Is it Frugal or is it Stealing?

I take pride in the fact that my wife and I are very frugal people. We try and save money any place that we can. Whether it be using our left over fish tank water on our house plants to wearing our cloths numerous times before they go into the wash, we try to live frugally whenever possible. There are times however when we are faced with interesting decisions on when something is considered to be frugal or just plain stealing. It amazes me what people do sometimes to save a buck that is flat out against the law. I have put together a list of items that either I or someone close to me has taken part in that could be considered questionable in nature.

• Borrowing items from restaurants - I don’t know about you, but we have a stack of napkins sitting in our pantry from various fast food joints. We also have a collection of straws and plastic silverware from these establishments. It seems that anytime we go to a fast food restaurant, my wife and I always get a stack of napkins and straws for our meal not realizing the other has done the same. Instead of returning the other set of items back to the counter, we just take them home with us. Is this stealing? We don’t purposely do it, but at the same time we are taking more than what we use at the restaurant. I have a problem returning these napkins and straws back up to the counter once we realize we have too much. There is an element of hygiene and cleanliness involved. My wife and I know try and communicate better as to who is getting the items and who is not.
• Water for Pop (Soda) - Sticking with the fast food theme, I know of some close relatives who consistently order a glass of water at fast food joints and then turn around and fill the cup with pop (or soda as some refer to it). These relatives think this practice is more than acceptable because of the prices the restaurants charge. I find this to be stealing and don’t practice it. I will admit however that we sometimes order an extra large pop and share it between my 4-year old son and I. We have been known to go and get a refill on that glass.
• The Cable Guy - Come on, everyone knows a friend who is a cable guy. While I was in college, my roommates and I knew a friend from high school who worked for the local cable company. He came out and flipped the switch at the box for us and gave us free cable. At the time we thought it was great! However, I can no longer condone this type of activity and consider it to be stealing.
• Undercharged -Every once in a while my wife and I are actually undercharged for an item that a cashier missed or made a mistake on. I am happy to say that each and every time this has ever happened to me and I realized it at the time of purchase, I corrected them. There have been times when we didn’t realize that we were undercharged until much later. In these situations, we just accept the mistake made by the cashier and move on. I will say that if an item rings up cheaper than what we think it was marked, then we don’t question that. It is only when human error occurs.
• Fallen money - Sticking with the “undercharged” item, on a couple of occasions I have seen money fall out of someone’s pocket or seen it laying right next to a person. I am also happy to say that each and every time this happens, I let the person know that they dropped some money or ask them if it was theirs. I feel very strongly on this point because I would want people to do the same for me.
• Senior Discount - My mother-in-law has some hair starting to turn gray (okay really turning white). Often times cashiers will offer her senior discounts (movies, retail stores, etc.) when she is many years away from the typical 62 - 65 age range for these discounts. Many times she goes along with it and says that if they think she is that old, then what the heck. I must say that I can’t blame her and would probably do the same.
• Free Internet @ work - Ok - I do this all the time. How many people don’t use the internet at work for personal use? I am sure they are out there but I could probably count them on one hand. I use the internet at work to check personal emails, pay bills, etc. I think that if it doesn’t impact your work and you are not doing anything illegal, then this is acceptable as long as the company does not have any rules or guidelines against it.
• Free Toilet Paper - What? I don’t do this but have known some co-worker’s who apparently loved the feel of the company’s toilet paper so much that they decided to stock up with some for their home. STEALING!
• Printing - Alright, I use to do this at work and am ashamed of it. I have used the printer at work for personal use from time to time (and at more than one job). While I was not printing off 900 page novels, I was still using ink and paper on the company’s dime for my personal use. I no longer practice this behavior but know way too many people that do.
• What have I missed?

I have become a true believer in karma. Maybe not to the extent of the My Name is Earl show, but I feel that if you live your life in a good and positive way that good things will happen to you. I didn’t always feel this way, but have grown through the years. I now think about these types of situations listed above when making a decision and how it relates to karma. Will a choice I make bring bad energy back into my life? If I am taking something for free that I know I shouldn’t, what type of impact will that have on me? How do my kids view this behavior? These are the questions I now answer when making these simple day to day choices.

Have you ever done any of things things? Do you think they are frugal actions or just plain stealing? What other things have you or someone else you know done that borders on stealing?

Tagged as: Frugal