Is this Thrifty? Or Cheap?

I'd say that if your happy pinching pennies, go for it. Maybe it's your hobby. Whether it's being cheap or thrifty doesn't matter. It's your business. Personally, I don't like being cold so I set my thermostat to 70. And I enjoy a hot shower every night. On the other hand, I don't like waste. If I can fix something rather than replace it I will. If a lower price item will serve me as well as an expensive one, I'll get the cheaper one. And, I don't mind shopping for a better price. But, I will spend more if that's what it takes to get what I want.
 

I guess we all prioritise what we want to spend our money on - OP is presumably paying for internet whilst not showering for several days to save money on water.
Or maybe he is using free internet at the library or somewhere.

I think it is good to be thrifty but, like anything, you can also take it too far.

Anyway I like going out for meals sometimes I live well within my means but I also spend money on things I enjoy.
 
GoodEnuff said:
Have found the "living on a shoestring" thread quite interesting and has made me consider my own spending habits in a different light.

For instance, I spend $0 on "entertainment". Never eat out, cook all my own food at home. Never purchase a movie or music nor do I subscribe to any online services if there is a fee involved. Keep my home heating turned down to 65F and heat only the living area during waking hours; at night, I turn it down to maintain 58F and open the bedroom door to let a bit of heat into the bedroom (sleep under several blankets). Shower every few days, hand wash dishes every two days, cut my long hair very short, wear the same clothes for several days (unless I'm doing something to get very dirty), all to save on water. Reuse aluminum foil when possible. Shop at the thrift (called charity in the UK, I read) stores.

I am happy with my ten year old car; recently moved to snow country and will not get snow tires when all I have to do is just not go out on snow days. I recently purchased airline tickets to visit family (first time in two years) and refused to pay extra to get an assigned seat or check a bag. Ended up in a middle seat for most of the flights, once in the very back row. It's just for a couple of hours, for cryin' out loud. No big deal. Pack light to carry on.

The strange thing about these "cost cutting" measures is that I can well afford to take a long shower every day, keep the house at a more comfortable temperature, go out whenever I want, put snow tires on the car, purchase a nice window seat on the plane and go visit every few months.

BUT... I won't do cheap on food. Nor will I do cheap on materials for home improvements (this house was a fixer when I bought it), appliances, tools and such. I am generous with gifts to those close to me and when tipping.

So, am I thrifty? Or cheap? And what about you?
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I think you are cheap in some areas. Can't imagine not heating the house if I can afford it. I like how you won't go cheap on food, this is our #1 expense and you are what you put into your body. It should be real food like organic fruits, vegetables & 100% grass fed, grass finished beef. Trying to avoid chemicals as best as I can. Nothing wrong with how you live or how others view it, you do you better than anyone else can :)
 
I agree with the others who have said you are thrifty and not cheap, but I also agree that thrifty can be taken too far. As a few other posters remarked, I too will not scrimp on food; I prefer to get high-quality meats and fish and fresh fruits and vegetables, even if the cost at times makes me flinch.

My ex-husband tended toward "cheap." When we got married, he preferred to get his dress slacks for work at lower end stores. Then he'd get frustrated when, within a few months, they were getting faded and the hems were fraying. I convinced him to get his slacks at Lands End or LL Bean. Of course, they cost more, but they lasted a lot longer. Sometimes you get what you pay for.
 
dusty said:
I have a lot of the habits of goodnuff, but I take longer showers. The hot water feels good on my bones. The one thing I am unwilling to compromise on is my housekeeper. She really saves me time and money by doing things I would have to pay extra for. She just does them and dos not charge extra.

As we age we must make some changes in the way we do things. I can care for myself fairly easily but then, there's always that box on the top shelf I can't manage.
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Dusty, personal question... are you disabled ?
 
I'm a cheapskate. I wasn't originally, but as I got older, I have become one big time. But sometimes, you just have to spend money. When you need to get a newer previously owned car. I just had to spend recently $570 on a new small snowblower. My 17 year old Toro snowblower finally died. Here in New York, we get snow, so you need something besides a shovel or two.
 
GoodEnuff said:
Have found the "living on a shoestring" thread quite interesting and has made me consider my own spending habits in a different light.

For instance, I spend $0 on "entertainment". Never eat out, cook all my own food at home. Never purchase a movie or music nor do I subscribe to any online services if there is a fee involved. Keep my home heating turned down to 65F and heat only the living area during waking hours; at night, I turn it down to maintain 58F and open the bedroom door to let a bit of heat into the bedroom (sleep under several blankets). Shower every few days, hand wash dishes every two days, cut my long hair very short, wear the same clothes for several days (unless I'm doing something to get very dirty), all to save on water. Reuse aluminum foil when possible. Shop at the thrift (called charity in the UK, I read) stores.

