C H E A P People that you know...what are your stories of that person you knew that went overboard with their habits?

[j-c-c-62]

In my 20's with my first apartment, I discovered turning off my hot water heater when not using saved maybe 25% of my electric bill.
After my divorce and now living alone, I went back to my bachelor days. However, now with a secondary insulated water heater, unsure of the savings today, but I do wash my clothes with whatever hot water is left over after a hot shower.

 

[Kern Dog]

Where do you get a hot water heater?
That seems redundant, like scented cologne.

 

[j-c-c-62]

Where do you get a hot water heater?
That seems redundant like scented cologne.

They ran out of warmers.

 

[inthe9s]

ok i was about 7 years old and with my dad at a flea market. A seller had a blanket on the ground within his booth with alot of rusty tools and parts on it with a sign that read "all items ten cents" So my dad picks up a box with a brand new tapered roller bearing. He opens the box and sees this has never been used. It was an american made bearing but the box had only the part number on it and no way to know what vehicle this fit, or even if it was a wheel bearing or axle bearing or a bearing for some random other type of machine. So my dad asks the seller " how much?" The seller was a huge guy, mean looking tough guy type of guy. Now the price of this bearing was clearly ten cents, its value was about 24 dollars i was told later. So seller says :]" TEN CENTS". Even as a young child i figured it was a great price for this part and even i could have afforded it at that price. So my cheapskate father says " ILL GIVE YOU A NICKEL FOR IT" The guy jumped up from his chair and yelled loudly that it was only ten cents and sworth so much more. He was so angry! My dad just put the bearing back down on the blanker where it was before and walked away. Now my dad had no idea what that bearing fit, nor was he in need of any bearing in any of his cars, he was just so cheap that it was merely a reflex to counter offer with half the asking price. Now thats cheap!

 

[j-c-c-62]

That reminds of the story about the teenager that went into the drug store in the 60's to purchase some personal intimacy protection items.
He asks the druggist how much are they
Druggist replies "$.75"
The kid says "I'll take four".
The Druggist replies, "that will be $3.15"
Kid asks "what is the $.15 for".
Druggists says, "for the tax".
Kid replies, "so that is how you keep them on"

 

[Kern Dog]

That is not true, man.

 

[inthe9s]

That is not true, man.

are you talking to me? My story is absolutely true without exaggeration and my dad is still cheap and remembers that event.

 

[Kern Dog]

What would lead you to think I addressed you?
#105 was directly above mine.

 

[Budnicks]

I've wanted to switch to Trick Flow heads but at $2000+, I wonder if they would deliver enough of a power increase to be worth it.

440 with six pack rods & pistons 10:1, std port cast iron org. 906s w/good perf. valve job
clearance for the valvelift on the guides & decent Comp cam, like .540" gross valve lift-ish
w/an Edelbrock RPM dual plane intake, Holley 850cfm DP (IIRC)
Harlan Sharp Rockers/shafts (IIRC) built by Steve Dulcich (spell)

then switched everything over except the heads over to;
Stealth's Alum (Chineseium) 'std port' un-ported 200cc (maybe, they claim 212 ?),
bigger 'cheap valves' 2.14"int./1.81"exh. valves
(not great quality valves either, really need to replace them with a good quality Stainless Steel Valves
at a min. & I can attest to that 1st hand experience's, so add in that expense too)
80cc comb. chamber, maybe at best 260cfm flow, (they claim 280cfm ) w/std straight plugs
look the most like stock 906s, of the alum heads tested, they are 29#s each
made about 20hp over stock cast iron 906s, across the whole rpm range
base priced at $699.95 ea., you can get better USA sourced parts, by/from 440source.com
but it starts adding up, not a great bargain then...

then;
Edelbrocks RPM 'std port' 210cc un-ported & true 290cfm+ flow
2.18"int./1.81"ex. quality 11/32" all USA sourced parts/castings, Stainless Steel Valves
(IIRC) use the 84cc comb. chamber, you can get them in 75cc now,
14mm - 3/4" long-reach angle plugs,
need special ARP head bolts/washers $79-ish
across the whole RPM range about 40hp above stock cast iron 906s,
$929.50 ea.

then last;
Trick Flow Alum 240cc 'std port' are CNC ported
(that's about a $600-$1000 value in most cases, for porting),
& TFs have a lil' bigger intake valve 2.19"int./1.78"exh angle plug heads too,
(a tad smaller exhaust valve/than the Edl. RPMs)
a lil' smaller combustion chamber like 75cc
need special ARP head bolts/washers too $79-ish
made about 20 hp more, across the rpm range, than the Edelbrock's un-ported RPMs,
so about 60-ish hp more than stock with cast iron 906s
it's pretty good investment for HP gains
$1,399 ea.

IIRC each head, one was about $300-$400 more than the previous one, tested
according to Dave Freiberger, at the time filmed/tapped

All the alum. heads, were closed chamber heads too 75-80-84cc's
all are about 50-ish lbs less, overall combined weight savings depending on the heads,
over a cast iron 906s

Engine Masters did a good show on it, compared them, back to back to back to back
I think it was called the "Wedge head shootout" or comparison (? something like that)
to 1st they ran stock cast iron 906s
then to out of the box Stealth's
then to out of the box Edl. RPMs
then to the CNC ported 240cc Trick Flows...

