Every time I look up, my momma and daddy are buying something or doing something new.  Big screen television, vacations to far away places--construction at the house--redoing the restrooms, pulling up carpet--putting down tile.

None of this stuff is cheap--and I'm wondering how they can afford it. My parents are blue collar workers--they work hard for their money--but somehow, they are living real lucrative lifestyles.

Dad drives a jeep and momma has one too--then they got a few cars to spare.

Shawn has a white collar job--I'm pulling in three or four nickles to add to the pot--and we are 'bout living from pay check to pay check.  We're trying to figure out how we're going to bless Andrew with any savings other than his modeling money--cause what we got is being spent on the here and now!

The other day my momma was like "We've gotta make our will. We have so much money that we need to disperse between our children. I don't want anything to get lost."

I'm like "How in the hell were y'all--with two children, a house note, two car notes and everything else that comes along with it--able to save money to leave to four children (me, my brother Brian AKA the Hiram Clarke Hustler, and my step sisters Deidre and Darcia)?"

"Oh," my momma laughed at me, "and we got six grandchildren. We got something for each of them too."

I got off the phone mad, trying to figure out how my momma nem were able to put a few bucks away all these years while Shawn and I struggle to get by. And my husband makes GOOD money!

Well, I was able to wrack my brain and put two and two together: my daddy is cheap as hell. That's how they've been able to save money all these years. See, we're spending dough on extra stuff that we don't need--that my dad would NEVER pay money for.

For instance, we drink 100% orange juice with our breakfast.  That's running us $5 a gallon! My dad prefers orange drink, with out .5% of vitamin C in it. Over the course of a lifetime, he's saved a bunch of money that way. Now he's probably vitamin C deficient--but he's got a few nickles to rub together.

We use Charmin 2 ply toilet paper with the Aloe Vera lotion in it.  My daddy uses that Scott toilet paper--one ply--might as well call it 'sand paper' cause it's gonna scratch your a$$ every time you wipe. Now mind you--he's got killer hemorrhoids--but he's saved up enough money with the cheap toilet paper to be able to afford the Preparation H.

We use Reynold's Aluminum foil when we're storing food or bar b quing--not my father--he got something called "Wrap"--it's silver and looks a lot like aluminum foil--but actually it's about a sturdy as clear cling wrap.  You'd better not use it to cover something you want to actually keep for a long time in the freezer--cause it'll get up and walk outside on you--cause it surely ain't gonna protect the integrity of the meat product!

My dad goes every Saturday morning to the barber college for a hair cut.  Doesn't pay but perhaps $4 or $5 to get one of the guys trying to get their license to take a few inches off the top for him. Each week, my husband forks over $20 to his barber--price recently went up cause Day-day (yeah, a barber named Day-day--go figure) done bought his own shop and went up on the price.

After you throw in the imitation butter my daddy uses, the refusal to buy brand named chips, bread or canned goods--and his monthly visits to the food shelf to see "what's left over"--it's now easy to see how he got all that money stashed away for his chil'len and grand chil'len. 

And I gotta say--I never realized it before (cause he was buying me Kadidas instead of Adidas), but I appreciate my dad being frugal with his finances--and because of that--if he goes ahead and kicks the bucket before Andrew starts his freshman year of college--my son won't have to be in debt to those student loan folks like his momma--cause Paw Paw Larry got him taken care of!  Good old dad!