The difference between rats and stingy people

It has always seemed unfair to me to confuse a cheapskate with a rat. They are completely different categories.The miser has every right in the world to spend little. The money is theirs. If they want to buy a second-hand car, wear the same coat for twenty years, or ask for tap water at a restaurant, they are perfectly free to do so. Their austerity is paid for by them, and no one has any reason to reproach them for it.The cheapskate plays a different sport. His specialty consists of managing to have the expense that corresponds to him end up coming out of the money of those around him. He is an expert at shifting small costs onto others. He is not a swindler or a liar; he is someone who, simply, manages to make it you who ends up paying a part of what corresponds to him.The penny-pincher saves their own money without harming anyone. The cheapskate saves with other people's money.We all know one. There is that person who, after ordering the most expensive wine, the steak, and dessert, suggests splitting the bill because "it's much easier that way." On the other hand, the day they only order a salad and a mineral water, they propose dividing the bill based on what each person consumed.But there are bolder ones. After splitting the bill, he discreetly collects the receipt before anyone can react. He approaches the bar and asks for an invoice in his company's name. In other words, he gets his friends to pay for part of his meal and, furthermore, he deducts it. If he manages to deduct the expense, from three diners onwards, the cheapskate is already making money from the lunch. It's not bad at all.My best friend told me that he used to have lunch once a year with an old university classmate. When they brought the bill, my friend, even though he knew he had already paid the previous year, would politely reach for his wallet. Then the other would say to him: "Are you paying this year?" "Yes, this one and the last one," he would always think to himself. And, out of politeness, he would keep quiet and pay. In the end, he decided not to call him to go to lunch again.We all understand that a friend might go through a bad patch and not be able to pay. What is hard to accept is discovering that someone is turning friendship into a permanent funding model.The cheapskate is also the one who calls you to have you review a contract "because you know about these things," the one who asks you to introduce them to a client even if it could affect your own business, the one who needs you to dedicate an afternoon to them because "it costs you nothing," but who, when you are the one who needs a favor, is usually very busy.The stingy person does not consider themselves stingy. They define themselves as a practical person who knows how to take advantage of opportunities.I have already said it: the miser protects his own money; the rat makes business with yours.