# You know you're a cheapskate when... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 23, 2004, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588 "2004-04-23T05:43:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skeptico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19b73/32.png) [@Skeptico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skeptico)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/1 "2004-04-23T05:43:51Z")
… you always refill your soft drink every time you’re about to leave McDonalds, but after you’ve already finished your whole meal in the restaurant. … you refuse to pay for movies on the web, and are happy to collect 1000 cut-up free samples of 20 seconds each to then re-assemble them into an hour long movie. … you wash your disposable silverware, and feel a little sad when they start cracking up after prolonged use and have to throw them away. … you start checking SDMB every hour and carefully scrutinizing every new thread now that you’re subscriber so that you’ll get your money’s worth. When SDMB was free, you’d come maybe once a week. 😃 😃 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/2 "2004-04-23T06:24:24Z")
You reuse your mouthwash by spitting it back into the Scope bottle ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/3 "2004-04-23T11:41:30Z")
You buy two-ply rolls of toilet paper and separate them. ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/4 "2004-04-23T12:17:39Z")
You see no need to buy hair gel because that old bacon grease you’ve been saving works just as well. ---
**Author:** ![RandomLetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@RandomLetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandomLetters)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/5 "2004-04-23T14:43:21Z")
You always go a couple cents over the amount you want when you pump gas, and make up the difference by using the “give-a-penny take-a-penny” jar. ---
**Author:** ![misstee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@misstee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misstee)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/6 "2004-04-23T14:53:26Z")
you take deposit popbottles/cans from other peoples houses. ( My sister does this when she come to my house. I don’t care if she takes the bottles she brings … hell I don’t mind that she takes other ones, but its just cheesey. They have a redeemable value of .05. So at the most she walks out of here with a quarter. ) ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/7 "2004-04-23T14:59:02Z")
You save Ketchup packages and squeeze then into a bottle. ---
**Author:** ![Tentacle\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/8 "2004-04-23T15:21:12Z")
Warning: Disgusting, used in a previous thread: You jack off the dog to feed the cat. Red rocket! ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/9 "2004-04-23T19:22:23Z")
When you go on vacation in a tropical resort town, you get only one condo for six people, and you pack two cardboard boxes and an ice chest full of food so you can make all of your meals, breakfast lunch and dinner, in the condo’s kitchenette and never ever have to pay to eat dinner in a restaurant. My parents did this. Honest to God. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/10 "2004-04-23T19:41:15Z")
> [@Libertarian](#): > > You buy two-ply rolls of toilet paper and separate them. You _buy_ toilet paper when you can get it free at work. Jeez! A former boss once yelled at me for putting a 25 cent stamp on a letter going to someone who lived between my place of work and my house. “You wasted 25 cents when you could have dropped it off on your way home?” ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/11 "2004-04-23T20:07:43Z")
> [@misstee](#): > > you take deposit popbottles/cans from other peoples houses. Better yet, you take cans on road trips, to refund them in states that have deposit laws. An hour and 45 minutes to New York, two hours to Michigan … hmmm … ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/12 "2004-04-23T20:33:02Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > You _buy_ toilet paper when you can get it free at work. Jeez! Now, Annie, it’s not “You know you’re a thief when…”. ---
**Author:** ![DaToad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@DaToad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaToad)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/13 "2004-04-23T20:42:29Z")
You get all of your, salt, pepper, sugar, non-sugar sweetner, coffee creamer, catsup, mustard, mayo, soy sauce and napkins by taking it from fast food joints. you only flush the toilet once a day. You turn your car engine off at stop lights and take it out of gear so you can coast down hills. You get up an hour early everyday so you can read and return your neighbors newspaper before he goes out to get it. All of the ashtrays in your house are empty sardine or tuna cans. On Sunday night you siphon a gallon of gas from each car in your neighborhood to fill your tank for Monday morning. And my personal favorite You give your kids money for school lunch just before they go to bed. You steal it back after they fall asleep and beat them in the morning for losing it and send them to school with no lunch to teach them a lesson. ---
