so times are hard, true. lets just makes sure prudent doesnt become mean
pea on the topic of mean fuckers

I'll try not to rant (much). I have a problem with meanness. Not your Mr Trebus types who have known real suffering then spend the rest of their lives so damaged they're unable to throw anything away. www.guardian.co.uk/news/2002/oct/05/guardianobituaries Neither would I dare criticise anyone on a slender budget trying to eke their funds out appropriately – God (and the bank manager) only know I could do with some of that thriftiness. I’m the first to admit I am as my sister puts it a ‘scatter cash’. I earn a good living, to some, a small fortune - all of which I invest in having a bloody good time with my wife and child. I know I’m rubbish with money but at least I know how to enjoy myself. Boom and Bust – ‘no pockets in a shroud’ ‘you’re a long time dead’ says I.

Tightwads? I hate the pettiness of it all - often causing embarrassment or offence over a few coppers. In fact (and this WILL annoy the tight arsed fuckers) if I’m tidying around I often chuck coppers in the bin. I hate the smelly pointless things – what’s worth buying that costs 1p? You're right – fuck all! No one is duped by 4.99 - it’s a bloody fiver. I hate copper coins. If it weren’t for the fact I’d look like an arrogant prick, I’d refuse them in my change. Those ‘leave a penny’ trays in garages are brilliant. As are charity tins. I know I’m not going to take the damn things back out of the house and the time it takes to count and bag a tenner’s worth of those fetid little buttons is time that frankly I am not prepared to waste.

Personally I can’t be arsed with designer trappings and all that crap, but I eat and drink well and enjoy a comfortable standard of living. I like cars for the driving pleasure "Oh! its only got two seats - its not very practical is it?" It’s my money why shouldn’t I? Isn’t that the reason we all slog away in jobs when we’d rather be sitting on a beach somewhere pleasantly expensive?

My real issue is with people who are simply mean just for the sake of it and really relish the miserable self-denying drudgery of it all - like this bloke who posted on his petrol penny pinching (literally). What is the point of a supposedly money saving activity that takes up more precious time and resource than the meager fiscal reward it generates? Gloating over a tenner saved annually by consistently fiddling 2p from every trip to the petrol station just singles you out as plain sad www.b3ta.com/questions/tightwads/post286023 hovering over the pump pissing off the queue behind just to get just that extra 2p for free. Life is actually too damn short. I simply can’t understand the attitude of those who scrimp their dull little lives away, swathed in Rigsbyesque knitwear shuffling around gloomy damp homes only to leave the loot to some bunch of crass distant relatives who immediately spunk it on UPVC faux Georgian conservatories and trips to Torremolinos – which no doubt would have the (newly) poor old stiff whirling in their laminate 'budget' coffin grave had they known what would happen to their carefully accrued funds.

But they are NOT harmless old goats. For example - people who don’t tip appropriately don’t deserve to eat out. I live [edit] used to live in Dubai, it’s a real eye-opener – it seems to bring out the worst in people. There are rich people here sure, but its the tightwads that would love it. Labour is dirt cheap. There is also a very apparent class structure (people can also be quite openly racist). But the penny pinching abuse of those who can be abused is staggering. There are people here who subsist on truly appalling wages – I leave, what to them, seems like huge tips because I am lucky enough to be able to afford to. I do it quietly and anonymously where ever possible. I have had to bite my lip in disgust at the attitude of people over here. “fuck em – he’s only and Indian, bung him a Dirham” (about 65p) a fucking Dirham! for waiting all night on a bunch of braying obnoxious drunken ex pats paying more for a pint than they earn a day? Is that the world the Tightwads want? I had some poor Indian bloke shuffle up to me recently and spin me some yarn he had been injured on a building site – he then proceeded to lift his shirt to display some alarming cobbled together chest drain and bandage tomfoolery while clutching an empty pack of medication for good measure. I guessed at the time it was a scam, but fuck it, I gave him the money anyway – if his life is so shite he has to stoop to that then as far as I am concerned he can have the cash regardless - I cant see him using it to refurbish his yacht.

