A Game Of Pretend
Rich people are known for shelling out tons of cash on things like cars, clothes, and partying, but even they have to cut costs sometimes. After all, why pay for super premium gas when you can get by on the mid-grade stuff? That’s if the fancy car can even run on anything less than premium, of course…
Sometimes, rich people can be out of touch with the cost of things, from boats to loaves of bread. And that means that when it comes time for them to actually think about pinching pennies, they’ve got some pretty ridiculous reactions. People shared their top stories of the cheap things they’ve seen rich people do, and some of them are pretty…”out there.” If you’d like to laugh at the cheapest things rich people have been caught doing, here goes…
Taking It Back
On my commute to work, I saw a very wealthy man dress up in “homeless clothes” and stand on a street corner begging for money. He would do this for days on end and always on the same corner. When he was done with his “homeless shift,” he would hop into his Mercedes and take off….
I wasn’t the only one who noticed this. The local news actually even did a story on him, exposing him for being a fraud. They even showed him driving off in his fancy Mercedes. After that, he wisely decided to never go back. Reddit User: tinyhousebuilder
Stocking Up
When I worked in a bar, I got a variety of customers, but the most interesting, by far, were the rich yet cheap patrons. They came in all the time. The incident that sticks out the most was when a very wealthy businessman tipped me only because his date was looking.
I was happy about it because it was more than your average tip. When they were on their way out, his date was further along and wasn’t looking. The man turned to me, and he stuck his hand out, took the tip back, and ran after her. Reddit User: Amaseron
Don’t Forget The Clips
I used to work at Costco, and trust me when I say that I’ve seen some weird things. There is this lady in particular who, while at the food court, would fill up jars (that she brought with her) of ketchup, mustard, relish, and the other condiments.
The absolute worst part was that this lady never even bought anything….She then proceeded to have her driver pick her up in a car. The car was also a Rolls Royce. I must have seen her do this at least five separate times. Reddit User: OnlyAskReddit
Plane Snacks
I once worked for a very rich man who owned several car dealerships in the state. As you can imagine, he had several employees, and every time one of the workers took a deposit to the bank, he would send his secretary back to the bank to get paper clips….
The secretary had two choices she could make: She could decide to either wait at the bank for them to give the clips back or she could be sent back to the teller every time. It was so utterly ridiculous, and she hated her boss for it. Reddit User: bncosby
The Peanut Muncher
I dated a multi-millionaire once. Every time we traveled he always, and I mean always, took the first-class plane snacks (especially the chocolate brownies) and had me put them in my purse to save for later. He would then get these late-night cravings for them.
He said that he didn’t want the added expense of using the hotel’s mini bar or ordering room service….This one time around three in the morning, while we were in our hotel room in Las Vegas, there he was. Just munching on plane food. It cracked me up. Reddit User: [readcted]
Wearing Them Out
One of my managers from my job, who made a decent six-figure salary would do this. He would walk into a fast-food restaurant, I think it was Five Guys, and eat the free peanuts that they offered to customers. But he would never actually end up ordering anything.
All that he did when he went was just sit there and eat a load of free peanuts. Then he would leave….It was so embarrassing to be seen with him. One time, I saw him do this while I was standing in line myself, getting my own meal. Reddit User: Charomid
The Refill King
One of my kid’s best friends has a very wealthy parent. They’re so wealthy that they’re retired and they’re not even 40 years old. I mean, that’s great, but for some time now, I’ve been hearing so many stories about horribly cheap things that their family practices, and it’s extremely hard to believe….
The most unbelievable story that stuck with me the most is how the kid’s mother makes her kid wash and reuse paper plates. Yes, that’s right, paper plates. They keep up the practice and wash them until the plates can’t be used anymore. Reddit User: niva14
Pizza Fees
A regular customer came in every day and asked for a refill of iced coffee, hot coffee, and a small steamed soy. He brought in his old cups and had his membership card in order to get free refills. We always marked his cups (he doesn’t know), so we knew when he brought it in and called him out on it….
