Do people make fun of you for being "frugal?"

[Virgderon]

I don't get made fun of, but I feel like I have made people uncomfortable. If I'm talking about how I saved $250 this month on groceries, or if I refuse to buy something because I only spend cash instead of using credit, sometimes I can see a look spreading over the persons face.

I'm not sure if it is because they are realizing they waste money, or if they think I am too frugal, but if I see that look, I will stop talking about whatever budget minded thing I am talking about.

I have had friends ask me for Priceline lessons tho.

 

[Squirrel!!!]

I get lovingly teased a bit too. A dear friend recently suggested that I may have crossed the line from frugal to miser. It was just a tease, and a good laugh was had.

I brown bag every day to work in a place where everyone goes out to lunch, which is a point of amusement to all since I am one of the highest paid employees. So, I am cheap. It is true.

 

[leadfootlevi]

I don't know why this thread reminded me of this, but the other day I was talking to a co-worker and she jokingly told a story about losing a paycheck. It was a paper check (obviously), which she apparently misplaced & found it again months later but she'd never even realized she'd lost it! My only thought was, how do you lose an entire paycheck & not notice it!? I have direct deposit but I still check my account every Friday to make sure I got paid & everything is correct. I've had errors on my paychecks before, so I always check my account. I can't imagine being so blase about money that you miss an entire paycheck & don't even notice it.

I did that once. In my defense, I was 18 and the check was for roughly $60.

 

[akcire]

My father-in-law has teased me incessantly for the past 10 years about being cheap.

Frankly at this point I find it amusingly pathetic. I clip grocery store coupons, eat at restaurants with coupons, buy timeless quality clothes and furniture, have no debt, and own a paid off home. I will spend money, but I don't like to be wasteful.

My father-in-law never uses a coupon, even when I hand it to him--as if it is a shameful thing. He also will be losing his home soon to foreclosure. He as lived in it for nearly 20 years, and the house has more than doubled in value since he purchased it, however he used it like a piggy bank for years. He is also in extreme credit card debt and has a fancy new car. It was so bad that when my mother-in-law died, my husband and I paid for her funeral. [You should have seen the look of sheer relief on the funeral directors face].

Sadly I still don't think he "gets it". His son is half his age and owns his home, and he wasted all of his money. My father-in-law had a really good income with huge christmas bonuses every year. My husband said that as a kid his Dad would get a $10,000 bonus and spend all of it for christmas presents or a weekend at the 4 seasons Since I offered to help him about 8 years ago get his finances in order, and he soundly rejected the idea, I hope my father-in-law has a plan following his eviction. My husband and I are unanimous "that there is no room at this inn" and I seriously doubt he can find a soup kitchen that serves kobe beef.

 

[SnowWhite607]

My friends will ask.......like "why do you have a tracfone....I could never do without my Smartphone." Okay, good for you. I am paying maybe $10 a month for my minutes and you are paying about $100. Who is smarter now??

I was holding up the line in Walmart once using all my coupons and the lady behind me said snidely "Oh trying to save a few cents, are we?" I looked at her and said "no this week I saved about $25" and walked out.

Hey $25 a week = $100 a month (added to my phone savings totals almost $200 a month! Multipy that times 12 month and you have a Disney trip in a year!

 

[JaymeC]

I have been in the past. One friend used to tease me a lot until dh and I decided to take a spur of the moment trip. She was surprised we could afford it, and when she saw our pictures, etc. when we got back she was pretty jealous and a bit upset that she didn't have the money for the trip even though her husband made more money (since we're both military and both SAHMs the paycheck balance is pretty clear).

