Is frugal behavior being kept a secret? Do you tell your colleagues that you are bringing your lunch to help with your Debt Snowball or Debt Tsunami or do you just say you are on a diet?
I think how much one talks about money is a cultural thing. I originally come from NY and now reside in lovely London. New Yorkers seems to talk about everything at the drop of a hat including money. A New Yorker will tell you how much they spent on those designer shoes ($800, gasp) without blinking an eye. Now when you talk to a Londoner and you comment on their beautiful shoes, they will say the shoes are ancient or they can’t remember where they picked them up when you know they are this season’s Prada.
There are a few topics that in any culture are not mentioned very often and debt is a big one. You very rarely have a chat with your girlfriends about not buying something because you are in too deep. It is an embarrassing subject sort of like being overweight; you have over indulged and overextended yourself, not shown self control. This does not make us feel good about ourselves but unlike being over weight no one can see our debt, it is our dirty little secret.
Most of us look to cutting back aka frugality to help us get back on track like a diet, but I think most of us would rather admit to managing our weight as opposed to needing to manage our spending.
Is frugality a type of secret behavior? Do you hide the fact that you are trying to get out of debt, which is why you are only going out once a week if that? I have cut back my budget to the barest essentials which is my choice and I am fine with it, but when a friend says oh it’s only £20 surely you can stretch to that, it makes me feel a bit bad. It is my choice to change the way I spend and save money so if I want to live this summer in five dresses so I can buy something fabulous in the Autumn or I want to clear all my debt it should be allowed to without question, don’t you think?
Do you keep your frugal behavior secret? Have your friends or associates ever negatively commented on your frugality, not spending or choosing a simpler lifestyle?
I live in different culture. In Asian countries, it is quite OK to show it to your friends and colleagues that you are trying to change your spending behavior. It kinda character that shows how smart you are in controlling yourself in spending. It is a proud to show people that you live modest life, but got no red figures (debt) with the bank.
In my country, here is a say about people who spent a lot of money to buy brand name products that…. “just being rich will not make you qualified to buy those stuffs. You MUST have another qualification which is called “STUPID” too to be able to spend money that way!”…… Well, a bag is a bag! It is for carrying your things with you. If it is not too ugly to carry, is it necessary to be Hermes, Prada, or ect., right?