**Author:** ![SSgtBaloo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@SSgtBaloo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSgtBaloo)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/14 "2004-04-23T20:45:26Z")
You see a thread title like this one and start reading it because you can always use a few more tips. 😃 > [@swampbear](#): > > You see no need to buy hair gel because that old bacon grease you’ve been saving works just as well. And don’t forget that smoky aroma! Who needs cologne? Just beware of stray dogs. I discovered a few years back that the liver paté I like is canned at the same factory as Hormel’s liver spread. Whenever I see the liver spread I buy several cans – the fancy-label paté costs 2-3 times as much and I figure it’s the same stuff. It sure doesn’t taste any different. Whenever I need to take an over-the-counter “sleep aid” I just take the generic form of Benadryl. I read the labels, and discovered that “Nytol” (and others) have the same exact ingredient in the same exact dosage (per pill), but cost much, MUCH more than Equate Histamine Blocker. I save the chopsticks that I get at the Chinese restaurant so I can use 'em again when I fix something similar at home. Same with plasticware from take-out eateries. –SSgtBaloo ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/15 "2004-04-23T21:04:22Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > When you go on vacation in a tropical resort town, you get only one condo for six people, and you pack two cardboard boxes and an ice chest full of food so you can make all of your meals, breakfast lunch and dinner, in the condo’s kitchenette and never ever have to pay to eat dinner in a restaurant. > My parents did this. Honest to God. Your parents are hacks. Amateurs. My dad is the ultimate cheapskate. He took us on vacation… packed two teenagers and two overweight adults into a Plymouth Horizon, borrowed a clamshell for the luggage, drove for two days and camped everywhere we stopped, usually at a KOA campground, because they are cheaper than those fancy schmancy state parks. Of course, we brought all the food and would rather starve to death than A) stay in a hotel on rainy nights or B) eat in even a cheap fast food restaurant once in a while. The vacations always sucked because we were never allowed to do anything that cost money. If there was an admission fee, and/or you couldn’t bring your own drinks and snacks in… we didn’t get to go. We spent a lot of time in the woods, “enjoying” nature. ---
**Author:** ![hybrid\_dogfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@hybrid\_dogfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hybrid_dogfish)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/16 "2004-04-23T21:12:28Z")
You use both sides of a sheet of paper…to wipe. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/17 "2004-04-23T21:25:49Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > Your parents are hacks. Amateurs. My dad is the ultimate cheapskate. > > He took us on vacation… packed two teenagers and two overweight adults into a Plymouth Horizon, borrowed a clamshell for the luggage, drove for two days and camped everywhere we stopped, usually at a KOA campground, because they are cheaper than those fancy schmancy state parks. Of course, we brought all the food and would rather starve to death than A) stay in a hotel on rainy nights or B) eat in even a cheap fast food restaurant once in a while. The vacations always sucked because we were never allowed to do anything that cost money. If there was an admission fee, and/or you couldn’t bring your own drinks and snacks in… we didn’t get to go. We spent a lot of time in the woods, “enjoying” nature. Except for the fact that there were five kids and a dog in a station wagon, this sounds like most of my family vacations. You know you’re cheap when you use the same paper plate for your breakfast bagel, your lunch sandwich, and your supper pizza. ---
**Author:** ![luluBahrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e5b9ba/32.png) [@luluBahrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luluBahrain)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/18 "2004-04-23T22:31:37Z")
> [@swampbear](#): > > You see no need to buy hair gel because that old bacon grease you’ve been saving works just as well. This also works to save money on those pesky adoption fees at the SPCA. All the strays follow you home. ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/19 "2004-04-23T22:59:47Z")
Well jeez… who woulda thunk! Apparently I am fount of useful cost cutting measures. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/20 "2004-04-23T23:18:12Z")
You act like a $4.95 sign-up fee is the end of the world as we know it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588.md?page=2)