Anyone here NOT need to pinch pennies, but pinch them anyway?

[ncbyrne]

DH and I are financially secure. Not wealthy by any stretch of the word, but comfortable enough not to worry about bills. I am 60, DH 61 and we earned every penny to be where we are. Our parents grew up in the Depression era and taught us to be wise with $. A poem I heard constantly was:
Use it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or do without.
My granddaughters make a game of picking up every coin they see on the ground. They have a "found money" (literally) Mickey Mouse bank to keep it in. In 3 years they had $26.41 cents to spend on our last WDW trip.
Yes, we are proud penny pinchers!

 

[MrsPete]

Yep, I fit into this category. When DH and I were married and moved into our first house, we were dirt poor. We literally had $200 and one car between the two of us. Now, 16 years later, we're very comfortable. We're not where we want to be forever, but we're on track to retire at 57 and are happy with our situation. However, that doesn't mean we throw money around -- spending more because you have more makes no sense.

My shopping habits have changed a bit, but they're still thrifty: I still buy what groceries I can at the salvage store. When I go to the grocery store, I stock up on reduced-for-quick-sale meat, but I'll also buy good, fresh fish when I want it (something I couldn't afford in the past). I don't have any problem buying used clothing, and most of the new clothing I buy is on sale; however, if an item I really want is full-priced, I might buy it. I do not use shopping as a hobby, nor do I buy stuff-stuff-stuff-stuff-stuff just for the sake of buying stuff. In furnishing our home, we have not bought cheap-o furniture in a box or faddish accessories; instead, we decide what we want to keep for a long time, then we buy those items. We see cars as necessary items to get us from point A to point B safely; we're shopping for a new one right now, and though we could afford a loaded SUV, we're probably going to buy a 2006 Honda Civic.

The bottom line is that if we don't make oodles of money. If we hadn't lived a frugal lifestyle, we wouldn't be comfortable right now; and if we didn't continue to live a frugal lifestyle, we could easily lose that comfort level.

 

[disneysteve]

As I get older (31...LOL!), I think that I pinch pennies less but look for true value more.

I also believe more in the "you get what you pay for." Some things are truly worth the money to me

I agree with you, Tricia. We're a bit older (41 and 42) and have definitely grown to look more at value than at price. When we were in our 20's and early 30's, it was all about "how cheap can we do this?" Now, it is more about "how can we get good quality at the best price?" So we are still price conscious, but we're generally looking at a better quality of item (or experience) than we used to.

We've also learned to value our time more. Running around to various thrift shops and discount markets isn't something we do nearly as much anymore because the amount we save isn't worth the time we lose in the process. I'd rather pay more for something at our local supermarket than make a special trip to Aldi's to save a quarter.

 

[barbeml]

Gee, I feel so much better hearing from other people who feel like me.

I have a girlfriend who is always telling me to "live for today" and that I "deserve it" by splurging on this and that. But she has $50k in credit card debt and no savings to speak of.

I know what you mean...I guess misery loves company. It's always our friends & family who are in debt who needle us about buying a McMansion or a BMW.

I tell them we go to WDW every year, have no car payments (our cars are less than 2 years old) and our house (small, but in a very desirable neighborhood) will be paid off in 7 years...that usually shuts them up!

 

[DVC Sadie]

My in laws always laugh when I pull out coupons while shopping in a grocery store, but I was raised by depression era parents. My father was 50 and my mom was 43 when they received me so my way of thinking may be skewed a tad.

When my dh and I first started out 20 years ago I made him drive me to 3 different grocery stores every week so I could buy all of the loss leaders at each store. Now that times have changed financially I usually just go to one store but still use coupons when I can.

I notice that I do spend a lot more money now but its for higher end items and would rather do without than buy something of less quality. For me its all about the quality and how much enjoyment we can get out of said item.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

GUILTY!

In my case, it's genetic. My parents are both....well.....let's say FRUGAL! I love that word!

But I just can't justify paying full prive for things when I can get them for so much less........

 

[robsmom]

I think i am somewhere in between. I grew up with a frugal mother and learned to be frugal when i got married and was saving for a house. I believe that you can and should take advantage of any sale or discount that you can (and who cares what the sales person thinks - although ususally they think its great when people get good deals!). I buy alot at Kohl's and Target and buy most of my clothing on sale or at the outlets. I always check the clearance racks. I don't refill my ketchup or steal it from restuarants but i will keep any that we get from fast food and will give that to my son to use at home. At the same time, i do realize that i don't have to be as frugal now and so there are times when i buy the nice outfit that i really like and we eat out more than we should. My theory is that saving a little here and there is what allows the splurges!

