Women Are Sharing Their Experiences With Dating Someone Who Was Unbelievably Cheap, And Some Of These Are Low-Key Sinister

There is absolutely nothing wrong with saving some coins, clipping a coupon, or finding the best deal. Naturally, though, as humans do, things can tend to go totally overboard.

So, when Reddit user u/East_Stick_6010 asked the question, "Women of Reddit, what's your worst experience dating a frugal person?" in r/AskWomen, the responses were full of experiences I couldn't even fathom:

1."One of my exes is so cheap. We went on holiday once, and she refused to spend money on public transportation, so she made me walk, like, 50,000 to 60,000 steps every day for an entire week. I thought my feet were going to fall off."

2."One guy told me he has a credit card that gives 25 cents back per transaction. So, he uses self-checkout and does a separate transaction for each item. He also pays $400/month in rent, despite making around $120K/year as a private LMFT."

"When I went to his house, it was infested with mice. He didn’t have flooring (he was literally walking around on the subfloor), and the whole house smelled horribly like animal feces. Disgusting. And he comes across as super put-together and professional. It totally threw me off."

—u/VeryCoolAndFunny

3."He believed that mattresses and cots were a waste of time and believed everyone should sleep on the floor. I noped out of that one pretty fast."

4."I once was asked to Venmo him two dollars for the few bites I took out of his six-dollar rice platter."

—u/Ok-Pomelo494

5."He didn't plan ahead and went on a roadtrip with his elderly father. He refused to pay for a hotel or motel because it was over $100 a night and made his father, who was in his late 80s, sleep in his Volkswagen Golf."

6."He wanted to pay the dinner bill in front of his colleagues and then ask me to transfer him money afterwards so they didn’t see him making his girlfriend pay for her own meal. He made four times what I made and was obsessed with saving every penny of that. Never again."

—u/BudgetInteraction811

7."I was sick with COVID and asked if he could bring me some grapes and frozen mango. He dropped them off at my door, then sent me a Venmo request for the $10 they cost. Meanwhile, I had gotten him a $300 pair of glasses, let him eat out of my cupboard and fridge whenever he came over, routinely picked him up at the airport, and the only date he ever took me on was our first date to Starbucks."

8."They had three rooms, a light fixture in each, but only two lamp shades, and one light bulb between them. You either used your phone for light or had to transport the bulb to use the light for a 2 a.m. wee."

—u/Blah0013

9."He ate beans on toast for all three meals because 'it’s healthy and you don’t need to spend loads on food.' I'm British, so I’ll indulge in beans on toast happily and eagerly, but for three meals a day, every day of the week? Nah, mate. I ate it a lot in uni because I was a skint student. Now that we’re in our 40s, there’s no bloody need."

10."He asked if I wanted to go to dinner at Hungry Horse (a very budget-friendly restaurant in England) with him, as he had a coupon for buy one, get one free. He ordered two meals and ate them both."

—u/Clioashlee

11."I bought my own $300 engagement ring. I can’t remember if he ever paid me back, but suffice to say, we did not get married."

12."I went on a first date with a guy who suggested we go to a restaurant because he had a coupon and then decided it was too far of a drive, and he didn’t want to spend the gas money (it was, like, a 15-minute drive), so then he flipped through his wallet of coupons and found one for Applebee's for free wings with the purchase of a beer. I'm not a huge fan of wings, but I just thought, 'That’s great; he can get some wings for his meal.'"

"We got there, and he immediately told the waitress he had a coupon, asked for the cheapest beer they had, and ordered his wings. Then the waitress looked at me and asked what I wanted, and before I could speak, he told her I'm having wings with him, and I said, 'Actually, no thanks,' and ordered some food for myself. He got visibly upset and then wouldn’t speak to me and watched basketball on TV for the remainder of the date. Then, when the waitress came and asked if the checks would be together, he hesitated, so I quickly asked for separate checks. Frugality is fine, but this man’s financial situation was equal to my own."

—u/shiroh17

13."Once dated a guy who wasn’t exactly rich but had more than your average person with a hefty inheritance. Early on in our relationship, he invited six of his friends over on Valentine’s Day (which was apparently his Valentine's gift to me: quality time with his friends) for a home-cooked meal. At the end of the meal, he asked everyone for £10 a head. I couldn’t imagine ever inviting people over to my house and charging them to eat."

14."Went for pizza with my ex-boyfriend (he was really cheap, too many stories), he 'forgot' his wallet, and after I paid, he broke up with me, LOL."

—u/alcatote_

15."He had planned a short getaway for us together. I was shocked to arrive at the hotel and find out that our rooms had no windows. He said that these rooms were cheaper by about 5 to 10 dollars."

16."Instead of buying pads for her period, she’d ask me to steal diapers from the daycare I worked at to save money. Another time I came home, and there was a box of diapers. She got them from a diaper bank, claiming she was a mom. I even offered to buy her pads, tampons, or a Diva cup. She only wanted diapers."

—u/thebabepee

And finally, this person shared an unfathomable experience:

17."My ex took me out on a date to this steak place that he loves so much. He ordered some wine for us, appetizers, sides, mains, dessert, etc. The whole shebang. Everything was going great. Good food. Amazing conversations. Lovely atmosphere. Then, the bill came... 'FUCK!' Thinking something was wrong with the bill, I asked about it. He lost his shit because he didn't expect the bill to be that much. He ordered EVERYTHING."

Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity. 

Have any horror stories of your own about dating someone unbelievably cheap? Let me know in the comments!