O, books… I justify book purchases by only buying them at the library’s used book store ($.50 to $3/each). I think of it as an extended loan, then I either give them away of re-donate them. Doesn’t feel bad at all to support a cause and a reading habit at the same time. And I’ve managed to come very close to reducing my collection to less than 100 books! Feels awesome!

A broader way of looking at frugality is the minimization of waste. Wasted money and wasted effort. This is a more ecological way of looking at it whereas price-value is the economical understanding.

And fainally, Trent – two things. When you speak of people or a group of perople, use “who”, not “that”. As in being the type of person WHO, tho the type of person THAT. That is for things.
And, as was pointed out to me many years ago by my university president’s widow – time passes, gas passes, but people and dogs die. “Passing on” is an undertaker euphemism and like most euphemisms is trite and poor writing.

As far as the difference between the higher end pots and pans and the ones you had in college are in how they are constructed and how they hold and distribute heat. I wouldn’t recommend buying the higher end type unless you are really passionate about cooking.

#3Adam- why in the world would you care if someone else had a hole in their socks? Your own, sure… but someone else?

I must admit that I have the hardest time spending money on gifts for small children who already have a million toys. Cheap? I don’t know. Maybe just not wanting to contribute to the ridiculous excess.

For example, most days I only spend 60 cents on breakfast and lunch, but I went to Disney World and stayed in a Disney resort this year too. I’m very frugal (cheap) with my lunches, but spend more that I typically would on a great vacation!

It all balances out in the end for me!

Have a wonderful New Year!

Buying books is a bit of a struggle for city dwellers like myself with limited space. It’s so easy for us to buy the books and end up having them stacked along walls, corners and living in a bit of a mess. I just purchased another bookshelf to store the books I have acquired over the last year. Due to the lack of space, I had to give away or toss out some books (the library does toss out your donations as well). I pretty much narrow my purchases by getting them from the library first, and if I know I want to bend it up, underline and remember the pages, I’ll get my own copy.

Good cookware is only useful if you have a certain amount of skill. The best pots and pans won’t make you a better cook unless you know how to use it.

Another example are sushi knives. Those are high carbon steel (which is not stainless steel and will rust in presence of moisture) knives, and will rust if not taken care of properly, which Consumer Reports COMPLETELY screwed up a review on. High carbon steel knives are also very brittle, and easily chip without the proper skill to use the knives because the honed edge is so fine. To the uninitiated, you won’t notice a difference. But if you regularly chop/slice/prep with a knife, you will be amazed at how well is cuts.

I make a big deal about cooking because I’m passionate about it. On the other hand, I really can’t tell too much difference between high end clothing, so I don’t put much money into designer clothes. I had the assistant and a friend of mine choose a few dress shirts, slacks, and got a nice pair of leather shoes for semi-formal occasions and a suit for formal occasions. Other wise, I’m in a generic polo shirt and jeans.

Figure out where the money will make a difference to you, and that’s what it should be spent on.

I read both your site and GRS, and the difference in the commenting community is really remarkable. Not necessarily in a good way. But the posts themselves are often complementary, and the difference in point-of-view (and you’re both very different from me) means I get an interesting set of new insights.

Re: books: That is one thing I know I will never risk being a cheapskate about! Oh gracious, it probably should be. I guess I make up for it by mostly buying cheap clothes. :-)

Regarding books, and this is coming from someone who has bought tons of books in the past, I think that you really have no idea what books you will value in the future. I bought tons of books thinking they would be ones I would refer to for years, and they sit unused on the shelf. In general, as I get older I tend to view knowledge as priceless but books as expendable. This might come from having a small home now with a growing family, but I see the public library as MY library. I don’t need those books at home taking up space. I would rather take it off their (a.k.a. my) shelf when I need it and then put it back there when I am done.

And I also don’t really relate to Trent’s need for high end cooking ware. I also love to cook and value nice things, but honestly, I don’t see that much difference in use between the All-Clad pots I have and the cheaper pots we have leftover from college. They both work. Just because you love something doesn’t mean that you have to buy the best of everything. I guess in that way I will always be a “cheapskate”, because I just don’t think the higher cost always translates into true value.

Thanks, Trent, for a nice article.

When I was on the way home, he called me telling me the dog was ill. On a Saturday, at 10 PM, the day after Christmas.

I told him to take her to the emergency vet, where she was put on IV’s, Oxygen, and had to have an X-ray taken of her chest – she had pneumonia (For the second time since I’ve had her, too).

When I got there they gave me the estimate – $446. I balked at first, and quickly read over the receipt wondering if there was anything I could do to make it cheaper – but all it consisted of was the treatment already given, and antibiotics which she was going to need.

Then it hit me – I could lose the most important thing in my life because I was being a cheapskate? No. I had an account of money set aside for veterinary emergencies just like this – so I whipped out that special card and paid the vet.

Being cheap most of the time allows me to set aside money to build that vet fund. Knowing what is important to me lets me spend it.