Thankful Thursday: A Penny Saved, is a Penny Earned

Today I am starting a new series called: Thankful Thursday, suggested by the folks over at Geneabloggers website. Each Thursday I will post something that I am thankful for.

Todays post is me being thankful for learning to be thrifty. I guess one of the main influences in my life regarding spending money came from my Maternal Aunt Laura. That woman knows how to make a penny squeak! She has always been very wise about money matters. From my childhood on up I remember her raising a big garden and canning the fruits of her labor. She stored it upstairs in her attic and in the smokehouse and any other nook and cranny she could find. She watched the sales and when something hit its rock bottom price she would stock up. Her garage and smokehouse both were filled with shelves where she stored things she had stocked up on. She always had a huge deep freeze and kept it filled to the brim with meat and other foods. You never left her house hungry, she always prepared a big meal and invited anyone who happened to drop by to stay and eat with her. If she did not have anything prepared at the moment, she didn't let that stop her, she would go ahead and encourage them to hang around and she would throw something together. She could cook a meal that would give even Paula Deen a run for her money! Anywhere she went she would bring Jars of Soup or something she had canned to share with others. We were always blessed with something she had canned each time she visited. I remember her hot chow chow, to this day, nobody anywhere can recreate that, it was sweet and hot and I absolutely loved it! I have vowed one of these days to be able to get into the kitchen and recreate that!
While Aunt Laura did not use coupons she still was able to stretch her meager budget and raised children and grandchildren on it. I learned so much just from watching her do the simple things such as this. While I am not an extreme couponer  by any means, from time to time I do use them to save money on the things we need. Aunt Laura believed in being faithful with what God had given you. She paid her tithes and the rest of her money she managed with great care. I remember taking lots of meals at her dinner table and watching her prepare each meal with tender loving care. Im thankful for the things I learned from Aunt Laura and I hope she knows what an impression she made on me.