I absolutely despise people like that. They nip pick every little thing and seem to be the ones that complain the most. I’m glad someone finally is willing to call them out on what they are doing.

You judge people without knowing what their circumstances are. Just because he makes more money than you doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have more payments or obligations than you. It’s easy to pass judgement when you aren’t the one that is having money trouble.

Your generalization that people that want to save money are cheap is a disservice to all of us that are trying to get our finances in order. Maybe if you had a bit more compassion for those in tough situations, you wouldn’t write crap like this.

I don’t mind splitting the bill for different price of the meal, I usually don’t like to pay for those few who took extras, like drinks.

Even if you don’t know someone’s circumstances, there are appropriate ways to act and some of the above mentioned are highly inappropriate even if a person is tight on money in my opinion.

I wholeheartedly agree that people that are cheap give those that are frugal a bad name.

There’s someone at our office who does the cheap instead of frugal thing for lunch every week. Loaf of Wonder Bread, Skippy peanut butter and Smuckers jam. Brags about how he paid $5 for lunch for the whole week. Doesn’t realize that he’s a blimp because he’s stuffing himself with high sugar, low quality food.

Same goes for folks who buy up the Michelina’s or other terrible freezer food and brag about spending $1.10 on lunches. Again, low quality filler food leads to a bad meal.

And what is up with comment #2 on every article being some troll/flame?

Yet another perfect example why it pays to earn more rather than save to the bones. You never hear people complaining when you have more than enough money and you can actually help others out if that is what you choose to do. More people should choose the option to improve their earning power than trying to cut everything down to the point that they are cheap asses.

Good post! I don’t think it is judgmental at all. Your financial obligations don’t have a thing to do with taking what is not yours. Saving money is wonderful, but not when it is at someone else’s expense.
I worked with a man who would take extra donuts, when they were furnished, at a meeting, and put them in his briefcase. He took dozens of napkins, when they were in a dispenser, and took them home from restaurants. He cheated on his mileage forms, so he could get more money than he deserved. When there was an office pot luck, he’d sign up to bring condiments, and then he’d go to a fast food restaurant, and pocket many, many packets of mustard, etc. to bring! Eventually he was fired for stealing from the organization, and when he left, he took the stapler, paper clips, Post-Its, and everything the office provided for use at a desk.
The man wasn’t frugal he was cheap, and a thief, that no one respected.

All I’m saying is he is making big assumptions and doesn’t know anything about what is going on in this guy’s life. I wish people would be a little more understanding about these things!

Another article that made me think. Keep up the great work. I’ve enjoyed your writing thus far and hope that you can keep it up.

Ah, we all have co-workers like this! Our mystery cheap-o used to take others’ lunches from the staff refrigerator. I once brought in a sandwich (with my name written all over the brown bag) and discovered to my horror that it had a couple of bite marks. Too bad HR doesn’t keep dental records!

I would hate to have people pocket the extra tips and only leave 10%. Also, some people who purchase extra drinks should not make the other people pay for it.

I was invited to dinner at an acquaintance’s house and the napkins they put on the table were from a variety of fast food restaurants. And their paper towels were blue—from a gas station. These people actually said that they thought the gas station deserved to have them take extra paper towels because gas was so expensive. They also made a habit of taking extra ketchup, salt, plastic spoons/forks, paper cups… basically anything that they saw as “free!”

I can’t stand people who are cheap!!

But, PEOPLE WHO MAKE WISE CHOICES have my utmost respect!

I agree, there is a difference between being frugal and being cheap. My parents passed along a great habit, which some might see as cheap, but I see as being frugal. When I stay in a nice hotel for work, I take the mini shampoo, conditioner and soap each day and put it in my suitcase (while using only one of each for the entire time I stay in the hotel). When I get home, I often have several bottles and bars to take the to gym or on trips where I’m using carry-on luggage. My parents would also keep the extra ketchup, mustard, salt and pepper packets that restaurants would enclose with our take-away orders and put them in the fridge for future road trips (on which we would take our own home-made sandwiches or make from ingredients bought from a grocery store in whatever town we were staying).

My wife things that I sometimes go a bit overboard with these and other money-saving practices, but I disagree. If I’ve paid for a night in a hotel, that includes the cost of toiletries that are placed in the room by the maid. The same goes for a meal that comes with condiments I don’t use. To each his or her own, but as long as you aren’t blatant about your money-saving tricks, you’re “frugal” and not “cheap” in my book.

@ dlong
Fiction is often an effective forum for taking a stance to make points, teach, and expose.

Mr. Cheap is probably a culmination of several instances and activities and none so specific. Otherwise, this would not be an article on SavingAdvice/ pfadvice, but a letter to an actual person.

@ Main Post, Does Mr Cheap always carpool but never pay for gas or drive? Buggers always sticking us with the bill.

I’ve always thought that value and “least expensive” are two different things. Just because it costs less doesn’t mean you are getting the best value. And, as you say, being cheap is not the same as being frugal.

Good article and amen on how the rest of the workers feel. We have potlucks about once a month and the people who either didn’t bring anything or brought something “easy” usually take a bunch of extra food to take home. By the time late lunch comes around, there’s little food left.

Wow who are you mad at?!
What an article, why don’t you vent in a personal diary or something.
I didn’t learn a thing.

[...] Shugars from Saving Advice presents Don’t be Mr. Cheap, and says, “There’s a difference between cheap and [...]

[...] that cheap and frugal are the same thing because of people like you,” explains S. Shugars in an open, excellent, take-no-prisoners letter to Mr. Cheap at Saving Advice. If you recognize yourself in the behavior the letter describes, you’ll know why [...]

Cheap = taking advantage of others to save a buck. Its greedy and low class. No matter how broke someone is, what their situation is, that is no excuse for stealing from others.

Unfortunately, cheapness such as this has become a sport, and if someone could explain to me what circumstances it is acceptable, I’ll be happy to listen.

All due respect, dlong, but the type of behavior described here probably doesn’t have anything to do with money trouble. This is about “putting one over” on others and thinking you’re much smarter than the dopes that split the bill evenly. No one is going to put one over on Mr. Cheap! He places no value on relationships, only money. He will never enjoy lunch with friends, only calculate the cost.
However, I know from my own behavior that worrying about money a lot can put you dangerously close to the cheap camp. I know I talk about the costs of things way too much, because I’m so preoccupied with it.

Re: group checks: at one work lunch, a co-worker ordered a specialty entree (not on the menu, so $$) and an appetizer and I think a cocktail. We all put in money to cover what we had, and guess what? We were way short. It was this person’s $30 lunch that did it. The check had been taken back up so we couldn’t verify who had what, and the gal just sat there, waiting for everyone to cough up another $5. Just amazing gall. Finally we got the waitress to dig up the original check so we could figure it out and she finally had to pay her own share. But very uncomfortable in the meantime. All because she wanted to eat well on her co-workers’ dimes. Wow.
Re: extra drinks: I have a friend who ALWAYS orders a soda and coffee at meals. Never drinks more than a sip or two of the coffee. I can’t understand the compulsion to be charged $1-$2 for sips, but hey it’s her $$$.