# 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:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/41 "2004-04-25T01:59:43Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Send away for free t-shirts over the Internet. I have about twenty. > > Regards, > Shodan Circa 1987 Hershey had a promotion where if you sent in 5 or so wrappers from their jumbo sized candy bars you got a free Hershey/Reese’s/MrGoodbar tshirt. The movie theater I worked at sold both the giant Hershey bars and the Reese’s 4 pack (which qualified.) Since people are pigs and throw their trash on the floor instead of in the trash can, the other employees and I were able to amass enough UPCs to get around 5 tshirts apiece in a couple weeks. Sweet! I had nightshirts and gag gifts for years! ---
**Author:** ![Melandry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Melandry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melandry)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/42 "2004-04-25T02:04:18Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > 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. I have a story quite similar to this one. I have a friend whose aunt is an investment banker and quite well-off (though not 30-50 billion, I admit). We were staying at her condo in Vail and she snapped at me for almost throwing away a Ziploc bag. It turns out she washes them out and reuses them because they are ‘so expensive.’ It was kind of odd. But then, my parents are definitely cheapskates (the vacations above sound familiar) and they are also well-off (from all the money they’ve saved). My boyfriend, who grew up poor, doesn’t understand why they don’t act like the ‘rich people’ he sees them as. The other day I thought his head would explode when my mom told us she wouldn’t get digital cable because of the $3.50/month cable box rental fee. ---
**Author:** ![flamingbananas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f4b2a3/32.png) [@flamingbananas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flamingbananas)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/43 "2004-04-25T02:10:30Z")
You are lucky you even GET vacation. I haven’t had one since I was about 3. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/44 "2004-04-25T02:16:00Z")
You give your girlfriend an engagement ring, then ask for it back a couple of weeks later when it becomes obvious that your grandmother is going to recover instead of dying in the hospital like everybody thought she would. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/45 "2004-04-25T04:07:15Z")
Pikers, all of you. A genuine cheapskate is someone who pulls out a dollar bill and George blinks at the light. ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/46 "2004-04-25T04:26:41Z")
I knew a guy who took the back seat out of his car to save weight and gas money. Yes, he was an engineer, and no, he never had any passengers. My dad once burned a basal cell carcinoma off the side of his head with a lit cigarette, but that was more because he just didn’t like going to the doctor, rather than cheapness. Yes, it came back, and yes, he did finally go to a dermatologist. ---
**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 25, 2004, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/47 "2004-04-25T04:59:44Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Vaseline is not, however, a particularly good shaving cream, even when mixed with soap. Nor is shaving cream a particularly good lubricant. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/48 "2004-04-25T18:05:16Z")
… you moderate a free message board for two and a half years on the off chance that they might comp you if they ever decide to charge. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/49 "2004-04-25T18:32:21Z")
The restaurant I worked at in high school used to take the uneaten bread off of peoples tables and used it to make croutons. :eek: They also dug out the unused butter and put it back into a big tub for reuse. I quit really quick after seeing that. ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/50 "2004-04-25T19:05:50Z")
You don’t carry money when you go out with friends. (1) You can’t spend it if you don’t have it with you. (2) If others want food or drink, someone will always feel sorry for you and buy yours. ---
**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, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/51 "2004-04-25T20:38:57Z")
I wash out and reuse my ziploc bags ( except the meat.) ---
**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 25, 2004, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/52 "2004-04-25T20:42:20Z")
When you have reused the same plastic bottles for your drinks that you feel sorry when one is lost or thrown away by mistake. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588/53 "2004-04-25T21:00:23Z")
HL Hunt of Dallas, Texas was an incredibly rich oilman. He rode a city bus to his office every day, carrying his lunch in a paper bag which he folded and brought home for re-use. He did the grocery buying for his household staff at an A & P store where a friend of mine worked part time and he was ever eager for sales, promotions, and deals of all sorts. Ever so often, he would really load up on day-old bread, or so my friend always claimed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-youre-a-cheapskate-when/241588.md?page=2)