Knowing when to be frugal

A couple days ago I was watching a news show on TV. There was the usual segment on personal finance, and the reporter was making the usual point that people need to think twice before they spend money on stuff they don’t need. Standing over a rack of candy in a variety store she held up a pack of gum. “Do you really need to buy this gum?” she asked. “You need to ask yourself.”

Gum? Really? Have we fallen so far that the only way to pull ourselves out of debt is to cut back on the tiniest, chewiest indulgences of life? Apparently. Lots of experts out there are lecturing the masses to cut back on frills. No gum, no Starbucks, no bon-bons.

But is eliminating these trifles the smartest way to balance your bank account? I hashed this question out with one of my more frugal friends, and she said no. It’s much better to cut back on one or two big expenses than nickel and dime your way into the black. For instance, she said, if you normally take two vacations a year, you’ll save thousands taking only one. And cutting out several trips to the mall can save you hundreds of dollars.

Her assessment sounded about right. Just to be sure, though, I pulled out my calculator. First up: gum. Say you’re a gum-aholic. Three packs a week at $1.50. Cut that out of your life and you’ll save just $234 a year.

Okay, how about buying coffee on the way to work. My wife and I used to buy Tim Hortons every day when we left the house. Three years ago we stopped. It saved us $650 a year.

But there are smarter ways to save even more. The average Canadian family spends nearly $2,200 a year eating out. Eliminate half the trips to the restaurant and you’ve saved over $1,000.

Of consider switching supermarkets. Earlier this year MoneySense magazine compared the cost of an average basket of groceries at Loblaws and No Frills, the discount store. No Frills cost $38.33 less. So over a year you can save nearly $2,000 if you shopped at No Frills.

My conclusion: Cutting out things like coffee shops and small indulgences makes you feel like you’re doing the right thing. But the impact is minimal. To really save money, you need to target larger expenditures. It could be your grocery bill or that extra vacation.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know what you think.