Being smart with money means knowing when to save and when to spend. Because if you cheap out on the wrong things, you might end up paying even more to fix the consequences.
No one learned that lesson better than these folks, whose extreme frugality came back to bite them. To avoid making the same mistakes, read their stories below and take note of what’s actually worth the splurge.
#1
When I started university I had lots of money, I'd saved up when I was young, now I was getting lots in the forms of student loans and grants and whatnot. For my entire first year I was extremely frugal, rarely drinking, eating rice and vegetables every day, that sort of thing. I saved about 80% of the money that year, so much I didn't know what to do with it.
Then a close friend of mine was knocked off her motorbike by a texting driver. The car ran over her head, and shattered her thigh bone, fortunately she was wearing a helmet but she was in a coma for about 6 weeks. This was several years ago and she's still recovering from it now. She was 19 when she got hit. I ride too and it really made me think about how I'd had a fairly miserable first year so that I could afford a house I might never live to buy. The two years after that I spent all of my money, new computer, new motorbike (common sense be damned!), about a thousand dollars worth of safety clothing, limited edition books, three holidays, all sorts. Whenever I wanted something I bought it. Only this past year or so have I reeled it back in and started saving properly again, because I did live after all.
It's a difficult balance. I know if I'd saved that money I'd be able to afford a nicer place to live now, but at the same time I wouldn't own anything to put in it, and I would look back on university and remember using a s****y computer in a cold, boring room, never going anywhere. If you're saving to the point you can't enjoy your life you're doing it wrong, but if you're spending to the point where your future is uncertain, that's also doing it wrong. Doing it right is the tricky part.
Then a close friend of mine was knocked off her motorbike by a texting driver. The car ran over her head, and shattered her thigh bone, fortunately she was wearing a helmet but she was in a coma for about 6 weeks. This was several years ago and she's still recovering from it now. She was 19 when she got hit. I ride too and it really made me think about how I'd had a fairly miserable first year so that I could afford a house I might never live to buy. The two years after that I spent all of my money, new computer, new motorbike (common sense be damned!), about a thousand dollars worth of safety clothing, limited edition books, three holidays, all sorts. Whenever I wanted something I bought it. Only this past year or so have I reeled it back in and started saving properly again, because I did live after all.
It's a difficult balance. I know if I'd saved that money I'd be able to afford a nicer place to live now, but at the same time I wouldn't own anything to put in it, and I would look back on university and remember using a s****y computer in a cold, boring room, never going anywhere. If you're saving to the point you can't enjoy your life you're doing it wrong, but if you're spending to the point where your future is uncertain, that's also doing it wrong. Doing it right is the tricky part.
55points
#2
I live in a remote area about 2.5 hours from the closest major city, but you can make it there solely by public transit if you time it correctly. When going to visit my family one Christmas, I decided to save some gas money and go this route to get to the airport. I was carrying one packed suitcase and a carry on, and traveled on 4 buses, a ferry, and a train to make it to the airport. Once I got to the airport, I had three flights and two layovers to look forward to before finally getting to my destination (hey, the price was right.) All in all, it came down to about 24 hours of travelling to get from one side of the US to the other. I saved MAYBE $50 or so. But looking back I'd pay the extra $50 next time to save my precious time. Woof.
46points
#3
When I collapsed in the mall waiting lane. Turns out eating only noodles for months isn't enough to maintain a body. The more you know !
46points
#4
It was probably the time I was standing ankle deep in sewage in my basement trying to work my small, hardware store toilet snake. Sometimes its better to call a plumber. The really sad part? I finally did, and the plumber told me over the phone it was probably backflow due to a blockage in the city sewer and that I should call the city. I did, and the city fixed it for free.
42points
#5
I've been saving 40-50% over the last couple of years, pretty happy with it, and I easily have enough money to do something special for my mother who is getting older (she's always wanted to go to Italy) without really making much of a dent in my savings. So I've committed to traveling with her next year for a few weeks so she can do that (and paying for both of us), but I'm so used to being very careful with money that I'm feeling huge anxiety about the expenses constantly, even though I can actually afford it. I don't know if it's a hangover from growing up not wealthy and having to be careful or what, but I really need to learn to relax and enjoy some big things when they are worth it :/.
40points
#6
Ugh, my inlaws are frugal in puzzling ways. They will inconvenience everyone around them to save a buck, yet blow money in stupid ways. For example, they are really opposed to paying for airport parking. It's $10 a night, not a huge sum. They'd rather I wake up at 4am to go take them to the airport, and then interrupt my toddler's nap/sleep schedule to have me come pick them up. If my toddler is still napping and I refuse to wake him to pick him up, they would rather hang out at the airport for an hour (usually eating something overpriced) instead of taking the $15 cab ride to my house where they leave their car. Sometimes time and convenience > money.
39points
#7
Bought a $30 suit from goodwill, spent 200 getting it hemmed and fitted.
It still didn't look right. :/.
