Spavers

A spaver. Definition:  a person who spends in order to save.
My sister introduced me to this idea when she was visiting me last week. It's funny, because I had just started perusing sites like "Southern Saver" and "Extreme Couponing" (the TV show). My first reaction to these programs was to be super excited, and to head out to the stores. But hearing the definition of a spaver caused me more than a little angst, because I think that these programs cause me to become a spaver every once in a while. That bothers me. Why?

1. A spaver is someone who by default ends up spending too much, or more than they'd normally spend, in order to save. Hence forth, you are still spending too much money. This is bad. I don't have "too much money" to spend.

2. Being a spaver is like a disease. It's something that starts small in your life, and then it quickly grows to become an overriding obsession. When you miss a deal or don't get the best deal, you literally feel sad, sick, depressed, annoyed, angry......I have felt these emotions. For real.

3. Spaverism takes more than just a desire to save money. It takes time - time to assess your needs, time to find the deals, time to match-up the coupons, time to drive to the stores, time to make return trips to the stores when the coupons/sales weren't correct.......oh man. I feel woozy. AND, I have two young children. You know that they LOVE going in and out of stores every day. For hours.

Now, lest you be afraid that I am abandoning my Dutchy roots, or the solid, good teachings that my mother brought me up on - I LOVE to save money. I actually do as many of these things as I can:  I cut coupons, find great freebies, do coupon deals, follow sales...... it is hard, but I also see it as part of my job as a stay-at-home mom.

And, if you've never cut a coupon in your life (or looked at the Sunday circulars), it is REALLY easy to save money. Sometimes all I have to do is drive 2 minutes down the road to Walgreens, buy a product, and they give me my "money back" right there. Sweet.

I am just wondering if being a spaver is really the best thing for me. At least, perhaps not all the time. I also wonder if that's what God really wants us to do with our money. He certainly wants us to use it wisely, and I am so thankful for all the great deals that He does provide. But, is an obsession with getting the best deal what we should always be thinking about? And will a few cents really end-up saving us that much more? Could we be using our time a little more wisely in some instances?

When you open your closet and your huge stockpile of free toothpastes and shampoos falls down to crush you in the hallway, then perhaps it's time to lay off the deals for a little while. :)