When Does Frugal Becomes Plain Old Cheap?

Jun 18th, 2007 by Baz L

After reading this article I sat and thought for a minute. I thought about the things that I do personally and I wondered, am I frugal or am I just a cheap bastard? I never had a lot when I was growing up, so this has taught me to appreciate the little that I have, but I to wonder sometimes, am I going to far? I mean, I’ve never had much disposable income. From primary school I got a scholarship to go to high school. This scholarship consisted of free books and $50.00 monthly transportation allowance. Luckily, my mom worked next to the school so I never had to use this on transportation. So what did I do with it? Stuck it in the bank. Yep, at ten (10) years old, I stuck money in the bank. So, I’ve grown up handling money very carefully.

Every time an issue comes up where I need to spend some money, I always find a reason to avoid it. I always have an excuse, which usually consists of something better to spend the money on. This worked a lot in my favor during college. I only went to bars rarely and only on certain days when they had $1.25 pitchers. I only went to clubs on Fridays and before 8:00PM when it was free. I only bought drinks in the club on Fridays between 8:00PM and 10:00PM when they each cost only $0.25. I went out to restaurants only on people’s birthdays. My friends would get together at 5:00 AM after a party and go to iHop; I would go home and make a sandwich.

Fast forward a few years: Now I have a good job and I can afford things. But I find myself in the same dilemma as back then. I keep thinking that the money would be better spent on my rent, on my student loan, on my car payment, insurance, groceries, gas, etc. I think you get the picture. One excuse which serves me well is that I don’t have the influence of friends in my area; I’m new and I don’t know anyone, so there’s no one to say “Let’s go to the club”. Since I find it rather difficult to get out by myself (for now) I stay home a lot. But still, I went to a club once. I rushed to get there before 9:00PM because then it was only $5.00 to get in. It seems that I am in the same mindset and that I always have an excuse. My apartment is totally empty; as in unfurnished. My excuse is that I’m never home and I never have visitors, so why would I need a couch? I’ve got my computer (with a TV Tuner so I can watch television) and that’s all I really need. I do have a few new things: The computer (but only because I sold the old one) and a digital camera (the old one broke). These two items are, of course, by no means the latest and greatest today and they’d been heavily researched prior to purchasing. And of course the car.

My question is am I taking this too far? Should I hit a bar/club once a week/month? Should I get that extra monitor I’ve been wanting for so long? Should I get a couch and a TV for the living room, which right now is just empty space? Should I get a new wardrobe? Am I missing out on life by being too frugal? Am I just a cheap bastard?

Comments and questions appreciated.

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6 Responses to “When Does Frugal Becomes Plain Old Cheap?”

on 19 Jun 2007 at 7:25 am1Clever Dude

Baz, I envy your lifestyle. I’d love to be able to trash all my stuff and start over fresh. But the lure of consumerism is tough to counteract.

I’d say to continue only purchasing what you feel you NEED, rather than what you are EXPECTED to have. If you’re comfy in a beanbag chair and sleeping on pillows, then go for it. But if you NEED a $5,000 “dream bed”, then go for that too (but try to find a coupon!)

We just have so much furniture in our house that we have no spare wall space. We (my wife) follows her parents’ (and apparently my grandmother’s) line of thinking and feels that any bare spot should have something in or on it. We have so much crap, and it’s overbearing.

Thanks for letting me rant.
on 20 Jun 2007 at 7:45 am2Jagular

I was the same way when I was first starting out. I had a bookshelf for my school books. That was it.
I used a large box full of blankets with a sheet over it for a table. I sat on the floor. Someone finally gave me a kitchen chair. Then I still sat on the floor. I had a 3 inch TV screen that originally came off a boat

Wait until you have kids though. That’s when it all really begins.
on 22 Jun 2007 at 9:03 pm3Geoff

Dude, I also envy you. Even though I like my toys I also appreciate being stripped down and not spending any money. But I have a question do you manage to save and invest money? If you have a savings or other goal you are working towards something, a positive, rather than defining yourself merely by not spending.

I don’t think you’re missing out on life by not having a lot of luxuries. Though I do think you should treat yourself occasionally. A meal out or a movie once in a while, is a real treat to be savored. But if you do it all the time like a lot of big spenders you don’t appreciate it. Similarly people who like spending money on clothes or whatever get a quick thrill out of buying it, then it will go into their closet maybe never to be worn. Maybe it’s them thats missing out on a lot of substansive good feelings that they need to do this.

Perhaps The difference between cheap and frugal perhaps is in getting value. If you really want something, have been salivating about it for ages and know you’ll use it for a long time yet won’t buy it because you don’t want to spend the money, even when you have the money for it and plenty of savings, that’s when your being thrifty to the point of being problematic. Saving to only spend money when your retired is as futile as not saving for retirement at all. You have to strike a balance that provides for some material quality of life throughout your life.
on 23 Jun 2007 at 2:49 am4Baz L

Here’s a bit of background. I just (December 2006) graduated from college and got a job. I’ve got like $30,000 in students loans (at 11% because I couldn’t get a loan up here since I’m not a citizen and as you can see, where I’m from, rates are murder). I didn’t have a car in college so I had to get one as soon as I started working. After graduation I was dead broke. I had just started piling up credit card debt. I didn’t have enough to put a down payment on a modest used car, so I had to take another loan to get more car than I really need right now. So those are my debts.

The other issue is that I foresee sometime down the line when I’ll need to get back into school. And as we’ve seen from the Dude, it’s not cheap. Those debts still have to be paid off while I’m in school with no (or very little) income.

So since my future is still some what volatile, I’m saving for the unseen.
on 12 Jul 2007 at 9:22 am5Katie Ricotta

When we all retire and are working part-time jobs and struggling for money you are going to be able to relax. I don’t see what is wrong with researching a car and trying to pay off your student loans on time. As far as going to clubs, for goodness sakes go. Yeah they aren’t always free but it is worth it in the long run and friends are fun. If you don’t need all of that material stuff then don’t buy it. You can find sofa’s at cheap prices at marked down furniture stores. I got mine for $200. It will come in handy when you have people over from all of those clubs you are going to go to. Still use coupons and go to museums on free days and get an entertainment book. But live life!
on 14 Jul 2007 at 10:55 pm6Baz L

It’s not that I don’t want to go, but I don’t have anyone to go with. So, I guess I use this as an excuse. But the couch thing is still hard. I guess I’ll need to get a TV before or at the same time as a sofa.
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Baz L
Day In The Life of Baz
http://www.LifeOfBaz.com