Frugality at Work

Last Friday, three other co-workers invited me out to lunch with them. We went to a restaurant and ate. To convince the restaurant that I was not a parasite using up their space without paying, I purchased a Coke Zero to drink with my sandwich. While I ate the sandwich, everyone else ate lasagne, chips, and lettuce purchased from the restaurant.

Even though I saved money by not buying food from the restaurant, I felt as if I was not fitting in to the organization's culture and that this might have adverse long-term effects. Everyone else had plates, cutlery, and fine food while I was eating a simple sandwich prepared from home.

This issue applies not only to the food I eat at work. I am frugal in many other ways. For example, I wear a $30 wristwatch and I have a $500 suit that's slightly too big for me but I am reluctant to change it because of the costs.

Over the weekend, in order to save money, I usually just sit at home and read things on the Internet. I also exercise. On Monday, when I return to work, co-workers usually ask me, "What did you do over the weekend?" I usually tell them I did nothing and they usually have a look of disappointment on their face. Conversations are harder to sustain when you seem like a boring person. I have thought about inventing stuff up and lying to co-workers, telling them that I go rockclimbing, bushwalking, etc. However, being a Christian I remember that the Bible says, "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord." I therefore have to be honest.