Wisdom Wednesday - Pinching Pennies Until They Squeal

During this time of financial turmoil, I think we need to remember one of my Grandmother Severs’ sayings.  She used to say, “I pinch pennies until they squeal.” 

Since she was born in 1903, she lived through the depression, with two young daughters.  My Grandfather broke his back in 1928 and lived with back pain for decades.  Grandma had also lived through a difficult childhood when her father died when she was 12.  (She said she only had 1 dress for her entire senior year in high school.)

So, when I feel that I have things hard, or when I have to make financial decisions about what I can buy when, I remember Grandma.  She had such a positive attitude and thought that saving was a game.  She always took advantage of coupons.  If there was a buy one get one free, she bought one and shared with a neighbor.  With magazine subscriptions, she would subscribe only if she got a good price.  If a new subscription price was better than what she could get, she had my mother get the magazine for one year. 

And, Grandma Severs wrote.  She wrote lots of little things.  And we found her poems, prose and short stories on the backs of receipts and used envelopes and on scraps of paper.  But when she died she didn’t owe anyone anything.  Yes, she was frugal.  And she pinched pennies until they squealed.