When it comes to money, everyone has their own perspective. Some people are spendthrifts, enjoying the finer things in life without a care in the world. Others, however, live frugally, saving every penny for a rainy day. While being cautious with money isn’t necessarily a bad thing, being a cheapskate can sometimes have its drawbacks. In fact, it can lower the overall quality of life, not just for the person themselves, but also for their family.
Cheapskates find joy in getting things for free, no matter how small or insignificant those things may be. If you’ve never experienced life with a cheapskate, let me share some crazy stories that people have posted on Reddit about their encounters with them.
1. How This Dad Scored a Free Bar of Soap with a Clever Trick
When my dad moved into his house, a guy came over to do a free demonstration for a water filter that goes under the sink. During the demonstration, the guy used a bar of soap and left it behind after he was done.
My dad called at least four other companies for free demonstrations, all just to keep the free bar of soap. He never intended to actually have a water filter installed. He does things like this, and it’s only gotten worse as he’s aged. But I just let him do his thing.
2. Dad’s Attachment with Paper Towels
My dad is obsessed with paper towels. To this day, he still expects me to ask for permission before using them, even though I’m 21 now. I remember thinking that a roll of paper towels cost $100 because he was so concerned about me wasting them.
He’s a cheapskate and ends up spending twice as much money on things because he always goes for the cheapest option, which often breaks or doesn’t work as well. One day, my girlfriend and I were at his house, and I accidentally spilled a gallon of milk. She grabbed a roll of paper towels and used the whole thing to clean up the mess.
I felt guilty for using so many paper towels, but the look on my dad’s face when he found out was priceless. He didn’t yell at us because he was too polite, especially in front of my girlfriend. But I could see the pain, anger, and heartbreak on his face for what he considered a “wasted” roll of paper towels.
3. What a Unique Approach to Saving Every Coin
Oh my God, dads can be terrible. Mine hates spending money on electricity, so he hangs his clothes outside to dry, even during freezing temperatures.
And whenever my sisters or I cleaned our rooms, he would go through our trash looking for “valuables” we might have thrown away, like money or recyclables. He’s also obsessed with finding the cheapest gas prices, once spending half an hour driving around town just to get the lowest price.
One time, we went to Burger King, and I was only allowed to order chicken fries because getting a burger was “too expensive.” It’s always something with him.
4. Meet the Return Policy Maestro
My father took insane advantage of Costco’s return policy. He returned an outdoor furniture set that we had for around eight years. It was weather-worn, and a few pieces were broken. But they still took it back, and he used the money to buy a new patio set from Costco. Unbelievable!
5. Unveiling the Frugal Achievements of My Grandmother
When I was a child, I spent summers at my grandparents’ house. One of my chores was setting the table before dinner every night. Whenever we had company over for dinner, I was instructed to use “the good napkins.”
By “good napkins,” my grandmother meant the ones without any restaurant logos printed on them. You see, we only went to restaurants when my grandmother felt she could come out ahead on the deal. And there were many ways she accomplished this.
She used coupons, of course, but that was just the beginning. Whenever she did something nice for someone, she made sure they took her to dinner to “return the favor.” She carried an enormous purse, which often ended up stuffed with napkins and food from buffets.
She didn’t see the point in going to a restaurant that didn’t have at least a salad bar. In fact, one year when my mother and I offered to take her out for her birthday, we had to drive over an hour to find a Sizzler she hadn’t been banned from!
6. Rolling in Savings
My dad discovered where those giant industrial rolls of toilet paper that you see in shopping centers are sold, and he started buying them for our house. It’s like having one giant roll that contains the equivalent of three or four regular rolls. I’ve never been more embarrassed when my friends come over.
7. My Grandmother’s Unbeatable Sears Lifetime Guarantee!
My grandparents got married in the late 1940s and registered their gifts with Sears. Back then, Sears had a “lifetime guarantee” on almost everything they sold.
My grandmother has moved houses almost ten times since then, but she has kept every flattened box and warranty for every appliance she received when she got married.
I drove her to Sears about two years ago to replace her iron, and she brought all the boxes and paperwork from the 1940s to get a new one. Surprisingly, they fulfilled the guarantee and gave her a new iron!
I find it hilarious, but my grandmother hasn’t had to pay for a new appliance in over 60 years because she is so thrifty. She’s a Ukrainian immigrant in Canada and always insists that “lifetime guarantee means lifetime guarantee.”
I feel bad for Sears because our family tends to live long lives (her father lived until he was 104). Sometimes I think that maybe all these cheap old women cashing in on their lifetime guarantees are the reason why Sears is doing so poorly.
8. My Dad’s Budget Home Became a Renovation Adventure
My father is pathologically cheap. I have numerous stories, but I’ll share the biggest one. My dad only looks at the dollar amount and nothing else. If he sees a six-pack of toilet paper for $5 and a twelve-pack for $7, he’ll buy the $5 pack every time, guaranteed.
So you can imagine how major purchases go with him. When I was about eight, he decided to buy a house. With $110k, one could buy something relatively decent in my area – a home with newer cabinets, floors, and other interior appointments.
But my dad ended up buying a low-quality house for $89k. It had been built in 1947, and the guy who built it was just as cheap as my dad. All the windows and doors were original, and it still had its original asbestos siding.
Inside, there was no trim, no interior doors except for the bathroom door, which didn’t have a knob. The kitchen had no cabinets or counters. The living room floor was bare plywood, and the ground floor bedroom had linoleum haphazardly unrolled on it.
So essentially, my dad “saved” $21k when buying the house but ended up spending way more than that in repairs and renovations over the years.
9. Beating the Heat on a Budget
I’m from Georgia, the land of humidity and scorching heat. My dad wouldn’t turn on the AC until the temperature exceeded 100F. To save on our energy bills, he bought these styrofoam pads that had metallic foil on one side. We would shove them into all the windows and doorways to keep the heat out.
Also, our city has a natural spring with drinkable water. So, on hot days, there would be a line of people waiting to fill their containers with cold water. My dad would go there with THIRTY-TWO five-gallon bottles and fill all of them because he thought the spring might dry up the next day.
10. The Surprising Gift Card
My grandpa was the stingiest man in the world. When he passed away, I inherited a $30 gift card. I was going to give it away, but for some reason, I decided to use it.
Little did I know that my life was about to change. The cashier’s face went pale when I handed her the card. She exclaimed, “This can’t be! Where did you get this??” I hesitated and replied, “Uh… it was my grandpa’s.”
Turns out, that gift card was a special promotional item with a million-dollar prize, left unclaimed for years. The cashier excitedly announced that I had won the store’s decade-long hidden sweepstakes. I stood there, stunned, as the store manager confirmed the unbelievable news. Suddenly, my grandpa’s “stingy” gift transformed into a life-changing fortune, rewriting my future in an instant.
Stay tuned for more tales of cheapskate adventures!
