Frugality is a virtue
I find pennies on the ground all the time. I find them in parking lots when getting out of my car, on streets that I'm crossing, on sidewalks that I'm walking. This is besides the redeemable bottle or can that I find on nearly every walk. I usually carry a cloth bag on my walks to collect these cans (and carry any poop bags I might acquire, and any trash I pick up.) My husband is amused with my newfound penny attracting abilities. He thinks they're worthless, but I disagree. For one thing, the 1982 and earlier pennies are actually worth just over 2 cents because of the value of their metal. (LOL inflation.) Small Boy reads the date for me (I'm too blind) and we put them in a decorative jar. The later pennies go in my purse and get spent with my change, or occasionally redeemed for a dime while I'm at the bank. It occurred to me as I was doing this the other day that I get more dimes at the bank this way than from interest on my deposits at today's interest rates.
As for the redeemable bottles, I consider these coupons against my eventual next case of beer. It isn't unusual for me to get the beer half off (since I don't buy beer very frequently, and I find a can or two on every walk which means I have a lot of cans to redeem.) I always find it so odd that people just cast nickels about like that. Once I picked up an entire small bag of household trash on the sidewalk that had both a late bill notice AND redeemable cans in the bag. (I opened it up to separate the recycling before I tossed it.) Every grocery store redeems soda cans... is it really that hard to save them for your next trip to the store? I think this is a basic poor skill. Waste not want not.
Yesterday at the Farmer's Market one of the farmers asked if I would sell him my Previa. Previas are a bit of a sub-culture, like old corvettes or something. The people who have them love them. But they stopped making them in 1997, so the NEWEST ones on the road are 16 years old, and mine is the very best model of the latest year, and has been well-maintained, so it's in hot demand. He's the fourth person I can think of who tried to buy it with a cold call offer. I told him it wasn't for sale right now. Oh, he said, he heard from [common friend I was talking to last week] that it couldn't pass inspection. It can't, I said, but I drive in uninspected. He was shocked; I drive it with a Reject sticker on it? No, I just don't take the old one off when it expired. Oh! He hadn't thought of that! I explained that I was too cheap to replace a car that works great, and if I got a $50 fine I'd just pay it.
Last night a LJ friend said that she thinks it's tacky for people to sell their used crap. As someone who has bought sheets and towels at tag sales (as well as sold them that way) I don't really have any problem with this. The skirt I wore to church today was bought at a neighbor's tag sale, and the shirt came from the Salvation Army. I don't find this the least bit shameful. Personally, I dislike buying new things; I try to avoid consumerism. I borrow many of my books from the library, and buy a bunch of the rest at used book stores. The last two refrigerators that broke got repaired instead of replaced, mostly because I wanted to avoid throwing them in the landfill.
I see no sin in any of this; on the contrary, I think it's a virtue I spend my money generously on services - particularly on building improvements and education. I give gifts, I give to charity; I'm not being cheap at other people's expenses, unless you drink the kool-aid and believe that it is American to buy a new Samsung TV. I think throwing a bunch of crap in the landfill makes the world POORER when the resources get used and buried, not richer.
Full disclosure: yesterday was "Tax-Free" Day in MA and I used the lack of sales tax to replace a dead garbage can, buy a new computer for my business (where the trickle down means I free up an older one to come back to my house so I can blog with a keyboard again) and replace a dead hedge trimmer. We had a list when we went to the store and avoided impulse purchases. It's not that I don't buy things, I just buy them after consideration, with a list of authorized purchases, after consulting Consumer Reports magazine (which I get in print form and keep archived five years' worth in my cabinet.)
Point is, if you think being frugal is tacky, you should probably broaden your mind.
As for the redeemable bottles, I consider these coupons against my eventual next case of beer. It isn't unusual for me to get the beer half off (since I don't buy beer very frequently, and I find a can or two on every walk which means I have a lot of cans to redeem.) I always find it so odd that people just cast nickels about like that. Once I picked up an entire small bag of household trash on the sidewalk that had both a late bill notice AND redeemable cans in the bag. (I opened it up to separate the recycling before I tossed it.) Every grocery store redeems soda cans... is it really that hard to save them for your next trip to the store? I think this is a basic poor skill. Waste not want not.
Yesterday at the Farmer's Market one of the farmers asked if I would sell him my Previa. Previas are a bit of a sub-culture, like old corvettes or something. The people who have them love them. But they stopped making them in 1997, so the NEWEST ones on the road are 16 years old, and mine is the very best model of the latest year, and has been well-maintained, so it's in hot demand. He's the fourth person I can think of who tried to buy it with a cold call offer. I told him it wasn't for sale right now. Oh, he said, he heard from [common friend I was talking to last week] that it couldn't pass inspection. It can't, I said, but I drive in uninspected. He was shocked; I drive it with a Reject sticker on it? No, I just don't take the old one off when it expired. Oh! He hadn't thought of that! I explained that I was too cheap to replace a car that works great, and if I got a $50 fine I'd just pay it.
Last night a LJ friend said that she thinks it's tacky for people to sell their used crap. As someone who has bought sheets and towels at tag sales (as well as sold them that way) I don't really have any problem with this. The skirt I wore to church today was bought at a neighbor's tag sale, and the shirt came from the Salvation Army. I don't find this the least bit shameful. Personally, I dislike buying new things; I try to avoid consumerism. I borrow many of my books from the library, and buy a bunch of the rest at used book stores. The last two refrigerators that broke got repaired instead of replaced, mostly because I wanted to avoid throwing them in the landfill.
I see no sin in any of this; on the contrary, I think it's a virtue I spend my money generously on services - particularly on building improvements and education. I give gifts, I give to charity; I'm not being cheap at other people's expenses, unless you drink the kool-aid and believe that it is American to buy a new Samsung TV. I think throwing a bunch of crap in the landfill makes the world POORER when the resources get used and buried, not richer.
Full disclosure: yesterday was "Tax-Free" Day in MA and I used the lack of sales tax to replace a dead garbage can, buy a new computer for my business (where the trickle down means I free up an older one to come back to my house so I can blog with a keyboard again) and replace a dead hedge trimmer. We had a list when we went to the store and avoided impulse purchases. It's not that I don't buy things, I just buy them after consideration, with a list of authorized purchases, after consulting Consumer Reports magazine (which I get in print form and keep archived five years' worth in my cabinet.)
Point is, if you think being frugal is tacky, you should probably broaden your mind.