Comments on: My Tightwad Epiphany

By: Linda

Linda — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 06:38:43 +0000

I was born one! Seriously.. *lol*

However, I did have to make some big decisions like that when I got married.

Because my husband totally doesn’t know money. He spends it like water and doesn’t see how expenses could be cut. When we married he was about a thousand euros in debt, which is a lot for two students! (I’m not even talking about the student loadn, but fortunately, Holland has got some REALLY mild conditions for people to pay that back..)

So I had to go through everything he (we) had, as far as contracts and ‘returning expenses’, and change, cut, delete a lot of things..

It works fine for now.. we’re on one minimum wage, but living in ‘luxury’ (well we call it luxury, others would probably not like it, *lol*)

greetings from the netherlands!

By: Becky

Becky — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:50:18 +0000

It was last July. Of 2007. My 10-year old car needed almost $2 grand in repairs. I hit the panic button. As it was, I could not make ends meet. I got through that with help from my siblings and after that, I determined that things were going to be different.

It’s taken me more than six months to change my thinking, be determined to live a frugal lifestyle and get my finances under control. I still have a way to go, but things are getting better.

By: Margaret

Margaret — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:02:05 +0000

THanks for your honesty, Ivy. Other peoples’ stories are so interesting to me (I luuuurve reading blogs!). I enjoyed reading everyone’s comments, too.
One of the things my parents did to help me understand money was give me my own clothing allowance when I was a teenager. They never gave me extra money beyond that and I had to make it stretch to include the fads I wanted as well as the winter coat or sneakers I needed. I learned early that I liked bargains or doing without to make my money stretch.
My husband and I are frugal – out of necessity and out of feeling that it’s the right thing to do (live simply so that others may simply live). We started immediately living on just one of our incomes and so it’s not a big deal for me to be a stay at home mom. One of the ironies I think of is that there’s no fluff for me to cut out of our budget as prices, especially food, have started soaring; I would love the satisfaction of seeing our monthly expenses dramatically reduced, but ain’t gonna happen because we’re already pretty careful. It’s a good problem, I know, I know.

By: Amy

Amy — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:36:15 +0000

I think I have always been a tightwad, but since we reduced to one income in our family, I have taken tightwaddery to levels I never imagined I love reading other people’s journeys though and that is one thing I really appreciate about the “frugal community.” We might not be all in the same place or even start out in the same spot, but we can appreciate other people’s journeys and how they are saving.

Excellent post, as always, my friend!

By: Joyce

Joyce — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 17:54:59 +0000

We were like Stephanie’s Mom’s Brain- we started off just using my husband’s income, so that we wouldn’t have a big shock when we started our family. We did save my salary to make a downpayment on our first house. Once the babies came, we knew how to live on one income.

By: Heidi @ Carolina Dreamz

Heidi @ Carolina Dreamz — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 17:28:56 +0000

I am failing, miserably, with frugality reversion. Can I be a born again?

Allergies are kicking my butt at the grocery store!

Its getting real bad.

By: Stephanie's Mommy Brain

Stephanie's Mommy Brain — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:58:27 +0000

When we got married right out of college we’d heared somewhere to only live on my hubby’s salary to prepare for when we’d have kids. The following year my husband’s boss had a baby. The boss’s wife had to return to work 6 weeks after delivery. The boss talked about how hard that was for their family (esp. the wife). That only strengthened our resolve to never “need” my income for our family. I’ve never worked since we had children and our only debt is our mortgage. The sacrifices of frugality can be unpleasant at times but the sacrifices of living high on the hog are even worse.

By: bojah

bojah — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:08:03 +0000

Frugal all my life. Not as good at it as my parents were, but mostly because my husband & I tended to be at odds about spending & saving. He has recently come over from the “dark side”, & I have high hopes that his newfound enthusiasm will not wane once times are better again. I’m the kind of gal who can be entertained by simply thinking of how many meals are in one chicken, & who likes to determine the cost, per item, of goods bought “by the bag” at a thrift store or garage sale. My frugality is simply an onging thing….I did not have a Lightbulb Moment.

By: Vicki

Vicki — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 15:55:01 +0000

I grew up well off in a small town. I got married young, right out of high school, to a boy my parents did not approve of. So we were totally on our own. That was fine until I found out I was pregnant three months later.

After my daughter was born I realized that even though I was not quite 19, the responsibility was mine to make sure she got a good childhood as mine had been.

I started reading everything I could get my hands on. I started baking whole wheat bread and all our own cookies and snacks. I babysat two little girls for grocery money.

My husband never did get the responsibility part, and that marriage ended when I was only 20. Still, I continued to be frugal as a single mother, so that my daughter and I could be independent and have happy lives.

I later remarried, and went on to have several more children. Combining the things I had learned, and discovering more and more ways to save money has enabled me to stay home with my children for most of the last 20 years. It’s a decision I have never regretted.

By: Meredith

Meredith — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 13:19:40 +0000

Ivy has the best candor, doesn’t she?