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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]You have to be selective.  I don't tip just because someone gives me the opportunity in a self-serve environment.  I don't go to concerts or sporting events because the prices for admission are way disproportionate to the entertainment value.  Travel can be done in ways which need not break the bank, but you need flexibility.  You can have a perfectly satisfactory lifestyle while exercising good judgment with regard to which expenses provide good value and make sense, while turning away from money grabs which don't provide a good value.  [/quote]

+1 We really cut back during the pandemic because things were closed and also inflation spiked.

We don't go to concerts or professional sporting events anymore either because the cost isn't worth the enjoyment. Travel carefully planned in advance can be done in more affordable ways. But yes you need flexibility with travel dates, locations, types of accommodations, and maybe a couple nice dinners out but not every meal $500+.

I've been trying to be more mindful of how I spend my money the last few years. It's still worth it to me to spend on the occasional meal out, but I'm more selective. It's really easy to mindlessly blow $400 for our family of five on grabbing food or ok-but-not-amazing activities in one weekend. We're trying to avoid that because I don't find much joy in going to some average restaurant just because we're out and about and hungry. We pack snacks and sometimes lunch or dinner so we don't get stuck having to pay $85 for lunch at a mediocre fast casual place.

Some fun things we do are meeting friends at a park for a picnic while the kids run around, meeting up at someone's house for a potluck, bike rides with friends, taking the kids to a free bike park, and of course just having people over to the house. If we go to a playground then we pack snacks.

We also do a mix of kid activities. Each kid gets one activity that costs more money, then another 1-2 inexpensive activities like scouts.

We're in good financial shape, but the stress of spending so much money takes away the enjoyment for me.[/quote]

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