Are any aspies really frugal?

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I USED to be frugal, and am now. HOW frugal? I got THREE letters from different card companies threatening to close my accounts because I didn't use them. For YEARS I never kept a balance, I have had about 10 companies shut down accounts for non use. TODAY, I have over $100K of credit, and the outstanding balance is about $9K. I have more cash than that in my primary bank account.

If you know Enneagram [hokey origins and hijacking by NT psychologists does not invalidate a system], you see - well, I see - frugal is different different ting. The Enneagram 1 is frugal because he enjoys living on thin bean soup in a house with sterile bookshelves. The Enneagram 5 with clear links to the spectrum - me, Mrs. me, me Jr. - is frugal through not buying dinner because he can't make up his mind or not buying a garment because of not bering sure it will fit and then dumps the bank account on books or a new instrument or art supplies or cuts a check to a friend or relative; never buys margarine but gets butter when he can afford it.

I could not live with A's type 1 frugality which is to me plain cheapness and uncomfortable. He sees mine as unsystematic and irresponsible.

Frugal Aspie here, standing up to be counted.

Never had a credit card, don't want one. Spending borrowed money just makes me feel vulnerable. Though I wish I'd been a "credit tart" in the days when that was more feasible. The method was to get a new card that gave an initial 3 months of interest-free credit as an introductory offer, borrow the maximum on it, put the money into a high-interest account, and switch to a new card with a similar offer every time the existing deal was due to expire. Of course you couldn't spend the borrowed capital, but the interest was yours to keep.

I wouldn't be surprised if Aspies in general were more frugal than NTs. As far as I know, Aspies are not easily taken with the urge to impress society via the usual wasteful resource displays. They're more likely to ponder whether a particular item is of any real use to them, and if not, to reject it. Or so I would have thought.

I'm frugal for a lot of reasons. I inherited it from my parents who had no choice but to make every penny count for most of their lives. I noticed that high spending would increase my dependency on holding down a job, and as I've always found working for wages to be a bad experience, frugality has always seemed like a good way to escape from that a bit sooner.

I am very frugal. I have a detailed budget + savings plan and keep track of my money down to the penny. I very rarely spend any money on non-necessary items.

As a result, I seem to be doing much better financially than other people my age. I have no debt (not even a car loan) and several thousand in savings. I would have likely owned my own house already if life hadn't thrown me a few curves in the marriage/divorce department

My husband (aspie) is extremely frugal. He details every penny and tracks everything. He isn't judgmental at all with me about spending (but I don't spend recklessly either - and I love second hand shops and thrift stores). I feel it's almost a contest for him to not spend. When I met him he had like 5 pants, 5 shirts, a few other clothing items and that was enough. Who needs more? Plenty of time to wash and tidy the next set for use. Why spend on more clothes when these are perfectly suitable? He has the same serviceable car since 1991. He works on it himself and it's always in good shape. He really just abhors waste. He hates wasting anything. I love that about him. He will also work hard to fix or repair things that most people would just toss and buy a new one. I also love this about him, in fact, I included it in my wedding vows.

The good news? His house was completely paid for and his retirement saved for when I met him.

The only time this is hard for me is the FRIDGE. He does NOT like to waste food. And I'm... squickish... about old food (brrrr). So, him: "This spaghetti from 6 days ago is perfectly good still." Me: "You can eat that spaghetti if you want, but me and the kids aren't going near it!"

And, he will! He'll eat it because he can't stand to waste it.

I'm as frugal as I can be.

@ BetsyRath - haha that sounds so much like me. I absolutely hate to waste anything, especially food!
I'd eat that spaghetti

Yes, esp. last year or so. Mostly its from saving up to be able to pay for some much needed dental work, no insurance coverage for that so it all comes out of pocket of course. I was able to find a good dentist who had reasonable prices (hard to believe how much some of them charge) and a fair payment plan (monthly installments that don't reduce me to penury).

But just in general, the state of the economy does worry me, I know quite a few people having trouble finding any work, even crappy jobs, so I'm thankful for what I have, and try to save as much as possible. I don't go out very often, no extravagant purchases, and if I do buy something for myself I often go to the second-hand stores (books, music, clothes) and use the library of course.

No credit cards. Had a bad experience with a Chase card years ago, they are not nice to deal with.

Poster of the thread here.

I'm frugal if I don't have access to purchasing items related to my special interest. Because the items I collect are books, I often end up going to a bookstore and when faced with shelves of books related to my special interest, I buy as many as my money allows me to buy. When it comes to my special interest, I cannot control myself. I might leave home in order to buy something in particular, but once catching sight of a book store, especially if they have interesting books on display, I might walk in and spend all of my money. It depends on my mood; sometimes I can stop myself from indulging in the temptation, but sometimes I can't.

I always try to spend as little money as possible on anything else, though (mostly because I want to save more money to invest in my special interest). I, too, buy very cheap clothes if it's me buying them (usually I let my parents buy my clothes).

I have always been frugal, ever since childhood. Though now that I have a job (and therefore substantially higher income), I spend a bit more, but still tend to be kind of cheap. Also, school stuff forcing me to buy crazy expensive books has caused me to devalue money enought to be willing to make more expensive purchases.

Being frugal is only logical. Spending as little as possible, whenever possible, allows the maximum funds available for needs and desires. I agree with Toughdiamond about Spectrumites being unconcerned with conspicuous consumption. I suspect conspicuous consumption and paying extra for things which are fashionable, is something which is much more common among the rest of the population.

I am frugal, but I try to strike a balance. Often, the least expensive purchase is not the best value. I consider each purchase for its potential usefulness versus its cost.

Living cheap but good.

Do the frugue! I wish this would rub off on my kids.