The Difference Between Cheap and Frugal – Which Should You Strive To Be?
The words cheap and frugal are sometimes used as synonyms, but there can be different connotations. In general, being cheap is often seen as a negative, while being frugal indicates you’re being wise with your money.
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Based on the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition, cheap can have several different meanings, depending on the usage. While one usage denotes a low price, which isn’t necessarily bad, cheap can also mean things like stingy or poor quality.
For example, you might buy a cheap shirt, which could mean you got a great deal by comparing stores and using a coupon. But it could also mean you bought a low-quality shirt that won’t last long.
Or maybe you were being stingy by buying a cheap gift. While it’s the thought that counts, as they say, sometimes being cheap indicates you weren’t being very thoughtful of the other person’s feelings and are primarily focused on hoarding money, like Scrooge.
Meanwhile, frugal means economical, according to Merriam-Webster. That can have some crossover with cheap, as a frugal person might look for a cheap meal or a cheap flight to save money, but this word generally doesn’t carry as many negative associations. It can even be celebrated.
If you’re frugal, you might be good at managing your money. Perhaps you’re diligent about your expenses, not exceeding your income, and you make the most of what you have. Rather than wasting food and money by going out to eat when you have a full fridge, you use up what you have. But if you never go out to eat because you’re fixated on saving money, perhaps to the detriment of your relationships, then maybe you’re more cheap than frugal.
In a recent Reddit thread on being cheap vs. frugal, many users noted how being cheap can harm others and/or yourself in the long run.
A cheap shirt, for example, might cost you more in the sense that it quickly wears out and you have to buy a new one, whereas if you bought a slightly more expensive shirt that was of better quality, it could last longer and lower your total costs. You also might be cheap if you don’t pay your fair share.
Ultimately, the choice of being cheap vs. being frugal is up to you, but in general, people seem to hold frugality in a higher view.
For example, a survey by investment app Moomoo found that living a more frugal lifestyle is the third most common answer — behind starting to invest and paying off credit card debt — in terms of the top goal for achieving financial stability. In that survey, living a more frugal lifestyle even slightly ranks ahead of finding a job with a steady income.
So, if you can live frugally, such as by finding good deals while also avoiding traps like lifestyle inflation. In that case, you can potentially improve your finances without hurting others the way that being cheap can.
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