Frugal Ethics.
Frugal Ethics.
I have to say there are times when it's tempting to lie, steal or break any of the other 10 Commandments while being frugal. In being frugal we need to do our best to stick to being honest. This is not always easy to do, but I want to give some examples that may help you stay honest.
You call in sick to work and you or a family member isn't sick. Stealing.
This one really irked me! We needed some labels for the business. UPS gives their customers free unlimited labels as needed for packing to ship with UPS. A lady was getting huge amounts and selling them on e-bay. She even had UPS ship them directly to me "her other office"! The gaul! I did confront her and told UPS after we received the labels and realized what had happened. I should have known it was a "too good to be true" deal!
You need some pens because you are running short so you take a handful from a store that is giving them out. This is stealing. If you take one that's fine but unless they tell you it's ok, that's not the point of them giving the pens out.
Limit One Per Customer when specials are run. This means you can buy one item one time. Not go back three or four times to get more. Again, this is stealing. They are doing this as a special deal and are loosing money on it. If it says Limit one per Purchase, go back as many times as you want.
You buy an item and you use it a few times and then return it because you're done with it. Stealing and lying. You probably won't tell the sales clerk you just needed to use it for a few times.
If an item breaks or is new and just doesn't work or is the right color etc., fine return it but if you just needed it "for a few times" (like a dress for a special occasion)and know you won't used it again, it's not ok to return it.
If you eat some food and it just tastes nasty but there is a guarantee on the box. Fine return it.
You find a "great deal" that you can't live without but you know you don't have the money to pay for it now and/or you hide it from your husband that's lying.
If you charge up a credit with frivolous things like shopping and eating out and then declare bankruptcy. This stealing from the credit card company. Unless it's extenuating circumstances like medical bills it's not ok to claim bankruptcy. You signed that piece of paper when you purchased the item saying you would pay them back and you didn't. It's up to you to pay them back any (legal :-) way you can, even if it does me being "deprived" for a time.
You buy a house that is more than you can afford because you see others buying them and you think "they are the same age as me, I work hard, I deserve that too". When all you think about is how you don't have what someone else has, you keep thinking over and over about an item that you want and are depressed because you can't have it that's coveting. An example is "our house is too small" or "our car is a real clunker so we need to buy a brand need one to save on repair costs,(this is a huge myth!).
I could go on and on but I often hear stories of "good deals" from people who really aren't being frugal just dishonest. Just my two cents but I thought I would share it.
Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com
I have to say there are times when it's tempting to lie, steal or break any of the other 10 Commandments while being frugal. In being frugal we need to do our best to stick to being honest. This is not always easy to do, but I want to give some examples that may help you stay honest.
You call in sick to work and you or a family member isn't sick. Stealing.
This one really irked me! We needed some labels for the business. UPS gives their customers free unlimited labels as needed for packing to ship with UPS. A lady was getting huge amounts and selling them on e-bay. She even had UPS ship them directly to me "her other office"! The gaul! I did confront her and told UPS after we received the labels and realized what had happened. I should have known it was a "too good to be true" deal!
You need some pens because you are running short so you take a handful from a store that is giving them out. This is stealing. If you take one that's fine but unless they tell you it's ok, that's not the point of them giving the pens out.
Limit One Per Customer when specials are run. This means you can buy one item one time. Not go back three or four times to get more. Again, this is stealing. They are doing this as a special deal and are loosing money on it. If it says Limit one per Purchase, go back as many times as you want.
You buy an item and you use it a few times and then return it because you're done with it. Stealing and lying. You probably won't tell the sales clerk you just needed to use it for a few times.
If an item breaks or is new and just doesn't work or is the right color etc., fine return it but if you just needed it "for a few times" (like a dress for a special occasion)and know you won't used it again, it's not ok to return it.
If you eat some food and it just tastes nasty but there is a guarantee on the box. Fine return it.
You find a "great deal" that you can't live without but you know you don't have the money to pay for it now and/or you hide it from your husband that's lying.
If you charge up a credit with frivolous things like shopping and eating out and then declare bankruptcy. This stealing from the credit card company. Unless it's extenuating circumstances like medical bills it's not ok to claim bankruptcy. You signed that piece of paper when you purchased the item saying you would pay them back and you didn't. It's up to you to pay them back any (legal :-) way you can, even if it does me being "deprived" for a time.
You buy a house that is more than you can afford because you see others buying them and you think "they are the same age as me, I work hard, I deserve that too". When all you think about is how you don't have what someone else has, you keep thinking over and over about an item that you want and are depressed because you can't have it that's coveting. An example is "our house is too small" or "our car is a real clunker so we need to buy a brand need one to save on repair costs,(this is a huge myth!).
I could go on and on but I often hear stories of "good deals" from people who really aren't being frugal just dishonest. Just my two cents but I thought I would share it.
Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com
posted by Tawra Jean at 10:25 AM
6 Comments:
Once a local grocery store was having a 4/$1 canned veggie sale, limit 12. I was trying to decide which cans we wanted the most of when a MANAGER came up and said that if we got 12 of each kind of vegetable it would ring up 4/$1 anyway. (He said the computer didn't know better.) The ad specifically said "limit 12 cans of vegetables"--not 12 of each kind. I said, "So I can get 12 of each kind at 4/$1?" After replying YES, he helped me load the basket with cases of each vegetable! And I was sooo glad!
So...would you consider that wrong?
First let me say that I don't want to imply that anyone has to be legalistic about this. There are some obvious things that should not be done but there are some gray areas too. I would just do what you know to be right. My goal was to encourage people in keeping integrity while still saving money.
As for your situation. I would say that since the store manager said it was alright and you pointed it out to him then I would say it's fine.
He's in charge so I would go with what he said.
Tawra
To that I would add that especially independent stores or small chains really want to keep their customers, and tend to be a little more prone to human error on the ads. Just watch Jay Leno's headlines feature for the strange things that come up in grocery ads! The store I shop has a special on milk at least twice a month. Sometimes right in the text of the ad/coupon it will have conflicting limits - it will say "first two" AND "first three" right in the same box! Obviously if the store then posts a correction by the item or at the cash register, it is not ethical to argue the point but if it is a human error in either the ad or the computer program, it seems OK to point that out to the management and see what store policy is.
Christy
Good for you, Tawra!!!
Not enough is written about these things...and we see our culture slipping further and further down that slope all the time, don't we?!
Please post this kind of article again, every so often, to help us keep in mind that the "end" does NOT justify the means.
I have a "friend" who filed bankrupt, and it was mostly trips they took, meals out, gifts for each other, etc., until they could no longer make the payment on the CC, so they filed!! It is really annoying to the people who work hard and save!! Now they are talking about a new vehicle!! Some people never learn...
Great post. I have a huge issue with people thinking they don't have to pay back their bills following a bankruptcy. Like you said, unless the debt is due to some unforeseen medical bills, it is to be paid back!
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