The Outed Tightwad

The local Quality Inn has a great apple tree for my apple crisp.

I've come out of the closet--the tightwad closet. I'm not afraid to tell those who visit my home that they've set their cup of coffee on an end table from a school Dumpster, refinished by hubby, or that the apple crisp I'm serving came from the fruit of the local Quality Inn apple tree. While some look askance when I share a tightwad tidbit, polite people feign interest.
 
But then there are the times when the angels sing, and a friendship is born over mutual frugality. My sister went to dinner at the home of a couple from their church--a couple they did not know well. Conversation was a bit stilted until my sister noticed the 10-10- long distance discount access code sticker on their phone and thought to mention Freeway, a now-defunct service that allowed two minutes of free long-distance for each short advertisement you'd listen to before making a call. The rest of the evening went more quickly, with an exchange of tightwad tips, and discussion of saving money for impending adoptions both families were planning.

Our local museum is free on Mondays.

Even if you don't score a lifelong friend, when you're not afraid to mention something frugal, people will know you're interested, and they'll tell you if a new thrift store opened up near them, if a relative shops at a food salvage store--perhaps even one you didn't yet know about, a neighbor has a beautiful easy chair in the trash, or that the public museum is free on Mondays. Regardless of the exact information, it does flow when people know you want to save money. Voilà! You're a magnet for money-saving knowledge.

The Grand Rapids Press featured me on the front page of the Food section.

A couple of years ago, The Grand Rapids Press wrote a profile in the food section about the money-saving ways I feed my family. My husband, not seeing any benefit to the intrusion, stayed on the sidelines during the interview. There was a benefit, however: friends. Like-minded people I knew only by face introduced themselves, and it progressed from there. Now I have a fruit foraging buddy, which is so much more fun than doing it solo.

In a society where self-worth can be wrapped up in status, sometimes it feels just a little uncomfortable to let people know that I Dumpster-dive or that my favorite sweater, rather than being from Macy's, is indeed from a garage sale. But the reward comes when the little tidbit I dare to share develops into a friendship so tight that I'll even admit to reusing my dental floss. Now that kind of friendship is a real friendship.

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Open Your Mind, Let the Dollars Fall In

    A while back someone disparaged Discount Foods Warehouse, my favorite food salvage store until it closed down. I concede that the place was dirty, but I loved to shop there. Discount Foods Warehouse was exhibit A, that, while doing any bargain hunting, it is important to overlook some unappealing aspects of a given venue in order to find hidden gems.
     At some estate sales, the house might smell stale, but that doesn't mean there aren't some great buys on tools, even if you wouldn't choose your next set of bed sheets from the musty basement. At Discount Foods, I had absolutely no qualms about going to find what was good. There might be a water-damaged bag of flour (no, thanks), canned food with icky labels (not so bad, since these can be washed), and other things in unopened cases. When I look for deals, I try not to look at the big picture, but look at items on an individual basis. I would ask myself, "Is this bag of split peas usable, or is it unsafe? Is this cheese moldy, or is it good? Is this lemon juice too expired?", not "Is the ambiance nice? Are the shelves organized? Are the surroundings clean?"
     When we go to garage sales or thrift stores, we try to find the treasures amidst the junk. It is in junky-looking thrift stores and garage sales that I often find the best items, at the most reasonable prices; conversely, at the so-called "upscale" thrift stores, the prices tend to be more than I'm willing to pay and I walk out empty-handed.
     At a food salvage store, armed with the same attitude, I find some write-home-about-it bargains, including Camembert cheese for $1.00/lb. Camembert is pricey stuff, and we would never have purchased it from a normal store, but I got it for far less than even the cheapest processed cheese at Aldi. I find that, because I can spot the good among the bad, I find great things in unexpected places, even Dumpsters and trash piles. Maybe those "shopping" venues aren't for everyone, but it means better availability for those of us with an open mind and a soapy rag.
     If you find yourself put off by anything other than typical shopping destinations, just remember that if you open your mind, the dollars will fall in. An item doesn't need to be presented in a lovely showcase for it to be just what you need.
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