Frugal Vs Cheap

[tmvijai]

"frugal" seems to have more of a sense of wisdom to it - smart allocation of money to minimize waste, while "cheap" seems to be more reactionary unwillingness to spend money regardless of the situation.

I don't think I can totally agree with explanation of the "cheap" part. It is not unwillingness to spend money. You do spend willing buy items hoping to save money but turn out not worth for the money. On the other hand, you do willing buy cheap stuff which doesn't need to be spent more than that. So I won't say unwillingness spend money.

[SavingNut]

LivingAlmostLarge » Cheapo or Frugal?

In this post, a couple got married. BUT they were CHEAPOS! They had cake only for the bride, groom, and family, but NOT for the guests!

Um, a cake is $10 if you buy 2 boxes of Betty Crocker cake mix and icing. That's being cheap! They were being poor hosts PERIOD. You don't invite people to a wedding and serve some people food and NOT others.

My parents went to a wedding where the bride and groom ordered pizza and ate it infront of the starving guests. If you don't have the money to serve a meal then you have to plan the wedding acordingly.

[Save Money Hound]

I think being frugal is about being wise with how you spend your money.

When buying things, you want to buy things that you need, for a price that gives you good value.

So you may outlay significant dollars, but if it lasts you 10 years, you have probably gotten good value from it.

Buying things cheap may give you false economies. ie. you buy something cheap but it doesn't last long. So in the end it will cost you more!

I like the term frugal a lot more.

Cheap......well, i can take it or leave it.

[Radiance]

Steve said:

Another part of the frugal lifestyle is being resourceful in how and where you acquire the things you want and need.

This is really important, my path to frugal living has been filled with learning, things It just didn't occur to me to even try.

Silly example, who needs $2.59 lemonade? I hardly ever prepare lemonade at home. So when I go out I have water. One posible exeption is whine if the ocassion is worth the celebration.

And that leads to another difference, at least for me.
When I am cheap, I feel depressed, worried about the future, anxious.
Sometimes I need to be cheap and buy the cheapest bar of soap instead of a more 'economic' 6 pack package.

When I am frugal, I feel witty, clever and bobbly! Like when I refused to change my civic for a van only because I got pregnant.
Or when I started using free wi-fi at my club house instead of paying for a coffee at panera bread out of guilt because I was using their wi-fi.

So I believe there is an emotional difference between being cheap and being frugal. Yeah frugality!!!

[Goldy1]

Cheap: putting money before people. My husband's friend just canceled going to a ball game with him b/c he prefers to work his second job and doesn't want to take a night off work(I can' t judge but he is in a pretty good financial situation so it was just not being able to let go of more money esp since he can work as many or little nights a week as he wants at the second job)

[Radiance]

I see a problem with greed as well on that example.

[mtsen]

for ppl who doesn't believe in frugal, its cheap ! they are the same !

for ppl who believe in frugal, many have answered already ...

seriously there are more similarity between the two than differences, so we can't really blame ppl for treating them the same. Here is an easy way to deal with it ...

furgality is when I know I did the right thing, cheap is when some idiots who don't get the idea and continue living a wasteful life ...

[LivingAlmostLarge]

There is a huge difference. Frugal is not going shopping to save money.

Cheap is going shopping, buying clothes, returning the clothes after you wear it to "beat" the system.

[Credit Girl]

Totally agree with Goldy1. Cheap is how you act with others for example you may be cheap with the church by not donating money or you may be cheap with your parents by not helping them out with finances where they need it while frugal is simply being smart with how you spend your own money whether that means looking for bargains or deals or going out less to save more.

[jIM_Ohio]

I see lot of misunderstanding between being frugal and cheap. Many people use them interchangeably and many just confuse these 2 words.

They are totally different. In your mind, how do you see them different?

Cheap vs frugal

going out on a date and using a coupon to pay is being frugal
buying the date another drink after dinner to loosen her up is still being frugal
not springing $ for a package of condoms on the way home is being cheap.

LOL

[Snippa]

I think you all have a really good understanding and explanation of the difference in the two and I agree completely. My family was cheap when I was growing up. We didn't have much money, true, but they never cared about quality, only the least expense. I've learned that quality matters a lot.

As far as the weddings go... I can't imaging someone doing things like that! That's beyond cheap, that's just plain RUDE.

Dee

[Beppington]

Cheap seems pejorative while frugal does not.

Calling somebody frugal is just a nice way of calling them cheap!

OK, seriously, frugal seems more like someone being thoughtful & conscious about their spending without taking it so far that they're offensive or embarrassing ... Cheap is spending so little money that you're offensive and/ or embarrassing.

That's my 2 cents ... oops is that being cheap?

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Here's another cheapo person. Have wedding, but only serve cake and punch to teh wedding party and leave the rest of the guests starving at the reception.

[SoCalifrugal]

It is true that you get what you pay for. I used to buy whatever is the cheapest, but I have learned that for some things, you do have to pay more. It will be worth it in the long run. That way you don't have to replace it as soon. In the case of food, the cheapest is usually less healthy.

Don't let yourself get so caught up with saving money that you don't think about purchases. Sometimes one thing might cost only a dollar or a few cents more than the other product. If they are close in price relative to their overall price, stop and evaluate the value before just picking up the product that is $14.50 as opposed to $14.95

[Saving_spree]

Frugal is to save money and get the most of it where as cheap is getting for low price as well as low quality..