I have money, but this is where I cheap out

[Anonymous]

Clothes. I do a lot of Target and Old Navy. I also tend to start at Target for decor stuff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Food. We eat out maybe 2-3 times a week, and even then it's pretty basic (wings, Chinese). I also am vigilant about not wasting food and we eat simply at home unless it's a special occasion - lots of pasta, soup, sandwiches. I do splurge on sourdough from our local bakery - $7 a loaf!

We share a car and it is a non-luxury brand.

Clothes. I will occasionally get a nice dress from Nordstrom but only for a wedding or similar. Day to day my family wears clothes from TJ Maxx, Target, and Walmart (esp the kids). We also don't buy clothes that often. I do have a LOT of shoes - my weakness - but nothing designer. I've been using the same handbags for years.

Our house. We bought a small and not updated house and I have no interest in moving or expanding our existing space. Our mortgage is $1600 a month and we live in an excellent school district.

I do have cleaners. I consider it worth every penny.

I spend a lot on makeup (Dior, Chanel) and perfume. And I will get a professional massage/facial every month or two, which I recognize is a total splurge.

We do spend on vacations/travel.

Combined we make a very comfortable HHI. (Low-to-mid six figures.)

Both my DH and I are spenders by nature but I manage the finances, and just approach it as I would a small business. I put on my MBA hat to manage our finances and recognize that I would much rather have cash in reserves than have had a bunch of BS experiences and things.

DP - you sound very sensible .

Re: folks critiquing your eating out 2-3 times a week at cheap eateries as not frugal - I am not a fan of the “gotcha” mentality of some on DCUM - nitpicking minor details and not seeing the bigger picture - your cost cutting measures spun sensible to me and balanced by a desire for sanity. Well done getting such a low mortgage in a good school district.

I often can’t make certain foods cheaper than you can buy them at lower prices eateries in the US so we do the same. Also you are both working and saving time counts .

I agree on need for cleaner and it being worth every penny.

I diverge though on spending a ton on makeup and shoes. Just the basics for me. But hey yiu save a ton by your house and car choices so you can afford that.

[Anonymous]

I had no idea that people thought shopping at Old Navy and Target was frugal. I think The Gap and Loft prices are shameful as it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had no idea that people thought shopping at Old Navy and Target was frugal. I think The Gap and Loft prices are shameful as it is.

[Anonymous]

We spend literally 80% of our take home pay on our mortgage and our nanny, neither of which, objectively, we can afford. And then we're super, super cheap about everything else. I don't buy clothes, kids clothes are all from thrift stores, we don't eat out, we don't travel beyond driving to see our families, we don't own a car.

We basically live like we make $40k, except... we've got a house we love and a nanny.

It's a phase of life.

[Anonymous]

I'll go out of my way to save 5 cents a gallon on gas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Food. We eat out maybe 2-3 times a week, and even then it's pretty basic (wings, Chinese). I also am vigilant about not wasting food and we eat simply at home unless it's a special occasion - lots of pasta, soup, sandwiches. I do splurge on sourdough from our local bakery - $7 a loaf!

We share a car and it is a non-luxury brand.

Clothes. I will occasionally get a nice dress from Nordstrom but only for a wedding or similar. Day to day my family wears clothes from TJ Maxx, Target, and Walmart (esp the kids). We also don't buy clothes that often. I do have a LOT of shoes - my weakness - but nothing designer. I've been using the same handbags for years.

Our house. We bought a small and not updated house and I have no interest in moving or expanding our existing space. Our mortgage is $1600 a month and we live in an excellent school district.

I do have cleaners. I consider it worth every penny.

I spend a lot on makeup (Dior, Chanel) and perfume. And I will get a professional massage/facial every month or two, which I recognize is a total splurge.

We do spend on vacations/travel.

Combined we make a very comfortable HHI. (Low-to-mid six figures.)

Both my DH and I are spenders by nature but I manage the finances, and just approach it as I would a small business. I put on my MBA hat to manage our finances and recognize that I would much rather have cash in reserves than have had a bunch of BS experiences and things.

DP - you sound very sensible .

Re: folks critiquing your eating out 2-3 times a week at cheap eateries as not frugal - I am not a fan of the “gotcha” mentality of some on DCUM - nitpicking minor details and not seeing the bigger picture - your cost cutting measures spun sensible to me and balanced by a desire for sanity. Well done getting such a low mortgage in a good school district.

I often can’t make certain foods cheaper than you can buy them at lower prices eateries in the US so we do the same. Also you are both working and saving time counts .

I agree on need for cleaner and it being worth every penny.

I diverge though on spending a ton on makeup and shoes. Just the basics for me. But hey yiu save a ton by your house and car choices so you can afford that.

