Things cheap people do
Discussion
Absolutely nothing wrong with folk wanting the best deals - but there are some who take this to the extreme where it becomes comical... and some of it quite smart!
Of course, most of those who fall into the extreme cheapness category unsurprisingly have a nice number in their bank account looking back at them.
Some examples of people I've met who fall into this:
Hoarding Sachets: This particular gent would harvest as many condiment sachets as possible, ketchup mayo, salt, sugar and pots of milk from restaurants. The thought buying a bottle of ketchup from the store was an absolute no no. By the age of 33 he was mortgage free.
Choose your sandwich wisely: When I first met this colleague we walked to the nearest shop to buy a sandwich for lunch. After I had paid for my sandwich I found him still quibbling over which sandwhich to pick. He wanted a BLT.... there were plenty of them right infront of him, he kept picking them up and putting them back. I asked what he was doing... to which he replied, "It's all about the bacon to salad ratio, the bacon is the best part and costs more, I want as much of it as I can for the money."
I did laugh at first, but came round to his way of thinking - and I do the same now, albeit to less extremity.
Missed Caller: This one is a little dirty/immoral. Back in the day when mobiles call charges were high, a family friend would play this trick by calling for one ring always, then hanging up. This would prompt you to call them back and pay for 'their conversation'.
Do you have any examples of people you've met who live the extreme cheap lifestyle, do share! - Some of these could be be great tips!
Of course, most of those who fall into the extreme cheapness category unsurprisingly have a nice number in their bank account looking back at them.
Some examples of people I've met who fall into this:
Hoarding Sachets: This particular gent would harvest as many condiment sachets as possible, ketchup mayo, salt, sugar and pots of milk from restaurants. The thought buying a bottle of ketchup from the store was an absolute no no. By the age of 33 he was mortgage free.
Choose your sandwich wisely: When I first met this colleague we walked to the nearest shop to buy a sandwich for lunch. After I had paid for my sandwich I found him still quibbling over which sandwhich to pick. He wanted a BLT.... there were plenty of them right infront of him, he kept picking them up and putting them back. I asked what he was doing... to which he replied, "It's all about the bacon to salad ratio, the bacon is the best part and costs more, I want as much of it as I can for the money."
I did laugh at first, but came round to his way of thinking - and I do the same now, albeit to less extremity.
Missed Caller: This one is a little dirty/immoral. Back in the day when mobiles call charges were high, a family friend would play this trick by calling for one ring always, then hanging up. This would prompt you to call them back and pay for 'their conversation'.
Do you have any examples of people you've met who live the extreme cheap lifestyle, do share! - Some of these could be be great tips!
Edited by JaredVannett on Thursday 13th December 13:33
some hillarious ones in here, also some I might give a go...eg. popping into Asda late for the whoooops! pricing/discounts.
markymarkthree said:
Back in the 70s I used to travel around the country to watch all the British and world championship scramble meets. I would always volunteer to be a marshal so I got for free, got a free lunch and closer to the action. When I got my 1st mortgage at 25, I was so tight I used to shower at work and have most of my meals there in the subsidised canteen. Managed to retire at 57 four years ago.
If you could go back in time would you have done anything different? Do you regret anything with regards to frugal spending or has it worked our very well? Genuine question.The Selfish Gene said:
I was always taught to be first to the bar...............
alas, people start taking advantage of that quality, but it becomes clear and it's ended quickly.
I've been known to buy a round of drinks for everyone except the tight person...........
leave them sat without.
Then I'm a total
.
alas, people start taking advantage of that quality, but it becomes clear and it's ended quickly.
I've been known to buy a round of drinks for everyone except the tight person...........
leave them sat without.
Then I'm a total
.
How about the sleeper meal voucher?
It goes something like this...
Your friend Mr Cheap calls you and one other friend to join him at some local Italian bistro where they have an offer, "3 meals for the price of 2".
Enticed by the discount you and your friend agree to join him for a wonderful evening of Italian cuisine and catch up.
