Brits: Are we frugal or just tight?

piecemeal

I do about 15 of these. I think tight is being mean, ungenerous and uncharitable but frugal is wise, considered and economical so you can avoid debt and have enough for what's important to you. For instance, if someone I am splitting a restaurant bill with is having steak and I'm having pasta, they are eating at my expense if they expect to halve the bill; if I could afford to treat them, I would pay for the lot!
The reason I am frugal is so I can afford necessities; luxuries have to be rationed; every penny I drop means I bend over and pick it up, pronto!

Rain_Shadow

How far do you go to save money? The 'tight tactics' employed by money-saving Britain:

1. Saving coupons / using vouchers Never apart from Clubcard / Co-op divi money off.

2. Making your own lunches to take to work I only work mornings

3. Only boiling enough water for cups of tea and coffee you're making I try to

4. Parking on a road further away from the shops so you don't have to pay I do this one or I park in the car park near the shops and don't pay. One £25 fine in eight years has to put me well ahead.

5. Refusing to leave a tip Depends on the mood I'm in.

6. Only heating rooms you use Yes I do this. Trouble is we use most of the rooms.

7. Using internet/phone apps to find cheapest place to buy items Sometimes

8. Shaking the end of a petrol pump so you don't leave any in the hose. I do rattle it in the filler neck but its more so I don't dribble on my shoes.

9. Saving used wrapping paper to re-wrap presents Not usually

10. Driving slower to preserve petrol I definitely drive to save fuel but that isn't really about going slower it's about thinking ahead.

11. Keeping/reusing old cartons/ jam jars etc. / cereal boxes I use old jam jars for cleaning paint brushes but that's about it

12. Used a calculator (or phone) on my calculator in a restaurant to work out the bill I'm an accountant, I do that stuff in my head

13. Scrabbling on the floor for a dropped penny coin Always. I always pick them up in the street too.

14. Sharing bath water/ having a shower rather than a bath I shower because I prefer it to a bath not to save money

15. Not contributing to a colleague's birthday present I have been known to

16. Filling up the car with half a tank of petrol as it's economical No, because it isn't.

17. Save dish/ bath water to use on the garden. No

18. Making birthday cards/ presents.No

19. Sneaking your own bottle of wine into the theatre / pub No, not since I was a teenager anyway.

20. Posting parcels/ Christmas/ Birthday cards through work Yes, frequently

21. Re-using teabags. No

22. Returned clothes I have worn. No.

23. Demanding 5p or 10p change from the person you sent to buy your lunch. See 2.

24. Keeping cling-film to use again. Sometimes

25. Buying the last round in a large group safe in the knowledge you won't have to get a second one in. So long since I drank in a crowd buying rounds that I can't remember

26. Asking for petrol money on a journey you would be doing anyway No

27. Leaving the pub before it's your turn to buy a round see 25

28. Saying ' I don't want to break into a twenty' so someone else says I'll get these' No

29. Rounding up people's change in your favour. No

Rain_Shadow

Downsizing__for_sanity wrote: »

10. Drive BETTER, not necessarily slower. IE don't tailgate the person in front of you, so that you can actually see what is happening on the road in front of you and the reason everyone else is slowing down. Why do some people drive like the clappers straight up to a busy junction or red traffic lights where they are clearly not going to get out/through straight away? :mad:

(Sorry - my pet hate and just returned from a busy airport run with lots of silly people on the roads!)

Mine too, together with those who see a change (down) in speed limit ahead and, instead of easing off the throttle and arriving at the limit sign at the right speed, drive at full speed right up to it and then brake sharply.

And, I absolutely agree about giving yourself that little extra room, and hence time, to observe and assess the traffic conditions. It makes for a far more smooth and economical drive.

Idiophreak

Downsizing__for_sanity wrote: »

e road in front of you and the reason everyone else is slowing down. Why do some people drive like the clappers straight up to a busy junction or red traffic lights where they are clearly not going to get out/through straight away? :mad:

Several times recently, I've just been cruising gently up to the back of a queue of traffic (not leaving a massive gap, just not braking suddenly, like you say) and have been under / overtaken by someone who then slams their brakes on to stop in time.

