I AM NOT A TIGHTWAD!
My husband calls me "Suzy Tightwad"
and I get a little laugh out of it everytime.
Tightwad..........what exactly is a tightwad?
In the Bargain/refunding world a tightwad is a person who saves money everyway
they know how. There are books written about it and there used to be a
newsletter called the TIGHTWAD GAZETTE. This style of living offers many
ideas to those like me......but their lifestyle isn't for me. I
liken the TIGHTWAD lifestyle to a DIET. VERY VERY HARD to adhere to, and
while it MAY WORK well for a while, eventually you CRAVE LUXURY, well at least
that is what happens to me.
I like to SAVE MONEY WITHOUT COMPROMISING MY
LIFESTYLE! Although I live modestly, I love name brand clothes, beauty
products, and brand name food. I like the quality of these things and
although I often can't afford what I want "at the exact moment I want
it" I can afford them with creativity and ingenuity and a little bit of
patience.
A prime example of this is my CURTAINS.
When we moved into our home years ago we needed/wanted curtains for our living
room and our sunroom, along with other rooms in our house. I priced them
and OMG they were outrageously priced - at least the ones I wanted/liked.
Of course I could have gotten a sale at Kmart and spent a couple of hundred
dollars to put curtains in every room or likewise MADE all of the
curtains for every room (cost about the same) but what was lacking was I would
be settling for something I really didn't even like. So we
went YEARS without any curtains at all. We bought some reasonable mini-blinds
and I had a mission. My husband often complained that we didn't have
curtains but everytime I priced them (even the cheap ones and material to
make) I was looking at over $500 to buy or make all the curtains I needed.
OUCH! If I picked ones that I REALLY wanted then I was looking at
$2000 or more!
The very first curtains that went up in the
house are still here in my daughters bedroom. I found a great sale
on SHEETS (clearanced for $3) Twin size and bought those. My girlfriend
cut them in half and made valances to top the 6 windows in the bedroom to
accompany the mini blinds. It looks very nice and cost $3.00 total to
put cutains in that room, thanks to CAROL who sewed them for me!
The next room to get curtains (8 years after
living here) was my living room! I wanted curtains that hung almost at
the ceiling to cover the 6 windows that were in my living area. These
windows were installed in the late 60's/early 70's and are not very tall but
they are very wide. One day I happened upon a clearance at service
merchandise where they were more than 90% off. Panels that were origionally
$50 were $4.99 (AND buy one get one FREE) It cost me $20 to find these
curtains that would have otherwise cost me a fortune........about $500 if my
math serves me right! :) I hung these curtains with wrought iron
accessories that cost $2.97 (reg. $29.97) at a clearance at home depot.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE NICE CURTAINS MAKE IN YOUR HOME! Now what I
didn't tell you is that they were all different lengths! The shorter curtains
hang behind my couch and the longer ones hang openly to the floor.........you
would never know this unless I told you! :)
NEXT was my sunroom! I had my husband
build me shelves to go above each window with a dowel rod through the
bottom..........this serves as a curtain rod......and I hung some LACE
valances up over some INEXPENSIVE pull down shades. These lace valances
are made to fit between curtains.......I stretched them out to make them full
size valance/curtains all on their own. These valances were 75% off retail
value! I paid $4.00 each for them reg. $19.99. My total for all
four of them was less than the price of only one!
My spare bedroom is decorated in a
"jungle" theme. My mother had some old Bamboo shades she was
going to sell at a yard sale.........I quickly confiscated them for this room
to hang under some more window shelves! BINGO FREE WINDOW TREATMENTS!
My daughters bathroom/hall bathroom needed
curtains too. This whimsical room needed something to compliment it but
the window is in a "tight space" and most curtains would just make
the room appear smaller! I Found an "outdoor flag" at
the dollar store for $1.00 and used some curtain clips (FREE after coupon
through Bed,bath and beyond) to hang it from. This did the trick and
cost very little.
All of my window treatments are very nice and
durable and high quality. The wait was worth getting something we LIKED
ALOT and felt good about.
This is just one example of many that I can
give you about how we saved LOTS OF MONEY but never compromised our lifestyle
or taste. I am not a TIGHTWAD I tell you..........I just KNOW WHAT I
LIKE and will find a way to afford just that.
The total for those curtains and rods was
about $50.00 and that took care of 5 rooms with lots of windows..........The
pull down shades cost a total of $24.00 and the wood for the shelves/dowels
was under $25........
ABOUT $100 for 20 windows, I don't think I
could have found a better deal at a yardsale..........do you?
Patience, creativity and ingenuity are the
qualities you need to have to achieve similar goals..............
my motto is: never pay full price for anything
you don't have to!
more to come ......................
happy shopping
Anjie