 

[SteveSS]

My family was doing pretty good financially as a kid but my dad grew up in the dust bowl depression era of Oklahoma. When the ketchup bottle would get low he'd add water and shake it up. Then, since we didn't know we'd open the bottle for our French fries and drown them in watery ketchup. Even though they were poor his mother insisted they all get a college education. My dad was a geologist like me.

 

[68gtxman]

My dad was an enlisted USAF man and mom was a stay at home mom. 6 kids made us dirt poor. Dad could fix anything and mom sewed all of our clothes from bulk cloth (when we were young). Later in life, mom still bought crap at thrift shops for $10 or $20 like coffee tables. They lasted a year or two until they broke, so she went through about 20 coffee tables in her life. I asked her why she didn’t she just buy a solid wood coffee table for $100 and it would have lasted her lifetime. She said she never thought of that. Mom would buy plastic silverware and then wash them after a family dinner. I asked her why she just didn’t use her good silverware (that her parents gave her for their wedding gift and us kids added pieces over the years to get a 16 serving set) since they would be washed and saved. She said that she never thought of that (until later in her life). So our family joke after eating dinner and using her real silverware was “are we saving the silverware again”?

I am frugal with most things in my life, since I grew up poor. I’ve bought suit jackets at Goodwill for $5 that originally sold for $400. I fix nearly all my own appliances and household items for 3 reasons: 1) most repairmen are only part changers and are bad at diagnostics; 2) it is fixed right for a low price when I do it; and 3) I love tinkering with things.

When I worked at GE, they would go out to lunch on birthdays. I went a few times until they told me that I needed to kick in $40 for my $3.50 tuna sandwich and free iced tea. I said that this wasn’t fair, because they ordered steaks, lobsters and imported beer. Their answer was “you could have ordered those expensive things too, so that is your fault.” I answered that I couldn’t afford to be buying them expensive food while I couldn’t afford it myself. They called me a cheapskate and I stopped going out for lunch with them.

Now, family members assume that my wife (a lawyer) and I (forensic engineer) are wealthy, so they frequently assume that we will treat or pay the largest portion of the check at family events. My BIL even took my $100 contribution toward his wife’s birthday party while my niece’s boyfriend picked up the entire check. Some people have no shame.

While traveling to Greece and Turkey last year with a group of 17 close friends, I picked up the check for dinner one night and you’d have thought that I insulted many of them. There were many wives that were very mad at me (not mine). I guess that they now felt obligated to return the treat and they were too cheap to do it. I replied that I treated because I loved sharing the trip and the meal with them and they were not obligated to ever treat me. I did it a few times just to spite the haters. No good deed goes unpunished.

 

[moparwacko]

I sometimes fit the definition of cheap. I fix my own appliances- just finished replacing bearings, and belt on my GE dryer. For $45 it was worth repairing instead of replacing it for $500+. I routinely change my own oil in my vehicles. I take the "empty" jugs of new oil, tip them upside down and let them fill my pump oiler. I then use the empty jugs for the used oil recycling. I rebuild just about everything I can on my older vehicles including wheel cylinders, calipers, switches, etc.
I will spring for a new vehicle for the wife every 5-7 years, she deserves it. My "new" truck is a 2011 Cummins and bought it new. The next newer vehicle is a 2013 Wrangler that I picked up 6 months ago after driving my 95 Wrangler for many years.
The best example of someone more frugal than me was a guy I used to work with. He never purchased a new vehicle his entire life, always getting a 5 year old one and running it til it quit. He always bought used tires, and recaps for the winter and install the studs himself. He never went anywhere on vacation, but stayed home when the company demanded him to use it or lose it. He would go to the deli and get 1lb of lunch meat and tell them what to set the slicer to so he could get the entire week of sandwiches out of it. He would routinely have to be told to cash his paychecks as the time would expire to cash them. I could go on and on about this guy, but you get the picture.

 

[j-c-c-62]

What would lead you to think I addressed you?
#105 was directly above mine.

Because your reply doesn't make a lot of sense outright, as I am #105 and my comment was a joke, and I have never heard of a joke being labeled "untrue".

 

[440 4 speed]

I sometimes fit the definition of cheap. I fix my own appliances- just finished replacing bearings, and belt on my GE dryer. For $45 it was worth repairing instead of replacing it for $500+. I routinely change my own oil in my vehicles. I take the "empty" jugs of new oil, tip them upside down and let them fill my pump oiler. I then use the empty jugs for the used oil recycling. I rebuild just about everything I can on my older vehicles including wheel cylinders, calipers, switches, etc.
I will spring for a new vehicle for the wife every 5-7 years, she deserves it. My "new" truck is a 2011 Cummins and bought it new. The next newer vehicle is a 2013 Wrangler that I picked up 6 months ago after driving my 95 Wrangler for many years.
The best example of someone more frugal than me was a guy I used to work with. He never purchased a new vehicle his entire life, always getting a 5 year old one and running it til it quit. He always bought used tires, and recaps for the winter and install the studs himself. He never went anywhere on vacation, but stayed home when the company demanded him to use it or lose it. He would go to the deli and get 1lb of lunch meat and tell them what to set the slicer to so he could get the entire week of sandwiches out of it. He would routinely have to be told to cash his paychecks as the time would expire to cash them. I could go on and on about this guy, but you get the picture.

