Comments on: The Frugal Traveler and the Varying Definitions of Frugal

By: Isela

Isela — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 03:49:59 +0000

I have gone to Europe (Germany and Austria) for two weeks and spent around $1500 dollars (including airfare, hotel, food, tours, concerts, transportation, etc), my plane ticket was just $50 dollars round trip.
I spent New Year´s in New York City, actually spent 5 nights in a cheap place ($50 dollars per night, bought food and keep it on the refrigerator at the room, used the subway ). I went to the main attractions (including the Metro, The Museum of Natural History, etc) , I bought my ticket using miles and paid $10 dollars for round trip. I did splurge on a ticket for Wicked and for and opera night at the Lincoln Center, but it was worth it.
By the way, I live in Mexico.

By: Battra92

Battra92 — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:24:03 +0000

Thanks but it’s not of my own invention. I just can’t remember where I heard it. I want to save money so I can live better and use my money more wisely not so that I’m picking up food out of the dumpster so I can earn 2.5% interest on the $2.99 that the food was worth when good.

By: J

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:06:18 +0000

Battra92 –

I really like your definition of frugality.

By: Battra92

Battra92 — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 13:20:58 +0000

I kind of wish that the tourists would stay out of Vermont. If they can do it under the guise of frugality, all the better.

There are less and less real Vermonters. Too many flatlanders and skiers.

I think on the same side of this coin is Rachel Ray and her $40 a Day show. She goes to some super expensive tourist trap place and then eats some nasty stuff and leaves a $0.05 tip. The show claims to show that good food can be had for cheap when in fact most of what she eats is cheap and unhealthy food (kind of like what she makes on her show but I digress.)

For a more practical frugal travel idea, I offer that going to grocery stores instead of restaurants can save you a lot of money over the course of a trip.

I agree with what others above are saying in that we need to not expand the term frugal to mean misers and TV show hosts.

Frugal is when you control saving money. Cheap is when saving money controls you.

By: Jodi

Jodi — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 19:42:20 +0000

The NYT article about the man who travels on $5 a day isn’t an example of frugality. He mostly gets by for very little because he relies on handouts from other people. And he gloats in the article about how he’ll end one of those trips by staying in a five-star hotel and eating in fancy restaurants. He got skewered in the comments on his article, and he deserves it.

Obviously, I agree with those comments. I’ve mentally argued with myself about what the difference is between his approach and that of others, like Peace Pilgrm and Buddhist monks, who rely on others’ generosity. And I think I finally figured it out: He’s doing this as a game, really a scam. Like the post just above this one, others do this in order to be generous to others (monks give away their teaching, Peace Pilgrim gave talks for free). He just sponges off others and writes articles about it. Reprehensible.

By: Bob

Bob — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 19:52:52 +0000

Trent – I’m interested in hearing your thoughts on hunting since you mentioned you used to eat a lot of wild game. I’ve recently started hunting, inspired by Michael Pollan’s book The Omnivore’s Dilema. I found it to be almost impossible to hunt “frugally” for me, however the health benefits and personal ownership of the meals harvested has made the financial aspect moot in my opinion. How do you feel about hunting in a frugal, moral, ethical, social, etc sense?

By: nonno muss

nonno muss — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 17:06:24 +0000

for me being frugal is almost an addiction. Sure, it started out innocent enough, mainly from necessity, but then transformed into a hobby. My other hobbies (online poker and 4:20) already consume quite a bit of money, and with the aid of such tips as making laundry soap, in the last six months, I have paid off 2 small charge cards and just yesterday got paid ahead on all my bills…but most important I feel good when I save even the smallest amount of money, or a dyi “hack” to make something better.

Great articles, Great soap, I think I’m going to try to sell a case to a local grocery store. Thanks.

By: DrFunZ

DrFunZ — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 14:34:28 +0000

Rick Steeves’ books are excellent resource for traveling safely and inexpensively throughout the world. I took a trip to Italy alone, (single woman) using all his ideas. I saved so much money, met great people and felt safe and secure the whole time. I recommend his books and newsletter highly. http://www.ricksteves.com/

By: DrFunZ

DrFunZ — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 14:29:07 +0000

Hmm… hitchhiking in Europe – hitchhiking in the USA. Not frugal. Not cheap. Dangerous. Reckless.

To me, frugality means two things: using our resources to the best possible advantage and efficiency; and minimizing unnecessary expenditures for a greater purpose: giving alms, making the dollar stretch because we have a growing family, saving for the future, paying our bills fully and on time.

There is no inherent “virtue” in being “frugal” for frugality’s sake. The virtue comes in when our frugality leads us to be more generous, more responsible for ourselves and others, more environmentally considerate, etc. Being frugal does not mean living like a person in poverty, for there is no inherent virtue in being poor either. (Jesus’ words, “Bless are the poor…” does not imply a higher moral status.)

