she received from the hospital where she had her twins.
#45
On a family vacation. Wife’s family. 30 of us. We took turns cooking. Mother in law made Sphagetti. Father in law only let her buy two packs of pasta, not hear enough. And one jar of sauce. When someone told him that wasn’t enough sauce. He filled the jar with water twice and added it to the sauce. Lots of people went out for dinner that night.
Crystalwitch60 2 hours ago (edited)
Could have made both the pasta and the sauce far cheaper for all 30 than buying jars n packets cost 🙄it’s much nicer to .
#46
Two mates came to eat breakfast at a cafe I used to work at. They ordered, sat down, then one went to buy the Sunday paper and come back, note: Sunday papers in Uk have many sections, lots to read.
Despite having many sections, when the second one tried to grab any section to read, the mate who paid for it tried to charge him something like 60p. Of course the other mate said no. So one sat reading, while there was a massive pile of untouched sections just sat on the table, and the other guy just sat there doing nothing (I’m old, no phones back then). They were in the front window, sun was beaming, I’ll never forget that scene.
#47
Saw someone open a bag of chips they just bought at Costco while walking out. They didn’t like the taste so walked straight to the return like to return the open bag of chips.
Philip Cutler 35 minutes ago
Costco, unfortunately, has a great return policy, if for any reason you don't like it (with very few exceptions) they will take it back. I've heard of stories from employees (good friends) people will buy a BBQ in April, use it and return it in September. Half used containers of fish, if you've been to Costco you know they sell sides of salmon, people don't use the whole thing at a party and return it. Etc....
#48
Long time ago when we were using land phones, we were paying certain amount for each 4 minutes, lets say 4c per 4 minutes. I had a very stingy friend and when we would talk on the phone, he was watching stopwatch, to make sure to end call before 4 mins expire or if we continued to talk after that 4 mins then he would make sure we don't finish call until the very end of this another 4 minutes(you pay for 4 minutes even uf you just entered for 5 secs in that another 4 minutes)...
I don't even have to mention, 15 of us would go to a restaurant, ordering main dishes and everything else, he would order only tea.
He was from a very rich family btw.
#49
My sister refusing to let me charge my phone at her house where she had a lot of electricity pre paid for already and it costs about 50p an hour if that to charge a phone or something, I still am bitter she done that, I mention it still to her 😂 she doesn’t do it anymore, she also done it to my brother.
#51
When I was kid I used to deliver the newspaper. This guy wanted to pay me EVERY SINGLE DAY THE $.20 for the paper. He owned a business do I would have to go inside and wait for him to get 2 dimes out if the register.
And never tipped.
#52
My FIL borrowed our PLUNGER to bring home to unclog his toilet instead of just buying one. I was so horrified when I found out and equally horrified when he returned it.
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