My dad died when I was ten so I don't remember a lot of those things but I do remember he would take us to the drive in movie but we parked outside the fence and watched the movie without sound. I didn't think of it as cheap because we didn't have any disposable money but as a way to entertain us.
My dad is cheap because...
- Thread starter dawgstudent
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My grandpa was so cheap, he made me eat molasses that ants had gotten into. Said they had to deal with worse when he was growing up.
My dad ... who un-cheaply took us to Cancun... misread a coupon at a restaurant, thinking it was some % off of the meal, but it was just for drinks. He argued with the waiter, saying "well, I thought it said this... so you should have to give that to me". It was embarrassing and ultimately they gave us the deal my dad wanted just to get us the hell out of there.
My dad ... who un-cheaply took us to Cancun... misread a coupon at a restaurant, thinking it was some % off of the meal, but it was just for drinks. He argued with the waiter, saying "well, I thought it said this... so you should have to give that to me". It was embarrassing and ultimately they gave us the deal my dad wanted just to get us the hell out of there.
We never had new cars. My Mom would have the newest car - usually 5-10 years old. Dad would drive beaters that 15-20 years old. In '87, he bought the first new car in 25 years (for my mom). He then proceeded to argue with the sales guy and the sales manager for 2 hours over $75 while my Mom and I sat there and watched. They were not going beat him, and he was not going to pay interest on that $75 for 4 years. He finally wore them down. The got out the financing application, and Dad said - "No, I'm paying cash. I just wanted to see if I could beat you out of that $75."
My grandfather was a hell of a man. He grew up during the great depression in rural MS, a purple heart in WWII and pinched every penny he could. I think this story takes the cake.
While in college I was back home and ran by the old NAPA store. The owner was a good friend of my GF and told me a story about his ¼” washers. My GF came in one day and needed some ¼” washers and asked how much they were. Well the clerk told him they had just gone up in price to 1.5 cents each. My GF told the clerk that he would rather go home and drill holes in pennies. When my Grandmother passed away we were cleaning out the old work shop and I will be damned if we didn’t find some of those penny washers in use.
While in college I was back home and ran by the old NAPA store. The owner was a good friend of my GF and told me a story about his ¼” washers. My GF came in one day and needed some ¼” washers and asked how much they were. Well the clerk told him they had just gone up in price to 1.5 cents each. My GF told the clerk that he would rather go home and drill holes in pennies. When my Grandmother passed away we were cleaning out the old work shop and I will be damned if we didn’t find some of those penny washers in use.
Truth be told, I sometimes make my kids do the same. If somethings gonna get eaten, I’ll buy my kids the entire menu, but both of my kids will take two sips of a drink and then let the rest sit until the ice completely melts. I could be a millionaire, and waste would still be an absolute pet peeve of mine
My dad wasn't really cheap growing up, we just didn't have much money. It's amazing the lifestyle they were able to give us on how little money they had. Never ate at restaurants and didn't generally take vacations. Went to state park lakes a few times when I was younger and rented a cabin or camped. Then went on a probably six year stretch with no vacations at all except one trip to stay with friends that lived at the beach. I went on youth trips in Jr. High and by high school, they started to have a little breathing room and actually got to go with us on a couple of trips where they drove.
We did do things like wash solo or styrofoam cups in the dishwasher and clean out and resuse ziplock bags. Spent a ton of time on house projects and always had a pretty nice house because we did so much work ourselves to continually improve. Probably worked out to paying himself and us around $2 an hour for about a ten year period over two houses, but there were enough hours there that it still provided a good bit of equity.
They eventually ended up comfortable when I was finishing up undergrad and then he was cheap on some things, mainly just doing physical work that he could have afforded to pay somebody to do, and when doing said work, doing things like spending 5 days of hard manual labor to avoid paying to rent a trench digger or post hole digger or bobcat, etc. and getting the work done in one day. Although even then, while he had a good income, he was probably trying to make up for a lack of savings for twenty years while he tried to do too much for his kids.
We did do things like wash solo or styrofoam cups in the dishwasher and clean out and resuse ziplock bags. Spent a ton of time on house projects and always had a pretty nice house because we did so much work ourselves to continually improve. Probably worked out to paying himself and us around $2 an hour for about a ten year period over two houses, but there were enough hours there that it still provided a good bit of equity.
They eventually ended up comfortable when I was finishing up undergrad and then he was cheap on some things, mainly just doing physical work that he could have afforded to pay somebody to do, and when doing said work, doing things like spending 5 days of hard manual labor to avoid paying to rent a trench digger or post hole digger or bobcat, etc. and getting the work done in one day. Although even then, while he had a good income, he was probably trying to make up for a lack of savings for twenty years while he tried to do too much for his kids.
Oh yeah, we created a roller hockey league in middle school with 4 teams and set up church parking lots around town for play sites. The best paved lot had the most slope too, that made for some funny issues at times.
I cant imagine being an active boy in the 90s and not rollerblading. We did it to play roller hockey games, as transportation to get to each other's houses, and built our own ramps and quarter pipes to catch sick air that was really just inches when it seemed like meters.
