I think of myself as a fairly frugal person. I'm (usually) able to stick to the budget. I hate, hate, hate paying full price for anything. I clip coupons, shop sales, head straight to the clearance racks – even at the outlet store. My specialty is "the look for less" - copying an outfit from a magazine or a room from Pottery Barn catalog on the cheap. No matter how wealthy we become someday (snort), I cannot imagine myself walking into Nordstroms and paying $100 for a t-shirt or paying $10,000 for a Pottery Barn bedroom set. My mantra is, "I can get that cheaper!"
But, I am not cheap. I still like nice things. It is not worth buying cheap things – they break, fall apart, taste bad, shrink, fade or give you blisters. It is more cost effective to buy a good washing machine that lasts for 15 years rather than a el-cheapo one that breaks down every few months and dies after 7 years. This is so obvious to me. Why don't people see this? DUH!
There is a definate difference between being frugal and being cheap. I have zero interest in making my own laundry detergent, sewing our own clothes, never getting my haircut, driving a lemon, eating nothing but beans, rice and tuna fish. Puh-LEEZE! Life is to be enjoyed — you only life once. Cheap people annoy me. I feel like cheapness is often looked on as being very 'holy' – "they're soooo non-materialistic." But, I think cheapness is a own type of materialism – its an obsession with money. One side is spending it and one is saving it.
Anyway, I found this great new blog called Want Not — having it all with less. Very practical tips and ideas from someone who seems to have the same philosophy as me when it comes to frugality/cheapness. Check it out.
