Irrational frugality

[athena53]

I have Ting service for my phone. Thanks to those here who recommended them! I use my phone mostly on Wi-Fi so typically the bill is $18/month. It would be $3 less if I got zero text messages; the first 100 are $3. I get really annoyed at the first incoming text on the billing cycle. Darn, there goes another $3!

 

[Cobra9777]

I have Ting service for my phone. Thanks to those here who recommended them! I use my phone mostly on Wi-Fi so typically the bill is $18/month. It would be $3 less if I got zero text messages; the first 100 are $3. I get really annoyed at the first incoming text on the billing cycle. Darn, there goes another $3!

I have text messaging disabled on Ting for that exact reason. I also have voice calling disabled. I use a Google Voice phone number with Hangouts for all voice and text communication. All I need from Ting is the data connection when I'm not in a WiFi area, which is pretty rare. Ting just dropped their data pricing, so I'm a very happy Ting customer as well. I don't consider it irrational frugality, just being an informed consumer.

 

[Sojourner]

Expensive wine is probably not worth it, as I doubt my palate can tell the difference between a good $10 bottle and a $100 bottle. (Also, I do not want my palate to find out. I let it find out about expensive chocolate, and now it never lets up).

Hahahaha... I know what you mean. I'm a bit of an oenophile, but in my day-to-day life I stick to the $10-$15 bottles. Occasionally, though, I'll go to a wine tasting and find that my favorite one sells for $40 or $50 per bottle. I'd almost rather not know about it than to realize I'm too frugal to go buy a bottle and enjoy it!

 

[ERD50]

I have Ting service for my phone. Thanks to those here who recommended them! I use my phone mostly on Wi-Fi so typically the bill is $18/month. It would be $3 less if I got zero text messages; the first 100 are $3. I get really annoyed at the first incoming text on the billing cycle. Darn, there goes another $3!

I got Ting for DW a few months back. Previously, she had a smartphone, but no data plan, and mainly just used it on wifi, and some texting.

Anyhow, I find myself doing the same thing - I see she is near 100 texts, and I want to tell her that if she is just careful to not exceed 100 in the next few days, we will save $2.

And then I think again, and decide it just isn't worth it to make her feel constrained over an occasional $2 monthly bill.

As a side note, Ting seems to be working out pretty well, and one reason I was interested in trying it is that if I decide to move to a smartphone and data, it is just $6 extra, and our combined usage probably wouldn't exceed the next thresholds very often anyhow.​

This sounds like something I also would do, but the problem with the "Can we not afford the $X item?" approach is that my answer would quite often have to be "Sure, I can afford it." So if I used that line of reasoning too frequently I would end up always buying the more expensive stuff. I suppose it just comes down to splurging on a limited number of things that really make a difference or that matter to you. ...

Agreed. You need to pick your battles, but there is something to be said about maintaining the mindset of choosing value. So yes, maybe $X/year on paper towels isn't a big deal, but multiply that times maybe dozens of purchases and it does add up. But I've been trying to not worry so much on a one-time purchase, it isn't worth the effort. But for recurring purchases, it can make sense even if small.

When choosing paper towels, I don't splurge since they all seem roughly the same.

And if you apply that logic to cheap toilet paper, they are all roughly the same!

-ERD50

 

[RobbieB]

I have bidet seats on all my toilets. A nice warm stream of water caresses my rosebud after use and all I do is blot it dry.

The seat is also heated so my posterior never hits a cold surface even in winter.

Life is good -

 

[Ronnieboy]

I've been known to walk in the gas station and pay cash to save $.10/gallon.

I've had my DW drive out of the way a few blocks to save 2 or 3 cents/gal on gas. I figued that if we averaged 15 gallons a fill up it wasn't worth 45 cents to go the extra few blocks.
Now I would walk into the gas station to save $1.50 that I would promptly spend on a candy bar. It's like I got the candy bar for free

 

[Ronnieboy]

I have bidet seats on all my toilets. A nice warm stream of water caresses my rosebud after use and all I do is blot it dry.

The seat is also heated so my posterior never hits a cold surface even in winter.

Life is good -

I thought Rosebud was a sled

 

[RAE]

You have to realize your time cost money , too.

