Where do you draw the line at being too cheap?

[matthew&haleysmom]

I had a friend who would run out of milk for the family and use BREAST MILK to fill in until a trip to Albertson's could be made!

That is just crazy! My DH would kill me.

 

[d1gitman]

Warning...sensitive issue coming up... I just recently ran across a website where it is explained how to make your own sanitary napkins. Plenty of info also on how to store and launder used ones for reuse. Man, the things only cost about $3 a bag, I can surely spare that on myself once a month.

That's TOO THRIFTY for me...

i could have been spared on this one...

 

[d1gitman]

I had a friend who would run out of milk for the family and use BREAST MILK to fill in until a trip to Albertson's could be made!

oh, that is so wrong, i am ready to hurl. one seriously dimented person who would do something like that.

 

[d1gitman]

I think she knew wholeheartedly what she was doing. She seemed unfazed when I had her unpack the bag. I was extremely mad, but the girl doesn't have the best home situation. We take her and her sister and bring them home from church, so I didn't want her to tell her mom I got too angry and then not let them come to church. She and DD were just going back to prayer meeting at church, so a small snack would have been plenty. She saw DD take one Pringles pouch. But now, of course, I'm very hesitant about having her over again.

one thing my parents did while i was growing up was to never deny any neighborhood kids or friends of food in the house. right, wrong or indifferent, we don't always know what adversities a child faces in their own home. the least someone can do is to relieve a child of anxiety, shame or guilt and the need to feel like they need to take food from someones house. if my parents had any inkling that a child came from hardship, they went out of their way to make sure the child had a full belly in our home and had plenty of "left overs" to take home. personally, my heart goes out to children who need to find ways, right or wrong, to get buy. i was raised that a child should have a childhood as there is plenty of time to have to deal with grown up issues.

 

[lttlmc3]

I had a friend who would run out of milk for the family and use BREAST MILK to fill in until a trip to Albertson's could be made!

What what WHAT!!! Are you serious!!

 

[DVC Sadie]

I had a friend who would run out of milk for the family and use BREAST MILK to fill in until a trip to Albertson's could be made!

Well that "friend" is too sick for words.

I sure hope you don't drink coffee or eat muffins at her house.

My dh has gotten angry with me on several occasions because I will not eat at other peoples homes unless I know them very well. Now I can show him this post and he might see my pov.

 

[L107ANGEL]

I had a friend who would run out of milk for the family and use BREAST MILK to fill in until a trip to Albertson's could be made!

Run for the hills!!!!!!

 

[castleview]

Ok, here's where I can ask if this is OK -

I don't buy birthday cards much anymore, I have the kid's make them. If I don't have any gift wrap or bags around, I have no problem using newspaper. Wrong? Please let me know.

 

[dimimi]

When I see the calculator come out at a restaurant, when a friend needs to know exactly what she needs to contribute, and can't be a little generous.

!

Personally, this doesn't bother me at all. What bothers me is when someone orders an entree, drinks and dessert.....you order a salad and water....and the person says let's just split the check! That's cheap!

 

[DVC Sadie]

Ok, here's where I can ask if this is OK -

I don't buy birthday cards much anymore, I have the kid's make them. If I don't have any gift wrap or bags around, I have no problem using newspaper. Wrong? Please let me know.

No, it is not wrong but frugal.

There is a big difference between frugal and cheap. Frugl is clipping coupons, using newspaper to wrap gifts, making birthday cards...etc.

Using breastmilk for ANYTHING other than the baby is cheap. Reusing swim diapers is cheap.

 

[Danemom]

Ok, here's where I can ask if this is OK -

I don't buy birthday cards much anymore, I have the kid's make them. If I don't have any gift wrap or bags around, I have no problem using newspaper. Wrong? Please let me know.

I always had the kids make cards too, but they're getting too old now. I think at a certain age it's no longer sweet and does begin to seem cheap.

 

[Chicklogic]

Well that "friend" is too sick for words.

I sure hope you don't drink coffee or eat muffins at her house.

My dh has gotten angry with me on several occasions because I will not eat at other peoples homes unless I know them very well. Now I can show him this post and he might see my pov.

While we ARE good friends........I BYOB

 

[castleview]

Reusing swim diapers is cheap.

I didn't read this whole thread, but I figured that would get covered!

Thanks for the affirmative ladies. I think I still have a few more years of homemade cards left.

 

[kafitty]

wow, i can't believe some of the stuff i've read on this thread!!

i always re-wear my clothes, if they aren't gross. especially jeans. and i use my bathroom towel over and over again - you gotta figure, right when you get out of the shower, that's the cleanest you'll be all day!

i also save gift bags, i mean really they were used once and probably in use for like, 2 or 3 hours tops...seems like a huuuge waste to just toss 'em.


and i just wanted to reiterate, PLEASE don't stiff your server unless the service was really that bad. It absolutely costs us when we're gipped, due to taxes and having to tip out bussers/bartenders etc. In MA, servers get $2.63/hour, and that's fairly standard around the country, so whether or not you think "the system" is right, the point is, if you don't tip, we don't get paid!!!
Not to mention, it can really ruin your night when you've busted your butt to serve people and they screw you. Most of us in the service industry really do try very hard, and we really care about our jobs!! Key words "most of us", though, hahaha.
okay i'm done ranting.


i definitely agree with the definition most have volunteered - so long as it's not affecting anyone else, go for it!

 

[timzagain]

I always had the kids make cards too, but they're getting too old now. I think at a certain age it's no longer sweet and does begin to seem cheap.

Wow! I hope that day never comes in my house! I love to receive handmade/ homemade cards especially when you can see that a lot of effort went into them.

