Welcome to the Here’s My Story channel.
I’m Matt.
My stepdad is one of the most stingy people in the world.
I’m sure you will agree with me when I tell you some of our house rules.
When we use the bathroom at night, we’re not allowed to turn on the light.
My step dad says, “You already know where you’re going to do it.
Why do you have to see it?”
We can throw out a tea bag only after it’s been used three times.
In the winter, we can’t turn on the heater
until the temperature outside drops down to 15 °F degrees. (-10 °C)
We have to wear jackets, scarves and hats inside the house.
On the first day of each month, my step dad gives us a roll of toilet paper each.
That’s all the toilet paper we can use until the end of the month.
My mom married him dad six years ago.
That’s how long we’ve had to tolerate this guy’s stinginess.
My real dad left us.
My mom used to be a housewife.
When they got divorced, she started working at a dry cleaner’s.
We had almost no money left after paying our rent.
We were barely getting by.
My step dad, Hugh, was my mom’s boss.
His wife had cancer for a long time.
When she passed, Hugh was left alone with his young daughter.
Because he needed someone to look after his daughter, he asked my mom to marry him.
When my mom told me this, I was totally against it but she wouldn’t listen to me.
“If I don’t marry Hugh, we won’t have any money.
This marriage can save us.
Maybe you’ll even be able to go to college,” she said.
She was aware that Hugh was a frugal man
but, like me, she only figured out
how cheap he was when we all started living together.
After the wedding, my step dad took us out for dinner to celebrate.
We didn’t know him very well yet.
When we came home afterwards, he took out packs of salt and sugar and a bunch of tissues
out of his pockets.
They all had the restaurant’s logo on them.
When he realized we were staring at him, he said,
“We could’ve used all of these at the restaurant, but we didn’t.
So they are ours.
I took them so we can use them at home.”
From then on, my step dad took us out to dinner only on his daughter’s birthday.
And when he did, it was always to a fast food place.
Once, we were at a burger spot, and when he saw that it was a little pricier than he expected,
he only got us french fries.
Another time, we went to a fried chicken place.
After we ate, he asked for a to-go bag for the bones.
The next evening at dinner, he put those bones on the table.
“You left so much meat in those bones.
You didn’t do a good job scraping them off.
Come on, let’s clean these,” he said and started working on them.
That night, no one else touched those bones.
By the way, if you’re enjoying this video, please hit the like button.
And subscribe to the channel if you haven’t yet.
Thanks so much.
In my senior year of high school, my step dad said, “What are your plans for the future?
You know you’ll need to move out when you turn eighteen, right?”
I couldn’t believe my ears.
When I said, “No, sir, I didn’t know that,” he replied, “Now you know.
This is your final year of freeloading.
Soon, you’ll have to fend for yourself.”
My mom was not having it.
She said, “Matt will go to college.
If money’s the issue, he can help us out at the dry cleaner,”
to which my step dad shot back with, “Of course money is the issue, what else?
In that case, he should start working with us right now.
If he’s any good, maybe I’ll give him a chance to stay here next year.”
The next day, I went to the dry cleaners.
My mom said it would be best if I started working at the front counter.
She said that men usually brought their business suits and women brought their evening dresses.
All I had to do was take their clothes.
It was an easy gig but the down side was that I had to work next to my step dad.
He was sitting at the register, and taking the money.
I started going to work after school.
After working with my step dad for a while,
I came to understand how deep his money worship went.
Whenever a wealthy-looking man brought in his business suit,
he would get a twinkle in his eye.
After the customer would leave, he’d say, “Check the pocket,
let’s see if he’s left anything in there.”
Some people did indeed leave money in their pockets.
Then my step dad would be happy as a kid.
“Easy money.
I love it!” he would say, as he put the money in the register.
To defend himself, he’d say, “If you saw money on the street, would you pick it up
or keep walking?
Of course, you would take it.
This is no different.”
If the person who brought in their suit was middle-class, he’d look down on them and say,
"These losers either have dirty tissues or lottery tickets
They spend their lives dreaming.”
Unfortunately, he’d be right.
We would never find any money
Once we found a Powerball ticket in a jacket.
I was annoyed that my step dad was right again.
In the other pocket, there was a piece of paper.
When I opened it, I saw that it was a hospital bill.
