When Do You Go From Being Frugal to Just Being Cheap?

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When Do You Go From Being Frugal to Just Being Cheap?

Submitted by: Ray @ Tip Hero 10/01/2009 11:29 AM

When does someone crossover the line from being frugal to just being too cheap? I imagine it differs from person to person and from circumstance to circumstance. Where do you draw the line? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Comments:

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I think it starts when there is no thought to the item you are purchasing. You are just buying the product because its cheap! Although being cheap is the new way to be.

Posted by anonymous on October 01, 2009 1:12 PM

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Being frugal to me means being sensible with your resources. For instance, you may cut back to afford a gift for a loved one. It's also kind of fun to challenge yourself. I see being frugal as a positive trait, and a healthy one.

Being cheap, however, is sometimes motivated by negative emotions, such as a way to control others. Being cheap can cause pain to others, and embarrassment. It might also motivate a person to shoplift or cut corners. I think "cheap" stems from negative motivations and sometimes meanness.

Posted by anonymous on October 01, 2009 1:18 PM

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Being too cheap is when you don't get something you need ,like medicine, or holding back from your family. I have been at a store being frugal and noticed a woman with a sick kid in her arms saying she will wait to get medicine so she can find it cheaper! That is crossing the line.

Posted by anonymous on October 01, 2009 2:31 PM

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I guess I see frugal as being careful with how you spend money and looking for good deals to get the most for what you have, or effective ways to do things for less. I see cheap as being unwilling to pay a fair price for something.

An illustration: Frugality is making your own laundry detergent rather than spending large(r) amounts on buying the stuff. Being cheap is trying to get the manager to reduce the price on the detergent because there are scuff marks on the outside of the container (no other damage).

Being frugal is buying material and making a gift for someone. It's probably cheaper than buying the same thing, but it's personal and time is spent on it too! Being cheap is not buying a gift at all because "it's all too expensive".

Posted by anonymous on October 01, 2009 2:49 PM

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I had a friend who was so cheap, he actually hung up his daughters diaper on the outside line to dry, so as to reuse it, because "It was only a little wet"
WHAT!

Posted by anonymous on October 01, 2009 2:51 PM

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Cheap is going to someones house and unrolling there two ply tp so you can have tp for yourself.

Zig

Posted by Zig on October 01, 2009 2:56 PM

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Honestly..I always thought they were in the same
category, but now I'm trying to adjust to being
'frugal' so I don't look or seem 'cheap'. It's probably a mindset, but I don't see much difference in the terminology. I love Mary Hunt's "Everyday Cheapskate" Web site, but like the term Debt Proof Living better. It's been
a long road for me to learn to live frugally and
within our means and I don't want like either label (cheap or frugal), but it is what it is.
In order to survive we've cut way down on our
expenses and changed our lifestyle to do it.

Posted by anonymous on October 01, 2009 3:05 PM

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Here's an example of being cheap. My aunt told me a family story about a relative who brought back handmade sweaters from Scandinavia for her grandchildren. She brought back two; one for the three girls and one for the three boys. They were to share them. This woman had always been frugal, but as she got older she let irrational fears of not having enough money control her life. She and her husband were very comfortable in their retirement but she would skip lunch to save money. Her husband wasn't home for lunch and didn't realize she was doing this. My aunt told me this story when I was much younger, at the time I thought it was funny, now I think that it is sad that no one realized that this person needed help.

Posted by anonymous on October 01, 2009 3:08 PM

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I believe being frugal is watching how you spend your money by evaluating you and your families wants and needs. I believe being "cheap" is when someone waits to find it cheaper somewhere else (or just does not buy the item) as in the story above with the sick child. A friend of my husband's is very cheap. So cheap, I do not like spending time with him as he gets on my nerves. Once his wife needed tampons and he would not let her purchase them because he did not have a coupon. Now that is going too far!

Posted by anonymous on October 01, 2009 3:14 PM

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Being frugal is being careful with the money you spend on yourself and on your family.

Being cheap is withholding gifts, etc. from the extended family and from society.

Posted by anonymous on October 01, 2009 3:22 PM

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Frugal is when you actively control your money to live a more enjoyable life.

Cheap is when your money controls and inhibits your life.

Posted by Michele on October 01, 2009 3:32 PM

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Being frugal is a state of being and being cheap is a state of mind.The two are similar and cross paths often.When one endorses being frugal it is a very pleasant thing.A frugal person would pick out a gift that was very nice but cost a lot less than regular price.A cheap person would pick out a gift that was mostly useless and cost very little OR NOT do any gifting at all!I know people that would come to a birthday party,enjoy the games,eat the food and have fun but not bring the birthday person a gift.That's CHEAP!Then there's the person who made the gift,wraped it in newspaper that even had a newspaper bow on top.That person is thoughtful and frugal.Then there's the guy that put his can of soup on the pilot light to warm during the day so he didn't have to turn on the stove.When he died they found $20,000.00 in his house but he had no friends or family.That's cheap and very sad.

