Going Thrifty-From “Blah” to “Nifty!”

The shiny penny…

the turtle wax…or….

the Super-Deluxe Shine ?

The buttons on the car-wash machine used to blink like the lights strung around a Christmas tree.

They waited impatiently to be pushed as my Dad would feed the dollar into the slot. (It was a rarity

indeed if he was lucky enough to get it accepted on the first go-round. Why do machines never seem to

want to take our money? Everyone else seems to like it alright?)

We would always go with the least expensive option.

Why? might you ask. The answer is found in a childhood memory.

Dad: ” Hey, you know what kind of animal I’d be if I got to choose?”

Me: “What?”

Dad: “A chick cause they go “cheap, cheap” like me!”

I think I’m now beginning to see eye-to-eye with my Dad.

Being frugal isn’t all that bad. I used to be  really concerned with having “the cool” brand of something, but

I’ve found it’s really not all that it’s cracked up to be.

More pressing than the dollars saved, is the peace that letting go of a perfect image can bring.

Enjoying some luxury items every now and then, or spending extra money on a nice gift for someone is by no

means outrageous.

I’ve just come to the conclusion that penny-pinching may save me some stress and could even help

starve out the selfishness, self-consciousness, or even vanity that’s quick to creep in when we focus too much on external things.