Someone I know (person A) asked me to write this post because he doesn't have a blog...but wanted to vent anyway about person B. So what I'm about to write in no way reflects the roommate experiences that I've had. I've been pretty lucky to live with non-stingy people. All my roomies have been fantastic...C, N, R, Y, and K. My future roommate J is shaping up to be pretty cool too. :P
Okay, so let's discuss cheap vs. frugal roommates. Some people have mistaken their being cheap as merely having a frugal lifestyle. But I think there's a clear line between the two...
Person A has been living with person B for over 7 years. When A bought a house, he graciously gave B a friend discount of $750 to rent the other room...when he could have easily charged $1000. Person B tried to negotiate and lower the rent even more! Cheap or frugal? CHEAP.
Person B will use up the laundry detergent until there's about 1/4 cup left...not enough for a full load. And he will leave the box there. But because A is the next person to do laundry, he thinks there's enough detergent left...only to realize there's not enough for a full load. So A has to go out and buy more detergent...which B will get to use anyway. Cheap or frugal? CHEAP.
When person B got keys to his new place and was slowly moving out, instead of buying TP for his own place, he opened up a new package #1 purchased by A to take one roll. Person A then decided to hide the opened TP package #1 so he wouldn't steal it all, but left unopened package #2 in the cabinet. Later when B moved out for good, he again ripped packaged #2 a new one and took another roll! Cheap or frugal? CHEAP!
Person B has an obsession with energy saving fluorescent light bulbs. When A bought the house, it came regular light bulbs. So A and B decided to switch them out when they moved in. B took the initiative to buy the light bulbs and switch them. Cheap or frugal? Frugal, right! Except when B was moving out (this is a year later now), he switched out the USED light bulbs in various places around the house where he didn't think A would notice and put the other light bulbs in its places. But A notices everything. It's his house, after all. B even went as far as to try to switch out the light bulb IN THE GARAGE...except A came home early and saw him with a ladder...and B pretended he was putting in a new light bulb. Cheap or frugal? CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP!
Some people are CHEAP with their time too! When Person A eats a yogurt or something and leaves just the spoon or a cup in the morning, B will only wash ALL his dishes...but not A's single lone spoon or cup. Homeboy will leave A's one utensil, cup, or dish in the sink unwashed. B's gf is not very communal either. When she does her laundry, she will not include the dish towels with her clothes. Why? She says they will dirty her clothes. Uh, hello! Aren't your clothes dirty? Isn't that the whole point of doing laundry? Not to mention B and B's gf rarely ever takes out the trash/recycling. They will stuff it to the point where the next person (not them) simply can't stand it and has to take out the trash/recycling. In the rare instance that B does take out the trash? He "forgets" to line it with a new garbage bag.
Keep in mind, Person B is not poor. He makes at least 6 figures/year. He thinks he's saving money....by being "frugal." Person A is not poor either...but this is not all about money, this is about B needing to be more communal and not wasting A's damn time. Seriously, who in hell STEALS used light bulbs? A would have gladly given B the money to buy his own damn light bulbs. Instead, A has to now drive to the store, pick up new light bulbs, drag the ladder out, and replace them. Time = Money! Since A knew that B was moving out...it didn't seem worth it to be confrontational.
End rant. Hehe, happy now, Person A? Hopefully your new roommate will be more communal and less cheap-o! =)
So yeah, I am lucky that none of my roomies were ever like this. I've dealt with plenty of cheap people in other instances (like splitting a group check, or pitching in for a group gift) but never in the home!
Have you ever had to deal with cheap roommates? How'd you resolve it? Or you just never brought it up?
3 comments:
WOW!!! What a story to read. That person has no excuse for doing what he did. Especially if you make 6 figures. It's called savings account and/or investing if you want to have/make more money :-P Luckily, I never had roommates like that. If I did, they would definitely hear it from me! Good thing thing the person found his own place to live. About the dish washing thing. I think that's just inconsiderate. Is he just going to wash his own dishes and not his gf's dishes? =D If he does, let me know how it turns out for him 8-)
I haven't had really cheap roommates, but I have had a dirty roommate. As in she wouldn't ever, ever wash the dishes and let mold grow. So I couldn't take that because it was too disgusting. And if I specifically asked her to, she'd wash everything except for my one fork. And she never took out the trash or replaced the liner either. And one time, the trash was simply overflowing with a big old nasty pad, face-up and bloody. And another time of the month, when I walked into the bathroom to a trail of blood leading from the toilet. How could you not notice that stuff? I refused to clean up that, left her a note, and had to use the bathroom elsewhere that morning.
Does "A" feel better now that you vented for him? And tell him he's lucky he didn't deal with my dirty roommate.
Yes, B is cheap and his gf deserves him. Depending on the friendship…I would have confronted B’s ass. I am passive aggressive. So (plan B), I would have invited myself to B’s home and taken some light bulbs, back. Or just would have broken a couple where he wouldn’t have noticed (, the “B”astard.) I could be worse. I could use tp and throw it in the bathroom trash can.
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