My SHINY Nickels

Live Smart. Save Money. Retire Early.

Thrift Stores Rule. But Don’t Buy The Underpants.

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Out of our four kids, there’s just the one boy. (Poor kid, surrounded in older sisters.) And he’s all boy. Dirt. Football. Boogers.

But even with all the dirt, football and boogers, you wanna know what’s super awesome about having a boy?

I can shop for his clothes anywhere I want, and without him present. 

The girls? That’s a different story.

Me: I bought this cute pink sweater for you today.
Girl Child: That’s not pink. That’s fuchsia. I don’t wear fuchsia anymore.
Me: You wore fuchsia yesterday.
Girl Child: I know. That was yesterday.

Clothes shopping with the girls requires large amounts of time, coupled with regularly scheduled 1/2 hour breaks, and a background in negotiation tactics.

With little dude, as long as there is nothing pink or ruffle-y involved, he’ll wear it.

So every fall and spring, just before the heat of summer and cold of winter hits Northern California, I make a stop at some of the nicer thrift stores in town to see if there are any good deals to be had before I head to the department stores to round out the seasonal wardrobe.

[Side note: Some folks are really freaked out by thrift stores. I was too, until I realized that the clothes they sell come from people like…me. I donate clothing to charities all the time, and where does it end up? Thrift stores. And I’m picky…I only visit the clean, organized ones.]

But this time, I scored big. In one trip, to the first store.

I found 5 pairs of name-brand basketball pants in excellent condition, and 5 name-brand t-shirts, all for the grand total of…

$32.33

It’s good stuff too…Puma, Quiksilver, O’Neill, Aeropostale, Adidas.

That’s an ENTIRE WEEK’S worth of clothes for a little over $30!

Moral of the story?  Thrift stores are awesome.

May the odds of finding something awesome be ever in your favor.  And avoid the underpants.

Do you shop at thrift stores? Like them?  Hate them?  Have you found anything amazing, or…um, interesting?

Your Starbucks Habit is NOT Why You’re Broke

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I’ve just about had it.  If I see one more article/blog post/tweet telling me that I need to give up my foo-foo coffee habit in the name of finance, I’m gonna…well, I don’t actually know what I’d do. But enough already!

There’s always somebody whining about Starbucks.  It’s wasteful.  It’s indulgent.  It’s unnecessary spending.  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  But it’s about time the budget nazis get back behind the scope of their blame cannon and pick a better target.  (Wow, it felt good to get that out.)

Starbucks (or Peets or Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf or…) is hardly the reason why our piggy banks are empty.

If you’re broke, should you be indulging in foo-foo coffee? Probably not.  But is that the reason you’re broke?  Probably not.

We’re neck-deep in oversized houses and overpriced cars, and we’re worried about what coffee we’re drinking?  Why are we so afraid to tell each other the hard truth?  We’re spending too much in every area of our life.  Plain and simple.

It’s like we’re walking among the wreckage of a tornado, and starting the clean-up by dusting what’s left of the mantel.

The truth?  I enjoy a well-crafted cup of foo-foo coffee all the time.  Sometimes I’m on my own, with just my laptop and a latte.  Or sometimes I meet up with a friend and have a long-overdue catch up over espresso.  I love it all.  The aroma, the soft adult contemporary background music, everything.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. The key is to find what really makes you HAPPY, what gives you the most PLEASURE, and spend more loosely in those areas.  Then cut back on the big stuff that doesn’t make you blissfully content.  You’ll find you have money you didn’t think existed. Does the extra square footage you “had to have” make you smile each morning?  Six months in, does the new car bring you true joy?

Once you start prioritizing your finances according to what’s really important to you, you’ll have money to buy your latte and drink it too.

DIY Project: Board-and-Batten Wall Treatment!

