One of the first posts on this blog was “Frugal Tip – A Big Mac My Way“. The premise was you can pretty much get a Big Mac at half the price. This article had disappeared into obscurity until a reader posted the following comment:
daveking on April 12th, 2009 12:10 am
No offense, but this is getting on the borderline of cheap. I worked in retail before (Starbucks) and I hate it when customers do stuff like this to get a cheaper price. For example, they would order small coffee in a medium cup. After adding milk they get a medium cup. Also the kid’s hot chocolate is 99 cents. Two kid’s hot chocolate is the same as a grade hot chocolate which cost $3
The comment set me back a bit because I thought the whole bargain Big Mac idea was the greatest thing since man/woman discovered fire. Then I began to wonder if I was cheap and a few questions came to mind:
What is cheap and who defines it?
When I look up the word cheap at dicitionary.com one of the definitions is ” stingy; miserly”. Well that seems to have quite the negative tone and can’t possibly apply to me. Lets move away from the official definition and see what popular opinion has to say, I looked up the word cheap on Wikipedia and I get redirected to the word Miser. This doesn’t look good for me, I’ve never really considered myself to be a stingy miser like Mr.Scrooge. However these are just definitions and ultimately its your actions that truly define you as being cheap. This leads us into the more important question in determining if I am cheap:
What actions are considered cheap and how are those judged?
People walk a fine line between frugal money saving and being cheap. There is no international rule book for cheapness but rather individual opinion. It is my belief that these individual opinions rely on two factors:
1 – The value you place on money – People usually consider cheapness as a reflection of the amount of money saved versus the amount of effort required. (e.g. pick up 5 cents and you’re cheap, pick up $5 and its your lucky day, or walk 5 extra blocks to save $1 on dry cleaning)
2 – Your moral objection – Your moral’s are a very big defining factor on what is cheap. People feel by getting a deal in a round about way that they are breaking the rules or cheating someone. (e.g. order pasta with unlimited bread and salad, fill up on bread and salad, take the pasta home with you)
In the end Daveking’s individual opinion on what is cheap is based on a combination of the value he puts on money and how it conflicts with his morals. For me cheap is judged on my individual opinion so having a double cheese burger dressed like a mac isn’t considered cheap in my book. I save a $1.50 over a traditional Big Mac with no added effort so the dollar value is worth it. I also have no moral objections because I’m not taking advantage of the company. They have an explicit “dress like a mac” button that they charge me for. Would this be any different if I wanted my fillet-o-fish dressed like a mac ? Not at all. Now I would consider it cheap if I asked for 25 tomato slices on my burger and then took the tomatoes home to use on my salad for the next day.
Looking at some of the examples that Daveking gave there is one we agree on and one we don’t. I personally think ordering a small coffee in a medium cup so that you can fill up the rest with milk is cheap. You paid for a small coffee and in turn for a small cup. You are taking advantage of the fact the company is courteous enough to offer a larger cup as well as free access to the milk. You are cheating the company and therefore this conflicts with my morals. However ordering 2 kid’s hot chocolates instead of a regular hot chocolate is perfectly fine in my book. In the end the company has accounted for the cost of kid’s hot chocolates. Morally I’m fine because the company offered a product and you paid for it. I’m good with the dollar value because a buck is a buck and requires very little effort other than the fact you now have to carry around two cups. In the end people have individual opinions and some people will find your actions cheap while others will congratulate you on a frugal job well done.
I’m really curious about the varying opinion on what is cheap. Here are some questions that I would love to know if you consider them cheap and why:
1 – A double cheeseburger dressed like a mac. It’s a $1.50 less than a big mac but tastes the same
2 – Order a small coffee in a medium cup to fill the rest up with milk and essentially get a medium coffee at a small coffee price
3 – Order 2 kids hot chocolate’s in leu of the equivelant adult hot chocolate. You save a $1.
4 – Pick up 5 cents
5 – Pick up $5
6 – Walk 5 extra blocks to save $1 on dry cleaning
7 – Order a pasta meal that has unlimited bread and salad. Fill up on bread and salad and take the pasta home with you.
-mfd-
Hmmmm. I suppose I’m the epitome of cheap because I don’t ever eat at McDonald’s – I can make what is a more satisfying burger to me at home for less money! (Except I routinely spend $2-3 bucks on coffee at the roasterie near my house…)
Also – on coffee pricing – may I suggest you read Tim Hartford’s Undercover Economist? He has a whole chapter on coffee pricing.
And, having worked in a coffee shop throughout my undergrad years, I can assure you that what you are cutting into is not the store’s costs, but the store’s profits (by ordering a small coffee in a medium cup). Coffee inputs are mere cents per cup. The milk’s actually way more expensive than the coffee: and the milk’s just there to get you to dress the coffee as you would like, because that’s where the profit is.
Interesting post!
Well, aside from picking up $5 on the ground, I wouldn’t do any of them. (Probably because I don’t drink coffee or eat fast food.)
But judging a person for doing something to save money? Jeez.
Ha…not buying coffee at all avoids the whole issue of being cheap
I guess I should cross-post here:
The best was when McDonalds had a different special on each day of the week, so one day, I ordered the McChicken “made like a Big Mac”.
Though I thought a couple years ago they stopped letting you do this (at all), maybe that’s changed? Maybe it was just the franchisor in our area…
I liked it when my local McDonalds, also around the same time, had horridly incorrect US$ exchange rates. For several times in a 1 month period, I converted a good chunk of US$ currency and it worked out to a lot of free meals.
My friend said the cash registers had a US$ button, so you could just pay with a US$50 bill, and get all your change in Canadian.
