I was out thrift store hunting the other day and stumbled across this homemade “Penny Pincher” (which is just a joke item created by a penny pinched by a clothes pin). It made me laugh out loud.
I chuckled again to see that a woman’s name was on the bottom of it. Here was a kindred spirit!
My first thought: “That is SO me, I have to have it.”
But then I thought again. Where would I put it? What would I do with it? Do I need to spend 99 cents on this?
So I did what any cheapskate would do. I took a photo of it!
Now I can see the picture and smile, knowing that I saved my dollar and didn’t clutter up my house with stuff I don’t really need.
As we work on saving money and simplifying our lives, I have found that simply taking a photograph of these types of things allows me to let go of the emotions attached to the item. I can get rid of the stuff from the basement closet or put the knickknack back on the store shelf without any remorse. I’d rather keep the memory and the money, then the stuff.
I love it! I need to get in the habit of taking photos of sentimental things and then getting rid of them. But that would require me to actually go through the boxes of mementos I have in storage, and then develop the photos, etc. Sigh…
I’m glad to hear I’m not alone! I know a few people who make the “you’re cheap” comments when I see something cute but decide not to buy it. But my thought is I’d rather save the $10 or put it towards making a memory (ie trip, etc) than have a cute candle holder or wall decoration. So, I commend you for saving your dollar! A lot of times we buy stuff we don’t need and then end up shoving it in a closet to get rid of clutter. There’s a difference between cheap and money wise!
And although this may be snarky, it’s no coincidence the people calling me cheap are the same ones who whip out a visa to buy that cute item!