My girls, aged 10 and 16, are both very artistic and still make their own cards. DD10 is into 3-d art (sculpture, collages etc) and has received several awards (including prestigious national awards) for her work; DD16 is into textile design. Their cards are small pieces of artwork that reflect their area of interest. Handpainted, collage - you name it, my girls have done it.

Thankfully, the friends and relatives that receive the cards love them, look forward to getting them, and value them as the expressions of love that they are! No-one thinks of them of cheap! Heaven knows that I could buy a card for less than some of the materials my girls use!

I'd be very disappointed the day that my girls stop using their God-given talent, and start buying me mass produced cards!

 

[castleview]

and i just wanted to reiterate, PLEASE don't stiff your server unless the service was really that bad. It absolutely costs us when we're gipped, due to taxes and having to tip out bussers/bartenders etc. In MA, servers get $2.63/hour, and that's fairly standard around the country, so whether or not you think "the system" is right, the point is, if you don't tip, we don't get paid!!!
Not to mention, it can really ruin your night when you've busted your butt to serve people and they screw you. Most of us in the service industry really do try very hard, and we really care about our jobs!! Key words "most of us", though, hahaha.
okay i'm done ranting.


i definitely agree with the definition most have volunteered - so long as it's not affecting anyone else, go for it!

I'm a 20% tipper and some friends think I'm crazy. Back to the original topic, cheap is my SIL who had a party catered from a local deli. She was stunned about the cost of it because she had an old menu. When she showed it to the caterer, he said "that's a two year old menu". She then asked "will you still honor it?" After much back and forth, HE GAVE INTO HER. Probably because she was so insane he figured she just didn't get it and was easier to take a loss.

 

[Chicklogic]

wow, i can't believe some of the stuff i've read on this thread!!

i always re-wear my clothes, if they aren't gross. especially jeans. and i use my bathroom towel over and over again - you gotta figure, right when you get out of the shower, that's the cleanest you'll be all day!

i also save gift bags, i mean really they were used once and probably in use for like, 2 or 3 hours tops...seems like a huuuge waste to just toss 'em.


and i just wanted to reiterate, PLEASE don't stiff your server unless the service was really that bad. It absolutely costs us when we're gipped, due to taxes and having to tip out bussers/bartenders etc. In MA, servers get $2.63/hour, and that's fairly standard around the country, so whether or not you think "the system" is right, the point is, if you don't tip, we don't get paid!!!
Not to mention, it can really ruin your night when you've busted your butt to serve people and they screw you. Most of us in the service industry really do try very hard, and we really care about our jobs!! Key words "most of us", though, hahaha.
okay i'm done ranting.


i definitely agree with the definition most have volunteered - so long as it's not affecting anyone else, go for it!

I agree 100% with the points you made above

 

[DVC Sadie]

I did not mean to imply the Salvation Army isn't a legitimate organization, it most certainly is a reputable charity. I just do not necessarily agree with how their funding is used, at least in my community. In order to receive their services, poor people have to attend a religious service. I have a problem with that. If people want to attend a service that's great, but I don't think you should be forced to in order to receive assistance. I'm sure their emergency services operate on a different basis, but as I cannot control what they do with my dollars once they have them, I'll just donate them where I agree with the philosophy for using them.

There was a time that I did not donate to the Salvation Army because, like you, I thought they held a different philosophy.

After what I saw them do for "everyone" after Katrina, I no longer feel that way and have made sure that we have donated every year. TSA arrived first and did more for the people of South Mississippi then the American Red Cross and never asked anyone to attend a service. They didn't ask for anything in return.

I just wanted everyone to know how they helped, and why we were so grateful to have them down here.

 

[timzagain]

I'm the family cheapskate but they're some things I can't see myself doing.


I will not be making or buying reusuable feminine sanitary protection. I try to be green, but this is one very "un-green" area that I'm not going to budge on! I'd only make an exception for allergies to every available brand of disposables.

Similarly no recycled swim diapers - no way! Past the diaper stage now, thankfully. My kids wore swimsuits even when they were very little. Never had a "poo" accident while swimming - and we raised 4 kids! Disposables aren't designed for sterilization!

No hand-me-down underwear! Other clothes, no problem! Certain shoes, no problems but no way would I ask my kids to wear recycled undies!

No mooching off my friends when when we go out for dinner. I order only what I can afford; if I can't afford to go, I stay home. Similarly, if someone is treating me to dinner (even if it's a business expense), I do not try to stick it to them with the most expensive meal that I wouldn't ordinarily order for myself.

I will not allow my kids to dress in "scruffy-looking" clothes at home or in public. My kids have an "at-home" wardrobe and a going-out wardrobe, but I do not tolerate torn, horribly stained, clothes with worn elastic, makeshift alterations with safety pins (unless there was a mishap away from home) even in the privacy of our home! If I cannot repair it nicely, it will go into my DH's workshop to become rags. I can think of 2 families with very good incomes, who allow their kids to leave the house in some of the most awful clothes. Meantime, Dad and/ or Mom always look like they've stepped the cover of a fashion magazine!

I will not do "petty theft" - taking hotel towels, making a salad from the veggies in the condiment bar etc.

I will not take my family to a buffet restaurant, pay for a meal or two, and try to feed six people! I'm not talking about splitting a meal, I am talking about paying for one meal and then doing a plate relay i.e. Mom eats, then she passes the plate to kid 1 to load up, who then passes the same plate to Kid 2 etc.

I'm sure there are other areas, but there are the biggest cheapo pet-peeves on my list!

 

[Coll0610]

MIL takes home plastic silverware from fast food restaurants and saves it to bring to her club meeting when it's her turn to provide the tableware. She says that she only brings the ones she hasn't used, but I'm not sure.