52 People Who Prove There’s A Very Thin Line Between Frugal And Painfully Cheap

Prudent, thrifty, economical and sparing. These aren't necessarily bad qualities to have. In fact, being careful with money/resources and avoiding wastage are totally necessary in this day and age. Besides the obvious benefit to your pocket, living within your means can help save the planet.

Not to be confused with being cheap, frugality is about spending money consciously and only buying what adds value to your life.

"For example," explains the Bankrate site, "a frugal person may find that canceling a cable TV subscription saves money without impacting life in a negative way, making it worth doing. But the same person might splurge on something else they love, such as gardening or woodworking, because they don’t mind spending on what matters most."

According to Andy Hill, host of the Marriage, Kids and Money podcast, the biggest difference between being frugal and being cheap is that a cheap person is someone who’s willing to cut corners and spend the least money, no matter the consequences.

They might always go with the lowest price regardless of the quality, or they might even deny themselves the things they love even if they have the money to pay for it. In certain scenarios, cheap people will go to great lengths to save money, even if it's to the detriment of those they love.

“Someone who intentionally shops deals at the grocery store is frugal, but someone who leaves a small tip at a restaurant is cheap,” says Cody Berman, podcast host of The FI Show. “Someone who buys a used car is frugal, but someone who won’t replace balding tires is cheap,” he adds.

Another example of being cheap is going out of your way for a good deal and then ending up spending more anyway. For example, driving further than usual for gas that's 10 cents cheaper, or spending hours clipping coupons to save a few bucks.

"A frugal person values their time, so they won’t spend all day driving to different gas stations or clipping coupons to save a small amount of cash," notes Bankrate's team. "Instead, they might find ways to drive less or create meal plans that help cut down on grocery waste."

Being frugal is about being smart. Toni Graham is the founder of the Simple Frugal Life blog, and considers herself an expert in frugal living. Graham turned to a more simple lifestyle at the age of 48, after suffering physical and mental burnout because of her demanding public sector job. She was facing an uncertain future with more than £70,000 worth of debt. Today, she is debt-free and lives on a small pension.

"My mother was mortified when I gave up my good job and started living this way to improve my health. She thought it meant that I was a failure," Graham told Northern Life Magazine. "In contrast, I feel like a winner as I feel like I have beaten the system, as living simply has made me more independent and self-reliant, and I don’t want the things that society dangles and tries to entice me with anymore. I have stopped being money or status orientated. I am not in competition with anyone, and that feels so good."

Some of Graham's self-proclaimed "extreme" frugal habits include putting boiling water from the kettle into a flask to use later, and saving the excess oil from tuna, peanut butter, or a jar of sundried tomatoes, to cook with. "I also save bacon grease," she reveals.

Graham walks to the shop instead of driving. This doesn't only help her save fuel but also restricts her from buying too much "as I have a couple of miles to carry it back." However, she says she rarely visits a supermarket. Instead, she cooks from what she available, can grow, or forage.

Graham uses potato or apple peeling to make crisps, and also makes apple cider vinegar (scrap vinegar) out of apple peelings. "[I] cut off and save the loops inside clothes that keep clothes on coat hangers," she adds. "These are great to hang Christmas decorations, use on gift tags, or use as ties."

The expert says she tries to have as many "no spend" days in a year as possible. Needless to say, she rarely spends money on entertainment and "never" buys take aways. "I make ‘fakeaways’ that are healthier and cost a fraction of the price," she writes on her blog.

Berman, meanwhile, believes one of the best ways to be frugal is simply to consume less in general. Whether this means learning to live with what you have or borrowing and bartering with people you know, it'll help you save money in the long term.

For Graham, consuming less was the key to her current happiness.

"Simple living is about getting rid of all the things in your life that are no longer essential and concentrating on the things that are the most important to you. This isn’t just material possessions," explains the frugal living expert. "It is hard as it totally goes against consumerism and all the values that we have been taught in school, and have probably lived by for most of our lives. It is a mindset and a way of life, and you become very selective about who and what you allow into your world."

This, she says, gives you space to be who you want to be, or who you really are.