Too Frugal - Anybody Else Struggle Spending Too LITTLE?

[The Cosmic Avenger]

I'm finally able to throw out teabags after JUST ONE CUP!

[John Galt III]

Was checking out a big indoor farmer's market today. All the produce was way too expensive for me to allow myself to spend money on it. However, I found an Amish style counter, that had Reuben sandwich on the menu for $7.99, which I think is inexpensive for around here, so yes, I ordered myself a Reuben sandwich! And it was perfect! Money well spent.

[Bunker]

I bought a new t-shirt last week. Once every few years!

[Time2]

What do you mean, just because my wife bought a bag full of pants and shirts for $5 at the local Habitat for Humanity store, What do you mean!
OK, I have to say there was some nice stuff in there that I will wear. The reason I now have 10 (new to me) pairs of pants is because, I bought myself a new pair of shorts, and this is a lesson to me that she can get 10 pairs for 50% of what I paid for one pair. I have no doubt this is until I die. She will never understand she doesn't need to do that. It is part of her, deal making is in her blood. Did I tell you about the car she negotiated on and we bought for $4,000, drove it 11 years and sold it for $2,900. And even the guy that bought it came back a week later to get the second key and he could not have gushed more about what a great car it was.
Yes, we struggle.

[WWDog]

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Galt III Was checking out a big indoor farmer's market today. All the produce was way too expensive for me to allow myself to spend money on it. However, I found an Amish style counter, that had Reuben sandwich on the menu for $7.99, which I think is inexpensive for around here, so yes, I ordered myself a Reuben sandwich! And it was perfect! Money well spent.

Now you went and done it! I just finished dinner and should be OK, but now I want a Reuben sandwich. I bet it was really good. From what I know, the Amish do things well.

[WWDog]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bunker I bought a new t-shirt last week. Once every few years!

Why so soon?

[John Galt III]

Quote:

Originally Posted by WWDog Now you went and done it! I just finished dinner and should be OK, but now I want a Reuben sandwich. I bet it was really good. From what I know, the Amish do things well.

Now that I have found this inexpensive and tasty Reuben source, Ill be back to score again. And again. And again.......... LOL. I even have to drive 7 miles to get there, too. Oh, the extravagance! But I justify it by A) getting out of the house and B) walking around the rest of the huge market.

[Venturer]

My DD is in her late 40's and I was just cruising thru some old photos in a box I ran across. There was one in there that I recognized the shirt I was wearing as one I still wear. We were on bicycles and she was only 8 years old then. My DW told me that day --you need to get rid of that shirt! But it don't have any holes in it!!!! LOL

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Cosmic Avenger I'm finally able to throw out teabags after JUST ONE CUP!

Heck, no way!

Our tea would be a lot stronger than we like. And strong tea stains your teeth, do you know that?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Venturer My DD is in her late 40's and I was just cruising thru some old photos in a box I ran across. There was one in there that I recognized the shirt I was wearing as one I still wear. We were on bicycles and she was only 8 years old then. My DW told me that day --you need to get rid of that shirt! But it don't have any holes in it!!!! LOL

You treat your t-shirt too gingerly.

I don't have any t-shirt that old, because when I lay on my back on cinder gravel to work on my cars, the sharp edges always cut small holes in the shirt back.

[FIYes]

I realize that I am unnecessarily frugal. For example, we have never had cable tv. I recently subscribed to Netflix. Last night, when we were deciding what to watch, DH picked something from a free streaming service to watch. I reminded him that I was canceling Netflix at the end of the month and if there was anything he wanted to see he should go ahead and watch it now.

Really? I can well afford Netflix but I am super careful about anything that is an ongoing expense.

[street]

I'm frugal and when I think of all the things I wouldn't need and stuff I should not have bought, I would be a very rich person today. I survived all those unnecessary things we have and all that stuff we could have done without.

Having more money at this time in my life wouldn't make ne happier so having those expenses didn't cause conflict where I am today. When I think of the money, I could have saved does make me depressed for a few moments though.