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I admit I’ve been looking forward to this DIY post.  Not only because the project is finished, but it also means we’ll no longer be living in a construction zone (at least for a while, until we start our next project).  🙂

We finished our Board-and-Batten wall treatments!  Our grand total came in under $100, and they look…well…fantastic!

Whoa, let’s back up a second.  Are you wondering what the heck “Board and Batten” is?  No problem.  It’s a type of decorative interior wall paneling.  

Lately I’ve been pondering what to do with all of my copious spare time (yes, that was sarcasm), so when I noticed the sad bare walls inside my house a while back, I knew they could use some architectural interest.  Cue the googling and pinterest-ing!   A few things came up that I really liked.  The one that is serving as my main inspiration is this post by younghouselove.com.  It’s a blog run by a married-couple that loves DIY probably more than I do, if that’s even possible.  But I liked what they did on the walls.

Simple, clean, classic.  So we jumped in.

I already knew that I wanted to paint the upper portion a grey-blue color first, so I went ahead and did that before-hand, and now you can see the old beige paint on the lower half of the wall, which I didn’t bother painting because it will be covered by the board-and-batten.

We decided to do the entry, main hallway and the above family room wall.  And projects like these usually start in one of my favorite places.  Lowe’s Home Improvement store.

My husband is such a good sport. I’ve always got something going on, and he goes right along with me. It’s the honey-do list that never ends.

We looked for the cheapest, smoothest, thinnest plywood we could find.  They came in 4′ x 8′ sheets, 1/4″ thick.  We had already measured the length of the walls before we left, and bought enough plywood sheeting to cover the entire lower half.  (We have slightly textured walls, so we needed to cover that up with the plywood sheet.  If our walls had no texture, we probably wouldn’t have bothered with the plywood, just FYI).

Then we picked up some long 1″x3″ pine boards, to serve as a top rail.  We were very picky at the store, looking at them super carefully to make sure they were straight.  “I want a crooked board and batten wall”, said no one ever.

Then we needed to find the battens (the vertical pieces that run between the baseboard and the top rail).  We were able to find some thin wood strips that would do the trick.  2″ x 1/8″ pieces of pine that came in 4-foot lengths.  Then after some caulk, wood putty and sandpaper found its way into our cart, we were on our way home.

We went back and forth on a good height for the top rail.  After some long philosophical discussions, we finally landed on 40 inches.  So we got to work.

Trimmed the plywood sheets down, cut the top rails with a miter saw (so the corners neatly come together), and trimmed the battens down to size.  Put the plywood sheets up on the wall, checked that all was level, and fired off the nail gun.

Then it was time to screw on the top rails and nail on the battens. (We take every opportunity we can to use the nail gun. It’s so satisfying.)

This is what it looked like after everything was up on the wall.

Next, we pulled out the wood putty, and filled in the millions (ok, not really, but it sure felt like it) of little holes that were left after we attached everything.  We let that dry overnight, and the next day we sanded the spots down so they were flat.  Then it was a quick pass with the vacuum over the entire thing (including the floor; after sanding it looked like a snowstorm had blown through our family room).

Then it was time to get out the caulk gun and get to work filling in all of the cracks and crevices.  (That’s the second gun involved in this project. DIY isn’t as violent as it sounds, I promise.)

We ran a small bead of caulk in all of the crevices, and along the top rail between the wall and the wood.  Then I dragged my poorly polished index finger along each of the creases, gently pushing the caulk into the crease.  (It’s critical not to use too much caulk, or you’ll have a nasty overflow of caulk everywhere when you drag your finger along it. Don’t ask why I know that.)

We let the caulk dry overnight, and then started in on the painting.  (We made sure to buy paintable caulk.  Otherwise, the paint wouldn’t have adhered to it!)  And once again Piggy was project supervisor, but all she did was pant a lot and lick herself.

After one coat of paint…

Then finally…the last coat of paint dried, outlet plates were screwed back on, and furniture moved back to its former position.