Posted by Gale Osborn on October 01, 2009 3:39 PM

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As a teenager, I was a waitress. A couple used to come in once a week or so and order a tuna sandwich and a cup of coffee. He ate the bread and she ate the tuna. She had the first cup of coffee and he drank the refill. That's cheap and they were wealthy. Another couple got caught going into the grocery store next door and picking up one roll at the bakery and a quarter pound of roast beef from the deli. They then went to the detergent aisle and made a sandwich to split and walked out with nothing to pay for. That's criminal. Those two couples have always reminded me to be careful with my money but people's reactions to those stories has kept me realistic. Frugal is balancing everything in your life: your time, your money, your family and friends. It takes a little longer to buy raw ingredients and cook but it is generally less expensive in the long run. As long as you have the time and don't mind the effort, that's frugal.

Posted by Carol Ann on October 01, 2009 7:49 PM

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Being frugal is spending your money wisely on things you need or want, like shopping sales and clipping coupons to cut down your grocery bill. Frugal people see the big picture and find ways to get the things they want even on a limited income. Being cheap is being stingy with your money, even if you have a lot of it. Some wealthy people just like to keep their money in the bank even if it could do more good for them or someone else if it was put to use in other ways.

Posted by bestmommy on October 01, 2009 10:30 PM

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Frugal affects yourself; cheap affects others.

Posted by Jennifer on October 02, 2009 6:54 AM

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I think when you risk health and/or safety you have crossed the line.

Posted by Sally Payne on October 02, 2009 11:33 AM

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Frugal becomes cheap when it makes life difficult for someone else.

Posted by Anna on October 02, 2009 5:52 PM

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My husband's favorite example of being cheap.

Once, while I was still living at home my mother wanted to treat us all to McDonald's. She went into my bedroom and asked me what I wanted, I told her "a cheese burger and a fruit and yogurt parfait" I worked at MD's at the time, and I knew that the total would be $2.14.

She left, then I heard low whispering in the hall, she was talking to her boy friend. Suddenly I heard him yell "I WANT HER TO GET LESS SO THAT I CAN GET MORE!"

As it was explained to me later, he told her that I wanted too much stuff and it would be too expensive to get something for every one. He wanted her to just get him a meal and nothing for every one else.

Now every time we joke about being a cheapskate we always repeat that line, or some variation of it.

Being frugal to me is properly managing your resources. Time, people, personal energy and money are all resources.

Posted by anonymous on October 02, 2009 7:02 PM

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I believe being frugal is being able to trade time and effort for monetary savings. Spending family time at home playing games, cooking together, making homemade costumes, holiday decorations, but most of all memories. Being frugal will bring a family closer. Being cheap will make a family miserable. It can risk the physical health and mental well being of the entire family.

Posted by anonymous on October 03, 2009 2:29 AM

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I think you can be too cheap when you are just thinking about yourself, and not about others. They break the golden rule. Being frugal means you are trying to do the best for others and are able to save money so that you can help them.

Posted by anonymous on October 03, 2009 10:41 AM

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My ex husbands father always bought no name items in the black and white packaging, he kept his thermostat low and used extra blankets. That was FRUGAL. He dried out used kleenex for a second use and only allowed two squares of toilet paper per bathroom visit. That was CHEAP!

Posted by anonymous on October 03, 2009 5:36 PM

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I like what Suze Orman always says at the end of her show: "People first, then money, then things." Being cheap is putting money before people.

Posted by ediehardy on October 04, 2009 11:06 PM

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The word Cheap is used various ways. When we find a bargain on something we need, that is less than the usual price, we can say it was cheap.
Some people purchase items they don't really need because they might be unusually cheap, and then end up storing it and then tossing it a year or two later if they have not given it to someone else. They are not cheap, nor frugal.

If someone refuses to buy something they don't need, they can think themselves frugal, but the person selling the item can call them cheap.
Is refusing to pay inflated prices for substandard merchandise being cheap or frugal?

Posted by anonymous on October 05, 2009 10:12 PM

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I've noticed that buying cheap sometimes is buying junk. I once washed a whole load of oily rags to save from buying more, but it was more trouble than it was worth. You can use old clothes for rags.

If you grow a garden you'll save a huge amount and will be eating less junk. If you learn to make your own clothes you will save big time. You could probably make a pair of jeans for $2. T shirts for 50 cents.

Women have gone out to work, but in many cases they could have been another dependent and they can do a lot at home. Years ago women grew gardens and gathered the eggs and made clothes. So today they just clean the house and they don't have anything to do. No wonder they have quit doing the things they did years ago. I mean sure they run out of things to do.

Women can make food items to sell on the Internet. They can babysit other children for a profit. I mean if you are known you could babysit 6 small children and leave the government out of the process.

Posted by anonymous on October 15, 2009 2:19 PM

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