Why I Love Being a Cheapskate

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If you were to ask my friends or my less forgiving exes, they'd probably tell you that I'm one of the biggest cheapskates they've ever met. Sadly for me, they would be right. Although I have money, I am pathologically tight with it. I scour reduced sections of supermarkets and rarely buy any name brands. I'll go out of my way to save money on travel, even if it means taking routes that add tortuous diversions to my journey. And while I'm ashamed to admit it, I've been on a few dinner dates where I've split the bill (though I will add that none of these were first dates).

While some may view my thrift as a weaker aspect of my character, most people don't really care. Even though it sometimes grips me like an obsession, I don't really care about saving a few quid here and there either. There's a reason I do it, and it's because I don't want to be 'that guy' - the one who has a job, but by the middle of the month can't go out, can't eat anything but noodles, and who's asking you to lend him money for his travelcard. There's a benefit to cheapskatery, and wanting to prove that others agree with me, I reached out to fellow frugals to hear their stories of penny pinching. Who knows? Maybe they'll have reasons beyond 'I'm a tight bastard.'

I drive to work, and I make it my mission to never, ever pay for parking. This often means a twenty minute walk from whatever street I've slotted my car into, but it's worth it - it often shortens my time behind the wheel anyways.

I decided to hunt for free parking after I'd been at my job for a month or so. I realised I was paying upwards of £50 a week for the garage near my office, and I just thought that was ridiculous. That's £2,600 a year. I decided to put the money I'd otherwise spend on parking into a savings account. Granted, in the year since I started it isn't at £2,600 - nights out and the odd holiday made sure of that - but it's certainly made a difference to my savings.

And hopefully it means I won't be driving to this job until I'm 80 years old.

I guess I'm pretty tight because I never take public transport. If you ask me, there's nothing more liberating than cycling around London. You don't have to sit on a bus surrounded by screaming school kids. You don't have to encounter a stranger's armpit as you're sardined on the tube. You don't have to worry about strikes, delays, any of that stuff. You are more in control, which feels like a bit of a rare luxury these days, and I swear you arrive five minutes early for everything.

Since I started cycling to work, I've re-learned the lay out of the city; I've seen streets that I'd otherwise travel below and witnessed exchanges I'd miss on a train. I hate to get all 'yoga retreat' on you, but I honestly feel a connection with the city now. It's no longer just a place to work and go to the pub, but an entire world, with different characters, colours, sounds, stories that all unfold in front of my bike.

It's also saved me buying a travel card for the past year. That's over £30 a week. I think I honestly paid for my last holiday with the difference.

I'm a reduced aisle warrior. I work a late shift on Mondays, meaning I start at 6pm. On my way to the office, I walk past a shop at around 5ish. In case you didn't know, this is what I like to call the reduced sandwich witching hour. This is the moment when the BLTs, Coronation Chickens, all that stuff from lunch is slashed in price.

So on Monday evenings, I buy my lunch for the rest of the week. Sometimes I'll get sandwiches for as little as 25p. I think the most I've ever spent on reduced sandwiches is a fiver, and when I see most of my colleagues spending that on lunch every day, I feel pretty chuffed.

I've been doing this for a year or so, so I figured I'd saved quite a lot. I mean not enough to buy a house, but certainly enough to splash out on weekends or trips away.

*Find some tips on saving money while eating out over here.

Names have been changed to protect interviewees' anonymity.

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