The people in my department at work went out to lunch today because a couple of people are leaving the group and taking other positions. I usually bring my lunch to work because it’s cheaper than having to buy lunch in the cafeteria or some place else.

The place we were going also wasn’t all that cheap. Even the cheapest lunch special was $6.50, and that’s before drinks and a tip.

Over the weekend as I was going through the free Sunday paper, I happened to come across a “buy one get one free” coupon for the same place that we were going to be going today. Just as you’d think I cut it out and stuck it in my wallet so I’d have it on me when we went.

As we were walking out to go to lunch today, I mentioned to a couple people that I had this coupon and asked if they were interested. To my surprise, no one really was. I couldn’t believe that no one was interested in getting half off the price of their meal. Since it was a “buy one get one free” coupon, I had to find someone to use it with, and I eventually did.

I’m not really sure whether people really don’t care if they save the money or if they’re afraid they’ll be perceived as cheap. I happen to lean towards the latter. After I gave the waiter the coupon, one guy at the other end of the table actually called down and asked if I was really using a coupon.

My response was yes, and that I’m not too proud (in a light-hearted manner of course). Thinking back on this experience, I wonder how many times people spend more money than they need to because they’re afraid of what others are going to think of them.

Have you ever run into a similar situation? Do you have any suggestions for those who feel this way and don’t want to appear cheap? Let us know.

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