It still didn't look right. :/.
34points
#8
I once learned the hard way that nobody needs a quart of homemade mayonnaise.
31points
#9
When I accidentally dropped my plate of spaghetti on the carpet one night, and instead of making another dinner and be over budget, I picked it all up and ate it while picking out pieces of hair that has snucked in.
31points
#10
I had to book a motel room for a wedding, but I noticed that as you drove further and further out of town the motels got cheaper. We figured it would be fine to go super-cheap because we'd only be coming back late and leaving early. We booked into the $25/night place, took our key and went on to the wedding without ever looking in the room. Coming back late at night and it was absolutely exactly what you'd expect from a low-budget horror movie. We spent the night sitting back to back on the vibrating (not vibrating; broken) bed staring out of the front and back windows looking for m**derers.
30points
#11
Dog poop bags at Dollar Tree, a lot of them weren't sealed shut at the bottom.
30points
#12
My main thing is that you skimp on the daily things so you can buy experiences with it. How much does that diet coke that costs $1.50 from the vending machine actually increase your enjoyment out of life? Not much. But that $100 you saved over three months because you didn't continually buy stupid things can be used for 2-3 days in a hotel.
I think a motto for frugal should be "experiences > stuff." That's the way I look at it.
I think a motto for frugal should be "experiences > stuff." That's the way I look at it.
29points
#13
One time I bought the generic brand Q-tips...Never again.
29points
#14
Moved to a new city for grad school with my boyfriend, he was only able to get a s****y low paying job, and we had virtually no savings. I discovered couponing, which evolved (devolved?) into extreme couponing.
We didn't have a car, so we'd walk for miles to get to the stores (multiple) where I could stack the best deals.
No matter how much we were carrying or how bad the weather, I never wanted to spend money on the bus, even though it was less than $2 a ride. Sometimes I would give all the groceries to my boyfriend and put him on a bus by himself, and then I would walk home.
I spent pretty much all my downtime scouring circulars, coupon websites, and sorting my coupons. What started as a fun, frugal hobby turned into an obsession, to the point where I refused to buy basic things (milk, toilet paper, scouring pads) unless I knew I was getting an unbeatable deal.
My boyfriend was wonderfully patient with me, even though he hated it, at least in part because our weekly grocery bills were only $20 to $30 for the two of us, and often less than that. But we'd have like eight tubs of cream cheese, a carton of tomato paste, two dozen paper towels, etc. in our tiny one bedroom apartment.
I didn't care at all about nutritional value, either. Oh, and I was *that person* who would get into shouting matches with staff if the store wouldn't accept my coupon.
I kept going even after we became financially stable. It was never so bad that I had to pinch pennies to that extent to begin with.
The last year or so, I've been prioritizing healthy eating, which means I've almost completely tapered off couponing.
I guess if I had to do it over, I'd spend an extra $20 a week and buy ingredients for nutritious, frugal meals, instead of spending so much freaking time couponing and eating cheap processed c**p for 2+ years.
We didn't have a car, so we'd walk for miles to get to the stores (multiple) where I could stack the best deals.
No matter how much we were carrying or how bad the weather, I never wanted to spend money on the bus, even though it was less than $2 a ride. Sometimes I would give all the groceries to my boyfriend and put him on a bus by himself, and then I would walk home.
I spent pretty much all my downtime scouring circulars, coupon websites, and sorting my coupons. What started as a fun, frugal hobby turned into an obsession, to the point where I refused to buy basic things (milk, toilet paper, scouring pads) unless I knew I was getting an unbeatable deal.
My boyfriend was wonderfully patient with me, even though he hated it, at least in part because our weekly grocery bills were only $20 to $30 for the two of us, and often less than that. But we'd have like eight tubs of cream cheese, a carton of tomato paste, two dozen paper towels, etc. in our tiny one bedroom apartment.
I didn't care at all about nutritional value, either. Oh, and I was *that person* who would get into shouting matches with staff if the store wouldn't accept my coupon.
I kept going even after we became financially stable. It was never so bad that I had to pinch pennies to that extent to begin with.
The last year or so, I've been prioritizing healthy eating, which means I've almost completely tapered off couponing.
I guess if I had to do it over, I'd spend an extra $20 a week and buy ingredients for nutritious, frugal meals, instead of spending so much freaking time couponing and eating cheap processed c**p for 2+ years.
28points
#15
I moved to a new place and didn't have bowls, plates, and utensils. I had some friends who had extra and we just needed to meet up and I could pick them up. Our schedules don't mesh and it takes a couple weeks before I can meet up with them. In the meantime I'm heating food in my pyrex measuring cup and using my measuring spoons as utensils.
Being able to eat out of a proper bowl and use a proper spoon was awesome. I should have just spent $20 and gone to Target to pick up some bowls, plates and utensils. I found out where the line crossed from being frugal to cheap was for me.