One day I just said, “I’m sorry, sir, but these cups are noticeably old, and our policy for refills only works if you stay in the store, not bring them back a day later.” It was probably the first time he ended up paying full price. Reddit User: justine7179
Thirty Cents Adds Up
I was a pizza delivery driver for a while. My most memorable moments while I worked there always included this one lady who would regularly order. She lived at the very edge of our ten-mile delivery area. She lived behind a big privileged gate with an access code that we had to call her for to let us inside….
For her usual order of three pizzas, she would tip a grand total of two dollars, citing that the $2.50 delivery fee was “too expensive” for her to give more. She had a freaking Porsche in her driveway for crying out loud. Come on. Reddit User: McGreevy
A Water Issue
I used to work at this restaurant, and I always had this regular customer who’d come in maybe once or twice a week. She always wore designer clothing. I mean, everything from head to toe was a designer brand, and she was always very well put together.
She came in once and yelled at me for five minutes because the price of her favorite drink had gone up…. It was now thirty cents more expensive due to a company-wide price increase. Something I had no control over. I was completely shocked that she would be so angry for 30 cents. Reddit User: whittiez
There’s Cheese At Home!
The craziest thing I’ve seen someone with a lot of money do was to refill an entire gallon water jug from the office common space water cooler. Every so often, this guy would bring in his empty containers to work with him and stand there while they filled up with water.
He would even wave as people passed by watching him do this….But that’s not even the craziest part, either. The most unbelievable part is that the man in question happened to own the company. Yeah, for real, the owner did this. Reddit User: honeybeeholcomb
The Unexpected… Gift
This is about a former coworker of mine. Now, he wasn’t extremely wealthy, but he made more than enough money to not have to be doing crazy things like this. He told me that when he goes to McDonald’s with his wife, he always looks for ways to save money, even if it is a few cents….
This one time, he said that his wife wanted to buy a cheeseburger. So he makes her order a regular hamburger without the cheese, then told her that they had cheese at home. She could just use the cheese at home to make it into a cheeseburger. Reddit User: rak9999
Transferring The Ticket
I was working at a warehouse that used a lot of day workers. A guy on my team was down and out and not very well off at all. The manager strolled by and saw that the guy was tripping over his shoes because the sole of his sneakers had separated and was flapping.
He then pulled a wad of bills from his trousers, held together by an elastic band, and said to the floppy shoe guy that we can’t have this and that he wanted to help. The manager then pulled out the wad of bills, unwrapped the elastic band, and handed the band to the floppy shoe guy. Reddit User: Mistercrawlingchaos
Quiznos For Vegetarians
One evening when a friend and I were just about to head out, we saw a bearded man do something that was probably illegal. He had parked his super luxurious and expensive Rolls Royce in a place that he wasn’t supposed to, and as a result, he got a parking ticket….
What I saw him do was pretty unbelievable. He ripped his parking ticket from his windscreen and placed it on someone else’s car. We locked eyes as I saw him do the crime. I quickly scuttled inside, vowing never to mention it again. Reddit User: AbnormalSnail
Big Spenders, Lousy Tippers
I was in Las Vegas once, and this rich guy I was with would not eat at the buffets because he was ridiculously cheap. in other words, he thought that they were too expensive. Because of this, we had to go to a fast food place to satisfy his cheapskate tendencies….
Oh also, did I mention that this guy I was with happened to be a vegetarian? So now our already limited food options became even more limited. So what did we end up eating? Quiznos. I refused to suffer any longer and left him. Reddit User: [redacted]
Ditching His Friends
In college, I worked at a live theater. It was attended by CEOs/founders/owners of some of the largest companies in the area. They were always the stingiest tippers if they tipped at all. No matter what it was, whether it was the coat check, bar, or espresso bar.
One of the guys that sat on the board was there on the opening night. His date tried to give him grief for not tipping the bartender, and he made some “I earned mine, they can earn theirs” comment. None of us expected them to tip big, but even the broke elderly ladies that volunteer-ushered for free tickets usually tossed a dime into our coat check jar. Reddit User: Auntie_Ahem
Late Payments
I didn’t know the status of this guy’s bank account, but I know that no one should ever do what this guy ending up doing what he did to his friends. He came up to the bar to pay for the table’s bill, saw how much the table had racked up (it was approximately $150 worth of drinks and food), then casually sat back down at the table….
