Great post. We never wasted anything when I was growing up. My father was an early computer user, and would bring back used paper from his printouts so we could draw on the other side. I think about that when I buy a ream of paper for my printer - I try not to print unless it's important, even now.
Great post, Liz! My older kiddo is in school and their partner is too ill to work so we are supporting them until Shea finishes the program. It drives me crazy when I hear politicians talk about the tax cuts for the rich are the right thing to do when there are SO many people who can't pay their bills through no fault of their own.
BTW, we reuse plastic bags for all kinds of things, Nancy loves shopping at Dollar Tree, and we always bring restaurant leftovers home. That thriftiness is in our DNA, I think.
My mother said children were starving in China until my sister Ann said to send the rest of her food to them. She got cuffed and mother never said that again but insisted we eat everything on our plates. My dad insisted we taste new things like grits and liver at least once and we all had to wait until all of us did, not matter how long it took. Now I eat what I want but I can't resist a BOGO deal either!
I think it's possible that people didn't know you were poor, because I didn't know I was poor. I only had one pair of pants to wear to school growing up, and sometimes we didn't have enough money to buy milk, but I thought that's how every family was, so I didn't realize we were poor. I've lived my life oblivious to a lot of things, and that's okay with me. :) I, too, have a hard time paying full price unless it's a reasonable price. I know I would look better if I spent more on my clothes, and that those clothes would last longer, but I just can't do it. It feels wrong. Even though I may be spending more, in the long run, on my cheaper clothing. I make no sense. As always, I enjoyed reading your thoughts. Thanks for sharing them!
I'm glad you didn't know. I truly wish I hadn't. Re: clothes. I don't WANT them to last that long. I get bored with them, and it's easier to pass along a $29 coat than a $129 one. (The cheap in me.) You will always look great to me. Thanks for stopping by, Mary.
Excellent post. I find it fascinating how different you and Nan view being poor. I grew up poor. I was the only child of a single mother. There were times when we didn't have hot water. We were thrifty at the grocery store. I learned some valuable lessons about value and living simply. I also learned how fun it is to save money. I still love a bargain. I still buy sale items. I know the value of the items, time, and family. Although, I refuse to eat ramen, peanut butter sandwiches, and ham hocks. And we always pay our bills so I don't have to have a cold shower unless it's the middle of a heat wave.
It is fun to save, isn't it? Although I'm nowhere near as thrifty as I was when I had to be, I still--as you said--love a baregain! I wouldn't eat potato soup for years because of how much of it we had, then realized I was cutting off my nose to spite my face. :-)
Great post! But saving plastic bags has a downside. About 20 years ago, I cleaned the house of an older friend who was in the hospital. She wasn't much of a housekeeper, and I discovered dozens of plastic bags shoved in a closet. I was on my hands and knees pulling them out into the hall--so many, they stretched all the way to her front door!--and then a flower pot fell off the shelf and narrowly missed my head! I could've been knocked unconscious and smothered in a sea of plastic bags!
Oh, no! When we were cleaning my aunt's apartment when she moved into assisted living, we discovered her never-used dishwasher was stuffed with kitchen-grade plastic bags. All carefully rinsed and dried for reuse. Heaven help us if she'd had anything that could have fallen on our heads!
Great post. We never wasted anything when I was growing up. My father was an early computer user, and would bring back used paper from his printouts so we could draw on the other side. I think about that when I buy a ream of paper for my printer - I try not to print unless it's important, even now.
Thanks, Nancy! I began to get careful with paper when we started seriously recycling. I had no idea how much of it I wasted.
Great post, Liz! My older kiddo is in school and their partner is too ill to work so we are supporting them until Shea finishes the program. It drives me crazy when I hear politicians talk about the tax cuts for the rich are the right thing to do when there are SO many people who can't pay their bills through no fault of their own.
BTW, we reuse plastic bags for all kinds of things, Nancy loves shopping at Dollar Tree, and we always bring restaurant leftovers home. That thriftiness is in our DNA, I think.
Good! Those bags make mats, too. It was rough when we were young, making ends meet, but it's so much harder now. Thanks, J.C.
My mother said children were starving in China until my sister Ann said to send the rest of her food to them. She got cuffed and mother never said that again but insisted we eat everything on our plates. My dad insisted we taste new things like grits and liver at least once and we all had to wait until all of us did, not matter how long it took. Now I eat what I want but I can't resist a BOGO deal either!
Me, too. There were meals when I was a kid that I only ate enough of to stay alive. Lol. We couldn't substitute, either!
Me too - I suggested sending them my food as well, and while I didn't get cuffed, I had to finish all of it.
I think it's possible that people didn't know you were poor, because I didn't know I was poor. I only had one pair of pants to wear to school growing up, and sometimes we didn't have enough money to buy milk, but I thought that's how every family was, so I didn't realize we were poor. I've lived my life oblivious to a lot of things, and that's okay with me. :) I, too, have a hard time paying full price unless it's a reasonable price. I know I would look better if I spent more on my clothes, and that those clothes would last longer, but I just can't do it. It feels wrong. Even though I may be spending more, in the long run, on my cheaper clothing. I make no sense. As always, I enjoyed reading your thoughts. Thanks for sharing them!
I'm glad you didn't know. I truly wish I hadn't. Re: clothes. I don't WANT them to last that long. I get bored with them, and it's easier to pass along a $29 coat than a $129 one. (The cheap in me.) You will always look great to me. Thanks for stopping by, Mary.
Excellent post. I find it fascinating how different you and Nan view being poor. I grew up poor. I was the only child of a single mother. There were times when we didn't have hot water. We were thrifty at the grocery store. I learned some valuable lessons about value and living simply. I also learned how fun it is to save money. I still love a bargain. I still buy sale items. I know the value of the items, time, and family. Although, I refuse to eat ramen, peanut butter sandwiches, and ham hocks. And we always pay our bills so I don't have to have a cold shower unless it's the middle of a heat wave.
It is fun to save, isn't it? Although I'm nowhere near as thrifty as I was when I had to be, I still--as you said--love a baregain! I wouldn't eat potato soup for years because of how much of it we had, then realized I was cutting off my nose to spite my face. :-)
Great post! But saving plastic bags has a downside. About 20 years ago, I cleaned the house of an older friend who was in the hospital. She wasn't much of a housekeeper, and I discovered dozens of plastic bags shoved in a closet. I was on my hands and knees pulling them out into the hall--so many, they stretched all the way to her front door!--and then a flower pot fell off the shelf and narrowly missed my head! I could've been knocked unconscious and smothered in a sea of plastic bags!
Oh, no! When we were cleaning my aunt's apartment when she moved into assisted living, we discovered her never-used dishwasher was stuffed with kitchen-grade plastic bags. All carefully rinsed and dried for reuse. Heaven help us if she'd had anything that could have fallen on our heads!