It was for a lot of money.
I remembered the guy who dropped off the suit.
It was obvious that he didn’t have a lot of money.
I felt sad for him and thought, “Maybe the lottery was his last hope.”
The next day, when the guy showed up to take his suit back, I said to him, “I found these
in your pocket,” and gave him back his lottery ticket and hospital bill.
“My daughter is in the hospital.
I wore that jacket the last time I went to visit her.
I was really distracted that day.
I forgot to check my pockets,” he said.
“No problem.
I hope your daughter feels better soon,” I replied.
My step dad overheard our conversation.
That night at home, he said to my mom, “This kid is really naive.
I tell him, ‘Anything that comes out of those pockets is ours.’
He’s still going around, giving customers back the things we find.”
When my mom said, “Matt did the right thing” my step dad got mad.
“In that case, when the time comes, you will also leave this house along with your son.
I regret spending my money on both of you,” he said.
My mom got really upset.
She started crying.
I couldn’t sleep that night.
I didn’t have to put up with my step dad.
I promised myself I’d leave home the first chance I got and take my mom with me.
A week passed.
I came to the dry cleaners after school, as always.
When I walked in, my step dad said,
“This gentleman has been waiting for you for a while.
He says he has a present for you.”
It was the customer with the daughter in the hospital.
He said with a smile, “Well, young man, I’m about to give you a present
and you certainly deserve it.
Would you please come outside with me?”
My step dad was trying to understand what was going on.
He followed us outside.
The man made a phone call.
Shortly after, one of those armored vehicles used by banks to transfer money showed up.
Two armed guards got out.
They opened the barn doors of the vehicle.
Both my step dad and I were shocked: It was stacked full of money.
I was even more shocked when our customer pointed to the money and said, “Young man,
half of this is yours.”
“Whaaat?
Am I being pranked?”
I barely muttered.
The guy, whose name I later learned was Keith, put his hand on my shoulder.
“No, I’m serious,” he said, and started explaining.
“Remember that Powerball ticket you returned to me?
I hit the jackpot with it.
There’s eighty four million dollars in this vehicle right now.
Forty two million of it is yours.
You could’ve chosen not to give me back that ticket.
But you did.
You deserve this money because you’re an honest person.
Now, let’s go to the bank, and deposit this money.”
My step dad was shaking with excitement.
“I’m Matt’s step dad.
This money is practically mine.
He’s not eighteen yet.
He can’t have his own bank account.
You have to deposit the money into mine,” he said.
“I’ll be eighteen in four months.
Didn’t you tell me I was supposed to move out when I turned eighteen?”
My step dad pretended it was all a big misunderstanding.
“Son, you must have gotten me wrong.
I love you very much.
I was only kidding.
Of course, you’re welcome to stay as long as you want.
It’s your home,” he said, trying really hard to convince me.
Obviously, I knew none of that was true.
“I don’t think you love me at all.
The only thing you love is money,” I replied.
Keith took my side and said, “I will give the money to Matt when he turns 18.
Please leave him alone.”
Then he turned to me and said, “Matt, will you come to the bank with me?
Soon, you’ll have half of this money, anyway.”
My step dad turned red with fury, but there was absolutely nothing he could do.
We went to the bank, and then to the hospital.
Keith’s daughter had a rare, and very serious disease.
She had been in the hospital for a long time.
Keith had to sell their house and his car to be able to pay her hospital bills.
Even that wasn’t enough, so he was selling everything he could, including their clothes.
That’s why he brought his suit to the dry cleaners in the first place.
He wanted to get it cleaned so he could sell it.
Thankfully, winning the lottery solved his money problems,
and he could now afford to care for his daughter.
It’s been only a month since this happened.
Keith bought a new house; a mansion, in fact.
My mom and I moved in with him.
We will buy our own house soon but first we’re waiting to find out
which college I’ll be attending.
If I go to college in another city, maybe we can buy our house there.
By the way, my step sister Daphne is also living with us.
Her dad, that is my ex-step dad, didn’t mind her coming with us.
He comes to visit her sometimes.
“Daphne is happier with you,” he says, but I think that’s not the real reason
which college I’ll be he let her come with us.
He’s happy to have someone else take care of his daughter.
This way he can keep his money all to himself.