Are you cheap, frugal or thrifty??

elliemom

elliemom

Cathlete
I have always been frugal or thrifty with money. I am always amazed when I see people spending money "like it's growing on trees". :eek:
A few examples. I have 2 little boys (4 and 7) who grow every single day of the week. I swear to God, what fit them yesterday is too small today!! :eek:
So even though DH and I are financially secure, I still buy them clothes and shoes and jackets at K mart or Walmart or Target. When I get a Lands End catalog for kids I throw it in the trash. $39.00 for snow boots that they will wear twice this winter. NO!!! $60.00 for a jacket for a 4 year old who will never wear it again after January!! NO!!!

People laugh that I shop yard sales and Goodwill, but come on. I got the little tykes slide for $2 at a yard sale and it was $40.00 in Toys r Us. Their little butts only fit in it for a very short time.

I love to read, so I use the library. I love to be toasty warm at night but not have the heat set to 75 so I bought the microwavable hot packs and I tuck one in with everyone at night.

Does anyone else live frugally and do you have any ideas to share. I still have plenty to share but this is getting a little long, so add your tips please

elliemom :D
 
I would say I am frugal with some things and not others. My boys are 13 & 15 so we are past that growing out of stuff as quickly stage. Example for shoes I will spend more because they last longer & I believe you get what you pay for. Quality. However some items at the grocery store I buy generic. I usually clothes shop for the boys at JCP but they ALWAYS have a sale. Not on sale, don't buy it.
I think you find that the people who "have money" are the ones who do pinch here & there. HHHMMM maybe there's something to that....
 
I am the same -- all of my son's clothes come from Target, Kohls, and the like. Mine too -- I REFUSE to pay more than $20 for something for myself. I KNOW I can get cute stuff that will last for $20 or less. :D
 
My short answer to your question.....CHEAP! :)

And I'm not ashamed to admit it. It's amazing what you CAN do with very little money when you HAVE to!

Here's to the frugal cheapness is us all!

Gayle
 
Frugal and/or Thrifty

elliemom said:
I have always been frugal or thrifty with money. I am always amazed when I see people spending money "like it's growing on trees". :eek:
A few examples. I have 2 little boys (4 and 7) who grow every single day of the week. I swear to God, what fit them yesterday is too small today!! :eek:
So even though DH and I are financially secure, I still buy them clothes and shoes and jackets at K mart or Walmart or Target. When I get a Lands End catalog for kids I throw it in the trash. $39.00 for snow boots that they will wear twice this winter. NO!!! $60.00 for a jacket for a 4 year old who will never wear it again after January!! NO!!!

People laugh that I shop yard sales and Goodwill, but come on. I got the little tykes slide for $2 at a yard sale and it was $40.00 in Toys r Us. Their little butts only fit in it for a very short time.

I love to read, so I use the library. I love to be toasty warm at night but not have the heat set to 75 so I bought the microwavable hot packs and I tuck one in with everyone at night.

Does anyone else live frugally and do you have any ideas to share. I still have plenty to share but this is getting a little long, so add your tips please

elliemom :D
Click to expand...

Frugal and/or thrifty because I've always had to live on not much $$. I don't have any debts to speak of, buy clothes at thrift shops or at extreme sales, drive a paid-for used car, etc. It's nice not to have debt.
 
Don't feel rained on, I am the same way. I went to garage sale last week and found Andrew a Eason bat for 1.00 and UnderArmor cleats for 50 cents. My momma had a sayin', "never buy retail until it goes on sale." I have found great bargains at Goodwill and local thrift shop. Even new items with tags still on them.

I always get the store brand of food when possible, unless it is a better deal with coupon. I can stretch meals, etc. It is not so much about being thrifty, cheap, frugal, for me it is common sense.
 
i don't know what one would call it but i am always and has been a penny pincher. my mom was a single mom with 4 for a long time and thift stores and hand me downs were the thing. sure i hated it growing up but now that i am older and doing things on my own i know what she was going through. actually when i was 14 and got a job and started to use my own money i understood why things had to be cut.

i shop wal-mart and not ashamed to say i shop goodwill for myself. i had to buy work pant and wound up spending $47 b/c of other cool items there i liked and 3.50 for a pair of jeans is a bargain and a half if you ask me. i am also like the dad who would never run the a/c in the dead of summer LOL. i just think a penny saved is a penny earned or at least a penny that can go towards the grocery bill the way things are.

