I think you already know this if you’ve glanced through my blog before, but I’ll say it once more: I’m cheap and proud! I think living cheap is beautiful and freeing and tons of fun. But cheapness does have its limits, and there are a few isolated things I won’t skimp on. Here’s a list of those things I generally refuse to buy cheap even though I could:
Cheese. Real cheese is expensive. I recently shelled out $2.50 for an 8 oz. package of sliced store brand cheddar. Ouch! But I just do not like cheese food. If it doesn’t melt, then in my opinion, it really does not deserve to be called cheese. It’s a piece of hardened vegetable oil, and that’s yucky. What do you think? Am I slipping? Do I still deserve to call myself a cheapskate?
Razors. I bought some store brand razors one time and they cut my face to shreds. I’ve never repeated that experience and I now buy Gillette razors (at the flea market). As far as being cheap goes, I draw the line at self-abuse. I don’t think there’s really any question here. Bloodletting for the sake of a couple bucks really is not my thing.
Butter. I buy the real thing. The main reason is that margarine contains trans fat, which, according to the FDA, you should consume as little of as possible. I spun my huge tub of margarine around one day and was surprised to find that it contained this very unhealthy ingredient, and I haven’t purchased margarine since then – although I did finish that big tub of it first…
That’s all I can think of right now. Anything else I’ll take as cheap as I can get, unless it’s obviously flimsy, rotten, expired, etc.
I also won’t do things cheaply when this would waste an incredible amount of time (an example would be taking the bus to see my friends who live in Orange County, particularly when I need or want to stay late) or when the cheaper option seems dangerous (for instance, I bought a new bike helmet at Wal-Mart because I heard that used ones can be damaged in such a way that you can’t tell just by looking).
So what do you think? Am I a real cheapskate, or am I a faker? Are there things that you simply refuse to buy cheap?
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April 30th, 2008 - 3:06 pm
I don’t think you’re a cheapskate (doesn’t the term have negative connotations anyway - like those that don’t tip, etc).
I am a tightwad and I refuse to sacrifice quality in food purchases. I have no interest in any consumer goods and any associated fads in clothing styles or whatever, but I will pay a lot of money for produce at a local farmers’ market if it means I am not paying into an artificially low food market system and I am giving money to my immediate community.
I purchased a safety razor (Merker) for my husband a few months back and he has yet to cut his face with it. I bought about 50 blades to go with it, and at the rate he is going, I don’t think we will ever buy a razor or a blade ever again.
I’m planning a move to L.A. so am glad to have found your blog!
April 30th, 2008 - 4:33 pm
The word “tightwad” has already been claimed by the Tightwad Gazette, which I really like, but I think my view on cheapness is a bit different. (By the way, if anyone reading this comment hasn’t seen the Tightwad Gazette, a pre-internet font of information about living the cheap life, I recommend checking out a compilation from the library.) I support cheapness as not only a way to get by on a small income, but as part of an overall life/investment strategy with financial freedom, ditching your job, and doing what’s really important to you as part of the goal. I guess that’s pretty ambitious, but I’ve found that being ambitious usually pays off!
By the way, thanks for stopping by and commenting. I hope to see you here again.
May 6th, 2008 - 10:06 am
Good words and true!
If I can’t afford real cheese, I just don’t buy cheese. Make that “cheesoid.” It’s amazing that anybody will eat the stuff. Ditto fake butter. If there’s a Trader Joe’s near you, BTW, check the price of butter there. In our parts, it’s lots cheaper than any of the competish.
One of the good things about becoming an old woman is that you rarely have to use a razor any more. But when I did, I used a man’s double-edged razor, which worked better than any of the girly things and (once assembled) seemed a lot less likely to cut up my gorgeous gams.
I also refuse to compromise on my favorite potables, wine, beer, and coffee. Two-Buck Chuck: anathema! If I can’t afford a ten-dollar bottle of wine, I don’t buy wine. All of which goes a long way toward keeping one on the wagon.
May 6th, 2008 - 11:58 am
I have to agree with all of these. And let me add peanut butter. Maybe you don’t mind this as much as I, but I cannot handle cheap peanut butter.
No, you’re not “cheap” as some people like to use as an insult. You are smart and frugal. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!
May 6th, 2008 - 5:41 pm
May 28th, 2008 - 10:47 am
Mike, it surprises me that you will eat cheap peanut butter but not margarine. Cheap peanut butter is not much more than vegetable shortening with some peanuts and flavoring added. Can you say “hydrogentated vegetable oil?” Would you eat a Crisco and jelly sandwich?
May 28th, 2008 - 11:56 am
May 30th, 2008 - 5:59 am
Regarding razors, Mike, usually Wal-Mart’s free samples on their website are for razors or kitty snacks. It took about 3 months to receive, but I got a snazzy men’s razor for free there and I bet if I paid attention I could scrounge up a bunch more.
October 15th, 2010 - 7:24 pm
first off let me say thanks for taking the time to post everything you do helps keep me enspired for living cheaply as an over the road truck driver which is actualy like playing spy in enemy lands because no where i park a 70 foot rig is offering stuff cheaply. Though yes your self called title remains certains things we can’t be cheap on. These falls into the catergory of maintaining your mental sanity. For example : As a trucker i spend 3-4 weeks away from home a phone is a must have and untill recently i was using a cheap prepaid but i splurged on a high end smart phone which the bill for is almost three times what my prepaid was… WHY! you ask? Mental sanity, boredom will drive anyone insane and my escape from this is the internet my phone has the ability to let me connect my laptop thru it to the internet which has a massive venue to cure boredom without generating cost. While this does let me save money in entertainment which in turn is actualy greater than the increase in cost of the phone let me explain what ties this to mental sanity. Before i had my new phone and constant access to the internet i would try hard to not spend huge amounts of money on entertainment but sitting in my truck with nothing to do was driving me insane and keeping me in a constantly bad mood which made it hard to enjoy life and every once in a while i would just snap and splurge to keep myself occupied video arcade games, movies, fancy foods which over the road these generaly cost 50% more than at a local store. Now that i have constant access to something that keeps me occupied and happy i enjoy my job more which lets me get more miles and get more money and keeps me from splurging on other things because i am not on the verge of mental instablilty. The point tieing into your not being cheap on certain foods means you enjoy these foods greatly and you know your treating yourself to something good which makes you happy which in turns makes it easier not to want things that you THINK… will make you happy or will only do so for short amounts of time then be useless and money wasted. Sometimes we have to bite the bullet and buy the more expensive stuff in order to keep living cheaply otherwise we become so focused on money that we are miserable and depressed and that leads to giving up or becoming a person no one wants to be around, and life is about so much more than growing up to be some miser with no friends and tuns of money