Why are Irish people so stingy?

JimToken

Money is nothing in relevance to children and love and beauty

Rodney Bathgate

My mate Sid is as tight as a gnats chuff.

Hibernia93

People from Donegal in my experience seem to be the tightess

Feisar

The stingiest I ever came across was two Italians I shared a house with. When the electricity bill came in they reckoned they should only pay half share as they didn't have laptops. I was in the house Monday evening to Friday morning so basically there half the week and my laptop was fully charged coming home from work.

Dr. Bre

I hear they still have their communion money in Cavan

PsychoPete

Probably because the Brits tried to steal so much from us

Spanish Eyes

No one will ever out do the English for being tight as ducks arzes. They revel in it
And have no shame.

Rodney Bathgate

Hibernia93 wrote: »

People from Donegal in my experience seem to be the tightess

Cavan

An Ri rua

Would love to tell you op but no way I'm wasting the time, electricity, word count. I mean, I've given you a post dammit....

whisky_galore

JimToken wrote: »

Money is nothing in relevance to children and love and beauty

Money takes the sting out of being poor.

Greyfox

JimToken wrote: »

Money is nothing in relevance to children and love and beauty

You'll need to elaborate otherwise this is a very silly post. Oh and Irish people are not stingy, you might be hanging around with the wrong people

Dr. Bre

JimToken wrote: »

Money is nothing in relevance to children and love and beauty

Lay of the weed

Skeetur

I'm not stingy. Stop spreading rumors about me.

uch

If you buy me some cake I'll tell you, if you don't you're stingy too

jmlad2020

Hibernia93 wrote: »

People from Donegal in my experience seem to be the tightess

Probably partly because they are the poorest of all counties.. due to 100 years of post independence neglect by the Government.

uch

jmlad2020 wrote: »

Probably partly because they are the poorest of all counties.. due to 100 years of post independence neglect by the Government.

And nearly the furthest from Dublin

JupiterKid

I wouldn’t find us Irish to be all that stingy, in general, at all.

If anything, we can be seriously spendthrift at times and be rather lackadaisical in saving and budgeting carefully. Us Irish are also one of the most generous in terms of personal donations to charitable causes.

I can think of many other nationalities - the Scottish, Dutch and French come to mind here - who are a lot more tight with money.

Leg End Reject

JupiterKid wrote: »

I wouldn’t find us Irish to be all that stingy, in general, at all.

If anything, we can be seriously spendthrift at times and be rather lackadaisical in saving and budgeting carefully. Us Irish are also one of the most generous in terms of personal donations to charitable causes.

I can think of many other nationalities - the Scottish, Dutch and French come to mind here - who are a lot more tight with money.

I'd agree with this, we're like Mrs. Doyle fighting with her friend in the cafe to ensure we're the one to pay.

Yeah, you'll get the odd stinge, but in general, we like to show we have money. Even when we don't, Celtic Tiger anyone?

Surreptitious

Stinginess is a characteristic of a person therefore generalising a whole country with it is nonsense.

AllForIt

I'm not stingy, I spend loadsa money on myself.

Church on Tuesday

jmlad2020 wrote: »

Probably partly because they are the poorest of all counties.. due to 100 years of post independence neglect by the Government.

Yes, but there's a ton of money around Killybegs.

Strumms

The only section of Irish people where I have encountered stinginess with any regularity is in the business community, ‘some’ in the business community that is.

I think most of the regular joe soaps here are very generous with time, finances and expertise as well as help, especially when compared to some other nationalities.

Andrewf20

Ireland ranked 5th in the world for generosity:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Giving_Index

Also bees. Irish people and bees, so goddamn stingy.

NSAman

Rodney Bathgate wrote: »

My mate Sid is as tight as a gnats chuff.

Use more lube, it will be more pleasurable for you both.

440Hertz

They're not stingy at all by any survey or analysis. Ireland is extremely price insensitive to the point it's worrying as - culturally we seem to hate to be seen to be mean.

We also donate more money to charity per capita than any other country in Europe, 3rd highest in the world.

