Is frugality only important for poor people?

[Toronto.gal]

1. it costs $8 in ingredients to make 100 sushi rolls, at home.
2. "Frugal" can also be "fun."

1. How about vegetarian spring-rolls?
2. Not only fun, but educational as well!

Frugality is for all IMHO [except those who don't have enough to save obviously, and there are many such cases].

At the end of the day, no matter which adjective one uses [cheap, frugal, penny-pinching, stingy, thrifty, etc.], it's all about knowing how to manage one's money.

I get what I like & want, but only because I can! However, for me, it's more about being an informed consumer [which was not always the case], and about not overpaying. No different from buying stocks.

I'm frugal with not only my money, but my time as well, ie: I don't like to waste either & want more of both to enjoy & do important/fun things with, like meeting a friend in person instead of on FB/MSN; donating my time & money to worthwhile causes/foundations, etc.

[Rusty O'Toole]

As someone that was able to put themselves through college while being poor, I disagree. Being frugal and using what little you have as an investment to improve your situation is always a good idea.

You were never poor. You may not have had much money but you did not have the outlook of the poor person. You knew you were going to be well off someday and you lived accordingly.

I never considered myself poor even when I had little or no money. I knew if I did the right things and stuck to it I would get the money eventually. To a poor person in a dead end job with no hope of getting ahead, things look different. It could be that is what keeps them poor, I won't argue about that.

The points is, being careful and getting value for money can be a rewarding pastime or a horrible drudgery depending on your frame of reference. Frugality in the sense we are talking about is much more a hobby of the well off than of the poor. If you lived among the poor you know what I mean.

[Barwelle]

CJ! Great how-to for sushi. There is a "recipes to trade by" thread somewhere on this forum, may I suggest you post it in there? I must try this... but I think I would be the only one adventurous enough to eat it at my house. Any thoughts on how long this would keep in a fridge? It's not really something you could freeze, eh.

/end off-topic

[fraser]

Take care of the nickels and the dollars will take care of themselves.

Not certain if we are frugal, but we are careful. Value is important to us.

[Square Root]

Being able to manage you money is the key point. For most this will involve frugality but not for all. Of course we could simply define frugality as living within your means. Then we could all agree. As I have posted previously, buying nice things is not morally wrong if you can afford it.

[Spidey]

You were never poor. You may not have had much money but you did not have the outlook of the poor person. You knew you were going to be well off someday and you lived accordingly.

I never considered myself poor even when I had little or no money. I knew if I did the right things and stuck to it I would get the money eventually. To a poor person in a dead end job with no hope of getting ahead, things look different. It could be that is what keeps them poor, I won't argue about that.

The points is, being careful and getting value for money can be a rewarding pastime or a horrible drudgery depending on your frame of reference. Frugality in the sense we are talking about is much more a hobby of the well off than of the poor. If you lived among the poor you know what I mean.

With respect, I don't think you have ever been truly low-income or poor or I don't think you would say that frugality isn't important for the poor. I know during college, I lived on an incredibly low income - bakery and fruit purchases were from the stale dated stand, protein was often chicken backs and necks, made apple sauce instead of jam from apples I picked for free, etc. Frugality may be a hobby for the well-off but it is a necessity for the poor.

[Plugging Along]

Agree^. People who are poor and want to ever attempt to move into a better circumstance in life MUST be frugal. Those who are better off can afford to be less frugal, but if they are not careful, they will be in debt. Any one on debt must be frugal too.

I can say that when my spouse and I just started to make really good money, we were not frugal by any means, yet we still lived within our means, managed to save a bit, and stay out of debt. Now, we are much more frugal. I now think about value for my money and time, and how my money is spent, yet I am in abetter financial position than even before. I think it's being more frugal that has allowed this.

[MoneyGal]

I'm more frugal as I have more money. It is odd to me. I was just thinking about this over the past week. Right now I am making pickles. Pickles! (Pickled eggplant, actually; with baby eggplants from the stale-dated corner of the local Lebanese grocery store. Using a recipe from a library book.) This is not ever going to change for me.

[donald]

I agree with rusty.The truly poor(which is what class the op is ref 2)And this is key:are surrounded by uneducated,unmotivated,unsophisticated people with SMALL dreams/minds and no ambition.That is cancer.I highly doubt anybody here was subjected to that.No teachers,no morals,no role models,no father figures,no one guiding/teaching ect.

This in turn makes life:Scary,stressful,embarrassing,demoralizing,and difficult(every single day)So any money the poor recieve is spent escaping Pain!There is a difference between a ''starving student" and the "truly" poor-frugality,never in a poor persons make-up-Survival and escaping pain.

[Plugging Along]

Are we mixing up with 'truly poor' in terms of definitions with a mindset riddle with many assumptions vs 'poor' being someone who doesn't have money.

I always looked at being poor as someone who doesn't have money as my definition.

Sure those who don't know better, have No teachers,no morals,no role models,no father figures,no one guiding/teaching ect.etc will mostly likely be poor. This is a bigger issue than what I think the OP was asking.

BTW. Should they be frugal too, absolutely, do they have the desire or the know how, maybe now. That's a different question altogether.

I interpretted the question to be does someone who doesn't have money need to be more frugal than some one who does.

Answer - Yes, the need is there, because they have less to work with

Q2. Does a person with a lot more money still need to be frugal.

Answer - No, the need isnt there as much, but they still need to live within their means

Q3. Can a person with a lot more money be frugal.
Answer - Sure, all people should be frugal, be the need is lessened as you have more.

This lead to generally, as you have more, it's partially because of what got you there, for many frugality and smart spending. So why change it?