what is your definition of:
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A cheap person saves money using dishonest means or at another person's expense. Example: Lies and says that her child is 10 to get the child's ticket to the movies when her child is really 12 but small for her age.
A frugal person makes personal sacrifices to save money by honest methods. Example: Goes to the matinee rather than the evening movie, or waits and rents the movie once it comes out on DVD.
A frugal person makes personal sacrifices to save money by honest methods. Example: Goes to the matinee rather than the evening movie, or waits and rents the movie once it comes out on DVD.
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You need a bottle of catsup......
the frugal person finds it on sale with a coupon.
The cheap person goes to a fast food place and brings home packets of the stuff......
the frugal person finds it on sale with a coupon.
The cheap person goes to a fast food place and brings home packets of the stuff......
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I agree with bonnotsm9. With the added thing that a cheap person will often think they are getting a deal because it is a $5 pair of sneakers without considering quality. A frugal person is smart enough to check out the quality first and pay a few bucks more, even if it means waiting a bit longer, knowing they will last for 2 years instead of the $5 pair's 1 year.
Who saves more? The frugal person.
Who saves more? The frugal person.
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That's just about what I'd say too. :yeah:
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Bonnotsm9 pretty much nailed it. Being cheap is a negative....it will negatively affect the finances of others because they have to pitch in where I've slacked off. Being frugal is a positive...a personal sacrifice that doesn't greatly affect others, but improves my financial situation.
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Cheap is low cost or low quality, simply for the sake of saving a buck or avoiding the effort. Eating off a fast food dollar menu is cheap.
Frugal is about not wasting, being resourceful, and getting the best value out of your time, money, and energies. Cooking dinner at home is frugal.
Frugal is about not wasting, being resourceful, and getting the best value out of your time, money, and energies. Cooking dinner at home is frugal.
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Cheap is when you are on your first date and use a coupon for buy one get one half price dinner. :shrug2:
Frugal is after you've been dating awhile, it's okay to try to save on outings.
Or "forgetting" their wallet, or pulling out the calculator to figure out how much your share of the tab is, or stiffing the wait staff on the tip. All of these means the first date is the last date!
I used to work for tips and nothing ticked me off more then busting my rump for a patron only to be stiffed on a tip. GRRRR
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Oh, I thought of another one. I used to go out with a group of friends to eat, eons ago. This one guy in the group would always order the most expensive thing on the menu. I'd order something small and in my budget, like if it was Chinese I'd order one egg roll, and a bowl of wonton soup & hot tea (tea was free). Well, when the check came this guy would always grab it and then split the entire check in equal portions, and he'd never leave a tip! Really ticked me off. So whenever I went with this group I'd tell the wait staff I wanted a separate check!
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I don't think cheap means dishonest - someone can be cheap without lying and negatively affecting others.
I think cheap means judging value by price alone and only getting the cheapest at every opportunity. Cheap is a short term mindset. It puts dollars over value and tries to keep the most dollars.
Frugal means using your resources wisely - getting the best VALUE for your DOLLAR - meaning you might spend a *little* more up front for a life long product rather than a little less up front for something that falls apart.
Example: A cheap person will buy the $10 boots - and have to replace them every few months. A frugal person will buy the $100 boots that last for years and years.
I think cheap means judging value by price alone and only getting the cheapest at every opportunity. Cheap is a short term mindset. It puts dollars over value and tries to keep the most dollars.
Frugal means using your resources wisely - getting the best VALUE for your DOLLAR - meaning you might spend a *little* more up front for a life long product rather than a little less up front for something that falls apart.
Example: A cheap person will buy the $10 boots - and have to replace them every few months. A frugal person will buy the $100 boots that last for years and years.
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I think frugal is getting the best deal for what you have to work with. Being careful with your money and thinking/planning ahead.
I was getting a few groceries yesterday. I had decided on a pizza for lunch. So I am looking at them, and the lowest price was 4.98 for a small one. And then it needs to be baked. It would have been easier to go to the pizza shop and buy one for $ 5 already cooked and it would have been bigger. I stood there with all these thoughts running through my head and then I realized they had fresh pizza dough in a bag. So for .98, I bought that, knowing I had sauce, cheddar cheese, and hamburg at home. Got home, and got the dough ready and made a homemade pizza. Now my thought process to me, was that I am frugal. My hubby thinks I am experimenting again. My ex, would have told me I am being cheap. Translation, if I had the money in my pocket to buy already made, I should have. Not to have gone through the process I did to get lunch on the table.
So my ex is retired, all kinds of money, now with his 3rd wife, and always whining he is broke. He still does not understand what frugal is. And he still thinks I am cheap.
I was getting a few groceries yesterday. I had decided on a pizza for lunch. So I am looking at them, and the lowest price was 4.98 for a small one. And then it needs to be baked. It would have been easier to go to the pizza shop and buy one for $ 5 already cooked and it would have been bigger. I stood there with all these thoughts running through my head and then I realized they had fresh pizza dough in a bag. So for .98, I bought that, knowing I had sauce, cheddar cheese, and hamburg at home. Got home, and got the dough ready and made a homemade pizza. Now my thought process to me, was that I am frugal. My hubby thinks I am experimenting again. My ex, would have told me I am being cheap. Translation, if I had the money in my pocket to buy already made, I should have. Not to have gone through the process I did to get lunch on the table.