 

[dvcgirl]

Well, we sure fit into this category. We're certainly not misers and we have a wonderful quality of life. However, we save a tremendous amount of money by sticking to "middle of the road" on the *big* purchases we make....like houses, cars and vacations. We bought far less house than we could afford, and we paid cash. We drive Toyotas and keep them forever when most in our income bracket drive luxury. We buy them "gently used" and we pay cash. And we're just fine with staying in nice clean, safe hotels in the areas where we travel.

When we want to go "deluxe" we'd only do so with a great deal. Right now, we're living in Orlando, but we do prefer staying on-site at Disney when we vacation there. So we'll rent DVC points and pay less than 1/2 of the rack rate. Or we'll stay at the Swan/Dolphin where we have a friend who can get us an outstanding rate. We also prefer traveling at "off-peak" times since we like to avoid crowds and have no children (so no school schedules to worry about). This all works in our favor as there are tremendous deals to be found if you're up for Europe in December....that sort of thing. But we simply won't pay full price for it...even the AP rate at the deluxes is out of control.....and we most definitely can afford it. But why pay excessive amounts for something if I don't have to?

 

[salmoneous]

Let's put in this way. DW and I have been very fortunate. We have well paying jobs we enjoy, no kids, and have never suffered an unexpected financial crisis. We managed to have enough extra cash to pay off our mortgage after a few years.

And where were we two nights ago? In the clearance section of Target. Looking at $25 worth of toys I want to buy my nephews. Only 30% off? Nah, we'll wait and see if it goes down to 50% off.

Yeah, we're cheap.

 

[shades]

OP: Great topic! Everytime I click on - and wait for a .01 cent "paid click" to load to my account, I wonder to myself why on earth am I clicking for pennies?? Because I like "FREE" stuff and it is addictive - just like all of the freebies I've signed up for. I love getting free samples in my mail box! The days I receive Disney Dollars from SunshineRewards are really exciting!

I save on things that are less important to us and in-turn, have more money to spend on things that are.

 

[lindakmonty]

We are like a lot of you that have posted. It isn't that we can't afford to do certain things, we just choose not to. Maybe that is why he's 44 and retiring next month. It's all about choices!! We don't eat out a lot, I no longer have to have a new outfit once a month, my son doesn't have to have all Ralph Lauren and Tommy clothes in his closet.... guess my mom taught me to save for a rainy day. One of my co-workers wives had a brain anurizm (sp?) back in March and he's been off work since then to be with her... I don't think most people could go months w/o a paycheck. It really makes you think, it could happen to anyone.

 

[DawnM]

ME! ME! ME!

I have gone to Disney 3 times this last year (1 week each time) and have spent LESS than many of my friends who went for only 1 week! And that includes gas/transportation!

I do that in all areas of life that I can....get good quality at the best bargain I can get.

We have a good income, but we want to be able to save each month, put $$ into our 401Ks, Education fund, and have NO debt other than our house. We can only do this by being somewhat frugal.

Dawn

PS: We are paying CASH for our adoption from China this year! YEAH!

 

[barbeml]

PS: We are paying CASH for our adoption from China this year! YEAH!

Wow! And congratulations!

 

[HenDuck]

I agree with you, Tricia. We're a bit older (41 and 42) and have definitely grown to look more at value than at price. When we were in our 20's and early 30's, it was all about "how cheap can we do this?" Now, it is more about "how can we get good quality at the best price?" So we are still price conscious, but we're generally looking at a better quality of item (or experience) than we used to.

We've also learned to value our time more. Running around to various thrift shops and discount markets isn't something we do nearly as much anymore because the amount we save isn't worth the time we lose in the process. I'd rather pay more for something at our local supermarket than make a special trip to Aldi's to save a quarter.

Yeah! What disneysteve said!

We will pay for certain things while on vacation just to make the vacation run smoothly. When we travel to DL, we usually get to LAX right around rush hour. I'm not making DH drive in that mess, so we spend the $$ to have a car service pick us up. It is nice to have the funds to pay for things that make your life easier. (But again, we just have our usual van driver come and pick us up, no need for a limo...)