I am happy with my ten year old car; recently moved to snow country and will not get snow tires when all I have to do is just not go out on snow days. I recently purchased airline tickets to visit family (first time in two years) and refused to pay extra to get an assigned seat or check a bag. Ended up in a middle seat for most of the flights, once in the very back row. It's just for a couple of hours, for cryin' out loud. No big deal. Pack light to carry on.

The strange thing about these "cost cutting" measures is that I can well afford to take a long shower every day, keep the house at a more comfortable temperature, go out whenever I want, put snow tires on the car, purchase a nice window seat on the plane and go visit every few months.

BUT... I won't do cheap on food. Nor will I do cheap on materials for home improvements (this house was a fixer when I bought it), appliances, tools and such. I am generous with gifts to those close to me and when tipping.

So, am I thrifty? Or cheap? And what about you?
Click to expand...
I would say you are thrifty, not cheap. My wife and I aren't typical, we don't spend 1/4-1/3 of our income on restaurants as many surveys have shown Americans do. We have a love of cooking (especially Italian) and eat the vast majority of meals at home. Spend more time at home than any of our friends, mostly involved with our hobbies (working on antique/sports cars for me, weaving and textiles for her). Doesn't make us unique or special. it's just us. We have several friends who have spent a lifetime throwing away their income and now wonder what happened at 60...I think you're living just fine and enjoying yourself. Keep it up!
 
You definitely sound cheap and not frugal. There’s definitely a difference. No way would I be cold in my house. I would cut out all discretionary expenses or live in a studio apartment before I would be cold. You pay a basic charge for water which is a big part of your bill. Showers don’t have to take long.

I can’t imagine worrying about the water expenses unless you’re watering a big lawn. In Nevada you have to water daily to keep your lawn alive and only allowed to water 3 times a week by law. So when I had my house I installed high quality Astro turf which solved both problems.
 
To me, it has become a sort of game to see how far I can challenge myself. Doing this is an experiment, and sometimes a training or strengthening exercise. What happens if I do [this]? If I turn the thermostat down to 66F, will it be bearable? Because if it isn't, I'm turning it back up and I am thankful I have that option when many do not. Surprisingly, I have become accustomed to it and it is now quite comfortable. (If I have a guest, I turn it up to 70F.)

It is strangely fun, though, when I get an electric bill that is lower than before and I think to myself, "HA!", and I can stay clean with a washcloth and a small amount of water under most circumstances. It is also a way to know what I will be able to do or not do should certain income cease.

Do I think everybody should do this? Absolutely Not! Do I do it all the time? Nope. There are days when I use up all of the 30 gallons in that water heater for a shower (mostly when the old back starts talking nasty to me). That's one good thing about aging alone; I can do what I want to do most of the time without affecting others.

Mom used to tell us kids, "Turn off the lights! Are you trying to make the light company rich?" Well, my electrical usage isn't gonna make much difference to the light company's profit margin and my lower water usage isn't going to save the earth.

It's a "You can do this" thing. When I first started working on this fixer upper house and started tearing off the siding myself, it was scary. What are you doing? Are you nuts? It forced me to think in a different way. If I do this, what will happen? Should I do it a different way? Or just hire somebody. I did that back wall under the worst of circumstances, it turned out fine. There was a real sense of accomplishment, "I did it!". Now I hire it out and I am thankful to the Powers That Be that I have that choice.

There are limits, however; I will not go out and live "naked and afraid" and eat grubs, lol, no matter how much they pay me.


 
It's funny the word cheap was invented to indicate someone stingy or something. If you choose not to spend money on something, that's your prerogative. There is no negative connotation with that except I would not do the same thing. And maybe cannot imagine heating my home to walk around cold. BUT it's all our choices what we spend $ on, and no one will match perfectly
 
GoodEnuff said:
What happens if I do [this]? If I turn the thermostat down to 66F, will it be bearable? Because if it isn't, I'm turning it back up and I am thankful I have that option when many do not. Surprisingly, I have become accustomed to it and it is now quite comfortable. (If I have a guest, I turn it up to 70F.)

It is strangely fun, though, when I get an electric bill that is lower than before and I think to myself, "HA!", and I can stay clean with a washcloth and a small amount of water under most circumstances. It is also a way to know what I will be able to do or not do should certain income cease.
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It's weird but now that I think about it, if we can become accustomed to a cooler or warmer temperature, then instead of being frugal/cheap to maintain that temp, it changes to becoming wasteful to use the previous setting.

