A Frugal Beginning...

Here we are - the beginning.

I love to save money. I love to see what a great deal I can get for just about anything. I pride myself in skimping and cutting corners any way I can. I was called Short Cut Cheryl by some close friends. So I guess I have loved saving money for as long as I can remember.

No, I take that back. I remember as a kid that I would get a gift of money each birthday and Christmas and I can honestly say I didn't let it gather much dust. My upper middle class folks would encourage me to save for something "important" (whatever that is). But as a kid I thought it was tantamount to being deity to be able to choose how to spend my own money. So I did.

I kept spending money right through college. Not lots of money simply because Mom and Dad didn't send me much allowance but I always spent all they sent by the middle of the month which made the rest of the month miserable. It was a revelation to me to get a job for spending money but I did get one as a dishwasher in the cafeteria. I guess I was just a dunce about money - like it grew on trees or something, I don't know.

It kept on like this even after I married my patient and somewhat penny pinching husband. I say 'somewhat' because he liked to spend money on things he liked, too, but was practical in that he did save money on, well, buying out dinners on a two for one deal, shopping at K-Mart instead of Lamonts, renting as cheaply as he could, matinees instead of prime time movies, etc...
But we were stupid with our money for a long time. I think it was after baby number two came along that I decided we were in trouble if things didn't change radically. We were attending the University of Hard Knocks and staying in freshman classes, so to speak. We just kept justifying buying this or that till credit card debt scared him to death. All this on a laborer's income and now number three on the way.

I don't remember when I was first introduced to being frugal. It may have been my sis-in-law who took me along to the thrift stores and sales around town. I learned to buy ground beef in a log, noodles from the Mark n Pak, make things from scratch instead of using ready made packaged dinners. Sewing and repairing clothes. You know, being responsible.

At about the same time I learned, too, that I could save lots of money not going to the doctor everytime someone in the family got sick. I began to think of baking bread, for health reasons and making simple effective herbal concoctions to fend off the ugly buggers.

It has been a journey, a time of reflection on what is important. I hope to share snips of the journey in hopes of encouraging others along the way. Bits of wisdom gleaned from friends, books, life.
Till the next time, keep life simple.