Alexander Gifford has to be the cheapest skinflint on the planet. He chides his wife for leaving a light turned on and he reads his neighbors newspaper rather than buy his own. When his wife discovers he has bank accounts totaling $33,000 she starts spending money on herself and he decides he has to do something about it. He tries to hire a hit man, but recoils when he's told that the fee would be $500. The hit man refers him to a chemist to buy poison, but again recoils at the cost. He decides to find a low-cost way to proceed, but even when he's successful is taken aback when the doctor tells him that the funeral will likely cost at least $160. Even with that, he finds a way to avoid the costs.