A few weeks ago my mom took me shopping. This hasn't happened regularly since high school, and I came to realize something: I'm much more frugal than my mom is. After trying some clothes on, I was debating over whether or not I wanted this one dress-- I liked it, but didn't
love it.
After I stared at it for five minutes from every different angle, my mom said, "Just get it."
"But I don't know if I really want it," I said.
"It's cute. Just get it. I can buy you a dress," my mom responded quickly.
If I were shopping with my own money, I probably wouldn't have gotten the dress. But my mom wanted me to get the dress for some reason. It was like I was worrying about the money more than she was. I guess I felt guilty for making her buy me something that I didn't really want that much. So I put the dress down and we walked onwards; what a step for a daughter!
Are you more frugal than your parents? What about other members of your family, or even friends?
Comments (13)
I dunno... I think my parents and I are pretty even. We're not too concerned about spending our money and saving our money.
As for my fiance's parents... wow. They are DEFINITELY more frugal than any people I've ever met. seriously.ÂIt all depends what we're spending money on. My mom loves functional things, my dad loves decor or functional things if we already have a whole MASS of the same kind, and I love functional too. My mom loves decently priced to high end clothes, my dad loves collectibles (coins, Swarovski crystals - my brothers and I gift crystals for them now so they don't have to buy any more), I love clothes but ONLY if they're incredibly inexpensive.
Then there are other leisure things. If I want something, but I won't be willing to buy it, my parents have no problem buying it for me. Whereas since I don't have kids, if I see something my birds will like, I have no problem buying it for them.
One brother is really anal about what he buys, but he's a techy freak so he'll splurge on the pertinent hardwares if he deems them worthy. The other brother is a spendaholic. :( My family and I are the most frugal of the families I know regardless.
My mom spends money she doesn't have on unneeded things. I'm almost 20 years old, and she gave me $20 for cleaning my room today. I clean my room everyday, but she still gave me $20. My dad, on the other hand, is a tightwad. He owns a small business, and his gross income is well over a million dollars a year, but he still can't send me more than $300 to get my wisdom teeth removed when I was 16.
I guess I should have answered the question... the answer is, I'm a tightwad, but not as badly as my father.
you wouldnt believe how much more frugal i am than my parents.. ahaha
when i shop, i look at quality and cost, whereas my parents will tend to buy the cheap there is and end up having to buy two more to replace the one that broke after a week.
I look at whether it will last and if the cost corrolates to the quailty.
after hours and hours of browsing, i may end up with not getting anything :p
My parents are way more frugal than me. They're are trying to save as much as possible on anything.
i am WAY more frugal than my friends, but not my parents.
once i live on my own, i will be more frugal
i'm more frugal than my parents! i would doubt and my mom is like: oh for sure, oh dont worry about it. and my dad has always been agreeing to getting whatever that made my sister& i happy XP
Yes. My parents have more money to spend for one thing, while my husband and I are just starting out in our lives and saving up for important purchases. Plus, my husband and I don't use credit. We pay for everything outright. Also, my parents have expensive taste, and now that I'm going to have my own child, I want her to grow up not putting so much empasis on material possessions or what other people think (of your clothes, house, car, whatever).
My mom is EXACTLY like that! I'm 35 and she still likes to go shopping with me (about once a year - we love the clearance racks...). I've only now learnt that if I don't LOVE it, I'm probably not going to wear it much, so I am learning to say no to her. I guess it's my mom's way of saying she loves me... She isn't from the "I love you so much" generation, so she likes to use actions (like helping me around the house, much appreciated) and spending to show me her love.
I am much more thrifty than my mom, but only because she has a lot more money than I do! I do love to shop...
my mon needs to update her style a bit. when we shop together she doesn't like half the stuff. when she does buy she will wear item like once & she decides she doesn't like it...but the she won't take it back. She has bought stuff for me that i thought i liked but then decide i don't. so i ask her to give me reciept to take it back. or she says give stuff to goodwill. ya i do my old stuff but if it is brand new take it back and use money for somthing else you really want. its hard to get rid of clothes like at a garage sale even if they are new, you end up possibly selling them for way less than what you paid.
I'm a tad better at it than my parents but they try harder. Most of my friends still don't understand what this frugal thing you speak of is. They understand broke.
If you're a pants person your mom might be pouncing on the chance to add a dress to your closet, hoping you'll eventually wear it.
I'm much more frugal than the rest of my family (except perhaps my father). I'm not sure if it's because I think we have less money than we actually do, but I'm always going on shopping trips just to stop my mom from buying things.
I'm much more likely to run away from a price tag than she is, and I actually become angry when she insists I buy something. I always tell her "I can get the same thing for $5 somewhere else, this is ridiculous". But it never seems to click with her.
If she likes something, or thinks I like something, even if it's expensive, she'll insist I buy it until I tell her I'll never wear it. She has been getting better though; she's now asking herself if she needs to buy something, or if she'll ever use it, and though I can tell it disappoints her when she puts something back, I don't think I should support the fact that she tries to find her happiness by spending all of her money until she ends up in debt.