If I would have been on the edge of paycheck-to-paycheck purchases buying or having things in life would have been different.

[GenXguy]

I'm mid 50's and still working, about $2M saved (no pension), and would say I've been on the side of extreme frugality in general, such as almost never eating out at restaurants or just getting the low cost specials (maybe using coupons) through drive-thrus, no cable or paid streaming services. Zero travel. I hate to pay for anyone to do anything for me if I think I can do it myself, even if it means something gets put off longer than it should. But then, other times I spend a lot more than I need to, buying a brand new mid-size car at one point, a brand new motorcycle at one point, an expensive bike, a new e-bike just last year, various expensive electronics beyond my needs, so there's been some balance in extreme frugality and more wasteful spending.

But with inflation the way it is over more than a year, I'm trending more to the extreme frugal side. I've only paid to go to a restaurant twice in the last year (excluding work cafeteria) and have spent very little in other discretionary spending over the last 12 months - probably just a few hundred $ (the e-bike was purchased about 13 months ago).

Last summer, I was planning a likely retirement for this May, but I'm even putting that off for at least another full year and see how things shake out with inflation, the economy, my investments, and more. At best, my planned "less frugal" discretionary spending in retirement will need to be reduced to make up for inflationary costs. And my past plans of relocating, particularly out of state, are pretty much out the window.

[Sunset]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIYes I realize that I am unnecessarily frugal. For example, we have never had cable tv. I recently subscribed to Netflix. Last night, when we were deciding what to watch, DH picked something from a free streaming service to watch. I reminded him that I was canceling Netflix at the end of the month and if there was anything he wanted to see he should go ahead and watch it now. Really? I can well afford Netflix but I am super careful about anything that is an ongoing expense.

I like when I cancel Netflix, it goes to the end of my current 30 day cycle and then stops. Months later I can start it up again, and it remembers everything.



Because I'm cheap, I once signed up as a new user to get the 30 free days, but I'm smarter now as the time I spent finding my movies and series to watch and remembering where I left them off (season 4 esp 6) made me realize the simple stop and start was better for me.



I'm currently wasting my 99 cents per month Hulu subscription as we are watching the multi-year series shameless on Netflix and each episode is LONG.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by street I'm frugal and when I think of all the things I wouldn't need and stuff I should not have bought, I would be a very rich person today. I survived all those unnecessary things we have and all that stuff we could have done without. Having more money at this time in my life wouldn't make ne happier so having those expenses didn't cause conflict where I am today. When I think of the money, I could have saved does make me depressed for a few moments though. If I would have been on the edge of paycheck-to-paycheck purchases buying or having things in life would have been different.

I have always been LBYM, so have no regret over what I spent money on.

The thought of figuring out how much more money I would have if I did not buy a 2nd home in 2005 and used that money to invest did cross my mind. But then, I remember the enjoyment we had out of it and the numerous times I and my son rode our dirt bikes into the forest, and believe that the cost is worth it.

Same with the thought of how much more money I would have if I continued working instead of quitting my part-time consulting work 10 years ago (they continued to want me back). But money was not all of it. The work was what I enjoyed, and would have continued to do if the environment was not so Dilbert.

In the end, I brush all that aside, and try not to second-guess myself on past decisions. What is important is what I have now is way more than I spend, and I have had 10 years of relaxed retirement and have done so much travel.

I should spend time to look forward to see what I want to do. Well, I know what I want to do, but this damn Covid thing makes it more complicated and stressful.

[Lsbcal]

We want a new car to replace the 2002 Toyota (just short of 100k miles) with the fender DW banged up. But now the car we want is in short supply and dealers are asking MSRP + $2k.

A dealer in our town is asking "just MSRP". OK, I am willing to go with that but it won't be a good feeling. I do like the fact I won't have to worry about getting a deal. I am used to dealing with "invoice + something for dealer". Oh well.

