I'm Cheapskate and I Know it

When my sisters and I were little, we were sometimes embarrassed by our mom's frugality. I can still hear my mom's southern voice asking the drive-thru person at McDonald's if they had "any of those little courtesy cups for children" so that we would could split one big drink rather than pay for separate ones. My sisters and I would cringe in our seats whenever we would go out to dinner as a family, because a coupon was always involved. If for some reason the waiter tried to say that the coupon was not applicable, you better believe my mom argued her case (and usually won).

Now that I am a mom myself I am noticing that I am the same way (maybe minus the coupon arguing). When I take the kids with me grocery shopping we always stop by the bakery for the free cookies they have set aside for kids. We know the 2 Phoenix McDonald's locations that give mini ice cream cones to kids for free (91st ave & Union Hills, loop 303 & Bell rd.) I was looking forward to getting my free dozen donuts from Krispy Kreme this year on my birthday, too, but when I drove up I found out they had closed down. That was depressing.

Thanks for teaching me the tricks of the trade, Don. Even though they are embarrassing, I'm getting over it :)