Shows like 'Extreme Cheapskates', reveal how saving a penny can turn some men and women into maniacs. The worst episode - a millionaire who served her ex-husband cat food for lunch (unbeknownst to him) and refused to pay a few hundred dollars to fix her old junker car. Although I enjoy saving a few dollars, I would hate to become unreasonable in my efforts. What do you think? Can you be too Thrifty?
That show makes me cringe. You can definitely be too much of a cheapskate! Sometimes people need to just bite the bullet and spend a little extra cash. Sometimes being too thrifty can result in wastefulness or more expenses in the long-run.
Yes, I believe one can be too "thrifty". The cheap can be expensive. People have a tendency to look only to the short term and don't often consider the longer term implications of their financial decisions. Spending a little more on a better quality item that will last is far more cost effective than spending less now and having to replace an item in the future. I, for example, spent money buying a good set of pots and pans for the kitchen (almost 30 years ago) and they are still in good shape. The few cheap pots I owned have long since been tossed. While it doesn't translate to everything one buys, being cheap can often lower the quality of life and lead to a more costly existence in the long run.
Oh yes, being too thrifty is a bit like focusing on lack or making it ok to have it become an obsession. The thing about being thrifty is to know what you want, and how you FEEL. It can be FUN to go to the dollar store for instance, that feels good. It can also feel LACKFUL to go there, etc. It's all attitude. Like another thread going here right now, what are you thrifty on and what do you justify spending big in is highly personal and what is worth it is only what it is worth it to YOU. Nobody can tell you this but you of course. I am very stingy in some areas, and not so much in other areas, again, it's what things are worth are very subjective.
If you deny yourself all the luxuries that can make living life more comfortable then there's no point in even working. Being thrifty helps you save some money when you NEED to save that money because you'll need it. Now supposing you're working and living a hard life simply because you're saving money [and you don't even know when you'll die] when do you get to enjoy what you've worked for? When you die? People should have a line and a specific amount of money they should save within a specified period of time. This guarantees financial security but also lets you spend cash so you can enjoy your life a little.
Those people are miserly, not thrifty. The last time I scrimped on something is when I was still studying and I was skipping lunch so that I won't get to spend my allowance, lol. I wanted to buy a lot of things back then, being a teen who was definitely not spoiled by her parents. But now, as long as I can afford it, I tend to spend my money on the things that I want to buy and eat, after all, we only live once, and money is supposed to be spent, not kept.
Yes I can be thrifty sometimes but it depends on the situation really. I once experienced skipping a full day meal just to save a few dollars, I don't really know why. But if my financial situation permits, then I do give in sometimes but for the most part, I was a born cheapskate. Because I grew up in a poor neighborhood, I learned the importance of saving money so I guess it affected my take on my finances.
An episode on Extreme Cheapskates that really bothered me was one about this young woman who lived in New York. She had a dinner party for her friend and his girlfriend to teach them the fine art of thriftiness. Well when she served them food that she found dumpster diving, it made me cringe. Her friends could tell that the food was not fresh. And then when she offered them cut up t-shirts to use a toilet paper, I cringed again. I can understand her personal thriftiness. I've been there myself. But if you're having guests over, you buy a roll of toilet paper, even if it is the cheap kind.
Avoid your guilty-pleasures, use coupons, go buy during sales. Avoid panic-buying. Don't be impulsive. And it always pays to be smart. Always think what you are buying, buy mostly what you need and rarely what you want. Budget and make a list of what you are going to buy, and restrict yourself on only buying those that are in your list!
Those two things did not happen to the same person. Kate Hashimoto is the financial consultant in New York who served dumpster food to her friends. She never offered them cut up t-shirts for toilet paper. Kate Hashimoto actually had a roll of toilet paper for guests, but she used soap and water bottle to wipe herself. Angela was the housewife who used rags for toilet paper and then threw them in the washer. They were stained with old feces and she folded them on the kitchen table.
Ew! She needs a diaper service for grownups! That is totally gross! Has this woman never heard of bacteria? I mean that is really gross! There's thrifty and there's just plain cheap. Then there's where she is, which is crazy. I mean seriously! She needs diaper genie!