Having enjoyed your meals, you get out your wallet to settle the bill 3-ways only to find Mr Cheap has claimed the third 'free' meal discount all for himself, leaving you and your friend to pay for your own meals in full
Mr Cheap's justification? ... "I setup the whole evening and booked the table, so it's only fair I get the free meal".
Note: I've never done this, and never would - but I've seen it happen to friends and relatives I know.
Edited by JaredVannett on Thursday 13th December 19:24
Benbay001 said:
Im home now and have some more time.
Other ways ive saved money :
Great list, thanks for sharing!Other ways ive saved money :
- Eat chips at work then have a nutritious meal in the evening when i get home.
- Cook my food in bulk (usually 6-10 portions at a time)
- Buying 20% fat mince rather than 5%, but eating 15% less of it...
- Second hand furniture
- My phone contract is a £17 a monthblack friday deal (phone outright)
- My internet is also £17 a month and is plenty fast enough for one person
- Cancelled my gym membership. Replaced by walking up the stairs when ever possible. (blows my mind how many people pay to go to the gym and then talk the lift! WTF?)
- I take full use of a discount scheme at work that gets me between 4-10% off various shops (big one being Tesco, ive saved about £500 in a year and a half)
- If im making a journey, if im not busy ill set off earlier and go slower.
- A fairly ridgid budget £35 a week on food, £40 a week on anything "fun" such as drinks with mates, buying a game or going for a hoon in the car. Once that money is gone, i stay at home.
I'm pretty "cheap" when it comes to phones... I'm on PAYG - Classic.
emicen said:
I don’t know if it’s still on TLC but there was an American show called Extreme Cheapskates. You would honestly struggle to believe the spendthrift antics of some of these folk!
That show sounds familiar.There is a youtuber who specialises in being a cheapskate, his content is very good:
How to live in London for £1 a day:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfTFZQdKmeE
samsock said:
Lemming Train said:
In theory, yes. However the reality is somewhat different. I'm not the only one in this neighbourhood to complain about the tap water quality here and Yorkshire Water have been out and run tests. It has a higher than average chemical content but they said that it's within government tolerances so tough st. All I know is that it causes nasty stomach aches and I have no such issues at all drinking the basic bottled water found in Tesco and other supermarkets. I am aware of the scare-mongering about the plastic chemicals leaking into the water but given as it tastes absolutely fine to me and doesn't cause me any health issues I'll take my chances thanks.
it's not so much about the plastic ... Bottled water is much more likely to become contaminated over time. Also there are no requirements for bottled water producers to do tests for things like e-coli. And 'mineral water' is likely to have higher chemical content than 'higher than average' tap water.t. All I know is that it causes nasty stomach aches and I have no such issues at all drinking the basic bottled water found in Tesco and other supermarkets. I am aware of the scare-mongering about the plastic chemicals leaking into the water but given as it tastes absolutely fine to me and doesn't cause me any health issues I'll take my chances thanks.Government tolerances are quite strict for tap water in the UK, so even higher than average is likely to be much safer than bottled. If Yorkshire did the same tests on bottled water I think you would be shocked at just how much stuff (including 'minerals') is left in. I try to avoid the stuff whenever possible.
Edited by samsock on Friday 14th December 09:45
You use 'highly regulated' tap water and enjoy a much better taste.
I wonder if anyone has done the economics on the filter cartridges vs buying bottled water?
I guess if you were extremley resourceful you could make the filters yourself lol.
gangzoom said:
Go to M&S foods about 1hr before closing and you can grab some real bargins as they discount outofdate stock with yellow stickers.
I've done 3 days worth of shopping there for £5 which is even cheaper what you can get at Aldi.
Timing is everything though, go too early and the discounts are poor, too lates and all the other penny pinchers will have beaten you.
Cheaper than Aldi and great produce - seems like a win win!I've done 3 days worth of shopping there for £5 which is even cheaper what you can get at Aldi.
Timing is everything though, go too early and the discounts are poor, too lates and all the other penny pinchers will have beaten you.
