Sunday fun: what's the cringiest money saving you've witnessed??

Jo4

When we got married 17 years ago, one couple tried telling us that they had brought a present to the reception for us and someone must have taken it yet our wedding video shows them coming to the reception empty handed. Another couple said they were short of money and they would get us a present later and we are still waiting. Another two couples said they would call round with the presents, they still haven't arrived. Another couple gave us a single sandwich toaster which cost £4.99 - their invitation and thank you card cost more never mind their guest flowers, booklets, their drink & food on arrival at the reception, their 5 course meals, their evening reception etc., etc.

My mum's brother used to switch off his car whenever he was approaching a fuel station and tell whoever was in the car with him that the car had run out of fuel just to get them to pay to put the fuel into his car.

A family member used their free bus pass to visit another family member 25 miles away ones earn to get a flower pot that would have cost £3 or £4. They then got the family member they were visiting to run them home again (25 miles each way) because they didn't want to take the flower pot on the bus. :eek:

peaceandfreedom

homelovin wrote: »

Putting kids in the boot - yea we used to do this when we went to Center Parcs! They had/have 2-bedroomed villas but would only let 2 adults and 2 kids in them, and we have 3 kids. The price for a 3-bedroom was a lot more, so we used to book for just 4 and hide the smallest under coats etc because you drive in and do all your 'checking in' through the car window at a booth on arrival. Once inside, there was never any checks so would get the 3rd child out and carry on the rest of our holiday. We would have a blow up bed with us and a sleeping bag for the third child. They all bundled in one room happy as larry. This was quite a few years ago now...I had forgotten until this posting

Excellent . We are also a family of five and have done similar things on many occasions - 5 of us in a hotel/motel room meant for 4. Trick is to go up in dribs and drabs, never all together.

Obviously as the kids got older we couldn't keep doing this but works well for little ones .

faithcecilia

My birthday is Christmas Day and people *always* double up on cards and presents:cool:

I keep the huge piles of napkins they give you in coffee shops and use them for toilet paper

jules888

schiff wrote: »

Coping with the shame of buying The Sun for ten days to get the £10 Tesco coupon and hoping nobody who knows me spots me!

Yeah me too!

TheBanker

Well yesterday at ASDA I witnessed the most extreme money saving ever.

The guy in front of me had forgotten to take any bags. He had about 2 bags worth of shopping so would have had to pay 10p. He complained and the cashier told him it was the law and had been widely covered on the news etc.

He then turned to me who was waiting patiently in the queue and said "you've got lots of bags, I'll give you 5p for 2". Mine were all bags for life so I didn't want to sell them(!) but I had one old carrier bag which I said he could have. He put half the shopping in it and made his wife carry the other half in her arms.

Me and the cashier had a good chuckle about it after he'd gone.

I guess extreme money saving would have been asking him to pay me 4p for my tatty old carrier!

Bettie

At work we give away a lot of tea and coffee to the customers. We had to take the sugars and UHT vile little pots of milk off the counter as so many were getting nicked we were constantly running out. One bloke initially asked for a coffee every day but never drank it - he pocketed the milk and two sugars he asked for and left the coffee. Now I hand him two milks and two sugars every day but don't bother making the coffee.

TimeToDoIt

I stayed over at my very tight ex's one night mid week.
In the morning when I came downstairs, he was making himself a sandwich to take to work. He was clearly annoyed that I had "caught" him, and he very very reluctantly offered to make me one.

I told him not to worry thanks - I'll buy one when I nip out for my break.

He then proceeded to point out how much a shop bought sandwich was and how I was just "throwing money away". (I nearly always make myself a sandwich to take in - but as he clearly resented having to make me one I told him not to bother!!)

So he made me a sandwich.

With I swear to god, one slice of that wafer thin ham that's all scrunched up in the packet (He had to straighten it out)

Mmmm

Pixie5740

I was talking to a colleague about penny pinching. She told me that her father once bought a box of Kellogg's cornflakes and when they were done kept the box and just filled it up with Asda Smart Price cornflakes over and over again. She said that her and her sibling used to ask their father why he did this but he just denied it and insisted the box contained Kellogg's cornflakes. Very odd.

Happier_Me

About 12 years ago we went to centre parc's with family. My DH and I had our own villa and other family members (4 adults, 2 kids) stayed together in another villa.

We were invited to their villa for breakfast one morning, which we accepted. Knowing money was a little tight I made a point of paying for a shop for them later that day, making sure that the purchases covered the cost of our breakfast (by several times over!)

I thought the matter was settled.

But no, a couple of weeks later we got a bill for a third of their entire shopping bill for the weekend. That breakfast ended up costing us around £45.

I didn't say anything at the time, just dutifully paid up. But I would be a little more vocal if it happened now I'm a bit more MSE.

marietje

I remember a friend at university invited me over for dinner. When I arrived she said she still had to do some shopping so we went to the supermarket. When we got there she said she was going to do a real student thing, which was getting me to pay for half of the shopping for dinner. A bit strange, I thought, never experienced or heard this in my time as a student but OK. I ended up paying half of a few days worth of shopping. I don't mind contributing but she went too far. Unsurprisingly, we're no longer friends.