So my ex is retired, all kinds of money, now with his 3rd wife, and always whining he is broke. He still does not understand what frugal is. And he still thinks I am cheap.
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461 Posts
Cheap is the person who buys $7.99 jeans at Goodwill.
Frugal is the person who buys jeans for $9 at Walmart.
(At least this is the case in my family! I was shocked and a little frazzled to find out my DH has been paying so much for his work jeans when brand new ones aren't much more but will last at least 2 or 3 times as long!)
Frugal is the person who buys jeans for $9 at Walmart.
(At least this is the case in my family! I was shocked and a little frazzled to find out my DH has been paying so much for his work jeans when brand new ones aren't much more but will last at least 2 or 3 times as long!
)
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I finally figured this out not myself a few years ago.Cheap is the person who buys $7.99 jeans at Goodwill.
Frugal is the person who buys jeans for $9 at Walmart.
(At least this is the case in my family! I was shocked and a little frazzled to find out my DH has been paying so much for his work jeans when brand new ones aren't much more but will last at least 2 or 3 times as long!
Used to be thrift shops had some decent prices. No longer
true on a lot of things
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:yeah:
Our thrifts stores out here have killer prices.
Oh, I remembered something from my early teenage dating years.
Date # 1 asked me to the drive in movies, then expected me to crawl in the trunk so he could get away with paying for only one person. I did not crawl in the trunk, and it was our LAST date.
Date # 2 asked me to the local $1 theater and then expected me to pay my own way. It was a $1 folks, a $1! Last date.
That's not frugal in my book, it's cheap. I don't know who they're are married to now, but I feel sorry for their wives and children.
Our thrifts stores out here have killer prices.
Oh, I remembered something from my early teenage dating years.
Date # 1 asked me to the drive in movies, then expected me to crawl in the trunk so he could get away with paying for only one person. I did not crawl in the trunk, and it was our LAST date.
Date # 2 asked me to the local $1 theater and then expected me to pay my own way. It was a $1 folks, a $1! Last date.
That's not frugal in my book, it's cheap. I don't know who they're are married to now, but I feel sorry for their wives and children.
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906 Posts
Cheap is abusing a stores customer service policy - EX - Store "X" has a policy of giving a severely reduced price on frozen hams/turkeys that are past date. Cheap customer will hold up everyone from picking their ham or turkey while he goes through the bin looking for any past date products and only "buying" the past date. Frugal customer will not monopolize the freezer and will only implement policy if something was found by "accident".
The cheap customer will go out for a meal then make a deal about an issue hoping to get it free. A frugal customer will use coupons or make the same dish at home.
The cheap customer will buy an outfit, wear it then return it claiming some issue with the product. The frugal customer will save for an item, buy it on sale, make it, borrow it or do without.
The cheap customer will go out for a meal then make a deal about an issue hoping to get it free. A frugal customer will use coupons or make the same dish at home.
The cheap customer will buy an outfit, wear it then return it claiming some issue with the product. The frugal customer will save for an item, buy it on sale, make it, borrow it or do without.
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Cheap = instant gratification
(ie: buying something at the best price right now on a semi false sale or $1 store - feeling of saving money or getting a discount - ie shopping at Marshalls: orig price $97.93 OUR price: $73.25 when the true value item is around $10 etc)
Frugal = planning ahead and waiting for the prize
(ie: researching and saving ahead to buy something specific when it goes on sale for the best price & quality and the bonus use of a coupon when applicable OR finding something similar to fit the need though its not what you wanted originally)
Another example - Christmas gifts
Me/Frugal - baking cookies and wrapping up in festive tins I already have on hand
My Bro/Cheap - buying $5-$10/box cookies at the store
BTW we're talking basic choc chip cookies here too - not hard to make. He justifies it with his 'time being worth more then mine' which is why he HAS to buy it vs spending that same amount of time and effort learning to make them & actually follow through with making them.
(ie: buying something at the best price right now on a semi false sale or $1 store - feeling of saving money or getting a discount - ie shopping at Marshalls: orig price $97.93 OUR price: $73.25 when the true value item is around $10 etc)
Frugal = planning ahead and waiting for the prize
(ie: researching and saving ahead to buy something specific when it goes on sale for the best price & quality and the bonus use of a coupon when applicable OR finding something similar to fit the need though its not what you wanted originally)
Another example - Christmas gifts
Me/Frugal - baking cookies and wrapping up in festive tins I already have on hand
My Bro/Cheap - buying $5-$10/box cookies at the store
BTW we're talking basic choc chip cookies here too - not hard to make. He justifies it with his 'time being worth more then mine' which is why he HAS to buy it vs spending that same amount of time and effort learning to make them & actually follow through with making them.
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