Cheerful Frugality Evangelizes
It's out of my mouth before I can stop myself.
"Thanks! Salvation Army sells them for only 49-cents!"
"I used Hotwire to get our rooms at $20 off!"
"No trouble at all. My grocery had an amazing markdown."
I have a hard time restraining myself from blabbing about a good deal. Not everyone enjoys saving money, and they (gasp!) don't always care to hear how you do it, either.
Is our tightwad evangelism really just a form of bragging? Where do you draw the line between preaching and teaching?
Etiquette demands that you receive a compliment with a sincere "Thank you." No follow-up clauses about how you got it at Goodwill, unless someone asks you how you happen to be so fabulously dressed on your shoestring budget.
I'd be interested to hear if and how you struggle with this problem. Is it better to conceal your bargain ways?
Does she or doesn't she? Only her frugal blog friends know for sure.
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8 Responses to “Cheerful Frugality Evangelizes”
February 23rd, 2009 at 1:07 pm
I feel the same way sometimes. I love saving money and finding deals. It’s not that I really have to either, but I like to and I talk about it sometimes to some of my friends and I get the distict feeling that they would never do some of the things I do like go to the second hand store and purchase something to wear or use coupons at the grocery store. I’ve just kind of figured out who would appreciate a good bargain story and who wouldn’t. Usually when I share something it’s in the spirit of sharing with them so they can go get a good deal, but some really don’t care.
February 23rd, 2009 at 1:29 pm
The test for me is two pronged- 1- will it ease the person’s mind. for instance, if I am taking a meal to someone and they seem to be concerned about the cost, etc. I am more than happy to let them know that I was well able to get special deals. 2- If I think it will be a help to them. For instance, if I know someone is getting ready to have a baby, I might pass on where I’ve found the best diaper prices. If it’s simply telling to tell that I got it for cheap, I save that for my Mom and husband who are always up for hearing my special achievements!
February 23rd, 2009 at 1:35 pm
AMong the people we know, SAHMotherhood is looked at like a hobby for well-to-do mommies who can hire a babysitter so they don’t miss their “me-time” lunches with the girls. They don’t usually appreciate hearing about anything secondhand unless it’s an antique. So I usually keep my thriftiness to myself unless I genuinely think it will help someone (a mom who really wants to stay home, bt doesnt think she can, for example).
February 23rd, 2009 at 1:40 pm
Now that I think of it, maybe I should be a little more transparent – a lot of people may be open to frugality these days. A large plant in our town just closed putting 1500 people out of work. I need to get over my fear of getting my feelings hurt and reach out. I’m so glad you brought this up.
February 23rd, 2009 at 5:16 pm
I think the situation itself is what does or does not warrant the revelation about how inexpensively things were obtained. For example, the nurse taking my blood pressure at the neurologist’s office this morning commented on how much she loved my shoes. I said, “Thanks! They were only $5 on clearance at Target!” I suppose it was her tone in her compliment that made me share that. I guess being so conversational in nature, it was like chatting with any one of my girlfriends. Sure enough, we got to talking about the great deals that can be found at Target.
As I said, it just depends on the situation for me.
February 23rd, 2009 at 8:33 pm
I have a hard time with this. I want to tell people about my good deals, not so much to brag, but because otherwise I feel self-conscious. I spend too much time wondering if other people think I spend too much on clothes for my kids when in actuality I shop clearance racks and rummage sales. It’s fun to talk about bargain shopping with someone who also gets into it, but often I think people just glaze over or do think I’m bragging, when that’s not the case.
February 23rd, 2009 at 11:00 pm
Interesting that you bring this up. I just handed over two bags of toiletries to my best friends – stuff I’d gotten for free at drugstores via coupons and sales, which I knew they’d use (b/c I’d asked about brands and needs). They thanked me appropriately, but I thought it was interesting that neither of them showed much interest in learning how to obtain these items for free on their own. I’d love to have a local couponing buddy or two, someone who’d call me and say “hey, the Walgreens in Tarzana totally restocked the Revlon lip gloss.” But I don’t think it’s going to be them!
February 24th, 2009 at 8:17 am
i’m the worst at this! “thanks i only paid $1 for it”, i can’t just leave it at “thank you”!
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