Wanted to post a recent money saving experience that made me very happy, and invite others to share theirs.
A couple of weeks ago I lost a 9-iron on a golf course. First time I’ve ever lost a club in 35-40 years of golf. Was trying various places to get a replacement, but was unsuccessful as my clubs are 15-20 years old. Then it happened - I found one on ebay. The only problem is, they were selling a complete set of seven irons - 4 through pitching wedge. Well, I sucked it up and bought them for the buy-it-now price of $7.99!
They came yesterday and are actually in better shape than my regular set. I now have a near-complete set of spare clubs that I can wrap around trees, chuck into lakes, whatever. I find myself happier at finding such a cheap replacement than I would be with a complete new set of irons (which I could easily afford.) Just thinking about it, I find myself smiling.
I asked my wife what it said about me that such an inexpensive purchase made me so happy, and she responded, “It says you’re a cheapass Polock!”Frugal, I’ve been trying to correct her - with no success.
And that’s how you know you’re frugal, because no one ever gets complimented for being cheap.
I was smiling and bragging for nearly a week earlier this year, since I combined coupons with sales items and my grocery store receipt had that cute little line that read “total savings: 44%” on it. 44%!
I think of cheap as skimping on necessary items that one can afford, just to avoid spending money. I think of frugal as looking for a good deal so as to avoid spending money unnecessarily.
I recently bought an entire Rubbermaid tub of baby clothes at a lawn sale for $20. I got more than ten outfits for my kid out of it (the former owner was a girl, and mine’s a boy, but a lot of baby stuff is gender neutral), presents for a few women I know who are having babies, and resold some things to a friend for a dollar each. I told her she could pay if she wanted to- I didn’t set the price.
Cheap is refusing to buy something on sale that you really really want because “I might it see for a lower price later.” Cheap is refusing to go see a movie at a discount theatre with friends, or insisting you get fast food instead of going to a restaurant with a $12 all-you-can-eat buffet when having lunch with friends.
I agree with others here - the OP was frugal.
Cheap, to me, is paying the absolute minimum necessary for something, even if that means that the purchased item or service is substandard, of poor quality, or simply the effort involved in the savings cannot be rationally justified with any kind of reasonable value for time and effort expended.
Frugal is choosing the item one wants, then expending only a reasonable time and effort to find the best price for it.
Besides - if you’re cheap I find I’m usually embarrassed by the purchase or effort*. With frugal I’m proud.
*The last time I tried to be truly cheap I was at the supermarket and they’d just discounted a number of small packages of chicken breasts because the meat had been on display for a couple of days, and was now in the ‘use or freeze withing 24 hours’ period. The supermarket I usually frequent will have two prices for meats: a higher one for the small packages and a lower one the large so-called “club packs.” Sure these chicken breasts had been discounted to about 60% of pre-discount price, but I still had to ask if they could be discounted further if I had the staff combine the small packages into a large club pack.
Whenever I think of cheap vs. frugal, I can’t help thinking about my ex. When he spent a few days shopping for the best airfare, that was frugal. When he cut up the paper towels into four pieces, then hung the pieces up to dry after every use, that was cheap.
Cheap is my father yelling at us kids to turn off the lights and/or TV if we’re not in the room. Frugal is me reminding myself to turn off the lights and/or TV if I’m not in the room.
Cheap is my father threatening to ration toilet paper because we kids usually used the same amount as that TV bear cub. Frugal is me remembering to rationally use toilet paper because I sometimes use more than that TV bear cub.
Cheap is my father returning a box of moonpies (a luxury) to the store on his next visit because he meant to buy a box of saltines (a necessary ground beef stretcher). Frugal is me returning a bottle of salad dressing ($2.39) to the store on my next visit because I meant to buy the store brand ($1.99).
Cheap (and embarassing) is my father digging around in that change purse of his to count out coins down to the last penny instead of just giving the clerk some bills. Frugal (and proud) is me digging around in the side pocket of my book bag to count out coins down to the last penny instead of just giving the clerk some bills.
