Ridiculed for being cheap??

[FurBall]

I think some people are uncertain enough about their own choices that they are threatened by someone who has made different choices. How sad for them.

Over the years I've had lots of people comment on my frugality -- some in affectionate joking and some clearly offended. I was once told it was unseemly to drive old cars when my young employees drove BMWs.

She who laughs last, laughs best. I'm retired -- they are not.

[barbarus]

tmm99, do NOT let your friend off the hook when, in the future, you are in much better shape than she. It is because of people like her that the economy is quite likely wrecked beyond repair.

Martha, you're not gonna like this but now is now time for healing. This is no time for forgiveness and all coming together for a big hug. The less we lay blame on the guilty, the greater the certainty that the financial profligacy will reoccur. Letting these spendthrifts and their political masters get away with the goods, as is happening right now, kicks merde into the faces of the righteous. We're going to hear a lot about not laying blame, that no one could have seen what was coming, that frugality is foolish and other such dreck.


Manure!

Let you friend have it with both barrels. Don't hold back. What she did is affecting you who was beneficial to the commonweal, as much as it causes her to personally suffer. Do you have any family? They, in particular the young, are going to be suffering for years thanks to this selfish, asinine behavior. Remember, you are not attacking in a mean-spirited mentality of "I told you so". Instead you are trying to help yourself and everyone else that lives is an economic milieu. That is, everybody. If more people had your financial conservatism, we wouldn't be looking down into a financial abyss right now. It appears that many on this blog were themselves participants in the skulduggery. As least, I have had communication with a number of apologists on here who seem terribly dismissive of those responsible.


Thanks for having taking the decent path yourself tmm99. While it's been a lonely path, you've got the satisfaction that many here apparently can not claim, of having done the proper thing.




Come to think of it, next time you see her, kick her once for me too.

[Gone4Good]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmm99 Does being frugal somehow offend people?

Fear not, I have a strong suspicion that being frugal will be in fashion again very soon.

[DallasGuy]

Many of my friends and family consider me to be frugal or cheap depending on who you talk to. I don't deny it....in fact I agree with them. On the other hand I usually buy what I want when I want it but I don't need as much as most other people do.

About 10 years ago one of my friends sent an email to his brother. In that email he wrote about me and made some remarks about how cheap I was...the remarks included some very mean spirited insults. How do I know that? Because he accidently sent the email to me. After being pissed off at him for a week or so I forgave him and we're still friends today. But I eventually got the last laugh....I've been semi-retired/retired now for about 2-3 years (I'm 52 years old now) and he's got at least another 10 years to go before he can retire. Sometimes I think it would be fun to remind him of that mean spirited email that he accidently sent me 10 years ago.

[freebird5825]

tell your "friend" you have the power to make Mr. Lincoln cry. she won't get it. then tell her with a nice big smile that it means pinching a penny so hard you get Honest Abe to cry.
if she has any sort of a sense of humor, keep her as a friend.
if not, well....
i think you are doing the right thing for yourself. as in all things, it is your choice how you spend or don't spend money. it is after all, your name on the bills.

[ls99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CompoundInterestFan I'm surprised, however, that none of them learned from your example. I would think your early retirement would have opened their eyes to the benefits of frugality. .

I would not know if they learned or not. DW and I moved a few hundred miles away, shortly after my exit, into our fully paid off second hand home. Which by the way they knew nothing about, since I never mentioned it.

Giving it some thought, not likely they learned anything. Their free-spending habits, keeping up with the latest electronic gizmos, doohickeys, new cars, and paying for all manner of useless cr*p, and having a good time was far too important to them. I think to them I was just that weird foreigner with strange compulsion for not pi$$ing money away.

[hankster]

I get ribbed by people about my older pickup truck. A coworker or relative will pull up with a new rig (with its outrageous monthly payment) and ask me when I'm gonna get a "real truck" and get rid of that old thing. I just smile and tell them how fond I am of the monthly payment ($0).

Dave Ramsey, who promotes LBYM and being debt free, puts it this way: "If broke people are making fun of your financial plan, you're right on track."

[NW-Bound]

When I was working at megacorps, I used to go to the trashcans near laser printers to pick up discarded printouts. Use: the back side is perfectly blank to use as scratch papers for my engineering calculations and equations. Coworkers look at me as crazy. I know, I know, paper is cheap. But if discarded printouts work, why not?

I wonder who else in this forum has done that, since some also recycle dryer sheets?

[Khan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound When I was working at megacorps, I used to go to the trashcans near laser printers to pick up discarded printouts. Use: the back side is perfectly blank to use as scratch papers for my engineering calculations and equations. Coworkers look at me as crazy. I know, I know, paper is cheap. But if discarded printouts work, why not? I wonder who else in this forum has done that, since some also recycle dryer sheets?

For a while, I worked in a building where someone would come once a week and trim the plants. I fished the trimmings out of the garbage and replanted them. Some of their descendants are still living in my home and at the former office.

I don't have a dryer.

[freebird5825]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound When I was working at megacorps, I used to go to the trashcans near laser printers to pick up discarded printouts. Use: the back side is perfectly blank to use as scratch papers for my engineering calculations and equations. Coworkers look at me as crazy. I know, I know, paper is cheap. But if discarded printouts work, why not? I wonder who else in this forum has done that, since some also recycle dryer sheets?

guilty as charged.
i would take it home and use it for shopping and home project lists, notes, fire starting, shred it for packing material if needed, scratch paper for masters' techie courses, etc etc.

