The Cheapskate Wife

I've become quite the cheapskate. I'm starting to concern my husband and the number of eye rolls I get a day are increasing. Even though he's lived in the States a long time, he was under the impression most American girls were frivolous with money, anticipated a problem after we got married and kept track of the bottom line obsessively.  Except, I've become the one hounding him about spending and he's a bewildered.

 I spent 45 minutes recently in a home decor warehouse digging, pulling, pushing, rolling and fighting my way through a massive pile of area rugs to get the most bang for my buck. Sure I looked ridiculous. Sure those watching thought I'd lost my mind, but all the sweating, climbing and wrestling paid off when I found a 12' X 20' area rug that matched my decor for 50 bucks!

Oh ya! That's right! On sale buried under most of the others that were marked for $300 and up!

High 5!

Man...did I gloat after all of Sharb's whining and insisting he'd gladly spend hundreds on a rug just so his pregnant wife would get up and stop looking like she was wrestling a crocodile. Not only did I gloat over my find, but unearthing that treasure inspired others to dig through that mountain. Hey it pays to take your time and look.

The Proverbs 31 wife helped her husband by caring for their home and those dependent on her in responsible, smart, frugal ways.  I always use her as a spiritual example in the home. Well that also includes materially so I'm on a mission.

I haven't resorted to separating two-ply toilet paper to make two rolls yet or started dumpster diving for dinner, but being cheap has immediate and long term advantages. When one considers living in terms of eternity, the less and less worldly one becomes. In these hard economic times, saving money and living within one's means is not only paramount, but it shouldn't have taken a monetary meltdown for us to realize this.

Being a cheapskate is also less wasteful. No, I'm not one of those "Go green" fanatics, but taking advantage of everything God's provided for us to live is honoring to Him. For example...


12 Ways To Use Eggshells

 Recyclable Crafts

Easy Compost Pile At Home

There are tons of ways to save money and also be healthy. In our society everything is about speed and convenience and we're paying the ultimate price for it economically, physically, mentally and worst of all spiritually.

Foraging is becoming increasingly popular not only because food is so expensive, but for the tremendous health benefits as well. Did you know eating a cup of dandelion greens has far more vitamins and minerals than anything we can buy in a store? We see them as bothersome weeds, but they're known as a miracle food in most other countries.

Foraging Weeds For Healthy Eating
Edible Wild Plants With Pictures

Just by canning food we not only save a lot of money, but it's far better and healthier than buying in grocery stores. Convenience is extremely expensive and detrimental to our health. Fruit orchards in your area often times will throw perfectly good fruit away simply because an apple has fallen on the ground and can't be sold to the public under our strict food laws. Visiting these places, you may find you can get these things for free or dirt cheap. Use what you want then can the rest. Did you know most honey sold in the stores has been processed to death and has almost none of the pollen and good bacteria that has all of the medicinal value? Many processed foods have very little health value and suck up your grocery money.

Dumpster Diving has also become extremely popular and has now spread from college students to the middle class. There are also Dumpster Diving Meetup Groups Check for your own area. Dumpster diving behind department stores, outlets and even grocery stores can yield big payoffs. Not to mention "shopping at the big store", or rather, curb finds.


As Christians we're called to live simply with our focus on spreading the Gospel, running the race and eternity to come, not what we can grab in the world before we're dead. We can take nothing with us anyway. For further reading to start your own "cheapskate" journey, check out these links for ideas...

Fifty Tips For Frugal Living

Christian Simple Living

The Dollar Stretcher