Although many households put together a budget, the important thing is managing it: setting financial goals and a plan to take you there. Which, as one Reddit thread shows us, can make some family members unhappy.
Started by platform user Steinenhoot, it asked "Children of cheapskates, what are some of the ridiculous things your parent/s have done to save a couple of bucks?"
And it took off. From toilet paper rations to dating only rich people, here are some of the most upvoted entries from the 4,500 entries the question has received.
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#1
I've been getting re-gifted present for Christmas since I was a kid. And not like presents from other people that were then given to me. No. We're talking my favorite jacket goes missing for 6 months only to be found under the tree as one of my presents. Just had my 30th birthday- gifted a Swiss Army knife I had when I was a kid.
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80points
However, we should mention that for every one of these entries, there could probably be another one about children's questionable spending sprees.
In fact, a 2023 survey of 2,000 parents of kids aged 5-17 showed that more than a third of them worry their child does not understand the value of a dollar (38%).
"Financial skills should be taught at school (as well as at home)," Vicki Broadbent, the woman behind the family and lifestyle blog Honest Mum, told Bored Panda. "I feel yet that's rarely the case."
#2
My parents don't understand the "invest a few more dollars for a much better quality product" thing, so when I was in high school or just starting uni and they bought me clothing, it would be a $20 pair of jeans from JayJays that would last just a few weeks because of thunder thighs wearing them down as I wore them daily, and then we'd have to buy another pair. They'd buy one pair of $5 shoes from Kmart because they were the cheapest, but they were also the most uncomfortable and - again - I'd wear them on a daily basis so they wore down within a month and we had to buy more.
I'm in my early 20s now and teaching myself the concept of "bigger price tag is better quality" - I bought myself a pair of Dr Martens in 2015, and my parents almost fell out of their chairs when I said they cost $180. Except I've worn them practically every single day since I bought them - whether to uni or work (hospitality), and they're still solid and in good shape. Best investment of my life tbh.
(Edit:) yes yes yes, I know, *a bigger price tag doesn't always mean better quality*. I mean this in terms of what I have talked about in this post - good quality, comfortable shoes and clothing.
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68points
#3
My ex step-mother was like every Disney step mother ever. She was loaded but was super stingy, when we all stayed at her house she made my dad bring our own food every time. One time we forgot, and she fed us 65c tinned tomatoes.
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59points
Broadbent, the author of Mumboss (UK) and The Working Mom (US and Canada), believes that parents can and should educate their children about financial responsibility from an early age, even when they're still toddlers. However, it should start in the simplest terms. "I explain [to my little one] that when I'm on my laptop I'm usually writing and this gives me money and how I spend it to buy things," she said.
With time, the mom also starts to include her kids in some money decisions. "I take my children around the supermarket/store with me and involve them in the selection process of items. We look at different prices, brands, and weights and make decisions based on these factors."
#4
My parents taught me never to buy drinks or dessert or snacks when going out. Those things are much cheaper at the grocery store in bulk, and you just have to wait until you get home to enjoy them.
I miss my parents.
Bonus: uncle would put drumsticks in shrink wrap and hide them in his pockets to take to the movies. Then again, our family still has a picture of him from college in the 1960s, a new immigrant to the US, holding a bag of coins at the pay phone, with a huge smile on his face. His dorm mates surprised him at Christmas with the bag of coins so he could call his parents overseas, just for a few minutes. Thank you, Baylor University.
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53points
#5
Mom would date richer guys around the holidays so we could have Christmas presents to open.
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52points
#6
When dial up came out we got a free months trial CD. We used it for almost 10 years by frequently setting the date back on the computer.
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52points
"My older children at 11 and 14 also have bank accounts so they can save birthday gifts and money from chores, choosing what to spend," Broadbent added.
"It's important to show and tell but also to allow children to take responsibility too. If they make mistakes, that's fine. It's the only way they'll learn."
#7
My mother tried to convince ticket seller that I was 6 years old (actually 12) and my brother 12 years old (actually 19) to save 6 bucks for a hop in hop off bus ticket. Needless to say my mother did not get the reduced price. Especially because of the reason my brother was smoking a cigarette.
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47points
#8
my mom used to tell me that peanut butter and tortillas are what jesus ate
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47points
#9
My dad wouldn't let us eat on Sundays, we had to fill up on free samples from Sam's Club. It was humiliating. He isn't even hurting for money, he's just selfish with it and spends hundreds on himself (computer parts, games, in-game purchasing.. Ect)
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46points
And she's not alone in these efforts. According to the aforementioned survey, most parents are taking matters into their own hands (64%), teaching kids about saving by starting a money jar or piggy bank (62%), and giving them allowances to help with budgeting (56%).
However, only 51% have important financial discussions with their children. If this figure was higher, maybe families could strengthen their financial resilience collaboratively, and not separately.
