Frugal McDougal

As a child, I was taught to be cautious with my spending. Money always seemed to be adequate for my family’s needs, but splurging was almost always out of the question. It was a special treat for us every Sunday after church, my dad to make a run to Miller’s store in Normalville, Pennsylvania and buy a Sunday newspaper, a large silver-foil bag of Snyder’s potato chips, and one-pound wheel of “gummy” longhorn cheese. That was our weekly luxury.

As an adult, I’ve continued to watch my pennies, spending it on only things that were necessary. It was a treat for us to eat at a restaurant, even a simple meal at McDonald’s. I always said about being a nurse, I could keep food on the table, a roof over our heads, and clothing on our backs. My kids call me cheap, but I would rather be called cheap than to be a spendthrift and need to borrow money from them.

Lately, I’ve loosened the purse strings a little. I just ordered flooring for my living room and dining room. The remarkable thing is, I’m actually paying someone to install it. The company that I am using has an estimate for removing and hauling away the old carpet. Somehow, that just rubbed against my frugal nature. I decided to remove the carpet and padding myself. It meant that I had to move the furniture left in the rooms to accomplish it. I have to talk to the company today to see if that item can be removed. I’m hoping that I can reduce the cost slightly, being the “cheap” buzzard that I am.

To take breaks from carpet removal and crawling on the floor to extract staples, I took down the curtains from both rooms, washed, dried, and folded them. I’ll hang them again after the installation of the flooring, although with the windows uncovered, I won’t be raiding the fridge in my birthday suit.I needed some fresh air. I got it when I took down the outside clothes line and mowed my lawn as well as the neighbor’s. It was chilly and I was glad to come back inside to finish my tasks. One of my friends said I’ll be too sore to move today, I am, but I feel glad to know that the work is behind me.