Grandpa Riga was known for being frugal. My grandma always complained that just once she wanted to go on a vacation. To which grandpa replied that it was his job to provide her with food, clothing, and a roof over her head. Entertainment was not on the list.
Many times, I saw first hand how cleaver grandpa actually was. Here a a few good memories:
- We would be out walking and he would reach down and pick up a penny. When I questioned him, he just said
that’s one penny I didn’t have to work for. (I still do this too!)
- Grandpa placed all the lights in the basement on timers (because grandma could never remember to turn them off?) and she would be down there doing laundry and the lights would suddenly turn off. LOL.
- One day I came over and saw him eat another can of Campbell’s tomato soup. When I asked him about it, he said
… just poke a hole in the lid in the morning and place the can over the pilot light. Your burning that gas anyway, might as well use it [to cook the soup]. At the end of the day the soup is fully cooked, just pour and eat.
- When he was in assisted care, he would steal packages of ketchup. Then later, microwave bowls of water and add the ketchup to make tomato soup. (that way he only had to pay for 1 meal a day at the retirement home).
- He would place an empty 2 liter in the back of his toilet tank to use less water when flushing.(He was green before it was cool!
- Grandpa would pay cash for his cars, so he owned them outright. Then, he still made monthly car payments to himself. After 5 years, his current car would poop out but he would have a large pot of money to buy a new car with. This way, he never had to borrow money from the bank for a car loan
Grandpa, thank you for teaching me the value of money!