Frugality And Ethics – Are You Being Cheap, Frugal, or Stealing?

I’m surprised you didn’t mention credit card churning in this post, as I can imagine some would find it unethical to sign up for cards, use the bonus rewards, and then cancel the card. It’s tough with credit cards, time shares, etc. because you aren’t doing anything “against the rules” by signing up for a card and cancelling, going to a presentation and not signing up, etc. but at the same time it can become questionable whether it’s ethical or not.

We actually had a discussion with a few of my family members over Christmas because there is literally like four of them all sharing one Netflix account. I didn’t say it was stealing, though I wasn’t far off from it. The crazy thing is they all make good money, you’d think they could all afford an $8/month Netflix bill but I guess not. 😉 We’ve been guilty of the drink thing a few times in the past, but never to the extent of just ordering one drink and not touching the other. We go out so infrequently anymore that we haven’t done it for years probably.

I can’t believe people actually do that lemonade thing- I’ve never heard of that before! That definitely crosses the line into being ridiculously cheap. I went to a timeshare presentation back when I was in college because they were giving out gas vouchers. It wasn’t my idea to go, but I think many people in the Orlando area do it on the weekends. I’m sure they know that a lot of people are just coming in for the free stuff.

I’ll be honest, I’ve taken club soda when I paid for water (you know, you push the button below a soda spigot to get carbonated water) so I guess I’m stealing since it’s not plain water but since it’s so rare to find a cheap restaurant with club soda, I have rarely done this.

What’s more a thing that drives me bananas in the ethical department is when I work at events for my job (a private high school) and we have free food and people pig out like it’s their dinner. Because people pay tuition at the school, I guess they feel they’re entitled to take all the free stuff they can get at school events. As a result, when we do have small sandwiches or snacks/sodas at events, we have to put out a small amount at a time lest we run out of food in the first 30 minutes!

I always take extra splenda and creamer. My argument is that I see people dump five creamers in their coffee. I only use 1 so I’m taking some for later. I’m a paying customer so I feel it’s justified. I would never order a water and then put soda in it. I’ve done it by accident one and actually dumped it out. Wasteful? Yes. But at least I didn’t steal it. I have done time share presentations for the free gift and I don’t feel bad about it because they are quick to tell you that you don’t have to buy anything when you tell them that you aren’t interested and then they badger the hell out of you anyway to get you to go. I take them up on it. They get credit for having bodies in chairs too. Plus, a lot of those guys are sharks. I’ve been lied to many times.

I don’t think I’ve done any of these. Like you, I do keep the extra condiments handed at the drivetru (we have a basket full in our pantry), but I consider that not wasting perfectly good ketchup or BBQ sauce or whatever. We also hang onto the extra unused napkins from the drivetru, but again, why throw out something perfectly useful?

The drink thing blows my mind. I have never seen that.

When we go out to eat at a barbecue place, if they bring more of the little wet wipe packets than what we need to use, I take the extras for my purse or car. Please understand I don’t ask for extra. I just take what the server brings me. Another thing I do is take the shampoo and conditioner from the hotel rooms we’ve stayed in. One time I asked the maid and she said the motel expects you to take those with you. However, they don’t expect you to take the pillows, towels etc.

Those restaurant hacks are ridiculous! Maybe if you feel the need to shave $1 off your bill, you shouldn’t be eating in a restaurant in the first place.

I used to work in a restaurant and once a week a table of old ladies would come in. They would order water and split one quesadilla between three of them. They would chat for hours.. Lovely ladies but we were tryin’ to run a business! Haha.

My wife and I are going away on a vacation later this year for free. All we have to do is sit in on a timeshare presentation. We have no interest in signing up, so when I read what you wrote, I had to pause for a minute. I guess it’s wrong, but we will still go. They did require your income from the prior year so that college kids/those that couldn’t afford a timeshare wouldn’t be allowed to come. But then again, the girls selling the vacation did tell one person just to check off $60K so he could go. My guess is the girls make commission from signing people up and they don’t care if you can afford a timeshare or not.

My husband and I totally share a drink everywhere. ESPECIALLY if it’s somewhere where it’s disposable cup because I hate creating more waste. In general I try not to drink much soda so it’s not like we’re getting 3-4 refills on one cup. My sister, mom and I all share a netflix account too.

But I think making a habit out of taking extra condiments (my dad does this with utensils), getting a water cup and not getting water, disputing credit card charges (WHAT?), etc are all stealing.

I have mixed thoughts on the soda thing. If you’re in a place with free refills, then i agree that sharing one drink knowing it will be b refilled then it definitely is stealing. If however you’re somewhere without refills then i have no problem with it, and would say it’s no different than splitting a meal.