There’s a distinct difference between being cautious and straight-up being a penny-pincher. These 14 online forum users helped us determine that difference.
The Explanation
“If I sacrifice for me to save money, it’s frugal. If others sacrifice for me to save money, it’s cheap.”
“This is a perfect explanation.”
Wise vs. Unwise
“Frugal is spending money wisely. Waste is spending money unwisely. Saving is not spending money wisely. Cheapskate is not spending money unwisely.”
Lack of a Budget
“Have money built into your budget for going out with friends, obviously other priorities, but setting aside guilt-free money that you spend on restaurants, movies, etc.”
“A lot of my coworkers think I’m cheap because I eat in every day, and when I do go out, I go to inexpensive restaurants, but I don’t care because I spend money on my hobbies and actual friends.”
Too Much Sacrifice
“If you unnecessarily sacrifice health and happiness or make others do so, you’re being cheap. If your decisions don’t compromise those things, you’re frugal.”
“I’ve been struggling with this so much. Wow, I find myself getting angry at how much I pay in groceries to the point of trying to avoid the grocery store and eat ramen all week.”
“If you do not eat healthy food, then your body will suffer in future years. Think of it as an investment in your future. Health problems are not cheap to treat in the USA, even if you have health insurance.”
Poor Food Decisions
“I think sometimes it’s coming from feeling angry about how expensive life is nowadays, but I need these things to literally just live – rent, gas, and food.”
Not Meal Planning
“I can buy a week’s worth of food for $15, but I’ll be eating rice, beans, canned tomatoes, bread, and chicken all week, and the variety is severely limited by shopping at per kg prices.”
“If you budget in this fixed cost, then it will be accounted for, and you can feel better about spending it because it becomes something that is non-negotiable.”
“Food is important and should not be compromised on.”
Not Taking Advantage of Deals
“Lack of coupon-collecting, ignoring BOGOF offers, etc.”
“Frugal is eating out for lunch instead of dinner or ordering happy hour drink specials instead of top-shelf cocktails. Cheap is stiffing or undertipping your server because you spent too much money.”
Lack of Appreciation of Money
“To me, frugality is appreciating the things your money does for you. If you spend money all the time on convenience and things you don’t care about, then coffee out doesn’t feel special.”
“Frugality is living below your means so that you can make yourself happy with small luxuries, rather than living up to your means and constantly feeling like you can’t afford any luxuries at all.”
“Spending on a nice dinner with friends every once in a while is lovely; defaulting to burgers every night is going to feel like a need after a while.”
Harmfulness
“I’d say cheap has a level of harm to it, whether it be to yourself or others.”
Poor Purchasing Decisions
“Cheapskates will buy anything that’s cheap and often don’t care about its durability and even the quality. Hell, sometimes they don’t buy the things they need. They just store their clothes in a cardboard box, etc.”
Poor Financial Focus
“A cheapskate’s focus is on the money and how to acquire more, a frugal person’s focus is on their basic needs; how they will continue to survive with what means they only have.”
“A frugal individual is when a person’s money needs to stretch. Not when they want it to stretch.”
Expression
“How vocal they are about it. Frugal [people] don’t make a commotion about it. Cheapskate[s] need to let you know how frugal they are.”
Control
“The way I think of it is that frugality is about managing your money well, and being cheap is about control, often of other people.”
“People I would personally describe as cheapskates are people who are constantly looking for pity about how little they’re able to spend or act with outsized outrage or offense if anybody ever asks them for a favor or to join them at an event that requires spending money.”
Poor Reliance on Self
“Frugal is when you rely on yourself to save money. Cheap is when you rely on others.”
“For example, buying marked-down foods is frugal. Purposely damaging food or demanding a discount is cheap.”
“Taking OFFERED leftovers is frugal. Demanding to take home leftovers or hiding things in your pockets is cheap.”
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