I Am So Cheap, I Splurge

I am so cheap...

• I don't throw away paper if one side is still usable.
• I download all my music from limewire, unless I can't find it for free or don't mind giving my $ to whoever the artist is {which happens very rarely ...}.
• If I don't want to buy the music or download it, I just make a playlist and listen to it at work or at home.
• I get all my books from the library or download them from 4shared.com.
• I turn off all the lights in my apartment except the one I'm using.
• I live in a studio apartment. One room.
• I share one car and one cell phone with my husband.
• I don't own a dining table or any chairs, for that matter.
• I got paid to go to school. Really. And I took a trip to Europe and bought a new computer with the left over money. Again: Really.
• I buy everything I can on sale. It hurts me physically to pay full price for most things.
• I reuse one waterbottle. I recycle the rest for money.
• I don't ever order soda or any other drink at restaurants. It's always free water for me.
• I love the $1 menu at fast food restuarants.
• I buy clothes at thrift stores, garage sales, Ross, and Forever 21. I hate Macy's.
• I haven't bought a DVD in ages. If I do, I buy them on Amazon for way less than they're worth.
• I watch all my favorite TV shows online. {The Office, Pushing Daisies, Wizards of Waverly Place.} We don't have cable.
• I watch full movies on YouTube when I don't feel like driving 8 miles into town to rent one.
• I won't spend a dime on something I can make myself. I will never buy a Hallmark card unless I'm physically unable to make one myself.
• I'd rather spend hundreds of hours fixing something myself {aka my computer, printer, etc.} than to pay someone exorbitant amounts of money to do it. {Take that, Geek Squad.}
• I get a haircut about twice a year, and even then, I have someone I know do it and I usually trade something besides money for it.
• I have never spent more than $30 on a pair of jeans. And $30 was a lot for me.
• I get all of my jewelry from Forever 21 or Claire's, when they have the red dot sale 10 items for $5. Or I make it myself.
• I spend too much time in the grocery store comparing prices and will refuse to buy something if I know I can get it cheaper somewhere else. {I love Target for food, by the way. Good deals on milk, eggs, bread, and juice.}
• If I order something online, I score the net first for coupon codes. I usually can find one for free shipping, at the very least.
• I used to shop at Costco a lot, but I realized I threw away too much food so now I mostly just buy photos, T.P., chips, movie tickets, stamps, cleaning products, and Swiffer pad refills there.
• I see myself as a frugal designer. I think it's plain dumb to buy brushes or fonts or the like, so I find what I can for free online, even if it takes me a long time to find it. {love Dafont.com and Summertime Designs.}
• I have thousands of photos on my computer because I'm too cheap to print them out.
• I buy some of the cheapest makeup and keep it forever. I think I've had my mascara for about 8 months now. Gross.

~*~

You'd think that by being that cheap all the time I'd be rich, right? Well, let's look at the reverse side of me. I splurge on a lot of things I probably shouldn't.

 

I splurge on...

• Makeup remover from Clinique. $16.50 every few months.
• Basics Skin care line from Arbonne. About $130 every year. It should be every 6 months but I'm cheap, remember?
• Cheese. I love brie, parmesan, and gorgonzola. I will not buy the cheap stuff. I like exceptionally good cheese.
• Cleaning products. I will not buy generic brand furniture polish. It's always Pledge for me.
• Travel. This one's a biggie. It is my Achilles' Heel.
• My favorite movies and books. I don't care how much it costs if I really like/want to buy a book or movie.Thankfully, this doesn't happen too often.
• Clothes detergent. Tide Ultra all the way. $25 every couple months.
• Gas. If I weren't so lazy I think I'd use more.
• Milk. This one's not really my fault because Franco's lactose intolerant. $3-$4.50 a half gallon every week.
• Renting movies. We watch a lot of movies, so we spend about $20 a month renting them. We should probably use Netflix.
• Health and dental insurance. The good stuff.
• The Wii.
• Computers. We have a 25.5 inch screen, the fastest internet connection Verizon offers, and the entire Adobe Production suite. I love my computer.
• Though I don't buy anything on Amazon.com that's not on "sale" I buy too many things I don't need and then they accumulate.
• Dawn or Palmolive dish soap. Generic brands make my hands dry, one of my pet peeves.
• Pure& Natural Hand soap.

~*~

 Lastly, My budgeting motto:

Spend less than you earn and don't lose what you save.

We could all be smarter about our money. I know I can be. I've been thinking about finances a lot lately and about how I can improve and how I can minimize my spending to save for the things that really matter. Franco and I have been blessed immensely and I know it's because we're trying to do the will of our Heavenly Father. He pours out more blessings than we have room enough to receive them, just like it says in the scriptures. We try not to get caught up with what the world teaches, and if we do, we know we have the atonement and can and do repent. We just have to keep our focus and pray for guidance every day.