My family doesn't tease me about it but they seem to pity me. This is because they think we do it out of need instead of want. My mother has lived her entire life blowing whatever money she had so since figures since our family cuts coupons and saves like mad we must be really struggling. Then she always asks if dh got a bonus or what not when we decide to take a trip, because that's how she funded all of hers. I would never, ever tell them that we have a significant amount in savings or they would be constantly asking me for 'loans'

I actually have the opposite problem with my in-laws. They think that we blow too much money but that's because when we visit them we are able to stay at their place, and the last few times we've been visiting we know they've been struggling financially so I went out of my way to make a few nice expensive meals, bring home special treats for the kids still at home, etc. It's stuff I wouldn't do at home, but since the room is free we always feel a bit of a need to help out. They're also amazed we almost inevitably take a trip to Disneyland every time we come visit. I swear I think they think we visit once a week all year round the way they go on about it! Usually we only spend one or two days there and do it very inexpensively. I suppose it shows where my priorities are

 

[disneychic2]

More power to all of you! DH and I are members of the Dave Ramsey school of thought: Live like no one else so that later you can live like no one else! Works for me. Keep rockin out your budgets...it's a good thing!

 

[SanFranciscan]

I get lovingly teased a bit too. A dear friend recently suggested that I may have crossed the line from frugal to miser. It was just a tease, and a good laugh was had.

I brown bag every day to work in a place where everyone goes out to lunch, which is a point of amusement to all since I am one of the highest paid employees. So, I am cheap. It is true.

You are not cheap. You don't spend money on things that are not important to you. A miser is someone who gets whatever he wants and then stiffs someone else for the bill, and there are plenty of people who are champions at that kind of stinginess.

I have been more willing to go out to lunch this year than I used to be. I began this year in the ICU, and coming that close to dying was something of a wake-up call. I had always saved my life for later, and later almost didn't come. I don't need to be a jet-setter to be happy. I just need to not pinch pennies all of the time, and it is possible to live on a budget tight enough to squeeze all of the joy out of life. I should know because I am someone who did so.

 

[Tinkerbelle32]

Ok, I'm standing up for all of us smartphone users. Yes, they cost over $100 a month but we are almost completely debt free as well. So, just because we choose to have high tech gadgets doesn't mean we are fools.

 

[apnep]

Just my kids...but they like to say "cheap" instead of frugal. One day, they'll learn.

What do you care what your office mates think? I agree with the other posters, they are probably in a wad of debt. I'm with you on the new cell phones with the data plans--I'm not paying for that.

 

[StitchBuddy]

Our closest friends make fun of us everytime we get together. They think we are crazy, because we only drink water when we go out to eat amoung other things we do to save money. But, we are the ones that have paid off a house and take one or two nice vacations a year. Hmm, let's see skip a drink at dinner or go to Disney? What would you rather do?? So I say let them make fun, but I laugh all the way to Disney or any other place I choose to visit.

Plus, I read recently that people lives are more enriched by experiences than things.

 

[SanFranciscan]

Ok, I'm standing up for all of us smartphone users. Yes, they cost over $100 a month but we are almost completely debt free as well. So, just because we choose to have high tech gadgets doesn't mean we are fools.

I don't have one, but they might be a good use of money under the right circumstances. I don't have a landline telephone anymore, and my cell phone is telephone only. However, here I sit on the Internet on a desktop computer, neither of which was free!

 

[leadfootlevi]

Ok, I'm standing up for all of us smartphone users. Yes, they cost over $100 a month but we are almost completely debt free as well. So, just because we choose to have high tech gadgets doesn't mean we are fools.

I don't think anyone called those with smartphones fools. But, to make fun of someone because they don't have a smartphone - the person poking the "fun" is a fool.

 

[erinmomof2]

My husband's family makes fun of me all the time for being cheap. They do not do it in a funny type of way either. They'll make comments about how I won't buy food my family likes because I only buy stuff with coupons. Or that I won't spend money on good clothes for my kids cause I'm too cheap. And I really don't get why they say that. My family eats quite well, and yes nearly everything I buy is with a coupon. But my pantry is well stocked and I nearly always have on hand my kids favorite snacks. I buy about 1/2 my kids clothes at consignment stores, but their all Gymboree, Gap, Ralph Loren, Justice, ect. The other half I buy on clearance from nice quality stores. It makes me mad everytime they say something because it usually is meant in a hurtful way. It drives me crazy. They have recently lost a house to forclosure, filed bankruptcy, and never go on vacation, but we're the ones with the problem.

I'm fortunate the my parents live very much the same way we do, so I can talk to them about things and not have to worry about them being rude.

