Are we “Frugal” or are we “Cheap”?

• Frugal: means an absence of luxury or simplicity of lifestyle is described with the words such as thrifty (good management), economical (lack of waste), or sparing (as in restraint)
• Cheap: is described as stingy (not generous), depreciated (lower and honor or esteem), done with little effort, or inferior quality.

I would like to think that we Templars, as faithful Christians, are the former and not the latter. We are cautious with our money, work hard to always save for a rainy day, and give generously when ask to contribute to the needs of those less fortunate. In our Asylums, we frequently argue against increasing dues, spending money of things like banners and costumes, and at the same time argue we keep a goodly sum in the bank “for a rainy day” and as a source of passive income that allows us to keep our dues and fees low.

It is said that one gets what one pays for. For example, the rock band KISS is on its farewell tour. Tickets for the best seat available in Baltimore are running around $670 per seat. Taylor Swift is on her “Eras” tour, and the prices for her tickets can easily hit four figures. Pro football, basketball, and hockey tickets can easily hit $300-$700 a seat for a two or three hour experience. Theatre or orchestra tickets can easily cost $100 per person. At the same time, tickets to the local high school production of “Frozen” might cost $10 per person, and the football game the next night might be $5 or even free. We pay for the value and experience we are expecting.

No one would pay $300 to sit on the 50 yard line of the local high school game, but paying that for a Baltimore Ravens home game would be a bargain (current spot resale price is $500 before fees). I like some of the music of both KISS and Taylor Swift, but I have no interest in paying the prices being asked to see either of them in person. I’m not being cheap, but being frugal. Oh, I’ll spend money on professional sports tickets–I had Washington Capitals hockey tickets for 15 seasons, as well as Ravens football and Orioles baseball seats for several years. I gave them all up when the cost no longer equaled the value I found in having them. I’ll guess that you, my dear reader and Brother, do similar things as well.

We like good things that provide value for the experience.There is one area where my experience says differently–the Masonic experience.We put a “cheap” price on membership, often charging just the minimum amount required by our bylaws. We declare that men would not join with us if we charged more because it would be perceived as “too expensive.” For the men who do join us, we provide a very uneven experience. There are some places where the work is over-the-top excellent with well-executed Ritual and sharp, clean costumes and precise floor work and tactics. There are also many–too many–places where the Ritual work is poor, badly presented even if read, done with ancient, threadbare costumes and lackadaisical floor work. We claim to be an organization with a focus on making men better and holding one another to a higher standard, but our work is more like a poor high school performance with hand-me-down costumes.

This is not being “frugal.” It is being “cheap.”

We have to step up our game and recognize we are part of an organization to which it is worth belonging. Operating an organization like a Commandery or Grand Commandery is not cheap, and we need to accept that reality. We often hear brothers speak about how the world has changed and we have more things competing for as man’s time than we did 30, 40, or 50 years ago. However, what have we done to meet the challenges of change and offer men value for which the investment of their time and money is worth as much as attending a concert or professional sporting event even one time?

How can we move from “cheap” to “frugal”? Here are some ideas as a starting point:

• Get serious about our Ritual. Learn it. Practice it. Critique and correct as necessary. Expect excellence, not perfection. The professional actors mess up lines all the time and no one notices.
• Replace the threadbare, ill-fitting costumes and broken or unserviceable paraphernalia. Look sharp, feel sharp, be sharp. No one pays a premium price to see the Kansas City Chiefs or FC Barcelona play wearing 15 year old uniforms.
• Review your budget and calculate what your dues should be to be balanced without using one cent from a reserve fund or endowment. Then, go back into your records and find out what the dues where when your Commandery was formed. Then take that number to one of the inflation calculators (like OfficialData.com for the USA) and see how much it would be in 2023 dollars. For reference, the Grand Encampment per capita in 1816 was $2.00, which would be about $44.00 today, or $34.50 less that our current per capita. Then, set your dues at least to the lower of the budget requirement or inflation-adjusted amount.

These three steps will get you on the path to providing your candidates with a quality experience worth the investment of their time and money. Then, take a hard look at your programs and identify at least three activities you could add to the calendar (beyond religious observances) to engage your members and their families. Choose at least one of these, assign a project leader to see it through, and let it happen. Remember, you are not going to go from zero to 60 in 4.0 seconds, but a steady increase on the accelerator will not only make things happen, it will make a noticable difference.