 

And with that…it was DONE!  I love how it turned out. It’s exactly how I pictured it in my mind.  You can’t see it in the photo, but we continued all the way down the hallway to the right and into the entry way by our front door.  It freshened up the whole house, provided just the architectural detail I was looking for, and we spent less than a hundred bucks.

And because I’m a sucker for a good ol’ fashioned before-and-after shot…

Now that I’ve cleaned up the mess, I think I already know my next DIY project…let’s just say it’s probably going to involve TILE.  😉

Until next time!

 

 

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Now for one last thing , just so I can sleep a little better tonight…

Disclaimer / Legal Mumbo-Jumbo:

DIY projects, such as those mentioned above, are performed at your own risk.

As with any do-it-yourself/DIY project, unfamiliarity with the tools and process can be dangerous. All DIY-related posts should be construed as theoretical advice and aesthetic inspiration. Improper use of tools could result in damage to your property or serious bodily injuries. MYSHINYNICKELS.com is not liable for any damage or injury resulting from the DIY projects listed or referenced.

Travel on the Cheap: FREE $25 Travel Credit on AirBnB.com!

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By now you know I’m all about being frugally cool, and living a rocking life on a budget.  But I’ve got to tell you, I’ve never really been the coupon-ing type.  It’s still kind of a mystery to me, and seeing a glimpse of Extreme Couponing on TLC a few months ago revealed what looked to be living rooms full of deodorant and dental floss.  (Maybe some of you expert coupon-ers can enlighten me otherwise.)

Or maybe I’m jaded from a lifetime of receiving coupons like this…

A precious gift from my daughter Faith a few years ago. And no, I have not redeemed it. Yet.

But when my friends over at AirBnB.com said I could offer my readers a FREE $25 Travel Credit, I was ecstatic.

What is AirBnB, you ask?

It’s a website that allows travelers to book accomodations online, with people just like you and me, in over 190 countries all over the world.  You can book just about anything…a shared room,  a small cabin, even an entire ski chalet.  Both private owners and property managers upload listings, and the rates are very competitive.

Back in May, my husband and I traveled up to the Seattle area to visit our daughter and her husband.  They lived in Issaquah, a suburb of Seattle, and the hotel options in that area were between $100 (barely decent) – $200 per night.  Plus taxes, and fees, blah blah blah.   I headed over to AirBnB.com, typed in Issaquah, and I found exactly what I was looking for.

A private cabin, that backed up to a lush green forest.  A creek that ran through the trees ended in a waterfall,  completing the postcard picture that was this cabin.  It was $80 per night.  We booked it for 3 nights.  Fast forward to the day of arrival.  The owner texted me with the location of the key, and when we pulled up, we discovered a charming cabin, with a kitchenette and a goodie basket overflowing with fruit and granola bars.   At night, we fell asleep to the sound of the waterfall outside.  It was idyllic.

Randy attempted a photo-bomb on the left. Sorry honey, better luck next time.

I feel peaceful just looking at this picture of the backside of the cabin. Ahhhhh….

 

We’ve been AirBnB folks for a while now,  (I already mentioned them in an earlier travel post), but if you weren’t convinced before, now it’s time! If you’ve never explored what AirBnB.com has to offer, check it out.  Want to book a cabin in the mountains for the weekend?  $25 off! Looking for a place to stay near the beach?  $25 off!  The wine country? I could go on and on and on.  But I won’t.

As for us, we just booked a romantic weekend getaway in Lake Tahoe at the end of the month. It’s a private home, 1/2 mile from the south shore with a hot tub on the back deck for $130 per night. Perfect, private and cheaper than most other options in that area!

Now you’re probably wondering how to redeem this $25 Travel Credit, huh?  Just use the special link below, and it will prompt you to create a new AirBnB profile.  The $25 credit will automatically appear during checkout when you book your first reservation.

www.airbnb.com/c/ldobbins1

So head over there, and take a look around.  Then book a cheap getaway.

