Does being overly frugal make sense ?

[Morrison]

On purpose, I have chosen Everything Else Finance / Business for this discussion and not the Philosophy Corner. I hope my thread remains here.

Situation is, some of us are invested ( be it stocks, commodities, or real estate )
and the value of the assets fluctuates every day by several thousands of U.S. dollars. While it is already a challenging exercise to remain emotionally stable ( that is not overly excited, not overly sad, as both of which might lead to wrong investment decisions )
at the same time it seems useless to me to contemplate about small amounts such as
eating lunch for HK$ 40 or HK$ 110.

So I just wonder how do other Geoexpater's see it ? ???

[Oldtimer]

Enjoy . Do whatever makes you happy. It is immaterial what the lunch cost, the fluctuation in your portfolio will be 100 times more per day.

[jimbo]

My pet hate is people that are so frugal they dictate what the others have to eat etc

I have no issues in throwing down $600 for brunch with close friends etc for special occasions but then there are those that say oh its way too much and only want to spend $400 etc on something substandard.

[Satay Sue]

It's a really difficult one to answer. I throughly enjoy my $40 pho noodles but also do a swanky lunch now and again. Special occasions (for example Xmas Day will be blow-the-budget) I'll splash out. Surely one's circumstances dictate your frugality? Mind you, I took issue with a friend who re-used her teabags....

[pepe77]

For me it is about not losing touch...and not losing the ability to judge whether something is worth the cost (for me) or not.
I agree that it is an interesting perspective - I as well see my investments going up/down with a lot higher amounts that I would like to spend on anything on a daily basis.
Also, where as I have no problem taking up the bill for a group of friends/family (once in a while) eating on a michelin star restaurant (once in a while), sending expensive flowers (once in a while), then I at the same time find myself bringing lunchbox to work with leftovers from the day before, just to save cost (and know what I eat) - I would also buy diapers in a supermarket where price is 5HKD less than in the other supermarket etc.
For me thats a good combination. Even though I can afford to be relaxed about the cost for most daily necessities if find it important to stay grounded and always consider the worth/value of something before spending.

[mercury_element]

For me, I prefer keeping cost to 40-50$ for lunch everyday, unless I am getting from home, but do go out to nice places once a week with close friends.

I dont mind spending on what I know will make me happy.

I spent a lot on my friends who were here last month, took them to nice expensive (by my standards) places where the kid and my friend enjoyed and liked the food. Took them out everywhere, and dint even see what I am spending.
Will I do that in normal routine, no I doubt.

For me, it really depends on circumstances too.

If some month I realise I have over spent, I try to cut down (without being frugal) next month to average it out.

[Mat]

I am a cheap bastard when it comes to daily lunch because I consider those as not important and not worth the "investment" so I chose to eat simple sandwiches, noodles, rice for anything between 20 and 50 HKD.

Re- special occasion: even on those occassion I check carefully because very often the price is not worth what you have in your plate.

For example I will often do some nice saturday lunches but avoid the saturday night dinner which are usually very expensive and not much different...

[Morrison]

Thanks to everyone for your valuable input !
I think not losing touch is important.
Perhaps it is just the difference between what you need HK$40 and what you can afford HK$ 110 up meals. And as the saying goes, money flows in the direction where the spending barrier is weakest.

I will try to change my ego from "what about me?" to " what about others?".
For most of the time I will try to stick to the less expensive ( but still wholesome ) $ 40 meals and use the difference in savings for donations to people who are less fortunate. That should solve the "problem".

The fluctuation in asset value is bearable as I know it is an impossibility to exploit every situation.

[Mat]

I have seen many ilves around me of ppl who had a lot and then who lost it very quickly.

Since then I take nothing for granted and live well below my means (for example in all my years in HK never have I paid a flat more than 12k/month which is well well below what I could afford but I do not need the big flat in the so call fancy area, I seldom take taxis unless needed - and I hate it - I avoid eating in places like Soho, LKF where the food is very often very average but the bill well above average, I never take package trip - they are usually more expensive if you check carefully - and never stay in luxurious 5 star hotels, except for work - I much prefer a smaller/boutique type of place which is generally cheaper and with much more personalized service...)

Some enjoy splashing and I have nothing against it, it's a choice of life and as long as you are happy one way or the other, the rest does not matter much.

[jimbo]

Mat

You can't take it with you when you die