Are You Saving Money on the Small Things? I do Every Day at Lake Chapala AJijic, Mexico !
April 15, 2009
Are You Saving Money on the Small Things ? I do Every Day at Lake Chapala AJijic, Mexico !
When I was a kid growing up in Dallas in the 1940′s and 1950′s I did not know we were poor. Well, not exactly poor, but a long way from rich.
I took baloney sandwiches in a brown paper bag for my school lunch, my mom put patches on my jeans when they were new, and then just re-patched them when the first patches gave out.
I used to get a new pair of shoes each new school year and after they wore out we took them to the shoe repair shop.
The shop was almost like a small factory which was on Peak St. in East Dallas, The repair shop was filled with a long line of shoe repair guys working on big industrial green painted sewing machines and assorted other machines having to do with resoling, re-heeling and in general making all kinds of leather goods repairs.
I saw a TV segment recently that said that these shops (the few that still exist) have a booming business now due to the economic turn down.
Here’s our local Shoe Repair shop. No sign is needed outside as everyone in the area knows where it is .
The shop is on Degollado at # 376 in Chapala and they’re open from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
I just had new heel caps put on three pair of shoes for just under $12 USD. How’s that for saving money on the small things.
One of the things I like about living here at the Lake Chapala AJijic area of Mexico is that while we have many upscale slick new fancy malls we also have many small shops that remind me of the ways things were in the USA when I was a kid like the local shoe repair place.
The Mexicans are very inventive in making things do. I guess it’s because they must.
That being said it does help retirees pensions go farther and helps to provide needed employment for local people as well.
Speaking of making things go farther a good shoe shine also makes our shoes look better longer
.Here’s a shot of my shoe shine man on the plaza in Chapala doing just that; making a customer’s shoes look better and last longer. He charges the equivalent of $1.08 USD for a super shine.
While I’m in Chapala in the morning I often stop at one of the convenient sidewalk shops for a breakfast licuado (a blended fruit drink of some
type) or a large full glass of fresh carrot juice, orange juice or celery juice or a blend of one or more of these. Mummm Good… and very good for you ! The price is right too. A tall glass of fresh juice is just $70 cents.
Then at 9 a.m. the banks open and I pop in to the ATM booth at Banamex and replenish my supply of pesos because almost 100% of our local expenses here are paid in “efectivo” (cash).
You can remember this Spanish word by remembering that cash is always “effective”.
So there you have it: A typical morning in Chapala as I walk from shop to shop doing errands, having a juice breakfast and stopping by the bank all the while Saving Money on the Small Things.