You’re welcome.  😉

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER:  AirBnB.com has agreed to compensate this blog for distributing this offer.  But rest assured, I would never recommend something I’m not using (and loving) myself! 

FUN on the CHEAP: Indoor S’mores!

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I hate to be the bearer of bad news,  but summer weather is coming to a close.  And while I’m looking forward to sweaters and boots and Pumpkin Spice Lattes, I’m going to miss summer campfires and weenie roasts and my little seasonal friend, the s’more.

But if you love these too, have no fear…when the fall and winter weather hits, just make them indoors!  Those little chocolate-marshmallow-graham confections are a favorite in our family, and the kids LOVE to help me make them.

And to the s’more “purists” who will take nothing less than the real thing, I apologize in advance for the reckless behavior.

 

Sorry Piggy, no campfire today. But we won’t let a little rain ruin the fun, will we?

What You’ll Need:

(1) Box of Graham Crackers

(1) Bag of Marshmallows (we prefer the giant-sized ones)

Chocolate Bars

Foil

A Large Cookie Sheet

 

Turn on your oven, and set it to “Broil”, at 450 degrees.

Get out a cookie tray and line it with foil.

Break the graham crackers in half, and place as many as you need/want/crave on the cookie sheet.

Then place a piece of chocolate on each graham, followed by a marshmallow (or two, if they’re small).  Don’t cover them with another graham cracker just yet.

Stick them in the oven for 2-3 minutes,  but watch them closely.  These little guys are done in no time, and if you wait even 30 seconds too long, you’ll end up with a piece of charcoal.

Once you can see the marshmallows are nice and browned, and the chocolate is melted, pull them out and press another graham half on the top to complete them.

Or, you can get really crazy and eat them topless.  (The s’more, that is.)  😉

 

I may get hate mail for this, but I’m going to say it anyway…

I like these better than campfire s’mores.

I think my daughter Faith agrees.

No smoke, no wood, the marshmallow is perfectly browned and crunchy on the outside, gooey on the inside, and most of all…the CHOCOLATE IS MELTED.   That was always a disappointment about old-fashioned s’mores.  The marshmallow would be soft, but then you’d reach this hard, unyielding piece of chocolate.  No bueno.

And who wouldn’t rather have this:

smoresgood

GOOD S’MORE

than this:

badsmore

BAD S’MORE

Now the kids beg me to make these year-round.  They’re simple, cheap, delicious, and it makes for a fun treat when the weather isn’t cooperating!

Every once in a while I figure something out that makes me say “Why didn’t I do this earlier?”

Enjoy!

 

P.S.  I almost posted this under recipes as well, but I don’t think it counts if it only has 3 ingredients?  🙂

UPDATE:  After a reader, Penguin, voted that I include it under Recipes, I agreed and now it can be found there too! 

 

I Was Just in a Car Accident. And I Feel Fantastic.

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Yes you read that right.  Yesterday at about 5:19pm Pacific Standard Time, I plowed into the back of the car in front of me.  I claim only about 75% fault on this one.  (For the record, who accelerates into an intersection, and then suddenly comes to a smoking-tire, screeching halt???  Sorry, but that just had to be said.)

The other driver was in a steel cage otherwise known as a Jeep Commander, and I was in the Mercedes.  In case you’ve forgotten from my earlier post, my sweet little car looked like this the day I bought it.  Sigh.

June 2009 — The day we bought the Mercedes. I’m not sure what I was attempting to do with my leg here, but I guess that’s what I thought people did when they posed with their new car. Instead, I look like I’m missing a leg and that my torso is super-glued to the door frame. Fail.

The steel bumper of the Jeep ended up with a few tiny scratches, while my front grill crumpled in like a piece of tin foil.  It doesn’t look too bad, but something under my hood started smoking and I distinctly heard a “hiss” sound.  Hmmm.

