Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Frugal vs. Cheap

Is frugality just a nice way of saying that someone is a cheapskate or are the terms frugal and cheap actually fundamentally different?

I recently stumbled upon an article on a website that has this to say on this issue:

"The frugality cult emphasizes that their lifestyle is different from merely being cheap. Cheapskates aim to buy as much as they can for as little as possible, not caring much for the quality or environmental and ethical virtues of the items they're consuming. To be frugal, on the other hand, is to consider the full ramifications of every purchase. Eating at McDonald's is cheap. Cooking dinner and saving the leftovers for lunch the next day is frugal. These sites argue that your commerce should be calculated and purposeful. Go ahead and spend $800 a year on cable if you want, but don't do it blindly—do it only because you've decided that's the best use of your money (instead of, say, buying an Xbox, a Wii, several games, and a subscription to Netflix or just putting the money in a savings account)." - Taken from http://www.slate.com/id/2207305/ on March 3, 2010.

I am sure that you might guess where I stand on this issue, but I am awfully curious as to where you folks draw the line.  Here is a fun quiz that you can take to see where you rate on this issue: http://www.moolanomy.com/558/frugal-or-cheap-heres-a-test/

I scored a 30 - in the 'frugal' category, right on the money!  Feel free to post your scores and/or comments on this topic, I'd love to hear from you!

Oh, and also, here is a huge listing of web-based resources on frugality: http://www.moolanomy.com/326/50-frugal-tips-ideas-and-resources/ - put down the credit card and join the 'frugality cult' today!

Marebare

1 comment:

  1. When I was in college I was cheap. There were things I wouldn't buy that would end up costing me in the long-run. After college I began to realize the difference between being frugal and being cheap. There is a thin line between the two.

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