So everybody knows what conspicuous consumption is, right? Conspicuous consumption is when you consume for the specific purpose of displaying wealth. Basically, you spend money to impress other people.

We all do this to some extent. I mean, I spent a little money on some decent furniture for my room. I could have left everything in boxes, but then my room wouldn’t be very presentable or comfortable. I wouldn’t be happy in it and I wouldn’t want to show it to anybody else. This is a mild version of the impulse that sociologists began to see in the “new rich” of the late 1800s, when the term “conspicuous consumption” was coined. The industrial revolution bought a lot of people a lot of leisure and a lot of people began using that leisure to buy expensive stuff and show it off as a means of displaying social position.

I posted just a couple days ago about the evils of stuff, and if you’ve been reading this blog with any regularity, then you already know that I believe the impulse to accumulate stuff is what leads people to financial ruin. The urge to display your wealth won’t get you anywhere except the poorhouse! If your money is burning a hole in your pocket, you’re gonna end up with no money and burned pants.

So stuff is naughty and conspicuous consumption is bad - right?

Well, there are shades of gray to everything, and I’d say that spending money to impress others really isn’t always bad. You can let yourself do it if you maintain some restraint. Everybody does, and I’m pretty sure that’s not all bad.

When stuff takes over, that’s bad. Likewise, when the urge for tightwaddery takes over, tightwaddery can distract you from more important goals.

Lemme explain.

The whole point of living frugally is to reach your financial goals and your life goals sooner. As I’ve said several times before, “living the cheap life” has a purpose. Financial freedom will help you do what you were put on earth to do. Theoretically, anyway.

But you know what, I think it’s possible to get too caught up in being a cheapskate. It’s possible to worry too much over conserving every last cent.

I’ve noticed this in myself recently when I’m driving. My roommate and I recently got into this informal competition to see who could conserve the most gas. Now, when I drive my car, I’m always worried about saving every last vapor of gasoline and it’s kind of distracting - distracting from what’s going on on the road and distracting from conversations with friends. Distracting from the important things that make life flavorful.

Distracting.

I think I’m gonna call off this competition pretty soon.

Lemme think of a couple other quick examples of conspicuous tightwaddery… I want to make sure the car salesman realizes that I don’t care about the monthly payment, only about the final price of the car and the interest payment; I want to show my friends that I know how to get the best deals on airfare and hotels. I do, on occasion, have the urge to show off how cheap I am.

I think this is fine when you are genuinely trying to teach someone else a better way of doing something - when that person wants to learn. But sometimes, your tightwaddery is better kept private. Showing off your tightwaddery is generally a waste of time. Who cares if anybody acknowledges you or not? You don’t need outside approval. The whole point of being a cheapskate is reaching your life goals and making the world just a tiny bit more pleasant for everybody.

Hopefully, your tightwaddery is not simply intended to impress others. After all, who cares if there are a few extra pennies left in your estate when you kick the bucket? Even if you fool somebody else into believing it matters, that doesn’t mean it’s true!

Hopefully, you always keep your eyes on the prize: the life goals that financial freedom will help you achieve.

Hopefully, you know that being a cheapskate isn’t just about being a cheapskate. That’s the big secret of living the cheap life! Being a cheapskate is about goals.

And as long as you don’t lose sight of that, you oughta be just fine.

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