By Tawra Kellam http://www.LivingOnaDime.com/There are times when it's tempting to lie, steal
or break one of the other 10 Commandments to get a good deal but,
in living frugally, we all need 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. Here are some common tactics that some
people use that are unethical and sometimes illegal:
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. Unless they tell you to take them
all, it is tacky to take a large number of them. They're offering
them simply as a courtesy.
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 and even if you do, that's only OK if it is a rental store.
If an item breaks, doesn't work or is not the right color, it
is fine to return it. If you just needed it "for a few times"
(like a dress for a special occasion) and know you won't use it
again, you're stealing if you return it.
If you eat a food item with a guarantee on the box and it tastes
nasty, return it. That's why they offer a guarantee. If you eat
the entire contents of the box first and return the mostly-empty
box, it probably wasn't actually nasty.
If you try to pass off your 14 year old child as a 12 year old
so that you only have to pay for a child's meal, you are lying
and teaching your child that lying is good when it benefits you.
If you find a "great deal" that you can't live without
but you don't have the money in your checking account, don't write
a check. Let it be the "one that got away" If you knowingly
write a bad check, you are stealing and lying.
If you find a "great deal", buy it and then hide it
from your husband, you're lying (unless it's his birthday present
;-). If you have to hide it, you know you're doing something wrong.
If you charge up your credit cards with frivolous things like
shopping and eating out and then declare bankruptcy, you are stealing
from the credit card company and from everyone who does business
with that company. Bankruptcy is intended to help people who end
up financially strapped because of reasons beyond their control,
like catastrophic medical expenses or the death of a spouse. It
is unethical to declare bankruptcy because you went on a shopping
spree, because you bought something you couldn't afford when you
bought it or because you decided to change careers and no longer
want to pay the student loans for your old career. 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 mean feeling "deprived"
for a time.
One more thing about bankruptcy: It is unethical to incur lots
of debt "keeping up with the Joneses" and then go bankrupt
because the debt is so large. Many people look at others and say
to themselves, "Those people are the same age as me. I work
hard. I deserve that too." or "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 ( a huge myth, by the
way!). If you can afford these things, by all means, buy them.
If you can't afford those things, find a way to make more money
or learn to be happy with what you have.
Frugal living is about making good financial decisions. There
are so many things you can do to spend your money more wisely,
so when you think you can get a "good deal", but it
requires doing something that hurts someone else, pass it up.
Whenever you're in doubt about whether something is ethical, ask
yourself if it would be OK with you if the situation were reversed
and you were the person potentially coming up short. Be honest.
We've all heard "Do unto others as you would have them do
unto you." If you would object to others doing it to you,
you better look for a better way to save.
Tawra Kellam is the editor of www.LivingOnADime.com. Tawra and
her husband paid off $20,000 debt in 5 years on $22,000 a year
income.
