love that ca$h

I was reflecting the other day on how priorities change as we grow up. Mainly re: mulah. Let me explain.

I love dancing around the house with little Wesley, and my super cool friend Liz gave me this CD, Philadelphia Chickens, at my baby shower (my mom calls it, "what all the kids have in their ipods these days"). It's me and the Wes-man's dancing music. It totally rocks, but it is the only baby dancing music I have.

So, I decided we needed some new dance music. I could try Wal-Mart or amazon.com or some fancy store in the mall, but another idea seemed better. I tried Value Village. I found two CDs of lullabies (score one for us parents when sleep training comes) and one CD of sing-along songs for road trips (or dancing around the house). Total bill: six bucks.

As we drove home, my shopping buddy -- my mom -- and I started talking about finances and how when you're all grown up and it's your hard-earned money, you care about it so much more.
When I was a kid, I remember kids at school making fun of my (or anyone's) clothes and saying "your clothes are from Kmart!" which was this super insult. Somehow I equated Kmart, a value retailer, with poor quality and uncool clothes. I needed to shop at "the mall" and mom needed to fund my escapades. I still remember several pieces of clothing (my black/purple/teal sweater and my blue vest) that came from the mall, and how I was more proud of myself for owning them and wearing them. They came from the mall. They were obviously cooler.

What a difference a decade makes. I'll just append to the above paragraph with a big "Whatev-a!"

I'm all about saving money these days, and if poor Wesley gets embarrassed, then son, I apologize now. I worked hard to earn that money. I don't feel like just giving it away to someone else, corporation or what. I pinch pennies and am proud of it! I remember being at BYU and going shopping one day and finding two shirts on clearance -- one for $3 and one for $4. I still wear those shirts, I get compliments on them, and I just love to feel good about myself and say, "you'd never believe how much they cost!"

Another example: grocery shopping. One of my favorite hobbies. I search the weekly ads, circling stuff that is on sale that I should stock up on. This task alone gives me a real good sense on how much stuff costs and how much it should cost, so I feel like a very informed shopper. I never buy anything unless it's on sale (I'm terrible at The Price is Right).

I also clip coupons in the Sunday paper. When something is on sale and I have a coupon, bingo!!! I remember, as a youngin, being embarassed that my mom used coupons. Mom, I apologize. Thanks for showing me the light, doing what was best for our little growing family in the '80s, and teaching me what it means to be frugal. My proudest moments are at the end of my shopping trips I check the receipt and see that I "saved" more money that I actually spent.

Albertsons last week: Spent $78.44. Saved $68.30. Not quite there, but close. Respectable.

Hence, my first stop when I decided I needed baby dancing music: Value Village. Yeah, the store smells a little, shall we say, different, but it all comes out in the wash, literally. All of my maternity clothes were from either there or the clearance rack at Kohl's. Why pay full price for something I'm only going to wear for 9 months? Or less? I didn't make it to the full 9 months.

And what about the baby? He'll grow so stinking fast, am I really going to pay a boatload for clothes he'll wear once? Twice? He is already growing out of a few of his onesies. He is only 9 pounds for cryin out loud! We got a huge box of hand-me-down clothes from one of Shanester's friends at his work. They're in such good shape and we'll definitely use them. YAY!

My boss gave me and AWESOME present at my baby shower for Wesley. Many of you know I work at an engineering firm. She found -- at Value Village no less -- a cute 12-month-old-sized "heavy duty construction" jacket (to which she affixed a patch of our firm logo, very cool), a pair of baby work boots, and a baby hard hat (which also got a company logo). It was one of the most thoughtful presents, made possible by a very creative boss who knows how to find great stuff at Value Village!

Like they say, if you're into recycling and sustainability and living green, shop second hand. I guess I'm into those things, but I'm more into saving money. I'm not a cheapskate -- I'll tip 18 to 20 percent if service is good -- but I've got the extra money to do nice things with because I know where to save on the day-to-day living. Give it a try! It feels liberating!