Beating Broke

Personal Finance from the Broke Perspective

Is Frugal Normal?

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Do you think that being a Frugaler is normal?  It obviously is a bit abnormal in the American society.  Although, with recent economic news, I think that it’s becoming more popular.  But normal?  I really don’t think so.

Sometimes, we look at the world through the personal finance bloggers perspective.  We see all the other personal finance bloggers we know and read and we get used to thinking that those people, along with ourselves, are the norm.  In essence, we are missing the forest for the trees.  Being a Frugaler is far from normal.

Every day, we Frugalers, task ourselves with finding new and exciting (well, maybe not exciting) ways to spend less money.  At the same time, we try and find ways to make more money.  We hope that the net effect is that we not only have money to pay the bills, but that we have some to save for a rainy day and, maybe, even retirement.  We daren’t say it, but some of us even think about “early” retirement.  And, if you peer no farther than our little realm of the blogosphere, you would think that the whole country does nothing but count pennies and do personal accounting.

I don’t think you would find too many PF bloggers who would argue against more people becoming Frugalers.  In fact, that is the purpose of a vast majority of the PF blogs that exist.  On any given day, you’ll find articles on “best way(s) to save on groceries”, “way(s) to cut utility bills”, and the list goes on.  We exist to talk, share, and teach this stuff.

Being a Frugaler may not be normal, but we’re working on it.

Are You a “Frugaler”?

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Ok, I’ll admit it, I made that word up. Well, at least as it would be a name instead of an action/habit.  It occurred to me while watching an episode of Wife Swap on Friday evening.  You’ve seen it, or a show like it, I’m sure.  They take the wives from two families and then the wives swap families.  The producers make sure that you get maximum drama by making sure that the families and wives are polar opposites.

In the episode that I watched, the one family lived in Florida and basically partied all the time.  The other family, however, was a different story.  They were “Sweepers”.  No, they don’t use a broom or even a swiffer.  A “sweeper” (article on sweeping) is someone who devotes a large block of time on a regular basis to entering sweepstakes.  And this family was nutzo about it.  They claimed to spend 8-10 hours a day on sweep related tasks.  From sending letters off to entering them online, they had made it a full time job.  They even went about collecting pop tops and candy bar wrappers for chances to win those contests.  Crazy, right?

Sure, but maybe not as crazy as you think.  In the end, the “sweepers” agreed that they maybe, might, kinda have a bit of an addiction.  And the cut back a little on the “sweeping”.  Nearly happy endings for all involved.  The husband still gets antsy when the mail truck doesn’t stop with new sweeps to enter.

This all led me to think about things that can become just as much of an addiction.  Actions for making a quick buck or getting something for much less than normal.  That’s what “sweeping” is.  It’s the action of entering contests and sweeps in an effort to win things that you couldn’t normally buy.  Something for nothing, or little to nothing after you figure in stamps.  We won’t talk about the time spent.

You know what else that sounds like though?  Frugality.  Being “frugal” is the action of finding the best/easiest ways to save oneself some money.  To get something for much less than normal.  It’s the action of using coupons and sales and saving methods in an effort to pay less than retail for an item or service.  Something for nothing, or little to nothing is the goal.

Does that sound familiar to you?  Do you spend time on a regular basis surfing through the deal forums in search of a great deal on something you need?  Do you clip every coupon you get in case you need a Belgian Waffle Maker someday before the coupon expires?  Or, do you clip every coupon you get for the purpose of trading them with others for coupons you need?  Or, maybe you refinanced your $300 loan for that 0.25% rate drop to save the $1 in interest. (that’s not a scientific calculation, please don’t try and correct it. It’s for dramatic effect.)  You just might be (gasp!) a “Frugaler”.

Them “Sweepers” don’t sound as crazy now, do they?

Is Salary Transparency Good?

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Jim over at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity asked us all what we thought of salary transparency.  I don’t know about you, but there’s always something intriguing about my coworkers salaries.  Are they making more than I am?  Am I making more? How much do they take out for retirement?  But alas, that is not for me to know.  We have no salary transparency.  And that’s probably a good thing.

Salary transparency can remove many of the problems that people have by letting them know exactly where they stand.  It can give people a clue as to how well they negotiated their salary and their last raise.  It can lend a hint towards seniority.  And it can expose any bits of favoritism.

One of the best examples of salary transparency would be any jobs where the workers are union-ized.  As part of their contract negotiations, all unions negotiate the pay of their members.  As such, they generally end up with a very structured pay scale.  Also, as such, you can usually know a persons salary within dollars of the actual salary.  There is very little differentiation between the workers.  Only through tenure (and strikes) can you income really rise.

Unions have transparency because it’s in their contracts, and since those are pretty much public to the employees, the salary structure is fairly public.  In any other case, it is my belief that salary transparency is bad.  It may cut down on nosy people, but it could lead to a great deal of salary jealousy.  Even if they all know why Bob is making more than they are.  Despite all the normal arguments against salary transparency, the most compelling is that it isn’t my coworkers business what I make.  If I successfully negotiated a better salary than the guy in the cubicle next to me, or got a better raise, that’s between me and my employer.  If my employer thinks that I’m worth what I make, that’s my business.

Plain and simple, my wage is exactly that.  Mine.  That thought is one of the reasons that I haven’t and have no plans to publish my salary here.  It’s also the reason that I made the decision not to publish any detailed financial details such as a monthly balance sheet or net worth here.

What are your thoughts on it?  Let me and Jim know!