What is the difference between thrifty and frugal?

When it comes to money and how we spend it, two adjectives come up a lot to describe people. Most tend to think that frugal and thrifty mean the same thing, but really the difference between thrifty and frugal are that they are two sides of a similar coin.

Generally speaking, if you are thrifty, you will tend to think outside the box to acquire what you want, whereas if you are Frugal you want to get the item as cheaply as possible. Both terms can describe the same person, or they can be very different people. Let’s look at ways to tell the difference between being thrifty and frugal.

Being Thrifty vs Being Frugal

As the world changes, and we see how quickly not being prepared financially can take its toll on our families and our lives, more and more people are wanting to become thriftier and more frugal. The hard part is that most people are not quite sure what either of these actually mean, they just want to save more money or be better with the money they do spend.

I think it is easier to understand these two people if we show examples of how they are different. For this example, let’s talk about decorating a toddler’s bedroom. Your child has grown out of the baby stage and you are ready to re-decorate their room into a big kid’s room, how are you going to do this on a small budget?

If you are thrifty, you are going to look into Do-It-Yourself options, check out the Facebook marketplace for some deals, or hit your local secondhand Thrift Store. Being thrifty takes creative thinking to make a final product out of reusing, repurposing, or seeing the diamond in the rough.

If you are frugal, you are going to check out the clearance sections of home decor stores, scour the internet for the best deals and coupons for specific items, and you will be more likely to wait until the best time to buy rather than buy right now.

Now this doesn’t mean that you can’t be both thrifty and frugal by combining these two traits. You may furnish this bedroom with some thrifty methods and also some frugal methods. You could make your own quilt with a favorite character on them with matching pillows, and also get a crazy good deal online on a new bunkbed. This may mean repainting an existing dresser and also finding window treatments on clearance at a local retailer.

Is Thrifty an insult?

Personally, I have never thought of being thrifty as a bad thing. I think most people that are thrifty are less worried about what people think of them, and more interested in getting what they want without sacrificing a lot of money to do so.

Keep in mind that you can be thrifty and also be wasteful. Here is the downside of being thrifty, sometimes you can’t say no to a good find, so you are more likely to buy something rather than to miss out on it.

Some people that are thrifty tend to hoard all their good cheap finds without having a plan on how to use them. So this extreme thrifty can sometimes lead to almost a hoarders-ish lifestyle. I am very guilty of this.

My husband and I used to love to go shopping at resale shops, garage sales, and other secondhand retailers and we would end up buying some very cool stuff that we did not actually need for a specific purpose. We always thought we would use these items someday, but a decade later we are now having to destash our ever-growing pile of cool stuff that we don’t use.

Benefits of being Frugal

Frugal on the other hand, is more likely to live a minimalist lifestyle. They put a lot of value into the money they spend, so they are less likely to crowd their home with lots of stuff.

My husband and I are now working on being less thrifty and being more frugal. We are accomplishing that by making lists of items we need before we go to stores to look for them. The days of just wandering around to see if there were any good deals, is now going on specific missions to find specific items.

The frugal mindset is also about having a dollar figure in mind, like a set budget amount, and trying to not go over in order to accomplish your goal. So, if you only have $300 to decorate a room, you will be more likely to buy a few larger ticket items, rather than lots of smaller items.

Those that are frugal are also more likely to buy things that have a function or that are multifunctional. Instead of just buying a bookshelf, they may be more willing to buy one piece of furniture that can also be used as a TV stand and for toy storage.

Living Thrifty and Frugal

I really think there is a balance of living thrifty and frugal at the same time. The biggest thing we need to keep in mind is that we need to have a plan.

It is almost always cheaper to really think of a problem from all angles rather than jumping in with the first solution idea. If we take the time to research different price options and weigh the pros and cons, we are more likely to make a better financial decision.

We are leaning in to being more frugal by doing lots of comparison shopping online and in stores. A thrifty person might buy 10 cans of green beans because they are really cheap during a sale. A frugal person will do a quick check on their phone to see if the savings is truly significant compared to other store’s pricing, check how many cans of green beans they already have at home, and they will take into account how likely they are to use all 10 cans of green beans in the near future.

Being thrifty and being frugal are really two sides of trying to save money. They both will try to get the same desired result but will approach the buying process in slightly different ways. This doesn’t mean that one is better than the other, and sometimes the approaches have more to do with that person’s money mindset.

Someone who is frugal will probably keep a very detailed budget and keep track of every penny they spend. The thrifty person may not be as organized in the pre-planning but is usually very knowledgeable and aware of what they choose to spend money on.

The frugal person is much more likely to spend more money on an item if it saves them time, versus a thrifty person is more willing to use their time to make a cheap item better.

If you want to learn more, check out this article “Value Based Spending & Changing your Money Mindset” or this one about “Wise Buying – Everything you need to know“.