A lot of the difference comes from the effect on other people versus the money you save.
Frugal = Brewing your coffee at home instead of buying it from a coffeeshop.
Cheap = Buying it at the coffeeshop but skimping on the tip.
Frugal = Taking a shuttle bus to the airport instead of paying for parking.
Cheap = Pestering your friends to take 2 hours away from work to drive you to the airport instead of paying for parking.
@Ben – I don’t think its cheap at that point. Maybe a lack of courtesy for other people.
1 – Dress it like a Mac is a great idea. Most definitely frugal in the best sense of the word.
2 – We disagree on this one. The point is to add the amount of milk you like. No one is going to wreck their overpriced beverage just to get more ounces of liquid for less. If you like a lot of milk, asking for a bigger cup seems like a reasonable idea.
3 – Hmmm. The 2 kids hot chocolates are still highly profitable, so unless these beverages come with a 12-and-under note on the menu, I would proceed with a clear conscience.
4 – Most definitely frugal, not cheap. (Unless you run to get to it before the homeless guy who saw it first…)
5 – You are an idiot if you leave $5 on the street.
6 – Frugal. Plus, walking is good for you.
7 – Not sure. The free salad and breadsticks are not meant to be a full meal. But restaurant portions are out of control precisely because the food is so cheap. If you prefer smaller meals, eating a reasonable amount of salad and breadsticks and taking part (or even all) of the entree home seems like a frugal and healthy choice.
Just stumbled across this and wanted to comment even though I’m a little late to the game. I think that there is nothing wrong with the Big Mac thing. We will often do this at Wendy’s, taking their 99 cent chicken sandwich and adding toppings until it’s close to their normal chicken sandwich that is much more pricey. Here’s the thing, the fast food places have to build this into their pricing model, but they do so knowing that very few people order outside of the standard order. If everybody started doing this, then they’d either have to restrict toppings or raise the price. But, my guess is that 1% or less actually take advantage of these loopholes. To me, they’re still making money on other products and probably still making money on you even if you get the extra toppings.
Hey MoneyBeagle,
I totally agree. Their pricing structure is set to make money. Maybe the profit margins are smaller with the double cheeseburger but it gets people in the door. How much do they make if I decided not to go to McDonalds at all?
I see a common element in “cheap” versus “frugal”
Frugality deals with how you reduce costs.
Cheapness deals with how you impose costs on others to reduce costs on you. Basically, you become a parasite on someone else versus being a better handler of your finances. Frugality is not allowing others to be a parasite on you (though all those times you paid more for something you really didn’t need).
Pestering someone to take 2 hours off work to drive you to the airport – you’re imposing costs on them – BIG TIME. Unless the guy is one of those who is lonely and literally begs to spend more time with you (and pesters you for it!) – you’re a parasite here. If he pesters you out of loneliness, he’s imposing you a cost on you, and you’re recovering the cost by requiring the favor. I’ve known many people who were lonely and didn’t pester, and I gladly spent time with them to relieve their loneliness. But when the person starts demanding, and making a stink if I need to do something else, that’s out of line on their part.
A double cheeseburger dressed as a mac? I had no idea that your local McD’s offers that, and that’s not imposing a cost – they’re offering this, so you’re not imposing anything on them. This is doing something based on what they are normally doing. Remember, those who offer it crunched the numbers and accepted that people could do something like this. Now, attempting to do this at a franchise which does not have “dress like a mac” option being offered IS imposing on them.
Walking 5 blocks to save $1 – makes sense in nice weather – enjoy nice weather + get good exercise as a bonus. This however, makes NO sense if it is pouring/snowing/really bad weather – you’re not enjoying nice weather, though you still have the good exercise as a bonus. So then the choice: Put up with bad weather now and get your stuff or wait until the weather is better.
“People feel by getting a deal in a round about way that they are breaking the rules or cheating someone. (e.g. order pasta with unlimited bread and salad, fill up on bread and salad, take the pasta home with you)”
If they are offering unlimited bread and salad, then filling up on bread and salad is not imposing a cost – this is what they are offering. There are no regulations on how much bread/salad versus entree you are to eat is there? The cost of the bread/salad is covered by the profits generated by the entree, so you paid for the bread/salad. So yeah, fill up on bread/salad and take the entree home – you paid for both. HOWEVER, filling up on bread/salad AND taking both entree and more bread/salad crosses the line into a parasite. The extra bread/salad being taken home is not covered by your price paid, so don’t take it.
“Order a small coffee in a medium cup to fill the rest up with milk and essentially get a medium coffee at a small coffee price”
I never heard of a coffee shop offering a bigger cup for free, so this must be a local franchise doing this. My comments about this is the same. If the local franchise offers this, then it is fine to do so. If the local franchise does not offer it, it is imposing on them. Remember, those who offer it crunched the numbers and accepted that people could do something like this.
“Now I would consider it cheap if I asked for 25 tomato slices on my burger and then took the tomatoes home to use on my salad for the next day.”
25 tomato slices on my burger is nowhere near what a normal burger has, and I’m doubting any franchise would do this. Franchises take into account “extra something” and charge a nominal amount for it, and usually the “extra” is an extra serving’s worth. If a regular burger has 1 tomato slice and I was the franchisee, I’d ring up 25 “extra tomato” for a dime each for that’s 25 servings of tomato for that burger. Hey, If you wish to impose a cost on me, you will cover it. That’s frugal.
If a company offers a service on a regular basis, even if it looks “cheap” – it is not “cheap” to take advantage of it. Period.
Great response anonymous frugalist. I really like how you related cheapness to being a parasite. Well said.
Really nice information thank you for sharing it and good continuation!