Author Topic: The Cheapest Person I Know  (Read 11762 times)

Offline Kelda

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Re: The Cheapest Person I Know
« Reply #20 on: May 06, 2009, 08:10:09 am »
My apologies Miss Kelda, I must admit, when I wrote that, I thought of you, and hoped I would not offend.

Yeah, I would be interested to know too, how Scots got that reputation as well.

If anyone knows, please tell.

You didn't offend!!!  ;D

But yeah - I can never find a reason as to where the reputation came from..!  :P
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Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: The Cheapest Person I Know
« Reply #21 on: May 06, 2009, 08:45:21 am »
I dont know if you do over there, but we use the term "tight" when we refer to someone who is thrifty or mean with their money. And when speaking about them, we say they are "tight as a fish's arsehole".

Reminds me. ... For a time in the first half of the 20th century, U.S. five-cent coins ("nickels") had the head of a Native American on one side and a buffalo (bison) on the other. Inspired the saying that someone was "so tight he squeezes a nickel till the buffalo shits."  ;D
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Offline Katie77

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Re: The Cheapest Person I Know
« Reply #22 on: May 06, 2009, 09:30:20 am »
Reminds me. ... For a time in the first half of the 20th century, U.S. five-cent coins ("nickels") had the head of a Native American on one side and a buffalo (bison) on the other. Inspired the saying that someone was "so tight he squeezes a nickel till the buffalo shits."  ;D

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Offline optom3

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Re: The Cheapest Person I Know
« Reply #23 on: May 06, 2009, 09:53:56 am »
My Mother always told me never to throw away bread or one day I'd surely go hungry. I realize that is probably just a superstition but I took it to heart anyway. I will throw any stale or unused bread outside for the animals. I also throw the scraps of meat or fat, vegetables, and any other scraps outside for the animals. I figure it is much better to give it to them than to throw it in the garbage. :)

Fiona, I always save the bows and gift bags too. I also save the shirt boxes. They come in handy not only for gifts of clothes but also for wrapping any oddly shaped items. The two top shelves of the cupboard in the den is stacked full of different sizes and shapes of boxes. They often come in very handy.

Shirt boxes !! now there's something I had not thought of. I do keep shoe boxes though, and fancy tins from xmas biscuits. I save all the deli containers I get, well used to get when I had money. I am starting to think this thread should be thrifty tips, as well as the cheapest person I know.

The half a lemon you don't use after you have sliced enough for G&T"s is an excellent fridge deoderizer. Cheap perfume, the sort that little girls buy,is an excellent and really cheap refil for the plug in air fresheners. You just pul out the wick and plastic top, refil and off you go.Cost is about 1/10 th of proper refils and you can choose from a wide variety of scents !!!

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: The Cheapest Person I Know
« Reply #24 on: May 06, 2009, 10:03:04 am »
Shirt boxes !! now there's something I had not thought of. I do keep shoe boxes though, and fancy tins from xmas biscuits. I save all the deli containers I get, well used to get when I had money. I am starting to think this thread should be thrifty tips, as well as the cheapest person I know.

Shirt boxes, shoe boxes, any sort of cardboard box, really. ... I hoard 'em all, because you never know when you're going to need a good cardboard box for something.  :)
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Kerry

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Re: The Cheapest Person I Know
« Reply #25 on: May 06, 2009, 10:29:34 am »
My godmother (cousin) was very cheap. I always gave her a nice gift on her birthday each year. These gifts were paid for by my parents, because I was only a child at the time. When I was in my mid-20s, I received a beautiful box of stationery from my godmother as a birthday gift. I was absolutely thrilled with such a beautiful gift; until, that is, I opened the box and found a small gift card inside. It was my card to my godmother all those years ago. She had kept the stationery all that time and then given it back to me. Foolishly, she hadn't checked  for any gift cards inside the box, nor kept track of who had originally given the stationery to her. I laughed about it. I wasn't angry. But when I told my mother (my godmother's aunt), she wasn't at all amused. Apparently my godmother had a reputation for doing this. What angered my mother the  most was that she had originally paid for the stationary in the first place.
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Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: The Cheapest Person I Know
« Reply #26 on: May 06, 2009, 11:47:19 am »
My godmother (cousin) was very cheap. I always gave her a nice gift on her birthday each year. These gifts were paid for by my parents, because I was only a child at the time. When I was in my mid-20s, I received a beautiful box of stationery from my godmother as a birthday gift. I was absolutely thrilled with such a beautiful gift; until, that is, I opened the box and found a small gift card inside. It was my card to my godmother all those years ago. She had kept the stationery all that time and then given it back to me. Foolishly, she hadn't checked  for any gift cards inside the box, nor kept track of who had originally given the stationery to her. I laughed about it. I wasn't angry. But when I told my mother (my godmother's aunt), she wasn't at all amused. Apparently my godmother had a reputation for doing this. What angered my mother the  most was that she had originally paid for the stationary in the first place.

The moral of that story, I guess, is always be careful when you "regift."  ;D

Thank goodness that stationery wasn't personalized. ...
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline LauraGigs

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Re: The Cheapest Person I Know
« Reply #27 on: May 06, 2009, 12:18:54 pm »
I think in general there's a difference between "not wasting" and "cheap".  Cheap affects other people (like the housesitter using all Katie's gas, people who forget their wallets at dinner, etc.)  Not wasting gift boxes, aluminum foil, etc. is a different thing IMO (good for the environment too).

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: The Cheapest Person I Know
« Reply #28 on: May 06, 2009, 01:09:40 pm »
I think in general there's a difference between "not wasting" and "cheap".  Cheap affects other people (like the housesitter using all Katie's gas, people who forget their wallets at dinner, etc.)  Not wasting gift boxes, aluminum foil, etc. is a different thing IMO (good for the environment too).

I see your point, but I don't know. I have other words for people who do things like conveniently forget their wallets at dinner or use all Katie's gas, and they're less pleasant even than cheap. To me not wasting something like aluminum foil, cardboard boxes, or wrapping paper is just a more polite way of saying cheap.  ;D
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Katie77

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Re: The Cheapest Person I Know
« Reply #29 on: May 06, 2009, 07:21:16 pm »
I agree with Laura......saving things, or hoarding things is not cheap, its more like re-cycling, or thrifty, and its a good habit to be in.

Now cheap, thats when you insult the generosity of people, by leaving your wallet at home, or using all my gas.

 
Being happy doesn't mean everything is perfect.

It means you've decided to see beyond the imperfection