Jim2007

jmlad2020 wrote: »

Probably partly because they are the poorest of all counties.. due to 100 years of post independence neglect by the Government.

A poor country, with a positive balance of trade for over 30, that reduced it’s debt per capita for 124% to 58% over the last decade and who’s GDP per capita is 40% higher than the UK...

Oh and a country who is ranked third highest in terms of compensation during the current crisis.

People can continue to play the “Ah poor me” game as long as they want but by any measure it a wealth country. Who the wealth is distributed and spent is another matter.

440Hertz

We actually operate one of the most progressive tax and welfare systems in Europe to iron out an underlying income inequality

https://www.esri.ie/news/irish-tax-system-does-most-in-europe-to-reduce-inequality

Kylta

Irish people aren't stingy in general. Most people are generous, when they have it. but you'll always get miserable tight arses everywhere in all countries

Rodney Bathgate

We’re too generous for our own good. Borrowing money in the last recession to send to Africa to be spent on weaponry and lavish lifestyles for African dictators.

wally79

Jim2007 wrote: »

A poor country, with a positive balance of trade for over 30, that reduced it’s debt per capita for 124% to 58% over the last decade and who’s GDP per capita is 40% higher than the UK...

Oh and a country who is ranked third highest in terms of compensation during the current crisis.

People can continue to play the “Ah poor me” game as long as they want but by any measure it a wealth country. Who the wealth is distributed and spent is another matter.

He said county not country

Seamai

If anything I think we can be a bit too generous and foolish at times. I've travelled enough to see what real meanness is. The tightest race I've ever come across are the Dutch.

whisky_galore

Rodney Bathgate wrote: »

We’re too generous for our own good. Borrowing money in the last recession to send to Africa to be spent on weaponry and lavish lifestyles for African dictators.

We're great at spending money we don't have, at national and personal level.

Montage of Feck

We are a bazillion euros in debt! More spendthrift than stingy.

Thelonious Monk

I don't think we are at all. Our Celtic cousins in Scotland are famous for it though. I lived there for a while and definitely noticed it, my Scottish flatmate, who was related to Ian Paisley somehow, would follow up on 2 or 3 pound that I might owe for something with vigilance. Sir Sean Connery was famous for fighting over every last dollar when it came to contracts with movie studios, and I suppose why wouldn't he. I saw an interview where Terry Wogan even brings it up with him. I think it comes hand in hand with dour Presbyterianism.

CageWager

Some people in Ireland are very quick to call you “stingy” if you aren’t up at the bar playing the billy big bollox routine buying rounds of pints on your credit card.

completedit

The whole thing about being stingy always seemed so juvenile to me. People have financial commitments and their own house to look after, if not acting like Billy Bollox at the bar like the above poster said makes someone stingy, then yeah. that makes me stingy. I might do it once every so often, if am in a good place financially and the situation calls for it, but we also live in a culture where 120 euro on a night out is normal.

Strumms

Stingebags.... it’s not just money, it’s lacking in other areas of basic manners, selflessness and exuding selfishness.

I worked with a fella, about 50ish... he had about 3 kids ranging from about 11 to 17.

Hed bemoan and criticize with gusto anyone who wouldn’t or couldn’t be flexible enough to swap or cover a shift with him so he could get the evening off work to go see his daughters ballet, sons musical recital...he was always on for looking for swaps as opposed to using his holiday entitlement. Which was weird. And countless favors every other month, but if you ever needed a dig out or favor...forget it.

ask HIM to be 1% flexible about anything he'd look at you like you had about 27 heads. He asked me when flying back from holiday at about 11.30 pm on a Sunday night if I could or would cover a Monday shift the following day... I’d already booked it off he WhatsApp’d me as I was having pints in the airport, I just blocked him on WhatsApp, fück that shît...over the years he did nada for anybody... he soon fell out of favor with both colleagues and managers, hand always out for a dig out... kids doing A, B and C but making you a tea would be the only exertion he’d make.... “ there you are two sugars isn’t it ?”.. “ as it’s been everyday for the last four years Colm you twat “ but you STILL say it.

topper75

Colm haunts your mind a little, doesn't he?

