interesting article...not!

[ladykemma2]

penny-pinching-wont-save-profligate: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

thoughts?

[wwe11]

I read that this morning. Thanks for sharing.

[Russ]

Cutting out the little stuff, what's known as the latte factor, "works on paper, but not necessarily in reality," said Mr. Yeager, who also runs the Web site

I think Mr Yeager has his head up his and hasn't really got a clue.

[TheRootedNomad]

I don't necessarily think that the article is that off. The just of it seems to be, at least the way I'm reading it, that there is nothing wrong with doing the small/latte type savings things but not to expect doing those types of things to "fix" your problem if you aren't willing to look at the larger areas as well, such as say, you've got a house triple what your salary can support or your driving a Mercedes on a beater budget.

[frugalwarrior2]

Flattening the toilet paper roll is a lifestyle choice I DO want to make. I so want to drag these clown around w/ me for a week or even a day. I'm thinking the Arbiti bin reclaim,the resale shop for recovering street people,Etc.
I actually have NEVER had a Latte. Don't like coffee. OOOOh. $4000. savings right there. As far as cell phones go we are on the 500 min. no texting, answer the ring plan and don't use 200 min. between 3 people. Most of the last 4 years have been contract free. Yes, our phones are flip phones w/ antenae.

We don't get the newspaper. No magazines. We use the library. We coupon. We buy at least 75% used everything. AND WE KNOW AN ID O 10 T when we read an article by one.
Definantly frugal mushy brain. RANT OVER.

[Saule]

I read that article this morning too, and my first thought was how people on this website would react. I think we should consider that his audience is mainly people who don't really get it - they aren't the people who are regularly checking in here. I work with a number of folks who are in their late 50s, want to retire, bemoan that they cannot, but come in each day with their Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts coffee, eat lunch each day from the company cafeteria which is no bargain anymore, and do other things that make little sense. And he's right that if you cut out the lattes and stuff, but don't consider your big expenditures, you won't meet savings goals. Coupons don't do anything for me. I do not have time to create a coupon system or search for coupons and the vast majority of them are for things I never buy - my grocery dollar is spent mainly on fresh produce and meats, I avoid processed for a variety of reasons. But the cheapest coffee in the market won't do it for me - I will spend a little more to get something that tastes better, but it's not Starbucks - I'm willing to try non-national brands to find something that's good but not a name brand. Cheapest is not the most frugal alternative if it does not do the job or if your family won't eat/use it, etc.

Lots of folks really have no idea of where their income goes each month, where it's frittered away. If he gets some people to sit up and start revaluating their personal circumstances, well, he'll have done some good, and perhaps some of those will make their way here.

[Grainlady]

If it gets us chatting about saving money, it's a good article (LOL).

I've never been a profligate, so I wouldn't know what it takes to tame their extravagant ways. But I have mentored a friend on financial responsibility who wanted me to give her the recipe for homemade laundry soap so she could save money doing laundry. Meanwhile, in the "Mall Queen's" handbag was $150 worth of make-up she just "paid for" with a credit card and had her car repossessed the week before because she was several months behind with the payment. It took me a few minutes, but I finally convinced her it's NOT your laundry soap that's breaking you.... Your whole budget and priorities concerning money sucks! (Albeit in kinder words.)

And on that note, I think I'll walk to the Coffee House (2 blocks away) and use that $10 gift card I won (a year ago) for a Latte (I've never had one either, frugalwarrior2).

[monkeywrangler71]

I find it a bit ironic that (s)he puts down all these little things as just being quick and painless tricks that fool people into thinking they're making real changes (which is a good point, if you don't also look at the big things), then at the end recommends you trim your budget by changing the font on your printer - the ultimate quick & easy, zero sacrifice, zero gain savings trick. In fact, all the things recommended in the second half of the article are ways to save without actually giving anything up, which seems to be direct contradiction to what, I thought, was the point of the first half of the article. Pretty incoherent message, I'm not really sure what the author's objective was with this article, except to fill space.

