So What If People Make Fun Of Our Frugality!
There's been many a times I've been picked on for being frugal. Mostly during my prepubescent years, but even now I've been known to give a few of my friends a good laugh. I'm sure they were all just jealous (at least that's what our mothers always says, right?) but either way I say who cares.Who cares if our frugality and craftiness distracts people? Are they the ones saving a few dollars? Anope - we are. And because of that I say keep on doing your thang! As long as you're happy and not breaking any rules (*ahem* Phil Villarreal) who cares about these boring people and their spend-crazy lives. We like saving money and we're not afraid to admit it!
In fact, I'll even admit to some thriftiness right now: I used to sneak cheeseburgers into my pockets all the time at the movie theaters :) I'd swing by McDonald's 10 mins. before start time and pick up some double cheeseburgers right off the $1 menu! Not only was it cheap, but it was craaaazy filling. And when that didn't work out, I'd just raid the nearest 7-Eleven instead and grab myself 3 assorted candies back when they were 3/$1 (remember those days?). No way in hell was I spending $50+ on theater food.
And after thinking about this for a bit, I wondered how many others got made fun of for similar things? There's gotta be a lot of us, right? Oh yeah, DEFINITELY right. Check out all the responses I got back after dropping the following note around the web:
Anyone ever make fun of you for being frugal/crafty?
Via Twitter:- @SpendOnLife: "Allowing myself time to "sleep on it" when making large purchases has been a source of laughter for my friends."
- @BudgetPulse: "Every now and then stay in on a weekend night to save money and get laughed at for it."
- @ThomasJFox: "All the time. Some mock my frugality; however, I am able to save 32% of my income because of my choices while they save 0."
- @MoneyManagement: "My daughter recently took a doll (Janet) she handmade to a tea party. All of the other girls had American Girl dolls."
- @CreditGoddess: "Got teased once for pulling out a calculator at the grocery store to figure out savings on buying single vs. 4-pack."
- @littlespace: "Heh. Yes, I get teased. Esp about how I tie environmentalism into it - eg. no paper plates cuz bad for earth & waste of $!"
- @luciagia: "I just im'd my boyfriend to remind him to bring home the ziplock bag his lunch was in. Perhaps I'm a little too frugal."
- @mycesi: "Friends laughed at a coworker of mine for only having basic cable. He used that xtra money to invest in a rental property :)...All my friends make my fun of my use of coupons at restaurants!"
- @CanadianFinance: "I always hear about it at work... "why do you always bring your lunch?", "do you ever buy anything at regular price?", etc."
- @ModernTightwad: "Most embarrassing to me ever, some of my husband's family joke (hopefully) that I'm a lush because ... we go out to happy hour specials. The food specials are cheaper than I can cook, and I don't have to clean so ... it makes good sense ... (Although they do look @ me oddly when I order a coke) Probably doesn't help that when I do cook, I make a lot of beer roasts. (Chp Tndrizr)"
- @MrsMicah: "your mom got teased for being frugaltastic last night, but they shut up when i told 'em she was with me. :)" (hey now, how'd this one sneak in?)
- Nicole Canfora Lupo: "My friends rag on me because I patch my clothes, darn my socks, sew my own purses and make my own curtains."
- Nicole Ouellette: "The newish boyfriend seems amused at my frugality (the man 'woots' daily) but boy, did he like my homemade enchiladas the other night! Frugality = tasty and clever...Yup, one person at a time, I'm trying to change people's minds about being financially responsible but cool..."
- Jesse Michelsen: "Yea I've been called super cheap, etc. I just take it with a smile and shoot em a grin followed by a wink when they say "I have to wait till payday to buy laundry detergent""
- Shelley Harrison: "This is the first year that I will be buying a tree in a loong time for the Holidays. We will be making ornaments since it is not in the budget this year."
- PT @ PT Money: "BA$, did your friends call you the Hamburgler? (Hah!) I was made fun of for going without cable TV for the last year. I had friends and family members who would focus on that like it was the end of the world. They seemed to believe I was trying to get rich by going without cable TV alone. When it was just more practical for me to use Hulu.com and over the air HD channels. Frugality is about spending smarter, not just spending less, I think. And spending smarter is just one piece of my overall plan for financial freedom."
- Stephanie @ Poorer Than You: "...a friend seriously told me to "grow up and stop getting free furniture off of Craigslist - you're not in college anymore."...I mean, come on, how is 22 (almost 23... birthday is Friday!) and just out of college too old for free furniture that's in good shape? Actually, why is there an age on that at all?"
