Cheap Tricks

    I fully expect my tombstone to say something like:
                                                                     Connie Lamb
                                                   She Never Paid Full Price for Anything
                                                              (including this tombstone.)

As a matter of fact, I would be disappointed if it doesn't say something like that, I don't care if my loved ones have to scratch over someone else's name. My main contribution to the family finances all these years has been saving money.  If my kids wanted to impress me with a recent purchase, they would say, "And Mom it was ON SALE".  I was recently at a couponing seminar where with a mere three to four hours a week, lots of driving around, letting manufacturers fill up your e-mail, clipping, sorting, carrying coupons and storing and rotating stock like a grocery store, you can feed your family on $50 per month.  When it was finished everyone around me was saying "That's too hard." or "I don't have that kind of time.", including me.  Coupons only save you money if you insist on buying name brands.
     My method takes 15 minutes per week:  1)check the sales ads 2) buy what's on sale 3) go home.  If you don't get the newspaper most ads are available on line, sometimes by home delivery or always at the front of the store.  Grocery sales cycle about every three months.  That means you don't have to buy and store large quantities, just enough to last until the next sales cycle. Except in cases of 12 hour or early bird sales, I buy groceries when my errands take me near that particular store, there is seldom need to make a special trip.       
     Furniture and home improvement items go on sale around holidays.  Unless you are shopping for growing children and don't know what size they will need, buy clothes at season end.  I don't even bother looking at a clearance rack until it is 75 percent off.  Clothes shopping goes very quickly for me because I check the clearance racks and leave.  For me the feeling of finding a good 90 percent off sale is like my hunter husband  feels after shooting an elk., I've bagged the big one.
     When you know the good sale prices, you can shop at warehouse stores like Costco and know which items are really a better deal. However, if you feed  many mouths, the convenience of having to shop less often may be worth more than saving money.  My method will not work for people who decide what to fix for dinner on their way home from work, chances of your random choice intersecting with a sale price are slim.  I've always kept some basics on hand even when all we had was a refrigerator freezer: a chicken, roast, pork chops or ribs, burger etc.  It is much easier to remember to thaw out the meat than to stop at the store on the way home from work.
     Saving money is easy but takes some planning. God has given us money as a way to meet our needs, paying more money than you have to is like flinging that blessing out the window. Also, being frugal in spending allows you to be generous in giving.  I would rather work a little at saving money than work harder and longer to earn it.  Remember, "You get what you pay for." is usually quoted by people who just paid too much or are trying to sell something. Even I have my limits though, I may only buy toilet tissue when it's on sale but I won't buy one ply regardless of the price.  Also it's not a good deal if you didn't need it in the first place or don't know how you'll pay for it.  By following these simple guidelines, you too can be as cheap and easy as I am.