He sat there for a little and talked to the others. He then proceeded to put his jacket on, ended up saying goodbye to everyone, and walked off. He left the bill on the table to be paid by the rest of the group. Not a very classy move. Reddit User: [redacted]
The Things People Do
My grandmother had to mail in all her bill payments, as she didn’t own a computer. One month, she didn’t get her water bill, or it was delivered to someone else by accident. Whatever the cause was, her next bill included both that month and the previous month.
It also included a minimal late fee that was less than the cost of a stamp…. For the rest of her life, she skipped the bill one month and then paid both the next because she saved a few cents by using just one stamp instead of two. Reddit User: ahadyar117
Not In The Budget
When I used to be a bartender, I had a group of five work colleagues that once sat around the bar for some time, having a great time, getting drinks. After telling me that I was amazing, they each dropped 5 bucks at the counter, and a little extra, which was nice.
When they left, I started cleaning up the cups and glasses when my boss called my attention….But something told me to turn back around. I saw, and I kid you not, this new girl that was with them grab my $30 tip and run out the door. Reddit User: PaoloFromPhilly
His Turn To Pay
My sister is a really good pianist. She taught piano lessons all the way through high school up until she was 20 years old. One of her students needed a new notebook, and his family was one of those wealthy but still strict on the budget type of families.
So my sister said, “Head down to Staples! They have notebooks for 25 cents with the back to school sale….” His mom said, “I’m sorry, I haven’t accounted for that in my budget. It looks like (student) is gonna have to wait until next month when I have that accounted for.” My sister handed her a dollar and told her to buy the kid a notebook. Reddit User: [redacted]
The Clam Bake
Some guy my dad used to hang out with all the time was a millionaire. He would ride to a supermarket and buy a large bag of their old potatoes and eat them with butter for lunch for the next couple of days in a row. They would go hiking then eat at a restaurant.
The guy would order one of the more expensive meals and several drinks and would say, “You pay for both of us this time, next time will be on me.” He always said that… One time my dad didn’t take any money with him. The dude hardly ordered anything that time, and I don’t think they ever went out to eat together after that. Reddit User: [redacted]
Sharing The (Lack Of) Wealth
I have friends who only work to have something to do during the day that refuse to pay for their trash. Instead of buying special trash bags, they put theirs in grocery bags, then put them in the freezer overnight. In the morning, they would just throw the bags in the trash outside at a Publix….
One day after a clam bake where my grandfather purchased all the food (they hosted), they collected all the shells in a bag, then drove over to my grandparents’ house and tried to throw the shells there. They were never invited for dinner again. Reddit User: btreecat
Rinsing Her Garbage Bags
I lived in a fairly good neighborhood where there were several families with kids my age. They weren’t extremely wealthy, but they weren’t close to being poor. My parents would let me go to baseball games with some of them, and every time we got there, we would always share the same drink.
They wouldn’t even let me buy my own when I had more than enough of my own money. The mother insisted that I share with her kids and her husband and herself! I did not partake, I just sat there…thirsty. How can you afford a game for a family of five and not drinks worth $10? Reddit User: Jeckle160
Obsessed With Pennies
I lived in a decent neighborhood where it wasn’t odd to see strange things. I once watched a lady across the road bring all her garbage bin bags out (filled with trash), empty them into the community garbage bin, then rinse the bags out with her yard tap once she got back to her home….
She would then end up leaving them on the washing line for a bit, would fold them, and then took them back into the house to reuse for more garbage. I mean, come on! I know you’re trying to save money, but that’s just disgusting. Reddit User: barnowl91
The Vouchers
I used to work at a gas station, and there was one lady that always bragged about finding pennies on the ground. She would come in and scour the store looking for dropped pennies. She would even find them behind heavy displays and then ask the employees to move them so she could get a penny….
