Foo - Tired of being criticized for being cheap

I'm tired of being criticized for being cheap.

I am a college student so most of my money goes to rent and tuition. My money comes from my parents, and I dont work. However I spend that money very carefully. For instance i dont eat out very much, and opt to cook because its cheaper. When I shop for groceries I only buy the discount meats and vegetables. When I do eat out, I only eat at places where I can use coupons to get deals. I dont buy needless things or new clothes, and when I do shop, the first place is look is on craigslist to try and find it used.

My friend criticizes me on all this. We often have arguments over who is richer. I always say he is cause he has all this nice stuff, but he says I am because I have a bigger balance. I explain the bigger balance is because I dont spend my money. My friend who criticizes me does have a job, and is also a college student, but he has loans to pay for most of his tuition. In college he was the richest of us since he got so much financial aid. And while I'm saving money and only spending on essentials, hes using his financial aid money to eat out every day, buy a new laptop, monitor, xbox360, new bicycle... And then he calls me cheap because when he wants to eat out I usually say I dont want to spend money. On top of this hes always complaining how he wants to quit his job but can't because he needs the money. I have told him why does he eat out all the time (spending $16 a day on food vs $5 if you cooked) but he just says hes too lazy to cook.

On top of this my gf also criticizes me for being cheap, saying how we never eat out, or we dont watch movies. She thinks im crazy for wanting to do grocery shopping using my bike. Or how if we want fast food, I offer to bike to the restaurant to get the food and bike back. She got annoyed at me today when I got pissed that this persian food place refused my coupon. I know she was thinking "why is this guy so cheap". But its true that I only eat out when I have coupons so it really irritated me I had to pay full price, but what made me madder was my gf wasn't even standing with me on the issue.

Sometimes I get disgusted at how much money a typical American spends. One can live so much simpler and cheaper if they didn't have a car, and didn't eat out, and don't need to go out to see the latest movie. I understand those things are luxuries but I think for some people (like my gf), they feel they need to get doses of those luxuries at regular intervals to survive. I feel those luxuries should be saved for special occasions, and instead of watching movies in theaters, one can rent DVDs. So what if you see a movie a few months later than everyone else, its the same movie.

SOrry just ranting but I just saw Bruno and it sucked. Waste of $9. One could watch it online or on DVD and it would be the same. No point in going to the theater to watch it.

you don't get richer by spending it :innocent:

You had me until the generalization about the typical American. True, but also applies to all societies.

Other than that, you have my full support. I'll even buy lunch, at McDonalds, dollar menu. :)
(apple pies, two for a buck)

Living within your means is great, but don't neglect the GF. She seems to like to dine out once in a while (sans coupon). Might be a place to make an adjustment in your spending.

You can't take it with you.

I knew Bruno sucked from the tv ads.

Drop the gf. If you choose to save, that's your choice. You don't need to justify yourself to anyone.

"Things" are not better than an education or a degree.

cheap = rich

I wouldn't be offended. There's a quiet dignity in being thrifty or frugal (not cheap, you are not cheap).

Personally, I used to piss away money like it was going out of style. I was buying $2000 bike components on impulse every couple of months. I've learned to knock back a lot now (well with a new apt and car to pay for...).

But what I've learned is that there's a huge difference between being thrifty and cheap. Money's made to be spent. How you spend it, defines whether you're cheap or thrifty. I don't mind spending money where it counts.

If I buy oat meal, I would buy generic over brandname because it's the same oat meal and I save $1.50 for a large box. That's thrifty and spending your money wisely. I'm guessing that's something you would do too.

On the flip side. My dad's always been into photography but he's never had time for it. He became unemployed and decided to retire early. It's been his dream for a while to have a high end camera after eeking by with a lot of budget SLR's. But he never went for it since he wanted to squeeze the most out of his retirement money. So when he retired, I bought him a $3500 camera set up. Being thrifty, I would never spend that much if I needed a camera. OTOH, that's not being cheap either. I could've paid 10x the price and it would've been money well spent.

