A Penny for Your Thoughts...

Actually, you can have my thoughts for free!  There's a bargain...

Speaking of bargains, that's the kind of shopping I've been doing lately.  While I've never jetted to Rodeo Drive or have been chauffeured along Madison Avenue to buy the latest fashions, I have been a fan of Williams-Sonoma, Bloomies, and other Yuppie enclaves.

It's just that we're on a budget right now, which means - NO designer names.  Actually, how about NO names at all?

Welcome to my new world of food shopping at Aldi's and buying greeting cards at (eeek!!) the "Dollar Store"!  (Believe me, they don't carry Crane's...)

Thursday is food shopping day, so I went over and picked up Mother.  Man, she LOVES Aldi's (who do you think told me about that place?)  Hey, the woman raised five children, sent them ALL to college, AND managed to travel all over the world with my father.  (ALL over - find me a place they didn't visit...)  And now she lives in a beautiful retirement complex with all the amenities.  How did she do all this?

By watching her pennies!

Why didn't I learn this earlier?  How did I become addicted to high-end restaurants and over-priced speciality shops?  Not from my Scottish Mother...

My thrifty Mom

I have to admit, I'm beginning to embrace this new life style.  It's like a challenging game to see how much I can buy and not only stay in our budget, but go UNDER budget!  I don't mind that the stores I shop in now aren't very pretty.  I can't eat pretty...

There ARE some things you can't skimp on though.  Like Heinz ketchup and Smucker's orange marmalade.  No name ketchup is always a funky dark color... like it's old.  It's not the Heinz cheerful red.  And a store-brand marmalade?  Yuk... I won't even go there.

But, I happily pick up my "Rice Krishpees", my "Cheriooos", "Trishkuts" and blocks of cheddar cheese that are half what they cost at King's or Whole Foods.  (One year I bought ALL my side-dishes for Thanksgiving at Whole Foods and almost fainted at the register when I saw the price.  It probably would have been cheaper to bring all my guests to the fanciest restaurant in town!)

The fact is, we're saving money and it's not even hurting (well, a little...).  I really think this is a good lesson to learn, no matter what our earning bracket.  And the best thing about having to think before I spend?

I appreciate what I do have, a little bit more...