JimToken

Surreptitious wrote: »

Stinginess is a characteristic of a person therefore generalising a whole country with it is nonsense.

TYFPOTO

topper75

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

... my Scottish flatmate, who was related to Ian Paisley somehow, ...

Sounds like a game of wind up the Irish lad.

Paisley's 'people' left Scotland a few centuries back. I'd probably have as much luck tracing my 'relatives' living today on the Pontic-Caspian steppe.

jmlad2020

440Hertz wrote: »

They're not stingy at all by any survey or analysis. Ireland is extremely price insensitive to the point it's worrying as - culturally we seem to hate to be seen to be mean.

We also donate more money to charity per capita than any other country in Europe, 3rd highest in the world.

Ireland Inc. donate money to charity. Not the people.

Do you Donate to charity?

jojofizzio

The Irish are probably the least stingy people I know(having lived in the US,Australia,NZ and a handful of European countries)

donegal_man

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

...I think it comes hand in hand with dour Presbyterianism.

Every country has it's ahem, thrifty people. We characterise the Scots who in turn characterise the people of Aberdeen.
In relation to the quoted post, my late uncle who was very aware of the value of a farthing always made sure to buy his round in the pub in case anyone would think he was, "A tight Scotch Presbyterian".
Personal experience, South Africans. Shared a house with two back years ago and they used to sit in the dark with the heat off as each room had a separate coin-op meter.

partyguinness

You think the Irish are stingy? You have seen nothing until you have lived among the English.

I had experiences with the Englsh through work when I was in Ireland and saw a few glimpses of how mean they can be but Jesus now I have lived here 10 years mother of God....

Thay would start WWIII over a £5.00 and have 20 minute arguments over pennnies. I will never forget the guy selling a warehouse for £3.5m (no mortgage) and got into an arugment with the buyer over £19.20 at the very end.

Now I can think of plenty of mean Irish people and I am not just saying this but the Irish are the least mean people you will meet.

Jim2007

Montage of Feck wrote: »

We are a bazillion euros in debt! More spendthrift than stingy.

Not true at all. Between 2007 and the beginning of the year Irish National debt fell from 124% to 58%, we’re a net exporter for decades and have a GDP per capita about 40% higher that the UK. While nobody was looking we joined the Germanic nations of Europe in terms of economic profile.

PTH2009

partyguinness wrote: »

You think the Irish are stingy? You have seen nothing until you have lived among the English.

I had experiences with the Englsh through work when I was in Ireland and saw a few glimpses of how mean they can be but Jesus now I have lived here 10 years mother of God....

Thay would start WWIII over a £5.00 and have 20 minute arguments over pennnies. I will never forget the guy selling a warehouse for £3.5m (no mortgage) and got into an arugment with the buyer over £19.20 at the very end.

Now I can think of plenty of mean Irish people and I am not just saying this but the Irish are the least mean people you will meet.

Suppose you get stinge bags in all nationalities

The Indians can be a very stingy lot in regards money

Strumms

With the the English it’s more conservatism than stinginess.

Also the south of England is an expensive place. Seriously so. Cost of living is high yet compared to here, wages are VERY average.

An old work colleague told me he was on xx thousand per year, working just outside London, I was getting about 3400 euros more than he was and had a slightly handier number, neither of us believed it. But it be true.

Markcheese

Jim2007 wrote: »

Not true at all. Between 2007 and the beginning of the year Irish National debt fell from 124% to 58%, we’re a net exporter for decades and have a GDP per capita about 40% higher that the UK. While nobody was looking we joined the Germanic nations of Europe in terms of economic profile.

You do know that GDP is as relavent to the Irish economy as fairy dust !!! So our national debt falling from 124% of gdp to 58% of GDP is pretty meaningless , the debt didn't actually fall ,The GDP rocketed , but while the economy improved , it didn't rocket ..
So when ever you hear any one say Ireland spends the lowest amount in Europe or the world on X as a percentage of GDP , stop listening ...

dd973

Ever met the Dutch OP?

gozunda

dd973 wrote: »

Ever met the Dutch OP?

You know how copper wire was invented?