- Financia of Financial Freak Show: "My friend always gives me crap about not going on vacation with them last year...until I pulled up at his house several weeks ago after just paying cash for a sweet used Lexus SUV and parked next to his $588 a month new truck....he said he liked mine more :) I told him he couldn't ride in mine since he stunk like a filthy payment book"
- Mr. Tough Money Live: "I have lots of liberals in my family. I wouldn't say I am frugal as much as I am fiscally conservative and strategic with money and, of course, write about it regularly. My liberal family members extrapolate my fiscal conservatism into a full-blown political label and then mock me as an alleged Bush/Chaney/Palin/etc. lover. Generally, it's those who don't have much money that mock the most. It's all in good fun but it is further proof that how you treat money in your own life can provoke interesting reactions from others."
- Roger @ The Amateur Financier: "Not really; my girlfriend has teased me a bit, particularly about starting up a blog about money (for some reason, it seems to amuse her), but I haven't really taken any slack for saving/investing. Although, on the subject of sneaking food into movie theaters, I do that, as well; sneaking candy bars into the theater to avoid paying $3-5 for a box of Junior Mints. But, everyone does that, right? Right? RIGHT?"
- Kevin @ No Debt Plan: "My friends do take little jabs at me for being frugal, but they also know it is paying off. I'll top both of you -- we don't go to the movies. Ever. Too expensive and I used to work at one in high school. No desire to go back which is good... saves us $20-30 on tickets and food."
- Wife of My Journey To Millions: "Hello, This is My Journey's wife. He sent me over to this forum when he saw this because he knows I am constantly getting picked on for being frugal. Here is my outlook on why it's good to be frugal: The importance of things. It's funny because I almost got chosen to be on the Rachel Ray show for my frugality. I guess others were worse than me because I didn't get picked. But I certainly think you get farther in life being frugal than you do being a spender...and I also believe rich people stay rich...by being frugal (in their own way of course)
- FFB from Free From Broke: "I've been called cheap from time to time but these were from people who spent freely. I've had lots of "come on it's only 20 bucks" type of replies from friends. Interestingly, when I respond that since it's only $20 why don't they pay they never take me up on it!"
Labels: frugality, in the real world, money hacks, saving
posted by J. Money at
7:25 AM
18 Comments:
lol. Well my guy friends in high school would tease me as well about sneaking food into the theaters in my big purses. (Not a lot, just a $1 burger, or nuggets from Wendy's) But after a while who would they ask for help when they wanted to sneak their own burgers in? Me, that's who, lol. I guess I taught them a thing or two about living on a budget.
You're right, in the end they aren't going to pay me back what I could've saved had I ignored them. It's my money, and I gladly took the teasing over paying a fortune on theater food.
As a kid, my mom would sneak candy in her purse when we went to the movies as a family and to this day I have carried on the tradition.
And occassionally I get teased for cutting coupons, but it is no laughing matter on the savings I get in the grocery store.
I have been made fun for using coupons for nice dinner!
Okay this is something I will continue to do until it seems hopeless - sneak 20 oz pops into Sporting Events. I've been doing this for a couple years now and have saved probably $40 between me and my girlfriend that we would have spent on pop. We go to the gas station on the way and buy $1.50 20 ounce pops and we sneak two of them in. Our average savings is at least $5/game (if you say the pop is $4 there, even tho it's going up). So basically I haven't been "caught" yet, and even if I was, no big deal! I would just throw them out and be happy it worked for so long!
Try it! You can save a lot!
Oh yeah and I clip coupons too...and use them a lot!
I'm back! Haha.
As for me, I think it's a generally biological condition that I have. I refuse to pay for certain things, and movie food is one of them! Movie tickets too if it matches my availability. I'm always going to Half Off Ladies Nights...
I stopped going to the movie theater about two years ago. I now go to my local university on campus theater. Instead of paying $10+ a ticket, I pay $3. PLUS the candy and food there is CHEAP. I can get a popcorn for $1.50-$2.
As for the cable, that's gone too. I have basic cable and watch everything else on the net. My own girlfriend makes fun of me, but I'm socking away over 40% of my pay. (who's laughing now) I'll be able to watch the real Laguna beach from my window soon enough!
I drive a 9 year old car with 110,000 miles on it. It's probabyl worth about $6,500 if even. A friend of mine who makes about 40% less drives a $100,000 second hand (new is $180,000!) Aston Martin DB9. I think he's made fun of me before, but I'm not sure :)
Actually, ever since I started working, nobody has every made fun of me for being frugal, partly b/c I wasn't that frugal in my 20's. I spent it up, and now I'm over it.