There are many sorry tales on here of tea bag recyclers, those who drive miles to save a few pence on fuel and those who have inflicted their tightfisted misery on their families to the extend of driving them apart.

If you must fritter your life away worrying you may have recklessly squandered the odd penny or half pint of sour milk – at least do it at your own expense (or lack of it). Don’t inflict your embarassing tight-fisted gloom on friends and family. You’ll end up wealthy miserable and alone.

Sorry for the rant. Flame away – probably the only heat you get.
( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 1:53, 34 replies)

Send me £50
So i can splurge out on a plate of butter filled croissants
(insomniac-surfer oh go on then, just this once, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 2:06, closed)

no worries insomniac
gaz me you bank details
( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 2:10, closed)

and in case you wondering
im back in the uk and GLADLY pay my 40% tax
( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 2:11, closed)

I do kind of understand your post
But as a fairly recently disabled person trying to exist on a budget of less than £4 a day I'd love to be able to eat out and tip generously
(insomniac-surfer oh go on then, just this once, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 2:16, closed)

Sorry to hear that. What happened?
( enoughblueskyforsailorstrousers, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 2:24, closed)

Nothing any different from many others like me, and some are very worse off
Had an accident, smashed up my back, hips, knees and ankles.
I need a stick to walk now and help with mobility.
I was before that in long term full employment, with the attendant costs of credit cards, loans and bank fees.
I still have those costs to cover each month but am on disability, plus have to pay for my medications, partial rent and council tax.
This means I live like a wartime housewife just to get along and pay off those things.
I dont begrudge those whose who work hard and dont need to scrimp, fair play to them, I was once one of those.
My croissant response was just an indicative of the b3ta meme
(insomniac-surfer oh go on then, just this once, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 2:51, closed)

Ah fuck, that no good mate. Hope you're not in pain, or if you are its manageable.
( enoughblueskyforsailorstrousers, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 4:42, closed)

if you're on that low an income...
aren't you eligible for free meds? You can get a form online at the DWP website I think and you get prescription exemption. Saves quite a bit at £7.40 per item...
( Sallyrsm, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 10:44, closed)

amusingly (or not)
while means-tested benefits like Income Support or Jobseekers' Allowance automatically entitle the recipient to free prescriptions/eye tests/dental care/etc, contributions-based ESA doesn't, and nor do payments of Statutory Sick Pay when you've been off work for a few weeks/months but are still technically employed.

There are two possible workarounds.

One is to obtain and fill out the HC1 form (which I think is what you're referring to) for an exemption certificate. No one I know is *entirely* certain what the algorithm for working it out is. I had a certificate for a while that helpfully said I only had to pay the first £30 of each item - useful if you're prescribed expensive things like wigs or prostheses, a bit pointless when it comes to regular medications and non-major dental work.

The other is to apply for means-tested income support on top of your disability benefit. If you are officially designated as "moderately" or "severely" disabled then the amount of money you are considered to need to live off (your "applicable amount") goes up and Income Support can make up the shortfall. I was getting something silly like £8 per month in actual Income Support payments but the fact I got it at all meant an automatic eligibility for the prescriptions and whatnot.

Of course the downside there is that your Applicable Amount only increases if you are officially disabled, ie you have been approved to receive a certain level of Disability Living Allowance, and that can't happen until you've been actually disabled for a full six months already (plus it takes a while to process).

Obviously the first six months of disability is when you are being tried on myriad different medications, being prescribed your first mobility aids, travelling to and from hospital, so the costs are high during this period. But until the problems are officially acknowledged, they don't exist...

Please note that I am not a benefits advisor. This post is based on my experiences a few years ago. YMMV. Never take the advice of random strangers on the internet without checking against a more reliable source first.
( Batsgirl, Mon 14 Nov 2011, 10:27, closed)

Done and rejected
I did apply for DLA and also sent in the HC1 forms
Both were rejected on the basis that I rarely visit my doctor.
Catch 22, I rarely visit because all he can do for me now is issue prescriptions for pain relief medication.
I decline most of these, save money ( QOTW related) by buying supermarket own brand ibuprofen and paracetamol at a fraction of the price.
However having been recently prescribed medication that I will be on for the rest of my life (Doc is understanding of my financial predicament and gives me 2 months supply on one scrip) i'm going to try the HC1 again
(insomniac-surfer oh go on then, just this once, Mon 14 Nov 2011, 23:57, closed)

good luck.
Although if you ever apply for DLA again, and get rejected, it's really worth going to appeal. Most people don't (too much stress, too ill to handle it, can't access help, assume the DWP have done their jobs properly) but the success rate for those who do is astonishingly high.

