Cost Conscious in CT

First thing—the wedding was a beautiful, wonderful event. I owe big thanks to all for your good wished. My daughter was a dazzling bride, her groom a stalwart fellow, and Mom didn’t cry too much.

But some interesting notes on costs. My daughter, as I mentioned, bought her dress on the clearance sale at a large bridal shop. Cost of the dress? $99. But, the dress needed slight alterations. She returned to that shop. Cost of the alterations? $250. And they were not done correctly and had to be redone.

My dress? $7.50 at Goodwill. Cost to dry clean? $20 (it has beadwork). Something seems out of whack here.

Ah, well, the wedding is behind me now. I’ll devote future blog entries to my main theme, saving. And lord knows I need to—my last day of work is June 30th. My long-term employer (eleven years), the Bridgeport Economic Resource Center, is closing its doors forever, leaving me unemployed. What better time to be bogging about cost-consciousness!

Whatever happened to ladies’ hankies? They used to be ubiquitous. When did they disappear? In preparation for the big wedding, and given that I tend to be quite emotional (I cry at Milford’s yearly fire engine parade), I wanted to get some nice, lacy, feminine hankies—so much nicer than a roll of toilet paper, or even a ton of sodden tissues. I went to half a dozen stores, and nowhere could I find ladies hankies.

K-Mart had men’s handkerchiefs—package of four for $4.99. Now, why should I pay for four handkerchiefs, and five bucks at that, when I only need one—and they’re not even pretty?

GW’s, here I come. I knew it was a long shot. But once again, I got lucky at Goodwill. I found a new, unopened package of four men’s handkerchiefs—almost exactly the same as the K-Mart package, for just $2.00. So at least I’m covered for the wedding. My sure-to-be-copious tears will be discretely gathered.

But whatever happened to ladies’ hankies?

Wedding bubbles ($15 for 100 at Wal-Mart)-check. Programs printed-check. Outfit for rehearsal dinner (tag sale special)-check. Shoes ($19.95 at Marshals) broken in-check. My wedding rings polished—still to do. Surprise for honeymoon condo—still to do.

Weather forecast for Saturday-partly cloudy and in the 70’s. Great!

Wine and champagne for mimosas at beauty parlor—still to do. Find a pretty handkerchief for copious tears I will cry—still do do. Silver bag to hold hankie? (Need to find one to borrow). Cookies with mimosas? Need to bake.

Check weather on different website. Looking good!

Four days!

Saturday is my daughter’s wedding! My baby. And as you well know, a wedding is not about saving. Although we have managed to pull it of for lots less than the average. Cynthia got her dress at David’s Bridal yearly sale. And me? At Goodwill, of course1 The wedding will be at Mill on the River in South Windsor—a beautiful setting. And one of the least expensive places they looked at. Best of all, Cynthia isn’t frazzled, Brian isn’t frazzled, and even I am not frazzled. (Weepy, perhaps, but not frazzled).

Now, excuse me, please, while I go and check the weather forecast for Saturday!

Saturday afternoons are for yard work. Sunday is a great beach day. But spring, summer and fall, Saturday mornings are for tag sales!

After a slow start, Tag Sale season is finally underway! Thank goodness! As a certified tightwad, I do most of my shopping at tag (aka yard or garage) sales. And why not?

Why should I pay full price for something I can get for a few bucks—or a quarter? My house is furnished, my garden decorated, and my closet filled with tag sale finds. And, yes, I do most of my Christmas shopping at yard sales, too. Why should I shop for my family and friends differently than do for myself?

Many folks baulk at the idea of buying gifts “used.” But think of it this way. Which is more thoughtful–to rush out in December to the crowded mall, harassed and hurried, to buy something—anything—for Susan because I’ve GOT to get a Christmas gift? Or to see something at a tag sale in July that I know Susan will love (and I very likely wouldn’t be able to afford to buy for her, new)? As long as it’s pristine—in the same great shape as it would be had I bought it new—why not? Will Susan enjoy it less because she wasn’t the first person to use it (assuming she knows).

Maybe that’s the problem—the implied dishonesty in giving a gift, that the recipient assumes is new, when it is in reality pre-owned.

As one of six kids of a schoolteacher (in the years when teachers were notoriously underpaid), economy was a way of life.  It mostly meant you didn’t buy much.  You had a pair of shoes-maybe dress up shoes (handed down from your sisters and uncomfortable) for church, and a pair of other shoes for school and play.  And you bought them at TOPPS discount city (fabulous city of discounts).  Potato chips were a once-in-a-while big treat.  Dinner out?  Not so much.  I remember once, on the road to visit Grandma Cook in Cape Cod, we stopped at a roadside restaurant, and had hamburgers and fries.  Now, that was a treat.

 We didn’t ski or belong to the “Y”; rich people did that.  Vacations were spent with aunts and uncles, or at Grandma Cook’s house.  We had one family car (’til my teen years) and schedules were planned around that.  We walked a lot. 

 This no-frills life was our norm. Most of our friends lived this way, too. When we turned sixteen, we got a job to save for college.  So I guess I just never got in the habit of spending money.

I plan to blog about saving money, saving time, saving space, saving your health, saving the planet, saving your sanity….Some folks tell me they are inspired by my economies. Some people just think I’m cheap. Most believe, I’m sure, I’m a bit weird. (Dating myself, no doubt, with that word). But I do love to write, and have learned, through the exigencies of life, a bit about saving.