What I'm saying is, you're not cheap, you don't mind spending even large amounts of money if it needs to be spent but you won't spend money unnecessairly, that's being thrifty.

Don't be cheap, just spend it wisely. A friend of mine used to say: You can't take it with you.

Sam Walton drove an old pickup truck and bought his clothes from Walmart, and was worth $23 billion when he died!

yes he is. i am cheap so i have cheapdar.

I think you are very smart. Thrift is a virtue.

Sam Walton drove an old pickup truck and bought his clothes from Walmart, and was worth $23 billion when he died!

I wouldn't say Sam Walton "bought" his clothes from Walmart... ;)

I say good for the OP. I worked my way through undergrad and grad school working 20 hours per week at the local hospital. I had no loans and graduated debt free. Wait until your friend graduates and has to start paying back those loans. I know professionals in their 40-50s who are still paying off their six-figure student loans and have not been able to buy a home because of it. This is especially problematic when you can only find a job paying $ 30,000 per year.

You are learning life skills now that will serve you well in life and the new economy. As for the girlfriend, why isn't she taking you out to dinner and buying food?

Be frugal. But don't be a d*ck.

Arguments with friends over who has more money? Lame. Stop acting like you're still in HS.

Aaaaaand that's my HTFU moment for today. :D

Sometimes I get disgusted at how much money a typical American spends.

It's understandable. My issue isn't with the amount, but the fact that so much of it is credit and people are just spending themselves into unsalvageable financial pits.

Dump the GF. Living within your means is an admirable skill which few people have nowadays. In fact, the whole stupid recession we're in is caused by people NOT living within their means. Idiots.

You are far, far richer than your friend. That's a no-brainer.

As for the gf, time to move on. As has been said, you are incompatible. Not much more there, really.

I have 3 basic nondiscussion topics, myself.

How much money I or you have
Religion
politics

(An exception to the last two in P&R, of course, that's my outlet there.)

You're being frugal and smart, I agree. Keep it up.

The person happiest with their situation is richest.

You're thrifty, not cheap.

My mother-in-law had a neighbour that was cheap. He used to go to Mcdonalds for coffee, so he could get a free refill and read the newspaper, even though he didn't like the coffee. He did his own dental work... His house has never been painted inside - and it is over 20 years old. Also doesn't have a porch or anything by the back door - it is just a 2 foot drop to the ground.

Don't let yourself get sucked into using money as the scoreboard for your life. There are many other more important things on which to focus. Not that money is not important, just not most important.

My mother-in-law had a neighbour that was cheap. He used to go to Mcdonalds for coffee, so he could get a free refill ....

I've known people who kept the paper cup so they could get a free coffee on another day!


Having said that I'm pretty cheap, and I hate it when my boyfriend wants me to "go halves" in a poker machine. I hate that kind of waste of money.

Heehee! We take turns paying for dinner and such, but pokies.... no way, I don't put money in those! :P

sack up and get a job. sheesh.

who doesn't like a 2 for 1 offer?

if i get 50% off, i don't care if it was thousands or a few pennies. it's a win!

Tell your "friends" and "girlfriend" to buzz off. I am as frugal as they come and dated a man who was just the same. We got on well and had no problem making a dollar scream. Oh the flip side, I dated a man who made over $100k and would always eat out (at crappy establishments) and would not spend a dime on fixing up his house, teeth or self until he met me. In the short end of things, I spent more money on him because I was buying tickets for us to do the things he would never buy for himself.
Being frugal, I have managed to travel around the world alone. Stay at the only 7 star hotel, flown on the Concorde and a lot of other things most dream of doing. To top it off, I own a house and soon hope to land a deal on another. I work part time, very part time. I manage things well in my life and have more than those who have something to say.
Guy, keep doing what you do and see how far you end up in life when others are still at the start line.

