So here's the thing: I am probably the cheapest person you've ever met. It's not that my parents influenced me to be this way, but I simply cannot get myself to buy something expensive unless I absolutely have to. And when I say expensive, I mean higher than $10. That's really my limit.
Many, many people have been trying to change this trait of mine, but all they were able to do was to make it worse. "Let's just go get dinner somewhere tonight, you need to stop being so stuck up when it comes to money." You lost me at the first part of that sentence. Of course, I enjoy having good food, but I sincerely think good food can be cheap. Why would I need to go to a fancy restaurant when I can get a $5 platter from the Halal food truck?
The problem with being cheap, however, is that you constantly have to buy things. Every time I need a new piece of clothing--whether it be a pair of jeans, a shirt, etc--I turn to stores like H&M, and Forever 21, which don't have the best quality of clothing. See, I would rather buy bad quality leggings for $5 and buy some new leggings every month rather than purchasing good quality leggings that would be more expensive but would last longer.
Simply from being a cheap person, I learned so much about myself when it comes to making purchases and being part of the consumer economy that we live in. I realized that I am not the only cheap person, and that in fact, cheap people are the ones who make the economy going. I came to the conclusion that capitalism needs people like me to constantly buy things--whether they are expensive or not.
I'm tired of constantly looking through my closet and seeing piles of cheap, low quality clothes, when I could simply go shopping twice a year and save some money. I want to change and start being more smart and conscious about my purchases, but it will definitely take some time!