Basic Thriftiness part 2 or Set Aside Your Pride

Set Aside Your Pride

My husband and I reminisce about the days when he only wore Levi’s jeans and I had a medicine chest full of Clinique lipsticks. There was a time when name brand was the only option. My, how times have changed. We were made to believe that we were paying for quality that was well worth the added expense. While this may have been true, we were also paying for status. Sometimes we just need to set aside our pride and try the generic. I’ve since traded in my $12 mascara for $4 Cover Girl that I like even better. He has gladly switched his denim of choice to Wrangler for about a third of the price of the name brand.

Foods can be the same way. I do not believe that there is much difference between brands of basics like flour, sugar, salt, beans, and rice. Saying that, I must admit that we don’t care much for the cheapest brand of coffee not canned peas. But it has nothing to do with the label on the can!

Living within our means is one of the more valuable skills that we can learn. If we have a Belk budget, then it can be reflected in what others see. If we have a Wal-Mart budget, then that also can be reflected. Unfortunately most of us would not admit to being on such a budget, let alone show it in our appearances. Hmmm, isn’t that being a little phony? We certainly wouldn’t want our friends and family to intentionally deceive us, therefore we should not seek out to deceive them. That golden rule is something else, isn’t it.

I feel that it is more valuable to be true to my situation than to blow my budget trying to impress or convince others that we have money that we do not. Just to illustrate that I value honesty over pride, I will divulge that we are a family of 7 living off of $1300 a month. This is the season that the Lord has us in right now. It is by His choice.

So go ahead, try the generic. It might just surprise you!