A perfect example of my "smart shopping", I did some Christmas shopping on the disneyshopping.com website this morning. They were offering $25 off an order of $100 or more. Well, you can bet I jumped on it when I saw that they had things that I wanted for my Christmas list (all marked down, of course ). BUT, I made sure I only spent a few dollars over the $100 requirement because then my discount was as close to $25% off as possible!

I still like to work those numbers to get a good deal!

AND Congratulations to DawnM on your new bundle of joy!

Have a great day everyone!

 

[westjones]

I 'pinch pennies' (or shop smart) so that I can continue to stay home and take care of things here. We could easily increase our income if I were to go back to work, but I would rather shop carefully and continue to enjoy our lifestyle.

When they kids are grown, I will probably go back to work because it will be boring staying at home when they no longer need me, but for now pinching pennies can be entertaining, motivating, and gives us the means to have the lifestyle we enjoy.

DJ

 

[mommiepoppins]

DH and I are blessed not to have to scrimp to survive. I'm very, very grateful for that. Still, I'm very dilligent about our finances, and always looking for a bargain.

It's not so much that I pinch pennies all around (I'm not looking to turn into Howard Hughes) I just economize on things that are less important to me in order to get things more important to me.

For example: In terms of jewelry, I own my wedding set and one necklace. But I'm taking a last minute trip to Vegas soon. My MIL has so much bling she could pass for a rapper, but would never consider taking a vacation that didn't consist of driving to their local campground.

Everyone picks their own priorities.

she could be a rapper

 

[azgal81]

I do pinch pennies but I also don't need to. I save most of my income and love being frugal!

 

[disneymom3]

Well, I am pretty sure I learned from the best. My mom was waaaayyyy beyond frugal. Waaaayyyy beyond. The woman used to cut up napkins so they would last longer and they were napkins she had picked up at Wendy's or McDs. There were definite frustrations dealing with this while growing up, but I definitely learned the difference between wants and needs! As I grew older, I saw the opportunities she had because of being frugal. Things like taking 25 of us on a cruise and picking up most of the tab. She passed away in Feb and left each of us 8 kids quite a tidy sum. Then a month or so ago, we were sort of invited out to dinner with DHs sister after another family event. I said to DH, "It is not in the budget to go out to eat. We already went out to dinner this week." He just chuckled at me and said, "So says the woman with several thousand dollars in the bank. It's not in the budget." and shook his head. Guess mom wore off on me!

 

[nbodyhome]

We make a good living - but I am very careful about money, and would be even if we made a lot more. You hear the phrase "the rich get richer", and a lot of people with money do live frugally - adding to their own wealth, even when they don't need to. We are going to Europe in September - and as much as I'd have loved to have had an Eiffel Tower view room, I opted for us to stay in a different area of Paris for 68 Euros per night (at a family run, but very well regarded hotel). Same with London - we are going to be a little out of the main area, but only $100 US per night at a bed and breakfast (with full breakfast). I just don't feel right splurging a lot of money on a hotel anymore (maybe just very occasionally for a night here and there).

I don't skimp on healthy food - nor on buying boxes with smaller sized servings (like chips in a 50 count box, or pistachios) if my husband wants to snack. In the long run, making those changes are good for my health especially (since I eat the healthy food!) and should save money on medical bills.

Most of my clothes are from Target or Sams or BJ's, but at 75% or better off in most cases (I don't like to spend more than $5 - $10 per piece, except for my sun protective clothing I buy online). I don't feel cheap, though, when a friend mentions going to Goodwill and getting clothing for .50!

Anyway - my husband isn't a saver, and I'm not as adept as earning money as he is. So it works out. He makes the money, I keep the checkbook - we each get "mad money" to spend as we want, and I keep our bills down as much as possible.

 

[nbodyhome]

My Uncle Bill had 11 kids, he was very frugal too. He'd come home with a pile of thrift store or garage sale clothes, and whichever kid could fit into them got them.

He was very, very thrifty - and raised 11 kids on one salary, and left my aunt a house that sound for 900K or so (to one of her very much grown up kids) a few years back, and plenty of money in the bank. He passed on in the early 1990's, but I wish I'd spent more time with him and learned from him earlier on.