Growing up I had to contend with Thrifty Tam. She was, after all, my mother. When we went to eat at sit-down restaurants, Thrifty Tam reared her ugly head and made us take in canned soda to have with our meal instead of buying a fountain drink. We could not go out to eat with Thrifty Tam unless she had a coupon. If we were out shopping and saw an outfit we liked, Thrifty Tam would declare, “I could make that for half the cost!”. Thrifty Tam sewed us homemade Jams (remember the shorts from the 80’s?). Thrifty Tam spent hours in line to get price adjustments of just 50 cents. Thrifty Tam still takes her own peanut butter and pickles in to Einstein Bagels. Now you might think I am not a fan of Thrifty Tam, but truth be told, she is actually my hero! Now that I make my own living and pay my own bills, I admit it - Thrifty Tam was smart! I could use some of her smarts, especially now with the present state of the economy.
Unfortunately Thrifty Tam has always told me I have expensive taste. After a conversation with a friend on how much is too much to spend on a purse and me declaring I would never go over $50, this cute green bag called out to me and no sooner had I thrown down the purse price gauntlet did I find myself purchasing said green bag for $70!! So now officially I will not pay more than $70 for a purse, unless something in the $80 range catches my eye…or $90? $100? Oh my!
I love to shop and I am a perfector of the impulse buy. I reason with myself in my own head at stores and can usually justify buying most things, you know, with “Amy” logic. I never met a Target I didn’t like and feel it is my duty as their #1 shopper to purchase items on a weekly basis. My favorite book is ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’. Hello, my name is Amy and I throw caution to the wind and shop like it is my job.
So what would God say about my obsession? I am pretty sure I don’t take him with me on my shopping sprees. He might be with me, but I sure can ignore the heck out of Him. So what can I do about my obsession? I could blow it off and live by the motto – ‘Life is short, buy the shoes!’, OR I could follow the more biblical motto – ‘You can’t take it with you when you go!’.
“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.” (1 Timothy 6:6–8)
I wrote this verse on a note card and put it up all over my house. I even clipped it to the strap of my cute green purse! Now every day this week I will be reminded to be content with God and not earthly possessions.
Now don’t get me wrong, I have been known to be a little thrifty myself. I mean you can’t live with Thrifty Tam for 18 years and not pick up on some things. If you catch me on a good day, you might see me putting back that impulse buy and actually leaving a Target with nothing more than what I came in with! I have also taken a drink in to a sit down restaurant and when I’m paying the bill, I realize it’s not such a mortifying idea. I often have stores do price adjustments and think of Thrifty Tam and how proud she would be. This is really a great idea, just pay attention to the Sunday ads because a lot of stores will adjust prices due to a sale for up to 2 weeks after you originally purchased the item.
Now Thrifty Tam has no idea how to turn on a computer, but I bet if she did, she would be all over on line coupons. If you are purchasing something online, they always ask if you have a special offer code. To get these codes all you have to do is Google the item and store and you can find working and valid codes that = big savings!! I do this all the time and it works like a charm.
My favorite thrifty date night is me and my hubby surrounded by books and magazines at the local bookstore. You don’t have to spend a dime, unless you can’t resist the cappuccino at the café. But even still, you can read magazines for free and play footsy under the table with your man – who can ask for a better date?!?
Here is a picture of me and Thrifty Tam last year...the yummy dessert was free because it was her birthday!!
Free to be me...
Unfortunately Thrifty Tam has always told me I have expensive taste. After a conversation with a friend on how much is too much to spend on a purse and me declaring I would never go over $50, this cute green bag called out to me and no sooner had I thrown down the purse price gauntlet did I find myself purchasing said green bag for $70!! So now officially I will not pay more than $70 for a purse, unless something in the $80 range catches my eye…or $90? $100? Oh my!
I love to shop and I am a perfector of the impulse buy. I reason with myself in my own head at stores and can usually justify buying most things, you know, with “Amy” logic. I never met a Target I didn’t like and feel it is my duty as their #1 shopper to purchase items on a weekly basis. My favorite book is ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’. Hello, my name is Amy and I throw caution to the wind and shop like it is my job.
So what would God say about my obsession? I am pretty sure I don’t take him with me on my shopping sprees. He might be with me, but I sure can ignore the heck out of Him. So what can I do about my obsession? I could blow it off and live by the motto – ‘Life is short, buy the shoes!’, OR I could follow the more biblical motto – ‘You can’t take it with you when you go!’.
“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.” (1 Timothy 6:6–8)
I wrote this verse on a note card and put it up all over my house. I even clipped it to the strap of my cute green purse! Now every day this week I will be reminded to be content with God and not earthly possessions.
Now don’t get me wrong, I have been known to be a little thrifty myself. I mean you can’t live with Thrifty Tam for 18 years and not pick up on some things. If you catch me on a good day, you might see me putting back that impulse buy and actually leaving a Target with nothing more than what I came in with! I have also taken a drink in to a sit down restaurant and when I’m paying the bill, I realize it’s not such a mortifying idea. I often have stores do price adjustments and think of Thrifty Tam and how proud she would be. This is really a great idea, just pay attention to the Sunday ads because a lot of stores will adjust prices due to a sale for up to 2 weeks after you originally purchased the item.
Now Thrifty Tam has no idea how to turn on a computer, but I bet if she did, she would be all over on line coupons. If you are purchasing something online, they always ask if you have a special offer code. To get these codes all you have to do is Google the item and store and you can find working and valid codes that = big savings!! I do this all the time and it works like a charm.
My favorite thrifty date night is me and my hubby surrounded by books and magazines at the local bookstore. You don’t have to spend a dime, unless you can’t resist the cappuccino at the café. But even still, you can read magazines for free and play footsy under the table with your man – who can ask for a better date?!?
Here is a picture of me and Thrifty Tam last year...the yummy dessert was free because it was her birthday!!
Free to be me...
2 comments:
You call her "Thrifty Tam" but, I call her "Cheap Tam"!
LOL! I do wish I would have inherited more of her "thriftiness" too....
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