Cheap vs Frugal

I ran into an old friend yesterday while shopping at Wally World. We stood around catching up on each others families when the subject turned to the high price of gasoline. After much discussion, my friend called me cheap. Cheap is defined as stingy and miserly. That is so not me. I prefer the term frugal which means economical, prudent, and not wasteful. Now, that is so me. I explained to him that the last time gas shot up so high, I did my best to consume less gas. I would basically go to work, go to church, and use my Saturday to go to Montgomery to shop and buy groceries. If I needed something mid-week, I would go on Wednesday night before church. Luckily, I work just a few miles from work, so most weeks, I could get by on a half of tank of gas.


Being frugal is in my blood - passed down by my parents. While they were frugal more out of necessity, mine is more out of habit and choice. That choice has served me well over the years. Being frugal means never having to keep up with the Jone's because well, that just cost too much. When my girls were in college, I used a prepaid phone from T-Mobile - which was the butt of a lot of jokes from coworkers. I only used it in an emergency situation or for a quick call home. It was basically a phone that was one up from the bag phone - no joke. This phone averaged me $10.00 per month. Could I have afforded a fancier more up to date phone? Sure. I just did not want to pay the hefty price tag plus the monthly contract cost associated with it. There are a lot of things that I could afford over the years that I chose not to spend our money on. I am proud to say that those kind of life long choices allowed my husband and myself to stay out of alot of debt. It allowed my girls to go through school with no student loans hanging over their heads after graduation. I must add that about a year after Jamie graduated, I had no problem throwing out my old phone and upgrading to the Droid. I basically went from a Chevette to a Porsche in the mobile phone world. I feel like I can justify the expense now that my girls are out of school.


I know my friend was not calling me cheap in the sense of cheap and stingy. He knows me to well for that. Cheap doesn't like to spend money - one look inside my closet would testify that is not the case. I just like to be frugal and look for bargains. I am proud to say that both my girls have that same frugal blood running through their veins and that makes this frugal mom proud!!

Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
I Corinthians 4:2