Thursday, April 14, 2011

Cheap or Thrifty?

When I was younger, I didn't really understand the value of money. In my tweens, I would ask my parents to buy me brand name clothing like Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, etc without a worry about money because well... it wasn't my money! Haha! I didn't think about how hard my parents had to work to gift me with that one piece of clothing that I begged for... all that mattered was that I was COOL!!! And now that I look back at my photos, i certainly did not pull off cool with my large circular glasses complete with protective string, awkward hair, etc... haha! (i'll post a pic sometime :P)


Now that i'm nearing my mid-twenties and I fully realize the value of money, i've really been into.... COUPONS! Some people think it's weird or that you're "cheap" but really... why would you pay for something full price when you can get it for almost, if not, fully free! (Extreme Couponing, anyone?)

Have your spending habits changed as you got older? 



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35 comments:

krissy ♥ said...

Umm, it has changed indeed, it has become worse x_x I am even more spend-a-holic now because I know I am spending my own money. Talk about being a responsible adult. Not. :D

Which reminds me, I need to start going now because it's payday Friday! Will withdraw my salary, pay credit card bill, meet my friends, and maybe reward myself with a large serving of fro-yo :D

Kalmo said...

I def. got cheaper as I've gotten older. LOL Once you work yourself, you know the value of money and what it takes to earn it. ^^ Coupons are cool but I never find any I can use.

grace said...

I'm getting cheaper by the minute. I LOVE coupons. I always sign up for discounts and rewards, but they never come when I need them the most -___-

FleurLapin said...

I've been working since I was seventeen... but I've never actually had to pay my own bills, except when I moved out and had to pay my own rent. I've since then moved back home. While I was frugal then, I'm not as much. It's like all that repressed shopping urges unleashed or something. I keeping telling myself to stop spending but it's the little things that get me. LoL

GretchTM said...

I'm all about coupons and saving money! haha!

ochikeron said...

Hi Kym,

Yes for sure!!! Since my college time when I started to live by myself!!! Coupon is a necessary item and I sometimes claim for not being realizing it on the package which is really weird... but to get any possible discount, I will claim for it. lol.

Also, I look for sweepstakes. I sometimes collect any barcodes or logos which are possible coupons to apply... My darling sees this bunch of barcodes and say I am doing too much but I don't want to spend money collecting those but collect when needed. haha

ochikeron said...

BTW, my decision was pretty quick after the quake. I thought time is money and need to start what I want to do. Also, I wanted to be a homemaker once in my life! I think I can keep my home clean in this way! hehe

MizzJ said...

Hmm I don't think I've ever been an excessive spender since I was raised by an accountant and have had a savings account since I was 8! That being said, I def started buying more when I got my first coop job haha It's hard not to when you go from student poor to decent wage.

Trish said...

my spending wasn't extreme when i was younger, although before i spend money without thinking if i really need something, i guess i'm just a saver haha if i dont need it, i dont buy it nowdays, i love coupons just coz i can get things i want for a cheaper price =D

Ar-Ar Malalis said...

It ain't cheap after all!

littletiara said...

lol.. I knooowww!! I have always been good in saving my money (if you don't want to call it petty hahahaha) but whenever I am with my parents I will go crazy buying anything, because it's not mineeee <3 lololol XD

when I use money from my purse... I'll plan everything out before and make sure i won't go wild XD (sometimes I do plan to go wild, though, hahaha)

Hazel☺ said...

i can totally relate on you on this one! and true enough i've changed my spending habits as i got older ;P i only shop when it's on sale or buy 1 take 1 :))

MissA* said...

Did you say coupons? :D I love them! Why 'cheap'? I'll never pay full price when I know I could get the same thing cheaper.

Becks said...

Love being thrifty! Thrifty to me is a synonym for convenient creativity. hehe. But I'm not an active coupon-er.

Sometimes there's too much running around to different shops or remembering expiry dates for me to keep on top of.

I get huge satisfaction in having a week's worth of shopping come under $80 though as a result of "thrifty" planning.

Becks said...

P.S. I always get a reality check on item prices when I do the "This would cost about X-amount of hours of work."

Curly said...

Oh yes I think a little more before buying things I don't really need... but only a little more! ;-)

Mana said...

After my getting my first job at 16 I know fully realize the value of a dollar (though bf seriously doubts it lol) I love coupons, I think it's silly if people don't use them because they think it's cheap, why would I want to pay full price on something when I can get a discount?! I usually clip coupons on things that I use regularly and I keep a look out for sales on things I use daily, like contact solution etc. Then I just buy a few bottles instead of paying full price for when I desperately need it. I love groupon and similar sites!