So after getting out of our cars and doing the whole awkward “so-hey-our-cars-kinda-touched-each-other” back and forth, we pulled over and did an information switcheroo.  Thankfully, no one in either car was injured; my airbags didn’t even deploy.  And, the other driver was actually pretty nice and normal, so that’s a +1.

We parted ways, and the first thing I did was call my husband to tell him the news.

Then I called the insurance company.

The sweet lady over at Esurance laughed at my 75% self-proclaimed at-fault assessment.  I don’t know, maybe I thought between my sparkling personality and my insistence that the driver in front of me was a moron for accelerating and braking would help my cause.  Apparently not.

So, big surprise, I’m officially at fault, blah, blah, blah.  That’s not the reason I’m telling you all of this.

What struck me about this whole darn thing was that my first thought (after determining there were no injuries, of course) was that I had no financial worries.  $1,000 deductible?  No problem.  Replace my car?  We can pay cash for a new one.   Getting in an accident is already stressful enough.  Knowing you have an emergency fund removes that extra unnecessary layer of anxiety.

The only part of this that is a wee bit sucky, is that this is my very first accident.  Ever.  Tomorrow is my 36th birthday, which would have meant 20 years of driving accident-free.  20 YEARS!  Oh well.  Guess I’ll start that clock over again.

My point is that money in the bank is more than just…well, money in the bank.  It gives you the gift of calm.  It gives you the gift of sleeping well at night.  So within minutes of the accident, I already had a pep in my step, and a grin on my face.  Considering what had just happened, I felt fantastic.

So do your future self a favor, and make sure you have an emergency fund.  And, drive safe my friends.

MyShinyNickels.com RE-LAUNCH!

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If you haven’t already noticed, the blog has gone through a re-birth of sorts.  A few days ago, amid the eery midnight glow of my laptop and with my fingers ground down to bloody stumps, I rolled out a whole new look for MyShinyNickels.com.  What triggered this re-decorating of my little internet home?  Grab a chair, and I’ll fill you in.

It all began Thursday of last week.  My husband and I were headed to a financial blogging convention called FinCon, held this year in New Orleans.  I’m a relatively new-ish blogger, and until now it’s been a little side hobby of mine.  But Johnny over at JohnnyMoneyseed.com convinced me to give FinCon a try; he promised it would be extremely inspiring at best and a really fun 3-day long party at worst.

Sign me up, Scotty (er, Johnny).

To keep this short and sweet, the conference was so much more than I anticipated.  I left feeling rejuvenated, but a bit challenged.  Many times during those few days we were asked why we write.  What we want out of this still-strange concept called ‘blogging’.  For a while it’s been ‘that-thing-I-do-at-night-when-I-have-a-spare-moment’ kind of deal, but I’ve realized that has to change.

This blog is my outlet, and the work I do here is something I’m extremely passionate about.  And yet I was letting my work-life-blog balance go all whack-a-doodle.  Work?  Not much I can do about that.  But life?  There is plenty of wiggle room there.  I needed to start setting boundaries.  Boundaries that would allow this blogging passion to become a larger part of my life.  My readers deserve it, and so do I.

So before I’d even boarded the plane back here to Sacramento, my cerebral cortex was buzzing.  Soon I was scribbling notes on the backs of pamphlets in the airport, and even those cute little Southwest Airlines beverage napkins were no match for my chicken-scratch frenzy.  I’m sure I drove my husband crazy during that 4-hour trip…

Me: “So, hey hey hey, I have this idea.  I’ll change out the header image…”

Him: [looking up from his iPad] “Hmmm, sounds good.”

[5 minutes later]

Me: “Hey babe, what do you think about re-focusing the…”

Him:  [looking up again from his iPad] “Sure, that would work.”

[5 minutes later]

Me: “What if I changed the navigation of the site so that it…”

Him:  [s-l-o-w-l-y craning his neck away from his iPad] “Yup. Sounds like a plan, dear.”