Cheap people suck, they always stand around with their hands in pocket when it's time to pay. I'm kicking all cheap people out of my life, I'm tired of freeloaders sponging off of me. Bye, bye, cheap turd-blossoms.

To the poster buying spaghetti sauce in jars, dude get a crock pot and make your own. Save lots of cash that way.

I thought being broke/cheap and being a college student go hand-in-hand? Soon I will be a "starving college student" myself.

Cheap is not the same as poor. When I was in college I was poor, didn't spend much money because I had none. There's lots of CHEAP in this thread, you know who you are, people call you on it all the time. You'll give up friends to save a few dollars. You want to do the fun things, just skip on the paying part. I am so feed up with cheap people.

When you ask a person what they fear in life most, normal people respond with human things like loss of a loved one, cancer etc. Cheap people always respond the same, they fear being broke/poor more than ANYTHING.

About 10% of the population is truely cheap...that leaves 90% left over the hang with, I'll take those numbers.

I'm just surprised at the lack of generosity considering the OP is being fully supported by someone else's generosity.

IGH: some of us have experienced hunger, not having a home, growing up with less-than-others so the seed of the fear of poverty is buried deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

IGH: some of us have experienced hunger, not having a home, growing up with less-than-others so the seed of the fear of poverty is buried deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

It's very rare to find someone in America that can claim this, none of the cheap people I know have this excuse. I have friends from third world countries that have experienced this (China and Vietnam). Interestingly enough, NONE of them are cheap.

My point is that bad behavers always have an excuse....

IGH: some of us have experienced hunger, not having a home, growing up with less-than-others so the seed of the fear of poverty is buried deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

On the contrary, I've found that the cheapest people have plenty of money...they just don't want to part with it...even at others' expense. At the shop I had very little haggling on $300 bikes. The $2K+ bikes almost never sold for asking price. Tough to make a living when you can't ever make margins.

Poverty is very common in North America, probably moreso than any of us would like to believe. Even in Canada, Child Poverty is on the rise. We're talking kids that don't get a lunch to take to school.

Poverty is very common in North America, probably moreso than any of us would like to believe. Even in Canada, Child Poverty is on the rise. We're talking kids that don't get a lunch to take to school.

No need to tell me. My income is below the poverty line.

I have no choice but to be frugal, I choose not to be cheap.

Again, cheap is the not the same as poor (to call people in America and Canada poor or hungry is a joke, hungry people live in Africa, lazy people live in America/Canada). Once a person has made it out of the bottom there's no excuse for sponging off of others. Cheap people always have some excuse, the action is always the same, not paying for what they took.

Cheap people suck, they always stand around with their hands in pocket when it's time to pay. I'm kicking all cheap people out of my life, I'm tired of freeloaders sponging off of me. Bye, bye, cheap turd-blossoms.

This post is ridiculous. You have "cheap" people in your life because you chose to have them yet you complain about them. You are tired of them sponging off you but you have given in for them to get what they want and you complain about that too. It sounds as if you are a sucker for "cheap" people and need to accept it rather than be hurt by it. Also, don't think that people who are not outright cheap aren't. You will move on and see that you will run into those will do what your freeloading people do/did to you.

Lazy? An 8 year old that doesn't have enough to eat isn't lazy, that's called the goverment being ********.

What are people supposed to do? Rob a bank? Not everyone has the resources to get an education that pays $$$$$$$$$$$$ in the end. Wow, get off your high horse there buddy.

The OP is living off what his parents generously give him, he's being responsible with that money rather than pissing it away. He's going a little overboard with coupons and such though, however, it's better that he's a bit cheap than to be the other way and be up to his eyeballs in debt.

cheap is not free loading. cheap people don't like splashing out. that doesn't mean they necessarily take advantage of others. maybe they just prefer to go without or buy the less expensive option.

