Don’t tell my husband but I think I have crossed the line. What line you wonder? The line between being frugal and a tightwad.
This morning I went to visit my friend so that our kids could play together. I complimented some very nice baskets she had in the living room for quick toy pick up. As she is telling me that she bought them 50% off at a big discount store, all I could think about was “That’s too much money, I can’t spend that much money on something like that.” But in perspective it wasn’t that much money and what is most important is that the baskets provide an excellent purpose: keep the living room looking tidy.
The rest of my visit I couldn’t help but think of what I have become: A tightwad, I DO NOT like spending money . The difference between this and being a frugal person, according to Wikipedia, is that a frugal person acquires goods on a restrained manner.
But lately, just the thought of spending money makes me cringe. This is why when I go grocery shopping if my bill is more than $25 I wonder what went wrong. This is why I dislike sharing a deal where you actually have to spend any money out of pocket because I don’t want to help you spend money. I want to help you keep more of it. This is why Deputy Headmistress’ post “Keep What’s in Your Hand” resonated with me.
Further thinking about it I am not surprised I have gotten here. I have always been extremely competitive with myself. Over the past eight months I have enjoyed seeing my spending go down. I have also been pushing our budget down by sending more and more to savings via automatic savings. But what will the lower limit be?
Being a tightwad is not always good. There are many times when you just have to spend money in order to keep what you have. This is why I am glad I have my husband as a sounding board because there have been many times where I have wanted to buy the cheapest of something but he has pushed for the better value. The term tightwad is synonym of miser and the last thing I want is for my family or me to feel miserable or deprived.
