Monday, February 4, 2008

Cheapskate

I had a very productive Super Bowl this year, as I was able to actually do four things at the same time (and no, one didn't involve chewing gum). In addition to watching the game, I also managed to finish reading my biography of Charles Schulz, and I also read an entire 240 page book, The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches, by Jeff Yeager. While watching and reading, I also managed to eat a lot of food and ignore my wife's attempts at conversation. Oh, occassionally I would grunt or make pig sounds, but between the game, the books and the food, I doubt she noted any difference between my game sounds and my usual grunts and head bobbing.

Oh well . . . reading Jeff Yeager's book, I wondered if I would qualify as a cheapskate. The answer is sometimes, but certainly not to the extent of Jeff Yeager. I don't, for example, save airplane barf bags and use them for a month at a time for sack lunches. And I certainly don't recycle my table scraps with bullion cubes to make odd sounding soups. I mean, this guy is CHEAP!

I do, however, have a few pet peeves and ways I cut corners, including:
Using my razor blades for so long that, toward the end of their life, they are actually plucking the hair on my face instead of cutting the whiskers.
Driving my 1991 Caprice Wagon for 160,000 miles without a tune up and not changing the tires until the fabric pokes through.
Refusing the buy new underwear until I get a pack from my mother for Christmas (an annual event).

Happy saving!

1 comment:

Mark W said...

My wife brags that her dad still has the first paintbrush that he ever bought. She sees this a virtue that I should emulate. I, on the other hand, would still have the first toothbrush that I ever purchased if my wife didn't secretly replace them. What a hypocrite.