When does being frugal become unethical?

MillauFr · Jul 2, 2015

Ngwira said:
What about taking towels or lotions and soap and robes from a hotel that you are staying in? Unethical or frugal?

I always take the lotions and soaps. Never the towels or the robes.

MillauFr · Jul 2, 2015

Lets move on beyond the original poster's example. The vast majority of us agree that the woman was way over the line. Lets have a more interesting conversation and discuss some examples that we have different opinions.

lost*in*cyberspace · Jul 2, 2015

sersee05 said:
My question is..when does talking about people's decisions become judgemental. Goodness. Shame on that guy for filling a water bottle with tap water.. who cares? The mcdonalds example? Not your business. If a store doesnt put a limit on a coupon? Then there is nothing that has been done wrong .I agree that the examples the OP gave were unethical . No doubt about it.

Seriously. I don't understand why people start threads like this, except maybe to make themselves feel better. OP knows this person is not someone she should be friends with. Stop worrying about what other people are doing.

brooke789 · Jul 2, 2015

SMD said:
Returning items to a store where they were not purchased is stealing.

I had a one letter typo which made what I wrote make no sense/change what I was saying. What I meant to type was: I wasn't expecting the OP to have the examples it did. Clearly, that stuff is wrong IF not illegal.

brooke789 · Jul 2, 2015

mi*vida*loca said:
Lowers the weight so you pay less.

I saw someone on another message board that cuts the ends off of the asparagus and broccoli before purchasing. That thread was a huge uproar.

I remember us saying that about broccoli watching the segment. What if we went in to the store and tore off only the florets and left the stalk. I bet the grocery stores hated that they put that tip on the news.

gopher101 · Jul 2, 2015

Ok I am going to throw my own scenario in this tread. This is this man that comes by my work and sells stolen products (bought though id theft). I do not but anything from this man, I know where it comes from, and I could not do it. Some of my co workers do, their excuse is they do not how he gets it only that he does. I don't judge them on this because what they do is their own business. I do tell them not to buy the meat though, that is for safety reasons.
So my question is, would you buy products from a person if you suspect they got them though not so legal means.

bdcp · Jul 2, 2015

gopher101 said:
Ok I am going to throw my own scenario in this tread. This is this man that comes by my work and sells stolen products (bought though id theft). I do not but anything from this man, I know where it comes from, and I could not do it. Some of my co workers do, their excuse is they do not how he gets it only that he does. I don't judge them on this because what they do is their own business. I do tell them not to buy the meat though, that is for safety reasons.
So my question is, would you buy products from a person if you suspect they got them though not so legal means.

That is a very simple one. NO.

It's really not their own business. Has anyone considered reporting him to the police? When people steal it affects all of us. The costs of loss is passed on to all of us. It's not a victimless crime that some seem to think.

And, we do take soaps and shampoos from hotels. That is figured into the cost of the room, plus they will give you extra if you request it. Our last cruise, I forgot to fill my shampoo and conditioner before we left home so we called housekeeping and they gladly brought me a handful of small bottles. Towels and robes, seriously? I have never taken either and never will because that is stealing. This really isn't a gray area. It's pretty black and white.

FTM22 · Jul 2, 2015

Regarding the purchase of all the loss leader item - my quote messed up.

Not sure about unethical, but it's really rude. Not something I do for sure.

mondragon · Jul 2, 2015

Ok here something my SIL did. She bought a dress from Bloomingdales and wore it to a wedding. Went back the following day and returned it to the store.