I'm with Kevin on the theater thing. My wife and I haven't been to the theater since 2007 (I Am Legend) and someone else paid for that one. I can't even remember when the last time before that was that we went to the movies..it's just such a racket, $10 to see a movie once? bah ;)
Nice post J! You are financially prepared and NOT living paycheck to paycheck, so the jokes on them. :D I wrote about not caring when I wrote about driving my beat up CRX around---yep, I didn't care what people thought because I was driving a car without a payment. :)
Frugality is essential to smart money management. The problem is that people associate frugality with negativity. It could be negative, which is why you have to be frugal based on the things that you value. If something is important to us we should provide balance to enable us to enjoy the benefits, while allowing us to enjoy, within reason, the things we enjoy. Frugality is beautiful!
@QL Girl - That is awesome...these days i use the mrs' purse to sneak in my snacks & soda ;)
@Coupon Princess - Coupon is your middle name! Wait...actually, it's your FIRST name! haha...I wonder how much money you save every year by using coupons? If you ever want to calculate it, it would make for a GREAT guest post here on B.A.S ;)
@mewithoutdebt - Those are the best kind! you save much more that route....although, I can see the "make fun of" level going up as well there as you're surrounded by a different crowd.
@David@DINKS Finance - I just like hearing you say POP :) but yes, def. good thinking on your behalf.
@Rachelle - Always a pleasure when you're here :) And might I add that Half Off ladies night is also Best Time To PickUp Women Night! So pay attention all you ballers.
@Anonymous - hahaha...oh man, my wife watches that show all the time too. I can't give up cable just yet, but I like that campus movie theater idea. I used to take my college dates to them ;) Half way kidding, half way serious and usually I'd only allow the fun ones to come with....if there was one closer to me I'd totally hit it up again.
@Financial Samurai - Oh wow, that car is no joke. Would love to drive one myself, but my damn will that never happen @ that price.
@Jesse - It's def. expensive, but I can't cut them out all the way. I like the atmosphere and seeing all the people mingling about on their dates and such. We probably go about every 4-5 months which is MUCH MUCH less than once a week like I used to! Although I must ad my brother & sister both used to work for one so we got the hook up all the time ;) so that doesn't count.
@Brad - Amen brother! And damn straight i'm not living paycheck to paycheck anymore - i had my "fun" with that, and hopefully never again ;) It's always hard coming straight out of college to not live that way, but once you get going and have a game plan it's home sailing my friend!
Made fun of? Sure. Especially with my brown-bag lunch habits. A co-worker once said when I turned down a lunch invite, "Yeah, if he eats out, his kids won't be able to go to college". I thought for a second and replied, "Yeah, something like that."
It just re-affirms that I'm on the right path. What's funniest is that in this economy, I've been getting less snide comments, and more head nodding and and comments like, "I should do that more..."
Frugal and I don't care what you think of me :P
cheers
I am sure, same people would be asking frugal people for tips now, as economy is downhill and every one is trying to be frugal. It is like "in" thing now, hope it lasts, so always frugal like us, can continue as normal as it can be.
My husband, MY HUSBAND, made fun of my lunch bag. It is a soft cooler that will hold like, eight, cans of soda. When I bought it home from the store (it was on sale), he asked me if I was going to work in a coal mine. Cute. I not only take my lunch, but my breakfast and my afternoon snacks, soda and bottled water. Having it cut my work food-related daily expenses from $10 per day to about $3 (if I want to get some extra fixings for my salad).
@Mr. (not) the Jet Set - hah! great response, people are crazy. (crazy jealous of your mad skills)
@zengirl - you've got that right. Frugality is the new black ;)
@Anonymous - hahhahaa.... A coal mine?! omg your husband cracks me up. you should pick up something scantily clad with your savings and surprise the hell out of him one night. Then, when he tries to get close, reject him with a "Oh, i'm sorry, did you like these coal miner clothes?!" haha...or perhaps something more clever. Either way, we're all proud of you ;)
I feel pretty good when people make fun of me for spending money!
John DeFlumeri Jr
Heh, good stuff; it's nice to know that so many people who shared information with you, and it's an interesting topic to read more about.
I get made fun of from my friends quite a bit, but it's just kidding - they tell me all the time I'm going to be the rich one of the group.
I'm 23 and they refer to me as the "old man" who doesn't have tv, reads a lot, and spends money wisely. haha. I'll remind them of that when I'm on the beach and they're still wage slaves!
Hah! Good job old man ;) If it makes you feel better, my wife sometimes calls me that too when I talk about saving bonds and the like. And then I forward it along to a good buddy of mine who's just as money-obsessed as I am. haha...But if "old man" means "rich old man," then let's make it happen!
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