Thrift Store

I come from a long line of thrifty Huangs, and it'll be interesting to see what my own kids practice and pass on as they become parents.  My grandparents on my dad's side didn't come from much because they came from a time and place where practically no one had much.  But they built up a medical practice in their rural village, and did well for themselves.  But those childhood habits proved very entrenched, for long after they had "made it," they continued to be extremely thrifty, such that even my famously thrifty dad (their son) would harangue them because they were being too thrifty.

About my dad.  Like many of his era, he came to America for education, and made a living out of it.  As a first-generation Taiwanese immigrant, money was for education and family, and he worked hard to invest in both, with very little wasted on anything else.  His cost-cutting practices are legend.  Cutting the toothpaste tube open to scrape a few days' worth of product out.  Running the shower into a bucket while the water was warming up so he could use the bucket water to flush the toilet.  And don't get me started on items he hoarded, like plastic bags from the supermarket and travel shampoo from hotels and bottled water from running races.  

I have inherited many of these tricks.  But I'm fortunate enough - thanks in large part to my dad saving up for me and instilling me many positive life skills that have served me well - that I can literally afford a few "luxuries" that he chose not to partake in.  I put "luxuries" in quotes because it is all relative.  Buying a zoo membership is a normal American parent thing to do, and my kids have gotten to go countless times during their childhood, whereas I can only recall going a handful of times during my own childhood, and at that only when my dad scored free tickets or when we were on vacation.  Speaking of vacation, my dad once packed 80 ham sandwiches into a cooler for a long weekend hiking trip, so for me to get fast food and grocery store take-out when we are away is a huge step up for my own kids, which thankfully they are fine with.  

Amy grew up pretty thrifty too, so we're a good match in that regard.  And at the same time we realize we're probably in the extreme in relation to our kids' families, so are mindful to make them aware of that, and that if that puts them out in any way that they should let us know.  For while it's good to have thriftiness as a family value, it can go overboard in ways that are not helpful to the kids.  Gratefully, they do appear to be genuinely thankful people, and their material wants are reasonable and appropriate.

At any rate, the proof of how you are really comes when you are the head of the household.  So we'll see which thrifty habits they choose to implement in their own lives.  I'm rooting for them to retain some of what I myself learned from my dad.  But I'm also rooting for them to turn out a little bit more normal too.