When I was in college I was cheap. There were things I wouldn’t buy that would end up costing me in the long-run. I bought a cheap laptop that was heavy and continued to give me problems for years. I didn’t sign up for a gym membership because I wanted to save money and I developed back problems that could have been avoided.
I was also frugal though. I didn’t ever buy textbooks brand new and if I could borrow one from a friend or check it out of the library I wouldn’t purchase it at all. I didn’t bring a car to school to cut down on expenses. I rarely ate outside of the cafeteria, and when I did it was at a five or ten dollar place. I worked hard to find college scholarships to help pay for school.
After college I began to realize the difference between being frugal and being cheap. There is a thin line between the two. For yourself and others close to you, it is important that you make the distinction extremely clear in your mind and choose to avoid making “cheap” decisions.
Are you living a frugal life and being a cheapskate?
What’s the Difference between Being Frugal & Being Cheap?
Frugal: Going to eat a restaurant during Happy Hour.
Cheap: Not tipping at a restaurant for service.
Frugal: Buying a used, low maintenance car like a Toyota Camry and doing scheduled maintenance.
Cheap: Buying a beater for < $1,000, never getting anything fixed, and driving it into the ground.
Frugal: Doing research on travel plans for deals on hotels and transportation.
Cheap: Staying in an unsafe area or walking through a sketchy part of a city to save a few bucks.
Frugal: Renting a movie and having a bunch of friends over to watch it.
Cheap: Sneaking into a movie theater.
When you are acting in a cheap way, your actions can hurt others. In the cheap examples above, you are stealing from others or are putting other people in danger.
When you are acting in a frugal manner, you are just being a cost conscious consumer and saving your money to use for something else you value you more.
My Challenge to You
The world needs less “cheap” people. This change will only happen one person at a time, so I have a challenge for you.
- This week, when you make a decision that is in any way related to money, decide whether or not you are being frugal or being cheap.
You will be able to tell the difference in your gut. If you not sure, ask a close friend and they will know.
It isn’t easy to live a life void of all potentially “cheap” decisions. I struggle with it myself and have hurt people by making the wrong decision a few times. There is always progress to be made on this though.
So, are you frugal or are you cheap? I’d love to hear some examples from you in the comments below about what the difference is in your mind.
(image via waitscm on Flickr CC 2.0)
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
I totally hear ya on the distinction here. I feel like there are a lot of cheap people on the internet now that expect everything to be free. I think that’s definitely being cheap, and it often leads to crappier products, information, and services available, too.
I agree Jeffrey. Part of the reason I haven’t made a paid product or service available yet is because I want to make something of extreme value if I am going to charge for it.
Most of the time, I’m frugal (when I’m being financially responsible), versus cheap, but I had to kick myself for a recent incidence of cheap-ness…
When my husband and I first bought our house a year ago, we noticed that the bathtub in the 2nd floor bathroom leaked into the kitchen ceiling below when the tub was filled past the overflow gasket. So instead of hiring the damn plumber to fix it in the first place (fixing it ourselves wasn’t an option due to the previous homeowners poor DIY plumbing attempts…), we spent a year trying not to fill the bathtub that high or splash water on that side of the tub.
Total cost to repair the plumbing - under $100. But since we waited a year to get it fixed, we’re going to have to replace part of the kitchen ceiling as well, since despite our efforts, water still managed to leak through and bubble out the drywall and paint.
Can’t win ‘em all, I guess…
This is similar to something I just did, but had a better outcome it sounds like.
I have put almost 60,000 miles on my car since I bought it at 70,000 miles 3.5 years ago. I just took it in for the 120k miles check-up about 9k miles late… Anyway, I had to get quite a few things fixed and a new set off tires, but nothing major happen. It costed four figures, but in the long run it was the better investment I think.
Thanks for sharing Sarah! Home ownership definitely has its ups and downs!
I’m a petite bourgeoise, I frown upon cheap people. And oh, those on the internet! I work in the web myself, as an SEO I come across a lot of them expecting their websites to rank highly for 100 dollars. So I frown even more and reject such views majestically.
I suppose I am frugal, but only by necessity, so I don’t particularly like it either.
Anyway, who would really admit they’re cheap?! They’ll say they’re cost conscious consumers too.
Haha! Good point. It might be hard to find someone that would say they are “cheap” in public.
That was an awesome post Caleb.
I thought I was just being cheap as my wife would say but apparently there are even lower cheapness qualities I could take on.
Here’s to being frugal!
Bryce
Absolutely! Even if you are rich, you can be frugal. I learned that reading about Warren Buffett and in the book The Millionaire Next Door.
Cheap is not in a Budgetista’s vocabulary
I think that it’s best to look for high quality items with a low price tag instead of going for the “cheap” product or service.
And you’re right, a lot of the “cheap” things you mentioned are both illegal and they hurt other people. One thing that comes to mind is counterfeit purses. They are cheap and people buy them wanting to look fashionable and they don’t think there’s harm in it, but fake bags do hurt people. The products are usually created by sweatshop child labor and the profits often times go to drug or terrorist organizations - none of those things are practices I wish to promote.
Frugal is sexy, cheap is not.
“Frugal is sexy, cheap is not.” I like it!
And you make a great point about the knockoff products that are made in sub-par conditions around the world. They don’t usually help anyone.
My mother taught me to to buy one good thing rather than three poorly made things. My father taught me to fix it right the first time, even if you can’t do it yourself, and live happily ever. I spend more on an individual article of clothing or on a home repair than my friends, but my purchases/repairs last a whole lot longer. My newer, well-maintained car is frequently called into service to rescue stranded friends. A co-worker solved her clothing budget by always wearing black, but that is silly. I say, buy one really good foundation piece, and fill in with vintage and thrift store finds. Somehow this all became unfashionable in the 80s and 90s, but I never understood that consumer culture. I feel badly for younger folks that were not raised by a generation that went through the Great Depression, as I was.
Um, this oldie is going to quiet down now!
There is a lot of great advice in what you just said.
Until I understood the difference between being frugal and being cheap I wouldn’t make decisions based on the long-term cost, just the short term.
Thanks for sharing!
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