Tightwads Rock

Don't get me wrong--I know how to spend money, & I can do a great job of blowing a budget. It's just that I don't want...stuff anymore, & that's led me to find a new hobby that works for me--saving money.

When I was younger I wanted, wanted, wanted. I didn't really go for the typical girl wants (big diamond, new car, designer clothes), but I always wanted something that was just out of reach. When I got married there were 2 incomes but we still really didn't have much--just enough to pay bills & go out to eat occasionally. Then came middle age, a new job & a new group of friends & co-workers; people who evidently had an endless pool of money to draw from. What I mean is that they charged everything, went everywhere they wanted, ate out daily, & never seemed to worry about anything. What a fun group! I happily jumped in the pool but never could quite keep up. Pretty soon I gave up trying & realized that all that shopping & bar-hopping & keeping up appearances is not only tiring, but also a bit annoying to me. Seemed like I never had a conversation with any of them that had anything in it worth remembering. I still like those folks, but from a distance now.

I work for myself now & it's not exactly easy all the time. I gave up security, a (tiny) bit of schedule freedom, & a life & job I was familiar with in the hopes of...well, I don't really know. I just knew when it happened that it felt like the right thing to do. What I didn't realize at the time was how hard it would be to suddenly not have an ad budget to work with, to not have a guaranteed income at the end of the day, to not have anything guaranteed--not even the ability to pay bills--unless I was doing it myself. What a change for me! I was soft & didn't even realize it.

So the past few years have really been eye-opening for me. Life has trained me to prioritize, to get my ducks in a row, & to really let my inner cheapskate come to the forefront. You know what? It's been fun! Seriously, what a challenge to be able to make it work in tough economic times. To remind yourself that taking a walk outside is free, to hang out with friends in the living room is free, to play music is free. In other words, the best things are free. Funny how hanging out with the wrong crowd can make you forget that.

The rest can be pretty cheap too, if you know where to look--& I am nothing if not internet proficient. So, here's the deal. Once a week at least there will be a post here with a link to one of my favorite money-saving sites or an article, or something that I do now that saves me money. I'm having so much fun with this that I want to share it with all my friends. Hopefully, I can learn something from you too!

With that in mind, here is a link to today's Yahoo! article about cheapskates to get us all in that money saving frame of mind...