Something else I thought of when I was at disney with friends. They wanted to go to sweet tomatoes (yuck!!) and we agreed to go with them. Sat down at a table and saw a big family ditto g right across from us. Dad comes back to the table with 2 plates full of muffins, brownies, pizza, etc. the wife opens up some big bag she has with her and dumps them all I the bag. Dad gets up again and gets another 2 plates of these muffins and does it again. They get up and leave. NowI know its all you can eat but you can't take any to go food. This I believe is stealing.

writersblock42 · Jul 2, 2015

My dh and I have had this conversation many times. The ethics of being frugal are really interesting to me as being frugal can certainly go both ways in ethical responsibility. In fact, frequently, I think being frugal is much more ethical than being wasteful. For example, many money saving tips are actually very environmental (I don't purchase paper products with the exception of toilet paper, I bike to work, I grow my own garden..), it can be healthier (I got rid of dryer sheets, make a number of things from scratch), and it can help out local businesses such as buying local and purchasing used items rather than new and gives more money to give back to the community. I think when it is dishonest, it when there is a problem. There is nothing wrong with asking a company for a discount. If I see a banged up product at the store, I can ask for a discount. If I bang up the product for the purpose of getting a discount, then I am destroying property. If I get a burger and my child doesn't like the lettuce and tomato and I take it home for later use that is being frugal. If I go through the drive thru and say that my burger never got lettuce and tomato and can I get some and I never actually purchased a burger, then I am being dishonest (yes I know somebody that did that).
I think the grocery store weight one is interesting because I think that grocery stores will try to cheat the consumer out of money. My local grocery store has a huge meat sale every year. They will sell chicken breasts at a really low price in 5 pound bags, but what they did was leave a lot of water in the bag. Even a cup of water is over a quarter of a pound. Enough people complained and they switched to putting them in the regular containers, but I still noticed some water in them and make sure I select the ones with the least amount of water. I think being a smart consumer is not being dishonest or cheating a store out of money but making sure that you are not ripped off.

MillauFr · Jul 2, 2015

gopher101 said:
Ok I am going to throw my own scenario in this tread. This is this man that comes by my work and sells stolen products (bought though id theft). I do not but anything from this man, I know where it comes from, and I could not do it. Some of my co workers do, their excuse is they do not how he gets it only that he does. I don't judge them on this because what they do is their own business. I do tell them not to buy the meat though, that is for safety reasons.
So my question is, would you buy products from a person if you suspect they got them though not so legal means.

I wouldn't

scrapquitler · Jul 2, 2015

mondragon said:
Would you share that kids meal with another adult? So it's ok to give your kids sink water instead of cold clean water.

How about this. I am sure many have done this. Stealing napkins from chipotle. I have seen it many times where I see someone take a huge stack with them and leave along with dozens of sugar packets. You know they are just stockpiling at home. I think that is unethical/stealing.

"Sink Water" is cold, clean water. It comes from the sink and is just as safe and clean to drink as any other water (sure, at Disney, it's not filtered like what you get in the restaurant, but some people aren't that picky).

DawnM · Jul 2, 2015

I bought a very nice item at a garage sale.

I then put it on Craigslist for profit. I sold it for about 5 times what I paid for it.

One man kept emailing me and was quite rude. He kept saying, "Why don't you tell me where you got this?" and then when I was vague, he wrote, "Why don't you tell me where you really got this?"

I am quite sure he was the owner of the garage sale. :teeth:

I just kept responding with, "Are you interested in buying? If so, let me know."

What I did was not unethical, but he obviously was upset about it.

Now, the absolute truth is that I was excited to get the item for myself, but after trying it out realized it was not going to work for my needs and knew I could sell it for far more than I purchased it for.

Dawn

smiths02 · Jul 2, 2015

I was on a local message board, and many of the people suggested ordering baskets of food from a church organization for $25. When I tried to point out that I thought this was charity that allowed the church to offer the food so cheaply (rather than a bargain or fundraising), I was flamed. I think it all turned out to be a scam (to profit church leaders).
Either way, the church was obviously accepting donations to run a food ministry (the food was worth way more than $25), but it was selling these baskets to anyone (not just those in need).

I felt it was unethical to take from charity when I didn't need it. Most thought it was a frugal thing to do.

scrapquitler · Jul 2, 2015

Ngwira said:
I agree with everything you said. However, I do think that one should leave some items for the next person to buy. I try to leave a few for someone else. Taking them ALL, I think isn't right. Someone else could use that item too.

