Saving money is always positive, right? Not necessarily. While it’s fantastic to take reasonable steps toward reduce waste, it is also possible to go too far. Plenty of people start out with normal cost-cutting measures, but then slide down into dark territory. While counterintuitive for those wanting to do right by their money, there comes a point when spending more makes the most sense.
Here are eight signs that you’re taking frugality too far.
- It’s all you think about. It’s smart to comparison shop on most mid-to-high ticket items, but if scoring the very best deal on absolutely everything is constantly on your mind, you’re giving the process excess mental energy. Odds are you have friends, family members, a job, and maybe a hobby or two. Obsessing over prices will result in you neglecting them. Remember, the people and activities you love are always more valuable than a discounted roll of paper towels. Deliberately divert your thoughts from cost-cutting measures to what is truly important. Psychology Today offers some effective anti-obsession techniques.
- You travel far (and out of your way) to save insignificant sums. Driving clear across town for gas that’s a few pennies less per gallon is counterproductive since you’re just using up fuel. Shopping for food at several supermarkets because one has a sale on peaches, another on pears, and the other on apples is ridiculous. Doing so takes too much time out of your day to make the task worth it – no matter how accomplished you feel when you gaze with satisfaction at your bundle of receipts. Yes, if you’re in the area and don’t mind popping in for the deal, go for it. But when making multiple trips a regular thing, you’re well on the road to silliness.
- Loved ones are embarrassed. Is your teenager forced to wear your 90s fashion (and not the hip kind) or too small clothes because you refuse to spring for new apparel? Are you diving into your neighbor’s dumpster for “perfectly good” things that you can incorporate into your home instead of buying them? How about rooting through bins for cans and bottles to redeem at the recycling center? Although these aren’t inherently negative activities (and some can actually be wonderful for conservation purposes), consider the emotional well-being of your family. Unless you’re desperate for cash, they won’t see the benefit. They’ll just be embarrassed of you, especially if you reek of garbage. Try not to abandon all pride.
- You’re endangering yourself and others. Do not wait until your car is slipping all over the wet road to replace your tires, especially when you have the ability to pay for them now. Not only will the cost of an accident far exceed the price of the wheels, you’re putting lives in jeopardy. That’s a dramatic example but it extends to something as simple as eating moldy leftovers or long expired food because you can’t bear to toss what you’ve already paid for. It can land people who consume it in the emergency room. If it’s you, the medical bills can pile up. If it’s those you served, you will feel guilty – and rightly so – for making them sick.
- You become a hoarder. Another sign that you’re overly frugal is a reluctance (or refusal) to discard broken or defunct items. You may intend to fix or get one more use out of them, but in most cases those things just take up space and gather dust. You don’t have to throw them out, though. A great alternative is to hold a garage sale and purge. You can even use an app, like Letgo where you can arrange for a buyer on your smartphone (unless you’re hanging on to your 2001 flip-phone, that is). Use whatever profit you make to pay bills or sock away the cash for a rainy day.
- Life stops being pleasurable – and you’re making everyone around you miserable too. Always asking how much something costs, negotiating with every single seller, refusing to go to events or restaurants because you’ll have to open your wallet, and forgoing even the most affordable luxury is no way to exist! If you can purchase more than bulk boxes of ramen noodles or massive canisters of oatmeal, do it. Be rational. If you live in a hot climate and deliberately buy a car with no air-conditioning (yes, it can be done), anyone who rides with you will needlessly suffer. Unless you must, don’t limit yourself to the most basic of basics for too long. Life is short. Enjoy it.
- Coupons rule your shopping cart. Buy-one-get-one-free offers are fabulous, but only if you need whatever it is you’re buying. Most of the food you can get this way is highly processed and not particularly healthy, so go easy. Consider those expiration dates for this tip too. Perishables will spoil and you don’t want to be in the position where you’re force feeding yourself a gallon of yogurt before it goes off. Of course you can coupon yourself into major savings so do it right. Watch a few episodes of the show Extreme Couponing to see how it can go wrong.
- You become a thief. Grabbing fist-fulls of ketchup or soy sauce packets isn’t the crime of the century but it’s not right either. Neither is sneaking into night clubs and movie theaters, stuffing all you can eat buffet items into your purse, buying a swanky dress then wearing it with the tag stuffed in, and then returning it later. Pretending your kids are under the age where they can eat for free to get into the amusement park for less is flat out unethical. None of these examples can feel like you’re stealing, and in some cases it’s in the gray area, but overall it’s icky. And if you do drag your children into the picture, you’re teaching them that cheating is the way to get ahead.
Any of these sound familiar? If so, reassess what you’re thinking and doing. Frugality is fabulous, but only when it enhances your life!
