Quoted from the Daily Journal (based in Franklin, IN) Front Page Article on March 14, 2009 (I’m going to spare you the pictures, though. Imagine me with my coupon binder in Meijer and sacking my groceries at Aldi. Yep. Just that exciting.).
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March 14, 2009 The obsession began when Cherie Lowe was 8 or 9 years old. She would save all of her allowance to buy books. She started selling stickers, rocks and homemade cards to her neighbors for additional funds. “I bet my neighbors and relatives hated seeing my little red-haired ponytail bouncing down their driveway,” she said. Extra pennies went into the piggy bank for a later day. |
Lowe, now 32, still has an affection for saving her money. The habit of paying close attention to the money she spent has blossomed into a lifestyle of frugality. She doesn’t emulate Scrooge; instead, she focuses on living a comfortable lifestyle for the least amount of money she can.
“It’s not about being a miser and being miserable, it’s about being happy and using the resources you have,” she said.
She and her husband, Brian, live in a 1950s style ranch home in Green wood. They have two children – 6-year-old Anna and Zoe, who turns 1 today.
Brian Lowe is an attorney, and Cherie Lowe is working toward her master’s degree in history from IUPUI. Before taking leave to be a full-time mom six months ago, she worked part-time for Stones Crossing Church, which she attends. With student loans, car payments, medical bills from the birth of their children and credit cards, the Lowes need to stretch their funds to the max.
The Lowes make it a point to put away each penny they can to ensure a debt-free life, which is what they plan to be doing in three years.
Every cent not used for necessities like food and clothing goes toward bills.
The family rarely goes out to eat and only takes in a movie once or twice each year. Even then, it’s usually at the $1 budget theater.
They don’t go on vacations. Anna and Zoe do not have video game systems, and the family has never purchased a television, getting their sets secondhand.
She and Brian always have shared the same philosophy about watching their dollars, making the frugal life a family-wide activity.
This past summer, for example, the family tried to go as many days as possible without spending any money on eating out. That meant not spending on anything from sit-down meals to fast food to beverages at the gas station.
They were able to make it about 65 days before giving in after a long Sunday morning at church.
“We just want to make sure we’re watching where every dollar goes so that we control our spending instead of it controlling us,” she said.
Frugality touches every aspect of the family’s life, but it’s on full display during Lowe’s weekly grocery shopping trip.
Lowe hits the store on Thursday, but preparation starts days before. She sorts through Sunday coupons and advertisements, noting and clipping items she thinks her family might like.
Everything goes into a large binder.
Taking into account the deals being offered, Lowe plans out meals for every day of the week. The menu allows her to determine what she needs to buy and what she already has in her kitchen.
With the various meals in mind, she makes a detailed list of every item she needs to buy. She writes in the price next to each purchase, which she finds from store advertisements. On basic items like milk and eggs, she also calls the stores to price check.
Armed with her list and a clear plan, Lowe is ready to shop. Her weekly shopping trips always start at the Greenwood Aldi. The chain store is known for having consistently cheaper prices for fresh meat, vegetables, fruit and dairy, Lowe said.
She whizzes past the chips, snack foods and soda – no high-sucrose corn syrup or excessive additives for her family. Instead, it’s straight to healthier food like whole oats, canned tuna and ground turkey.
With Lowe, there are no wasted minutes browsing. She knows what she wants and goes right to it.Time is money, after all.
“The less time you spend in here, the less money you spend,” she said. “Plus, nobody wants to spend all of their time in a grocery store.”
Lowe swears by the vegetables at Aldi, tossing things like romaine hearts and red and yellow peppers in her cart.
“Before I started shopping here, I figured it was stuff that fell off a truck,” she said. “But the fresh fruits and vegetables, that’s why I come here. You can’t find a better price on those things anywhere.”
Her spending goal at Aldi was $30 for the week, which she calculated beforehand with her list. After the cashier rang everything up, Lowe was almost dead on, as the total for 22 items came to $30.45.
Lowe’s passion is saving the most money possible, but she also loves to share what she’s learned with others. That’s why she’s taken her frugal lifestyle digital, keeping a daily blog that details everything from deals from area retailers to ways to reduce living expenses. Like her name suggests, her specialty is finding things for free.
A majority of the information she posts comes from tips given by other blogger friends. She carefully sifts out any spam offers to make sure her readers only get legitimate deals.
For those who see this lifestyle as impossible to live, Lowe admits she doesn’t live a perfect life of frugality. Her goal is to be budget-conscious 85 percent of the time, allowing for human occasional lapses.
The family’s most recent big splurge was on new furniture in 2004, spending about $2,000 on a couch and bed for Anna.
Lowe also admits to buying clothes sometimes even if she doesn’t need them. She bought herself two pairs of jeans in February, which she considered a splurge even if they were on sale for $10 each.
“I am no Martha Stewart, nor a perfect being. I do make rash purchases from time to time – though usually small – and my house is rarely spotless,” she said.
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