Penny pinchers will probably inherit the earth

Published 9:00 pm Saturday, May 21, 2005

In a time when conspicuous consumption is the in thing, I feel like a frugal outcast.

To me, the world seems less in tune with me and more with poet Ogden Nash, who wrote: “The further through life I drift, the more obvious it becomes that I am lacking in thrift.”

But I know there are legions of penny pinchers who are thrifty to a fault. In fact, I want to hear from them, which means it’s again time for my Penny Pincher of the Year Contest.

The contest is simple. I’m looking for original penny-pinching strategies. You can nominate yourself, a friend, a co-worker or a relative. Winners will be featured in a future column. And, of course, there will be prizes.

So what’s original?

Susan Ganger of Dublin, Ohio, won honorable mention last year for saving money by going through other people’s trash. And where is some of the best trash? A university campus on move-out day, Ganger said.

“Students throw out perfectly good items because they don’t want to move them,” Ganger wrote in her entry last year. “There is no need to buy a dorm refrigerator, as the students throw them out like they are paper. Carpet, clothing and furniture are there to be had.”

Now that’s a great idea.

Third place went to Mary Pat Wirkus of Middletown, Conn., who wrote that her husband saved $7 by replacing just the driver-side windshield wiper.

Last year, the winning entry was submitted by an expectant Virginia mother, Lauren Wells, whose husband, Matt, took her for a penny-pinching ride she will never forget.

Wells had waited a little too long to start for the hospital. As the couple climbed in the car on the way to the hospital, her husband opted to skip taking a toll road to save $2.

She arrived in plenty of time to deliver her baby girl. And she wasn’t even mad at her maddeningly frugal husband.

I loved her attitude. Wells knew her husband wouldn’t put her or the baby in danger. She appreciated – although not at the time – his penny pinching.

“I had to laugh,” Wells said. “I’m so grateful for him because he saves us a lot of money.”

You have to have a good sense of humor if you’re married to, related to or friends with a penny pincher. I know I drive my family nuts with my constant preaching about penny pinching.

In fact my oldest child, Olivia, had a money meltdown recently because I was grilling her about a particular purchase. Her school had an arts and crafts fair in which the children could purchase each other’s creations.

Olivia decided to buy a dream catcher, a work of art inspired by a Native American tradition in which a web is hung over your bed to catch bad dreams.

Olivia was proud that she had bought the dream catcher for $6.

“Are you sure that was the best price you could get?” I innocently asked.

“Mommy, please,” she said. “It was a good deal. Why are you always talking to me about money? I know more about personal finance (seriously, she actually used that phase) than any 10-year-old in the world.”

“Good,” I said trying to muffle a snicker.

As I tell my children often, I sweat the small stuff because when you do, you have big money for the things that really matter – such as a college education.

In my house, every time one of my children asks for something and it’s not in the budget, I have two words for them – “college fund.”

During one such exchange, Olivia kept asking for something and I kept saying over and over again: “Two words – college fund.”

“Please mommy,” she whined. “I know you have the money.”

“You got that right. I have the money,” I said. “Besides I’ve got two words for you – college fund.”

“Well, I have two words for you,” Olivia said. “Nursing home.”

True story.

So what’s your penny pinching story? Enter the Penny Pincher of the Year Contest and let others share in your frustration or pass on a helpful hint.

Washington Post Writers Group

Top penny pincher

Got a great story on penny pinching?

Enter Michelle Singletary’s annual contest by sending your entry to colorofmoney @washpost.com by June 20. Please put “2005 Penny Pincher of the Year Contest” in the subject line. Include your address and daytime and evening phone numbers.