Can you be too frugal?
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- čas přidán 11. 07. 2024
- When does being frugal tip over into meanness or downright dishonesty? Is it possible to be too frugal?
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I was always told to buy the best quality shoes and the best quality mattress you can because if you’re not in one you’re in the other! in the long run it works out cheaper to buy quality as you don’t have to replace it. Recently bought a wardrobe from a charity shop. Delivered in one piece already made up, solid wood, quality vintage item that will see us out. Cost £100 but new ones retail for twice that price and I would have had to put together and the materials are rubbish.
Yes! I would go for vintage wooden furniture over cheap flat-packed stuff any time.
Jane I'm with you on the toilet paper thing. 😬
I would never shame or give the side-eye to anyone who “scoops up” deeply discounted foods. We don’t know their circumstances, and that meat in their trolley (cart or buggy in the US) may be doled out to feed their family for months or be a special occasion dinner they could not otherwise afford. I have a marked down beef roast in the freezer I got after Christmas earmarked for my husband’s birthday in June.
I’ve never knowingly walked away from wrong change to my favor. I have gone back in the store with an item I realized hadn’t been scanned at checkout so I could pay for it properly. It’s a matter of integrity.
The items may have been there all day with no one picking them.
This was another great video! The previous owners of our home removed one of the loo seats when they moved out. I thought that was really cheap!
Yes, agreed. Those gifts would be much appreciated.
The family cleanest to dirtiest bathing procession required a lot of water being hauled from wells and heated on wood stoves. They had a reason for what they did.
Of course - we forget what a luxury it is having endless hot water on tap.
I spent many summers living in flip-flops, when my children were younger. I was a single parent and my children had to wear "proper" supportive leather shoes and could not afford new shoes for myself
Typical mum - put the kids first. I buy a lot of good shoes second hand - it's easier now we have eBay and Vinted.
Great video, I totally agree with you about people being greedy with reduced items. They get the thrill of a bargain that they don’t really need.
In one of your videos you said a box of hair colour does you at least 3 colourings. So if a box costs approx £6 thats £2 per colour. That appealed to me. Id just started colouring my hair. I dont feel ready for grey yet so i have purple hair - it suits me! You didnt explain how but i think you might get in trouble with the Big Pharma companies if you did,under the guise of safety issues. So i thought about it and worked it out for myself. So a box of home hair colour kit does me 3 colourings,thank you Jane.
Did I say three? I meant two. But anyway it still saves a lot. I just mix up half at a time. Not sure the big pharma companies will be worried by me though 😀
We treat reduced foods like our fruit trees, take what we need and leave some for nature
Good points. You did a good job of showing the difference between being cheap and frugal.
Thanks!
Worked for m&s and we used to get lots of clothes bought back with labels on but obviously been worn to parties etc.also shoes with wear on the soles bought back 6mths after they were bought. They wanted refubds
I knew a family who did that all the time and used to swank about how clever they were.
That's not frugality, that's theft.
Frugal for me is about getting maximum value for every penny I spend and not wasting resources, either money or environment. I recently had to up the food budget for health reasons and it felt really hard but I now see it as investing in me and my health, an absolutely vital and worthwhile thing to do. I had definitely got too used to being super frugal on groceries. Great video as always x
We have had to increase ours, too! You’re right - we are nothing without good health
A lot of cross watching going on.. Ilona mean queen superscrimper... she's brilliant.... there again in my opinion scrimping and being frugal enables me to have more choices. I too buy good quality, I will save and not by on credit... like Ilona, she cuts back on certain things but gets out and about for her days out.... and funds her hobbies.... Myself and my friends go out and a few years ago I suggested a 'kitty' because at the end of a meal it was 'you had this , I had that etc... now the problem is solved... I'm the banker so the leftover kitty money bag comes out each time we go out... no disputes . I use my shower water to flush the loo... It's an overbath shower so no hardship to decant into a bucket for the flush... This wasn't about frugality for me It is because I hate the idea of using clean water to flush waste... especially when other parts of the World have none.
That's a really good point. We wash and flush the loo with drinking water! It's crazy.
This is a really good video and one I needed to see. Sometimes it can get a little depressing when we are trying to pinch every penny all the time. Thank you.
Thanks for watching - glad you found it helpful
Love this video, Jane. I agree with you on everything, apart from sharing bath water (which is more to do with it being a psychological barrier for me, rather than a belief that it’s wrong). You have a very healthy relationship with frugality and I always enjoy listening to you talk about your perspectives on it. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
This is a great video, Jane. Every time I thought of something else to add you covered it in the next section hahaha! I agree about more or less everything (except the bath water). I certainly do regift and try very hard to buy stuff that can be repaired and is sustainable (more and more of it about these days, thankfully). My partner cut my hair perfectly over lockdown (I was shocked) and I was very happy with that sudden and unexpected frugality, then after two years, there was a (literal) slip and it took me a year to grow out the 'mistake'. I cant really afford the hairdresser but am too chicken to go back to my partner's randomly slicing scissors, although my wallet would definitely thank me.
