As my friends and I enter a nearby McDonalds down the street, we all have one thing on our minds, food. “A number nine,” one of my friends calls out, “with an apple pie.” “I’ll take a number three with extra mayo,” another one of my friends says. Finally, it is my turn to order. “Hmm,” I think to myself. “I am not going to eat because then I’ll have to pay.”
I figured if I said I wasn’t hungry then my friends will offer me their food, and in the end I wouldn’t have to pull out my wallet. A lesson of how to budget money is to be learned from this situation. Many times in everyday life, you must learn how to save money, in other word being what I like to call “tite,” or “tight,” as it is commonly known. Being tight, in fact, is a sure way to save money. So, if you are on a budget, the instructions that follow provide the best policy.
Eventually, you will have to pay for or share something. Thus, you should learn how to be tight to avoid these certain situations as much as possible. First and foremost, before you decide to be tight, you must understand the concept of a good excuse. For instance, saying you don’t have money and then going to the mall and buying an eighty-dollar shirt cannot easily be justified; however, your purchase can be justified if you claim your girlfriend bought the shirt for you. In addition, another good excuse when trying to avoid these situations is saying that you forgot your wallet at home.
The “leaving your wallet at home” excuse is the most common excuse known to tight people. When you are stuck in a situation where you are about to be called tight, this excuse always does the trick. However, you shouldn’t overuse this excuse because just like a pair of tennis shoes it gets worn out quickly.
When you are hungry, it is always important to check how much money is present in your wallet. If, after looking at your wallet and finding that you are no longer hungry, wait for others to invite you to eat, for an invitation to eat is a sure ticket in not paying for the meal. So be calm and be tight and let others treat you to a meal, which you don’t have to pay. In the end, your hunger will be satisfied and your wallet will still be full.
Knowing who you are eating with is also important in being tight. If the party you are eating with is tighter than you are, suggest driving in two separate cars. Tell your party you will meet them there. Yet, before you leave for the restaurant, make sure to tell your party to order your food for you. Give them an excuse and tell them you’ll be late and will not have time to eat. Then, by the time you get there, your food will be ready and free, for your friends would have made it their business to pay for the food. Again as noted, a good excuse should always be made to avoid paying for your food. However, if your plan does not succeed, go to plan B, which encompass the realm of eating off your friends’ plate to satisfy the hunger of your stomach and the drive for saving money in your wallet.
However, as a warning, all plans may lose their effect after prolong use. So, it is crucial for you to alternate your plans and excuses as much as possible. Always view the situation at all angles. Remember, in order to be a good “tightwad,” a person who is tight, you should always take into consideration the techniques you use in being tight. Soon, someone will catch on to your technique; therefore, change your behavior and pay for a meal every now and then. Yet, before you pay, remember that next time your friends will pay for you. Last but not least, always take into consideration paying for a meal when the total amount is small and save the large amounts for your much wealthier friends.
Like the money in our pockets, so are the days of our lives. Much too often we let others pay for our meals; however, the satisfaction of our full wallets constantly remind us of the drive for more techniques. Thus, we let our imaginations make the excuses, which enable us to enjoy a free meal. In addition, our passions are much too strong to stop the wealthy and friendly in treating us to their free meals. Therefore, we must let our wallets be the guiding light to our hunger, for in the end we will have learned the art of what is most commonly known as “tight”.
