Confessions of a Cheapskate

I would like to think that I am not really a cheapskate that it is more a part of my beliefs that lead me to my purchasing habits. I am not one that believes you need to have the name brand of your food to make it healthier,or taste better...although i do have my fav's, I don't need to make sure my children are outfitted in the latest craze of labels, and really having my house filled with stuff is not on my list of priorities.
But truth be told ya...I have a hard time with spending money on things when I don't think they are worth the amount on the price tag. Some people call it frugil,and in my life it has even been referred to as "the low standard of living" that i have!LOL So today.... some confessions of being a cheapskate....
1. clothing I am a firm believer in second hand clothes. I will shop for brand new items when needed but even then I look for the "clearance rack" first. Luckily for me there is the awesome "value village" here locally. A large department size store that is all second hand, and all profits go to local charities. I love this store! When my kids needed winter boots this year ...( because I forgot to hit the "brand new' in the spring with the clearance prices) I started with the brand new stores going to three different stores...$30. and up for one pair of children's shoes??? I needed two pairs! back to the Village I go and woot woot what did I find? a wall of childrens shoes and boots some worn, some brand new. The kids get to pick out their own, once i sort through the right sizes, and condition...cost $5.99 per pair!!! Jack pot!! Aspen scores a pair of Dora the Explorer boots, and Ryki gets some manly Kamik's....I on the other hand hit up the adult shoes because I have discovered over the years....it is cheaper for me to buy my summer sandals in the winter!!! $6.99 compared to the "in season" summer price of $11.99 Yes I am a cheapskate! But really why should I spend more? When Value Village has their 50%off day??? we are there first thing in the morning (its like boxing day sales...crazy people just throwing stuff everywhere!) The kids can pick anything they want, I get to shop for my nieces, myself and my husband and I have yet to leave the sale day spending more than fifty dollars always leaving with large bags stuffed with clothes ,household items, etc(I can't imagine what would happen if I could shop w/o the kidlets there!!LOL) my favs there are the dish section...I love old wooden bowls! The Blankets....handmade wool blankets $3.99 I have seen a handmade quilt there once for $19.99 and kicked myself later for being to cheap that day to buy it!!!

Then there is around the house sorta stuff. I think maybe drives my mother crazy when she visits. Unless it is xmas time I do not buy disposable things like paper towels, I just don't see the sense in throwing so much stuff away and I am really baffled by in all these diaper wipes turned cleaning products? so much disposable stuff that gets flushed???!!! or thrown away, and the same time soo many communities are scrambling to figure out where their garbage is going to go next! So around here if there is a spill ... you grab a towel, a cloth whatever and deposit it to the laundry. I try to buy dark towels and such because we don't use bleach. Now the hubby on the other hand will break down and buy it on occasion for his shop but being a glass guy...I suppose he does need it LOL. My mom is one of those that everything pretty much matches and is crisp and clean...where I am the cheapskate that will crochet a new dishcloth with leftover wool before going to the store to buy new. The only thing that really matches in my kitchen is 6 dinner plates I recently bought at Value Village for $.99 ea ovenware and all...LOL my sister has the same set apparently and" didn't not pay $6.00 for hers!!!!"

Finally I suppose there is the household luxuries. We obviously have the internet, something we broke down and finally got last year when we bought our home. A way of communicating with our sons, family and friends, and as I sold the idea to the hubby ... a way to reduce the enormous phone bills i seemed to incur each month on long distance. Of course when we ordered it they tried to sell us on satelite but I said no way. We have never had cable in the eight+ years Dennis and I have been together. Besides the fact during the summer we are out of the house 80% of the time, I can't spend $50+ dollars a month on TV! We rent movies yes, but a big thing for me is the amount of children's lives these daze are spent with TV! and even worse it is not the TV that bugs me it is the programming that sucks our children into thinking life is over if they don't have the latest toy that is based on a TV show! More money down the drain to have a figurine of plastic to hold while watching TV. I have seen it especially with my bonus sons and how they arrive for visits withthe latest craze...they see their cool toys...I see $800.00 worth of bubble gum cards and don't get it.

But different strokes for different folks. I admit to being cheap, but also I thinkI am proud of my beliefs and the fact that my kids are growing up right now enjoying life and the world around them without their happiness being determined by the label on their clothing,or the toy
in their hand!

On a downer sorta note, we woke this morning to find the parakeet chirpy "not sleeping" in his cage. Perhaps mamakat flipping the cage last week rattled something inside him, a relief I admit...not that I wished him to die, but birds are loud and messy and not what I would call much fun(not to mention tricky to get close to with cats in the house!)....and I was daze away from going to walmart to restock his supplies...so I have just saved some money again!!! The kids seemed to get over it pretty fast this moring when they realized Chirpy's passing has now vacated a cage in the house leaving a new home available for their next pet which they are saving for now...it is between a gerbil and a rat?! yippee just what this Mama needs on the Shoeless Acres...more wildlife! All I know is the only birds we will bring home from now on will be outdoors and better provide me and the fam with either eggs or meat in the end!