I wouldn’t trust Justin to do
Mine! However, loads of people have said their partners or family members cut their hair successfully too. 😀
A brilliant video Jane. I agree with almost everything you said especially about greed and taking frugality too far. A couple of weeks ago I was browsing for bargains in Sainsburys. I had a limited amount of money left for the weekend food and was hoping for YS discounts. A young man was reducing things for the YS section and he was besieged by two well dressed men even before he had finished. They snaffled everything up, almost elbowing me out of the way in the process. One man with an American accent had an harmful of ready meals for pence (he could barely hold them) There was nothing left for me so I went home and served up baked beans on toast for hubby and me. I just hope the man enjoyed them and didnt waste them.
I'm with you too on not wearing boys pants! I might get knocked down by a bus as my mum used to say 😂
Have a great week. 👍Angie
Good advice💖
Loved this video!😄
Being too frugal can also lead to a fear of spending money, and that can be a very hard habit to break.
Yes, you can take it too far and not spend when it's justified.
I totally agree with this
I don’t have my hair cut hardly ever and I don’t have highlights anymore (the cost is eye watering) not denying anyone a job or carer for a hairdresser I’m embracing being nearly 46, slightly grey and being a bit
Of a hippy ❤
Hair dying and tinting is so expensive at the hairdresser. I can't afford it! I'm a bit of a hippy too 😀
@@ShoestringJane best way to be x
I think if what you’re doing to save money affects other people in a negative way, it’s “too frugal”, especially health wise. I’ve seen many people take ALL of a sale item which I think is absolutely shameful honestly. The no TP 🧻 thing I could never, ever do… 😅 Nor the “no heat”, I need to be warm & comfortable for my body to work. lol!
Yes, I think that is a good way of putting it.
I agree with the greed at reduced items , don’t take it all leave it for others just what you need . My husband knows when I dilute milk lol I don’t really use milk but he noticed 😂
Thank you for another great video, Jane. I think frugality is a bit of a spectrum in that some people will be at the extremes of miserliness/dishonesty and others will be way more relaxed (and honest!). I think that if we maintain a respect for others’ needs both material and emotional and practise a frugality that works for us and our loved ones, I would consider that to be successful frugality. Of course, there will always be the judgemental people but their opinions say more about their motivations than ours.
Yes, very true.
Hello I think it’s using what you have and being mindful.
I am quite frugal when it comes to treating our 7 year old as treats should be treats. I have the occasional treat, we want to buy a house so am willing to sacrifice certain treats. I save as well it’s a hard one . Lockdown taught me a lot and just beinf out on a walk and feeling rhe sun on my face is gift enough x x thanks for the video x
Good point about lockdown. I remember lots of families enjoying walks together and hoped they would retain the habit.
I agree with everything you mentioned except the bath water❤❤❤
That does seem to be a sticking point for some people :)
Think i agree with everything you say….fancy the Daily Mail calling you mama scrouge,how rude!
I know! It was actually a reader in the comments - apparently, as I didn't read them. I'm not a masochist 😂
Great video Jane! I have been reliably informed that when moving house it is ILLEGAL to take all the light bulbs! There MUST be at least one working light fitting in the home. It is not only completely Scrooge like it is also DANGEROUS as somebody could fall over etc. 🤗
Quite right - it should be illegal! What a thing to do!
Waiting for the cleaning product vids!!
Coming soon!
years ago we had "friends" who had some neat tricks to save money. At our expense. They would make sure we got the first round in ie a large vodka and tonic for her and and a pint for him. When it was their round she would just have a tonic and he would settle for a half pint. Our round, she would ask for a double vodka and he would just buy himself a half pint. They would do this all evening.
That’s dreadful! It’s not fun going out with people who take advantage of potential friends.
Flipping heck! The bare-faced cheek of some people! I bet they got through friends quickly
That’s awful 😞 some people are just bad eggs. Hope your okay x
As I've gotten older I've become more frank and would definitely have called them out on it.
Got to be wise with your money...and if your finances are in order...you can splurge some....but I'll take the Quick-Trip hotdog roller anytime...
I do the diluting milk thing, but I live on my own so have no-one else to worry about. If I was going to have visitors which I knew of in advance, I'd buy some fresh milk to use and any left over would be frozen for future use. If I end up with unexpected visitors I have a corner shop where I can buy some just a minute away.
I buy 6pt whole milk and freeze it in 300ml portions in old jam jars. When I come to use it, I pour it into a 750ml glass bottle and add 300-450ml-ish of filtered water. This gives me the same taste as semi-skimmed or skimmed milk which I was buying. In the winter I can go through 8 pints of milk a week just on my own as I only add it to hot drinks, I rarely use milk any other way. By watering it down, I'm able to put off grocery shopping for longer, which means I spend even less because I find ways to 'make do' with other items I may be short on until I need 10 items or more from the shops. I used to buy UHT milk in bulk once a month and use that but storing so much in my kitchen wasn't easy. I also tried powdered milk but I don't like that at all, and the last batch I made into cheese instead.
I haven't actually tried diluting whole milk, but that makes so much more sense!
I have sound 😊
I think it was only one person, so must have been them.