From what I hear, part of this is that the appeals panels have to read *all* the evidence you presented, whereas a DWP decision maker has about 20 minutes to scan through each case. So cases that don't neatly fit the boxes get turned down just because some poor bugger in an office doesn't have the time to understand the situation.

I had to go to appeal a couple of years ago. I'd been turned down flat when renewing. The panel asked me a few sensible questions, spent about 20 minutes telling off the DWP representative who was present, and then unanimously reinstated my award with back-pay and an apology.
( Batsgirl, Tue 15 Nov 2011, 11:14, closed)

Maybe ive been misinformed
But I thought DLA was being phased out now?
Basically if you already on it, you are fine, any new claims are a no no.
(insomniac-surfer oh go on then, just this once, Tue 15 Nov 2011, 22:40, closed)

im sorry to hear about your situation
i guess it also helps to illustrate my point. if those who have, were more ready to assist those who have less, the world might spin a little smoother. i left the UK for Dubai because of the taxes in the UK but quickly found a society designed around the 'I'm alright jack' is miserable at best and will quickly chew you up (unless of course you are happy to valet park your morals). its utter shite you have 4 quid a day to live off. i have no witty comeback for that. we should simply be ashamed we are happy to let you live like that while casually accepting bankers and CEO's tax dodges - i don't begrudge their salaries - just the tax avoidance. if we didn't pay these people to run commerce we would have none - invariably they are weirdos, but at least they generate business - and don't let the socialists hoodwink you that there is another option.
( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 2:34, closed)

Congrats on paying your taxes and tipping generously,
but that won't help you, when you find yourself up against the wall, post revolution.
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 9:50, closed)

yeah whatever monster, im sure your a true revolutionary
for what its worth i grew up on a rough council estate went to a shit comprehensive and worked my way through a degree

i work hard to provide for my family and have never fucked anyone over

i earn my money and pay may taxes and vote labour so grow up fuck off or both
( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 18:19, closed)

*your
also, strongly doubting that you've never fucked anyone over. Liar. You'd never admit it if you did, anyway.
(Gritty, yet fluffy. kipperpillock is obsessed with me =), Sun 13 Nov 2011, 23:38, closed)

Oh, so you don't earn *that* much.

( Ghoti Fingers, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 18:32, closed)

no i dont
im not some wanker city trader or opportunistic property developer

i work hard and get paid a decent amount because i work for decent people. so yes i am fortunate and i appreciate that.
( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 18:41, closed)

Getting rid of copper coins is easy
It you take 'em home, don't collect them, look for a way to get rid of them next time you buy something. When you pay for something, look to get back fewer coins than you give out.

For example, if you have something to pay for that costs 62p but you have a pound coin and a whole load of coppers, don't just pass the pound over, add 12p of the offending coinage so that all you get back is a 50p coin rather than 38p (including a couple more copper coins).

Yes, it means that you have to do a little mental arithmetic at the till, and it can sometimes confuse the hell out of the cashier, but it does keep down the number of copper coins in my pocket and stops them accumulating in the house as well.
(An eejit passing by in a purple satin skirt with sparkly bits, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 3:57, closed)

spimfy doesn't like to handle them AT ALL. ok?
I guess his fat, buttery fingers don't grip them too good.

