How to Become a Hoarder
When I was growing up in Boston I remember that my mother was an avid coupon user. If she found a coupon and recognized the product, she would cut it out and take it with her on the next Saturday we went shopping. If there was no picture, she would ask me if it was something we used. (She barely spoke English and could only understand a very limited amount of written English.) There was a time when we had maybe six or seven boxes of detergent next to our washing machine in the basement. We used the expensive detergent, ever since my mother had been tempted to use one of the cheapest on the market and I had gotten a rash every day when my skin touched clean clothes. She justified buying the detergent whenever it was on sale (and better with an added coupon) by saying that we wouldn't need to buy it at full price if we ran out of it. A penny saved was a penny earned. For years afterwards I thought she had been exaggerating a bit. Until I started doing the same thing. It began with...