Frugality

[USAFpj]

He has forgotten about some of his "treasures". . .

Hahahah! Guess what, Molalla?! That's exactly what Dad and I call our stuff when explaining to the wives.

I bought a WW2 truck a few years back, and am still restoring it with my older son. That truck was/has been my pride and joy with all of its rare and intact 80 year old bits- so much potential. My youngest son was 6 at the time, and was overheard telling somebody that it was "a rusty piece of junk". My wife still reminds me that he's more her son...

 

[Molalla1]

Hahahah! Guess what, Molalla?! That's exactly what Dad and I call our stuff when explaining to the wives.

I bought a WW2 truck a few years back, and am still restoring it with my older son. That truck was/has been my pride and joy with all of its rare and intact 80 year old bits- so much potential. My youngest son was 6 at the time, and was overheard telling somebody that it was "a rusty piece of junk". My wife still reminds me that he's more her son...

Ya but the apple does not fall from the tree . . . He (your son) is watching you . . .

 

[Fuddy1952]

One thing I've always thought was there are two forces with frugality, material and labor.
As a kid there were no big box stores and at that time (and previously) labor meant nothing.
In the 90s I had a contractor remodel parents kitchen, nothing fancy just better. When he installed a new sink he needed a drain. Luckily Dad was close at hand to help. So over to the barn they go. Three hours later Dad had rigged all the pieces he found together and he and contractor had it installed and working.
Contractor calls me..."what do I do? Three hours, Lowe's has the entire drain kit for $9.00 which I could have installed in 15 minutes!!!".
He calmed down after I explained during the great depression Dad delivered groceries on his bicycle using sections of old garden hose with a wire through it for wheels because he couldn't afford tires.
In his 80s Dad would pick trash up on their highway frontage using a stick with a nail in it, patches all over his clothes. People would often stop to see if he needed help. One guy stopped asking him "I've heard there's a rich old lady who lives down this driveway"...Dad replied "There is, and she even let's me sleep with her".
Dad was great!

 

[USAFpj]

One thing I've always thought was there are two forces with frugality, material and labor.

Another great thought! If Dad and I are different in any way, it's that I say Time = Money. I have 3 kids still at home, and the wife schools them. My job carries me overseas for 84 days at a time, so when I finally get home, it ain't time to spend my days working on projects!

Perhaps when I get older, I'll move to the opposite spectrum where my money needs to be stretched further... but for now? Time is the most precious.

 

[Industrial Toys]

My Dad was bad for hiring professionals and then giving them a pile of useless stuff they were supposed to do the job with.

 

[ultrarunner]

Interesting in just how abundant material things have become. Many recession era folks carefully measure out toilet paper and some patients told me they never had TP growing up

 

[CADplans]

To me, the difference between frugal and cheap,, is whether the person understands math,,

many people just do not understand math,,, and many other people just calculate things the wrong way,,

In post #1,, the price of gas is mentioned,,
virtually 100% of the population will measure "miles per gallon" to evaluate fuel economy,,

There is a better way,, in my opinion,,
rather than calculate miles per gallon, or M/G I always calculate dollars per mile,, or $/M

You take the total amount you spend for an amount of fuel, divide by the miles traveled,, then you get a number that can be used to compare ,,

When I have done this in the past,, I have found,,,
there is almost no difference in the cost to drive a car that gets 30 MPG and 40 MPG
try it,, the numbers will shock you,, if gas is under $2.50 per gallon,,,

there is almost no difference in driving my Chevy 2500HD and our Honda CR-V,, if I am only going <5 miles,,

My truck is WAY cheap to drive when gas is <$1 per gallon,,

My truck is WAY expensive to drive,,, when gas is >$4 per gallon,,
in the two cases above, the gas mileage did not change,, but, frugal me will not drive the truck @$4 per gallon.
If I am cheap,, I will not enjoy my truck @$1 per gallon,,, (I ALWAYS drive my truck when gas is under $2.50 per gallon,, it is worth the fun)

So, frugal,, cheap,, it depends on how you calculate it,,, :cool2:

 

[4570Man]

The 3 hours labor to rig up a drain ( that you probably can’t take apart to clean out ) to save $15 is a prime example of something my grandpa would do. Better yet go to the hardware store 7 times and use all day and burn $10 in gas to avoid buying unnecessary fittings that are like 40 cents each.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I am just thrilled if I can find something I have to use on a project. I will never or rarely use something that would detract from the over-all quality of the finished project. So different from my Dad. Nothing needs to match if it saves you even a nickle! He in fact wears all kinds of mismatched socks, turned around so the holes in one pair cover the other.

But my all time favourite and one I have adopted, although it makes little "cents" is cutting open a toothpaste tube and using a heavy tube and flat surface, walk on the tube, flattening it out and obtaining the last bit of paste. I could imagine, falling while balanced on the tube, hitting your face on the vice and causing twelve thousand dollars in dental work!

 

[USAFpj]

walk on the tube, flattening it out and obtaining the last bit of paste.

Now that's frugal. Cheap would be to just go without paste as it really doesn't provide anything that a brush alone can't do...