Les Greco: Do You Find Frugality Embarrassing?

I bought a pair of pants. It wasn’t planned for, and the decision was a result of a bit of embarrassment, anger, sadness, and envy combined.

My journey to the checkout counter all started a few days ago when we walked by a CPA’s office while Emma and I curiously checked out some new office buildings. It so happened that I was looking for a new accountant to talk about my new business structure, so I decided to walk in.

After some mingling with the receptionist and introducing ourselves to the accountant, he spent the next 15 minutes trying to convince us that our business probably isn’t at the point of needing his service. We walked out confused since we didn’t even talk much about specifics, but my wife quickly made an astute observation.

Honey, maybe you should dress more appropriately next time you meet a business acquaintance for the first time.

I didn’t realize until then. I was wearing jeans, a plain colored t-shirt I bought ten years ago, an old pair of running shoes and badly needing a haircut. To my defense, we were just taking a break from our daily schedule and never intended to talk about business, but I forgot – perception matters.

Over the weekend, we were out taking a walk at the local mall. We loved the atmosphere. There were tons of people, everyone was happy and surprisingly, many people were lining up to pay. This was a total 180 from just a couple short months ago when the malls were completely deserted.

As we continued to walk, we noticed that everyone seemed to dress nicer than we did. I felt a little embarrassed at first, but could it be that bad? We started paying more attention, and the reality is actually WORST! Actually, we found one person who dressed worst than we did. One single soul. It was so bad it actually became funny. We laughed, and realized that we never bought clothing for ourselves since honeymoon, a fabulous vacation two years ago. I ended up buying a pair of pants, and Emma bought a shirt (well, her splurge shouldn’t count since her tummy is starting to grow and she needed more comfortable clothes).

For the frugal types amongst us, this story must sound familiar. Many of us choose to be frugal, so it doesn’t really bother us.

But, do you find being frugal embarrassing at time?

For Emma and I, the answer is a resounding YES. Embarrassment happens, but we don’t mind it much. We love finding the great deal, and we love being debt free. One of these days, we might start spending more as our incomes and financial future seem more secure. But as of right now, our frugal choices are allowing us to look forward to a prosperous future. We don’t want to keep up with the Joneses, because we don’t happen to be them.

We like our name just fine. Emma and David Ning

How about you? Do you like your name, or do you want to be the Jones as well?

Aside: From the traffic we saw at the mall, I guess the recession is over. Or at least, no one cares that the unemployment is 10% and rising.

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