Been called cheap my whole life. Put a down payment on a house. Being cheap is fine
I grew up in a family where money was tight so being careful with it just became second nature. I never really thought of it as a personality trait until people started pointing it out I guess. The word cheap got thrown around a lot and not always in a satire way. I brown bag my lunch every day. I drive a 2012 Chevy with 140k miles on it that runs fine. I don't do rounds at the bar and I dont usually get a burger with a meal lol. For years I kind of quietly absorbed the comments and kept doing what I had to do. I have some money saved up from sidepot us I've been sitting on for a while and last week I used a chunk of it as a down payment on a house. A modest place in a decent neighborhood but it's mine and I paid for it without scrambling or borrowing from anyone. The same people who used to joke about me bringing lunch to work are now asking how I managed to buy a house in this market. The answer is boring because I never stopped doing the thing they made fun of me for. This isnt me gloating or anything but if youre in a similar situation, TRUST THE PROCESS PEOPLE!!!