Not my dad by my grandfather (mom's dad)...
Back in the late 70s, my parents needed to borrow $1,000 or so to cover some unexpected home repairs (which my grandparents easily had). My parents had every intention of paying the money back but my grandfather wanted to charge them interest... until my grandmother found out about it and had a pretty direct Come to Jesus conversation with him. Suddenly that "loan" became a gift.
My grandfather is still kicking at almost 94 and still pretty cheap.
Back in the late 70s, my parents needed to borrow $1,000 or so to cover some unexpected home repairs (which my grandparents easily had). My parents had every intention of paying the money back but my grandfather wanted to charge them interest... until my grandmother found out about it and had a pretty direct Come to Jesus conversation with him. Suddenly that "loan" became a gift.
My grandfather is still kicking at almost 94 and still pretty cheap.
Just recently, went to visit dear old Dad and one of the bald, dry-rotted old tires on the 4-wheeler was leaking and green slime wouldn't even seal it. So we commence to beating the **** out of the tire and rim with crowbars and mallets for an hour in order to....
...put a 17'in tube in it.
...put a 17'in tube in it.
Ha- we had plenty of "vacations" tent camping at Sardis Lake growing up. That was our equivalent of renting a condo on the gulf these days.
Talk about working hard - my dad and granddad literally built the house I grew up in and that my parents still live in today. They built almost all of our furniture. Everything other than our sofa, chairs, and dining room table. My parents (and granddad) were working full time jobs at the time while raising 3 kids. I've always been amazed how hard my dad can work - but even more now that I'm a dad myself. I have no clue how he could leave for work at 6am, get home around 4pm and work for a couple of hours, eat dinner and then work for 3-4 more hours. Between his job and working around home, he'd put in 14 - 16 hours of hard manual labor every day. He'd get up early on the weekends and go hunting or fishing, then when he got home he'd be working on something till it got dark. Always had to be doing something. He's 70 now and if he didn't have a bad back, I know he could still outwork me today.
Talk about working hard - my dad and granddad literally built the house I grew up in and that my parents still live in today. They built almost all of our furniture. Everything other than our sofa, chairs, and dining room table. My parents (and granddad) were working full time jobs at the time while raising 3 kids. I've always been amazed how hard my dad can work - but even more now that I'm a dad myself. I have no clue how he could leave for work at 6am, get home around 4pm and work for a couple of hours, eat dinner and then work for 3-4 more hours. Between his job and working around home, he'd put in 14 - 16 hours of hard manual labor every day. He'd get up early on the weekends and go hunting or fishing, then when he got home he'd be working on something till it got dark. Always had to be doing something. He's 70 now and if he didn't have a bad back, I know he could still outwork me today.
My dad refused to pay few dollars a month more for touch tone phone service. He did buy phones that you could just press the buttons on, but then you had to listed to it slowly "rotary" dial the numbers in the background.
My kids are mid-20's now and still ask if they can get something other than water when we eat out. I'm like, sure, I'm not paying for you any more so I can afford it now!
My parents always said they could never get divorced because neither one of them wanted us kids.
Perkins was our go to family dinner restaurant. It was cheap enough and my dad liked it. I lost count of the pancake bears I ate.
- never went to a restaurant nicer than Shoneys
- went on one vacation growing up - to Gulf Shores. Every other "trip" was to visit relatives.
- never had a new car
- never called a repairman to fix anything - dishwasher, washing machine, lawnmower, car, plumbing, electrical, roof - we did everything ourselves
- went on one vacation growing up - to Gulf Shores. Every other "trip" was to visit relatives.
- never had a new car
- never called a repairman to fix anything - dishwasher, washing machine, lawnmower, car, plumbing, electrical, roof - we did everything ourselves
My Dad rocked a minivan for years after it got a bit old and my Mom refused to drive it. He didn’t want to buy a new car for her so her just rolled hard in the minivan to and from work everyday - not kids in the back, just Dad listening to his classic rock.
He also lost about $50 in a casino in Biloxi one time and was perplexed at how anyone could think losing money was fun. We were supposed to be there for the evening but he made us all leave after about an hour.
He also lost about $50 in a casino in Biloxi one time and was perplexed at how anyone could think losing money was fun. We were supposed to be there for the evening but he made us all leave after about an hour.
Funny. One of my siblings once disgustedly told my late Dad that there was no way he was a natural child of my parents and that he "had to have been adopted." To which my late Dad responded, "Do you think we would have selected you if we had a choice?"
dude-you do understand--they didn't really give you $2300--they just added money on your new car.
We had two family members get married within a couple years of each other in New Jersey, so that was two trips to New Jersey that we DROVE from Mississippi because my dad found that to be the cheapest option. 5 people in a car for 17 hours one way is pretty brutal.... and when we went we never stayed longer than we had to. We would leave on a Wednesday, get there late Thursday, wedding would be on a Friday, leave Saturday afternoon and be back in MS Sunday night. 34 hours of driving done in 5 days.