This pattern repeated itself for the remainder of our flight, and the poor guy was patient the entire time.   Needless to say, I’ve made a lot of changes, and there is plenty more to come.  A blogger’s work is never done, they say.  [Not sure if that’s something anyone has actually said, but it sounded good.]

My hope is that even with this blog getting a new look and moving in a new (but similar!) direction, my loyal readers will follow along with me, while new ones join in.  In the past this has been a ‘get-out-of-debt-and-retire-early’ blog.  But if I’m really true to myself and all the things I’m excited about, this blog is destined to be a whole lot more than that.  My favorite low-cost recipes, super-cool life “hacks”, simple living, lots of juicy DIY projects, traveling on the cheap, and of course the stories and real-life blunders (enjoy a sample here) that my readers have come to rely on.

And sometimes God’s timing of things is eerily perfect.  As I was pondering the whole work-life-blog balance this afternoon, something very fitting caught my ear.  The television had been turned down to a dull rumble in the background, but I heard Steve Harvey (of all people) quietly say, “Work is what you’re paid to do.  Your calling is what you were made to do.”  That’s precisely how I feel about this little blog I’ve created.  Showing others how to pursue a fulfilling and blissful life while being financially responsible is what I feel called to do.  

And who knew…Steve Harvey may be the next Dalai Lama.

 

You know it’s funny.  Don’t judge me.

I Get It. We’re Different. Let’s Move On, Shall We?

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You’re cruising along on your sweet journey to financial independence…your debt is paid off, investment accounts are slowly swelling with the passing of every month, and even the flowers smell a little bit sweeter. Despite your commitment to live frugally, life is good. Super, crazy, wonderfully good.

But the truth is that not everybody in your circle of family and friends will “get it.” They will look at your frugal lifestyle and pity you, imagining that you’re suffering daily under the constraints of driving older cars or living in a house with one bathroom. “I could never live like that,” they proclaim.

That’s fine with me. Don’t live like that. I never asked you to. I won’t apologize for our choice to live in a sweet little 1,000 square-foot, 3-bedroom, 1-bath house. The occasional negative comment only serves to magnify how very differently we view money, life and happiness.

Our humble abode...and we love it.

Our humble abode…and we love it.

And while I’d like to think of myself as emotionally strong, I’m not. (Sorry to blow the superhero image I know you had of me.) I experienced this criticism first-hand just a few weeks ago, and because I deeply care about the person that criticized me, it stung all the more. At first I was hurt. Then I was confused. I didn’t understand why a friend would openly poke fun at me, because I had chosen to live a less material life. Then I finally rounded the corner, and…stopped caring.

I’ll live my life the way I want, they can live their life the way they want, and we can all go back to discussing the latest Pinterest fail, the NFL pre-season or funny cat videos.

We all have priorities, and every lifestyle choice has a corresponding trade-off. Some choose to spend their dollars on extra bathrooms and square footage, knowing (or not knowing) that choice will delay retirement by 20 years. Others choose to live somewhere that just meets their needs, realizing that retirement can be just around the corner.

To each his own.

“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.”
— Henry David Thoreau

Fist bump to you, Mr. Thoreau. I couldn’t have said it better.

 

My Top Secret Project is Complete!

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SMALLCoverArt JPEGWell, it’s official.  The top secret project I’ve been working on lately (instead of posting on this blog!) is finally finished.  After countless hours and far too much coffee, my book LIVE SMART. ELIMINATE DEBT. BUILD WEALTH. is now available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble!

I’ve been playing around with an outline for some time now, but a few months ago I knew it was the right time to start really pulling it together. While my blog certainly tells some highlights of our financial journey, and a few frugal guidelines we live by, it doesn’t even come close to revealing everything.

There were plenty of emotional and financial stages we moved through on our way from $40,000 in debt to that first $100,000 in savings.  So I wrote about our entire journey, and then pulled together a step-by-step guide outlining exactly what we did to start living an optimized life, get out of debt and on to building wealth.

