Being cheap.
 

Why do some say Because I'm cheap I ..... It's like it is a badge of honor to wear proudly but to me it seems sad. I can't imagine feeling good about being cheap just to be cheap.

I think there is a difference between
being cheap
Being a penny pincher
Being frugal
being careful with spendingl

I also think there is a difference between cheap and inexpensive and bargain-priced.

I usually think " cheap" Is a negative description of something or someone.

We all like to get bargains. When we find the fabric we love at an astounding price, we are proud of it! So, we may call it cheap in that instance.
I don't know. Just throwing stuff out there. :)

I don't call myself cheap, because I'm not. I am thrifty, but if I find something a little pricey that has great value to me (or as a perfect gift), I will buy it and be happy to have found it. I'd rather have less GOOD stuff to use, than tons of junky stuff.

If you are cheap you withhold spending regardless of the consequences such as being cold for not paying gas bill cheap. However, if you like a bargain and save money when you can that is frugal. Frugal us a positive word.

That's what I say! I'm not cheap, I'm frugal!! Cheap implies not paying your fair share. We have a friend that develops T-Rex arms when the bill arrives--too short to ever reach for the check!!

I consider myself conservative. I do not shop just because I have a coupon. Some lesser brand items are fine. But, I also do not mind spending a bit more to get quality items that will last

Cheap is a personality that I stay away from. The ones I call cheap won't spend the money to buy what would be beneficial to them because they can make do with something not as beneficial. I don't have to be as frugal as I use to be but I still like to find a bargain.

I don't care for the term. I like to say "frugal", but truly, some people really are cheap. And I'm not really either, especially where fabric is concerned. I do like to get a good deal, but if I like it, I'm fortunate that I can usually (and often do) buy it. LOL

Frugal is no where close to cheap. Everyone should be frugal according to their situation. Cheap is Ebenezer Scrooge.

I don't care if I'm called cheap but I do consider myself frugal big time. My sister and I will hit the thrift shop every Friday, our shopping day. We buy most of our clothes there these days also. My sister found most of the ornamental stuff to decorate her new house from the thrift shops. By shopping frugally at the thrift shops, we're able to pay for the more expensive stuff like new furniture, appliances, cars. I'm trying to lose weight so going out and buying brand new clothes that may fit me for only a short time seems wasteful to me. We do look at the brands of clothing we buy and how well the clothes were maintained by the previous owners.

If I'm called cheap because of how I shop, so be it. I also hit the clearance section at Walmart every week during our shopping outing. Just picked up a timer I needed for my grow lights. Got it at half price so I feel I got myself a deal and I actually needed it.

We also go thru our clothes every season, items around the house to see if we still like them, they no longer fit, we no longer use it, etc. These items get taken back to the thrift shop to resell. They're a non-profit organization so I feel I'm doing my part.

I also dislike cheap people. It seems to permeate them in every aspect. Yuck!
Frugality is a bit different though. I seem to swing from frugal to extravagant and it suits me.

My sister has plenty of money and is in no way cheap. However, she won't rent Amazon movies because she says " I'm cheap".
She isn't though. It's just one of her quirks. Paying for an Amazon membership "should" give you free movies but the truth is that some can only be rented. I think it just bugs her. As I said she is a very giving and generous person.

I feel like everyone has the right to spend her money the way she wants to, as long as she's not taking advantage of others. We all have our own limitations, and responsibilities. I won't label someone as cheap just because she doesn't prioritize things the same way I would.

I've thought long and hard about replying to this thread. I call myself cheap -- I don't care what other people call me. Would you be more comfortable if I said I was poor instead? All I know is for years I've been the "least economically blessed" person (is that better for you?) in any given room I've been in. I feel I can be cheap in my buying habits but still be generous with what I have. I'm too cheap to give away $12/yard fabric (and too cheap to buy it for myself) but yeah, I'm happy to share my $2/yard fabrics carefully gleaned from thrift stores and estate sales. I may not look poor or cheap, but I can tell you my average piece of clothing is used and typically costs $5 or less.

It is because I'm cheap that I was been able to keep my house despite various economic upheavals (plus my own hard work as well as my husband). The costs in buying a house meant that no, I was too cheap to take vacations or do a lot of other things. Too cheap to pay for fingernails or hair appointments or perfumes or whatever. It was luck that I bought in a rapidly appreciating area that let me move after 30 years to a more affordable area and now own a house outright and for the first time in my life have a tiny little nest egg. Knock on wood -- every time before some upheaval would take away everything I had carefully saved and scrimped to have.

It is because I'm cheap that I was able to feed my husband the meat based diet that he lost 200 pounds by buying and eating marked-down meat. Likewise, I am/was cheap by buying "2nd" quality produce at the ethnic markets instead of at the chain supermarkets. Why pay $3.99/pound for a 12 oz apple when I could buy a nutritionally identical but not so pretty apple for $0.99/pound??

During Covid I was very aware that I would have been very cold if I was at home with my school aged child back in the day. We turned on the heat for 30 minutes in the morning and an hour at night. Nice thing about cold is you can put on an extra layer or two -- with heat there comes a point where you can't take off any more. During Covid my house was cold because that was what we could afford, thermostat turned all the way up to 63. Cheap or reality? Does it really matter??

I'm ok being cheap and saying "oh that's not in the budget" or that I can't afford to go out to lunch. Not paying your fair share isn't cheap -- it's theft.

Being cheap has nothing to do with being poor or wealthy. Cheap is begrudging every penny spent no matter the financial situation.
I have never said I can't afford that. The times I could not buy something because of my financial situation I would say No thanks, I don't want to buy that now. By saying I can't afford it made me feel defeated. By saying I don't want to buy that now gave me a glimmer of hope that one day I will be able to, just not now. It's all positive thinking. I am a firm believe in positive thinking and speaking. It brings good things.

When I was growing up my mother did not work outside the home, we had one car, and it was a family of 5. (3 kids a mom and dad.). We had everything we needed - my mom made her own noodles - short cake - pies - etc. We bought eggs from an egg man and the chicken too - my dad hunted and fished. It seemed whenever my sisters and I asked for anything my mother would say, "No, We can't afford that." More than once I would tell a waitress or a sales person, "No, we cant afford that" and embarrass the heck out of my parents. I didn't see it as shameful just a fact. And I grew up thinking we were poor - turns out we weren't - my mom and dad did not believe in spending money they didn't have on things they didn't need.

Is it "cheap" or "careful". We luckily can have anything we want, but, I guess because we don't want all that much in the way of high ticket items or amassing a bunch of things we can have anything else. We don't deny ourselves, and live a nice comfortable life. Not extravagant though. We don't waste much of anything, still look for good prices, so I guess we are okay. We are lucky because there are so many who are struggling just to keep a roof over their heads and children fed and to stay warm.

Cheap to me is not being thrifty, careful, frugal, poor, or budget conscience. It is down right stingy to be stingy. Nothing else. They may mean something else but I hear stingy.

I was thinking the same thing. As one of my favorite youtubers says "you do you, boo"

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!

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.

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.

There are some words that just set one on edge -

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.

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.

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.

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.