Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Has Scrooge been wrongly demonized?
Old 01-18-2016, 01:22 PM   #1
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
nun's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 4,872
Has Scrooge been wrongly demonized?

There's a widespread feeling that it's bad to be careful with money, mean, frugal.....to be like Scrouge in Christmas Carol. Of course it's bad to treat others unfairly and I see generosity to others as a positive character trait. But is it bad to be frugal when it comes to your own spending? Some people seem to think so. For example I keep my heating at 62F and a visiting friend recently said my house was cold and I was being "too mean", but I bumped the temperature up to 68F for her because I wanted her to be comfortable......it went back to 62F when she left.

The thing is I like being frugal. It's a sort of game to see how little I can spend and still be comfortable. So I cut the cable cord and found other ways to watch programs; I cook and bake a lot which is cheap, fun and tasty and now. I just had an unexpected $11k expense for new furnaces which consumed a third of this year's budget and I could dip into reserves, but I wonder if I can trim spending by 33%. I'm going to try and even if I only do 20% or 10% it will be worthwhile and an enjoyable challenge....I do actually mean enjoyable.
__________________
“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

Current AA: 75% Equity Funds / 15% Bonds / 5% Stable Value /2% Cash / 3% TIAA Traditional
Retired Mar 2014 at age 52, target WR: 0.0%,
Income from pension and rent
nun is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 01-18-2016, 01:35 PM   #2
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Big_Hitter's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Les Bois
Posts: 5,761
some people consider stinginess a character flaw
__________________
You can't be a retirement plan actuary without a retirement plan, otherwise you lose all credibility...
Big_Hitter is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-18-2016, 01:39 PM   #3
Administrator
Alan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: N. Yorkshire
Posts: 34,056
Looks like you've been frugal with your spelling as well. Would you like me to correct the thread title? (wromgly to wrongly)
__________________
Retired in Jan, 2010 at 55, moved to England in May 2016
Enough private pension and SS income to cover all needs
Alan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-18-2016, 01:39 PM   #4
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
NW-Bound's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 35,712
Years ago, I read Andrew Tobias who said that "cheap is how you treat others, not how you treat yourself". I completely agree with this philosophy.

On the other hand, Scrooge is cheap towards everybody, himself included.
__________________
"Old age is the most unexpected of all things that happen to a man" -- Leon Trotsky (1879-1940)

"Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities Can Make You Commit Atrocities" - Voltaire (1694-1778)
NW-Bound is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-18-2016, 01:41 PM   #5
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
travelover's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 14,328
Quote:
Originally Posted by nun View Post
......... For example I keep my heating at 62F and a visiting friend recently said my house was cold and I was being "too mean", but I bumped the temperature up to 68F for her because I wanted her to be comfortable......it went back to 62F when she left............
When I was single. I found the women considered 72 to be a lot better temperature to get naked....Just sayin'
travelover is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-18-2016, 01:42 PM   #6
Full time employment: Posting here.
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Austin
Posts: 661
I've always been "frugal". Being so has served me well. I enjoy saving money and getting the most for every dollar spent. I watch others spend their money without a thought as to whether or not what they are purchasing is worth the price they pay and struggle to understand how that can even be possible.

It's just how I'm wired, I guess.
__________________
ER'd 6/1/2014 @ age 53. Wow, is it already 2022?
Looking4Ward is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-18-2016, 01:49 PM   #7
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
nun's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 4,872
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan View Post
Looks like you've been frugal with your spelling as well. Would you like me to correct the thread title? (wromgly to wrongly)
Yes please correct it. It's was caused by big thumbs on a small phone.
__________________
“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

Current AA: 75% Equity Funds / 15% Bonds / 5% Stable Value /2% Cash / 3% TIAA Traditional
Retired Mar 2014 at age 52, target WR: 0.0%,
Income from pension and rent
nun is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-18-2016, 01:50 PM   #8
Administrator
Alan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: N. Yorkshire
Posts: 34,056
Quote:
Originally Posted by nun View Post
Yes please correct it. It's was caused by big thumbs on a small phone.
I knew it had to do with frugality, you need a bigger phone

