Csabi
Csabi is my cousin, with whom I moved to Budapest into a rented apartment. Things Csabi did that I find incomprehensible: For four years he used my toothpaste and thought I wouldn’t notice. He took my used razor blades out of the trash and shaved with them. He used my shower gel and filled the bottle with water so I wouldn’t feel the weight.
During those four years, he bought toilet paper only twice, and even then only a four-pack of the cheapest quality. He broke the toaster—when he tried to bake some disgusting cake (?) in it—and bought a rusty used one, which he claimed was brand new.
The basin
My sister and her husband are quite well-off, but they don’t flush their bathwater; instead, they use it to flush the toilet. My friend thought their toilet was broken, but no, they enthusiastically explained that they do it because it makes them feel good to save on every toilet flush.
À la carte
At my aunt’s place for Christmas dinner, she announced that soup and dessert were free, but anyone who took from the meat dish had to pay a 1,500 HUF "holiday contribution."
The friend
My younger brother and I took our uncle to a restaurant owned by one of our friends, where we practically didn’t have to pay for drinks. My uncle ordered an appetizer, but "in a large version," so he got a huge portion. When the—very discounted—bill arrived, he freaked out because the menu listed the appetizer at only 2,000 Forints, but he was charged 3,500. We told him he got three times the usual portion, so he still got a good deal, but he started arguing with the owner, our friend. It was so embarrassing that in the end, my brother and I gave a 20,000 HUF tip and dragged the uncle away, and we never went anywhere with him again.
The wine
I stayed one night at my aunt’s, who offered me a glass of wine. Since I was tired, I only drank half. She put it in the fridge and served it again with breakfast the next day, but I didn’t touch it. In the afternoon, when I was packing, she took it out of the fridge again, but I told her I didn’t want it. Then she said it was wasteful and I owed her a bottle of wine.
The call
My cousins and I agreed that the four of us would pool money for a huge portion of fries and a pitcher of iced tea at the beach. Our fifth cousin didn’t want any, saying he wasn’t hungry or thirsty. When the food came, he ate the most fries and poured himself a large glass of tea, then when the bill arrived, he pretended he got a phone call and slipped away from the table.
Grandma
I only noticed at home that my grandmother had stolen the salt and pepper shakers from the restaurant. She said that’s what we deserved since the food was so expensive.
Pride
My older brother has a well-paying job at a software company and is extremely proud that he never buys toilet paper because, on one hand, "he always does his business at the office," and on the other hand, he steals toilet paper from there. He once also said that if he runs out of shower gel, he takes the empty bottle to work and refills it with hand soap in the bathroom. The saddest part is that he is truly proud of himself for "gaming the system" this way.
Dad
My father is the stingiest person in the world, even though he’s loaded with money. He had several successful companies from a young age and didn’t grow up in poverty, so I don’t understand how this developed in him. Once he didn’t speak to me for an entire year because I refused to pick him up from the airport at 2 a.m. His daughter was just a few months old, and I was barely sleeping anyway, plus it was a weekday and I had to get up early the next day. I told him that for the first time in his life he could take a taxi, but he didn’t; instead, he dragged himself home for two hours using airport and night buses. The old man is not normal.
No waste
At the garden party, the dog almost snatched the grilled sausage from my niece’s hand. It couldn’t take it, but everyone saw it lick it. My brother-in-law said it was no problem; the three-year-old could still eat it because we don’t throw away food.