Hoofy said:
What is wrong with it is the price. He could have got a loaf of bread in the same store for a few pence more that would have lasted a lot longer.
Anyway, my point is that his choices for his budget didn't make sense. With a bit of thought, like you and I, he could have a whole week sorted easily.
You may well have a point there, I guess he chose what he did so that he could make a 5 day episodes and add some variance rather than buying the whole loaf on day 1, if that makes sense.Anyway, my point is that his choices for his budget didn't make sense. With a bit of thought, like you and I, he could have a whole week sorted easily.
Anyway, moving to the theme of restaurants here he is again (London Hacks), going into various establishments, ordering food and then telling them "he left his wallet at home"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcpxWMS9DqY
As suggested in the comments, I hope he went back to the first restaurant and paid lol.
The last restaurant is interesting too.
louiebaby said:
You should have seen the uproar when I suggested snapping off the broccoli stems when at the super-market.
The Leaper said:
louiebaby,
There's a woman I see quite often in my local Sainsbury's who buys broccoli loose and she snips the stems off with a knife she brings before weighing! Actually, I reckon this saves a fair bit of weight therefore money. My wife will not let me do this as she thinks the best of the broccoli is the stem eaten raw!
R.
Just got back from my weekly shop and noticed this There's a woman I see quite often in my local Sainsbury's who buys broccoli loose and she snips the stems off with a knife she brings before weighing! Actually, I reckon this saves a fair bit of weight therefore money. My wife will not let me do this as she thinks the best of the broccoli is the stem eaten raw!
R.
Perseverant said:
Cheap is a bit derogatory! Some of the things on this thread are a bit strange though. Kids at school used to mock the janitors and cleaners for picking up the small change that the spoilt little perishers dropped. By the end of term the jannies had enough for a couple of bottles of whisky!
Nothing derogatory intended.There are people who do come under the title of extreme cheapness, but some of these ideas are actually smart.
The guy I mentioned in my opening post who spend ages picking sandwiches told me himself "I'm cheap, never pay full whack".
One thing that has been made clear though, is that there are two types of people when it comes to low cost living .... cheap and frugal.
See infographic: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
^^ A good example of frugal would be the example given earlier, about shopping at M&S before close to scoop up discounted produce... you're getting a good deal and good food.
I was looking for an episode of 'extreme cheapskates' on youtube and came across the coupon kid:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5LosUoULpo
Impressive, hopefully nothing expires before use.
condor said:
BoRED S2upid said:
Not so sure about that. 10p for the tablet that washes a huge amount of dishes v liquid and hot water for a dozen smaller washes in the sink. There can’t be that much in it.
I bought 20 all in one tablets from an own supermarket brand that cost £3. There's only me to consider so not many plates or pots and pans - though being Christmas I do plan on using the oven a lot. No idea how many litres of water the dishwasher uses, but way more than a bowlful. A bottle of washing up liquid costs approx £1 and lasts me nearly a year!
An article on Dishwasher vs Hand Washing from 'TreeHugger':
https://www.treehugger.com/kitchen-design/built-in...
Dishwashers typically use between 4-6 gallons of water according to the article.
https://www.treehugger.com/kitchen-design/built-in...
Dishwashers typically use between 4-6 gallons of water according to the article.
AlexC1981 said:
Buying ties. They always seem like such a rip off for £8 or so for a bit of polyester and then you spill your cup of tea down it and they never look the same after cleaning. I tend to hang on to my ties for years, but after starting a new job recently I decided I should smarten up and replace the majority. Some of them were really old (branded C&As even) and were getting tatty, unfashionably wide and didn't match my current shirts as the shirts they had been bought to compliment had long since been replaced.
Anyway, I bought 23 ties for a total of £48.84 from a variety of sellers on Ali Express. A bargain at an average cost of £2.12 each! If I'd gone to a shop they would have cost about £8 each and I would have only got 6 for my money instead of 23, plus I could choose from a much wider range of styles.
They are probably not quite so padded as a typical shop tie, but that helps them sit under the collar better and they look absolutely fine. Downside is they arrived over a period of 1-6 weeks. Most of them coming in about 4 weeks.