Then when she finally checked out, she would steal every single penny out of the give-a-penny-take-a-penny thing at the counter. She was probably one of the least likable people I’ve ever met, mostly because she did this when she already had money. Reddit User: hydro123456
A Love Of Ketchup
In my area, the local animal rescue has a spay/neuter assistance program. Residents of the county can apply for them. They’re generally worth 45-80 dollars depending on gender and breed. My veterinary hospital has seen several expensive purebred dogs be fixed with those vouchers..
These purebred dogs would cost somewhere between the high hundreds into the thousands. Generally, I am just happy to see any animals spayed or neutered, but in these cases, I always think what the heck? I am pretty sure there is someone that needs this more than you. Reddit User: tattooedteacup
Can We Make It?
I saw this one very large woman bring in a nearly empty ketchup bottle to a local Arby’s I was eating at, only to take almost all of the ketchup packets from the condiments section, sit down without buying anything, and refill her ketchup bottle one packet at a time….
She then got up, waddled out to her car, got inside of it, closed the door, unscrewed the cap, and then…. took a drink from the bottle of ketchup. Pretty gross. Also, her car was a really expensive model that came out that year. Reddit User: [redacted]
Reusing Teabags
My uncle was visiting me while I was in Los Angeles, and he and my aunt were on their way back to the airport via their rental Jeep after we’d just had lunch. On the way there, they stopped at a nearby gas station where they proceeded to have a three-minute conversation….
It turns out that the long conversation they had was about whether they thought they could make it to the airport on $1 or $2 in the gas tank since they had already paid for the gas. I never asked what they decided to do. Reddit User: SaxifrageRussel
All For Free Refills
I knew a very wealthy older lady who would actually re-use her teabags, and I’m not just saying once in a while. She did this all the time. She would make the tea, squeeze out the bag all the way, then would hang it outside to dry and use again and again.
It was the oddest thing and might have been the most disgusting thing that I have ever seen someone do….I ulltimately came to the conclusion that she liked the flavor of her barely-there tea. I honestly don’t know how she did it. Reddit User: jimmiethefish
A Creature Of Habit
I once witnessed a guy take his wife on a date to a matinee movie, and instead of buying popcorn, he decided to dig through the trash to find one of the large refill sizes of popcorn buckets. The funny part was that afterwards what he would do with the bucket.
He would then enter the bathroom, wash it out, and took it up to the counter for free refills….I thought it was kind of brilliant, but also kinda gross. I thought it’d be better to just save your own bag and bring it back each time. Reddit User: deltarefund
Ketchup Soup
A guy at the insurance company I worked at was named Bud. Between new commissions and vesting, Bud made around $200,000 to $300,000 a year, a pretty good amount. But he also would drive a truck that was built when I was in elementary school, and he brown-bagged his lunch.
There was bologna or some other lunch meat with a slice of cheese, a slice of tomato, mustard, and wheat bread….He would also have a little Tupperware container of cold microwave popcorn to go with it. Every. Single. Day. It was one of the strangest things I’ve witnessed. Reddit User: politicaldan
Getting His Money’s Worth
I once saw a guy order a glass of hot water at a restaurant. And that’s completely fine because people do that all the time. But the thing that made the situation strange was the reason he ordered it. Turns out he did it just so he could mix some of it with ketchup.
He would do this instead of ordering a bowl of soup off the menu….I wouldn’t say he’s the wealthiest person I know, but he could definitely afford a few dollars for bowl of soup. I’m not even sure if his made-up soup concoction tasted any good. Reddit User: ApperSauce
The Haggler
My grandfather had a firmly held belief that any drink served in a restaurant should cost no more than 10 cents per glass. Yes, you read correctly… ten pennies. So, if the restaurant charged $1.50 for a sweet tea with free refills, he would sit there until he’d drank at least 15 glasses of tea so that he would meet his ten cent goal….
