Sixth Edition:
Cheapest Person I Know
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True Tightwad Tales
Luckily for us, AOL users have a lot of frugal friends and family members. Once again, you spilled the beans on those people in your life who know how to pinch a penny, and then some.
In our sixth edition of this popular community feature, we highlight our favorite true stories of the unbelievably frugal habits of those near and (sometimes not-so) dear.
Can you top any of these tales?
Share your own story.
Next: Cheapskate No. 1More Cheapskate Links:
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Cassandra Shie, AOL
Recycled Napkins
Reader MVigil9204 says:
My mom was a daughter of depression-era parents. She was taught to be frugal and took this to many extremes. My favorite and most disgusting habit of hers was recycling used paper napkins! Yes! She would actually collect paper napkins from the dinner table, tear off any clean section, fold them and put them back on the table for the next meal. Ugh!
Next: Cheapskate No. 2More Cheapskate Links:
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No A/C for Me
Reader Becich says:
A family member purchased a car a few years back. In order to save a few bucks, he ordered a new vehicle because he did not want to pay for air conditioning (he lives in the Midwest). It is almost impossible to find a vehicle that does not come with A/C, so the car had to be special ordered. This took about 3-4 weeks. All of this in order to save a little bit. He has finally admitted recently that this past summer has been rather hot and A/C in the car would have been nice!
Next: Cheapskate No. 3More Cheapskate Links:
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Look, but Don't Keep!
Reader Redwife21 says:
My hubby and I were at the store the night before Valentine's Day picking up kids' treats. We were in the card lane and he handed me a sweet mushy card and said, "Here, read this so I can put it back. It's $2.79." I looked at him and just started laughing!
Next: Cheapskate No. 4More Cheapskate Links:
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Cassandra Shie, AOL
Manual Car Maneuvers
Reader Cuf845 says:
My friend was so tight that she and her husband refused to get an electric garage door opener as that was a waste of electricity. Her hubby would manually pull up the garage door, then sit in his car and put it in neutral while his wife would PUSH the car out of the garage, and she would jump in BEFORE he started the car! It was a waste of gas to let the car idle!
Next: Cheapskate No. 5More Cheapskate Links:
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Cassandra Shie, AOL
A Real 'Frugal Fanny'
Reader BillC006 says:
My frugal friend, Fanny, attended a wedding reception. A shopping bag of disposable cameras was left in the foyer for guests who did not bring their own. A number of people helped themselves to a camera, but there were a dozen or so left when most guests had departed. So Fanny collected the bag, and regaled us with this story. Guess what each of us got as a gift at Christmas that year!
Next: Cheapskate No. 6More Cheapskate Links:
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Cassandra Shie, AOL
The Lunch Bandit
Reader TristarGas says:
One of my co-workers always arrived earlier to work than everyone else. I came in early one day to get ahead on some work and there he was at his desk, eating several people's leftovers from the fridge. I found out that he did this every day and no one knew who the lunch bandit was. We all thought it was the cleaning crew. After that, I made sure to leave leftovers ... but then I added Ex-Lax before putting it away in the fridge. It only took him two weeks before he stopped raiding our fridge.
Next: Cheapskate No. 7More Cheapskate Links:
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Cassandra Shie, AOL
Lunch Box on the Rocks
Reader ChryslerCarolyn says:
I know this woman who would not buy a refrigerator with an ice maker. She would put her lunch in a plastic cooler and take it to work. At work, she would go to the canteen and fill her cooler with the "free" ice.
Next: Cheapskate No. 8More Cheapskate Links:
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Cassandra Shie, AOL
Soft as a Baby's Bottom
Reader NvrLateLady says:
When I was young, I wondered why our aluminum foil was so hard and difficult while my grandmother's was so soft and pliable to wrap leftovers in. My mom let me in on a little secret: When grandma bought aluminum foil she would immediately cut the roll into different size pieces and use and wash and reuse each square hundreds of times. Carefully washing, drying and folding each piece after use. Some squares were a couple of years old!
Next: Cheapskate No. 9More Cheapskate Links:
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Cassandra Shie, AOL
He's Nailed It!
Reader ChevBlaz96 says:
I've got a golfing buddy that is so cheap (and, he's a millionaire) that he saves his dental floss and re-uses it! In his defense, he points out that you pull about 18 inches out, but only use about 6 inches. He puts the floss on a nail in his garage, saves it, to be used again once it's dried out.
Next: Cheapskate No. 10More Cheapskate Links:
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Milk Mania
Reader Bikrchick1000 says:
My mother-in-law is the cheapest person I know. When our kids spend the night at her house they eat cereal in the morning. If they don't drink all of their milk, she pours it in a glass for them to drink later ... marshmallows and all. If our kids don't drink it while they're there, my mother-in-law sends it home with them when we go pick them up.
Next: Cheapskate No. 11More Cheapskate Links:
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The Traveling Lightbulb
Reader MERLIN6299 says:
I had a friend who only used one light bulb at a time in his house. It was in the porch light socket when I arrived. He moved it to a table lamp while we conversed. When I had to use the restroom, he unscrewed it and told me to take it with me so that I would have some light.
Next: Cheapskate No. 12More Cheapskate Links:
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Um, Don't Look at That!