If there are 5 on the shelf and I want to buy 5, I am going to buy them all. It's not unethical unless there is a sign that says "Limit 2 per customer" or something of that sort. For all you and I know, there might be three more cases of them in the back and they will be restocked soon. If the store runs out, it's not my problem, the next customer can get a raincheck.

worm761 · Jul 2, 2015

gopher101 said:
Ok I am going to throw my own scenario in this tread. This is this man that comes by my work and sells stolen products (bought though id theft). I do not but anything from this man, I know where it comes from, and I could not do it. Some of my co workers do, their excuse is they do not how he gets it only that he does. I don't judge them on this because what they do is their own business. I do tell them not to buy the meat though, that is for safety reasons.
So my question is, would you buy products from a person if you suspect they got them though not so legal means.

No because purchasing stolen goods is illegal. I like to be on the right side of the law. And if I knew that this person was dealing in stolen good I would have no problem turning him into the police. How would you feel if he was buying those goods with YOUR ID? Bet you'd want the police to deal with him then.

gopher101 · Jul 2, 2015

The reason we cannot turn him into the police is because we have no proof. None. It is my belief he gets them from stolen means. I could be 100% off the mark for all I know. I even asked a police officer what I should do, he told me I couldn't do anything because I had no proof. So not an option.
The best I can do is keep him from my store's property, which again I am limited. My store will not ban him because I think he sells stolen goods. I just refuse to sell to him.

DawnM · Jul 2, 2015

smiths02 said:
I was on a local message board, and many of the people suggested ordering baskets of food from a church organization for $25. When I tried to point out that I thought this was charity that allowed the church to offer the food so cheaply (rather than a bargain or fundraising), I was flamed. I think it all turned out to be a scam (to profit church leaders).
Either way, the church was obviously accepting donations to run a food ministry (the food was worth way more than $25), but it was selling these baskets to anyone (not just those in need).

I felt it was unethical to take from charity when I didn't need it. Most thought it was a frugal thing to do.

Are you talking about Angel Food Ministries? http://onlineathens.com/local-news/...ries-founder-sentenced-7-years-federal-prison

angierae · Jul 2, 2015

scrapquitler said:
"Sink Water" is cold, clean water. It comes from the sink and is just as safe and clean to drink as any other water (sure, at Disney, it's not filtered like what you get in the restaurant, but some people aren't that picky).

I'm still not over "sink water" being some terrible thing you subject your children to. I mean, okay, it's public bathroom water. If it's clean enough to wash your hands in, I don't see why it wouldn't be clean enough to drink. I might not do it, simply because there are other ways of getting water, but "sink water" in and of itself is not some terrible thing.

cjbcam · Jul 2, 2015

mondragon said:
I see a lot of ways to save money as unethical but others may see it as being frugal. For example at disney I saw a few things that disturbed me. Saw a dad filling up a beat up zepherhills water bottle in the bathroom sink for his kids to drink from. Those bottles contain bacteria after they sit around for a little bit. Saw 2 teenage boys sharing a kids meal in a counter service restaurant while the parents at the next table were enjoying their own meals. The kids were scraping ketchup from the plate. Was staying at Gaylord palms once and there was a family of 4 in the lobby asking others staying there to give them a ride to the parks. The father asked me if I cound bring them. Told him the hotel offers transportation and he said that he does not want to pay and the parking is too expensive at the parks so he figured someone can give him a ride and he can save on parking. Told him good luck.

Sorry this made me laugh. When we are on holidays, let's say WDW, I will let my kids have more junk. So say we had lunch then all afternoon they had ice cream, then pop corn, then a character Apple. They will then split a meal. They don't need more than that. Because my DH and I refrained from the snacks we will get our own meal. My poor starving kids

When does being frugal become unethical?

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