I enjoy saving money and I adore finding ways to get what I want cheaper but there are certain frugal things that I can’t stand. Let me know if you agree…
1. Cheap Gifts
I’m all for saving money and not buying people extravagant gifts, especially when you can’t afford it. I can’t stand giving or getting gifts just for the sake of giving or getting a gift. As mentioned before, I can’t really think of a time that a gift from a dollar store is necessary. Save the buck and buy a meaningful card if you have to. The one exception to this rule is small gifts for young children. There are great deals on kids toys at the dollar store once in a while.
2. Pain and Suffering
I can’t stand when people will put off health check ups or refuse to take their children to the doctor because of saving money. I admit that I do think hard about these things and I hate a medical bill as much as anyone but our health and the health of our families should not be held hostage to frugalness. I hate the fact that when I am sick or something happens to my daughter I do think of the cost, but if it’s time to go to the clinic or emergency room, you can bet we’ll be there regardless.
3. Cheating to Save Money
Sure it saves money to sneak your own food into the theater or to lie about your age or a child’s age to get a discount at a restaurant but in the end, it is cheating. I’m sorry but if you have to have snacks at the theater than either buy the ones they offer or don’t go to the theater, rent the DVD and stay home with your own food.
As far as age discounts go, it isn’t setting a good example to children, obviously, but again, if you don’t want to cough up the extra money for the truth then maybe consider eating somewhere else, looking online for restaurant coupons and deals or not eating out at all.
4. Washing Aluminum Foil
There are people that swear by this and will argue to the death that washing and reusing aluminum foil saves money and saves the earth at the same time. Fine, I’ll do my part and throw it in the recycling bin but I refuse to rewash and reuse it. I think anything that is painfully inconvenient or and does not save me more than $2 a year is not worth it. One of the reasons I have not yet tried the homemade coffee filter dryer sheets yet. I will have time one day to actually make them, but right now it isn’t on my ridiculously long list of things to do. In fact, a lot of homemade things that take too much time and effort are probably on my mental list of frugal things I hate.
5. Cheap Food
Don’t get me wrong, I do like saving money on the grocery bill. But, I hate buying something cheap that doesn’t taste good. The perfect example would be those less than a dollar packs of sliced cheese. I know, sliced cheese costs almost $4 sometimes, but the other cheese doesn’t even taste like cheese. Besides, I’m pretty sure that if it doesn’t melt when you put it on broccoli and just kind of crumbles, then it might not be that great for your health either.
With that in mind, I also hate taking my lunch to work. I do it because it’s smart and healthy but don’t get me wrong, I’d much prefer to eat out everyday.
There is a difference between being frugal and being cheap. I think that we should consider why we’re doing the things we’re doing, if it actually saves us money and if it is worth living by the Frugal Gods’ standards. Some things you have to spend a couple bucks on, like it or not.
Operation WITHIMMG:
Day 29-0
Day 30-0
I will be extending Operation Where in the Heck is My Money Going through the weekend and post the conclusion on Monday.