A PENNY SAVED...

My mother was a smoker. My father detested smoke. He was a family physician with an office on the other side of our garage. If a patient lit up in the waiting room, my father would watch in silence for a moment, then take the cigarette out of the patient’s mouth. My father was a man of quiet action. So, how did my parents stay together—the smoker and the anti-smoker? My father loved my mother more than he hated smoke.

During a flu epidemic, my mother caught the flu. Although she generally smoked even when she was sick, this flu was so awful that she couldn’t smoke. My father seized the moment. After she recovered, he told my mother that if she could go without cigarettes during that bout of illness, he thought that she could quit altogether. He promised to buy her a diamond ring if she stopped. Although my mother loved her cigarettes, this was an offer she couldn’t pass up. Okay, she told him, she’d see if she could do it. “No", my father said, “Now”. So, my mother went cold turkey, soon sporting a lovely diamond ring. Two strong willed people, my parents. 

With the diamond ring on her hand, my mother couldn’t backslide, though years later, she told me that she never quite got over the desire for a cigarette. What did she do to keep herself honest and smoke free? She started putting what would have been her cigarette money in a jar. She would increase the amount as the price of cigarettes went up. And, she continued even after my father died. The result—a tidy little sum for splurges here and there. 

I come by my tenacity, fortitude and savings agenda honestly. I continue to follow my mother’s habit of making sure that I’m saving money. No, I never smoked. But I look for bargains and try to avoid losing money when I don’t have to, whether the amounts are small or large.

This brings me to a consumer reminder—be vigilant when you’re shopping. And that applies anywhere--whether you're shopping for groceries or for a car. Check receipts to make sure that you were charged correctly. I was about to saunter out of the supermarket this week, when I noticed that the cashier had charged me for two packages of paper towels when I had only bought one. Off to Customer Service to adjust the charge. Hey, $5.99 is $5.99. I’ve been in Whole Foods a couple of times when signs said that items were on sale, but at the register, they rang up at regular price. Okay—small charges, but they add up. My mother would be proud.

There are ways to be vigilant on other charges that seem immutable. Every year, when our car and homeowner’s insurance renew, I check with our agent to make sure that all is as it should be. This year, with cost increasing, he suggested that we may want to think about changing auto carriers, since we could save over $1000. Howard and I mulled it over. We liked our current insurer, but $1000+? Before we could make the decision, the agent called us back to let us know that he had been in a meeting with our carrier, and our name came up. He told them that we’re very long term clients, with significant insurance business with this insurer, and asked them to make an adjustment—which they pretty much never do. But, this time, with customer loyalty and no claims, they agreed. We saved significantly on this adjustment.

So, check those receipts, question regular charges, and save, save, save.

                          A PENNY SAVED IS A PENNY EARNED (Ben Franklin)