Regarding staying clean with a washcloth, that reminded me of my grandmother when people talked about how her generation only took a bath once a week, she would respond very indignantly that they washed themselves every day using a basin and washcloth.
 
Well, since you're a woman, I sincerely hope you are washing the "important parts" when you choose not to shower! Had you not mentioned that you can afford to shower daily and keep the house at a more comfortable temperature, etc, I would have said you are frugal. But since you are denying yourself things (that IMO are necessary) to save a few dollars, I'll say you are being cheap.
 
If you were ever broke or nearly so, you get to be frugal when you eventually get back to solvency. That is me, but considering how much time I have left and I can't take it with me, I should loosen up but frugality seems to win out anyway.
 
johndoe said:
If you were ever broke or nearly so, you get to be frugal when you eventually get back to solvency. That is me, but considering how much time I have left and I can't take it with me, I should loosen up but frugality seems to win out anyway.
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Oh, Yes. There was a time when we were broke; I would take the calculator with me to the grocery store. A check took a couple of days to clear; many times I would write a "bad" check before payday to feed my kids (single mom back then) or pay a bill (electric). Never had a check bounce, though, lol.
 
GoodEnuff said:
Oh, Yes. There was a time when we were broke; I would take the calculator with me to the grocery store. A check took a couple of days to clear; many times I would write a "bad" check before payday to feed my kids (single mom back then) or pay a bill (electric). Never had a check bounce, though, lol.
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Yes, that reminds me of some check kiting I used to do when it took 2-3 days for checks to clear. None of that works anymore. ;)
 
When my brother and l were really young finances were tough for my parents. We kids never expected to get what we wanted. But children are way more aware and understanding than we might think. l don't deprive myself anymore but l am careful in how l spend money.
 
GoodEnuff said:
Have found the "living on a shoestring" thread quite interesting and has made me consider my own spending habits in a different light.

For instance, I spend $0 on "entertainment". Never eat out, cook all my own food at home. Never purchase a movie or music nor do I subscribe to any online services if there is a fee involved. Keep my home heating turned down to 65F and heat only the living area during waking hours; at night, I turn it down to maintain 58F and open the bedroom door to let a bit of heat into the bedroom (sleep under several blankets). Shower every few days, hand wash dishes every two days, cut my long hair very short, wear the same clothes for several days (unless I'm doing something to get very dirty), all to save on water. Reuse aluminum foil when possible. Shop at the thrift (called charity in the UK, I read) stores.

I am happy with my ten year old car; recently moved to snow country and will not get snow tires when all I have to do is just not go out on snow days. I recently purchased airline tickets to visit family (first time in two years) and refused to pay extra to get an assigned seat or check a bag. Ended up in a middle seat for most of the flights, once in the very back row. It's just for a couple of hours, for cryin' out loud. No big deal. Pack light to carry on.

The strange thing about these "cost cutting" measures is that I can well afford to take a long shower every day, keep the house at a more comfortable temperature, go out whenever I want, put snow tires on the car, purchase a nice window seat on the plane and go visit every few months.

BUT... I won't do cheap on food. Nor will I do cheap on materials for home improvements (this house was a fixer when I bought it), appliances, tools and such. I am generous with gifts to those close to me and when tipping.

So, am I thrifty? Or cheap? And what about you?
Click to expand...

You are a lovely thoughtful human being --and a thrifty one
 
Cyclist said:
It's funny the word cheap was invented to indicate someone stingy or something. If you choose not to spend money on something, that's your prerogative. There is no negative connotation with that except I would not do the same thing. And maybe cannot imagine heating my home to walk around cold. BUT it's all our choices what we spend $ on, and no one will match perfectly
Click to expand...
The word cheap is from an area in London once called cheapside
I had a friend who always said he is thrifty. But he was the cheapest man I knew.
He could afford to live well and would not spend a cent on social life
 
Grampa Don said:
I'd say that if your happy pinching pennies, go for it.
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I'm not a penny pincher - I'm a penny strangler. I think I'm doing well until something needs fixing that can't be postponed like the furnace or a car repair, or I get a tax bill. Sometimes my investments take a back slide. Then that sets me back and I'm antsy. I like to come out financially better off that the month before, but it doesn't always happen. This week I noticed when I bought a 'take and bake' pizza in the store, it's gone up a dollar from 2 weeks ago. Liter bottles of the soda I buy went from 99¢ to $1.19. Doesn't sound like a lot, but it adds up over a year.
 

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