# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/21 "2004-04-23T23:32:22Z")
You haggle with the little old ladies in the Thrift Store. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2004, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/22 "2004-04-23T23:33:17Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > You know you’re cheap when you use the same paper plate for your breakfast bagel, your lunch sandwich, and your supper pizza. Paper plate? Lots of junk mail comes on paper that’s just as good and lasts just as long. (Of course for a fancy dinner I’ll go all out and use half a paper towel per guest.) ---
**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 24, 2004, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/23 "2004-04-24T00:09:45Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > You act like a $4.95 sign-up fee is the end of the world as we know it. Yeah, but do you know how long it took me to clean out my truck and look under the sofa cushions to find $4.95? Why, I coulda bought enough Ramen noodles to last a month for that price! It’s an outrage how they gouge us I tell ya! An outrage! And, that was funny **Snooooopy**. ---
**Author:** ![Vision\_of\_Love](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Vision\_of\_Love](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vision_of_Love)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/24 "2004-04-24T00:34:13Z")
My family uses Burger King coupons at McDonald’s… and they get accepted. We used to sneak microwaveable popcorn into movie theatres. When I went to movies with my parents they bought me child tickets, making sure that they were behind the adult tickets when they handed them to the ticket ripper person. They finally upgraded me to student when I was 17 or so. My mom would take cups and utensils from in-flight dinner trays. ---
**Author:** ![dbygawdcapn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dbygawdcapn/32/3995_2.png) [@dbygawdcapn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dbygawdcapn)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/25 "2004-04-24T02:56:05Z")
You plan your wedding reception for a Friday afternoon at your local watering hole because there are free hot wings at Happy Hour and you can get a $1.00 off the drinks at the cash bar. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/26 "2004-04-24T05:34:48Z")
> [@Vision of Love](#): > > We used to sneak microwaveable popcorn into movie theatres. I can figure out how you got the popcorn in, but who got stuck hiding the microwave? ---
**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 24, 2004, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/27 "2004-04-24T12:45:01Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > You haggle with the little old ladies in the Thrift Store. > > 😃 If it weren’t for the Thrift Store and other people’s closets, I’d be naked! ---
**Author:** ![nocturnal\_tick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3d9bf3/32.png) [@nocturnal\_tick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nocturnal_tick)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/28 "2004-04-24T14:29:17Z")
You see the beef flavoured noodles at Tesco for 8p a pack and think “Damn, that sounds good!” ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/29 "2004-04-24T14:55:56Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > 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 … Wasn’t that a Seinfeld episode? ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/30 "2004-04-24T15:26:12Z")
You tell your family to vote on which way to splurge; take a drive in the country, or buy a magazine. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/31 "2004-04-24T15:37:28Z")
Two words: Tang wipes ---
**Author:** ![WILLASS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/54ee81/32.png) [@WILLASS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WILLASS)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/32 "2004-04-24T17:32:55Z")
You suck the all the chocolate off chocolate covered nuts then offer the nuts as snacks to visitors. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/33 "2004-04-24T17:35:19Z")
> [@Libertarian](#): > > You buy two-ply rolls of toilet paper and separate them. So you saw that on Oprah, too, eh? ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/34 "2004-04-24T20:29:15Z")
You tie your dental floss in a loop so you don’t waste any wrapping it around your fingers, then soak it in rubbing alcohol and reuse it the next day. And the next, and the next. (I swear to God, I saw this in a newspaper article a few years back about cheapskates. They were having a contest to see who went to those most ridiculous extremes to save the least money. This guy won, hands down, as he saved something like 50 cents a _year_ doing this.) ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Gretchen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Miss\_Gretchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Gretchen)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/35 "2004-04-24T21:27:26Z")
You enjoy a “smell only” sandwich - I also read this in an article about insane cheapskates. This old guy buttered two pieces of bread, carefully laid salami slices on them, then wrapped the sandwich up and put it in the fridge. The next day he’d peel off the salami, add that to newly buttered bread and eat the bread and butter that was merely imparted with the spicy garlicy salami aroma. He’d do this all week, until the big day on sunday when he ate the whole thing, bread, butter and salami. Sounds delicious! ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/36 "2004-04-24T21:30:08Z")
You save the plastic bags that bread comes in to avoid buying sandwich bags. And bring your lunch to work. In the plastic bag that yesterday’s newspaper came in. Tupperware? Feh. Peanut butter jars. (Hint: these are NOT microwave safe. Trust your old uncle **Shodan** on this one.) Send away for free t-shirts over the Internet. I have about twenty. I used diluted dish-washing detergent to wash my hair when I was a student. It actually works pretty well. Vaseline is not, however, a particularly good shaving cream, even when mixed with soap. Prescription medication is about a third cheaper if you can get them from veterinary supply catalogs. Same drugs, same FDA - less lawsuits from cattle. That’s the only difference. I actually got into this a bit too much when I was a student and for a while thereafter. The “dented cans” section of my grocery store was my gold mine. Goodwill provided most of my clothing (I owned a lot of bowling shirts). It became sort of a game to see how cheap I could live. My wife earned about twice what I did when we first met, but I had about five times as much in savings as she did. Generic rules. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/37 "2004-04-24T21:41:05Z")
This isn’t a particularly novel item, but the source is interesting. Was reading an article on (I think) [cnn.com](http://cnn.com) yesterday about the founder of Ikea, and they quoted him defending himself against being excessively cheap by saying “I don’t wash and reuse disposable plastic cups much anymore.” And this from a man worth somewhere between 30 and 50 billion. I laughed. ---
**Author:** ![flamingbananas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f4b2a3/32.png) [@flamingbananas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flamingbananas)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/38 "2004-04-24T22:07:51Z")
> [@rjk](#): > > Paper plate? Lots of junk mail comes on paper that’s just as good and lasts just as long. You even USE a plate? Why don’t you use your hands. It’s free! Anyway, all my junk mail is used for my bed. I nick clothes, sew them into a mattress, and stuff junk mail in it. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/39 "2004-04-24T22:11:18Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > You tie your dental floss in a loop so you don’t waste any wrapping it around your fingers, then soak it in rubbing alcohol and reuse it the next day. And the next, and the next. > > (I swear to God, I saw this in a newspaper article a few years back about cheapskates. They were having a contest to see who went to those most ridiculous extremes to save the least money. This guy won, hands down, as he saved something like 50 cents a _year_ doing this.) This woman wrote to Heloise, bragging how much she saved in marinade by reusing it. After she left the meat to thaw out on the kitchen counter all day. Heloise pointed out that the quarter she saves was overshadowed by the cost of treating food poisoning. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/40 "2004-04-25T01:47:27Z")
I recently scored for a whopping $2 at a garage sale all the books the new owner of a house wanted to get rid of left by the previous owner. All but one book were schlock books of the 50’s. I am using the rest to start fires in my fireplace. I also save all the larger cardboard containers ( cereal, oatmeal) for fire starters. This saves loads of room in the garbage bag. Then after the fire is out for a couple of days and assuredly dead, I shop-vac it up and put the ashes in my compost heap. It’s a win-win situation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588.md?page=3)