5 Moves That Make You Look Cheap

Yahoo lists five moves that make you look cheap as follows:

Thrifty: Buying Items That Are on Sale
Cheap: Only Buying Items That Are on Sale

Thrifty: Tipping According to Service
Cheap: Never Tipping at All

Thrifty: Putting Money Aside for Savings
Cheap: Saving Everything and Living on Nothing

Thrifty: Taking Advantage of a Good Deal
Cheap: Taking Advantage

Thrifty: Cutting Out Internet and Cable
Cheap: Stealing It from Your Neighbors

Here is where I net out on these:

• We buy items on sale quite often (as you might imagine), but who could possibly buy ONLY items that are on sale? What if you need something and it's not on sale -- what do you do then? What about the cost in time and effort of hunting down everything so that it's on sale? The costs just seem too high to do this on every item you might purchase.
• I'm actually growing in my tipping (I now frequently leave money for hotel housekeepers -- in addition to the "normal" people who everyone tips, like waitresses). I don't think I have to or am bound by any social pressure or norm to do so, but I have the money and I want to leave some of it behind as a small gift for people who likely aren't as well off.
• You certainly don't want to have a full bank account and an empty life. I know it may seem like I don't spend much since I'm always talking about saving, saving, saving, but I do spend a decent amount of what I earn and enjoy the fruits of my labor. One glaring example: my new car.
• It's sometimes a balance between taking advantage of a good deal and taking advantage. I was close to this on my car (if you can ever really take advantage of a car salesman) and have been a few other times. That's when my wife usually pulls me back from the brink. ;-) Here's an example of something I consider taking advantage -- if not outright stealing.
• Cutting something out is one thing, stealing is completely another. The former is ok. The latter is never ok.

How about you? Do you have any thoughts on these five?

Comments

[Matt]

My wife is frugal, I am thrifty and my son says we are cheap and his grand mother would agree.

All of a matter of preception in some cases.

[Mary Kay]

We are pretty much on the same page as you are. We're mostly thrifty, but try not to be cheap.

[Mark]

Well, about 95% of my grocery shopping is ONLY items that are on sale. Since nearly all the items I regularly buy go on sale in 3-6 week cycles, if the item isn't on sale one week, it usually is on sale, or buy 1 get 1 free, the next trip. Frozen shrimp is on sale every other week, just not always the large or jumbo. If Stouffers isn't on sale that week, I just buy Marie Callenders, or if not Digiornos, then Red Baron, etc.

Last year, I saved over $1200 just buying on sale, and really saving when buying store brands on sale.

And name-brand coupons are a waste, since I don't live near a store that doubles or triples them, and the store brands are usually as good and cheaper when on sale than any name brand with a coupon.

[Barbara Friedberg]

I was worried when I read the beginning that I would be characterized as "cheap." Whew, I'm just thrifty! And I value being charitable as well!

[Joe]

Actually, if you don't leave a tip for your waiter/waitress, it's a little like stealing. When I worked in a restaurant, I paid taxes on a certain percentage of all the food I sold, not the amount I received in tips.

[APF]

Great post! These are fun and thought provoking.

Only Buying Items That Are on Sale - Diminishing returns. Just like you said, the more easily accessible sales you take advantage of, the higher the search costs get for additional sales items - ergo, the return increases and at some point reaches zero depending on how you personally value your time.

Never Tipping at All - absolutely NOT cool for professions that depend on it as the major source of income.

Saving Everything and Living on Nothing - Boring. Nuff said - again, it's a balance between the expected value of additional savings (once important goals are met) and the expected enjoyment of spending.

Taking Advantage - What is the cost to you of a loss of integrity?

Stealing It from Your Neighbors - See Above

[Miss T @ Prairie EcoThrifter]

It's good to know that I am thrifty and not cheap. I think it is all about balance. Once we learn that we usually make out just fine. The problem nowadays is no one has balance...everything is done in excess.

[Jim]

Good list. I agree on all points.

[BD]

"I'm actually growing in my tipping (I now frequently leave money for hotel housekeepers -- in addition to the "normal" people who everyone tips, like waitresses). I don't think I have to or am bound by any social pressure or norm to do so, but I have the money and I want to leave some of it behind as a small gift for people who likely aren't as well off."

YAAAAAY! :)
This makes me happy to hear. Good for you.