I'll fix it.
__________________
Retired in Jan, 2010 at 55, moved to England in May 2016
Enough private pension and SS income to cover all needs
Alan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-18-2016, 01:51 PM   #9
Moderator Emeritus
aja8888's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Conroe, Texas
Posts: 18,645
Quote:
Originally Posted by nun View Post
There's a widespread feeling that it's bad to be careful with money, mean, frugal.....to be like Scrouge in Christmas Carol. Of course it's bad to treat others unfairly and I see generosity to others as a positive character trait. But is it bad to be frugal when it comes to your own spending? Some people seem to think so. For example I keep my heating at 62F and a visiting friend recently said my house was cold and I was being "too mean", but I bumped the temperature up to 68F for her because I wanted her to be comfortable......it went back to 62F when she left.

The thing is I like being frugal. It's a sort of game to see how little I can spend and still be comfortable. So I cut the cable cord and found other ways to watch programs; I cook and bake a lot which is cheap, fun and tasty and now. I just had an unexpected $11k expense for new furnaces which consumed a third of this year's budget and I could dip into reserves, but I wonder if I can trim spending by 33%. I'm going to try and even if I only do 20% or 10% it will be worthwhile and an enjoyable challenge....I do actually mean enjoyable.
After reading this, the thought occurred to me that you may not even need the furnace (could have saved the $11K). A few strategically placed space heaters may suffice. And if you have a fireplace, maybe some fire wood on a cool night?
__________________
*********Go Astros!*********
aja8888 is offline   Reply With Quote
Has Scrouge been wrongly demonized?
Old 01-18-2016, 01:52 PM   #10
gone traveling
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,135
Has Scrouge been wrongly demonized?

Quote:
Originally Posted by travelover View Post
When I was single. I found the women considered 72 to be a lot better temperature to get naked....Just sayin'

+ 100

Use real soap too. And deodorant. And Minty toothpaste

Some things while frugal just won't get you where u need to be ...

It can go too far and become obsessive compulsive ...that's an illness

Everything in moderation. Including frugality.
papadad111 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-18-2016, 01:58 PM   #11
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
nun's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 4,872
Quote:
Originally Posted by NW-Bound View Post
Years ago, I read Andrew Tobias who said that "cheap is how you treat others, not how you treat yourself". I completely agree with this philosophy. On the other hand, Scrooge is cheap towards everybody, himself included.
Yes I agree. Scrouge's meanness with money was an outward expression of his inner meanness and we know he's saved he celebrates with is relations and employees and expresses it by spending money. I always think that a nice ending would have has Scrouge at the end of the day being happy, but maybe still not lighting a second candle because generosity is very well, but there's no need to burn money.
__________________
“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

Current AA: 75% Equity Funds / 15% Bonds / 5% Stable Value /2% Cash / 3% TIAA Traditional
Retired Mar 2014 at age 52, target WR: 0.0%,
Income from pension and rent
nun is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-18-2016, 01:58 PM   #12
Moderator Emeritus
aja8888's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Conroe, Texas
Posts: 18,645
Quote:
Originally Posted by papadad111 View Post
+ 100

Use real soap too. And deodorant. And Minty toothpaste

Some things while frugal just won't get you where u need to be ...

