Is it just that one word, Cheap, is considered almost an insult but being frugal is considered okay?
I'd really like to know: what you you consider cheap and what is frugal? Are they the same?
To me, someone is cheap when he or she can EASILY afford something but skimps to the point where he hurts himself (or herself) their family or home. What good is saving money on medical care if you end up in the hospital because you don't get something checked out? As an example, a friend of mine got an allergic reaction and almost died because he didn't want to pay for 9-1-1 to come out and maybe pay an ambulance fee! I think that is insane.
To me, frugal is different. It means not wasting money, conserving energy, not buying obsessively and being practical. It does NOT mean being so concerned about every penny that you have no joy in life, unless you are unemployed and truly have to live minute to minute, wondering where that next penny will come from. But for the average person, there is a little give, even if it is very little, in the budget.
So why is frugal considered okay, even desirable, while cheap is....wrong?
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Comments: 25
Frugal is ways of saving money where it can be saved in things you don't need. For example brand name foods. Shopping frugal would be to not by brand names and use coupons or looking for sales. Typically you get the same stuff, same quality, just not that brand name.
To me cheap is when you are willing to sacrifice quality to save money. For example, you're on vacation without your "tween" child and promises to bring back something special... and when you come back you give that child a stupid looking $3.00 hat with a ridiculous long, funny looking bill.
Frugal is good
Cheap is Bad
Frugal works to a persons good and cheap works to their own undoing. You can be too cheap to get the oil changed in your car for $25, have the engine blow and end up paying $2500.
A lot of time when this happens the person has this repair bill and their car payment to match and are in a worse situation then when they started.
That is just plain stupid for someone to not want EMS to help them. I totally agree with you.
Hi Melanie,
I have not seem you lately.
When I walk in my mother's house, she still has the same things she had 30 years ago, looks dated. But she doesn't hesitate to spend money on good food and what she likes.
She doesn't buy new furniture because she went through the Depression and the attitude was Use it up before you throw it out. So if something works, she doesn't get rid of it, not even if it is avocado green and harvest gold (I think you all know what I mean, those are dated kitchen colors).
Frugal is getting the most for your money.
Some great answers.
My brother who was/is a salesman hated the words cheap, cheaper and cheapest and I suspect it was because the cheapest (least expensive) alternative yielded less of a commission.
Frugal on the other hand has never had that duality of definition. It is possible to be frugal about spending but not have cost being the determining factor in whether or not to make a purchase or spend money.
Those who are frugal are trying to save money, but would never do so at the expense of another, particularly a friend or family member.
Those who are cheap, just want to save money, no matter at whose cost. Cheap people don't pay their share and expect others to carry the burden for them.
For example, a cheap person is the one who brings rolls to a party when everyone else makes a special dish to pass. A frugal person got the ingredients for their dish to pass on sale, from their garden, used their coupons, and made the item instead of buying an already made dish.
So often cheap people have money but refuse to be generous with others.
I have no problem with the people who don't want to spend a lot of money on themselves. But I have a big problem with anyone who accepts the generosity of others but doesn't reciprocate.
Cheap is having money, spending it on foolish things and giving nothing to those in need.
Frugal is saving money and using what you have to help others - literally the shirt off your back.
I'll take frugal any day. If you're cheap, I don't want to be around you.
Cheap is not getting the quality or services you can afford because you don't want to spend the money you have.
If he had not, we would have paid his tuition because he has worked like crazy every summer to save what he could. He has not been a spendthrift. But college is expensive and we really preferred not to see him saddled with student debt if it could be avoided. We will help with room and board and he will chip in a bit, too. To me that, is making the most of what is available to reach a goal- education.
I like to think that I am frugal:)
cheap is you have the resources and means(money for example) but you refuse to use it or use as less of it as you can.
Dan Tomkins ]
this.
But seriously folks, I knew a guy who called an ambulance ($600) from a hospital across town ($500) when he broke his pinky finger, even though there were 18 people around offering to give him a ride to the clinic up the road. Stupid runs both ways. ;-P