Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
for example, i have a car that's nearly 10 years old and it's fine for me, but sometimes i see people my age or younger with brand new/newer cars and sometimes i think to myself "maybe i should replace it for something new" even though i don't particularly have a strong need or want to get a new car.
i think a lot of people end up paying their car off on finance and paying a car off monthly is not my idea of smart, especially as you don't know what can happen one month to the next.
i also like finding deals in stores and looking to shop for groceries at cheaper places, but you get some people saying "i no, i would never shop there i don't think their quality is good" and then you explain that the quality is just as good as the more expensive stores, but they tend to continue shopping at pricier places.
i try not to care, but sometimes i feel that society deems frugal people as "cheap" and looks down on those people. i think there's a lot of pressure from society for everyone to follow the crowd, get into debt, struggle to pay their bills and fall into that revolving pit of darkness that the banks want for the general population.
what are your thoughts?
I bet there are a lot of people who look down on others' frugal habits. I also bet many aren't as well-off as they'd have you believe. The world is full of financial fakers!
You're doing fine, and they never read The Millionaire Next Door .
for example, i have a car that's nearly 10 years old and it's fine for me, but sometimes i see people my age or younger with brand new/newer cars and sometimes i think to myself "maybe i should replace it for something new" even though i don't particularly have a strong need or want to get a new car.
i think a lot of people end up paying their car off on finance and paying a car off monthly is not my idea of smart, especially as you don't know what can happen one month to the next.
i also like finding deals in stores and looking to shop for groceries at cheaper places, but you get some people saying "i no, i would never shop there i don't think their quality is good" and then you explain that the quality is just as good as the more expensive stores, but they tend to continue shopping at pricier places.
i try not to care, but sometimes i feel that society deems frugal people as "cheap" and looks down on those people. i think there's a lot of pressure from society for everyone to follow the crowd, get into debt, struggle to pay their bills and fall into that revolving pit of darkness that the banks want for the general population.
what are your thoughts?
Who cares? ARe they paying your bills? NO.
I have a friend who spends themselves into a hole constantly, owes more on 2 vehicles than they are worth, and is looking to trade in again on another! They just lost their house for not paying the mortgage, and are already in trouble with a rent-to-own they just bought, one month in. They have no savings and always owe the bank overdraft fees every month to the tune of $250 per account {they have three}. They complain if they have "no spending money" and MAKE $20K MORE a year than we do.
Meanwhile:
I drive a 9 year old minivan {paid for, no rust, 76k miles}.We just traded in a 16 year old on a new '14 car {paid for}. I will drive my minivan for another 5-6 years, then seek out to find a replacement {paid for}.
We have savings and auto-deduct for savings so we "never see it" as it accumulates.
our home is 930 sqft, but paid for.
I shop for cheap, but good, groceries too.
I shop online where I can often find better deals than in stores, even with shipping, WHEN I have to pay it.
Our parents, children of depression and war; are CHEAP, save virtually everything {in case they need it again for something}; but I am just frugal and carefull. We DO have/save a lot more atuff than we should, too.
DOn't worry about it, let them spend their money and have lots of debt they can't manage on the way to the poor house.
I judge people for wasting money. Our cars are 12 and 15 years old (from model year) and were purchased after they were several years old. I am never concerned that they are too old. In 7 years we probably will still have both.
We bought a nice house because property taxes in the area are low and interest rates were at historical lows.
I buy most of my clothes at Goodwill and other charity stores.
I make a very solid income, but I have no desire to waste it. I live frugally while I acquire a mountain of ETFs (exchange traded funds). I am never concerned about people looking down on me for living frugally. If they do, I'll tell them to eat a d***.
Once I was having a conversation with another employee and my new outfit came up. I told her it was something like a buck fifty for the pants and shirt combined at the good will. She (50 to 60 years old) put her hand on my arm and thanked me repeatedly for supporting the good will. She liked supporting them also. I was caught off guard because I just figured I was doing the intelligent thing. If someone judges you for making intelligent frugal decisions, they will either respect you for it or not be worth your time.
I would say that people, especially relatives, are indeed judgmental about the way you live your life. Here are questions I get:
Ie: "Why don't you have kids yet?" Because kids are expensive
"Why don't you do X or Y with your yard?" Because putting a fire-pit in my yard is expensive; because the water bill to keep it green is expensive
"Why don't you remodel your bathroom?" Give me $5000 and I'll do it.
"Why didn't you buy a house in [inflated cost neighborhood]?"
So how exactly do you determine when someone is wasting money? I don't presume to know whether or not my neighbor can afford a new car or a bathroom remodel or an exotic vacation or a daily trip to Starbucks. Furthermore, it's really none of my business. Frankly, this discussion is kind of freaking me out. Are my neighbors really standing around whispering about what kind of phone I carry?
Why assume that "other people" know what they're doing when it comes to managing finances?
I don't. But:
People don't expect their investment advisor (or doctor) to pull up in a rust bucket belching smoke.
Women aren't going to want to go out on a date with a guy with bad BO.
You aren't going to have a job too long if your boss thinks your lazy and incompetent.
If you'll go back and read my earlier post in this thread you'll see I'm VERY MUCH AGAINST conformg and wasting money needlessly/"keepi up with the joneses" but certain compromises, explanations, or "going along to get along" are required to function in society.
Now if you want to Be the odd hermit who lives on the mtn and doesn't have a job.... You can do as you please.
when you cheapen your own life that is being frugal. but when you negatively effect others around you by cheapening your life that can be cheapness and frowned upon.
as an example a co-worker will not buy an air conditioner for the bedroom because he does not want to pay to run it and makes his wife suffer through the heat and thast is wrong is wrong . she told me she is soooo tired of fighting with him.
others go out to eat with friends and when it comes to splitting the check they pay their share to the penny and cut the tip to less than it should be on their share even though they can well afford it.
there are endless examples of where frugality a good thing turns into cheapness , a bad thing.
for example, i have a car that's nearly 10 years old and it's fine for me, but sometimes i see people my age or younger with brand new/newer cars and sometimes i think to myself "maybe i should replace it for something new" even though i don't particularly have a strong need or want to get a new car.
i think a lot of people end up paying their car off on finance and paying a car off monthly is not my idea of smart, especially as you don't know what can happen one month to the next.
i also like finding deals in stores and looking to shop for groceries at cheaper places, but you get some people saying "i no, i would never shop there i don't think their quality is good" and then you explain that the quality is just as good as the more expensive stores, but they tend to continue shopping at pricier places.
i try not to care, but sometimes i feel that society deems frugal people as "cheap" and looks down on those people. i think there's a lot of pressure from society for everyone to follow the crowd, get into debt, struggle to pay their bills and fall into that revolving pit of darkness that the banks want for the general population.
what are your thoughts?
My thought is that this is really a question about yourself. Maybe you'd like to splurge, but better judgment is stopping you. Or you feel that your 10 year old ride doesn't truly represent who you are and those other people are putting on airs. Or some other variation on the theme.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
