Do people think you are poor by your frugal ways??

[mom-from-missouri]

I had someone ask me if we were poor because of our frugal ways.. Actually it was a group of us. One made $30,000 a year and is in debt about $60,000. the other makes about $90,000 a year and is also in debt. We make more than both of them together and our debt is our mortgages (3 mortagages on 3 out of 6 properties, and 2 are about paid for), 1 truck that will be paid for in Sept, my car (1 year left) and 1 remaining tractor payment. We live on about $65,000. The rest DH is putting into his retirement account. They thought we were crazy. I think THEY are crazy for not saving.

[PrincessPerky]

Well we actually are poor, but folk do tend to think we have less money than we do..we just choose not to spend it their way.

[Inkstain82]

People think we make a lot more than we do because I have money for a laptop, we don't worry about paying our bills, we can go on the occasional weekend vacation, etc.

What they don't see is the two-room apartment that is almost unfurnished, the lack of a TV or cable, the afternoons teaching myself to cook so that we can go 30+ days at a time without eating out, one phone shared between two adults, etc.

[Hot dog]

People jus think i am cheap I say frugal. They think i have lots of money cause I have a nice house and never have to worry bout payin my bills. If I want something I get it but not till I have the $ to buy. Jus cause I am not jus getting by and have an emergency fund my family thinks I got lots o money. They don't seem to remember that I don't have cable and jus got a cellphone and a computer the last yr while they have had all that stuff forever. I would rather put $ in retirement than in the tv

[Phenomenal Woman]

My co-workers comes by often to ask me if I wanted anything when they do their daily coffee run. (we have free coffee at work). While I like a latte as a once in ahwile as a treat, it is not something I want to spend my money on daily.

I am not abundant salary wise but I like to be careful where my money goes. They just do not see that point or possiblibity and assume that I am strapped on money.

[swanson719]

My friends at work always think I have something on the side because I don't go out to the parties with them all the time and I have money available should I need it. They spend their money on liquor and cars, I like to save and invest mine. Different strokes for different folks.

[Broken Arrow]

Ironically enough, the people who know me in real life actually think I might be rich. Because they know that I don't have to be as frugal as I am, and therefore, I must be squirreling money away somehow.

[bjl584]

No one thinks I'm poor. But, a lot of people think that I'm crazy because I save so much and resist spending.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I don't know. People don't really comment for the most part. I did ask one person outright if she thought I was rich because of hearing her talk about "rich people" who I'd say are really just middle class, sometimes just barely middle class. Um, she seems to think anyone who works in the same place for more than three years is rich. She is very uneducated and poor all her life....She said that, yes, she did think I was rich.

My friends and family mostly have a good idea how much money we earn, just because it is pretty predictable from what we do. Maybe one family member might think we are poor, but that would be because he has so much money himself and has lived in such different circles since college graduation that he has probably lost touch with what middle class is.

I would guess my neighbors generally think we are on about the same level as them, so maybe lower middle class. According to the census bureau, though, our income is well over the mean for our area.

Workmates have tended to be somewhat like us in their earning-spending-saving, so they probably understand, for the most part.

[minnie1928]

I think people think we make more money than we actually do. The fact is that we don't buy all the latest gadgets, our cars are paid for, much of the home repairs are done by us (unless a pro is needed), I work the coupons, we really use the credit card rewards, etc.

[sandrark]

I think people think we make more than we do.

- We own a business. We liquidated IRAs and savings to buy it in 2001, and it's become a major source of our income and assets.

- We bought a house in 1992. Modest, but we've spent a LOT of time and effort into fixing it up. Even with depressed values, it's worth 3x what we paid for it.

- We take nice vacations most years. When my DH blew out his back and had surgery in 2005, it really brought home to us that we might not be able to travel when we're older. So now we have fantastic vacations, and spend our money on travel. However, I book things 6+ months in advance, and typically get 40% discounts on the resort and airfare.

- We both drive pretty new cars (2006 and 2007). However, one is paid off, and the other has ~ $5K left on the books. We always pay a substantial downpayment, and are never upside down or have crazy payment levels.

- DH has his private pilot's license, and flies for fun with a club-owned and rented plane.

All of this is possible because of what we DON'T do.

- We don't shop recreationally. When we go to the mall, it's for a specific purchase, or for a gift. None of this "wander through the mall on Sunday for something to do."

- We don't charge things and carry a balance. We pay off the card, if we use it, from cash already in savings. If we don't have the cash in savings, we delay buying things (except cars, with which we've done small loans).

- We don't hire others to work on our house, unless it's something of a specialty (replacing a furnace, stucco repair). We've renovated a bathroom, a kitchen, and the entire upstairs of our house with very little professional assistance. We've saved TENS of thousands of dollars as a result.

- We don't treat our house equity like an ATM, unlike one of our friends (re-fi'd and cashed out 3x in the past 5 years. He's now under water).

- We don't buy low-quality. We buy quality, and then take care of it.

- We don't think that we need to have everything NOW. We've worked on furnishing one room of the house at a time, and as a result, we've been able to buy NICE furnishings, art and lighting when the time to focus on that room has come. We've been in the house 16 years, and only now does it look really nice. Other friends went out to Pottery Barn or some such store, and charged an entire house worth's of furniture on credit.

People forget all of these things when they see what we have now. But 10 years ago, they made fun of us for sleeping on a plywood bed frame, or using hand-me-down furniture.

Sandi

[simpleyme]

I think we confuse people ;-)

my daughter spent the night with a friend and her mom went through burger king drive through asked my DD what she wanted DD sayswhat dothey have?
the mom says what do you normally get? DD says we do not eat here? the mom was confused would this not be alrihght with your mother? DD said no its alright but my mom cooks at home "

we eat at home ,and if we do go out I want to eat something I cannot make
and I do not want to waste my time or money on fast food unless we are traveling long distance

we also do not go to the movies much as it is just too much money for what it is,we play badmitten in out backyard a lot ;-)
instead of people thinking we are poor they think we are health nuts because of our frugal ways ,
we are not but when people see you outside playing and you do not eat fastfood thats what they think

[Hot dog]

my family all made fun of me for not having a computer internet cell phone and cable... until they couldn't afford those things after having them for so long then all of a sudden they weren't necessities and it was ok to not have them. If I don't have something it is a choice not because I don't have a choice. I just have different priorities. Wish I had some friends like you all around here I am definitely not the norm in my family nor at my job or in my neighborhood.

[disneysteve]

I have no idea what people think, which is probably a good thing.

I agree with OP, swanson and others who have been in the situation of people thinking I make more than I do because we have substantial savings and always seem to have money available for fun stuff like travel and dining out and casino trips. These same people are the ones who buy a new car every 3 years, have premium HD cable, are always getting new clothes, go out for coffee and lunch every day, go to the movies every weekend, etc. Then they are always complaining that they're broke. Imagine that.

[disneysteve]

If I don't have something it is a choice not because I don't have a choice. I just have different priorities.

Great statement! This is so true of us, also. We CAN afford things. We CHOOSE not to have them.