Reader CBCFResume says:
I had just had my baby and a man who worked for me sent me flowers. The next week I noticed that he was expensing out an item and I asked for the receipt. He told me that I wasn't supposed to ask about that item and I realized he was trying to get me to pay for the congratulatory flowers he had sent me on the birth of my son. Talk about cheap!
Next: Cheapskate No. 13More Cheapskate Links:
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Cassandra Shie, AOL
Hello? Hello? You There?
Reader Tried2makeitez says:
I have a friend that will call and begin to tell a juicy gossip story but right at the best part, somehow her phone always drops the call. Then she won't call back. After a while the suspense is killing me, so I have to spring for the call. It's a long distance call and she doesn't want to have to pay.
Next: Cheapskate No. 14More Cheapskate Links:
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That'll Be Sixteen Cents
Reader SChoong324 says:
When my best friend of 15 years was in the hospital giving birth, I sent her a fabulous bouquet of flowers. It was the only bouquet she received (nothing from her husband or mother). When she gave me two photos of her new baby, she asked me for $0.16 for the cost of copying the two photos to give to me. This was the final straw of many, many cheap tricks she pulled. I was very generous to her and this was the final straw that ended it.
Next: Cheapskate No. 15More Cheapskate Links:
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Cassandra Shie, AOL
Devilish Dinner Guest
Reader PalmSpringsLen says:
I have a friend who used to come for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners armed with a paper sack full of empty Tupperware containers (and nothing else). At the end of the meal, he would scoff up the leftovers to take home!
Next: Cheapskate No. 16More Cheapskate Links:
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AFP/Getty Images
Working the System
Reader J Espo 1 says:
I raised my son to be frugal. He and his friend had season passes to the local Six Flags amusement park. They figured out at age 11 that if used a locker they charged you each time you opened it. But if you rented a cage at the park pet kennel, you could open and close it as many times as you needed.
Next: Cheapskate No. 17More Cheapskate Links:
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Cassandra Shie, AOL
Salad Dressing Revisited
Reader Rickatoo says:
Imagine my "surprise" when, after we all finished the salad at my grandmother's house, she scooped the remaining dressing from the bottoms of the bowls BACK into the bottle for use later.
Next: Cheapskate No. 18More Cheapskate Links:
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Cassandra Shie, AOL
Don't Worry, I'll Bill Ya!
Reader Studiotucker says:
My ex-father-in-law was cheap and it made him an eccentric character. In many ways it was endearing, but ... the grandkids would go down the street to his house to play or be babysat and, as grandkids do, they would get hungry. I was surprised one day when I received a bill in the mail that was a detailed invoice of what the children had eaten and demanded payment within 30 days.
Next: Cheapskate No. 19More Cheapskate Links:
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A Quarter Saved Is ...
Reader Dreamingly says:
This man I know would only put in two quarters in the clothes dryer, take them out while they are still wet and lay them on his bed to dry out completely -- saving an extra quarter with each load.
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Recent Comments
Familyfootankle 12:35:09 PM May 15 2009
My mother in law is so cheap that she buys a nice book, toy or puzzle for my son and after he uses it a few times she returns it and gets another toy. I guess this is not a bad thing as she looks good in my sons eyes. So if you are shopping do not buy an opened toy, cause my son has lice
Familyfootankle 12:33:01 PM May 15 2009
My mother in law is so cheap. Reason #1 she gives me gifts that she picked up from the clearance at Marshalls or TJ Max. It the item had a few bottles in it such as hand lotion and cleanser she would divide this and use it as gift for different people or different occasions.
Squiggie1 10:06:31 AM May 05 2009
The one about the garage door isn't so bad....It's good to see someone actually exercising and doing something manually....not everyone in the world has to have an electric garage door. Maybe keeping the car in neutral is bad but other than that...oh well.
Editors@planetcheapskate.com 01:15:28 PM Apr 18 2009
It's too bad that many of these stories if not about outright stealing, are surely about folks who are driven more by the need to pinch a penny than to appreciate life. Gives being a Cheapskate a bad name! Sorry for the shameless plug: We think there's a better way, and we're happy to offer lots and lots of tips on how we do it at www.planetcheapskate.com.
tina0726 04:27:36 AM Nov 09 2008
My boyfriend's birthday present to me was a trip to Las Vegas. We invited another couple to go with us. They asked us to book the hotel as we were going to use my boyfriends reward points to get a good deal. He used his points to completely pay for our room and used the rest of "his" points to get their room for really cheap - $170 room for $65 a night. The other couple would split every meal they ate - even at McDonald's - even sharing one drink which they refilled many times. It was embarassing. Then when the trip was over, they discovered that our room was "comped" - they asked us if we were going to split the $210 hotel bill with them. I said "ARE YOU CRAZY"? His reply was "so you're going to stick us with the whole bill"? Seriously - he expected us to pay for half of their room! My boyfriend had saved his points for two years! After checking out of the hotel, they haven't spoke to me or returned my emails. Being smart with your money is a good thing - trying to use you
DEADLYSCORPION2U 04:01:00 AM Nov 09 2008
I just came here to get more ideas on how I can be even cheaper than I already am! ;)
Ilocananghilaw 01:01:02 AM Nov 09 2008
Somebody I know hammers a toothpaste flat and as thin as possible to get all of its contents out. How cheap!
RobTheBlogger3 12:18:31 AM Nov 09 2008
Underwear is overrated. Save yourself money and don't buy any
