I remember how obsessed my father was about saving every penny that he possibly could when my sister and I were growing up.
He was notoriously cheap, but let me tell you something: when he did make a purchase, you can be darn sure that it was with cash in hand! He was an accountant after all, so he knew how to save money and budget to the most minutest percentile.
He even had a budget for the liquor he would buy. It was terrible stuff, but very economical in terms of the strong proof! I can attest to that because of the first time I got into his liquor cabinet as a teenager! Anyway, Dad was amazing with money. He was the kind of guy that could walk into a car dealership and skip the salesman’s pitch the moment he mentioned he was paying with cash, which was typically right after the moment he pointed at the car he wanted with a look that brokered no argument. Dad would often try to save money by not running the HVAC system hardly at all! Of course, we had to use the furnace sometimes in the winter, but you’d be surprised just how cold it would have to get. His answer was simply to bundle up in warmer clothing and get extra blankets unless it was truly cold. He felt the same way about air-conditioning. One summer day, I remember that the neighbor’s air conditioning was running so loud in the apartment next door that he thought ours was on and he flew into a fit because he had just told everyone not to turn it on at all no matter how hot it got! He felt pretty sheepish when he realized it was the neighbor’s air conditioning running.