We're not saying cheap, don't put words in our mouth. 

At one stage or another, we've all had to scrimp and save, and it seems that experience has given us a good idea of how to cut our cloth to meet our needs. A new survey has revealed that we consider ourselves to be a thrifty nation, with 47% claiming that they're "bargain-hunters", while just one in 20 said that they were "overly generous".

The reasons that people love a bargain appear to be fairly diverse too, with 25% saying they love the thrill of getting something for nothing, while 31% said they were just broke and 20% said they felt guilty when they overspent on things. Those hailing from Cavan will be disappointed to learn that they’re considered the most frugal county (20%) followed closely by Dublin (15%) and then Cork (7%).

The survey also showed that around 10% of people don't tip waiters in an effort to save money, while a similar number have taken to cutting their own hair in order to pocket a few quid they would normally spend elsewhere. More popular money-saving techniques included waiting for the shops to have their sales to splurge (71%), stealing toiletries and biscuits from hotel rooms to take them home (67%) or collecting money off coupons (66%).

The touchy and awkward topic of lending money to friends and colleagues was also covered, and 20% of Irish people said they would pursue their friend for €5 they were owed. 33% would chase their friend for €10 - €15 euro, while women are either more generous than the opposite sex, or just keen to avoid the awkwardness of asking for money back with over half (56%) choosing to forget about loaned money altogether. In comparison, only 39% of men said that they'd consider letting their mates off the hook.

If you're headed out on a first date soon, then you might be interested to know that the age old debate over who should pay has more or less been settled too. While 60% of men think they should be the ones to pay for the first day, a whopping 71% of women say that the bill should be split equally. 36% of men believed they should continue paying for subsequent dates, but an overwhelming 96% of women saying the bill should be split. 

The survey looked at 298 people between the ages of 18-70 for the folks at HB, who released the news that their famous Cornetto ice creams are now just €1, which is good news if you fancy a treat and you're still waiting on pay day...