Yesterday I was thinking about all the things I do to save money for my family. We always use coupons when eating out, we don’t buy things we don’t need, I call companies directly to ask for discounts, I shop around to get the best deal. I even purchase outdoor clothing at name brand so they last longer and save money in the long run.
These are some things that define me as a “Penny Hoarder”. When you think of yourself as a “Penny Hoarder”, what things come to mind?
Kirsten
As a Penny Hoarder, financial literacy is a huge part of my life. I am constantly searching for new ways to improve my financial situation, not just for myself, but also for those around me.
I believe that money is an important part of our lives and we need to know how to manage it properly in order to be the best version of ourselves we can be and to have the most influence on the lives of those around us.
I believe in Saving, Investing and living a minimalist life below your means in order to be able to use your resources to impact those around you and make the world a better place.
If I could sum it up in one sentence, “Being a Penny Hoarder, for me, is being mindful of money and creating a lifestyle that allows me to provide the most value to others”
Being a Penny Hoarder for me is being mindful of what I am spending/buying and only buying that which is beneficial to me. Saving money along with moving towards being debt free other than truck and home has made me focus on what I’m spending.
I enjoy sharing all my shopping savings with my co-workers and friends with the hope that they will also become more mindful of spending.
To me, being a penny hoarder means saving or making extra money when I can, so that my family can just waste it anyway! ?
Ok, now I’ll be serious. My modest upbringing taught me that everything has value or potential.
I grew up on a farm, youngest of 5. Any extra money was put back into the farm. If I wanted anything extra, I had to wait until my birthday, and pray that people would give me money. There are walnut trees on the family farm… my siblings and I would anxiously look at the trees all summer long, and hope that the price of walnuts was worth the trouble of getting on our knees and getting walnut stains on our hands and clothes. I would work for two weeks to maybe get $100. In that case, money DOES grow on trees, but you STILL have to work for it.
40ish years later, I still want to know how much walnuts will bring, and I will ALWAYS pick up a discarded penny from the ground. It’s WAAAAY easier than picking up walnuts!
Years later, it’s a fun game for me to find ways to make extra money. Yes, my family wastes a great deal.
But that old family farm? Paid in full from blood, sweat, tears. . . And a few walnuts.
Penny hoarder? Hard working adult who knows that money does grow on trees. You just have to wait until it falls—WORK to pick it up, OR have a brother or uncle who is crazy enough to climb the tree and shake the limbs! No matter what, you STILL have to work to pick it up.
Being a Penny Hoarder has helped me realize that there is a ‘tomorrow’ I should be saving for. I’ve made a huge lifestyle change since I first started reading The Penny Hoarder. I’ve made full use of many of the tips, advice and suggestions given and over the past year, I’ve not only made inroads into planning for savings, but I’ve also taken advantage of high yield savings accounts. It’s had enough of an impact that I can actually see the difference even after only one year.
I’m loving reading these responses! Thanks so much for such an insightful question @kirsten.cherry =)
Like @regenius I find saving money to be fun. I learned a lot of tricks when saving money was a necessity during rough times.
To me being a Penny Hoarder means to avoid wasting money and making the money we have work for us.
I don’t always appreciate the ways I need to do it. Frankly I wish there were no coupons and rewards programs and retailers and businesses would just lower their prices for all. But since that doesn’t seem the way things are done, I coupon and I try to take advantage of rewards programs, sales and discounts whenever I can.
I find it takes a lot of time and research to maximize the savings so I’m glad I find it fun!
Moore Income posted:
Waiting for your response too @briana…
Actually, you all really make the meaning of being a Penny Hoarder come to life for me. To me, being a Penny Hoarder means being a part a group of people who are eager to provide a better financial future for themselves and for others that they care about – including other members in this community. It’s the understanding that we may not have everything figured out, but together we can all help each other strive for a better financial future. I’ve already learned so much from all of you and am excited to continue to get to know everyone. So thank you all!
For me being a Penny Hoarder means learning to
save money,getting out of debt side hustles. Coupons for
my family. Saving things that you though would go in the
trash. I’m learning so much from this community and hoping
I’m helping some other to.
Being a penny hoarder is a means to an end. To pull resources from things that are less important to put into things you value more. It’s creative solutions, reuse, fixing before discarding, new skills, contentment, looking at the long term. In one sense, I’m not a true penny hoarder. Not spartan or minimalist. I like to have beauty along the journey. So even though the long term focus is on the future, that’s not all of it. My husband tells a story about his mom. She had a beautiful set of dishes she was saving to use after the kids moved out. She heard this horrific crash and ran downstairs to find the shelf they were stored on had given way. I want to use the fancy dishes on occasion and not wait forever. To have a few beautiful things to look at and use, while I’m still darning socks, rolling dimes, refinishing furniture, cooking frugally from scratch, and hitting the thrifts.
