Why I Feel Being Stingy in Your Expenses is Also Stupid

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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/

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