Being able to eat out of a proper bowl and use a proper spoon was awesome. I should have just spent $20 and gone to Target to pick up some bowls, plates and utensils. I found out where the line crossed from being frugal to cheap was for me.
26points
#17
When I was sewing up my ripped underwear.
25points
#18
I had these moments watching my parents. Both my parents are immigrants from Latin America to the USA. They had to be frugal to survive, and I am frugal as a result of watching them save up and, in fairness, do a lot of clever and cool tricks to save money. But I also learned not to take things too far like they did at times.
When my parents moved from one house to another when I was in college, I came back home to help them move. I knew it was going to be bad, as they were semi-hoarders, but nothing could prepare me for how bad it was. My mother had a spare refrigerator she got for free somehow in the basement. I never opened the fridge much, but I did use the freezer to store fish that I would catch out fishing and give to my parents.
Anyhow, I can't even recall all the contents of that damn basement fridge that I forced my mother to throw away. Jars and jars of jam and Miracle Whip she bought on clearance that were years past their date. Jars of old tea she didn't want to throw away so were "saved" for later--and forgotten. The worst part I will never forget was jar after jar after jar of pickle or jalapeno juice. That's right--old a*s brine. After my parents would finish either a jar of pickles or jalapenos, they would save the brine in jars. I asked my mother again and again why they would do this, and she either pretended not to hear me or would just tell me to shut up.
I have lots more stories, but this is the first one that popped into my head that sums up what absurd lengths my parents would go to save things and be cheap.
Oh, okay, one more one. My parents were too cheap to buy either good knives or good cutting boards to cook with. It was so hard to cook with dull knives on old, uneven wooden chopping blocks. So I bought them a nice knife sharpener and a nice chef knife after college. A few months later I noticed how worn out the sharpener was, and yet the nice chef knife had been blunted down. I figured out what was going on watching my father cook later on that day, watching him use the nice chef knife to chop through a whole chicken (bones and all) directly on a *marble* slab that I thought they were using as a place to put hot pans/pots.
I told my mother, and she said that my father did that all the time with all the knives, and then she would sharpen the knives in an idiotic, absurd cycle. I was so angry with my father I took the knife back, and to my surprise he didn't care because he said it got dull too quickly as opposed to the ancient, clunky meat cleaver they had. That god damn cleaver. I have clear memories of them using it when I was a child all the way up until I was out of university. The handle on it actually snapped clean off while I was in high school, but rather than buy a new one, they got a friend that did some metal work to weld it back together.
When your life becomes more difficult because of how cheap you are, it's time to re-evaluate things.
When my parents moved from one house to another when I was in college, I came back home to help them move. I knew it was going to be bad, as they were semi-hoarders, but nothing could prepare me for how bad it was. My mother had a spare refrigerator she got for free somehow in the basement. I never opened the fridge much, but I did use the freezer to store fish that I would catch out fishing and give to my parents.
Anyhow, I can't even recall all the contents of that damn basement fridge that I forced my mother to throw away. Jars and jars of jam and Miracle Whip she bought on clearance that were years past their date. Jars of old tea she didn't want to throw away so were "saved" for later--and forgotten. The worst part I will never forget was jar after jar after jar of pickle or jalapeno juice. That's right--old a*s brine. After my parents would finish either a jar of pickles or jalapenos, they would save the brine in jars. I asked my mother again and again why they would do this, and she either pretended not to hear me or would just tell me to shut up.
I have lots more stories, but this is the first one that popped into my head that sums up what absurd lengths my parents would go to save things and be cheap.
Oh, okay, one more one. My parents were too cheap to buy either good knives or good cutting boards to cook with. It was so hard to cook with dull knives on old, uneven wooden chopping blocks. So I bought them a nice knife sharpener and a nice chef knife after college. A few months later I noticed how worn out the sharpener was, and yet the nice chef knife had been blunted down. I figured out what was going on watching my father cook later on that day, watching him use the nice chef knife to chop through a whole chicken (bones and all) directly on a *marble* slab that I thought they were using as a place to put hot pans/pots.
I told my mother, and she said that my father did that all the time with all the knives, and then she would sharpen the knives in an idiotic, absurd cycle. I was so angry with my father I took the knife back, and to my surprise he didn't care because he said it got dull too quickly as opposed to the ancient, clunky meat cleaver they had. That god damn cleaver. I have clear memories of them using it when I was a child all the way up until I was out of university. The handle on it actually snapped clean off while I was in high school, but rather than buy a new one, they got a friend that did some metal work to weld it back together.
When your life becomes more difficult because of how cheap you are, it's time to re-evaluate things.
24points
#19
Our dryer was making horrible screeching sounds. I researched and watched videos, figured out it was a pulley, ordered the part and we fixed it ourselves! Then at the very end my husband noted the gas line shut off valve was no longer screwed to the floor. He put a screw right through the gas line. Ended up paying $385 for the plumber to come out and repair the line
23points
#20
Buying cheap shoes. I pay for it with foot and knee pain.
22points