What if you could have that AND your money?

Lisey and I were on the phone the other day, and she was telling me about a pair of shoes she bought on Depop, a secondhand fashion site.

Of course, I told her about the shoes I just bought from eBay.

And then we got to talking about how great it is when you can get exactly the thing you want for a lower price.

Sometimes people think it’s embarrassing to do frugal things like getting free stuff or buying secondhand, but I fail to see what is embarrassing about it. If you can have the item you want AND you can keep more of your money, that’s something to celebrate, not something to be ashamed of.

(I recognize that as a frugal blogger, my take on this may not be representative of humanity as a whole. I have made a career of not being ashamed of my frugality. Ha.)

If your brand of frugality is deprivation-heavy, then ok, yes, I can see how people would judge you for that.

For instance, if the soles of your shoes have holes in them and you choose to keep wearing them, you might get judged.

But if you have almost-new shoes that you got for a fraction of the price, I think you should be admired, not judged.

Choosing to subsist on packets of ramen: ok, yes, maybe embarrassing.

But if you are cooking nutritious meals at home, you should be proud.

Or if you bring in a nice packed lunch, that is not embarrassing. It just means you’re keeping more of your paycheck, while also eating well.

If you have solid wood furniture that you got for free, you should be proud. You have lovely furniture and you got to keep your money. In fact, you probably have better furniture than you would if you’d bought brand new stuff!

If you’re rewashing and reusing plastic cutlery, I can see how that would be a little embarrassing (and also not recommended because that stuff is not designed to be reused. Hello, microplastics!) But I am not remotely embarrassed about my collection, which is a combo of abandoned house silverware + Buy Nothing Group silverware. All free.

I just think there are so many ways to get the things you want without paying full price. You don’t have to give up everything wonderful in life; you just have to find a less expensive way to get all those wonderful things.

And there is almost always a less expensive way out there. 🙂

P.S. I hope this is clear but just in case: this post is about situations where frugality is a choice, which is very different than living below the poverty line.

P.P.S. Frugality is not embarrassing, but being stingy is. Selfishness should always be embarrassing. 😉