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Being Cheap is not Hereditary

I AM cheap. I see shows and websites claiming they have the answers to only spending $20 on a dinner...my budget is $5 a dinner! These claims never impress me b/c I do better on my own. No, I don't do FRESH fruits & veggies (you have NO IDEA how hard it is to get a 14 y.o., a 38 y.o. and a 4 y.o. to ALL agree on side dishes until you try) but I do make well-rounded meals, I think, and nutritional too. HOWEVER, I'm sure if I posted my menus on-line, I'd get a lot of criticism. But back to my point of being cheap...I shop at Aldi. I use coupons. I price check at Walmart. I watch for deals like 2 meals for $12.99 IF we plan to go out. We also try to go to places that have FREE chips & salsa or bread and fill up on those first & then split things. Also, recently, we started the rule of getting water, not pop. Drinks can cost our family another $10-$12!! I am not too proud to buy stuff at Goodwill (and I have to admit: I've even bought GIFTS there. I am a great gift-giver so don't judge). I also have this thing in my brain that tells me I can't buy myself shirts or jewelry and things if they are over $5. I stand for hours on end combing the clearance isles and racks. I will use gift cards that were given to me to buy gifts for others. I will regift things if I have too...especially books. I have a gift closet devoted to re-gifts and pre-buys. I buy things for holidays the year before when they went 75% off! I sometimes hold onto gifts for a whole year b/c I bought it the day after Christmas for the next Christmas. This works for me. I enjoy it. You never know when the thrill of the hunt will deliver...is this the time I will find the perfect/cheap/awesome pink hoodie for my sister??
I blog about this now b/c my son just asked me when I gave him his morning bowl of cereal if the apple jacks were real or fake. I quickly put the generic box back in the cabinet while wondering where this comes from. I understand that some things should only be bought name brand; however, this shouldn't be the case at 4 years old! I didn't become this picky about peanut butter and spaghetti sauce until I was well into my 20's! What the heck?! I totally was thinking that he was picking up on my wonderful cheap habits and learning a few things about saving a buck. I thought I was passing something fabulous onto my son that would be helpful to him in the future, like when he's in college. And as I type this he is saying "I want that" to every commercial on Nickeolodeon! Apparently the only things I have passed on to him so far has been his want of things, his saying things like "freakin" and "that sucks" and his ability to stomach massive amounts of sweets. What a legacy.

Comments

  1. KenjLovesSweatshirtsJanuary 22, 2010 at 11:11 PM

    OR "you can drink if we don't tithe tomorrow"!

    could be having the opposite effect...look at the kayj monster:) (nuffin but love but it's kinda true)

    ReplyDelete

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