Yep, that is true. When shopping at the store for lower-priced, fairly routine items, I will make a rough price comparison in my head before making a choice, but I usually don't spend too much time thinking about it. When I am considering making a larger purchase, though, and especially when buying things online, I'll take much longer, and look for any available coupons, promo codes, rebates, etc. before making a final decision. I bought a new laptop online a while back, and I looked around at various deals for a couple weeks before settling on the one I ultimately bought (which was a great deal). So if you put a monetary value on all the time I spent researching that purchase before I made a decision, the deal might not look quite as good.........but I was still pleased with it

 

[jonat]

As part of my efforts to eat a healthier diet, I have been buying more organic produce. Sometimes. Logically, I can afford it and know that it is better for my health.

But it isn't better for your health. The organic industry tries hard to make you think it is, but numerous rigorous studies have shown no significant difference, other than that a lot of organic produce is higher in pesticide residue than "conventional" produce. (Yes, organic methods can use pesticides, just "natural" ones that can be as or more poisonous to humans than the synthetic pesticides used otherwise.)

I will buy the cheapest version of a product that meets my personal quality standards. Sometimes that means the store brand (especially if that's Costco), sometimes the name brand if I find I don't like the cheaper version.

 

[friar1610]

I've been known to walk in the gas station and pay cash to save $.10/gallon.

One of my parsimonious habits relative to gas...I have avoided buying cars that take plus or premium gas. I've never felt like I've missed out by driving cars that take regular but, if I run the numbers, there's no real reason to think that way. If I average 20 mpg, if the difference between regular and plus is .20/gal and if I drive 10K miles per year, we're talking a hundred bucks a year. Double that for 2 cars and it's still peanuts. But, that's the way I am.



O

 

[Bamaman]

Try Magic Jack on the phone @ $3.00 a month.

Wife has a Tracphone pay by the month. I cut off my cell phone and am really enjoying not being found. I hate seeing the One Armed Generation pecking away in public--oblivious of everyone and everything around them.

I do all the grocery shopping--sticking with Aldi's. We fill in at the local groceries buying the sale items and day old steaks.

We stay out of Walmart and Target as there's too much temptation to buy things that are really not needed.

We also never go into a drive in market for any reason, and pay at the pump. I pay close attention to the price of gasoline and diesel prices.

The malls are never frequented unless we have something specific to purchase. We're buyers, not shoppers. And when we do buy at department stores, it's at 65%+ discounts from list price.

 

[gerntz]

]

But I still...

1. Cut dryer sheets in half

They're pretty thin & flimsy after that. Hard to handle.

 

[Koolau]

It's difficult to break old habits - habits which got me to FIRE ahead of schedule. Now, I occasionally have a talk with myself about how much money I may leave on the table when I croak. My frugal self arguing with my practical self is not a pretty picture. YMMV

 

[W2R]

Well, I think my spending habits make a lot of sense.

There are expenditures that mean nothing to me and I don't spend much if anything on those things. Others are horrified and cannot deal with the fact that I don't buy "xyz" or that my "xyz" (if I even buy it) is so low in quality. I ignore that.

There are other things that mean a lot to me, and having the nicest "abc" enhances my life. Others are aghast that I would spend so much on "abc". I ignore that, too.

So, should you label the lack of "xyz" in my life as irrational frugality? Of course not. Just don't expect me (or my spending) to be a true clone of you (or your spending), and you won't see it that way either.

My overall level of spending is not irrational either.

 

[athena53]

I have bidet seats on all my toilets. A nice warm stream of water caresses my rosebud after use and all I do is blot it dry.

What? You didn't get the one with the built-in dryer? One guy on HGTV who had that said he didn't have to use toilet paper. Think of the money you'd save!

 

[GravitySucks]

I got Ting for DW a few months back. Previously, she had a smartphone, but no data plan, and mainly just used it on wifi, and some texting.

Anyhow, I find myself doing the same thing - I see she is near 100 texts, and I want to tell her that if she is just careful to not exceed 100 in the next few days, we will save $2.

And then I think again, and decide it just isn't worth it to make her feel constrained over an occasional $2 monthly bill.

