Every so often, something happens reminding me of my father, who passed away more than 16 years ago.
Thinking back, he was the epitome of frugality. If I were to look up in the dictionary the meaning of frugality, I wouldn’t be surprised to find my father’s photo.
His favorite saying was, “Just pinch a nickel until the buffalo screams.”
When I first heard him say that, I didn’t understand what he meant. I remembered when he generously picked up our lunch tab, then left a nickel tip for the waitress.
At first, I couldn’t believe it. I thought maybe it was a joke, and I was waiting for the punch line. Unfortunately, it never came. He actually tipped the waitress a nickel.
I don’t need the latest gadget or to update my cellphone every year. I’ve had my truck for 20 years, and I’m not planning to trade it in for a newer model anytime soon. If that old truck gets me to where I need to go, that’s all I really need.
If you walk by me sometime and hear a buffalo scream, you’ll know what I’m doing — pinching a nickel.
In addition to money, I also try to be frugal with my time.
As a teenager, I knew how to waste time as well as anybody. It took me a long time to realize I needed to be economical with my time to make the most of it.
My parents were snowbirds in their later years and spent the winter in Florida. The last time they were in Florida, my father was in a serious health situation. He’d been in a coma for a week or so. Then one day, he woke up as though he’d never been sick in his life.
I’m so glad I was there when he woke up. When he saw me, he got out of bed and sat with me in the living room. The first thing he said was: “Son, I want to go back home to Pennsylvania as soon as possible. Do you think we can do it in the next couple of days?”
One of Dad’s friends was there, took me out to the garage, and said, “Don’t you know your father is sick and may not live much longer?”
I said, “I know my father has maybe two days left to live. I don’t want the last of my time with him arguing about going back to Pennsylvania. I want to have a good conversation with him because I know this is the last one I’ll have with him.”
The next day, my father passed away, I was so grateful I spent the time I had with him before he passed, and that time was not spent arguing about anything.
I want to be frugal with every aspect of my life, not just my money. Jesus addressed this subject in Luke.
“For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.”
— Luke 14: 28-30
I’ve learned being frugal enables me to finish what I start, which is so satisfying.
Dr. Snyder is a former pastor who lives with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, wife Martha, in Ocala, Fla. His email is [email protected].