[McD]

Interesting article Lady K. I am going to go back and read it more thoroughly when I have more time.

Just a quick reminder though regarding links--it generally helps keep the discussion going or gives it a quickstart if you would give a brief opinion or thought on the article. The thread discussing that more in depth is found here

[Lady_V]

I read it... and I see both sides.

Frugality is defined by the person using it.

While buying a smaller house (with smaller payments) may seem like a huge solution to the author... it's not a one-size-fit-all money saving tip though as there are plenty of people who have no house to downsize from, or the money saved to purchase one.

Even here at the village we have a very wide definition of what being frugal is... when it comes down to it, money is a personal matter and it is up to the individual to decide what is right for them.

[MrsOptimistic]

I was JUST coming to post this. Ha!

I find it a bit ironic that (s)he puts down all these little things as just being quick and painless tricks that fool people into thinking they're making real changes (which is a good point, if you don't also look at the big things), then at the end recommends you trim your budget by changing the font on your printer - the ultimate quick & easy, zero sacrifice, zero gain savings trick. In fact, all the things recommended in the second half of the article are ways to save without actually giving anything up, which seems to be direct contradiction to what, I thought, was the point of the first half of the article. Pretty incoherent message, I'm not really sure what the author's objective was with this article, except to fill space.

I thought that too. I was all... different font? But you just said the small stuff doesn't matter! I would have never thought about the font taking up more/less ink though. Ha!

It seems like someone was just needing to ramble on a bit, too bad that it couldn't have been a more productive ramble.

[Contrary Housewife]

I agree with a lot of the points she brings up:

"It turns out there are a million ways to save small amounts of money, and not all of them are going to fit all of us."

"I'm not saying my choices make sense. I'm simply saying that saving is as individual as spending."

"If we're living way beyond our means, drinking a little less coffee may make us feel as if we're doing something, but we're really avoiding making the more challenging decisions."

And I also don't think her audience is people who are already flattening the toilet paper roll. It is people with good incomes who don't know where it is going. She's saying "Don't bother with 20 cent coupons right now, stop spending $300 a week on eating out!"

[dcompton]

I had a rather positive reaction to the article. I think the author is dead right that small things, though they have their place, don't help very much if you don't have overall control of your budget.

I thought a really key point was the fact that in many situations we spend money just as a by-product of what we really want to do. We want to get out and socialize, so we do it in an environment that requires us to spend money (a restaurant lunch) or lures us into it (malls).

Also, as others have said, to be aware. I think the cell phone example pointed to that. I don't have a cell phone, but I don't have children to keep up with. No, people aren't going to give up their cell phones. But they can certainly be sure they are getting the best deal on them that they can.

I never got the impression that it was saying small things don't matter (and I found the printer font thing interesting). Just that we should not feel all warm and virtuous and fiscally safe just because we do them. They are only a part of the whole picture. Grainlady's right. No one is poor because they buy Tide. Not if they are extravagantly charging make up. The little things, the ones each of us is comfortable with and willing to do are helpful. But little remains little, if there are other big leaks in the budget.

[JanieD]

I liked the "satisfied spending" part of the article. That's a good description of how I try to look at purchases. Also, liked the point about "saving is as individual as spending". Thanks for the link.

[Telephus44]

I also didn't get a negative vibe from the article. I thought the author did a good job in saying that a lot of the small things are individual choices. And that yes, the small things won't help you if you're in over your head - washing out your baggies won't help you come up with the rent payment if you're behind, KWIM?

The part on patting yourself on the back reminds me of when I see someone who is really overweight eating two big macs at McDonalds, but feeling good about it because they got a Diet soda instead of a regular one. That one small part of your meal isn't going to make up for the rest of it - but some people are still going to wonder why they aren't losing weight - I mean come on, they ordered a diet soda, right? If you let those small decisions lull you into thinking that ok, I made a change and it didn't help, why bother, then yes, making those small decisions doesn't help you.