But he is probably just inept at many tasks involving fine/gross motor skills. He seems to think that briefly squeezing the petrol pump to gain a free 2c worth of fuel would somehow be a time-consuming process.
(Gritty, yet fluffy. kipperpillock is obsessed with me =), Sun 13 Nov 2011, 4:05, closed)

no, but it is time consuming for
the poor fuckers behind you when the cashier has to start dealing with your shortcomings, literally

and if you think a free two 'cents' of fuel is worthwhile you need to take a long look at yourself

anyway it the coppers i chick in the leave a penny tray that fund the tightwad fannying around at the pump - or better someone who's short and deserves it.
( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 18:23, closed)

I'd only claim my free fuel purely to piss YOU off.
Then it grows in value to WAY more than 2c.
(Gritty, yet fluffy. kipperpillock is obsessed with me =), Sun 13 Nov 2011, 23:40, closed)

or you could pop them in the charity box
as i do wherever possible
( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 18:26, closed)

getting rid of coins is even easier than that.
You don't have to count and bag them any more. Lots of banks now have coin paying-in machines where you just pop your bank card in, empty your whole change jar into the chute, the machine counts it, and credits your account directly.

If you feel bad that this means you're no longer donating to the charity boxes in shops, then you can always then donate the money to a cause of your choice online, and giftaid the donation while you're at it.
( Batsgirl, Mon 14 Nov 2011, 10:36, closed)

If you hate them so much,
why do you scatter copper coins around your house? Just so you can feel superior when you chuck them away?
In fact, if you're so croissant-munchingly wealthy, why bother with cash, at all?
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 7:45, closed)

I suspect that he throws them at his wife
while he is verbally humiliating her.
(Gritty, yet fluffy. kipperpillock is obsessed with me =), Sun 13 Nov 2011, 9:00, closed)

I suppose this is kinder than pelting her with croissants,
in that there's no pastry crumbs to clear up.
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 9:50, closed)

That woman is so beaten and dispirited
that it's all the same in her dead-eyed Stockholm Syndrome existence.
(Gritty, yet fluffy. kipperpillock is obsessed with me =), Sun 13 Nov 2011, 23:41, closed)

Hahahaha
I knew it was you before I got 2 lines into the second paragraph.
;)
( blaireau69 , the Cumbrian Travis Bickle., Sun 13 Nov 2011, 8:01, closed)

my flatmate is pathologically tight to the point where he's put his own safety at risk to save £20.

he also drinks water in restaurants, and refuses to split the bill evenly for the sake of £5. In front of hot single girls.
(court escaper, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 9:22, closed)

that is natural selection in action
he wont get to breed with those girls

there is a reason for that
( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 18:45, closed)

I agree with a lot of this post, however i'm trying to think of a way that that doesn't make me a heartless, croissant munching, arsehole bastard. I think it's impossible. Those who have worked hard and now have money will always be dickheads in the eyes of those who have worked hard and now have none.
(Don't tell him Pike i'll probably just stay in, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 13:57, closed)

I'm going to be the one that says it.....
Couldn't agree more. No post will that length will have only points we agree with but I do agree with almost all of it. i could penny pinch and save probably hundreds of pounds a year, but I'd rather buy the stuff me and the family enjoy using/eating and not moan about how shit it is just so I can say 'I got it soooo cheap!'. Most times it is only a false economy anyway. Bin liners are a fine example, the cheap ones fall apart because they're micro-thin and all you get for saving 57p is wasting your time and disinfectant washing the fucking floor when they split.
( NooShmoo It's a fantazmagorical pile of ultra bollocks, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 15:36, closed)

I broadly agree, but
"It’s my money why shouldn’t I?" is a remark that always rubs me up the wrong way, because the two halves of the sentence have nothing to do with each other. If you shouldn't, you shouldn't, whether you can afford it or not.

I can't stand waste, but tipping in restaurants and paying for quality aren't wasteful.
( Moon Girl Technologies horrendous beanbag, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 18:39, closed)

my point was if i want to run a nice car
then It’s my money why shouldn’t I - i don't see it as wasteful because i enjoy it so much.

are holidays wasteful, birthday gifts?
( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 18:46, closed)

I know what your point was,
but whose money it is has no bearing on the morality of it. Money gives you the power to do things, it doesn't give you any moral entitlement.

Birthday gifts aren't wasteful if you know the person will use them. I hate receiving pointless tat, though, just because someone feels compelled to buy me something.
( Moon Girl Technologies horrendous beanbag, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 18:50, closed)

i am morally entitled to run a 350 bhp car for two reasons
1. i pay all my other bills first and look after my family well

2. it makes my tiny penis feels all tickly when I hit 60 in 4.8 secs
( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 18:56, closed)

no you're not.
that just doesn't follow. Good deeds don't buy you more moral rights.

