Cheap or Frugal

I feel it is necessary at the outset to define a couple of terms. Cheap and frugal are often used interchangeably. Admittedly from the outside they can frequently appear to be the same thing, but not from this side of the fence. I think the difference can best be manifested with an example.

This weekend marked the centennial anniversary of my religious community. The festivities included a special service (free) and a catered banquet ($25).  As a single person and a vegetarian, I can easily feed myself for most of a month on 25 bucks. That's without touching ramen or other quasi foods. The cheap answer would be to go to the service and skip the banquet. The frugal answer is to go to both and enjoy the experience.

The difference is, being cheap is an end in itself. You save money for the sake of saving money. Frugality, however, is not an end game. Frugal people save money on some things in order to spend that money on things that enrich their life.

I went to both the service and the banquet. They were both extremely rewarding experiences. The richness of our lives is not in things, but rather in experiences and people.

Ps: this is not a religious blog, and I generally will try to avoid mention of any particular religious tradition as minimalism is a universal philosophy.