Frugal Lifestyle - Scott Trench Podcast

[Rustin Dowd]

@Scott Trench, loved your podcast. Our values and beliefs are identical. I am turning 26 this year and actually have been going through the same thing you outline in podcast and I believe you go over in your book. I loved what you said about the "default" mindset. It's a lifestyle and that doesn't mean it's not fun or cool but our default action is not always go out to eat. I actually think this life style goes much deeper than real estate. I think having this frugality mentality helps in so many other areas of your life. Yes, finances are a big part of it. But it also impacts other areas of your life like the mental, emotional, social, and physical. Mental: Do you spend your free time learning or binge watching the latest Netfilx series. Emotional: Do you spend too much time on social media getting caught up in the "daily drama". Social: Are their people in your life that you need to cut out of your life that are holding you back from reaching your full potential? Physical: Being frugal will help you eat healthier, have more energy, workout more often etc. 

I have been trying to get my friends to buy into this smart lifestyle that will set us up for success much earlier than the majority of people our age.

I have been called cheap and have even lost friendships over this. It can be hard when most of your friends do not have the same thought process that you share. I am not sure if you cover in your book but I think a big part of this lifestyle is learning how certain people in your life has expiration dates. Not trying to be harsh but if you have a goal and your are surrounding yourself with people who are not dreamer and do not support you in your goals then its time to slowly distant yourself from them. I actually played professional basketball in Australia and cam back to the states and got a Sales job. Made decent money and then jumped in to Real Estate Full time after I got cashed up. I am going to recommend all of my friends read your book. 

Thanks again for the great podcast,

Rustin

[Linda Weygant]

There is a huge difference between frugal and cheap.  Make sure you know the difference and try really hard to be one and not the other.

Frugal - somebody who goes out to eat at a moderately priced restaurant, doesn't order an appetizer, dessert or drinks.  The restaurant either has counter service or the frugal person tips their server appropriately.  Doesn't do this very often, but gets good value when they do.

Cheap - somebody who goes out to eat, gets good service from the wait staff, pays with a coupon and either doesn't tip at all or tips based on the discounted amount.  Not tipping on the full value of the ticket is a sure way to be called cheap.

****

Frugal - somebody who goes out to eat with a bunch of friends, orders conservatively, asks for a separate check and pays themselves.

Cheap - somebody who goes out to eat with a bunch of friends, pays on a group check, but then sits with a calculator for 30 minutes to save $2.

****

Frugal - the landlord that orders supplies (like furnace filters or batteries for smoke alarms) in bulk to get a price savings.  Swaps them out regularly to maintain their furnace and property and avoids costly repairs

Cheap - the landlord that won't fix or maintain anything,  Pays big bucks for big repairs because there was no maintenance along the way.

****

Cheap - borrows a friend's truck, doesn't refill it with gas.

Frugal - saves up a bunch of heavy chores so that when they borrow their friend's truck, they get it all done at once, making the refill of the gas tank a good investment.

****

Frugal - waits til movies are out on streaming services before seeing them.

Jerk - complains on social media that all the movies were spoiled by their friends talking about them (this is a pet peeve of mine - if you're going to wait a month to see something, then stay off of social media and avoid spoilers.  Or don't b**** about spoilers).

****

Frugal - shops for an inexpensive, but well qualified place to do oil changes and regular servicing on their car.

Cheap - doesn't maintain the car, never changes oil or anything else.  Can't understand why they have to replace their car every 6 years.

****

Frugal - brings a Buy One, Get One coupon to a group dinner.  Offers to split the price of the "Buy One" portion with somebody else.

Cheap - brings a Buy One, Get One coupon to a group dinner.  Insists on piggy backing on somebody else's full price meal in order to get their free one.

****

Frugal - takes their kid to the museum on free days.  

Cheap - tries to convince the minimum wage employee at the museum that their 12 year old is really 5.

****

Frugal - goes to an all you can eat buffet.

Cheap - tries to smuggle out food in tupperware containers.

****

There are a lot of people that are frugal, but get called cheap and that's a shame.  There are a ton of people out there "wasting" money and complaining they never have any.  There are a lot of people who get called cheap who really are.