Who has influenced your life?

Well the last couple of days have been an emotional roller coaster. Yesterday we almost lost my dear old Nana. At age 91 she has led a long and plentiful life and yesterday we were called to her bedside at the hospital to say goodbye. Nothing short of a miracle today it is as though nothing ever happened. Thankfully we have more moments with Nan and have all had the chance to tell her how much we love her and how much she means to us.

That said it got me thinking how some people are major influences in our lives. By the time I was born my Grandfather (Guggy) had retired and my Nan only worked occasionally. Many school holidays and other days were spent with my Grandparents in the house my Nan still lives in now. My Guggy passed December 24 2002 shortly after my first son was born.

Spending so much time with my Nan over the years has meant she is one of the bigger influences in my life. As is often true with her generation my Nan is one of the most frugal people I know and always has been. As a small child I remember my first introduction to stockpiling. During the depression my Nana had been forced to live without toilet paper and soap. I clearly remember standing with my brother and counting 52 cakes of soap in the cupboard. When you are a small child 52 is a big number. She also had a very large stash of toilet paper. I asked her once why she had so many and she told me it was because if times get tough they are two things they never wanted to live without.

Now I have adapted this practice slightly. With advances in technology and also out of personal preferences I have added a lot more items to my "don't want to live without" strategy. I love having a substantial stockpile for hard times. Ideally I would like a 6 month supply of everything except milk, fruit and vege, bread and meat. I am working at this now. The theory for me is that in hard times or during unemployment I can hugely reduce my grocery spending. I have 2 golden rules with my stockpile - only ever buy if it's a good special and make sure you rotate your stock. Both these principles help me to build my stockpile without blowing my weekly grocery budget.

So that's just one of the many ways in which my Nan has managed to influence my life and the person I have become today. She is one of the most amazing people I have ever known and I am truly blessed to be her Granddaughter.