Cheap Versus Frugal

There is a different. Cheap is buying a product or service of low quality or buying the lowest price products or services no matter the quality or standards. Cheap is also being reluctant to spend money or give money. Frugal is efficient planning in the use of money to purchase a product or service. Frugal includes comparison shopping to find the best deal. 

Cheap people strive to get items for free or feel they deserve a good deal. Frugal people want a good deal but work to get it. Cheap people focus on short-term or immediate savings. Frugal people focus on long-term savings. 

The line is drawn in terms of quality and when saving money is at the expense of others. Cheap people base decisions on price. Frugal people base decisions on quality.

People take offense to being called cheap because it highlights a person’s flaws – lack of patience to comparison shop, inability to analyze prices, products and services. Being cheap shows that a person is willing to sacrifice quality and value to purchase a product or service. 

Cheap people have a fear or spending money or losing money so they purchase the lowest cost items in hopes that they will be able to keep more of their money. However, they fail to realize that they end up spending more money replacing the cheap items purchased. 

In addition, cheap people are aware that they are cheap but don’t want anyone to point it out. They know they have a problem but don’t want to change, don’t know how to change or are unable to change. 

Cheap versus Frugal Scenarios

Scenario	Cheap	Frugal
Eating out	Order a soda and eat the free bread	Order the kid’s meal or appetizers instead of an entrée
Paper products	Take extra napkins from a fast-food restaurant to use at home	Use the left-over napkins from a fast-food restaurant to use at home or in your car
Tipping at a Restaurant	If you don’t give a tip or give less than 10%	If you tip at least 15%
Eating Out	If you share a meal with your child or spouse	If you use a Living Social or Groupon coupon
Clothing	You purchase an item, wear it once and then return it	You purchase an item on sale or use a coupon
Coffee	Spill a coffee packet on the floor and still use it to make a cup of coffee	Purchase Starbucks coffee from Amazon.com
Groceries	Rummaging through dumpsters and trash cans to get food, i.e. Freeganism	Shopping at discount stores such as Costco or Price Club