I live out in the sticks, I imagine this is even more of a concern for people who live in cities.

It doesn't bother me as such, I just roll my eyes, carry on and (more often than not) overtake them again when we get to a dual carriageway...but there's a small part of me that wants to not give them a chance to do it.

kezlou

How far do you go to save money? The 'tight tactics' employed by money-saving Britain:

1. Saving coupons / using vouchers Yes if its something i was buying anyway.

2. Making your own lunches to take to work yes

3. Only boiling enough water for cups of tea and coffee you're makingyes

4. Parking on a road further away from the shops so you don't have to pay yes
5. Refusing to leave a tip Depends on the mood I'm in.Oh and the service i recieved

6. Only heating rooms you use Yes

7. Using internet/phone apps to find cheapest place to buy items Sometimes

8. Shaking the end of a petrol pump so you don't leave any in the hose. yep OH does this
9. Saving used wrapping paper to re-wrap presents yes done this a few times when i've ran out of paper

10. Driving slower to preserve petrolOH does this
11. Keeping/reusing old cartons/ jam jars etc. / cereal boxesyep, we recycle whatever we don't use in crafts

12. Used a calculator (or phone) on my calculator in a restaurant to work out the billdepends on the situation

13. Scrabbling on the floor for a dropped penny coin sometimes

14. Sharing bath water/ having a shower rather than a bathwe all share a bath, as we don't have a shower

15. Not contributing to a colleague's birthday presentdepends on who it is

16. Filling up the car with half a tank of petrol as it's economical No, because it isn't for us.Would just cost OH more money stopping and starting in between work

17. Save dish/ bath water to use on the garden.yes

18. Making birthday cards/ presents.yes

19. Sneaking your own bottle of wine into the theatre / pub yes, fairly recently, well my friend did

20. Posting parcels/ Christmas/ Birthday cards through work letters i do as they generally the only ones i post
21. Re-using teabags. yes, if they strong teabags

22. Returned clothes I have worn. yes when i've bought and item, worn once and then its broken.

23. Demanding 5p or 10p change from the person you sent to buy your lunch.nope couldn't do that

24. Keeping cling-film to use again.i have done in the past

25. Buying the last round in a large group safe in the knowledge you won't have to get a second one in. I did list time i was out as normally i'm first rounder, but then the person i'm normally sharing with always picks the most expensive drinks. Yet when its they turn, they just comes back with the cheapest drinks and don't ask any uf us what we want to drink.

26. Asking for petrol money on a journey you would be doing anyway No, i would only do this if the journey was a really expensive one. So say for example travelling 150 miles together then generally i would expect some contribution. Even if its only a bottle of water.

27. Leaving the pub before it's your turn to buy a round nope

28. Saying ' I don't want to break into a twenty' so someone else says I'll get these' No

29. Rounding up people's change in your favour. No its illegal and despicable

I wouldn't say the British are frugal / cheap, were just skint!!!!

LameWolf

1. Saving coupons / using vouchers Yes

2. Making your own lunches to take to work I'm retired on medical grounds, but my DH always takes a lunchbox to work; and when he had some 12-hour shifts to do, I gave him a frozen HM Shepherd Spy to heat up in the works micro so he'd have a hot meal at a decent time.

3. Only boiling enough water for cups of tea and coffee you're making Yes (still working on DH for this one though)

4. Parking on a road further away from the shops so you don't have to pay I use a Blue Badge; but DH parks further away and walks if he's on his own.

5. Refusing to leave a tip Depends - I get cross with DH because I think he's way too generous with tips.

6. Only heating rooms you use Not really applicable - we have a tiny bungalow, and it's all used!

7. Using internet/phone apps to find cheapest place to buy items Internet, yes - I don't have a Smartphone.

8. Shaking the end of a petrol pump so you don't leave any in the hose DH does the petrol; I don't think he does this, though.

9. Saving used wrapping paper to re-wrap presents Used to; then we stopped doing presents at all (when DH was out of work) and have carefully never re-started doing them.;)

10. Driving slower to preserve petrol On the rare occasions I drive, yes.

11. Keeping/reusing old cartons/ jam jars etc. / cereal boxes Yes, depending on what it is.

12. Used a calculator (or phone) on my calculator in a restaurant to work out the bill Not applicable - I only ever go to restaurants with DH, and nobody else.