Stopping to eat? Dollar menu fast food
Getting a hotel? 4 of us crammed into two queen beds, youngest on the floor of course
We all really loved each other after road trips.... fun days.
Stopping to eat? Dollar menu fast food
Getting a hotel? 4 of us crammed into two queen beds, youngest on the floor of course
We all really loved each other after road trips.... fun days.
Fancy for us was when we got to ride Old 82 to Columbus on a Saturday night once every few months for Mexican Kitchen, which only happened when my uncle drove and all us brats could be piled up in the back of his Bronco. Best food I’d ever had. Beat the hell out of our usual Panburger Partner, Hamburger Helpers lesser known knock off.
Did you grow up in Mississippi? I had a pair of roller blades but I do not remember using them very often. I played sports year round and Went to State games with my dad and brother but I never remember roller blading being a huge thing for me. I always rode my bike everywhere in town though.
Ha. Remember when you were nobody without a pair of Converse shoes? I do. Guess what we got-
The much cheaper but character-building All-Stars
I got a lot of my Uncles hand-me-downs, which were, of course,10 years out of date. I may be the last kid to ever wear cordoroy jeans. That was in the early 80s, for all I know that **** has made a comeback
The much cheaper but character-building All-Stars
I got a lot of my Uncles hand-me-downs, which were, of course,10 years out of date. I may be the last kid to ever wear cordoroy jeans. That was in the early 80s, for all I know that **** has made a comeback
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When D2: Mighty Ducks came out... everybody was rollerblading and wanting to play roller hockey. I remember that very well in MS back in the 90s.
Oh, yeah. While my buds were rocking the converse, my Dad sprung for the mock-suede demi-boot with the crepe soles. $22.00 before discount. I also was forced to wear a lot of terry cloth for some reason. Apparently Pops liked terry cloth. And zippers with loop pulls.
I asked my dad for a horse. He came back from the sale barn with a $50 donkey.
I was 11 or 12 and rode my older brother's saddle horse more than he did. Also rode gramp's huge old draft horse. Rode both bareback a lot, usually with just a halter.
Climbed on the donkey bareback and he quickly bowed up and threw me on the 3rd buck. He was fine with adults but my light *** was not getting his respect. After we got a saddle I had some great bronc busting sessions with him. He settled down a lot but would still get spooked easily and go to bucking like a wild mustang.
My dad was not cheap, considering he grew up poor during the depression just so could go kick nazi's asses once he got out of high school. Worked my *** off like a hired hand, but liked being generous when he could.
Ended up working out. My brother was already bored with his horse so he got a new horse and I got his and I got the best deal.
I was 11 or 12 and rode my older brother's saddle horse more than he did. Also rode gramp's huge old draft horse. Rode both bareback a lot, usually with just a halter.
Climbed on the donkey bareback and he quickly bowed up and threw me on the 3rd buck. He was fine with adults but my light *** was not getting his respect. After we got a saddle I had some great bronc busting sessions with him. He settled down a lot but would still get spooked easily and go to bucking like a wild mustang.
My dad was not cheap, considering he grew up poor during the depression just so could go kick nazi's asses once he got out of high school. Worked my *** off like a hired hand, but liked being generous when he could.
Ended up working out. My brother was already bored with his horse so he got a new horse and I got his and I got the best deal.
I know my dad is cheap bc his butt sqeaks when he walks....
My dad is tight....but only one real story sticks out from my childhood (im 44)....
my father went through McDonalds drive through on county line road by north park every morning before work for coffee....he knew the owner well....When the 88 olympics were going on, they did some scratch off game on small business cards...maybe it was 84 olympics, honestly it was that long ago....anyway, the owner of that location handed my father a stack of about 300 of those cards....I remember him scratching them off and we must have had about 20-30 instant winners of big macs, cokes, fries, apple pies, etc...
I remember going through the drive through for dinner with my mom, dad, and sister a whole lot of times with those cards and just turning them in for dinner for the whole family, not paying a cent....this went on for a while, i guess so as long as the olympics were going on.
I think back to that from time to time and even joke with my dad about it....
He is also still wearing blue jeans from 20 years ago and refuses to buy anymore. has two pair.....he is cheap.
My dad is tight....but only one real story sticks out from my childhood (im 44)....
my father went through McDonalds drive through on county line road by north park every morning before work for coffee....he knew the owner well....When the 88 olympics were going on, they did some scratch off game on small business cards...maybe it was 84 olympics, honestly it was that long ago....anyway, the owner of that location handed my father a stack of about 300 of those cards....I remember him scratching them off and we must have had about 20-30 instant winners of big macs, cokes, fries, apple pies, etc...
I remember going through the drive through for dinner with my mom, dad, and sister a whole lot of times with those cards and just turning them in for dinner for the whole family, not paying a cent....this went on for a while, i guess so as long as the olympics were going on.
I think back to that from time to time and even joke with my dad about it....
He is also still wearing blue jeans from 20 years ago and refuses to buy anymore. has two pair.....he is cheap.