and speaking of groceries. i am a store brand person. oh sure if name brand is on sale at a decent price i will buy it but if its not store brand it is. i resorted to buying chicken thighs and quarter instead of breast and when i do buy chicken breast its the bone/skin in and i cut it all out myself and save about $7 a package doing so. i shop discount stores(great amish store that takes overstocks and dented good and sells them dirt cheap) and a few things i buy in bulk b/c its way cheaper if i happen to use a lot of it. i even resorted to crushing my own corn flakes for corn flake crumbs instead of buying the pre-ready box for $4 i get a huge 2lb bag for $3. (i use these in place of bread crumbs it just tastes way better)

now if only i can get dh on some of these little tips of mine LOL.

kassia
 
I'm married to a miser. For the first time ever, I thanked him for it last night. All these years he's held a tight rein on all of our finances, paying down all debt, never carrying a credit card balance, cheaping out on all Christmas/birthday/anniversary gifts. I don't think I'd be able to sleep during this "economic blip" if we were deep in debt. Although, if this bailout gets approved, we will be.

So in answer to the original post, I'd be categorized as frugal by force.
 
I'm frugal too. I do like to buy quality things that will last but I rarely buy anything that's not on sale. I also stock up on things that I know I will need that are on sale. There was a time last year when my grocery store had a clearance on toilet paper (think it was mis-marked) and I left with a cart FULL of it!:eek: I'm sure the cashiers were thinking I had some type of problem going on.:confused:

No matter how much money I have, I will never buy a new car. In fact my son asked me last night if I won a million dollars what would I do different. I honestly don't think I would do anything different. DH and I have saved $$$ and we get so much more satisfaction knowing it's there if we need it than to spend it. It's such a secure feeling, especially in these scarey economic times.

We have not gotten stuck in the "buy it now and figure out how to pay for it later" rut. It seems like that is the American way. I think this mentality has gotten us in the trouble we are in. For us, the only things we were willing to go into debt for was our house and education. For everything else, if we couldn't pay cash for it....we didn't buy it.

I am also not wasteful, which is why I also look for quality in the items I buy. I get every use out of every product I have, which is why I have a wardrobe that is several years old. It's hard not to be a pack rat when I'm trying to use everything to it's full extent, but I do have yearly garage sales so at least someone will get use out of something when I decide to give up on it. Anything that doesn't sell goes to the Salvation Army.

One thing that can save lots o' dough is to get quotes on insurance at least annually. It's a chore that people do not want to tackle, but the time you take to do it will pay off big! Even if you find a cheaper rate somewhere else, you can negotiate with your current company and see if they will match the rate you got from another company so that you don't have to switch companies. Of coarse, make sure you deal with only quality insurance companies that won't leave you out to dry if something happens.

Organization is also key if you want to keep your $$$ in your pocket. Go thru every bill with a fine tooth comb. Make lists of sale items and go stock up! Price check large items at several stores and online so you don't overpay for something. Know what you need and what you don't need, so you're not wasting money on things you don't need. Cut the clutter so it will be easy for you to stay on top of things. Organization can be applied to every area of finance.

Oh how I love a good bargain!!

Angie
 
I grew up on a fireman's salary, which was enough, but bugdeting was necessary.

I met my husband right as he was heading into medical school, and for the first 11 years of our marriage, money was tight. Everyone assumed he was rolling in dough (as if med students are handed a big fat check along with their diploma :rolleyes: ), which made things worse. We were teased by ignorant friends and relatives who called us "cheap a**es" and challenged as to why we were stashing away all of our money. Little did they know our combined salaries barely got the bills and rent paid, residents and fellows make crappy money, and we had a mountain of debt thanks to school loans.

Anywho, I learned to respect the making and spending of money early on, and those habits have stayed with me. We keep a monthly expense sheet, we shop for stuff on sale, we buy generic, and we love Walmart, Target and Kohls.

I catch hell from childless friends (who don't have to clothe growing children) for shopping at Walmart, my mom teases me when I wear some kind of supposedly inauthentic piece of clothing ("You're a doctor's wife!"), and my brother-in-law, who suffers from THE biggest inferiority complex, makes fun of us because our vacations are simple (unlike his annual Christmas in Hawaii trip). He once said to me, "We make fun of you behind your back, you know."

