With all the talk about saving money that’s floating around online, I thought it would be worth talking about the distinction between frugal and cheap.
According to the Random House Unabridged Dictionary…
frugal:
1. economical in use or expenditure; prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful.
2. entailing little expense; requiring few resources; meager; scanty.
In contrast…
cheap:
1. costing very little; relatively low in price; inexpensive.
2. stingy; miserly.
To me, the most important distinction between the two is the concept of prudence that is inherent in frugality. So things like shopping smart, taking simple steps to save energy, etc., all fall into the realm of frugality. But it’s definitely possible to take things too far.
For example, buying your toothbrush on sale is frugal. But buying it used at a yard sale? Cheap. And more than a little disgusting.
What about saving water? Taking a page from a comment that I received earlier this month:
If it’s yellow let it mellow. If it’s brown… To the lawn?
Um, no. While I can live with the traditional version relating to “let(ting) it mellow” vs. “flush(ing) it down,” especially given the drought that we’ve been suffering through in this part of the country, the above goes well beyond the limits of frugality (and, most likely, legality).
While the above examples are intended to be a bit (okay… entirely) over the top, there are many other facets of daily life in which we have to make this distinction…
For example, saving money by cutting back on basic maintenance tasks around the house? Cheap, not frugal. Buying store brands instead of national brands? Frugal, not cheap. Cutting your own hair instead of paying someone else to do it? That one really depends on your circumstances, your hair style, and your skills.
Where do you draw the line when it comes to frugality?
译文:
如何划分“节俭”与“廉价”
如何省钱的话题在网络上比比皆是，我倒认为有必要区分一下节俭和廉价的定义。
按照兰登韦氏未删节词典的定义：
Frugal（节俭）： 1. 经济地使用或花销；精明地节省；不浪费。
2. 减少开销；对资源的少量需求；兆；节省的
相反
Cheap(廉价)：
1. 价值低；价格相对低廉；不贵。
2. 小气；吝啬。
对我来说，这两个词最本质的区别在于“实惠”中蕴含着的“精明”的意味，例如
精明购物、
节能几步走等等这样的事情，都属于实惠的范畴。但是人们往往会节俭得过头。
比如，在打折期间买牙刷是节俭；但是，在旧货市场买的话，便宜是便宜了，是不是有点太恶心了呢。
那节水呢？看看这个月初收到的一个
备注：
如果水色发黄，让它变得醇香；如果色如咖啡，用它来施肥。
嗯～不。对于上面那句话的传统版本“让它变醇香”和“把它冲走”，我还是能够忍受的，特别是像这个国家的某些地区遭受干旱的时候，但是对于新版本，已远远超出了节俭的定义。
以上的例子是有点过头了（好吧，也许太过了），但是在我们日常生活中还是有很多方面可以来阐释“节俭”这个词的定义的。
例如，减少房屋周围的基本维护工作来省钱，便宜却算不上精明的节俭。买商店品牌而不是全国品牌，是精明的节俭，不是单纯的廉价。又如，自己理发而不是请人理，这个要依你身处的环境、你的发型和你的技术而定了。
那么，你到底是如何划分节俭和廉价的区别的呢？