Comments on: Being Frugal is Foolish

By: Jim

Jim — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 12:38:45 +0000

I agree, I’m really sorry for not catching the antisemitism earlier. The spam filters are capable of detecting and stopping spam but not racism. My apologies to everyone and especially to those offended.

By: Yana

Yana — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 03:18:09 +0000

Joe Bassett should surely be deleted. That kind of thing should not be seen here.

By: Soccer9040

Soccer9040 — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:33:57 +0000

Not every one of your “hours” is worth what you think it is. You can’t work 24 hours a day. Every hour just isnt going to be profitable. With that said, there are frugal things you can do that just don’t take time. Cutting a few coupons does take a little time, but are you really missing that 5 mins on Sunday morning when you lay the paper out on your counter and begin to look through it. I’m not saying I sit and make a big deal about it, but if I see a coupon for something we normally buy, I’ll cut it out and throw it in the coupon thing.

By: thomas

thomas — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 01:46:25 +0000

why trim? grizzly hippie is the new style! frugal follicles!

By: Mary

Mary — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:08:04 +0000

Have you read the book “your money or your life” it is all about considering the value of your life energy AND about your values and what is important to you. I personally believe that it is not only important to be frugal to save money but to lead by example and keep our use of resources to a minimum. For example; I choose to dry all my clothes on clothes drying racks yet I continue to by 3,000 mile fruit in the winter. Both of those are conscious decisions. I think it is not so much that we are frugal or not but that we are making conscious decisions.

By: Debbie

Debbie — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:41:55 +0000

For some people being frugal is more of a hobby then a requirement. I agree making more money to offset the need to be extremely frugal is always better but everyone needs to own some time of frugal behaviour or they would be perpetually broke.

Being frugal can mean anything from clipping coupons to questioning the purchase of a brand new expensive car vs a used serviceable car.

I think the frugal push has come from a lot of people living by their wants instead of their needs all their life. They don’t know how to change so the frugal blogs, etc., out there have risen to fill the need for those people wanting to change but not knowing how.

For a lot people this is common sense but some people just don’t have a clue.

I like to read frugal ideas regularly so that I don’t fall off the “think before I spend” treadmill. Giving in to one want can lead to giving in to many wants very easily and then you are left wondering where all you money went at the end of the year when you do your taxes.

By: Shirley

Shirley — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:21:07 +0000

Perfect example of spending pennies to earn nickles.

By: Christina

Christina — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 04:48:43 +0000

I don’t think it’s foolish to be frugal as long as you don’t overdo it…I mean, you just have to be practical. There are times that you spend more trying to save…plus being frugal doesn’t also mean you have to deprive yourself, maybe what makes it foolish is how someone really defines it.

By: SteveR

SteveR — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:19:47 +0000

Other real world example: My job offers (for the most part) unlimited overtime opportunity. About once/week I have to do some yard work (in summer) that normally takes me about 2 hours (more if I need more oil/gas, etc…). Instead I pay the neighbor kid and I’ll go into work for 2 hours on a Saturday. Everyone wins. I get more work done, I come out of the situation with much more money, and the neighbor kid makes good coin for his age. People I work with just can’t seem to grasp this concept and think I’m a money waster for paying someone to do a job I could do myself — I think if anything, I’m the one being frugal.

By: Shirley

Shirley — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:07:05 +0000

If you are reading the newspaper or magazine anyway and clip only the coupons for things that you regularly use or already intend to buy, then it is worth your time.

By: Brandon

Brandon — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:37:34 +0000

Real world example: I can make $20/hour contracting on the side. We needed to find my wife’s high school diploma (or get a transcript) for a state tax credit audit. It cost $3. Is it worth looking for the diploma?

The eventual answer was no, yes, no. No it wasn’t until the deadline approached and the transcript still had not come back switching to ‘yes’ because I was afraid I’d miss out on the credit if I didn’t find it back to ‘no’ when I got an extension on the taxes.

By: ziglet19

ziglet19 — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 06:06:36 +0000

When I started doing some of the drugstore rebates and coupon deals, I was surprised how little time it actually takes me. I found a few good websites where someone else does all the legwork (lists all the coupon match-ups, sale prices, etc.), all I do is open up my coupon file drawer, where each coupon pamplet is filed by date, pull out what I am looking for, print a list from the website, and head to the store.

By: Fred @ One Project Closer

Fred @ One Project Closer — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 04:59:13 +0000

I didn’t realize that most financial advisors were b r o k e… Isn’t being a financial advisor (or financial planner) at the top of the career charts for one of the most satisfying jobs? Thought I heard that somewhere…

Saying “I’m worth X / hour” won’t necessarily lead someone to think savings is beneath them.

It could be an honest assessment of what they can earn with 1 hour of their time.

If I can make $50 with an hour of effort, should I instead spend that hour to save $25?

Probably not.

Problem is, as I wrote in a comment above, that most people haven’t figured out how to make hours outside of their 40 hour/week job make money for them. This essentially makes hours outside of their job worth $0.

By: eric

eric — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 04:44:48 +0000

It’s good up to a point. Then you should find ways to earn more.

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 01:28:21 +0000

Is “this person” me? If so, I’m debt free and building wealth but I wouldn’t consider myself a financial advisor.