Everyone is happy when they get something for free, whether it’s a free pen, a free cup of coffee, or a sample-sized shampoo. Buckle up if you’ve never met a stringy person because these kids whose parents were cheap talked about some of the crazy things that happened in their home. This is what they said.

Text and comments have been fixed to make them clearer and use correct language.
1. A clever trick my dad used to get a free bar of soap
u/[deleted]: When my dad moved into his new house, he had a man show him how to use a water filter that fits under the sink for free. The man showed how to do it with a bar of soap and then left it.
Dad called at least four other businesses to get a free lesson just to get the free bar of soap. He never planned to have a water filter put in. This is something he does that gets worse as he gets older. I didn’t stop him, though.

2. The way my dad feels about paper towels
u/TheCommonStew: My dad saves all of his paper towels. Even though I’m 21, he still wants me to ask for permission before I use them. He doesn’t want me to waste them. At the time, I thought it cost $100 for a roll because he was worried I would waste them.
He always buys the cheapest thing, even if it breaks or doesn’t work as well. This means he ends up spending twice as much on everything. I spilled a gallon of milk all over his house while my girlfriend and I were there. She got a roll of paper towels and used them all to clean up the mess.
When my dad found out we used a whole roll, he looked so shocked that it made me feel like a bad person for helping her. He was too nice to yell at my lady, so I knew he wouldn’t yell at us. But it was clear that he was trying to hide his hurt, anger, and sadness over the “wasted” roll.
3. The unique way my dad saves every penny
u/notronbro: Oh my God, dads are so bad. He hangs his clothes outside because he doesn’t like paying for power. That would be fine if he didn’t do it all year, even when it’s cold outside.

When my sisters and I cleaned out our rooms, he would go through our trash to find “valuables” like money or cardboard that we had thrown away. He is crazy about gas prices. One time, I sat in the car with him for thirty minutes while he drove around town looking for the cheapest gas.
His favorite way to drive down a hill is to put the car in neutral, open the door, and push himself down the hill with his foot. We went to a Burger King one time, but I could only get chicken fries because a burger was “too expensive.”