...You have "cheap" people in your life because you chose to have them yet you complain about them....
Not anymore, eliminated one of them last month, the other just yesterday. I began to understand their excuses were just attempts to play me. That's what cheap people do, play people with their lame excuses. Both of them kept trying to tell me it wasn't about the money, I made sure they knew it was ALL about the money. I say, "Bye, bye cheap people, we're done."

Lazy? An 8 year old that doesn't have enough to eat isn't lazy, that's called the goverment being ********....
There's free breakfast and lunch in all American schools. No questions asked, just send your kid in and he eats. What's interesting is all the cheap people that send their kids in for the free "poor kids" food when they can feed their kids...sponging off of working folks, nothing new....

I think it's good that the OP isn't spending his parent's money on flashy garbage.

coasting is correct. I relish an excellent deal. Why do you think I jumped at paying $50 for a 912 Miyata? Yeah I had to put a little $ in it for a tune up, new chain, retaping but it's worth it, even if I unload it later.

OMG the other day my boyfriend, my mother and I went to Burger King (I like the veggie burger there) they have a scratch n' win transformers things on their products right now so I scratched ours, then found an abandoned one on another table. I won 4 out of 5 which was amazing.

My personal motto is: "Free is the best price" I don't mean mooching off friends, I mean getting free stuff elsewhere.

cheap is not free loading. cheap people don't like splashing out. that doesn't mean they necessarily take advantage of others. maybe they just prefer to go without or buy the less expensive option.

That's frugal. When I was poor, I made sure not to go out with my friends after frisbee golf or bike riding, I couldn't pull my way. I always made an excuse, "have to study", "get ready for work" etc. Cheap people go out and don't pay their fair share. Leave early and don't pay their full amount. You cheapsters know all your tricks....

Even if you don't have a penny left at the end of the month - you are, by far, the richer one!

That's not cheap, that's people who suck. I pay my own way. If my BF buys us movie tickets, usually I'll buy the (absurdly expensive) popcorn or go to a dollar store and buy junk food to sneak in.

I like to keep the restaurant tab to $20 for two people. We don't drink, if we stick to water it's almost possible. I had to revise to $21 due to inflation. I prefer to make my own food but sometimes it's not convenient to cook.

half my furniture I got for free. My computer desk I'm sitting at right now = $0. It looks nice enough, former roommates didnt want to keep it, gave it to me. Free couch, free coffee table, free dining chairs (antique.) Cheapness is a skill. I'm a quarter Scottish, it's genetic. :whistle:

Luddy, you're frugal, that's different than being cheap. The other night I made my own martini, then rode my bike to the steakhouse for dinner. After dinner I rode home and had a nice cognac, Saved $30, used it to play golf the next day, walked 18 and saved another $20 and got exercise for no additional cost!

i hate golfers who only play if they drive a cart. defeats the whole purpose of a nice round of golf

i hate golfers who only play if they drive a cart. defeats the whole purpose of a nice round of golf

LOL, the cheapster I unloaded last month always complained when I didn't ride, he wanted me to split the cart with him. I hate riding, ruins the game. He never cared about me enjoying the round, he was looking to save $20. Then he started picking expensive courses that make you ride. I hate spending more than $50 on a round of golf, ruins the game for me ('cause I'm frugal!). Never mind he had a heart attack at 44 and needs the exercise, still smokes too. He is cheap, not frugal :(

If i am frugal with routine golf games, I can occassionally treat myself to a super duper round at a famous course. I've played at cheapo £25 courses and £120 courses. The difference can be immense, but you only appreciate it if it isn't routine. That pretty much sums up my cheapness on meaningless routine day to day expenses. That way I don't feel guilty splashing out on a bit of luxury to treat myself or others.

I paid $300 to play Pebble Beach in 1990 when I was pi$$ broke. It was worth every penny. To this day when I watch the US Open or the AT&T I have fond memories. Best part, even though it was clear I wasn't their average player social/economic-wise (walked on as a single, almost never done, had Ping-clones), they treated me like a king!