I've been practicing for this recession. For a long time. I had early training from my parents, of course, as did most children of depression-era parents, but I've learned a few tricks of my own. First of all, let me say that I am not cheap. I am frugal. Being cheap means you hate to spend money. Being frugal means you hate to waste money. This is my own definition and I'm sticking to it.
Now it's all the rage to be good at pinching a penny. There are articles in every magazine and newspaper you pick up. (That's assuming you still "pick up" a magazine or newspaper. Perhaps you are saving money by reading it all online.) Writers are thrilled to have a whole new subject to write about. How to Save Money! Well here's a tip - how about we start with "don't buy it if you can't afford it." Apparently that bit of obvious logic went by the wayside along with the lay-away system in recent years. An acquaintance of ours once said, "Well, I finally just got my credit cards paid off!" To which my husband answered something like "Good, now why don't you cut them up and throw them away?" To which she answered (with a straight face) "WHAT?! Then how would I buy things I can't afford?"
Yuh.
Don't get me wrong. We made our own mistakes with credit cards. Big time mistakes. Bigger than your average bear mistakes. So I am not in a position to judge. But I am here to tell you that learning the debt mistake the hard way has made life much better now. And thank God, we have learned.
Anyway, I get a big kick out of saving money on stuff. For instance, I buy most of my groceries at Save-A-Lot. It's one of those stores where you bring your own bag. Or buy one for three cents. They don't have a lot of brand names but I don't really care. Bran flakes are bran flakes. Two of my other favorite stores are Dollar General and Big Lots.
Greeting cards? Two for a dollar at DG.
Salad mix? Ninety-nine cents at Save-A-Lot.
Place mats? Throw pillows? Kitchen utensils? Cents on the dollar at Big Lots.
And so it goes.
In addition to simply going to bargain stores, I have even invented a few of my own bargain versions of other products. For instance. (This one's for the ladies. Most of my tips are for the ladies actually.) Have you ever bought eye makeup remover in the little plastic bottle? Costs over $4 usually. Well have I got a tip for you! It occurred to me that it can't be much more than a mild soap in a water solution, some kind that doesn't irritate your eyes, right? So then I think, hey, baby shampoo is advertised as "no more tears", won't hurt baby's eyes, right? SO... I think, why not buy baby shampoo (the Dollar General brand for ninety-nine cents of course) and mix it with water in a little bottle and I bet it would work. IT DOES! (About 1/3 shampoo to 2/3 water. Just don't shake it hard. You can imagine.) So that big bottle of baby shampoo is gonna last a long long time. How frugal is that? Oh I'm full of good cheap...I mean frugal ideas.
Well, I'm rambling. I just get excited about bargains, I can't help it. In fact, I've been getting itchy to pay a visit to my favorite outlet store where I can wander the aisles and hunt. When I get that itch I tell my husband, "I'm going to Beall's Outlet and poke around." Hey, there are worse things to get an itch for. Oh that reminds me, did you know that if you get an itch, you can take some simple household baking soda....
Now it's all the rage to be good at pinching a penny. There are articles in every magazine and newspaper you pick up. (That's assuming you still "pick up" a magazine or newspaper. Perhaps you are saving money by reading it all online.) Writers are thrilled to have a whole new subject to write about. How to Save Money! Well here's a tip - how about we start with "don't buy it if you can't afford it." Apparently that bit of obvious logic went by the wayside along with the lay-away system in recent years. An acquaintance of ours once said, "Well, I finally just got my credit cards paid off!" To which my husband answered something like "Good, now why don't you cut them up and throw them away?" To which she answered (with a straight face) "WHAT?! Then how would I buy things I can't afford?"
Yuh.
Don't get me wrong. We made our own mistakes with credit cards. Big time mistakes. Bigger than your average bear mistakes. So I am not in a position to judge. But I am here to tell you that learning the debt mistake the hard way has made life much better now. And thank God, we have learned.
Anyway, I get a big kick out of saving money on stuff. For instance, I buy most of my groceries at Save-A-Lot. It's one of those stores where you bring your own bag. Or buy one for three cents. They don't have a lot of brand names but I don't really care. Bran flakes are bran flakes. Two of my other favorite stores are Dollar General and Big Lots.
Greeting cards? Two for a dollar at DG.
Salad mix? Ninety-nine cents at Save-A-Lot.
Place mats? Throw pillows? Kitchen utensils? Cents on the dollar at Big Lots.
And so it goes.
In addition to simply going to bargain stores, I have even invented a few of my own bargain versions of other products. For instance. (This one's for the ladies. Most of my tips are for the ladies actually.) Have you ever bought eye makeup remover in the little plastic bottle? Costs over $4 usually. Well have I got a tip for you! It occurred to me that it can't be much more than a mild soap in a water solution, some kind that doesn't irritate your eyes, right? So then I think, hey, baby shampoo is advertised as "no more tears", won't hurt baby's eyes, right? SO... I think, why not buy baby shampoo (the Dollar General brand for ninety-nine cents of course) and mix it with water in a little bottle and I bet it would work. IT DOES! (About 1/3 shampoo to 2/3 water. Just don't shake it hard. You can imagine.) So that big bottle of baby shampoo is gonna last a long long time. How frugal is that? Oh I'm full of good cheap...I mean frugal ideas.
Well, I'm rambling. I just get excited about bargains, I can't help it. In fact, I've been getting itchy to pay a visit to my favorite outlet store where I can wander the aisles and hunt. When I get that itch I tell my husband, "I'm going to Beall's Outlet and poke around." Hey, there are worse things to get an itch for. Oh that reminds me, did you know that if you get an itch, you can take some simple household baking soda....
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