Yesterday I contributed to the Washington Post blog Small Change, which wanted to know the difference between being frugal and cheap. Here’s my take:
Being frugal is making choices to conserve money in your own life, like riding a bike instead of driving, renting a movie instead of going to the theater, brown bagging your lunch instead of buying it.
Being cheap is forcing your frugal choices on others: buying a gift on sale even though it is the wrong size for the recipient or insisting on ordering the cheapest bottle of wine at a restaurant.
Being frugal feels good. Being cheap leaves a bad taste in your mouth (and it ain’t the wine)!
What’s your definition?
Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price.
I agree with your definitions upto some extent but we’ll need to agree that these words may reflect in quite some ways. Though I agree with your views, this is what came to my mind when I read the title:
Being “Frugal” is all about spending your money wisely. If you feel no-guilt after spending your one full paycheck, chances are you were frugal. While being “Cheap” is to compromise quality/standards of your purchase when that product’s quality isn’t gonna affect your life very much. For eg. toilet papers, etc.
Nice going Bargain babe 🙂
Totally agree with you and AG. Being frugal is being responsible. My husband and I call ourselves frugal yet we buy some pretty expensive things. Why? Because we do a ton of research and buy things that will last so the cost per use is really low. We also stretch every dollar we have by shopping sales and stocking our pantry so we can increase our savings to splurge on those big ticket items. Frugal is about balance. Cheap is when you are out of balance.
Agree being frugal is being careful with your money. Going out to dinner at a casual place (Fridays, Chilis) and using a coupon to get a better deal is frugal. Leaving a tiny tip is cheap.
I view being frugal as being a bargain hunter or smart shopper. Being frugal is taking the time to keep track of the fair market value of things, waiting for sales and utilizing coupons and rebates wherever possible to achieve maximum value for your hard earned money. Being frugal, to me, also means that you’re willing to share the results of your smart shopping with others. Cheap or cheapness equates to being a miser, greedy or self-centered. Cheap people find ways to cut corners and sacrifice on quality in order to spend as little as possible. Cheap people use the generosity of others to take whatever they can and giving back next to nothing in return. An example of cheapness is going to a potluck either bringing nothing or just a small bag of chips and stuffing your gullet while there and taking home a huge doggie bag. Or accepting a dinner invitation with friends at a nice restaurant and ordering the most expensive thing on the menu and recriprocating with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and ice water a week later. Being frugal means avoiding places where leaving a tip is customary. Being cheap is stiffing your server. There are so many examples citing their differences.
I think you hit the nail on the head with this definition. Excellent!
I think your definition is great. The diagram is a good representation of the definition!
Being frugal/thrifty is usually researched by someone (you); you’ve done the homework and know the price of something..so its a deal to get it at a good price. Being cheap is just not caring, about yourself or others, and in the long run it’ll cost you more.
being cheap is what you did, Julia, a few weeks ago: your friend got a parking ticket while she was giving you a ride and you even didn’t offer to pay half of the ticket.
Something similar happened to me and now, I make sure to collect from my friend.
If you are cheap with me, I am going to be cheap with you….End of the story
I hope you saw my follow up to this post about my friend’s parking ticket! I later gave her $20: http://www.bargainbabe.com/2009/04/21/bargain-ethics-when-it-comes-to-parking-tickets/
My Twitter pal MsLatina says:
I think Frugal=living below ur means & cheap=skimping on life’s pleasures
http://latinaonamission.com/blog/
Being frugal means saving when it is hard in order to provide for those I love when it is even harder!
Being cheap means stashing tons of cash away just for the sake of counting your cash with never the intention to share it or even spend it on anything.
being cheep is not ofering company food or drinks buying the most expensive thing on the menue when your not paying if your not paying at least fork over for the tip forgetting bdays but reminding me about yours inviting people to a party im throewing with out asking regiffting me something i would never use. frugal is waiting to get the handbag you want on sale in your budget using a coupon at the store movies dinner stocking up on things you like when there on sale and helping others evean if you dont got much i always try to help others that need it
yeah all those things. also i have watched a person
i know take advantage of others generosity and
giving nothing really in return. then he asked me
to be his girlfriend and he wanted me to bring take
out food to him but wouldn’t go out with me
and pay for the food. When I am going to the food
bank because of my income he has asked me to
get some for him too. and he is a landlord in a
very nice part of town and won’t fix anything in his
house to make it better or safer for the tenants.
now that is cheap.
Jenny, you bring up a good point. People who take financial advantage of others unfairly are cheap.
I agree with most of these definitions! Being frugal is sacrificing small things in order to have money to enjoy life in other ways. Being cheap is sacrificing quality in order to horde money without enjoying it.