Skip to main content

Why I Feel Being Stingy in Your Expenses is Also Stupid

iStock Photo

I remembered some time ago when I wrote about how being miserly is not a good option. It's not that I advocate being the opposite extreme and being a spendthrift either. What I'm trying to advocate is balance. I was reading through the comic strips of Simple Sum Philippines. Sometimes, we need to write things less academically to reach a wider audience. I think the Simple Sum Philippines manages to do just that--a more casual approach. One of the comic strips I've read talked about being stingy. What I'd like to think is the awkwardness of the situation based on experience.

It's one thing that the Chinese tend to be stereotyped as stingy. An Israeli could also be stereotyped as such as well. I remembered how the sitcom The Nanny even had the furniture covered in plastic. There was even a joke that the Israeli accepted the Ten Commandments because it was for free. It's only natural to want to save up money. However, it becomes a dangerous thing when one becomes a hoarder. It's too unfortunate that I've noticed absurd practices such as hoarding stuff, cooking the same food all over again because it's "economical" (never mind there's a lot of cheap, delicious food to try out), buying the same easily-broken brand all over again (because it's cheap), etc. Such people only care about short-term savings such as, "As long as I can't spend money." Such people can soon be easily exploited one way or another. Did they bother to compute for the long term?

If there's such a thing as compromising quality for a brand name--it's possible to compromise quality all in the name of saving ahem hoarding money. Such people may be prone to doing something illegal so they could keep hoarding money. Saving money for a rainy day is good. Hoarding money like that's all there is to life isn't. It's like the Aesop's Fable of The Miser and His Gold. The miser kept his gold in a secret spot and it eventually got stolen. Would have the miser placed his gold in the bank--maybe it would've been in better hands. That's why I don't like the idea of putting all your life savings in a secret spot or under your mattress. It reminds me of a Spongebob episode where Mr. Krabs got into a "cash coma" when his mattress (containing his money) but thrown away.

I think there's the problem of too good to be true. A miser may reject a Ponzi scheme but end up buying stuff too cheap to be true. I'd like to make some exaggerations for fun. For example, would you believe that I bought a smartphone for only PHP 100.00? Would you believe I bought a pair of shorts or pants for only PHP 10.00? Those are obviously too good to be true. Labor expenses in garments factories go from equipment, labor force, and all expenses related to the company's operations. No good garment manufacturer will sell at a loss. Making a smartphone isn't so easy either. Research and development are absolutely not cheap either. Somebody may be buying these because it's "cheap". However, that cheap smartphone may be prone to exploding, that cheap appliance may be prone to exploding, that cheap chair fell down and broke your spine, not getting insurance will compound the hospital bills, wearing torn clothes will provide huge embarrassment, and traveling abroad with broken luggage is a very huge disadvantage.

It would be very much unlike if I did this. If I bought energy-efficient equipment--my electricity would go lower so that I wouldn't have to wait for two months (getting a notice of disconnection) before I pay for it. Besides, not paying your bills until you get a notice of disconnection is highly disrespectful. Just remember the customer isn't always right even if the call is there to always treat the customer right. Politely cutting away electricity connection for unpaid bills isn't mistreating the non-paying customer--it's to save other good customers from getting bad services as a result of bad credit. If I bought a good smartphone (and no, I'm not referring to branded items) then maybe I could use it for two to three years before I get another phone. I still prefer to hold on to a phone for up to four to five years. I don't want to keep changing my phone too often either. Though, upgrades in technology may make it better advice to get a new phone if the technology gets obsolete. 

I find myself trying to strike the balance. I tend to overspend or become a miser. I feel like stingy people can be of bad effect. It could also cause serious health issues when one compromises safety in order to keep hoarding money. Instead, it's striking the balance. Thrifty is good. Stingy is bad. Easy to memorize. Very hard to do.  