It can go too far and become obsessive compulsive ...that's an illness

Everything in moderation. Including frugality.
There was nothing like a little Everclear in the fruit punch to loosen things up too!
__________________
*********Go Astros!*********
aja8888 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-18-2016, 02:00 PM   #13
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Amethyst's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 12,598
As long as someone is keeping the house at 62 degrees in order to save money to buy me more jewelry...nakedness and an electric blanket work well together. It's all about agreeing on the priorities.
__________________
If you understood everything I say, you'd be me ~ Miles Davis
'There is only one success – to be able to spend your life in your own way.’ Christopher Morley.
Even a blind clock finds an acorn twice a day.
Amethyst is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-18-2016, 02:01 PM   #14
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
ziggy29's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: North Oregon Coast
Posts: 16,483
Thrifty and miserly are not the same.
__________________
"Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently?" -- Joe Dominguez (1938 - 1997)
ziggy29 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-18-2016, 02:01 PM   #15
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
REWahoo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Texas: No Country for Old Men
Posts: 50,004
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan View Post
Looks like you've been frugal with your spelling as well. Would you like me to correct the thread title? (wromgly to wrongly)
Are you on a tight budget and unwilling to spend the effort to correct the spelling of Scrooge as well?
__________________
Numbers is hard
REWahoo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-18-2016, 02:04 PM   #16
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
nun's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 4,872
Quote:
Originally Posted by aja8888 View Post
After reading this, the thought occurred to me that you may not even need the furnace (could have saved the $11K). A few strategically placed space heaters may suffice. And if you have a fireplace, maybe some fire wood on a cool night?
Well now that you mention it I did buy some space heaters.......but they were for my tenants. I own a two family and the rental unit's oil furnace quit big time. It was very old and had to be replaced, you can't rent a flat without proper heating. I bought the tenants 3 space heaters to use until the new gas furnace was installed. I decided to have my 25 year old oil furnace replaced at the same time as the payback for the $5.5k extra expense was about 7 years. Sometimes being frugal requires you to spend money.
__________________
“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

Current AA: 75% Equity Funds / 15% Bonds / 5% Stable Value /2% Cash / 3% TIAA Traditional
Retired Mar 2014 at age 52, target WR: 0.0%,
Income from pension and rent
nun is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-18-2016, 02:16 PM   #17
Administrator
Alan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: N. Yorkshire
Posts: 34,056
Quote:
Originally Posted by REWahoo View Post
Are you on a tight budget and unwilling to spend the effort to correct the spelling of Scrooge as well?
In subsequent posts nun still uses Scrouge so I assume that he is either talking about the Scrouge who lives in the USA, or his thrifty phone has a spill chucker that keeps auto correcting to Scrouge
__________________
Retired in Jan, 2010 at 55, moved to England in May 2016
Enough private pension and SS income to cover all needs
Alan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-18-2016, 02:19 PM   #18
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
travelover's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 14,328
Quote:
Originally Posted by nun View Post
......... I decided to have my 25 year old oil furnace replaced at the same time as the payback for the $5.5k extra expense was about 7 years.
If you bumped the temperature up to 68 degrees, the payback period would only be 4.5 years.
travelover is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-18-2016, 02:38 PM   #19
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
nun's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 4,872
Quote:
Originally Posted by REWahoo View Post
Are you on a tight budget and unwilling to spend the effort to correct the spelling of Scrooge as well?
You are right, my brain had the wrong spelling....nothing to do with poor typing in that error.

Still Scrooge's frugality expressing a meanness of inner spirit has become part of the zeitgeist and the distinction between his treatment of other people and his own penny pinching is rarely made. Without the excuse of some religious calling, is it possible to be frugal with money today and still be thought of as generous in spirit and living a full life?
__________________
“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

Current AA: 75% Equity Funds / 15% Bonds / 5% Stable Value /2% Cash / 3% TIAA Traditional
Retired Mar 2014 at age 52, target WR: 0.0%,
Income from pension and rent
nun is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-18-2016, 02:47 PM   #20
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 17,203
Sorry to say that my DW would be turning up the temp big time if she was with you...

Our temp downstairs is 74 and upstairs 72... really upstairs does not turn on much as the temp from downstairs does the job....



I do agree that if you want to be that frugal, then that is fine.... but if you kept the temp at 62, I would only come to your house once... I am not willing to come if it is that cold... my mother likes it very warm... like 78... she turns it down when I come over and back up when I leave... sure, it is YOUR house and you can keep it at any temp you like.... but if I am uncomfortable I also do not have to stay....
Texas Proud is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Poll:Have you been a Scrooge to reach FIRE ? cyber888 FIRE and Money 34 12-27-2015 11:23 AM
Monthly budget, am I a Scrooge, careful or living it up IYHO? nun FIRE and Money 23 11-02-2011 08:21 AM
Anyone has been to Japan? Jane Other topics 16 11-13-2004 05:29 PM
Center for Creative Retirement--Who has been? nwsteve Other topics 3 06-30-2004 05:37 AM

» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 06:49 PM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.