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In other words, pride goeth before a fall so don't be so smug that you have it all figured out.
Anyone who finds the old "Sh*t Happens" bumper sticker funny is either under 30 or has managed to avoid any setbacks in their life. It's a warning, not a joke.
Frugality can be a mania bordering on mental illness. Maybe not to Hetty Green levels, but short of being part of a religious order that emphasizes poverty, denying yourself and family small, reasonably-priced comforts and conveniences is carrying it too far.
Which is why I've never advocated frugalism or minimalism as part of more sensible consumer thinking. You simply don't have to go that far other than for moral or religious reasons that control your life choices.
+1
My oldest friend has a host of emotional issues, but the one that seems to impact his life most directly is his unnecessary frugality--which actually costs him more money in the long run, in many cases. Here are some examples:
>Falling ice broke his bathroom window a few years ago. When he was told by a glass shop's repairman that the cost to replace the thermal window was over $300, he angrily threw the guy out of his house and decided to "repair" the window himself with a piece of cardboard. The result is that, during very cold spells during the winter, his bathroom has been as cold as 45 degrees. The fallout of that situation is that he sometimes goes for extended periods of time w/o bathing or showering.
>He washes his dishes--by hand--in cold water, in order to "save money". Then, because of congealed grease in the kitchen drain, he has to call-in a plumber a few times a year in order to clear the drain.
>He buys all of his clothing--and shoes--at a thrift shop. Yes, clothing can be laundered, but shoes cannot be laundered, and as a result of wearing old shoes from random people, he winds up with foot fungus problems that require medical treatment. Additionally, because shoes conform to the shape of the original wearer's foot, none of his shoes fit him properly, and his feet are constantly swathed in Band-Aids and corn pads.
If he was truly poor, I could understand some of his frugal ways, but his retirement income is almost identical to mine, so I know that his frugality is simply not necessary. Yes, he does manage to put some money into a bank account each month, but his savings account earns .01% interest. I have attempted, numerous times, to get him to switch to a much more lucrative savings account, but he never acts on that advice.
Kitchen knives are my weakness. They'll last a lifetime and really do make a difference in food prep but I would buy ones that were 95% duplicate role as my other ones. It's one of the few things I stored when we moved overseas, they are in a box in my parents' attic.
I have a block nearly full of old Gerber kitchen knives, the ones that were made when Pete Himself ran Gerber. You can't get them new anymore.
They were not exactly cheap, I bought most of them at gun shows, I couldn't tell you what I paid. But, yeah, they will easily last the rest of my life.
Likewise, hand tools for car work. Old USA made Craftsman, quite a few Snap-On. Arguably better than I need. So what. I like them, I bought them, paid cash. Will use till my dying day.
And, of course, guns. A cheap, truly cheap and crap gun is an abomination. Most of the really crap guns I have seen offered for sale are small pistols. These definitely won't go up in value. At worst they fail you when the chips are down, and hasta la vista to you. So much for saving a few hundred bucks.
That said, there are cheaply priced guns out there, particularly used, that are good quality guns. Old British SMLE rifle, for example. Or some Savage products, or most any old single-barrel break open shotgun. The "pride of ownership" thing is not there, but, you get what you pay for in terms of a good utility gun.
But, any really good gun, any quality gun - unless it's a high-velocity rifle and you burn out the barrel, you can shoot it all you want, and it will be worth as much or more than what you paid for it. Maybe the most extreme example is a good double shotgun - SS or O/U, take your pick, but, pick quality. Such a gun will "wear out" many men (and/or women) in it's "career". LC Smith, Winchester 21 - get a good one and you won't go wrong. These are not "cheap" in conventional terms, but, if you can swing the price of admission, it's like a lifetime pass to the hunting grounds of Valhalla. Well, you have to supply your own place to hunt birds, and a good dog certainly adds to the enjoyment and won't last your lifetime unless you are old and the dog is quite young. But the gun part of the equation is covered, and covered in style.
When you are doing something you care about - cooking, wrenching, hunting - there is something to be said for shelling out for really good tools.