References

Websites

"Don’t Stinge On These Expenses" (May 24, 2022)
https://ph.thesimplesum.com/dont-stinge-on-these-expenses/
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

It's More Fun In The Philippines Thanks to the Filipino First Policy

I guess it can be called a day, right? This April 1, 2023 , I'm finally calling it quits with fighting for economic liberalization! Yes, that's right! All the advocacy for economic liberalization is just garbage. Why did I even spend so much time writing this blog only to find out that I've been duped? I hereby renounce everything I wrote here. I finally saw how brilliant the Filipino First Policy is. Man, what have I done? How much damage have I caused in advocating for economic liberalization?  The greatest president we ever had was... High School Philippine History Movement It's time to listen to the economic genius known as the late Carlos P. Garcia. Yes, he has to be one of the greatest presidents that ever existed.  I took this note from the Bohol Provincial Library and found this about CPG's Filipino First Policy ; CPG adopted the “Filipino First” Policy to promote greater Filipino participation in business, and to put the Filipinos in control of the economy...
Read more

The Good Old Days when Gasoline was Cheaper Under the Late Noynoy Aquino

Millennials' Voice I would like to clarify first and foremost that this post isn't an attempt to say that the late Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III's legacy was all bad. Some good things happened. However, let me be clear that it's stupid to say, " We don't need economic cha-cha because of the late Noynoy. " However, let me clear that I decided to write this because of a Facebook post called Millennials' Voice , which wrote this: Did you know that during President Noynoy Aquino's time, the price of oil in the world market was high, between $100 and $110 per barrel. But even with those high prices, gasoline and diesel at local pumps in the country were still relatively affordable.  Under President Duterte, world oil prices went up and down, from a low of $41 to a high of $101 per barrel. The big jump to $101 in 2022 happened because of the war between Russia and Ukraine.   Now, under the current president, world oil prices have gone up again to around $...
Read more

The Myth of "Invading" Other Countries Through Foreign Investors and Overseas Filipino Workers

BoardGameGeek Years ago, I could remember how "Filipino pride" seems to be required by the DECS. Some songs in the Filipino subject (or called Tagalog) tend to glorify it. One of the songs was called "Ako'y Isang Pinoy" (or "I'm Pinoy") feels ironic since it was played on an imported music player. We had discussions for years about how Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) are often the unsung heroes or the new heroes. The mentality kept going on with how people desired to take a particular course not because they wanted to--it's because they wanted to go abroad. Why I wanted to take Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT) was not just to impress people but also to go abroad . However, more people shifted away from BSIT either because they were eliminated (common cause) or because it was too hard for them. Some of them flat out admitted that they took BSIT in hopes of going abroad. Some were taking nursing in hopes of again-- going abro...
Read more

Learning from the Late Lee Kuan Yew's Proving Protectionist-Driven Economists Wrong About Multinational Corporations

Reading the book From Third World to First is really a must. The late Lee Kuan Yew was faced with the mentality of the development economists of his day. Here's an excerpt from "Chapter 4--Surviving Without a Hinterland" which I'd like to share from Pages 57-58: After several years of disheartening trial and error, we concluded that Singapore's best hope lay with the American multinational corporations (MNCs). When the Taiwanese and Hong Kong entrepreneurs came in the 1960s, they brought low technology such as textile and toy manufacturing, labor-intensive but not large-scale. American MNCs brought higher technology in large-scale operations, creating many jobs. They had weight and confidence. They believed that their government was going to stay in Southeast Asia and their businesses were safe from confiscation or war loss. I gradually crystallized my thoughts and settled on a two-pronged strategy to overcome our disadvantages. The first was to leapfrog the reg...
Read more

Yes, the Philippines Can Self-Industrialize Because Filipinos Are the Most Powerful Race in the World (NO JOKE)

Yes, you got that right! This meme is a fact that Filipinos are the most powerful race in the world. That has been proven by the Trust Me Bro Factcheckers of the Philippines. It's the case of Filipino Exceptionalism. One can read on Facebook something like, "How many times do I have to tell you that the Philippines isn't Vietnam/Singapore/China/Taiwan/Japan, etc.?" Ever read that? If you haven't then you must be exceptionally stupid. That's why the Philippines should never learn from other countries, especially from Singapore. Why are you always listening to foreigners? Why listen to the advice of a stinky Indian when you can have the advice of the best constitutionalist in the world, Atty. Hilario G. Davide Jr.? You say that nations of the world go to Kishore Mabhubani in Singapore instead. Forget them because the Philippines is so unique that it can do everything on its own. It was proven by the greatest president that the Philippines always had, namely Carl...
Read more