 

[Marionnette]

I work with a bunch of men in an industry that pays well. I have 2 mortgages, my husband is a "SAHD" (in quotes because his job is improving our property, so it's not like he "just" stays at home), and therefore need to spend money wisely. Most of these men are either dual-income families or are single.

The guys at work are always teasing me. I really don't care, but what is it any of there business to make fun of my old, non-smart cell phone? I refuse to pay big $ for a phone and I'm even more adamant that I'm not going to pay to have internet on the darn thing. Who cares if my phone looks like an old brick?

And, they tease me because I don't go to lunch with them very often (too much $). They tease me because I don't go to happy hours with them. I don't tell them it's because I don't want to spend money on those things, but still they tease.

Anyone else experience the same things?

You make them feel uncomfortable with there own spending habits. Its much easier to pick on you than it is to face up to there own irresponsibility with money. Its like when your in middle school and the self proclaimed popular crowd picks on the smart kid for studying. It makes them feel better about themselves. Some people never outgrow middle school.

 

[UCFALUM]

Mostly family! It is very annoying but let them have their "standards" organic food, organic toys, no coupons, no travel and NO college savings for 6 kids and we can keep ours. The Holier-than-thou attitude is what really gets me but when they asked if we had an "extra" $4000 they could use, well maybe "if it is yellow let it mellow" is not the worst thing ever. (And of course, we did not...for them)

We have an iphone and a track phone. Just keeping it real

 

[luvthemouse71]

Ok, I'm standing up for all of us smartphone users. Yes, they cost over $100 a month but we are almost completely debt free as well. So, just because we choose to have high tech gadgets doesn't mean we are fools.

I have an iPhone and my bill is under $100 a month so I'm not sure where some are getting the big numbers from.

I think being frugal is great- however, I think some people cross the line into cheap. I use coupons( when I remember I have them, lol) and brown bag it at work. But, if I want a new gadget or something fun, I get it. If I don't have the money in my account, I don't buy it. It works for me.

I also think the teasing/nsmecalling can go both ways. There are some that claim the moral highground because they pinch every penny- we've seen quite a few posts here about how can someone justify a deluxe resort. So, I think people need to worry about themselves and not poke their nose into the financial lives of others.

 

[angierae]

I have an iPhone and my bill is under $100 a month so I'm not sure where some are getting the big numbers from.

I have no problem with people not having a smart phone to save money, but it cost $10 a month to add me to my husband's plan as a family plan, and $25/moth for my data package. So my phone basically costs $35 a month. Even if you balance out the original cost of our plan amongst our two phones, we're STILL not paying $200 a month for two smartphones. (And DD15's "dumb phone" and my MIL's "dumb phone" are also on our family plan, all for under $200 a month with data packages on two phones and unlimited texting on all of them.

So even if you average it out, we're each paying less than $50 a piece for our phones.

 

[aclov]

When going out for dinner with friends and using a coupon, is when I get the smart remarks.

 

[hurleysweety]

DH and I are known well in our group of friends for having a deal for everything. We're young newlyweds, and so are most of our friends, so no couple is living the "sweet life" - but sometimes I feel like we're the only ones who daily try to save money. Our friends aren't rude about it, they're just unfamiliar with a lifestyle that strives to stay debt-free, but still do things you want to do - like trips to Disney!

Sometimes I'll spend 10 minutes telling a friend how she can save so much money doing a priceline bid or using a grocery coupon website. She'll get all excited and I'll even offer to help her start (call me when you get the coupons, we'll get together and sit down to organize them...)When I ask her about it...its just like she suddenly doesn't care. Weird. Also, we are always telling our friends about searching for coupon codes before they check out on-line, or even printing ones to use at the store. Still...my advice is just wasted. Maybe they are just embarrassed?

At work, no one really says anything. But if they need to buy something, they always check at me first and then make some sort of funny comment when I find a coupon code, "Oh look at you, always saving money..blah blah blah..." It does help that my boss's wife loves to find deals as well - although they are much higher end deals on designer brands I wouldn't buy, she still saves a ton!