I have a block nearly full of old Gerber kitchen knives, the ones that were made when Pete Himself ran Gerber. You can't get them new anymore. They were not exactly cheap,
I bought my Henckels kitchen knives back in the '70s, long before that company decided to make lesser-quality knives, in addition to their high-quality cutlery.
However, it should be noted that these elderly knives have been regularly sharpened on my Chef'sChoice sharpener over the past 4 decades, and the combination of extremely high-quality knives--coupled with regular sharpening--has enabled me to keep using them without problems over that very long time period. Lesser-quality knives would likely last only for a tiny fraction of that length of time.
I bought my Henckels kitchen knives back in the '70s, long before that company decided to make lesser-quality knives, in addition to their high-quality cutlery.
However, it should be noted that these elderly knives have been regularly sharpened on my Chef'sChoice sharpener over the past 4 decades, and the combination of extremely high-quality knives--coupled with regular sharpening--has enabled me to keep using them without problems over that very long time period. Lesser-quality knives would likely last only for a tiny fraction of that length of time.
Nah. I have Henckels, Wusthof and Gerber kitchen knives, as well as a Sam's Club santoku I ended up with when the ex insisted on keeping the Misono. All get sharpened in my CC 130. The $6 Sam's Club knife (reground to 20 degrees) cuts as well as I've ever needed a santoku to. The modestly-priced Gerbers are almost 30 years old and hold an edge, still have tight handles, etc., as well as their 5X pricier mates I've used for over 20.
As much as I love my 10-inch Wustof and reach for it first in nearly every case, the others are just as good. Past a certain point, knife quality is more a matter of marketing than anything else. Even then, the Sam's Club utility-grade one is impressing me every time I use it. Will probably eventually replace it... with the $30 Victorinox that comes out on top in nearly all comparos not run by Sonoma-Williams and the weeaboo crowd.
Dictionary definitions don’t really bear out your distinctions. You are posting about word connotations, which may not be universally understood the way you understand them.
I get your meaning though. Some people are cheap, and severe cheapness is a character flaw. Often cheap people cannot give to charity for instance. Sometimes cheap people don’t seek medical care for themselves or their dependents because of fear of the costs. Or, as in your example, cannot bring themselves to make a timely repair which would actually save them money.
These people are emotionally stunted, I think. I feel sorry for them.
But I do think of people like that as being frugal.
Dictionary definitions don’t really bear out your distinctions. You are posting about word connotations, which may not be universally understood the way you understand them.
I get your meaning though. Some people are cheap, and severe cheapness is a character flaw. Often cheap people cannot give to charity for instance. Sometimes cheap people don’t seek medical care for themselves or their dependents because of fear of the costs. Or, as in your example, cannot bring themselves to make a timely repair which would actually save them money.
These people are emotionally stunted, I think. I feel sorry for them.
But I do think of people like that as being frugal.
I think there is a big difference between being frugal and cheap. Most frugal people will give to and help others when needed, will offer to pay in turn for friends and such, but know how to live on little for day to day expenses.
I am very frugal myself, living very well but very affordably day to day. I have known a few cheap people however, who would sometimes do frugal things, but also would not offer to pay for someone's coffee or donate to charity and such.
Occasionally it comes across as being opulent... buying the much more costly per unit small bottle of whatever vs the Bulk sized item that's 50x cheaper per unit... but the small bottle is less Total cost than the big bottle. If it's something that'll go to waste (I'm thinking about huge containers of condiments ~ we simply don't use enough of most things to have it gone before the expiration date), it doesn't matter how good of a "deal" I got, only the out of pocket expense.
I want to know where you're finding ketchup that is perceived as opulent. Is this why people go to Whole Foods?
Of course it can. But I think we tolerate - accept - even admire people who are shopping mavens more than we have any positive attitude towards someone who eats their canned soup cold because they're too cheap to heat it up. Of course, there's no conglomerates selling the idea of cold split pea soup to us.
Speak for yourself (and many others, I realize, but that's a very liberal use of 'we' there).
Libertarians are (usually white) folks who have everything they want and delusional enough to think they did it all by them lonesome selfs. First time life craps on them and they need something, their mouths get a lot smaller. Some are even known to grow a heart from the compost of their ego.
Lol. Well said.
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