My grandfather Merkley is a master saver, he grew up in the depression and is the type to bury money in the back yard.. Growing up I watched him save milk jugs and fabric scraps to reuse as watering cans and patches for holes in clothes. He used to tell me that when he was young he could "buy a coke, popcorn and a movie ticket for just 25 cents." At 9 yrs old I didn't understand the concept of inflation, I just thought that if he had to pay .25 and I had to pay 7.50 everyone was ripping me off. Through middle school and high school I justified the price of the ticket by sneaking in my moms chocolate chip cookies, 3 PB&J sandwiches and a 2 liter of Diet Rootbeer to really "stick it to the movie theater man".
*shudder... How was I not 500 lbs by age 12?*
Now, in my 20's and living in New York I pay 17.50$ for a movie ticket and skip all treats. But have felt a close connection to my Grandfather's thrifty ways. I have started to think of his strange saving habits as brilliance rather than silly. I understand that the spaghetti jar can totally double as a drinking glass and my clothes (when taken care of) don't need to be washed every few days. I have developed a couple of golden rules and tips that come in quite clutch when savin' those pennies.
Some of them being:
Museums are best when free.
Restaurants make you chubby and poor.
Olive oil works as a hair mask.
Clothes should be ruminated for 6 days before bought.
Never pay over 6 dollars for hummus, no matter how addicted I am to that chick pea crack.
Tea rather than cocktails.
Frozen corn can curb most cravings.
Save now, plane ticket later.
I do splurge on an occasional mani pedi/hummus binge but do appreciate the example that he set for me.
Cheers to another week in NYC.
Happy savings!
