The Lost (thank God) Art of Frugality
The frugal lifestyle, or being a cheap ass, is the advice that many self help books and websites, such as weathlyblogger.com give. They claim that you too can die a millionaire if you live a frugal lifestyle, meaning eat cheap, dress cheap, buy used everything, never go out, never travel, even buy a wrecked car thats been totalled, never spend an extra penny on anything other than basic neccessities. What good will a million dollars do in the afterlife?
Cheap ass people really annoy me. I find it very rude when cheap asses bust out a calculator on the dinner table to calculate EXACTLY, down to the cent, how much their share of the bill is. I don't know how some people can live such a mediocre, cheap existence.
For me, being weathly isn't about being financially rich. Weathly is being about being happy, and although having money is certainly part of being happy, it isn't everything.
You only have a single chance at life. I whether die a happy old man who has a nice house, ten cars, travelled the world and with a penny in the bank then a bitter old man with a million dollars. What a wasted life that would be.
Cheap ass people really annoy me. I find it very rude when cheap asses bust out a calculator on the dinner table to calculate EXACTLY, down to the cent, how much their share of the bill is. I don't know how some people can live such a mediocre, cheap existence.
For me, being weathly isn't about being financially rich. Weathly is being about being happy, and although having money is certainly part of being happy, it isn't everything.
You only have a single chance at life. I whether die a happy old man who has a nice house, ten cars, travelled the world and with a penny in the bank then a bitter old man with a million dollars. What a wasted life that would be.
Labels: Opinion
written by Tommy at 9:32 AM |
link: The Lost (thank God) Art of Frugality
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Wealthy Blogger has a rebuttal to your post.
Sausage links for your "links" image....BRILLIANT!
Looks like my post about being cheap has gotten some panties all up in a knotch on http://www.wealthyblogger.com/financial-management/frugality-versus-cheapness/ Here's my response to their response...
According to Webster, frugal is defined as "characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resource." Seems to me that it's the political correct way of characterizing someone as, what I refer to, cheap ass.
When was being cheap ever a respected virtue? True, our society values materialism and material things. More and more people go into greater debt in an attempt to live better and impress whoever they are trying to impress - their peers, friends, etc. At the center of the issue are people who try to live above their means. People who only make $30K a year, have bad credit, but try to buy a new BMW at a financing rate of 16%. However what of those of us who live at their means? Should we deny ourselves the finer things in life so to save for an unknown future? Luckily I make more than enough money to be able to afford a nice house, two nice cars, eat out and go out every weekend, etc, etc, etc. without incurring much debt. I have a mortgage payment, two car loans, a few credit cards, and a student loan. I carry low balances on my credit cards that are usually paid off every month (great way to increase your FICO score). I don't have what I have to impress others but to enjoy life.
One of my favorite quotes is, "Someone once told me that time was a predator that stalked us all our lives. I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey and reminds us to cherish every moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we've lived." You only live once, you could die at any second, so live life to the fullest. I live for the present. What about saving for the future? I hate saving, especially since no one can say definitely what lies in our future. But I do save somewhat - between my 401K, stock market (gotta love GOOG) and real estate investments, my future is looking fine.
It is not I that missed the point, but those who choose to live this mediocre existence. They have missed the point of life, and living life to the fullest. Wearing used clothes purchased from the local thrift store, going out to eat once every 6 months, purchasing a wrecked car with frame damage carrying a salvage title or a 1997 Ford Taurus isn't exactly what most define as luxuries.
I live my life on my own terms and cheap asses can live on theirs. But when the two worlds collide is when I have a problem with it. People who shops for wrecks and advice others to do the same is not only dangerous but very reckless. Knowingly driving a wrecked car with a bent frame carrying a salvage title is simply unsafe for the owner/driver, its passengers and those who share the road with them. As an automobile enthusiast, I know that once the frame is bent, it is unfixable. You can try, but it will never match its original spec. In Europe and Japan, crashed cars with a bent frame are automatically totaled and destroyed. Unforunately, here in the US, cars are totaled only if the repair bill exceeds a certain percentage of the value of the car. This varies from 50% to 80%. My first S2000, a 2001, was rear ended. The damages totaled $16K, including a bent frame. The insurance company refused to total it and authorized it for repair. I took it to the best repair facility in the area, that specializes only in the NSX. They used lasers and the best technology available to fix the frame. Nevertheless, I knew it will never be the same again. The owner of the shop also made the same comments. Once the repairs were complete and the shop did an excellent job at least visually, I immediately traded it in for my current 2002 S2000. The new owner of my crashed 2001 S2000 has reported various problems, such as alignment issues, a blown rear differential, transmission and engine. That's about $20K in additional repairs. Oh and did I mention that none of these repairs were covered under the warranty? Ouch. This poor car should have been totaled but it wasn't. Now its someone's headache and a danger on the road. Now it wasn't worth saving a few bucks buying an used crashed car in this case, was it?
