Thrifty Thursday

I love a good bargain. I mean, who doesn't. But (like many others I'm sure) I'm guilty of buying for the sake of buying when I see a great deal. I'm not always that great at applying my mom's rule of "do you want it or do you need it?!" As a result, I end up with masses of often low quality "stuff" that doesn't last nearly as long as it would have had I bought the slightly better quality, more expensive alternative.

That being said, there is no greater joy than finding a high quality luxuary that you would have not normally been able to justify, at a reduced price. This year I'm going to try to find great deals and only splurge on things that I REALLY need...or REALLY want!

I read a blog the other day describing how a woman (stay at home mom!) would buy her full months groceries from discount stores and freeze it for great home made meals all month long. Now - let's be realistic, I'm not about to give up my Woolies treats or weekly sushi, but I'm sure that there are more cost effective ways of doing what I've been doing. Here are some that I can think of so far:

- Not getting sucked into those 2 or 3 or 4 packets of rocket for the price of 1. I mean really...how much rocket can I realistically eat before it goes soggy?
- Not eating the grosely oily canteen food at work. Yes I know it looks like a bargain, but how hard is it to get up 5 minutes earlier in the morning and pack a lunch?
- Watching movies at the mall which is a couple of kilometers further away from home than your normal mall of choice - really, it's almost half price!
- Creative home made gifting - I love giving gifts and am slowly starting to find fun and cost effective ways of still having the joy of giving without the pain of the budget crisis I face after splurging

Here's to finding more thrifty ways of life and sharing them on Thursdays!