It’s been over one year since I published Frugality And Ethics – Are You Being Cheap, Frugal, or Stealing?
This was a post I thoroughly enjoyed writing.
Since last year, I have thought of several more situations that some may categorize as frugal living, whereas others may think it’s flat out stealing. Due to this, I thought right now would be a great time for Part 3 of this series.
I don’t believe there is anything wrong with saving money (this is a personal finance blog after all), but I do wonder how far people will go to save money – whether it be $1, $2 or $100.
No one is perfect and I definitely am not.
However, when does frugal living or cheapness cross the line and turn into stealing? I would love to hear your opinion on each of the situations below.
Dumpster diving for goods.
I’ve never gone dumpster diving but I do know of a few people who have tried it.
Some believe that dumpster diving is stealing because the goods were meant for the trash. Others believe it’s just frugal living.
While I don’t think I could ever dumpster dive, I don’t think this is stealing. Someone actually making use of the item instead of it sitting in a landfill sounds like a much better use to me.
Related article: How To Live On One Income
Taking the coupons out of someone’s newspaper.
For a few months when I was trying out couponing (I was not very good at it), I received one newspaper each week so that I could get the coupons. However, the coupons were rarely ever in there. I did some research and apparently it is somewhat common for thieves to go around and steal the coupons out of newspapers.
Many of these thieves claim they do it because most people don’t use their coupons. However, how do you know if someone does or doesn’t?
To me, taking the coupons out of someone’s newspaper is clearly stealing and not frugal living at all. You should ask for permission before you go around taking coupons.
Not telling wedding vendors that you’re having a wedding.
I didn’t do this with my wedding, but whenever I read wedding budget posts almost every article would say not to tell wedding vendors that you were having a wedding.
Instead, some of these writers would recommend to tell the vendors that you were just having a party. Once you mention the word “wedding,” prices can significantly increase so saying that you are having a “party” might save you some money.
I think this is a difficult one. I’m not sure if this is stealing, as saying that it’s just a “party” is technically not a lie. However, you are purposely leaving information out.
I do think that if you leave out that your party is actually a wedding that you may miss out on some important aspects of your wedding. Usually a higher price is charged for a wedding because extra work needs to be put in, such as with a photographer, DJ, event planner, etc.
What do you think when it comes to this situation?
Related article: DIY Wedding Ideas – Worth It Or A Waste Of Money?
Reading books and magazines but not paying for them.
I still remember one occasion where I had to get a book for research and went to a bookstore near my home. The book was obviously read by someone previously as there were big fold marks on the outside as well as on the inside (it looked like someone folded the book in half), and there were even stains on and in the book. That is just sad!
I see nothing wrong with quickly glancing at a book or magazine to determine if it’s for you. However, if you are reading a majority of the book while not paying for it, I do think that this crosses the line into stealing.
If you enjoyed a book so much to read almost the whole thing (or even the whole thing), then you should either buy the book from the bookstore or just go to your local library and borrow it from there.
Credit card churning to earn sign-up bonuses.
In Part 2 of my Frugal and Ethics series, I was asked by a few readers to include this in Part 3. Some believe that signing up for credit cards purely to earn high sign-up bonuses is stealing, whereas others do not.
To me, I do not see this as stealing.
I’m fairly positive that credit card companies know that many people sign up just for their bonuses. They are probably hoping to find some life-long credit card holders by offering these bonuses. I see credit card churning as a frugal living win!
Have you ever done any of the above? Are the above situations just frugal living or are some actually theft? What other examples can you think of?
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This is a very good post. I had not given much thought to the matter, but after reading this post I believe I agree with everything said. Except perhaps the wedding vendor. I think that, while it may not be “stealing”, it is at least wrong, and therefore I would stand against taking such actions.
Then you agree with me 🙂 I also said I wouldn’t do it.
I sure don’t think credit card churning is stealing but I do think some of the more creative ways to manufacture spending are pretty close to crossing the line. We generally just sign up for one card at a time so we don’t have to “invent” ways to spend money.
I have on occasion told people that I work as an online writer rather than saying I’m an optometrist. People assume optometrists make lots of money, and I do think in some cases, you get charged more for that. No one assumes writers make any money. It’s a good thing they don’t read your blog!
Haha yes! That’s interesting to think about. I never thought about that.
