A Family of Geeks

This has been bothering me for awhile, but where do you draw the line on being frugal? I’ve read some suggestions (real ones) that to me just smacked of entitlement, a lack of understanding how businesses work, and a complete lack of empathy and sense of community.

For example: stealing the toilet paper out of hotel room bathrooms.
Yes, I did use the term stealing. I’m of the opinion that there is quite a bit of hotel ’swag’ that can be appropriated, including the little bottles of shampoo, tea bags/instant coffee, and the plastic ice/water cups.

To me, the difference is that the hotel expects you to use those items and provides them for their guests’ convenience. They’re usually individually packaged and there’s usually a little sign or note that says they’re there for the taking (mostly because it’s built into the room price.) The hotel doesn’t expect the next guest to be able to use them.

TP, on the other hand, is not a single guest item. Well, maybe the individual sheets are, but the roll isn’t. Just because the hotel wouldn’t charge you if you needed to use it all doesn’t mean you should run off with it. You wouldn’t walk into a public bathroom, open the toilet paper and run off with the contents, would you?

Example Deux: Abusing free appetizer/meal/drink coupons at restaurants
I love me some free appetizers, but it drives me crazy when someone uses one and then orders a water and sits there for 3 hours chatting and don’t tip the wait staff because they didn’t spend any money.

If you have one of these coupons, by all means use it, but remember that restaurants issue these things in the hopes that it will bring in more paying customers who will get a free appetizer and then order a drink with it or a meal afterward. Using one once in awhile to avoid paying anything but the tip because you’re broke or on a tight budget isn’t a heinous crime, but doing it consistently is a) going to encourage restaurants to stop giving these wondrous coupons out and b) going to result in body fluids ending up in your appetizer. I’m not encouraging contaminating food, just telling it like it is.

Example Three: The sample buffet.
This is the act of going to either a tasting (like at a winery) or a place where you know they give our lots of samples (like Costco or an ice cream parlor) without any money or without the intent of possibly buying anything.

Please note that I’m not insisting you buy a product every time you have a sample. It’s perfectly reasonable to take a few samples at the grocery store while you’re shopping or go with a buddy to have a few sips of wine at an open house even if you don’t think you’re going to like the selection.

The problem comes when you take more than your fair share of samples, act entitled to the samples and don’t even consider buying any items. Those little ice cream spoons aren’t there for you to treat the store like a free ice cream bar and then walk away without a cone. Samples are for paying customers (and prior paying customers.)

Example Four: Violating Coupon Policy.
This one drives me nuts, because it gives those of us who use coupons like reasonable human beings a bad name.

You’ve probably been behind a violator as she (sadly, it’s usually a she) tries to use multiples of the same coupon (usually a no-no according to the fine print), invalid coupons from the internet, expired coupons, coupons from other stores or other asshattery and makes the cashier want to close the cash drawer on his or her own head. Jerks like that make stores institute draconian coupon policies (not to mention slow everyone in line down.)

I don’t know. Maybe it’s just me, but I hate when people screw over businesses or other people. I don’t see it as ’sticking it to the man’, I see it as causing some poor shmuck to get laid off because the profit margins aren’t high enough or running someone’s shop out of business because of cheapness.

Where do you draw the line? What ‘frugal’ activities won’t you do because of your personal ethics

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