When is good old money saving being tight fisted?

Andybez38

What extremes do you go to when it comes to money saving?

I can accept hand me downs but my friend cuts his hoover bag open to get rid of the muck. He then tapes it back up again to re-use it. Is this being tight fisted or moneywise? :rolleyes:

mirakl

Tight fisted is whenever it makes you, or others around you miserable. If you friend is happy to cut his hoover bag and save a few quid then great. If he was highly allergic to dust and it made him suffer enormously then it'd be tight

Rikki

Buying cheap sweets and making them last all week.

Bargain_Rzl

To me, tight fisted is ... drinking the same as everybody else but making sure it's never your round (or that your turn comes around at the start or end of the evening, when only a couple of people are there!) ... Mending stuff that isn't worth repairing (why mend your knickers when you can buy 5 pairs for £2 from Primark?) ... Getting your basic financial priorities wrong (ok, so you've got £40 this week - do you use £35 to feed your family well and save £5 for a treat, or do you use £5 to feed your family on value beans on value toast while saving the other £35 for an unnecessary luxury item?) ... there must be more but that's all I can think of for now

Athravan

I'm pretty new to money saving so not sure that I'm qualified to speak here but in my mind - tight fisted is a very clear cut thing, it's when you reduce your, or the people around you's, quality of life, in order to not fork out a bit of money.

If you are managing to save money - no matter what you're doing, but you're maintaining the quality of life of all people involved (and going by a lot of the posts here quality of life is in fact increased with money saving!) then it's just money saving.

If it doesn't hurt anyone (and this includes other people having to spend more because you were too tight to pay an equal share, etc) I don't consider it "tight".

Nelski

Andybez38 wrote:

What extremes do you go to when it comes to money saving?

I can accept hand me downs but my friend cuts his hoover bag open to get rid of the muck. He then tapes it back up again to re-use it. Is this being tight fisted or moneywise? :rolleyes:

Sorry but that is just plain tight.

I have met a few people for who moneysaving has become an obsession and a total way of life such they will avoid paying for anything if at all possible even if that means someone else has to pick up the bill:mad: They only get away with it the once with me though:D

Ive always taken the edict of this board to be one of getting the best deals on things you are going to buy anyway - not necessarily how to always get the cheapest possible option.

To add to your story Andybez one of my mates married a bloke who I believed was the tightest wad I have ever met (oops forgotten my wallet again:rolleyes: ) but then I heard about his dad...........................................
He charged his son and wife a daily fee for leaving their car on his drive when they went on holiday:eek: :eek: Now thats tight:rotfl:

larmy16

I know of someone who when asked to get some toothpaste or loo roll (if it is their turn) will always go to a local shop and buy the smallest tube of toothpaste say at 70p and the cheapest loo rolls for eg. 1.00 for two.

Their underlying motive is meaness, however they are actually costing themselves more as with a bit of foreward planning, could save loads on these two items.

They always hold back when the drinks are being bought also. I call that mean and though it may save them their money, is not an attractive trait.

Being wise with money I am all for. Eg turning off lights when not in use, buying BOGOF on items you use anyway etc.

Quasar

There comes a point when money saving becomes a compulsion and one saves just for the sake of it (ok, for the sake of a few pence), forgetting that life wants to be lived a little.

I sometimes catch myself spending time trying to figure out what to keep some old thing for, how to make use of it etc, and I realise that the meagre result is not worth the time I'm spending on it, which could be used for something more gainful or pleasurable.

Also, penny pinching when in company does not endear us to anyone.

But the most pernicious sign for me is when someone who has good means, buys the cheapest possible of everything, including food which is the one item one should be prepared to spend on in order to get wholesome, unprocessed stuff that promotes good health - which is far more economical in the long run.

I think that deep down we know where the fine line between being savvy and being a miser is drawn. Shame that some of us never realise when they have crossed it...

lilac_lady

Being tight fisted involves deviousness, trying to dodge your share, hoping that no-one notices. They always do - that's why misers don't have friends.

Queenie

Andybez38 wrote:

What extremes do you go to when it comes to money saving?

I can accept hand me downs but my friend cuts his hoover bag open to get rid of the muck. He then tapes it back up again to re-use it. Is this being tight fisted or moneywise? :rolleyes:

Personally, what he does with his hoover bags is his business! :rotfl: It doesn't affect anyone else and if this were posted on say, the Green and Ethical Moneysaving forum, he would be applauded for his recycling accomplishment

What extremes do people go to? Well, what might appear extreme to one person may not seem so extreme to another - a good case in point being your example above :laugh:

If someone's attempts at saving money reached the point where it was harming themselves or others, purely and simply for saving money for it's own sake, then thats a different matter.

Difficult subject to post in the OS forum really, because here there are plenty of examples of what could be deemed by others as "extremes" but to a fellow OS'er would simply be a savvy way of doing things.

wigginsmum

It becomes tightfisted when others have to pick up the financial slack because you don't/won't pay your share, or when it becomes apparent that they're using you financially.

I have a friend who serves tiny tiny portions if we go round there for dinner, but will pig her face out at ours, always chooses the largest portion etc. so she can spend less of her own money on food. She's been known to lick other people's plates once the meal's finished. That annoys me. I don't begrudge her the food but it makes me think she's using us, and the friendship of 16 years is faltering now as we're on a tight budget too and trying to cut down a bit on portion size for ourselves.