Frugal v.s. Cheap?

**daddys3chicks** · 10-20-2005, 06:11 PM

Is there a difference? I was thinking today that there is. I figure frugality is making things stretch, getting the best value for your money etc. Cheap is saving money no matter what the cost - like the guy I saw on tv one time who saved all the little ketchup things from fast food and refilled his big bottle at home.

Thoughts?

**SHOPGIRL** · 10-20-2005, 06:17 PM

Oh yeah, there sure is a difference. I'm frugal, but I'm not cheap. I watch where I spend my money, but I try to buy quality items, not the cheapest thing I can find. I tip well, give nice gifts, so I wouldn't call myself cheap.

**Jerseygirl** · 10-20-2005, 06:22 PM

I agree with shopgirl-I buy the best I can afford and take care of it, that is frugal, if I just bought whatever costs the least, that would be cheap.

**Englishlady** · 10-20-2005, 06:33 PM

Originally posted by SHOPGIRL
Oh yeah, there sure is a difference. I'm frugal, but I'm not cheap. I watch where I spend my money, but I try to buy quality items, not the cheapest thing I can find. I tip well, give nice gifts, so I wouldn't call myself cheap.

I couldn't have said it better myself!

**pkellyc** · 10-20-2005, 09:42 PM

Cheap is when you go to a pot luck event and bring nothing and take home 1/2 of the leftovers. Don't laugh I have a sister in law who does this. We are about fed up with her. We have a set amount of $25 for birthday gifts that we all voted on, she gives $5. And here is the worst of it. I do her taxes they make as much as we do. The definition of cheap around here is stingy, selfish and down right greedy.

**PrairieRose** · 10-20-2005, 10:00 PM

I so agree with the ladies above on this subject. Cheap is tacky. I'm frugal, try to be frugal in all that I do, but I'm not cheap.

**mom22grls** · 10-20-2005, 10:49 PM

Hey......I've been known to use extra ketsup from fast food!!!

LOL!!!!

I don't STEAL it, though......just what they give me when I ask. Taking it specifically to use at home is cheap...and dishonest.

I try to research & buy the best that I can afford. Some things are just better quality & they cost more. Other things, I just use the least expensive.

I like to give good, useful gifts. If I can get a bargain...great! If it's important, I'll spend the money. I always tip....if it's good service, I'll tip 20%.

Being frugal, to me, means *not* getting the starbucks as often as I would like.....not skimping on the tip and getting my goodies more often.

Or, like, I'll get my daughter $120 tennis shoes for a birthday gift, but I get her cheapo underwear & socks....and even clothes. We don't get out hair done at a salon, but I have high-end appliances. I sew my towels, but I buy 800 thread-count sheets.

I wanted new stainless steel pans.....the cheapest ones were flimsy & got so-so reviews from Consumer reports. What I read about the highest priced ones was that customers weren't happy with them. So, I got a mid-range set. Still very expensive by some standards, but I didn't want to keep replacing them every few years. I figure, I'll *save* money by buying quality.

"Cheap" to me, is stingy, selfish, rude, and at times dishonest.
"Frugal" to me is being smart with your money & still allowing a treat once in awhile. Sacrifice on some things, but on others, being generous.

Jeesh! What a blabber-mouth(blabber-keyboard

) I am tonight!

LOL!

Hope I even make sense....the ny-quil (off brand

) is kicking in.

**hollyhill** · 10-21-2005, 01:34 AM

I agree pKellyc, cheap has to do with being stingy, greedy and/or selfish. It doesn't have to do with the quality of the purchase.

Cheap is giving dollar store gifts so that you can buy luxuries for yourself.
I know someone who gives used gifts (from garage sales) says she has no money but travels to Europe and goes on two cruises every year. Sorry, but that is cheap.

Having said that, there is nothing wrong with giving used gifts in fact I love to recieve them (you can get far "more" used than new), but not if the person in the same breath says they wouldn't be caught dead with a "used" outfit on!
Cheap= stingy.

Cheap is not being able to give a few $ to a charity (like Sally Ann) but you can spend it on starbucks.

Cheap is not leaving a tip for a job well done but you can afford to eat out when ever the mood strikes you.

Before my Dh lost his job and returned to school (now we are frugal out of desperation), one of the reasons I was frugal was because we were a single income family and I had to be frugal in order to be generous. I needed to be frugal in order to help others as well as ourselves.
Even now when we don't have a dime to spare and it is only through the grace of God that we are still swimming, we still give. We give our time and talents etc.
We "busk" for the Salvation Army every Christmas (my 8 yr old plays violin, my 11 yr.old plays cello, my 14 yr old sings), we do many walk-a-thons (and raise pledges) to help support worthy causes. As a family we serve meals to the homeless in soup kitchens (there is always someone worse off than ourselves), we bring homebaked goodies for those in need of comfort.
My 14 yr. old contributes in all these ways and is branching off in new directions. She is raising funds for Habitat for Humanity through a church drama group and she hopes to be apart of a project next summer in Winnipeg! She has joined the St. Johns Ambulance etc etc.

Oh my this has turned into a lecture.

What I am saying is you can be wealthy and cheap and you can also be poor, frugal and generous.

Just more than my 2 cents worth.

**pita1213** · 10-22-2005, 09:34 AM

well put hollyhill.
it all has to do with attitude. cheapness is a shelfish attitude, frugalness is a responsible one.

**Emerald_Mommy** · 10-22-2005, 11:14 AM

I agree with the wise women who posted before me. Another way I think about the difference is how generous/selfish am I being?

If I'm saving on groceries so I can contribute to our church food pantry that's not cheap. But if I only feed my kids ramen noodles so I can buy something fancy that I don't really need, that's cheap.

I can't afford extremely expensive gifts for our large extended family's christmas but I can buy less expensive with much more thought put into what that person would like. I think trying to give others things that are nicer than what you give your own immediate family just so they don't think you're poor, or something, is just as bad as buying "cheap" stuff when you only buy yourself the best. The best road is the middle road, imho!