[Lsbcal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound I have always been LBYM, so have no regret over what I spent money on. The thought of figuring out how much more money I would have if I did not buy a 2nd home in 2005 and used that money to invest did cross my mind. But then, I remember the enjoyment we had out of it and the numerous times I and my son rode our dirt bikes into the forest, and believe that the cost is worth it. Same with the thought of how much more money I would have if I continued working instead of quitting my part-time consulting work 10 years ago (they continued to want me back). But money was not all of it. The work was what I enjoyed, and would have continued to do if the environment was not so Dilbert. In the end, I brush all that aside, and try not to second-guess myself on past decisions. What is important is what I have now is way more than I spend, and I have had 10 years of relaxed retirement and have done so much travel. I should spend time to look forward to see what I want to do. Well, I know what I want to do, but this damn Covid thing makes it more complicated and stressful.

Yes, the Covid thing has complicated travel for us. We don't want to eat inside restaurants for some time. I cannot quite define the "all safe" signal for us. Maybe we will have to do more VRBO type things and do some cooking. DW wants a vacation from cooking and takeout is an option where available.

NWB, from some of your past posts in the stock part of this forum I would guess you have made the right moves in the past and enjoyed life. Sounds like you don't need more money. I probably don't either but I understand the desire to keep that curve moving up and to the right.

[daylatedollarshort]

We try to live well on half, lately less than that, of what we could spend. It is a game I enjoy playing, so it is not work or hardship. Yesterday I bought 4 bags of groceries for $31, between some gift cards I made with Reddit beer money activities, store specials and half price bakery deals. The groceries included a big head of organic cabbage for $1.50 a pound and a bag of organic carrots for 90 cents a pound. Those will be nice additions to some anti-cancer stir fries and salads. I also bought a couple of new pairs of sheers for $8, combining a 30% off sale and gift cards. I earned $40 in recycling points from another program. I usually find deals like that all month long and it really adds up. It is almost the end of the month and I still have half of my monthly spending budget left.

[Sunset]

Quote:

Originally Posted by street I'm frugal and when I think of all the things I wouldn't need and stuff I should not have bought, I would be a very rich person today. I survived all those unnecessary things we have and all that stuff we could have done without. Having more money at this time in my life wouldn't make me happier so having those expenses didn't cause conflict where I am today. When I think of the money, I could have saved does make me depressed for a few moments though. .....

Frugality still runs deep in me.
I STILL regret putting new tires on a car that I sold cheap 1 month later and that was back ~1980 .

I also found out my grandfather spent a huge amount of money building a summer home back in 1922. We still have the money pit and I enjoyed my time there a LOT as a child growing up. However, according to my calculator had Grandpa invested the money and left it to grow, it would be worth ~$52 Million right now.

Currently the money pit is worth ~$100K on a good day and costs me about $5K per year to keep.

[brett]

I am over the frugality business but we still shop on value. Does not matter if it is food, travel, communication.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lsbcal Yes, the Covid thing has complicated travel for us. We don't want to eat inside restaurants for some time. I cannot quite define the "all safe" signal for us. Maybe we will have to do more VRBO type things and do some cooking. DW wants a vacation from cooking and takeout is an option where available. NWB, from some of your past posts in the stock part of this forum I would guess you have made the right moves in the past and enjoyed life. Sounds like you don't need more money. I probably don't either but I understand the desire to keep that curve moving up and to the right.

Other than travel, I have no desire to spend more. Well, perhaps a class B motorhome to replace my existing class C.

No, I don't need more money, but making money is kind of fun. It takes less time than when I was working, and has a different kind of fun than one of technical work, but fun nevertheless. If I lost money by active investing, of course it ceased to be fun and I would not continue. Fun technical work is different, because I am spending my own money to do it as a hobby.


PS. If I suddenly had a lot of money, I knew what I would want: a waterfront home on Bainbridge Island. However, that does not look within reach and I am not one who buys lottery tickets.