Like you, I too hope to be judged by my accomplishments and how I have lived and in that regard is why I freely spend without regard to cost or its usefulness.
Seems like you know all about frugality, though you say you are wealthy enough not to need to practice it. Maybe you should look up the meaning of arrogance. Are you proud of the fact that you duped an unsuspecting person into buying your lemon of a car, once you wrecked it beyond remedy, but not to the point of salvage. What kind of a person does this make you? Maybe look up responsibility whilst your at it. Pull your head out of your ass and maybe realize that not everyone one is able to buy everything they want, but scrape by to aquire the things they need to live day to day. But you already know this, and just like to gloat about all your money, not worrying about how much something costs or its usefullness....give me a break. I would rather be a cheap ass any day....than an arrogant ass like yourself.
For the record, I did not dupe anyone... As I said in my post which obviously you did not clearly read, I traded the car in. Meaning the dealer sold it to someone else in that condition. It was traded in under full disclosure, I even gave them copies of the damage assessment reports. The dealer checked out the car and stated that the repair was the best that they've seen, they could not even tell it was in an accident, at least visually. Mechanically it was a different story.
As for being an arrogant ass, thank you. I rather be an arrogant ass than a cheap one.
Then you are a flaming success.....arrogance was your goal...arrogant ass is your accomplishment. You should be proud, your family should be proud.
Just a thought, have you ever given to charity? Or are less fortunate people so far beneath your compassion that they should not even exist....heil Hitler!!!!!
Tommy,
You live life to the fullest your way. Others live life to the fullest their way. Apparently you're being called arrogant. These anonymous people are apparently being called cheap. Whatever. People get happiness out of life in different ways. I'd try and show a bit more respect for a person's way of life before really ragging on them as you have. It usually brings nothing more than lots of traffic to your blog...hmm..?
Yes I have donated both my time and money to charity.
You have donated your time and money to cheap asses????? What does that make you Tommy, almost human. A new side of you is showing.
Less fortunate people are not cheap asses. Cheap asses are those who make a fair amount of money but live far below their means and carefully analyze every single penny they spend.
As I stated before, I don't have a problem with those who chose to live like this. Your life, do whatever you want. However I do have a problem with bad advice being given out in order to live a more frugal lifestyle. Buying a wrecked car, for example, which can be very dangerous. Or suggesting credit card consolidation services, which leads to bad credit. Or when cheap asses bust out their pocket calculators at the dinner table to calculate exactly how much they owe, which is annoyingly rude.
I find the suggestions on The Wealthy Blogger, very useful. They are guidelines, ideas if you wish to use them; I DID NOT read anything about "busting out their pocket calculators at the dinner table". This is obviously something that happened to you at one time, you should try not to lump all people into one or two groups. Stay to the point if you are criticizing an idea, you go off on tangents that make you look ingorant.
Most of the guidelines are also called common sense. The others, like buying a wrecked car, are outright reckless.
Tommy - When a group goes out to dinner and splits the check, the only "cheap ass" is someone like yourself who orders everything under the sun and expects someone else to pick up the tab. That seems to be a better definition of a cheap ass than someone who is willing to pay for what they actually ordered. If you were such a "wealthy" guy, why wouldn't you want to pay for what you ordered instead of expecting other to pick up a portion of your bill!
Tommy - I don't think you are arrogant, just not too intelligent. There is a big difference between "cheap" and "frugal. Cheap is when you are misery with your money and buy lesser quality items, frugal is when you buy smart and make smart decisions about your money.
A lot of times, when people need to fill their lives with such "materialistic" items to be "happy" and have a great life, it is because they are lacking in so many other ways in their life. You must of either come from a family with very little money and now feel the need to make up for your childhood by showing off your "new" lifestyle...or from a extremely well off family that never instilled the value of the dollar to you.
Have I ever said that I expect others to pick up my own share of the tab? If so, please show me...
You wrote "Cheap ass people really annoy me. I find it very rude when cheap asses bust out a calculator on the dinner table to calculate EXACTLY, down to the cent, how much their share of the bill is."
