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Frugality vs. Cheapness
Oct. 31st, 2007 04:37 pmChatting with a colleague at lunch today we got on the discussion of "cheapness". He described a relative as cheap (and the relative self-described that way too), but upon hearing his behavior I thought he wasn't so much cheap as frugal.
What's the difference? You're frugal if you do considerable research to find the best value in a restaurant before going out for dinner. You're cheap if you don't tip the server.
There is a third category: If you go to the most extravagant restaurant in town and spend money like a drunken sailor, but still don't tip the server, you're neither cheap nor frugal. You're petty.
These categories are not exclusive, nor is that the end of them. Poor differs from frugal in that your spending is restricted by a lack of funds rather then by your nature. Frugal plus stupid creates the "pennywise but pound-foolish" phenomenon. This I saw a lot of when I used to work retail - people who would spend ten dollars in gas to drive across town to save five dollars on an appliance for example.
What's the difference? You're frugal if you do considerable research to find the best value in a restaurant before going out for dinner. You're cheap if you don't tip the server.
There is a third category: If you go to the most extravagant restaurant in town and spend money like a drunken sailor, but still don't tip the server, you're neither cheap nor frugal. You're petty.
These categories are not exclusive, nor is that the end of them. Poor differs from frugal in that your spending is restricted by a lack of funds rather then by your nature. Frugal plus stupid creates the "pennywise but pound-foolish" phenomenon. This I saw a lot of when I used to work retail - people who would spend ten dollars in gas to drive across town to save five dollars on an appliance for example.
