Children Of Cheapskate Parents Share Their Horrifying Stories

That meant the napkins that didn’t have restaurant logos printed on them. We only went to restaurants when my grandmother felt she could come out ahead on the deal, and there were many ways to accomplish this.

She clipped coupons, of course, but that was kids’ stuff. Whenever she did anything for someone, she’d get them to take her to dinner to “return the favor.” She had an enormous purse, which generally returned stuffed with napkins and food from the buffet.

She didn’t see much point in going to any restaurant that didn’t at least have a salad bar. One year, when my mother and I offered to take her to dinner for her birthday, we had to drive over an hour to get to a Sizzler she hadn’t been banned from.

6. Rolling in Savings

My dad discovered where the giant industrial rolls you see in some shopping centers are sold and moved us over to that. It’s like one giant roll with about three or four normal rolls’ worth of toilet paper. I’ve never been so embarrassed having friends over.

7. My Grandmother’s Unbeatable Sears Lifetime Guarantee!

When my grandparents got married, they did their gift registry with Sears; that was back in the day (Late 1940s) when they had a ‘lifetime guarantee’ on almost everything they sold.

My grandmother has moved house almost ten times since then, but she has kept every flattened box and warranty for every appliance she got when she was married.

I drove her to Sears about two years ago to replace her iron. She brought all the boxing and paperwork from back in the 1940s to get a new one. Surprisingly, they fulfilled the guarantee and gave her a new iron!