I love these questions!! We discussed this on my podcast and it’s funny to think about these scenarios. I have definitely signed up for credit cards just for the points, but I don’t really feel like that’s cheap because the credit card companies definitely make money off of me swiping the card when I use it. I don’t personally do the magazine thing, but I know for a fact that my mom does. She goes food shopping and picks the longest checkout line so that she can read the magazines while she waits.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with churning cards. It’s not like you’re hiding anything, credit card companies know the game!
I agree Dan!
I can’t say I’ve done any of the above but I agree with your take on all accounts. If you don’t want to purchase a book or magazine, that’s what libraries are for! No one wants to pay those kind of prices for a ‘used’ book. I also hate it when our paper doesn’t have all of the coupons. That’s downright stealing without doubt. As for credit card churning, credit card companies know the risk and if they don’t have certain requirements then fair game! I wrote a post and included an offer for a free No Soliciting sign for those who subscribe. I knew full well that some would un-subscribe as soon as they received their sign but that’s a risk I was willing to take!
Wow that’s awesome you offered that!
I’ve never done any of those. Taking coupons out of peoples newspapers is definitely stealing.
I agree!
These are really good (and difficult) hypothetical situations. I don’t like how people are price gouged for having a wedding. That’s crappy. But, I don’t think I could avoid mentioning the wedding when booking the venue…ahem.I also didn’t know that some people considered dumpster diving stealing. That’s news to me 🙂
Haha yeah I agree with everything you said!
I definitely agree with you on the credit card churning. I also think that waiving the annual fee for the first year is good as well as it let’s the consumer decide if the credit card works for them before they pay a fee for it. For example, I never would have gotten the Barclaycard or the Chase Sapphire preferred without the fee being waived in the first year. I found that the Barclaycard was worth the fee to me, but the Chase one wasn’t.
I love when the annual fee is waived! 🙂
Ugh the couponing thing can get a bit intense, though I now can think back to a situation where I questioned whether I crossed a line. I was at a coffee shop a while back reading a newspaper someone left. The coupon inserts were still there and I took them. I didn’t feel bad about it at the time or think twice. After all, the person was clearly done with the newspaper and left it there for others to read/consume. If I didn’t take them someone else would have or they would have ended up in the recycling (or trash). Anyway there are other areas that are more black and white, such as someone stealing your newspaper at your apartment (I used to have to get up early on Sundays and grab it as soon as it got there…)
I don’t think you crossed the line at all!
Yeah charging more for the exact same product doesn’t make sense. I once read somewhere that a bride just wanted a basic white cake, and once she mentioned “wedding,” the price more than doubled even though it was similar to a basic birthday cake.
I’m definitely on board with not telling wedding vendors you’re having a wedding- they’re the thieves in that industry 🙂
I would just feel so bad when they found out the truth though!
Wow, I didn’t know people actually stole coupons out of other people’s newspaper..that’s low. I agree that credit card churning is not stealing – these companies have already studied the behavior of their target clients and have already made computations comparing all the bonuses they’re giving away against what they’re getting in return. They EXPECT people to keep signing up and know that among those 100, they’ll get at least 1 that’s enough to cover the costs.
With the coupon thing, I remember a local news channel in my city covered it once. Apparently it happened a lot!
I agree! Taking coupons out of newspapers is clearly stealing.
I only subscribe to the newspaper for the coupons, so I would be very unhappy if someone stole them!
Before we had kids, my husband and I would go to the local bookstore, and read magazines in the café. I always felt a little dirty doing this, but justified it with our coffee purchases. 🙂
I think most bookstores realize that people do this. However, I just have a problem with people ruining the book and destroying it.
My thoughts:
Dumpster Diving – Cheap, but not stealing. It’s garbage. You left it out there, expect it to be taken. The only exception is if people went through garbage to get information on you for identity theft.
Taking Coupons – Yes, definitely stealing.
Not telling Vendors that you’re having a wedding – Depends. If you don’t say it’s a wedding but still give them ALL the information they need, then it’s being frugal. But if you don’t tell your DJ that you expect them to MC as part of their job, that’s stealing.
Reading books & magazines – Stealing. A browse like you said is fine but not majority of it.
Credit Card bonuses – Frugal bordering on cheap but not stealing.
Agree with everything you said!