cathyvv

I have always weighed purchases based on how useful, how much longer term value something would give me and my family. Luckily, my husband is the same!

One big splurge was the home we now live in. It gave us both room for our hobbies, we've had grands spend summers and make memories that neither they nor we will ever forget. It was more than worth it!

Onebyone

That is what we did too. When my husband retired we sold and then leased a small house for a year in the area we wanted to live and it was soon plain downsizing was not going to work for us. My husband who is very budget conscience agreed we needed to splurge on a big house. LIke you said the time spent with our grands and family enjoying the house and yard is worth it.

Snooze2978

Dunster, you hit it right on the head. How someone spends their money is their business as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else.

My sister has an Amazon membership so she can watch whatever movie she wants. For myself, I order them from Amazon most times if I can't find them at Walmart so I have them in my collection. Then folks will ask me why and I tell them because I like watching them again maybe years later but I will watch them again. Plus during our sub-zero temps, I watched a bunch of movies for lack of anything else to do a smy sewing mojo was also hibernating. I found with some of the movies, I couldn't remember parts of them so watching them again was good for me. I think what might have happened is I tend to doze off and on thru the movie so miss some of it. This way I can now say I've watched all of it. Plus there are some that I just have to watch over and over. For years, it was Gone with the Wind, then The Phantom of the Opera with Gerald Butler, now it's the Outlander series. So that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Onebyone

The point of my original post was why do people say I'm too cheap to buy.......Why do they say that? I see stingy cheapscape when I hear cheap. I do not associate frugal, thrifty, careful, or broke with the word cheap.

bearisgray

There are some words that just set one on edge -

dunster

I don't think everyone hears it that way. I know I don't. I just hear a touch of humor, poking fun at themselves, in their words.

KalamaQuilts

semantics.
Cheap to me is someone who is always missing their wallet when it is time to settle up.

Many would probably call me cheap because I ask to purchase scraps here. To me that is good stewardship of my funds and life. I do not want to build stash, I've had cancer 3 times and my sight is failing. And I love scrappy, how better to achieve it?

I have the money to buy yardage, it would just be foolish in the extreme.
I paid cash for our vehicles, I'm paying cash next week for our new off the line Grand Design 5th wheel. We have no bills.
We never made big bucks, but we bought the best of what we needed, very little of what we just wanted.

Semantics. Who cares? Apparently me But not very much.

Quiltah Mama

I consider myself conservative. I don't like to waste stuff, especially food. I cook smaller portions, cut recipes in half, and try and to not throw away a bunch of leftovers, however DH prefers a Delmonico steak, and I prefer filet mignon. We eat well, and have good food to eat, we just make it on smaller portions.
I shop sales, use coupons, and pass up several items just because I don't truly "need" them. I always have on the back of my mind retirement and being on a fixed income at some point in the future, and having a nest egg for the incidents that are bound to come up. I want to be able to live comfortably in retirement and not have to go without necessary things. I don't need the newest and latest of everything to live a good and fulfilling life but I have the things that make me happy and content.

SueZQ from MN

When I hear the word cheap it has two meanings. If it is applied to a person, they are people that want something for nothing with no intention to pay for it or repay the favor. If it is used with reference to things, it means poor quality or workmanship, and people frequently use cheap when they actually mean to say inexpensive. People that are careful with their money, don't overspend, or buy what they need rather than want aren't cheap in my opinion, they are financially responsible with their resources.