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Are You Stupid Cheap ?

A phrase that I will be using from now on.

Standing in line at a Rogers store, I looked over at the young lady in the other line. I saw that she had two tiny kittens she was carrying in her sweater. Naturally, they were as cute as can be, and I asked where they came from. I was told that her and her fiance found them abandoned in a box on a path. One of the kittens had already died but the three others had managed to make it (at the time).

My Cat
Unwanted Kittens Should Go to the SPCA (that is where this cute one came from, unfortunately she thinks she is a computer cosy )

What does this have to do with Stupid Cheap? You have a female cat and you are too cheap to have it neutered, you let it wander around the neighbourhood, and you can’t afford to feed the kittens (or keep them), so you dump them in a box on a walking path (OK the last part isn’t Stupid Cheap, that is just evil).

Saving money by not doing important things is not being necessarily Frugal, and at times it is Stupid Cheap. I realize we already we have “penny-wise and pound foolish” but that is too many words.

Other examples of stupid cheap?

  • The car you rely on to get to work needs a brake job, however you put off doing it because it is too expensive, but continue to drive the car, because you need it to get to work. In that situation, if you can’t afford the brake job, maybe you can’t afford a car and should be looking at mass transit.
  • Using expired condoms because you can’t find anything else? The price of a condom vs. the Price of a Child hasa very big difference, and my advice is to keep it in your trousers.
  • You can’t sell off  your poorly performing Mutual Funds because they are back-end loaded and you’d lose lots more money. Seriously? You really need to talk to a real investment adviser, and not your Uncle Sam who sells Mutual Funds too.

Now for my Frugal and Cheap readers, I am not calling you Stupid for being cheap, just be cheap for the right reasons. I have said that 50% off meat is OK as long as you are sure you aren’t poisoning yourself.

Feel Free to Comment

  1. From personal experience back in university, students usually fall into the trap of being cheap for the wrong things.

    Things they say they “can’t afford” with money and time
    – Healthy food
    – Gym time
    – Seminar and workshop fees
    – Networking session fees (not sponsored by the school)
    – Books

    Yet they pay huge $$ for
    – Junk food
    – More-than-you-ever-need phone plans
    – Smartphones
    – iPads

    I’m not saying students are stupid, but I feel like schools should really push on #personalfinance101 more.

  2. Boy your Independent and Loblaws are cheaper than mine! I buy meat the day before it expires (as per the label) usually at 30% off – take it home and either cook it that night or freeze it. I’ve been doing this for well over a year. Only once did we get meat that was actually ‘off’ and you could smell it. We do check it before we freeze it.

    Although it doesn’t fall into the cheap category because the bags are so dang expensive, we have a vacuum sealer and I portion the meat into meal sizes and freeze it that way. Frankly I haven’t paid full price for meat in ages. I guess I’m fussier about my vegetables because I rarely find anything on the distressed table although I did once get a huge bag of mushrooms for 99 cents.

    The best way I know to save money on groceries is to just buy what’s on sale and stock up when it’s really a good price.

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