Gather Little by Little

Every family’s budget is a reflection of that family’s priorities, habits and tastes. Here at Gather Little by Little, we do not try to dictate exactly how persons budget should look. Mainly because that is a fool’s errand. But there are some basic principles which govern the advice that appears on this blog. One of them is: the outflow should be less than your inflow. Most of us try to stay under budget by spending less whenever possible. We are a frugal bunch.

My last post was about how it is possible for a Christian to be too frugal. A believer should not operate or be known as a skinflint any more than they should be known as a spendthrift. Admittedly, there is a fine line between being frugal and being a scrooge… but that is a different topic. Today, we need to examine the fact that those of us who pursue frugality as a way of life are dependent on people who spend a lot. The life of a spendthrift actually makes life easier for the coupon-cutter. Let me demonstrate by first listing a few habits of the frugal:

• Frugal people only buy loss- leaders and then walk out of the store. A loss leader is an item that is priced at or below cost in order to entice customers to come into the store with the hope that those customers then spend more money on other items that carry a profit.
• Frugal people rarely pay full-price for anything other than gasoline.
• Frugal people focus on buying needs, not “wants” or luxuries.
• Frugal people only eat out with a restaurant.com gift certificate, with a coupon, with a free birthday meal or on “kids eat free” nights. On top of that, a frugal person will generally only drink water and complain the whole time that “we could have made this meal at home for 1/4th of the price.”
• Frugal people rarely pay interest and never pay late or overdraft fees.
• Frugal people have high credit scores and thus pay the lowest interest rates on car loans and home mortgages.

So how do spendthrifts make life possible for the frugal? Well, if you look at the list above, you notice that if only frugal people shopped, ate out or banked, then stores, restaurants and banks would go out of business. There is no way that any of those businesses could make a profit if their customers were all “frugal.” The only way to survive would be to raise prices for everyone.

For example, my wife and I love shopping at Whole Foods . . . but we only buy items that are at ridiculously low prices. . . and we hit the samples hard. We love Whole Foods products, but that store makes no money on us. That business can only afford to offer great sales and good samples so long as people with more money to spend and people who spend too much money shop there. When it comes to clothing, we buy most of our clothes at second hand stores. Frequently, we find items that have been barely worn (if at all) and we are then able to acquire those items for a fraction of their original cost. Second hand stores would not exist if everyone shopped like us.

My point? Don’t hate people who spend a lot of money. We need them. There might be times in our lives when envy, jealousy or covetousness gets the best of us and we dismiss “the rich” or some other big spender with a sneer or a dismissive wave of the hand when the reality is that we should be thanking the person who is walking out of Whole Foods with two carts full of $6 a pound ground beef and organic tomatoes. Individuals who pay full price are the reason that there are deals to be had for those who are willing to hunt for them and wait for them. People who pay late fees and high interest rates are the reason that your banker can afford to dress well and keep your money safe.

So, you do not need to become a wild spender, but keep this idea in mind. Don’t  hate the guy walking out of the store with six new shirts. He just paid a little of the real cost for that pair of jeans that you are going to find on the clearance rack.

The Consumerist