Screw them...well, except for my mom. She's only teasing. :) I'm happy, my kids aren't spoiled financially, and we're content to redirect our money towards other things like retirement, college, parent care and charities.
 
I would classify myself as "thrifty". I am the one at the grocery store with a handful of coupons, comparing which size is a better deal, etc. I always get excited when I see the receipt and it shows how much I save! I rarely go shopping, and when I do it's Target, or somewhere that I have a coupon for!
 
Me me me!!

First of all, I finished reading Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover and we are on our way out of debt (we're getting there, we want to ONLY have our mortgage and then work on that!).

I am a bargain shopper, garage sale shopper, and LOVE the clothing resale stores!! My latest favorite is a teen resale store called Plato's Closet. I got 6 shirts, a brand new Old Navy sweater, pair of Gap jeans, and a purse all for $50 the other day!! (and I paid cash :))

My kids don't know what *brand names* are, and I wouldn't dream of spending $50 on an outfit for them! Target, Kohl's, Wal*mart, or other places having big sales are my shopping!

Feel free to post your frugal tips here, I'd love to read what everyone else does!
 
I'm as cheap as they come. And I'm happy to only have our mortgage as debt. No big car payments, no credit card debt... I still worry about money, but at least I know I'm not going under tomorrow.

If I don't have the money put aside for something, I won't buy it. I WOULD pay $40 for snowboots, but that's because my DD wears them every single day from about December to March here in the great white north.

I have a friend who is deeply in debt and off on disability at the moment, so he's having trouble making ends meet. He's taking a vacation to Cuba next week. I told him he's an idiot :p. He doesn't care at all about being massively in debt. I just don't get it at all.
 
No. But my DH is cheap and frugal. Now that being said, we have no debt whatsoever. And we do not spend money that we don't have. But I do like to shop :p
 
Not really cheap, just aware of where our money is going. We have no debts, no credit cards and we have always had the mentality that if we can't pay cash for it we don't need it. We have friends that like to make fun of us, but these same friends are now struggling to keep their heads above water, selling off their "toys" and considering bankruptcy. I grew up VERY poor and was determined when I started working to be smart with my money. Not rich by any means but comfortable and not worried about losing my home.
 
Yes and no. I always clip coupons and have recently started to shop at Goodwill. I found a silk suit from Talbot's for only $10. Looks brand new. Jeans are a steal. I am mortgage free, but not debt-free. Now I have to pay off my CCs. However, I do like to shop. It's been over 2 months since I bought a new workout but it's hard for me to last much longer with so many things on my wish list!

Marcy
 
I guess I would be called frugal. My friends say that I treat shopping as a competitive sport -- everybody knows I will get the best bang for my buck.

But I can't say that I'm cheap...seriously, I buy Cathe DVDs. I think the product Cathe produces for the price is fantastic, but I could never call myself cheap if I have more than 10 of her DVDs.

But I'm very aware of my cash, I'm relatively decent at our investments, and I have 5-, 10-, 20-yr plans for our financial futures. We have credit cards, but we never carry over a balance paying in full each month but use it as a tool to build up our credit. At age 26+, I just found my credit scores are over 800. We have no debt outside of our educational loans, though we're looking to buy a home but only as a responsible investment/debt. So, I guess I treat my finances as nuances but definitely under control/ a plan. My husband was a child of welfare and he had a very limited knowledge of how to handle money. I think between his upbringing and mine (my parents' very smart shopping), we are pretty strong financially as a partnership.

(Oh....and yeah, I'm the one with a stack of coupons at every grocery store too.)
 
Elliemom,

I think that frugal is the word to describe us.
I think you are doing a great thing and it will teach your kids how to do the same when they are adults. It is an important skill to have. I was lucky enough to have parents that were sensible with money and frugal so it is easy for me to live that way. I have a mortgage for 5 more years, a car payment for 3 more years with no credit card or equity loan debt. It's a great feeling.

Cindy
 
I wouldn't classify myself as any of the above. I wish I were frugal. I guess.

And let's not discuss the law school loans!! ;)
 
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