As a side note, Ting seems to be working out pretty well, and one reason I was interested in trying it is that if I decide to move to a smartphone and data, it is just $6 extra, and our combined usage probably wouldn't exceed the next thresholds very often anyhow.​

Agreed. You need to pick your battles, but there is something to be said about maintaining the mindset of choosing value. So yes, maybe $X/year on paper towels isn't a big deal, but multiply that times maybe dozens of purchases and it does add up. But I've been trying to not worry so much on a one-time purchase, it isn't worth the effort. But for recurring purchases, it can make sense even if small.



And if you apply that logic to cheap toilet paper, they are all roughly the same!

-ERD50

While text message pricing is a scam, it's WAY cheaper than divorce attorney fees.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

 

[Sunset]

Since I do all the grocery shopping, I know the prices of what we buy, so it really bugs me if I'm in 1 grocery store to return a redbox movie, and we are out of milk. Because I know the milk here is MORE than the milk at Aldi's..

Yes I compare sq footage per dollar of toilet paper, but at least I don't cheap out on the single layer stuff, and insist on a minimum of 2-ply

As for the thought of just buy quick, to save my time, as my life is invaluable, it doesn't really work, as there is no place you can store it up. At the end of the day 24 hours is gone, whether you spent 10 extra minutes in the grocery store, or watching tv, or watching the grass.

 

[Turn_the_Page]

When you lived and shopped your entire life this way, it's pretty hard to stop! I believe this also means we have a mindset that forces us to do the same when making big purchases (do I really need heated rearview mirrors?). Then it really can have impact on your finances.

Wow, the Kirkland (Costco) prunes are wonderful!

 

[Nemo2]

Wow, the Kirkland (Costco) prunes are wonderful!

+1

 

[ziggy29]

It's only "irrational", IMO, if it leads you to bad purchasing decisions (buying something slightly cheaper of massively inferior quality, for example) or if it starts damaging your health and valued personal relationships.

 

[Danmar]

Well, I think my spending habits make a lot of sense.

There are expenditures that mean nothing to me and I don't spend much if anything on those things. Others are horrified and cannot deal with the fact that I don't buy "xyz" or that my "xyz" (if I even buy it) is so low in quality. I ignore that.

There are other things that mean a lot to me, and having the nicest "abc" enhances my life. Others are aghast that I would spend so much on "abc". I ignore that, too.

So, should you label the lack of "xyz" in my life as irrational frugality? Of course not. Just don't expect me (or my spending) to be a true clone of you (or your spending), and you won't see it that way either.

My overall level of spending is not irrational either.

Agree and have been saying this for years. My motto. "Spend and let spend". People can get very judgemental about other people spending both the specific items and the overall levels. I try not to do this.

 

[Dawg52]

I was shopping for paper towels and was trying to decide between the generic store brand and the fancier “more absorbent” name brand. The store brand cost $2.99 and the fancier brand cost $3.99 for roughly the same square footage of paper towels.

$2.99 is outrageous!

Like most, I compare prices and have a few quirks in my buying habits. But I let it fly on other things w/o worrying about the cost. BTW, yesterday I bought a dozen lg eggs for 75 cents. I can't remember the last time I found eggs that cheap. But the store more than made up for it in other areas.....

 

[Ready]

I find in many cases that the only thing that separates the name brands from the lesser known brands is the size of their marketing budget. It often has nothing to do with being better quality.

As others have pointed out, the Kirkland brand is generally better than the equivalent name brand, but always cheaper because they spend no money advertising their brand. I see nothing irrational about being frugal and buying the Kirkland brand. What I find irrational is spending more money to buy a brand that is no better than the Kirkland brand simply because the company has spent millions of dollars to advertise their brand and convince you there is something better about it when there really is not.

 

[Ronstar]

The only irrationally frugal thing that I can remember that I've done recently is when I split a 50 cent foam paint brush into 3 brushes. 2 didn't have handles, but still worked fine.

 

[marko]

Back in the 70's there was a guy--I think his name was Harry Browne-- who had a book out on finance.

His take was "anything under $40 (or pick your own dollar amount), don't worry about it".

His premise was that you end up spending more time thinking, analyzing and worrying about it than the dollar amount is worth.

Maybe you're getting ripped off, maybe not but for short/small money it's not worth the time and effort.