What are you irrationally cheap about?

In My Humble Opinion
61

Garbage bags: Why buy bags when Kroger gives 'em away for free?

Baby clothes: I spent twenty dollars at the mall on an outfit for Bella before she was born. She grew out of it in two weeks. After that horrible waste of money I spent twenty more at the Salvation Army store for ten outfits that were just as cute. Same with baby gear. I bought an overpriced stroller with an uncomfortably low handle before she was born. Since then I’ve bought bouncers, a high chair, toys and a walker at thrift stores and I’m looking for a stroller for less than ten bucks tomorrow. Yesterday I saw a nifty Jeep stroller but I want a pretty one.

Coffee: Instant K brand. I drink it so fast and furiously I don’t taste it anyway.

TV: don’t spend any money at all on it except for electricity. No cable, no satellite. **Lost ** is on regular TV and that’s all that matters!

Internet: Dial-up all the way, baby. I do use AOL right now because I got addicted to the boards while I was pregnant. I also refuse to buy a new computer although this one is so old isn’t useful for much more than message boards.

Cats: While I spend extra for good scoopable litter, they get cheap food. Not the cheapest, because it doesn’t seem to stay down, but the cheapest that is digestible.

Cleaning supplies. I use generic windex for almost all my cleaning. It works, and it costs a buck. Now it even comes in a floral scent!

Food: If it’s not generic or without a coupon I won’t buy it. Except baby formula. Kroger brand is horrible. I don’t use formula that often so it’s worth it to spend extra on the Supreme Good Start. When she starts on baby food I probably won’t waste money on those tiny jars when I can make it myself, but we’ll see. Those tiny jars are pretty cheap.

Laundry: I handwash everything that fits in the sink and dry it all on hangers. I haven’t used a dry cleaner ever.
I save ten bucks a week by my handwashing/air drying alone!

Birthday wrap. I present gifts to my family in bags or just hand it over. I’m sure something is lost without the thrill of unwrapping something, but when it’s all over, who cares?

This is all done so I can run my air conditioner 24/7 almost all year long. Even when I have the heat on in the dead of winter I will run the A/C fan at night because the noise and air circulation helps me sleep.

62

Shoes.

I bartend, which means I’m on my feet on slick/wet floors for seven/ten hours a day, five days a week.

And yet I can never convince myself to spend more than the absolute bare minimum on shoes for work. Nor will I replace them nearly as often as I should, considering they get over 200 hours of wear a month. I’ll still keep shoes until the rubber disintigrates on the bottom and my socks start getting soaked.

My feet pay my mortgage.

And yet if I spend more than $20-$30 bucks on shoes for work, Mr. Levins says it’s a minor miracle. He would like to see me consider good shoes an investment, whereas I just see it as a pain in the ass to spend money on “ugly shoes that are going to get ruined at work.” (Because they do; within a week, they’re covered with all kinds of bar slime and they’ll never be attractive again.)

That’s really my only cheap idiosyncracy.

63

I buy nearly all my clothing from garage sales. The only exceptions are bras, undies, shoes and socks and even then I buy those items at discount stores when on sale. I even have three nice interview quality suits that I found at a church sale in an upscale neighborhood.

Clothing has always seemed a big waste to me primarily because I’m a slob who somehow manages to get everything I wear filthy by the end of the day. Plus I work at home so appearences aren’t as important.

My two year old also wears clothing mostly from garage sales. I hate buying new stuff for her because she either outgrows it five seconds later or gets it dirty nearly immediately. At a school yard sale last week they had a fill a bag sale for $3 a bag. One of people running it helped me find clothing for her. With her cheering me on, we crammed thirty nearly brand new items in one paper bag.

64

CDs. I refuse to buy a CD for more than $13 under any condition. The discounted CD bin at Tower records has become my new best friend.

Shoes. I’ll spend around $60 for sneakers since I wear them all the time, but at least half that for everthing else.