If you didn’t already know, I am pretty passionate about this stuff, and the truth is that my blog only gets the message so far.  Many people who read personal finance blogs are already at least knee-deep into their financial education, either refining what they already know, or are “experts” themselves.

That’s not my target audience.  I’m really trying to reach the “former” me.  The millions of  people that work for their money, spend it, and start over again.  Or even worse,  those that spend all the money they have as well as money they don’t have.  If they only knew that spending their money and resources trying to appear successful actually has the opposite effect.

I’ll always be thankful for the wake-up call that turned our finances around, but I can’t help but wonder where we’d be if the light bulb had come on even earlier…five years ago…ten years ago.  I’ll never know, and if I did, it might be horrifically depressing to see where we “could have been.”  So I don’t dwell on it.

In starting this blog and writing this book, my intent has always been the same; that by sharing our financial transformation, it will inspire others to do the same.

Frugal? Yay. Unethical? Boo.

By:

So it’s been a while, eh?  I admit I’ve been squirrelin’ around with some side projects.  One in particular is a big one, that I hope to have wrapped up and ready in a few days, a week at the most.  It’s pretty big news (for me), but I’m going to keep it under wraps for now.  (I know, I know, I hate it when people hint at something and then don’t tell you.  Or put some cryptic status on Facebook like, “My life is over.”  Then crickets.  I really don’t want to be that person; I promise I’ll divulge more information soon.)

But let me get around to my real reason for posting.  I need to vent for a moment, do you mind?  Thanks.  During an afternoon lunch with my momma a few weeks ago, I casually glanced around the restaurant as I waited for my order to be called.  I noticed a man sitting to my left with a water cup.  Filled to the brim with…soda.  I know people do this.  He’s hardly the only one who does.  In fact, I’ve dined with people who have done the exact same thing, but it always makes me get a pit in my stomach.  It’s just that it’s, well, STEALING.

It bothers me so much, that over the years, every time I’ve witnessed this “unethical frugality” it’s seared into my memory.  Especially the memorable ones.

Like the time I went to an all-you-can-eat place here in town called Fresh Choice, and sat down near a couple who were finishing up their meal.  At least I thought they were finished.  Until the man left and returned a short time later with an overflowing plate of muffins, pizza and cookies.  But the next part is where I had to hold up my jaw, to keep it from hitting the floor.   This guy pulled out a top hat (Yes! A top hat!) out from under the table.  He lined it with paper napkins, and swiftly shoved the cornucopia of food into the hat.  He then bent over, lowered his head into the hat, wiggled it on snuggly, slowly stood up, and WALKED OUT.  Like Abraham Lincoln, with a week’s worth of food on his ‘noggin.

…or the time my husband and I were at Taco Bell, when a lady in a shiny new Range Rover pulled in to the parking lot.  She walked into the restaurant with five kids.  The woman orders ONE large drink and 5 water cups, and then proceeds to fill the kids “water” cups many times over.  She must have filled up that large soda 3 or 4 times before they left.

…or the person who will remain unnamed that keeps a fast-food cup in their car and stops in for “free” refills for months after purchase.

…or the person who will also remain unnamed that steals the towels from hotels, clears out the sweetener packets at the coffee station, and stuffs rolls of toilet paper into their bag.

One last one, okay?   The friend of mine who purchased a space heater at the beginning of December, and then returned it to the store at the end of February, just before the 90-day return period was up.  She was bragging to me about her “free” space heater. Aye, aye, aye.

The craziest part?  Some of these people actually think they’re some sort of frugal genius, who has found a “creative” way to save money.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME???  You’re not saving money!  You’re not “creative”!  You’re a straight-up THIEF!  I get being frugal, of course.  I’m all about saving myself a few bucks.  But if you’re so cheap that you’re crossing over into the land of the unethical, that’s just WRONG.  Does this bother anyone else?