I'm not saying you shouldn't drive such a car, by the way. You can, so you do. Unless you're harming or helping someone by doing so, morality doesn't really come into it. It's only the sense of entitlement that I have a problem with.
( Moon Girl Technologies horrendous beanbag, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 19:03, closed)

*hangs head*
ok moon chick. can i have the car if i admit that i've worked really hard for it and very much appreciate how fortunate i am. can i keep it mooney please?
( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 19:32, closed)

ha you don't get off that easily I'm afraid to say,
how hard you've worked for it has nothing to do with it either. You could have won it in a raffle for all I care.

The morality or immorality of driving a 350bhp car can only be justified by the motivations and/or consequences of driving said car, and not by anything else that has nothing to do with the car.

You have to make your own judgment here, of course. Not my business.
( Moon Girl Technologies horrendous beanbag, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 19:38, closed)

cool
i'll stick with my gorgeous car that i can afford that also gives me immense pleasure and makes my commute so much more worthwhile and enjoyable. and looks quite cool to (not me the car - i'm a fat fingered butter smeared fucknut)

your quite strict though aren't you. *tiny penis swells slightly*
( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 19:44, closed)

I'm not really,
I've just got little patience for this "zero sum morality" that seems to be so popular. I can see how the idea of Karma caught on in the East ("well it doesn't look like it actually sums to zero, so I guess MAGIC must make it so").

To be honest I don't care if someone earns a lot, even though I don't earn a lot myself (on purpose). It's not what you've got that counts, it's what you do with it.
( Moon Girl Technologies horrendous beanbag, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 19:55, closed)

good, we agree on something then, my tiny penis can satisfy and...
i also use the majority of my earnings to look after my family. give to charity every month, do some charity work that involves me giving not just my money but my time and then spend a little on something i enjoy.

the exhaust note from the quad pipes is phenomenal!
( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 20:14, closed)

why do you feel the need to constantly refer to your penis?

(Gritty, yet fluffy. kipperpillock is obsessed with me =), Mon 14 Nov 2011, 3:58, closed)

car joke fluffy
nothing more
( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Mon 14 Nov 2011, 7:58, closed)

once would have been a car joke
3 times is definitely something more.
(Gritty, yet fluffy. kipperpillock is obsessed with me =), Mon 14 Nov 2011, 8:51, closed)

damn, you have exposed my tiny penis truth shocker

( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Mon 14 Nov 2011, 17:10, closed)

or your penis obsession?
Hmmmmmm.
(Gritty, yet fluffy. kipperpillock is obsessed with me =), Mon 14 Nov 2011, 23:54, closed)

While I appreciate your point,
and agree that some peoples money saving efforts can really piss you off, I can't help but notice that the people who say 'it's only money' etc are the people who have the most.

I currently earn twice what I did 5 years ago. This means that I am now in the position where I can decide to go out for dinner if I can't be bothered to cook, buy new clothes on a whim, that kind of thing. However I haven't forgotten what it was like to have to stand there and decide whether to buy a loaf of bread or a pint of milk because I couldn't afford both.

I understand that many people are reusing teabags not because they are tight but because they are skint. Believe me, £2 for a box of teabags is a lot when you don't have it.

Well done you for earning a good wage, being able to afford a fast car and to look after your family, but please understand that some people don't, and once you have been in the situation where you just don't know how you are going to make it to payday it is hard to throw money around.
( Mrs Entity is in hiding., Sun 13 Nov 2011, 22:58, closed)

Mrs. E
you have just disproven this - www.b3ta.com/questions/savingmoney/post1429717.
Were my missus not sitting behind me, I was single, you were single & lived somewhere close-by I would be on your doorstep with a bunch of flowers serenading you.
EDIT: Upon drunken reading I did mean "disproven" - you show that Mr Entity is a lucky, spendthrift guy.
(Misery McUglywife an attention seeking sociopathic fuckstain., Mon 14 Nov 2011, 8:04, closed)