[FIREd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound When I was working at megacorps, I used to go to the trashcans near laser printers to pick up discarded printouts. Use: the back side is perfectly blank to use as scratch papers for my engineering calculations and equations. Coworkers look at me as crazy. I know, I know, paper is cheap. But if discarded printouts work, why not? I wonder who else in this forum has done that, since some also recycle dryer sheets?

When I order something online or do some online transaction at Vanguard, I always print out a receipt. Once I have verified that the transaction is indeed complete, I put the receipt back in the paper tray, upside down, and print something else on the back.

But now, I found even better. I print out the receipt using a cheap PDF printer. That way I use no paper, no ink and when I don't need the receipt anymore, I just erase the PDF file.

[FinanceDude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mickeyd Perhaps some folks would be offended by a passive investing strategy where mostly low-cost index funds were selected as an investment portfolio. I know for sure that scum sucking, commission-driven, 12-b1 loving low lifes stock broker/investment advisors would surely be offended by such action. So, the answer is yes.

Funny......noone here offends me.......

[NW-Bound]

When the business venture I was with closed down, I took home several reams of paper that had our business address printed on as letter head. I intended to use them as scratch paper, but my daughter once turned in her college term paper printed on the back side!!!

The prof's comments on her paper included the instruction not to use recycled paper. But he did not substract from her grade. I was astonished when I learned of her action, and told her she shouldn't have done that. She said she didn't care, and that the prof had no reason to look at the back side!

Sadly though, she is the same one that goes out to eat and shop several times a week.

[Dawg52]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dex Agree to disagree with your friend. Just tell her she looks great.

Yeah, tell her she has a million dollar figure. But don't count that in her AA when trying to retire.

[ejman]

For years I drove my Chevy Sprint (Think Geo metro) to my job as controller for a Mega Corp Divison.... During my "I'm tired of working I'm leaving party" I was "roasted" and the subject was since I jogged at lunch everyday (instead of eating lunch at restaurants as all other managers did) I jogged because I had to "uncrimp and untangle" from the Chevy Sprint. I loved it! They are all still working....

[unclemick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goonie God, I hope so! I love it when I can p*ss-off the 'Joneses' and their peers!

Ah yes the shear joy of it - a little bit of studying this forum - a reasonable 'born again act' could could be crafted - perhaps a dog eared - with homemade bookcover and penciled used book price(fake or real) copy of Your Money or Your Life or Millionaire Next Door - some sheets of old engineering paper with compound interest curves or even better - memorized rule of 72 at 4 decimal places out to where the numbers double and quadruple.

A good act and sometimes you have trouble keeping a straight face as they back away from you.

Not that I ever did THAT!

heh heh heh - besides I worked mostly with engineers - some were even frugal .

[friar1610]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparky In a economic downturn such as this, the fact that I don't have nail appointments, massages, expensive haircuts, salon highlights, housecleaners, $20/bottle wine, Lexus-leasing, range-buying, the latest/greatest AV technology, high tech toys makes me feel, well, rich.

I've been driving a 1997 Lexus ES-300 since 1999 and intend to get many more years out of it. (After all, it's a glorified Toyota Camry and they last a long time!)

I would never have bought a Lexus except that when I was working for a high-tech company populated by a lot of young, aggressive people wanting to drive the latest and greatest car, I came upon a deal. (I was working there as a "second career" after retiring from the Navy, so I wasn't into the status stuff.)

My immediate boss had the Lexus on a 24 month lease. At the 18 month point in the lease, he got promoted and a Lexus was no longer good enough for him - he needed a Mercedes. So I bought the Lexus from the leasing company before it got in the hands of a retailer and saved a pretty penny. (He just couldn't stand to drive the Lexus another six months in his newly exalted status!)

He was really surprised that I wrote a personal check for the purchase price (doesn't everyone get a car loan?) I'm sure he's driving his Mercedes - or a replacement for it - and still working. I'm still driving his Lexus and am happily retired.

[Sparky]

Quote:

Originally Posted by friar1610 I've been driving a 1997 Lexus ES-300 since 1999 and intend to get many more years out of it. (After all, it's a glorified Toyota Camry and they last a long time!) I would never have bought a Lexus except that when I was working for a high-tech company populated by a lot of young, aggressive people wanting to drive the latest and greatest car, I came upon a deal. (I was working there as a "second career" after retiring from the Navy, so I wasn't into the status stuff.) My immediate boss had the Lexus on a 24 month lease. At the 18 month point in the lease, he got promoted and a Lexus was no longer good enough for him - he needed a Mercedes. So I bought the Lexus from the leasing company before it got in the hands of a retailer and saved a pretty penny. (He just couldn't stand to drive the Lexus another six months in his newly exalted status!) He was really surprised that I wrote a personal check for the purchase price (doesn't everyone get a car loan?) I'm sure he's driving his Mercedes - or a replacement for it - and still working. I'm still driving his Lexus and am happily retired.

Great story! Something that we can all emulate.

[friar1610]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound I wonder who else in this forum has done that, since some also recycle dryer sheets?

Several years after retiring, my printer is still full of paper, printed on one side, that my wife brought home from the library where she worked.

When that's all gone, I'll start using the letterhead I bought for resumes back in the old days.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by unclemick heh heh heh - besides I worked mostly with engineers - some were even frugal .

Thinking back, all my engineer friends were frugal, or at least appeared to be. True nerds/geeks do not care for status symbols. But they all complained the reason they couldn't join me in early retirement was their spendthrift wives.