I am afraid that often times those who are frugal are considered "poor". Some people are frugal out of necessity but many are frugal because they choose to be. I think I have been both, as when we were first married we were dirt poor and lived paycheck to paycheck. We saved and scrimped in order to just make ends meet. Now, we still live off a small income but instead of spending that extra $50 or $100 at the end of a pay period we put it into savings or pay extra on our house payments. We don't eat out less or not buy that brand new purse because we can't afford it but rather because we choose not to.I need to rethink the phrase "I can't afford it." My husband and I have been known to say that we don't have cable because we can't afford it. But we could afford it. Even for a basic package at around $40 a month we could swing it. But we choose not to, as we don't feel paying $480 a year on television is worth it, for us. We don't have a typical cell phone package but instead use a pay as you go phone which costs us about $25 every three months. We could afford a real cell phone plan but choose not to as we have a land line and see no need to have the perks of texting or unlimited minutes. The thing is, we could afford to buy these things that we do without, but after paying $40 for cable, maybe another $50 or more for a cell phone plan, $40 or more for eating out, and so on we would be broke at the end of the month. We don't feel that those things are worth a financial insecurity.
Choosing to forgo things that the typical American purchases can make one seem poor. I don't want frugal to be thought of as something only born out of necessity.
An example is when we went to a dealership to look for a van last year. We found one that we wanted but was a bit more than we had the cash for. Knowing that it was about to go to auction I knew that we had some bargaining room. We tried getting the price lower and they went down $500 but it was still more than we wanted to pay. They asked why didn't we just take out financing if we didn't have enough cash for it. We said that we wanted to pay cash. The men looked at each other as though they thought "They can only pay cash, they must have bad credit." They wouldn't budge on the price. I saw then that in their eyes financing was worth more to them (maybe they get a part of the interest?!) than the cash, so I asked if they would go lower if we did it all on financing (which I knew we could pay off in a few short months). They grinned and said "IF the financing goes through we could get it for the price I mentioned" (which was $2,000 off their original asking price). So we went into the dealership and waited and one of the salesmen came over a little later with papers in his hand and said "Your credit is perfect; you got a great deal on this van!"
Because we wanted to pay cash and not deal with a loan (we steer clear of debt at all cost) they thought that we couldn't get a loan. This is the perfect example of how frugality is too often viewed as a necessity for the poor instead of a smart financial decision.
From now on I am nixing the term "We can't afford it" and substituting "We choose not to purchase it". Because being frugal is a choice and one we chose. This phrase sums it all up for me:
"Wealth consists not in having great possessions but in having few wants." ~Esther De Waal
Don't forget to sign up for the drawing which ends tomorrow!
That is so true!
ReplyDeleteWe both drive 1995 Honda Accords, completely paid for. Yes, we could afford two new car payments, but we choose not to. We have basic cable when we could afford the big package. We do not have cell phone contracts. We have the cheapest internet which means its not the fastest. But we have no need to spend all that money. Instead, we make extra payments on our house and save the rest.
Awesome post! Love it:)
ReplyDeleteWe feel the same way as you do. Sometimes I catch myself telling my kids that we "can't afford" something, when really we just choose not to spend the money on things that aren't a priority to us. I'm TRYING to do a better job of explaining to the kids why we don't want to spend the money instead of saying we can't afford to.
Love your blog, BTW. I read it every day:)
we're the same way over here. there's a reason my credit card has $25grand available balance- because i don't use it. there's a reason we've got money in the bank and aren't drowning in debt, we choose not to keep up with the jones. what's a cellphone? what's a 60inch tv? not things you will find in our house, we still manage to live happily.
ReplyDeleteI just got a Verizon pay as you go cell phone for my 17 year old daughter. It helps me keep the expenses down. She racked up a $300 texting bill on her mom’s cell phone one month and we said thats it. So now I buy her a reasonable amount of minutes and anything over she pays for.
ReplyDeleteGreat points! loved this post :)
ReplyDeleteWe suck we tried basic cable but only lasted a couple months. I do have pay as you go phone at least. You guys are awesome. I could barely support me on less then 30000$. Where do you guys live?
ReplyDeleteHi Jodi-
ReplyDeleteWe live in Iowa, so our prices (housing, food) is probably cheaper than say, New York.
We were disgusted with the interest that was being charged on a card when we were first married. All I could see was being able to do something else with the interest money. I found a Larry Burkett book, "What Every Husband Wishes His Wife Knew About Money." I read it and then my husband. We stuck with Larry's 'get out of debt plan' and a few years later we paid cash for everything (except houses and some cars).
ReplyDeleteWe kept it that way and during unemployment times we were able to stay afloat. We are closing in on retirement now and are debt free and paying down the interest on our home. By paying ahead on the interest (on a schedule) we have saved oodles!
Keep up the good work, girls. Saving is important...and so is living. Don't strangle yourselves by tightening the belt too much. Go out every so often and have a date night and beware of 'a poverty mentality'. It's real!