So I’m one of the “2-3 is not frugal” posters. I stand by that statement in that it is not particularly “cheap” of pp to eat out that often and that was her lead. The OP is asking what you are cheap about and this is not it. That doesn’t mean PP isn’t balancing well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'll go out of my way to save 5 cents a gallon on gas.

Ridiculous

[Anonymous]

Shipping fees for online shopping. I will either abandon my cart if there’s a shipping fee, or I will buy something else I don’t want to hit them minimum and then return it to the store (I can walk to most of the stores I shop at, so not wasting gas to do this).

Airline tickets - I hate paying more than the cheapest basic economy fare and if I’m traveling on my own dime that’s what I do (I have a personal policy of carry-on bags only so I never check a bag anyway). If I fly domestically, I have a large weekender that qualifies as a “personal item” and international basic economy fares typically include a carry-on item, so I do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most things.

Clothes. Don’t do big home renos. We drive acuras but keep them 10-12 years. No cable king before it was cool. No cleaners or yard people.

Out of curiosity, why?

+1

Us mostly, as well. We do it because we are acutely aware that we have no one to fall back on - no parents or IL's to give us money, and we are entirely self made - wedding, education, house, everything.

It trains you to think differently.

[Anonymous]

Purses and cars

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Shipping fees for online shopping. I will either abandon my cart if there’s a shipping fee, or I will buy something else I don’t want to hit them minimum and then return it to the store (I can walk to most of the stores I shop at, so not wasting gas to do this).

Airline tickets - I hate paying more than the cheapest basic economy fare and if I’m traveling on my own dime that’s what I do (I have a personal policy of carry-on bags only so I never check a bag anyway). If I fly domestically, I have a large weekender that qualifies as a “personal item” and international basic economy fares typically include a carry-on item, so I do that.

I went through most of this thread thinking all you people are crazy then got to this one and was like, yep that is my cheap out soulmate haha.

I would add that while we did get a nice house and didn't 'cheap out' on it, our house is not a crippling debt. If one of us lost our job, we could afford our house by pulling kids out of childcare very easily.

But you know what they say, rich people become rich by being cheap! I try to strike a balance, I can't take it with me and I want to enjoy the time I have! I also never want to have to ask anyone for money, ever, and I want my kids to not worry about money in their childhood, so I try to balance those two overarching goals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'll go out of my way to save 5 cents a gallon on gas.

DH, sitting on $10M in assets, drives 10 miles for Costco premium gas (more than 5 cents savings, but still).. I use this to my advantage.

[Anonymous]

I canceled the winter beach vacation because the airfare was ridiculously high.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Food. We eat out maybe 2-3 times a week, and even then it's pretty basic (wings, Chinese). I also am vigilant about not wasting food and we eat simply at home unless it's a special occasion - lots of pasta, soup, sandwiches. I do splurge on sourdough from our local bakery - $7 a loaf!

We share a car and it is a non-luxury brand.

Clothes. I will occasionally get a nice dress from Nordstrom but only for a wedding or similar. Day to day my family wears clothes from TJ Maxx, Target, and Walmart (esp the kids). We also don't buy clothes that often. I do have a LOT of shoes - my weakness - but nothing designer. I've been using the same handbags for years.

Our house. We bought a small and not updated house and I have no interest in moving or expanding our existing space. Our mortgage is $1600 a month and we live in an excellent school district.

I do have cleaners. I consider it worth every penny.

I spend a lot on makeup (Dior, Chanel) and perfume. And I will get a professional massage/facial every month or two, which I recognize is a total splurge.

We do spend on vacations/travel.

Combined we make a very comfortable HHI. (Low-to-mid six figures.)

Both my DH and I are spenders by nature but I manage the finances, and just approach it as I would a small business. I put on my MBA hat to manage our finances and recognize that I would much rather have cash in reserves than have had a bunch of BS experiences and things.

DP - you sound very sensible .

Re: folks critiquing your eating out 2-3 times a week at cheap eateries as not frugal - I am not a fan of the “gotcha” mentality of some on DCUM - nitpicking minor details and not seeing the bigger picture - your cost cutting measures spun sensible to me and balanced by a desire for sanity. Well done getting such a low mortgage in a good school district.

I often can’t make certain foods cheaper than you can buy them at lower prices eateries in the US so we do the same. Also you are both working and saving time counts .

I agree on need for cleaner and it being worth every penny.

I diverge though on spending a ton on makeup and shoes. Just the basics for me. But hey yiu save a ton by your house and car choices so you can afford that.

So I’m one of the “2-3 is not frugal” posters. I stand by that statement in that it is not particularly “cheap” of pp to eat out that often and that was her lead. The OP is asking what you are cheap about and this is not it. That doesn’t mean PP isn’t balancing well.

Why hyoer focus on one negative detail? She/he has a mortgage of $1600 a month in modest house in good school district and driving modest cars - saving herself tons of money - it smacked of gotcha !