Penny pinching is not about how much or how little you have. You can have all the stuff you want and still pinch pennies. That’s the key, though--the stuff you want. Saving money is about having more of what you want and less of the things that get in your way. So what if you’re not keeping up with the Jones’!!!

The key to saving money is to have, as much as possible, but only what you want, not what you don’t.

Penny pinching is using what we have and re-using, if possible. Not being fooled by fancy packaging and glitzy advertising but being able to appreciate value and usefulness.

We have countless appliances that will do every task imaginable. We seek out the latest convenience foods so we can spend less time in the kitchen; we streamline so we can accomplish more and more each day. To me dinner is not from a box; it is a home cooked pot of soup and homemade bread. To me saving money is not a cake mix, but a cake made from scratch. To me life is not always wanting more stuff, but learning how to enjoy and appreciate what I have.

The kitchen seems to be a room that abounds with places to be penny pinching. I think food and preparation of meals is something very important to a family. The health benefits alone that are received from home cooking can give us as homemakers much satisfaction. I love knowing that I am feeding my husband good quality foods. There are also financial benefits from it. Every penny pinching meal that is cooked from scratch means we haven’t had to pay for boxes of Hamburger Helper or packages of Rice-a-Roni or any other costly packaged convenience food. Most of all, when your family sits down to eat at the end of a long day who could deny the absolute joy of setting down to a meal of homemade, made with love from the heart, food?

Using our time and money wisely so that what inspires, and brings enjoyment can be achieved. Being penny pinching in daily life only brings abundance in the important areas of who we are and what we are all about.

It is living the lifestyle you choose, without envying what others have chosen. It is being where you want to be, placing your priorities exactly where you want them.

If you have a hard time finding the motivation to be penny pinching or save money, consider challenging yourself to tuck away what you save. It can be very motivating to watch your money grow. Set a bowl or jar up on a top shelf, to make weekly deposits of what you have saved from your money saving efforts. If in one week you bought yourself an outfit at a thrift store for $10 that would cost $30 at a retail store, put the $20 you saved into your bowl or jar. You may need to keep record in a notebook of what you saved before making your deposit so you won't forget. With that thought, just keeping record of what you save can be motivation enough to start saving money. If you look at it like a job, maybe you'll be more likely to put effort into it.

To sum it up, pay attention to weekly advertisements from retail or grocery stores and take advantage of the good sales, shop thrift stores, yard sales and clearance sales and look for ways to reduce what you do for entertainment all without taking away from the quality of your life. For me, shopping this way has added to the quality of my life because it's challenging and I find it exciting when I find a great bargain not to mention having extra dollars to help make our life a little more comfortable. Some times I think it’s the thrill of the hunt. Penny pinching works, at least it does for me.

	Web Penny Pinching Grandma