I've always been tight with money... to an extent. I was raised in a blue collar family. My dad was a carpenter and my mom a teacher. My mom drove a Mercury Zephyr (a white piece of shit station wagon with a bench seat IN THE FRONT!). I wore hand-me-downs when I was younger, from the rich girl across the street and we rarely ate out. Mostly this was because my dad is the tightest person ever. It wasn't until I got a job at GAP in high school that I really got interested in clothes and not until I met Hubb's (when I was 18) that I realized how cool it was to eat out. He was raised where they ate out a lot, mostly due to poor cooking skills in the family :)
Because my parents were huge savers and coupon clippers and very conservative with their money while also putting two kids through college without loans, I have taken those traits with me into adulthood. But I don't think I am as good as a penny pincher as they are. In a sense I am, I only buy things that are on sale, buy store brands (in the supermarket) if the name brand is not on sale and search out the best deal on the Internet for something before I purchase. Rarely do I just buy something without putting some thought into it. I feel the items I just randomly purchase usually are the ones that are not used and just a waste of money.
So due to the rocky economy and my cheap ass inherited traits, I am going to try and have a Tuesday focus blog called "Tight Wad Tuesday". Each week I will focus on something that has great value at a low price. This week is just an intro and next week I will pick an item. I know, super original, but it gives me a chance to get out of my writing rut.
Being home for 5 months I have discovered the hidden treasures in stores like Ross, TJ Maxx and Marshall's. I have them ranked by which ones have better housewares (Ross), better baby clothes (Ross and TJ Maxx) and better designer clothing brands (Marshall's, hello I saw a pair of Hudson jeans there for 75% off!) I have also fallen in love with our outlet mall. I usually did not frequent it much but that has changed. I love the Carter's, Gymboree and Oshkosh stores and have found amazing deals at the GAP and Banana Republic stores too. As you mama's know, babies go through so many clothes so I am always looking for cute outfits for Sonya.
So with that I am closing my first Tight Wad Tuesday that consisted of meaningless chatter about being cheap and finding jeans at Marshall's.
Over and out.
1 comment:
I wasn't raised to be a tight-wad, and I sort-of had to cut MYSELF off from my parents around 22. They still wanted to help me but I was like, "I HAVE TO LEARN TO LIVE WITHOUT YOUR MONEY." (I know, poor me= wah wah- NOT). I have since become a pretty huge tightwad. Not like, irrationally so, but I am always on the lookout for good deals/bargains.
I look forward to seeing your future posts!
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