#10
When my parents had the family home refurbished, Pa would carefully extract the nails from the ripped-out woodwork with a claw hammer, and then hammer them straight again and put them in tins for re-use along with unused nails.
For years afterwards, every third or fourth nail you used from his workshop would bend like a banana on first wallop from a hammer and you'd hit your thumb.
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45points
#11
My dad always refused to buy me a fish supper from the chip shop. Said it cost too much, and I could have fritters instead. Not really a big deal. Until a stray cat moves in to his house, he decides to keep it, and regularly treats it to fish suppers.
EDIT: My Dad and I regularly joke about this now. He says I was a fussy eater and would have never ate a fish supper. I make up for it by drinking all his beer when I visit him now.
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43points
#12
When I was 15, my father was out of a job and we relied on welfare and Medicaid. I had braces outfitted by an orthodontist who has practiced since the 1940s. My braces were an eccentric old-fashioned type. No headgear, but weird brackets. A year later, my father got hired and stopped Medicaid. He wasn't happy with the expense to maintain my braces, and took me to another orthodontist. While the orthodontist examined me, my father complained how much more expensive the other doctor was. He said this loudly. The reception could hear us. The orthodontist was confused by my brackets. He said he'd never seen brackets like mine before. My father went on about the cost. The orthodontist felt he wasn't comfortable giving me new brackets without understanding how mine were functioning already. My father wouldn't have it. The cost! The cost! The orthodontist had enough. He lectured my father that he should consider my safety above all else. My father quieted down after. It was embarrassing to have a doctor tell my father my safety was more important than saving a few bucks.
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43points
#13
My mom would (and still does) strategically pick a fight with me 2 days before my birthday giving her the perfect excuse not to buy me a gift.
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43points
#14
When my dad moved into his house, he had a guy come over to do a free demonstration for a water filter that goes under a sink. The guy used a bar of soap for his demonstration and left it when he was done. My dad called at least 4 other companies for a free demonstration just to keep the free bar of soap, and never intended to have a water filter installed.
He does things like this, and it gets worse as he gets older. But I just let him do his thing.
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37points
#15
Parents would pick a place when going out that had some sort of "Kids under X years old are free" and I had to be 3-4 years younger than I am for the day
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34points
#16
My mum would wait up to an hour for the bus that cost 5 pence less. She lived in a house worth nearly a million pounds.
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34points
#17
My father would drive literally across town, several miles out of the way to save 2 or 3 cents per gallon of gas.
He would also drive 60 miles to the casinos for a "free" meal but was too cheap to go a restaurant and buy one.
32points
#18
Ex-wife was a frugal spender and always tried to save money or make extra money where she could. After our divorce, my family would still gift our children clothes on the holidays and their birthdays, until I found her selling the clothes on Craigslist and then go to the goodwill to get cheaper clothes for them.
Now my family makes sure I get the clothes. They go stay with her with what they were sent with.
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29points
#19
When I was a child my grandparents had an apartment at the seaside and every summer we would go to spend a month there, meeting other families that were coming on vacation from all around the country. My parents became friends with a couple, they had two children and the eldest girl was my age.
Probably due to the husband having gambling problems in his youth, the wife was the worst cheapskate I've ever met, even if they had a pretty generous income.
When we were out of the house, the husband was "in control" of the finances, being the main bread-winner of the family. So we would go to the restaurant all together, eat fish, spend the equivalent of 50 Euros per person (we didn't have Euros back then) and he'd have no problem putting out this amount of money.
In the house, though, the wife was the queen. So they'd have no hand soap in the bathroom, because it was a waste of money. When I was visiting, she would get a jar of Nutella from the top drawer and spread the tiniest amount of it in an almost invisible film on the cheapest bread. Her children's faces told me that when they had no guests, the Nutella would not even come out of that drawer.
The pinnacle was when one time they invited us at their place for dinner and they served a main course of... ONE PIGEON for 4 adults and 3 kids.
My parents' response, as a good Italian family, was simply inviting them to dinner for the next week and preparing a f*****g huge and delicious dinner. They willingly exaggerated the size of the dinner, we ate leftovers for days.
I'm friends with their son and daughter on Facebook. He still is the golden child (good guy, did nothing wrong, but their parents always preferred him to his sister), she got out of home and is working in beautiful beaches in summer, and ski schools in winter, all around Europe. Good for her.
EDIT: for all the "wtf pigeon meat" comments: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squab_as_food
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29points
#20
My dad would always go under the speed limit on the highway. Going around 80-90kph maximized fuel efficiency so that's how fast he would go.
We also drove a car until it was literally falling apart from rust. Had about 400k kilometres on it and just about everything was breaking or had broken. Constant check engine light, bad breaks, no horn or emergency break. It took a cop pulling him over and deeming the car non roadworthy.
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29points