To make matters worse, he had a rule that nobody else was allowed to leave until he was finished. The crazy part was he was not poor by any means. My grandfather was strange that way though there are a lot of people like that. Reddit User: DariusJenai
Every Pence Counts
This story is about a lady I know that owns multiple Mercedes cars. She and her partner live in a mansion by the sea with some amazing views. Every so often, she drives to a local fishing wharf to buy lobster where she tries to haggle the price down.
She would negotiate so much to the point where it was almost free….She was already getting a sweet deal where she was buying it from. For those who don’t know, the wharf prices are much lower than what is found in a grocery store. I could not believe it. Reddit User: Chapwins
20 Minutes For 20 Cents
My grandma and her friend (the wealthy one of the two) were shopping and had several heavy bags. My grandma wanted to flag a taxi, but in the UK, they cost a little bit more than the taxis you phone up to order. Her friend insisted on phoning one and waiting for it, despite the heavy bags….
She put 10 pence in the payphone to call herself a taxi, and it kept her money without giving her the call. She then insisted on calling the helpline number and waited 90 minutes for a technician to come out to give her the 10 pence back. Reddit User: kitjen
It’s Too Expensive
I worked as a cashier once. Our store has gift cards, and people get their hands on them in many different ways. If the card has already been used, I have no way of telling how much is left on the card. One day a woman came in with 10+ used cards and made me go through each one trying to squeeze every last cent out of them….
In the end, there was about 20 cents worth of money combined spread out between those ten cards, and it took the better part of 20 minutes to go through them all. The woman seemed particularly proud of her savings but didn’t care about the time wasted. Reddit User: bobothesecond
The $2 Gift
I work at a popular bank in New York City, and I have a 70-year-old client, who is worth upwards of at least $200 million. This guy is extremely wealthy. After visiting my office in Manhattan for a scheduled meeting, he said something that I was very surprised by…
After calling a taxi to find out how much it would be to go back to his hotel, he told me that he would not pay for it because it was “too expensive….” The hotel was just a short distance away, so it could not have been that much. I guess that’s how he managed to keep his millions so high. Reddit User: Subzero84
Pay Up Sir
I saw a very wealthy man purchase a broken item at a thrift store, then ask me to repair it for him. It was one of the many favors I’d already done for him. But that’s honestly not even the most shocking part of the story…The item wasn’t even for him.
That’s right. He didn’t want the item for himself, but rather so he could give it as a gift to his dad….After doing some digging, I found out that the item was a two-dollar LED lamp for books. I was appalled by how cheap he was being. Reddit User: JoOngle
Keeping It Old School
In 2014, I was working at a pharmacy in New Hampshire when a famous politician came in. We’re talking former Presidential candidate famous. He came in to get a prescription for some medication, and his insurance didn’t end up going through or something.
I can’t remember exactly what happened, but he ended up having to pay the $250 out of pocket. He wasn’t very happy. I reminded him that his net worth was $250,000,000, and he just sighed….After that, I went on my lunch break and later saw him jogging his cart back to the cart hut. I yelled at him, “Hey! I thought you weren’t running anymore!” and he just shook his head and sighed. Reddit User: vvsj
All Dressed Up And Nowhere To Go
My wife works for an extremely successful plastic surgeon and has done so for the past 10 years. This is her story, so here goes. Up until about two years ago, the doctor drove a late 1980s or early ’90s Volvo Sedan. The guy made close to a million dollars every year.
Still, despite the money he had, he drove the car until it literally fell apart….Even his wife wasn’t driving a particularly nice car. She was driving a 10-year-old minivan herself. They are probably the nicest people I’ve ever met, though. Reddit User: slowsuby
I umpire little league baseball and was calling a game between a couple of pretty snooty leagues. After I called strike three on a kid, the mom yells from the stands: “Don’t worry honey, he’s just some fat loser with nothing better to do!” I looked back to see who said it and saw that she was a young, rich-looking mom, probably about 35 years old.
I knew then that I’d make her regret her words. This woman clearly prided herself on how she looked, considering she was pretty dolled up for her kid’s little league baseball game. So between innings, I leaned back against the fence and said to her “Ma’am these are children. I’d expect a woman in her 50s to have a little more class than that.” Reddit User: [redacted]