Taking this to the extreme bf has decided that if we ever get married we are having weddings photos done in Vietnamese because apparently it's a lot cheaper there with the same quality as professionals over here LOL but we'll see if or when that time comes =P But I honestly don't mind splurging for photos because they're forever!!!!! forget the dress and centerpieces lol

Dirt On The Rocks said...

i definitely understand what you're talking about. i'm at the point where shoot i want to start extreme couponing! lol. i definitely didn't understand the value of money until i moved out and had a baby.. now that i'm a single mom lol it's even harder, lol.

Shop N' Chomp said...

Omg, I was going to talk about Extreme Couponing in my next post...haha! I love coupons but don't think I could ever go to those lengths.

Ricademus said...

My wife is a coupon queen. The kids get embarrassed being in line with her at the grocery store. =)

I was always thrifty, but not cheap--I hope. I don't think that has changed over the years.

You reminded me of a story about my son picking out a present for himself at ToysRUs.

Unknown said...

Coupons used to be my OBSESSION. They used to double coupons at a lot of grocery stores in Socal where i used to live and I would save SO much money by clipping coupons, comparing them w/ads and getting things for free! :p But once I moved to the Bay Area for work, they didn't double coupons anymore but I still collect them out of habit and shop very smartly :p

I used to not care about the value of money but eversince I was on my own at 18, I learned the hard way that money should be valued :)

Safe in the Steep Cliffs said...

YES! My spending habits are WAY different now! As of this day, I'm still learning how to budget. hahaha! But now, I'm always constantly texting my bank account to check how much I have left to see if I went over my budget XD I hate budgeting but it's there for a reason! ^__^

And I got in a phase of coupons too but I never printed the coupons and used them :[ It's cus they're usually deals like buy 2 get $.50 off... I'm like... THE HECK?! That's lame! LOL!

Sarah said...

i don't know if i'd go into extreme couponing (that takes serious time and effort) but i definitely TRY to use coupons as much as possible - though sometimes i just really want something, haha :X

a said...

nope. my spending habits have always been the same, since i was young and now. i was always one to save, save, save. even as a child, i understood how hard my parents worked to take care of my brother and i. i was taught that if i didn't make the money, then what right was i to have to spend? only if i was rewarded or given money, i could use.

now that i'm older, i never purchase things that are not on sale, haha! i buy the things i want, but only if i feel they are at a reasonable price and of course, on sale.

Safe in the Steep Cliffs said...

hahahaha! no im not friend's with th owner. that would be strange hahaha. my friend was aired on the kingston cafe one. dang their owner is freaking controlling O_O my friend was one of the cook and he was taking care of the grill. he was actually sad cus they didn't show any of his interviews. but i was like... shoot! you just met the world's renowned chef and you're complaining about air time!? boyyyyy you crazzyyy!! LOL!

anyway.. shortly after the show, my friend became the head chef. but he doesn't work there anymore because the owner was insisting them to serve food that was left in the refrigerator that broke down over night. GROOSSSS! So, he quit. And she fired half of the staff you saw in the show for various reasons. She also put some of her OLD food in the menu and raised the price for most of the food. And she wonders why she's going out of business?! LOL

Safe in the Steep Cliffs said...

ohhh and most of the customers are actors O_O i was like wahhhhh!? no wonder they're dressed so nicely XD

Unknown said...

i love your layout!

my spending habits...worst than ever. :))

I followed you deary. :3

Solilotaire said...

Mmm... now instead of my parents buying my stuff for me, I save up for clothes and feel a sense of fulfilment because they can't control what I wear anymore.

Leah said...

My spending habits definitely changed when I started earning my own money! I don't think I'm a big spender, but I still need to learn how to manage my finances BETTER. Haha :P

Meream said...

Unfortunately, I am older than you and I am still a wasteful spender. Embarrassing. Plus we don't have coupons in the Philippines. Haha

Gertrude said...

Yes they did! Until a couple of years ago, I only bought clothes of certain brands (a bit expensive).. now I'm trying more budget friendly stores and try to shop more during the sales :)

Katy said...

I still don't think I understand the value of money because I spend like crazy. I tryy to be thrifty but it's so time consuming. =P

Anonymous said...

I LOVE coupons! You can save SOOO much money that way! I have a little box full of coupons that I go through every time I go shopping :)

Steph said...

i love coupons~
but no where near those of extreme couponing!!! lol

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