We have some well-off friends who are frugal. Often, when we tell them about our work, they nod along and say, “That’s the way I am: very focused on money.” But frugality does not capture the experience of scarcity. The frugal have a principled conscientiousness about money. The poor must be vigilant about trade-offs. When making a purchase, the frugal consider whether the price is “good.” The poor, in contrast, must ask themselves what they must give up to afford that price.