If you don't mind paying for your share of the tab, why does it bother you that they only want to pay for what they ordered? Have you ever thought, that maybe they don't want to cheat you out of paying for their portion. You may be right that they could just be cheap, but just because someone doesn't want to split the bill equally doesnt make them cheap especially if they ordered very little. I am personally tired of going out to dinner with people that boast their wealth and order tons of drinks & food like it has no price, but when the bill comes they want to split it among the group. In that case, I say horray for the person that "caculates" out their portion because they shouldn't have to pay for some else's extravagant menu choices.
A "cheap ass" would be someone who wants to get of paying for things they should pay for...not someone who is willing to pay for "their" portion.
I feel bad for you that you can not view these people in the way they should be viewed - smart and wise. If only more people in the is country would be more "frugal" we wouldn't have to have these crazy taxes to pay for those that are unwilling to pay for themselves and be "frugal".
Again I ask where have I ever said that I expect others to pay for my share of the tab? I didn't, did I?
When we eat out in a group, I always pay for our share, tip, plus some extra from rounding off the prices. If everyone agrees to equally split, then I always throw in an extra $20 if we had more food.
You say smart and wise and it may be so, but others, like myself, find it annoying. Imagine at the dinner table in a nice restaurant, taking out a calculator to figure out down to the penny exactly how much you owe, then trying to find change to pay for it. Hey if you can't afford to eat out, its simple, don't.
Oh now I'm not arrogant but dumb. OK. Yeah I do like to show off my S2000 and things. This is my website.
Frugal = Cheap, just a political correct way of saying it. Cheap is afterall a synonym to Frugal.
Tommy,
How nice of you to be so worried about the safty of all us cheap asses. You have said many times how reckless it is to drive a vehicle that has been in a collision at some point. I am supprised that with all your knowledge of cars, you do not seem to know the laws that are in place to prevent dangerous vehicles from being on the road.
Belive it or not, the government will not allow you to insure or register a vehicle that has been in an accident untill a full inspection has been done by a mechanic.This inspection can not be done by any service station mecanic either. He must have a special licence in order to do it. That is why the inspection costs $500.00, and if you fail you must do the proper repairs and pay another $500.00 to have it done again. They inspect everything down to the washer fluid sprayers and the stem valves in your tires. Pretty strict don't you think?
So I think you should lay off the wealthy blogger for trying to help people who don't make much money find a way to aquire some things that they may not normaly be able to. Good for you that you have the means to buy nice new cars, and an expensive house, but most of the rest of us are not that fortunate.
There is a saying, "You need money to make money." You tell us we should invest money in realestate and stocks, but most of us are living from paycheque to paycheque.
We need advice from people like the weathy blogger so that we can pay off our debts quickly, and save some money so that we can be in a possition to invest. If that means eating out less or waiting to buy expensive items thill they are on sale so that I will have money to send my children to university in 15 yrs. so be it.
Laws to prevent dangerous vehicles from being on the road? Are you kidding? First of all, there is no law (at least not in the state of Florida) that requires a full inspection of any crashed car, except in cases where the car is totalled, prior to registration or insurance. In cases where the car is totalled, the vehicle is not destroyed as it would have in Europe or Japan, it is either stripped for parts, sold to a junk yard, or sold in an auction. The car can then be fixed in the another state and re-registered. I wouldn't be concerned about the windshield sprayers and valve stems but more about the safety, engine, suspension, alignment, body.
What am I supposed to feel sorry for you people living paycheck to paycheck? Awww, well heres my violin. Like I said, I have no concern over for how others choose to live their lives. What does concern me is when the Wealthly Blogger advises people how to buy a wrecked, and unsafe, car and naive people like you do it. Go save your pennies another way that doesn't put others at risk.
If you need a couple of faceless, nameless random guys on the internet to tell you how to live your lives, then you must be either extremely naive or extremely stupid.
Tommy-- Well actually eveyone else who thinks that this blog is directed towards their lifestyle... Get a life... You want to believe in frugality then believe it... if you want to experience life don't be so concerned about stupid people and their blogs (no offense Tommy). I agree that it is rude to break a bill down to the cent, your going to dinner not an IRS audit... If you are going out as a group and you do it often enough it will balance out. But if your a cheap ass, i mean frugal, then stay home and stop wasting resources. If life is viewed in a short term perspective then every penny adds up to equal a lot of wasted time. My time is worth more than the extra $5, $10, or $20 it will cost me to over pay for someone. Now why am I wasting my time here typing well I'm retired and think that I may be able to share some wisdom...
Get off your ass and be productive you owe it to me cuz your paying for my social security income... Thanks.
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