[Plugging Along]

I'm more frugal as I have more money. It is odd to me. I was just thinking about this over the past week. Right now I am making pickles. Pickles! (Pickled eggplant, actually; with baby eggplants from the stale-dated corner of the local Lebanese grocery store. Using a recipe from a library book.) This is not ever going to change for me.

This should NEVER change. I am better your pickles are so much better than the store bought, and I don't even think I've seen pickled eggplant.


I still clip coupons, not as much though, shop on sale, and I don't see that ever changing for me. Make my own coffees too, because spending the money on coffee at a store.

 

[kcowan]

I just scored a satellite system off Craigslist. Dish $100, PVR $400, HD receiver $100, total $600 plus tax for $200. I just can't help myself...

 

[donald]

Pa,i was ''looking" @ it in the same light as rusty.Some people who "feel" poor ie:quebec students(or educated 29 yr old's writing open letters to the globe)and crying.To the truly poor(kid's that grew up in projects,without a father ect ect)Trust me ''some" of those students HAVE no idea.Maybe i was looking @ it from a class prospective.I don't know what the op meant by "poor"?

 

[Plugging Along]

Don.- I can totally see both views. I agree with rustys view view in terms of mindset. The thing is, I know wealthy people that have a 'poor' mindset. They are not frugal either. I also know 'poor' people, those with out a lot of money whom have a very different mindset and are frugal by necessity.

 

[Toronto.gal]

The way I interpret frugality, is that one has other alternatives & options, however, when there are no other choices available, how can one be frugal?

For example, being on a budget because of necessity & even desperation, is different from being on a budget [being frugal] to live simply/not to overspend/to save, or for whatever other [conscious] reason.

People who have to count loonies/twonies/pennies [literally], can't really be frugal IMHO, rather, they are poor. If someone only has $40/week for food, but manages to spend just $37, that is not exactly what I would call being frugal.

 

[kcowan]

There was an interview with people lined up for the food bank and they were asked:
Do you have a TV or 2?
Do you have cable?
Do you have a cell phone?
In almost every case, the answer was YES.

So then he asked why they were in the line and they said: "Because we can get help for food but not these other items."

So are the poor really frugal, or, like the rest of us, they ration their $ for maximum benefit?

 

[Plugging Along]

Very interesting views on the poor. I guess I have known people who only have $40 to spend, and are literally counting their pennies and dollars, but yet still are not spending their money in the most effiecient manner.

My view are of course subjective and anedotal of course. I was volunteering in a community kitchen that was to teach people how to cook in a cost effective manner (all meals needed to be under $1.25/portion on average, over 16 meals). The group was expected to learn how to shop flyers and sales, bring in recipes for items that would be on sale, and then prepare and cook meals once a month. I did it because I thought it was interesting from a social perspective (my extrovertiveness), and wanted to see what I could learn from others in terms of being frugal.

What I found was that I was much more frugal than almost all of the people there, even though I was one of the few that was there not because I had too. Many of these people were considered below the proverty line, and yet, when chatting with them, I was amazed at their lack of frugality, even though they didn't have money to buy things. There were cell phones, much nicer ones than I had, cute little designer purses, etc. I couldn't figure out how in the world they were doing it. Some of them would get money from friends, family, govt assistance, and instead of being frugal with it, would blow it on things, and some were really severely in debt. There were some who were really trying to be responsible and learn things and keep out of debt. That's why I think that even amoung the poor, many still make choices to be not frugal when they can't afford to do so.

 

[marina628]

My husband won't get a oil change unless he has a $5 off mr. lube coupon
I make my own pickles , tomato sauce ,grilled peppers and jams every year .
We like to make gifts for our friends ,I have hand stitched xmas ornaments for every friend ,family and pet we know.
We cook in bulk and always have extra prepared meals in freezer for the nights we do not like to cook.
When my husband worked full time we spent on average $200+ a week on take out , the deal we had when he retired was he had to do more cooking to save that $200+ a week restaurant money.
We spend about 18% of our income on expenses so we do not have to be frugal and plenty of times we are not but if i see a coupon on an item we will purchase anyway I keep the coupons.
Frugal to me is being smart with your money ,cheap is when you put the value of money in front of anything else.

 

[venicemayer]

Frugality at some points has so many benefits and it's should be one thing that all of us must inherent. As we know, these days that we all face so many crisis in life it is very practical to save money and narrow down our expenses in order for us to live productively without some loans on the side. We should not live beyond what we are earning because if we do we ended up losing everything.

 

[heyjude]

Take care of the nickels and the dollars will take care of themselves.

Not certain if we are frugal, but we are careful. Value is important to us.

Well said. I think frugality is about always considering whether a product or service has value. Will it enhance your life, or not? If not, why are you buying it? For example, I recently cancelled my cable TV package when the introductory deal ended. I rarely watch TV any more, and I don't miss it one little bit. Instead of waste, I have an extra $60 a month to use in ways that matter to me.

Another concept is the life cycle cost of a product. You can buy something "cheap" but if it falls apart within a couple of weeks, you have wasted money. Better to buy a quality product that will last for years.