Our newest vehicle is a 2006 4Runner.

 

[68BabyBlue]

Our newest vehicle is a 2006 4Runner.

You beat me by a year. My wife drives a 2007 IS250. We bought it used in 2015. I inherited her 2002 ES300 and still have it. We bought that one in 2011 for $10,000.

 

[Sahara]

Wife’s and my parents both were depression survivors and carried those habits all their lives, despite being successful. We both have some frugal habits.
We save the chopsticks from sushi meals to reuse as sticks around the house. Wife saves her old paper coffee cups to start her plant seedlings in. She has hundreds and gives them away for others to use for the same thing. We save the plastic containers that take out meals come in, as well as margarine containers, sour cream tubs, plastic peanut butter jars; you get the idea.
When we get take away Chinese I open and dump the little soy sauce containers into our bottle of soy sauce. When we stay in hotels we save the unused little bottles of shampoo and use them at home, the soaps and coffee as well.
My kid and I pick up literally every piece of small change that we see, Pennie’s included.
There’s others, but these come to mind.

 

[Krooser]

WE all know CHEAP people. Some of us are those people.
Sometimes they are really smart and just not being wasteful but sometimes their penny pinching ways are annoying.
Me? I can be cheap sometimes. It sometimes is motivated by money but other times I like a challenge to do more with less.
This car:

View attachment 1746834

Was put together with mostly used parts I saved over the years. Yeah, I could have opened the wallet and bought new things but it was fun to see what I could do with a tight budget. I have a running, driving ratty car for a total outlay of under $10,000.

What about the people that use single ply toilet paper or that recycle used engine oil to lubricate door hinges?
Who has stories of family members or friends that were so CHEAP that they annoyed the heck out of you?

When I was selling new Fords in the 90's I had a guy that wanted the cheapest 4x4 F150 on earth.

I had a bare bones no radio, vinyl seat 6/5 speed in stock.

Quoted him $99 over invoice.

He shopped 18 other dealers all over the state. Must have spent two months and $200 in gasoline.

Bought my truck because no one would beat my deal.

 

[Ronnman]

Years ago I worked with a guy who painted his whole frame house exterior by purchasing one gallon of paint. He bought the paint from Sears & Robuck and used the first gallon can. Brought it back to the store and said it didn’t cover the 400 sq ft as stated on the can. They gave him another can of paint. He proceeded and used that entire second can. Traveled to another Sears store and repeated the “did not cover 400 sq ft” story. He did this several times until the house was painted completely. This guy ate a can of Beefaroni and one slice of bologna EVERY DAY. He would buy the Beefaroni in bulk cases. He once got dentures, and in the first days of getting used to them, the top plate fell out and cracked in two. He superglued them together and took out denture insurance. When it took affect, he made the claim. Once the new upper plate was in his possession, he promptly cancelled the insurance. This guy was the CHEAPEST person I ever met!

 

[padam]

When I was selling new Fords in the 90's I had a guy that wanted the cheapest 4x4 F150 on earth.

I had a bare bones no radio, vinyl seat 6/5 speed in stock.

Quoted him $99 over invoice.

He shopped 18 other dealers all over the state. Must have spent two months and $200 in gasoline.

Bought my truck because no one would beat my deal.

Ford used to have a forging plant in Canton. My last year of apprenticeship night school (around 1985) my teacher was an engineer there.

The school director ordered a new Ford truck. He used to come in to our class all the time and jaw about it.
He must have been a real cheap *** because I remember him saying he ordered it without a rear bumper to save money.

One day he came in and was excited because he found out when it was scheduled to be built. He asked my teacher what days were best and he said any day but Monday or Friday. I remember the guy being less excited after that because his was scheduled for a Friday.

 

[Kern Dog]

Years ago I worked with a guy who painted his whole frame house exterior by purchasing one gallon of paint. He bought the paint from Sears & Robuck and used the first gallon can. Brought it back to the store and said it didn’t cover the 400 sq ft as stated on the can. They gave him another can of paint. He proceeded and used that entire second can. Traveled to another Sears store and repeated the “did not cover 400 sq ft” story. He did this several times until the house was painted completely. This guy ate a can of Beefaroni and one slice of bologna EVERY DAY. He would buy the Beefaroni in bulk cases. He once got dentures, and in the first days of getting used to them, the top plate fell out and cracked in two. He superglued them together and took out denture insurance. When it took affect, he made the claim. Once the new upper plate was in his possession, he promptly cancelled the insurance. This guy was the CHEAPEST person I ever met!

CHEAP is one thing, a CHEAT is quite another.
One is frugal but honest, the other is a thief.