Opinion : Pinching Pennies so tightly that Lincoln cries, \"Uncle!\"

Gas is going up...not news.

Groceries are going up, shouldn't be news.

Everything else is following...news I hate.

I have to admit, when it comes to saving money, I know how to do it, usually.

I remember the good old days when I could go to Aldis, fill up the back of my Suburban, which I could afford to drive, and get back home for under $200.

The groceries would fill 8 stomachs for a LONG time.

Okay, so that was 12, 13 years ago.

Today, I can't afford to drive the Suburban and $200 worth of groceries MIGHT fill the back seat of a small car.

So when I found the price of sugar hadn't gone up at local store yesterday, I bought 8 bags...now in my defense we do a LOT of baking...but that's the trick to saving money. Stocking up.

Today, if the car has room for a few gallons and you're driving past, it will definitely pay to stop and top off the tank.

My poor husband used to groan at all the money I saved him. He would always air quote that word, saved. :)

I happened to be at a Wal-mart when we had boys in the 2-3 age range. To my husband's chagrin, I spotted a rack of boys pants for $1 a pair...do I need to tell you I bought 2 in every size and left with I believe 40 pairs of pants for $40?

When we had our first daughter, granted, it was 20 years ago, I bought shoes the same way...only those were 25¢ each...and I bought more than one in each size...I remember people looking at me funny because I had half a cart full of little girls shoes and only one little baby at the time.

Last spring I did the same thing. The kids are all 20ish and under now. I like to get something for everyone at Christmas, and when I saw a great deal on the softest sweatshirts at Cameron's, I bought them all! Karilea was happy to get rid of about 20 of them, and I felt like I hit the jackpot. As luck would have it, I had the right sizes for everyone...or the kids are being polite and saying, ahem, not really mom...

My kids hate going to the grocery store with me.

A few weeks ago, Fareway had a deal that if you bought I think it was $25 worth of paper products you'd get a $5 rebate....so I got out the calculator, got online and looked for coupons, then we went to the store. We had one cart full of tissues, embarrassed kids and husband, but there was one happy mom, who I might add, just got her rebate check in the mail.

At some point saving money can either be a drag or a game. The game version is much more fun!

I still remember a day that I took my oldest son to the grocery store. We were looking at cheese. At this point I didn't really need to pinch pennies, so I just grabbed what I wanted and turned to go, when he pointed out that I'd save money if I got the other brand. So like a good penny pincher, I blushed and switched packages.

Now honestly, to some folks it can look a little ridiculous. I remember taking my calculator to the store and figuring out the cheapest toilet paper...again, there were 8 at home :)

Today I think if you have room for storage, it's probably a good idea to buy ahead, because it's going to get tighter.

Start with what costs the most, and stock up on that, then work your way down the list.

Yes, it takes time, and a bit of effort.

But when your cupboards are stocked, and the freezer is full, you can wait for a good sale!

On a personal note: If you see a sale, send me an e-mail and I'm there!