Do others find your frugal habits strange?

**Daisygirl** · 07-02-2006, 07:22 AM

I had a wonderful visit with my Mom and Dad this week. They drove up form Arkansas to see me and the girls. It was pretty hard to maintain my frugal changes that I have made, but I persevered. Then I had to deal with them feeling sorry for me. "Poor Karen, she can't afford to run her dryer." "Poor Chloe got a second hand stereo and playstation for her birtday."

I get this from my friends too. I know it is probably hard for people to wrap their brains around someone going from spendthrift to tightwad in the course of 3 months but the sympathy is a bit hard to swallow. Try as I might to explain it to people -- it is a choice to make my life better and less stressful, they just shake their heads sadly. My dad seems to get it -- he grew up in the Depression, so he loves the fact that my choices are better now.

Do any of you find the same situation yourselves? Do others find it strange that you hang out your laundry and wash out your Zippie bags and take peanutbutter and jelly for lunch sometimes? If so, is there anything you have learned to say or do to combat this?

**missymomof3** · 07-02-2006, 07:36 AM

Yes, my family tends to tease me about it. Now I just ignore it, but it used to bother me. In my case no matter what I say, it won't be understood but hopefully you will have a different situation!

**frugalfarmwife** · 07-02-2006, 07:37 AM

My neighbors think I'm a nut (but then I don't do anything to change their opinions, lol, better to keep them at arms length). They're constantly coming home with bigger, better and more expensive and showing it off. They just shake their heads at us with our 15 year old lawn mower, limited summer wardrobe that's constantly hanging on the line and garden that I spend so much time in. I just smile and know I'm helping us, our planet and our bank account.

My best friend is always telling me about "bargians" she finds that she thinks I should buy, shaking her head at the things I don't buy and at times even trying to buy me things (and her finances are SHOT!)

Just hold your head up and smile and watch those bills go down.

Oh, and you could make dad feel REALLY good, ask him for tips and stories

kj

**Mojjo** · 07-02-2006, 07:49 AM

Yup, my parents think it's a phase...not a lifestyle.

And no one at work can understand why I bring lunch to work everyday.

**banana** · 07-02-2006, 10:27 AM

Yep i get it from friends, neighbors and family. But I get the last laugh, when they are all complaining about the credit card debt and how they had to refinance for the 3rd or 4th time to roll their debt into one manageable payment I just start to chuckle.

**dwallyfam** · 07-02-2006, 11:10 AM

My friends use to be that way along with a few people at work. But they are paying attention to us now. Especially since we survived 1.5 years of DH not working and we were still able to pay bills and do things. They are very impressed.

I have a friend at work asking for frugal tips each and every day. She is trying to come over from the dark side.

Kellie

**baxjul** · 07-02-2006, 11:28 AM

I've gotten all of the girls at work involved in reducing electric bills and other frugal ways. They really think that it is kind of neat. My friends get jealous when they don't have any money left over.

**miss_thrifty** · 07-02-2006, 11:50 AM

Yeah my neighbours kinds giggle and me and hubby beacuse were always trying to find chreaper alternatives to having fun and we dont go to everything that goes on in town. Like we never went upstreet to the Canada Day celebrations, we made our own. Its too exspensive, u pay for everything on thosre kind of holidays. We just staye around home, palyed with kids and made speciaL MEALS.

**Tori2** · 07-02-2006, 02:35 PM

Sometimes when people hear that we are going debt free, they feel the need to give me their opinion about how stupid we are. What ever~I am a psych major and I am living my life as I see fit without hurting anyone else so that is all I am concerned about. Also, I am happy with my life.

Tori

**peanut** · 07-02-2006, 04:24 PM

Tori, I have to tell you this is the second time this month I've heard your name (I met a little girl named Tori), and I've never heard it before in 46 years of living! It's a nice name. Different. Different is good in my books. Where does it come from?

As for people giving you a rough time over being frugal - well my dsis#2 just thinks it's her crazy little sister. But then dsis#4 is even more frugal than me...so I guess all little sisters are crazy??? Anyways, I just tell dsis#2 that I am frugal so I can afford the things I want, like trips to visit her. That tends to shut her up. Usually though she doesn't say anything.

Jean

**autumnlynn** · 07-02-2006, 06:20 PM

My friends don't like my frugal ways as I no longer do things impulsively. Since I've been following the Dave Ramsey plan, some of my family think I'm in some sort of cult!!

**Daisygirl** · 07-02-2006, 06:33 PM

Hilarious, Ladies! I have run into some of the same experiences. I laughed, Autumn, about your family, thinking you have joined a cult. My mom is quite leery of my Tightwad Gazette collection -- she skimmed through it and finds much of it insane and "disgusting". Not a big fan of my leftover casserole pot, that is for sure. (I look at that as a free meal once a week -- gotta love it.)

At work, the people feel sorry for the poor single mom, and often ask to buy me lunch or a coffee. I rarely take them up on it, since I take leftovers for lunch -- usually something like beef stroganoff or spaghetti and meatballs. Come on, who would prefer McDonalds over that? Before I switched to a more frugal lifestyle I was scraping change from the bottom of my purse to join in the coffee run. I am really glad those days are over -- this is so much more RELAXING!

**Tori2** · 07-02-2006, 07:00 PM

Hi,

Thanks for complement on my name, which comes from Victoria. I am 41 years old and it is now becoming popular. I have 2 girls, my oldest is Tressa and she is a student at Auburn University (WAR EAGLE!!!) and my youngest daughter is named Trent. I guess you could say that we are just different all around.

Isn't it funny how people think that you must spend all the time to be happy? I am happy with my lifestyle and I will be even happier when we move to a walkable city so I will not have to own a car.

Tori

**Telephus44** · 07-02-2006, 09:36 PM

I rarely get any flack, but I also rarely talk about it, too. I have found when it comes up in conversation that it is better received when I put an environmental spin on it - how much better it is to use second hand things than to put them in a landfill, or make my own food from scratch has less preservatives and artificial colors/flavors than eating fast food, etc.

**pammy** · 07-03-2006, 10:59 AM

I dealt with friends and family feeling sorry for me, at first. My switch coincided with quitting my job, so they automatically assumed we'd be struggling. But then I kept at it, being frugal and saying 'no' to frivolous spending, this was met with disbelief. Guess they thought this was a phase. And now we're doing better, thanks to paying off debt, and they think we should go back to the way we were. But no, we aren't spending like before. Now we're getting the avoidance. It's like we're reminding them that you don't have to have the bigger/better, you can get by with less, you don't have to spend... and most just don't want to be faced with that, so we get the avoidance. Okay by me, I save more money steering clear of the spendthrifts and staying home. ;D