Jul 03 2008
When is frugal not frugal?
You clip every coupon in the Sunday paper and you shop all the clearance aisles.
You buy most of your regular use products at a warehouse store (Sam’s Club, Costco, etc.).
You are the epitome of frugal, right? Maybe…
Now for the questions:
1. Are you clipping coupons for things you don’t use? This is one of the most common mistakes made by well meaning frugal shoppers. If you are trying to shop for items that are unfamiliar to you and your family, you probably don’t know what the average price is for that item. Is it even in your item comparison notebook?
If the item isn’t something that fits into your lifestyle, you clip the coupon but I don’t recommend spending too much of your time finding it. Time is money - remember? And wasting time is not frugal.
2. If I can buy the product in bulk at a warehouse club, it will be cheaper, right? Not necessarily. The warehouse clubs have caught on to the fact that more and more people are shopping there for their regular needs, and they have raised the prices on many of the bulk items they sell. What seems like a good deal on a case of toilet tissue may end up costing you more than the four or six pack you get at the supermarket. Bring your calculator!
Let me be the first to say, I used to stop at grocery stores and realized I was not saving any money. I now shop at WalMart and do save quite a bit of money.
I have found out that shopping for things I will use in the future when they are on sale for a good price has allowed me to save quite a bit of money.
I shop on line a lot and find it is cheaper than shopping locally. Even with shipping factored in a lot of the bulk feed places I buy from are still cheaper when i have to factor in driving costs locally. (I live about 50 miles from a really good bulk feed store.)
Another instance of frugal not being frugal:
When you buy (and eat) cheap pre-made, over-packaged snack/dessert/comfort foods. It is not frugal to have diabetes, need a heart bypass, or destroy your liver with all the high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors (MSG), and partially hydrogenated fats that are in these foods. Read the label: I dare you to find something as simple as bread that doesn’t contain high fructose corn syrup (a major cause of diabetes). Bake your own, or spring for a high-quality natural product (but still read the label– some companies mistakenly think HFCS is “natural” even though it’s about as natural as petroleum byproducts).