Okay, I'm Cheap..

My friends call me Costanza from time to time. You know, from Seinfeld? George Costanza hated to spend money and many Seinfeld episodes showcased his frugality to a fault. I guess it doesn't matter what people think, not to toot my own horn but I have a great credit score to show for my thriftiness

I’m not Clark Howard by any means. I don't pack a bologna sandwich in a brown bag for lunch everyday. I’ll go out and spend money (not really), but little things make me hesitate. Around the house I look for ways to cut costs by any means necessary. I also drive my wife crazy.

Here are a few reasons people call me cheap:

• I shop at the Goodwill – No shame in my game. I love to find old T-shirts or even pants here. You can find all sorts of name brands if you look. They also have plenty of books and old records. You can read more about my love for the Goodwill here. *I'm not even sure shop is the right word, if we're out of town I have to go by the Goodwill to see what sort of T-shirt section they have.
• I have a dumb phone- What’s the point? With a smart phone you have to have a data plan and pay surcharges for the latest apps. Not me, I have a laptop at home, an Ipod for music and a GPS in the car. My good old flip phone works great and is durable enough for an accident prone person like myself.
• I chase my wife down the hall turning lights off – Well not exactly, but you can always tell where my wife has been by following her trail of lights down the hall.
• I keep the heat or air off until it absolutely has to come on. – There’s nothing wrong with wearing a sweatshirt to bed. Every spring and fall I leave the air off until I’m informed that it is ridiculous not to have it on. I tell my wife I’m conserving energy and being green. She does not buy this.
• I buy the off brands – In most cases I’m going with the generic brand. You really can’t tell the difference. Okay, maybe in some cases it's better to pay for the name. Coffee, cereal (I'm a cereal snob), and toilet paper. For the rest just grit and bear it
• I will be installing rain barrels outside of the house this spring – No sense wasting all that water on the plants, why not use what’s given to us? (And save a few bucks in the meantime!)
• I'm a deal hunter– I call the cable company every few months and threaten to cancel due to high rates. Worth a try right? Usually they will work with you and find a deal to keep your business. Not sure what I'll do when they call my bluff.
• I drive an older model vehicle - I've already written a hub about my car. Yeah, it's 20 years old.
• I won't go to the "new" movie theatre - We have another theatre that shows the movies a few months later at a discount. Just don't tell me what happens.
• I love yard sales- Swap meats, flea markets, bargain marts, whatever you want to call it. Deals are there for the finding, we found our dinner table at an estate sale. ( I waited until day 3 in order to get it for half price)

So, I guess I'm not the cheapest person out there, I'm sure there are better ways to save. I'm not at home clipping coupons or checking Craigslist for the curb alerts quite yet. But I'm always looking for a deal, aren't we all?