Cheapskate's Adult Daughter Moves Back Home: WSJ

The Wall Street Journal has a relatively new feature called Cheapskate by Neal Templin. This week the Cheapskate writes about the thrifty lessons his daughter learned during college and after graduation.

Frugal College Years

Mariana --the daughter -- traveled a frugal path through college. (Tuition was covered by a partial scholarship and parental contributions.) Here's how she did it:

• Cut her own hair
• Purchased second-hand clothes
• Shopped for groceries at a store that offered huge price cuts
• Worked two part-time jobs to pay for living expenses

Post-College Return Home

After graduating from college, Mariana found a position with a New York publisher. Good luck! When I found my first publishing job in NYC, I silently wondered if the job came with food stamps and an application for Section 8 housing. The salary was about $15,000 and I had to work at night as a waitress to pay the rent on an apartment I shared with two girls.

Mr. Cheapskate has an accurate grip of the situation:

If she lives in New York, I suspect her paycheck will be gobbled up by rent, groceries and the like," Templin writes.

Faced with that reality, Mariana will move in with her parents. Her father --the Cheapskate -- doesn't plan to charge rent. He's grateful to have her home.

It's a great read with frugal nuggets.

Here are links to a few of his columns:

We Managed to Sell Our Home And Keep Our Marriage Intact

The High Cost of a Bargain Meal

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