13. Scrabbling on the floor for a dropped penny coin Yes. I've even hopped off my mobility buggy to pick up "roadkill" change!

14. Sharing bath water/ having a shower rather than a bath Yes - I need DH's assistance to bathe anyway, so we share.;)

15. Not contributing to a colleague's birthday present When I was working, yes, I did this.

16. Filling up the car with half a tank of petrol as it's economical No, DH always fills up - he has a 30 mile each way commute daily, so it wouldn't be worth only filling up half way.

17. Save dish/ bath water to use on the garden Yes.

18. Making birthday cards/ presents As mentioned before, we no longer do presents at all, but I do make cards - Yule cards, too!

19. Sneaking your own bottle of wine into the theatre / pub Only done this once, at a hotel. We were there over Yule and wanted champagne to celebrate, in our room. Hotel were charging 60 Euros, local shop had champagne at 15 Euros. No brainer!

20. Posting parcels/ Christmas/ Birthday cards through work No; but we hand-deliver all that are practical to do so.

21. Re-using teabags We use loose-leaf tea, and only use the amount we need. Breakfast tea leaves can't really be re-used, but green tea and Earl Grey we find we can get two infusions from and it still tastes good.

22. Returned clothes I have worn No. But I very, very rarely buy clothes - I certainly wouldn't buy a new outfit to attend (f'r instance) a wedding, I'd trot out something presentable I already own.

23. Demanding 5p or 10p change from the person you sent to buy your lunch Not applicable; but I would if the occasion arose. If it's my change, I want it!

24. Keeping cling-film to use again Not cling-film (too fiddly) but I do re-use greaseproof paper and foil, if it's not grubby.

25. Buying the last round in a large group safe in the knowledge you won't have to get a second one in. Not applicable - I don't go out with groups of people.:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

26. Asking for petrol money on a journey you would be doing anyway Not applicable, but no, I wouldn't do this if the occasion arose.

27. Leaving the pub before it's your turn to buy a round Not applicable - see #25

28. Saying ' I don't want to break into a twenty' so someone else says I'll get these' No; I wouldn't like it if they did it to me.

29. Rounding up people's change in your favour No; I wouldn't like it if they did it to me.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

Most of these are common sense, some a bit silly, and a couple are purely bad manners.

When I've been poor I've always deliberately excluded myself from rounds, so I can control and minimise my spending. I can't stand people who happily accept drinks from others and then mysteriously disappear when it's their round- people do eventually notice this. Likewise it would be acceptable to exempt yourself from a group gift if you made it clear you don't ever expect one yourself.

"Tight" means scrimping to the point of being rude to others IMO. If it only affects your own comfort and convenience then it's just common sense frugality.

ash28

kboss2010 wrote: »

Indeed, I agree! This happened at my birthday meal a few years ago. Two groups of friends were invited (not organised by me, I should add), one group was used to just splitting the bill, the other group just wanted to pay for what they ate.

Problem was, there were 25 people there. End result was a rather annoyed organiser and it took about half an hour to sort out the bill and everybody's change.

Now I just go with option 3 on the above list, it's easier. That way I know what I ate and don't mind paying for it but if the bill is split, I'm not going to be paying for much more than I ate/drank.

I've organised a few meals in my time and I've found the best way (if there's a fairly large group), is to ask what they can do for £xx a head. It's surprising what they can do. They might be a bit surprised when you ask but a lot (not all, especially large chains) will put something together....especially if it's mid week.

One meal in a Chinese restaurant, I just asked them what they could for 12 people and £12 a head......when we turned up they put us all on one huge round table and proceeded to fill it with food....we all thought it was fab, worth every penny, and ate loads......then they brought out the main courses!!! After the first visit we used them several times.

One place had menu cards printed with no prices.....that was pretty good too, everyone paid £15, there were 4 or 5 selections for each course plus coffee.

Another one put a menu together and wanted to know up front what everyone wanted (to make it easier for the kitchen)......I put all the information in a spreadsheet, sent it to them and printed it off before we left...it's amazing how many people had forgotten what they'd ordered.

And everyone bought their own drinks.