Are you cheap in MOST all you do?

[GRU]

Originally Posted by euromodder

Working at a chemical plant, I try to run the place more energy-efficient, as it's a very power hungry beast .
We go through more gas in a few hours than most households use in a year.
That's the place to make a marked difference, energy wise.

That's exaclty what i do. I work for a trucking company so i make decisions which truck goes where so i always do the math to have the truck run the least amount of miles with minimum idling. In the office i reuse both sides of paper becuase we go through about 400 pieces per day. I also try to email as much as possible insted of faxing.

My actions at work impact the world much much more than at home.
Sorry to change the subject to work life but it's the same as home life but it benefits the company

[Thymeclock]

Originally Posted by GRU

Yes, i wouldn't call myself cheap because i will blow money like i'm rich if it's something i really want. Cheap is when you have money but "cheap out" and decide not to replace your bald tires on your family car.

I make a distinction between being frugal and being cheap, and your example is a pretty good one. Someone who is cheap eschews spending any money out of habit, to the point of it being detrimental in the long run.

It's a very thin line between practicality or utility and obsession. It's all too easy to cross over the line into OCD behavior. The frugal person is not wasteful, but uses (or consumes) when necessary. As I tell my wife and daughter when I turn off appliances that are not in use, I'm all for usage (or enjoyment of resources) but very much against wastefulness. The cheap person (as opposed to one who is frugal) has a different motive, usually based upon habit, ideology or irrational belief.

Using less everyday is something everyone should do. it's the only thing that will keep us (humans) alive because we just can't keep going down the same road. Not only is it good for the earth but all the things an average person buys goes in the garbage and doesn't make anyone happy, it just uses energy, polutes, wastes our time and piles up at a landfill.

That is an ideology based upon a belief, not a fact. If you want to be frugal, fine. It is a personal choice that is logical, it will benefit you personally economically, and that has a basis of a measurable result. The idea that if everyone were to use little or less it would somehow benefit all of humanity is an assumption and a form of propaganda that is pervasive and spread through the media. What are we 'saving' everything for? I heard a radio commercial today for plant food and the hook was "If we can just save one veggie it will be worth it." Save one veggie from what? (Save the forests, save the whales, save the [fill in the blank]...)

Saving (or hoarding) can be a compulsion that is the opposite extreme of wastefulness, and neither is a rational or balanced outlook. There is often a very thin line between rational and irrational behavior.

[Brad9660]

I agree with spending a little extra money to buy high quality stuff that will last. Other than that I like to purchase things that allow me to save money later on, like tools for example. I probably have 3-4 thousand dollars worth of tools including my tool box, but I also don't recall the last time I had to pay someone to work on anything of mine. I probably don't do laundry as much as most people, and when I do, I try to use as little detergent as possible and use the setting for a small loud even for big loads, it seems to work fine. I don't have much clothing, but wonder, if I did have more, and thus needed to do laundry less often, would it be more efficient.

[mikehallbackhoe]

my dad used to say" it isn't what you make, it's what you keep that counts." when I eat out, I order the cheapest item on the menu. If I eat at taco bell, my entire meal costs around $2.25, which includes free refills. I am good at haggling when it comes to buying something used. my wife cuts my hair. I shop online for most items because I can get the best deal. I have never bought a new car. who needs a big tv? I don't even own a flat screen. don't need a thermostat since we burn wood , which I cut myself. some people may say I am cheap, I prefer to think I am just trying to hang on to what I make.

[JacobAziza]

oh yeah, and also: I live in an RV, and my truck is from 1983
and I'm a hauler, so instead of getting stuff for free, people pay me to take it from them.

Thats how I got my TV, DVD player, RePlay (like Tivo, but needs no subscription), printer/scanner, router, sofa, bookshelf, dresser... and many more... (and thats just the stuff I keep)

[larrybuck]

I've really enjoyed the responses to this thread!

I should have said "economical" instead of cheap! I didn't mean for it to refer to
like gross "cheep" where too hopeful people will like buy a $1 plastic nozzle for their hose, and expect it not to leak, last a long time, or perform like a brass one does.

I think its super important to buy a car that is a good enough brand, so that you don't have to live w a "loser car"!

But isn't it incredible how American's as a whole got into the whole Mini Storage
life style!

I'm not knocking common sense usage; but we all probably know someone who
is making monthly payments on junk they don't even use ( still referring to mini storage, but it can apply generally too) , and in many cases have forgotten what half the stuff in there even is, and would have to drive miles just to look at it!

After a couple of decades at least now; look at how much literal plastic is STILL
being used to simply house store products, and then added to the landfills.

How about inventing a plastic looking product that would dissolve in heavy rain,
or immersed in water. I'm thinking along the lines of the edible rice paper that comes w some foods.

No chemical nightmares; just packaging GONE!!!

[Frank Lee]

The real dilemma:

White Refugees: Humans: An Endangered Species: [I] The Power of Compound Population & Economic Growth

[Thymeclock]

Originally Posted by larrybuck

After a couple of decades at least now; look at how much literal plastic is STILL
being used to simply house store products, and then added to the landfills.

How about inventing a plastic looking product that would dissolve in heavy rain,
or immersed in water. I'm thinking along the lines of the edible rice paper that comes w some foods.

No chemical nightmares; just packaging GONE!!!

Most of the packaging we are subjected to ("sealed for your protection") is the result of tort law claims filed by trial lawyers to win settlements for their clients. Often the protections (plastic packaging) and package warnings are there for the legal protection of the manufacturers to ward off such lawsuits.

Actually most plastics will degrade over time, especially if subjected to constant exposure from UV radiation (sunlight). Mandatory recycling is commonplace in most cities today, and it is often a revenue enhancer for the local government - so landfills filled with plastic are hardly much of a concern in recent years.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by Thymeclock

Actually most plastics will degrade over time, especially if subjected to constant exposure from UV radiation (sunlight).

Yeah, that's true. So does rock: Decomposed granite - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The question is just how much time? And what the plastic might be doing while it's degrading: World News - Study: Plastic in 'Great Pacific Garbage Patch' increases 100-fold

[Piwoslaw]

Originally Posted by why?

I see no reason to limit myself using a totally infinite resource.
[...]
The earth is not finite, not even close. The things we rely on for life are going to be around for billions of years. Foolish people have been claiming we are growing too much for centuries, yet we are still here and doing better than ever. The only thing that will limit us is thinking like this.

Originally Posted by Albert Einstein

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.

.