How tight are you?

Some of us are spend thrifts. If we’ve got money, we want people to know it. Others are natural penny pinchers, frugal to a fault. I’m more the second sort. As such, I’ve developed some interesting rituals that make me at least feel like I’m getting the maximum bang for my buck.

One trick is forever stamps. Having observed the US Postal Service’s price increases over the years, I now know when to expect an increase and about how many stamps I will need before they hike prices again. Prices for a first class letter are going up again this January 1st.

So just before each price hike, I buy the appointed number of forever stamps and mark on the back of the sheet how much I paid for each stamp. My strategy is to always have enough forevers that I can always mail letters for at least 10¢ less than the going rate, and sometimes save even more. True it probably saves less money than the time I put into saving it is worth, but it makes me feel frugal, and I like that.

Are you a big spender or a penny pincher? Do you have any spending rituals or saving rituals that make you feel good about your preferred spending level?