economical

adjective

1)

an economical car

Syn:

cheap, inexpensive, low-cost, budget, economy, economic; cut-rate, discount, bargain

Ant:

expensive

2)

a very economical shopper

Syn:

thrifty, provident, prudent, sensible, frugal, sparing, abstemious; mean, parsimonious, penny-pinching, miserly, stingy

Ant:

spendthrift

••

economical, frugal, miserly, parsimonious, provident, prudent, sparing, thrifty

If you don't like to spend money unnecessarily, you may simply be economical, which means that you manage your finances wisely and avoid any unnecessary expenses. If you're thrifty, you're both industrious and clever in managing your resources (a thrifty shopper who never leaves home without her coupons). Frugal, on the other hand, means that you tend to be sparing with money — sometimes getting a little carried away in your efforts — by avoiding any form of luxury or lavishness (too frugal to take a taxi, even at night). If you're sparing, you exercise such restraint in your spending that you sometimes deprive yourself (sparing to the point where she allowed herself only one new item of clothing a season). If you're provident, however, you're focused on providing for the future (never one to be provident, she spent her allowance the day she received it). Miserly and parsimonious are both used to describe frugality in its most extreme form. But while being frugal might be considered a virtue, being parsimonious is usually considered to be a fault or even a vice (they could have been generous with their wealth, but they chose to lead a parsimonious life). And no one wants to be called miserly, which implies being stingy out of greed rather than need (so miserly that he reveled in his riches while those around him were starving).