Ah 'Ali Express', some of the stuff on there is amazing.Anyway, I bought 23 ties for a total of £48.84 from a variety of sellers on Ali Express. A bargain at an average cost of £2.12 each! If I'd gone to a shop they would have cost about £8 each and I would have only got 6 for my money instead of 23, plus I could choose from a much wider range of styles.
They are probably not quite so padded as a typical shop tie, but that helps them sit under the collar better and they look absolutely fine. Downside is they arrived over a period of 1-6 weeks. Most of them coming in about 4 weeks.
Prompting your comments about ties I had quick look for socks:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/DHL-express-Socks-...
That brand.... I'm sure I've heard of it somewhere
Another popular chinese site is wish.com, like AliExpress it's loaded with cheap produce.
Sadly, it has a signup wall - but for the curious I recommend signing up. Plenty of customer product reviews.
Edited by JaredVannett on Wednesday 19th December 00:37
Dave. said:
Secret Santa demands "cos you've got loads of money you can buy my kids presents"
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thesun.co.uk/fabu...
Even if the comments are true (citing it's staged), I can believe such a thing happening in today's society.https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thesun.co.uk/fabu...
soad said:
Going to a barbers for a single blade cut (all over)? Has to be the cheapest haircut going...
Interesting you say that, prices at barbers can vary wildly too, anything from £10 right up to £40 for some folk.I know some people who pay the premium do so because they like the atmosphere and service, fair play.
Edited by JaredVannett on Wednesday 19th December 21:11
Oakey said:
urquattroGus said:
Haha this made me chuckle! I've been on the receiving end of a few customers like that. Usually a retired teacher if I'm honest.
He stopped into Tesco on his way home from work and spotted one of those ready cooked whole chickens in the reduced section marked down to 25p. So he's stood in the queue waiting to pay, showing the customers behind him his bargain find. He gets to the the till and the manager is working it and my dad says "that's a bargain, not going to say no to that" and the manager looks at it, snatches it off him and goes "that's a mistake, you can't have that" and sticks it under the counter. My dad starts kicking off telling him that's outrageous, if it's a mistake that's his problem, he just wants to buy the chicken at the price it was marked at, etc. Manager starts getting stroppy with him and then the customers behind my dad start to revolt; "give him his chicken", "you tight , that's his chicken, sell him his chicken", etc. Manager digs his heels in and starts getting more stroppy with my dad.First thing my dad did when he got home was phone Head Office and put in a complaint. He got something like a £25 voucher out of them and the a
hole manager of the store phoning him up to apologise.I'll never understand why some employees get themselves into these situations.
lyonspride said:
My father used to follow us all around the house, turning the lights off behind us. He had this obsessive idea that only light bulbs wasted energy, even so far as taking the bulb out of the back of his electric fireplace.
My mother was the same. She'd always turn off the 'under-counter' LED strips in the kitchen everytime she left the kitchen. I explained to her, how they were ultra low energy (LED) and even showed her how there was hardly no heat being emitted, so that she could leave them on throughout the evening and turn them off at night with barely any adjustment to the electricity bill. It didn't make a blind bit of difference to her, she carried on switching them off each time.lyonspride said:
I have a mate who when we all go out for drinks/food, instead of splitting the bill between 12 of us, he has to sit and calculate everything he had, if his bill is more than the split cost, he takes the split, but it's less he only pays for his own........
Crafty git! ... Anyone been to a Harvester recently?
Last time I went was years ago, I noticed they had dropped a lot of the 'premium' stuff off the menu in favor of cheaper value meals - I gave it a try and wasn't impressed. I would have been more satisfied with a Big Mac to be honest.
Also, there was something about the crowd... quite a rowdy bunch
Last time I went was years ago, I noticed they had dropped a lot of the 'premium' stuff off the menu in favor of cheaper value meals - I gave it a try and wasn't impressed. I would have been more satisfied with a Big Mac to be honest.
Also, there was something about the crowd... quite a rowdy bunch
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