Room with a View

I’ve previously written a column about my slight fascination with frugality. I’ve seen books on saving money and found some of the quirky tips a bit over the top. But I hadn’t a clue about the stretches some people make until I heard about a man in Florida who got an award for his penny pinching.He was a retired man, who still ate the same lunch he’d had since he was young. He didn’t need to save the money now, but he couldn’t break the habit.Here’s what he did: His butcher cut slices of smoked meat as thin as the blade would allow. The man bought just a couple pieces of the meat. Sunday night he made his lunch for Monday morning. The meat would go between two pieces of bread, one with butter. He’d wrap the little sandwich in paper and put in the refrigerator overnight. Come time for lunch Monday, he’d open the fridge, take out his sandwich … and then remove the meat and eat the two pieces of bread, one with butter.He said the smoked meat "flavored" the bread. He’d reuse the meat all week to flavor his sandwich bread and then, Saturday, actually eat a sandwich with meat. I think he deserved the award.This story got me to thinking of the cheapskates in our own county.When I first moved to Rock County a few years ago, I didn’t quite get a joke my editor made one day. Lori said something about saving a few cents or dollars here and there, ending her comment with "I’m a good Dutch girl."I wasn’t sure what she meant, because I wasn’t aware of any stereotypes about Dutch people. (Just to clarify, I don’t endorse these stereotypes, I’ve just been told by my 100-percent Dutch friends that they are true.)I wouldn’t have known better. I didn’t know many Dutch people growing up, but I found a few classic tightwads in the Scotch-Irish branch of my family tree: There was Uncle Mac, who has too many cheap tricks to mention. His most notable one could be that he brought generic beer to family gatherings. I’ve never seen it at a liquor store, but it was a plain white can with BEER written in black across the middle. Then there was Uncle Don, whose pictures we had to date immediately because he wore the same green plaid "outfit" every time I saw him.Dutch or not, I think it’d be fun to hear from our readers about their money-saving techniques. Let me know what yours are, and I’ll print them in this column if I get enough. Feel free to e-mail me at saraq@star-herald.com or call the office at 283-2333 with your techniques. If you want to leave a message after business hours, I’m on extension 15. I am willing to withhold names in the case of exposing cheapskates.