This morning on the radio they were talking about a family of 7 which lives on $33,000 per year and just paid off their mortgage and apparently are buying a second home or some such thing. They were named (it sounded like) "America's Most Frugal Family" or something, and the wife was interviewed and shared how they do it.
Seems she spends all day every day seeking out bargains and the best prices for everything. She stockpiles and of course uses coupons, manufacturer's rebates, and other special deals. When they go shopping the husband and wife take walkie-talkies along so they can talk to each other while in different areas of the store in case one of them stumbles across an unexpected deal or bargain. (Now, I will admit I thought why can't they walk around together? But apparently that's not in the gameplan.)
The radio announcer made a good point after discussing all this. You know, if the wife got a job earning money instead of spending 40+ hours per week finding coupons, they wouldn't have to use so many coupons. And how much is it worth to travel all around town seeking out the bargains instead of paying a bit more but having everything in one place (think SuperTarget?) They obviously don't put any monetary value on her time, which I guess I can understand, but still it seems a bit extreme to me. On the other hand, I guess if you add up all she saves them each year, that could be considered her "salary."
I am starting to use coupons, but my biggest problem is there are so few coupons out there for products I want to use, so I feel like I spend way more time than it's worth to get two coupons which maybe save me a total of $1.50. It's just not worth it to me to use a coupon and get a great price on something we may end up not even using, or using but not liking. If coupon-using were a competition, I guess I would come in pretty near the bottom.
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3 comments:
I think excessive frugality can be just as unhealthy as excessive spending. Unless it's like a hobby or something for them, and then, well, to each his own. But I think there are a lot of ways to save money. We hardly ever used coupons because generic brands were always cheaper than a name brand with a coupon. If I sent Mark with the list we saved money because he was immune to impulse shopping. In fact I saved more on groceries when I used Simon Delivers (which actually charges more for their food than the supermarket) because I wasn't roaming the aisles and I could see my total adding up. When I got to my budget limit, I stopped.
In fact, by being a big bargain hunter, I think you can actually spend more money. You fool yourself into buying it because it's a good deal, whether you need it or not and in the long run end up with stuff you don't need and possibly spending more than you thought over the long haul.
I agree that excessive frugality can be unhealthy. I mean, it depends on what you're saving for. If it's so one parent can stay home with the children, then that certainly seems worthy. But if it's out of miserliness then yeah, seems unhealthy.
I used to be bad with the impulse shopping and I did better with Simon Delivers, too. But then they kept screwing up my order so it didn't work out. Now I can pretty much avoid the impulse purchases, but if I have the kids with me, forget it!
Frugality is dangerous because it is counter to the way the rest of the consumption-driven Western culture works (read: Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capatalism). Seems to me that this family, though they are technically saving money, they are not necessarily being frugal, as being frugal means using all of one's resources well. In the US, we think the only resource we have is money.. we forget about time, family, brain power, etc. In general... we often forget about the environment, one of the most precious resources we have. We all know that cheap in America often means exploited workers and poor environmental practices.
Anyway, saw your post and wanted to share my thoughts. If you're interested in more thoughts on frugality, check us out.
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