Indeed, I would like to have enough money to “cut back” on my landscaping (HA!!I would like to have a landscape to cut back on, to be quite honest.) But I am not going to judge the wealthy guy who cuts back on lawn care. For all I know, he wants to keep his tithing to his church constant, or he has set up a scholarship fund for poor kids that he wants to keep funding at the same rate.

Frugality is a life choice that some of us make, but it is a necessity for others to simply survive. Those of us who make it a choice might consider giving some of what extra we save to help others while we are preparing for our own futures.

By: Mrs. Accountability

Mrs. Accountability — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 05:50:21 +0000

Definitely true that frugal is relative for the individual. I found it easier to be much more frugal as a single mother with young children. AND it was easier to be frugal when I had more time! Things I would have made by hand years ago, to save money, are bought now, because I simply don’t have the time.

By: Bonnie

Bonnie — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 03:31:58 +0000

I always have a good laugh at fashion articles in women’s magazines, where a “bargain” outfit is often $300 or more. Sure, it’s significantly less than the $1500 inspiration, but as someone who haunts thrift shops and yard sales, I can’t relate to thinking of that level of spending as “saving” money.

By: J

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 02:29:03 +0000

The ski buses are really a great way to get up to the slopes. Generally the cost is right around the cost of a regular lift ticket at the mountain. Also, for single people looking to meet other single people, it’s a fantastic way to meet new people other than “the bar scene”. You can also pack a lunch and save some additional money that way. From NYC or Boston, you are saving probably $30-40 on gas alone.

But yes, frugality is most definitely in the eye of the beholder. If downhill skiing or snowboarding is your “thing”, though, a ski bus can be an option for getting in some runs while saving money.

Also, keep in mind that ski season lasts a few months, and the holidays are in there, so sometimes you have to get up there while you can and conditions are decent.

By: Green Panda

Green Panda — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 02:05:21 +0000

To some in our family, we’re cheap. If my grandmother were alive, she’d think we could do better on saving money. It’s relative.

She raised 7 kids on one income and made everything stretch. To me, that’s frugal. She was creating value with what little she had. It’s something I’d like to keep working on.

By: Cathy

Cathy — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 01:30:45 +0000

When my boyfriend and I were visiting Victoria, British Columbia, we wanted to visit the Buchart Gardens, a popular tourist destination there. There were tour buses charging between $15-$30 per person to take us there and back. We instead asked some locals about bus routes, and we got the bus number and bus stop that would drop us off at the garden. We paid $3 per person round trip. Maybe we didn’t get some witty tour guide telling jokes, but that wasn’t important to us.

By: Julie

Julie — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 22:10:03 +0000

I heard a quote that applies here, I think. When someone asked a consultant what size a “downsized” house would be, the answer was “30% smaller than whatever you’re living in now.”

I think it’s the same with frugality. People consider things to be frugal if they’re slightly or moderately less than what they’re doing now.

By: RDS @ Smart Financial Values

RDS @ Smart Financial Values — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 21:59:42 +0000

I really enjoyed this post. I have been spending a fair amount of time contemplating this topic lately. In my mind, it seems to boil down to a questions of values. We all value items and experiences differently. What is a great deal for someone (a frugal ski trip to VT, for example) might be a horrible waste of money for others. The key, I think, is to spend money very deliberately and consciously. If you have the money, and whatever you are spending it on is worht it to you, then more power to you.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 21:59:24 +0000

I am frugal about some things so that I can spend money on things I really enjoy…. like travel!

Frugality is definitely a personal definition. Didn’t Trent post recently about how he does things a bit differently now that his finances are in better order?

We are frugal all year so that we can afford a spring break trip in Cayman. The #1 reason we chose Cayman is because we can get free lodging (through a friend).

By: TightFistedMiser

TightFistedMiser — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 21:46:41 +0000

Frugality might be relative but there has to be some limit on what is considered frugal or the term becomes meaningless.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 21:40:32 +0000

Frugal is saving money by making sacrifices (or eliminating waste). Cheap is saving money by getting others to make sacrifices for you. If you want to use one sheet of toilet paper at a time, that’s fine, and frugal (just make sure you wash your hands before you come anywhere near me). Cheap is demanding that your houseguests do the same.

That Fox Reality show strikes me as being entertainment only, not a suggestion that anyone actually travel that way in real life. Traveling on $5 a day with cameras following you around is totally different from traveling on $5 a day without them, I’m sure. Like with the lady in Chicago who let him stay in her house – would she have done that for a random stranger? Probably not. The cameras meant that (1) he probably wouldn’t take anything, and (2) she and her house would be on TV.

By: todo es bien

todo es bien — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 21:30:58 +0000

This reminds me of an article I read recently about the “small house movement”. The article contended that for some people moving into a 3500 square foot house was participating in the small house movement. I can not buy into that. Maybe they should rename as “smaller house” and “frugaler”, so that they could use the terms in a relative sense rather than an absolute. If you drive a hummer you are not driving an environmentally friendly vehicle because your previous vehicle was a tank.