Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are a frugal people. All four of our parents grew up during the depression and came of age during the rationing of WWII. With the exception of a house and occasionally a car, we buy when we have the money (pay as you go).

We wash our shirts (only use dry cleaners a few times a year). We don't do Starbucks. We don't buy lunch more than once a week. We eat real food prepared at home. We keep our thermostat at 68' in the winter and 74' in the summer. We did the non sexy stuff to our house first (insulated, roof, efficient heating and Air conditioning). We drive cars until they die, but take care of them so they don't die prematurely. We fix things, reuse things then recycle them. We buy high quality clothes that last and not tons of them ( we have a regular closet- no walk in). We mow our own lawn. We do get an every other week housecleaner. We plan our errands. We plan our purchases. We tithe. We don't go to concerts or plays (except local free or nearly free ones). We use the library weekly. We clean our own gutters. We go to family for summer vacations most years (have a bigger vacation every 2-4 years- use VBRO type of places). We use DH's frequent flyer miles when we fly (which is not often). We host potlucks. DH has a smart phone from work, but the DCs and I have a pay as you go phones that cost $100/year each. We have purchased couches, beds and mattresses, but most of our other furniture is "inherited" (I call it 'early attic'). We have done renovations to our house once we have saved up the money. We wash and reuse our zip lock bags. We use cloths napkins and dish towels instead of paper in the kitchen. We use rags for cleaning instead of paper towels. From the get go, we set our expenses off of one salary and saved as much as we could.

Little things add up. It isn't just the Starbucks habit- it is 12-24 Starbuck type habits.

I'm the $185k income from earlier. We do almost all of the same things. And still live paycheck to paycheck! Mortgage is $2800/month, student loans $600. We pay off our credit cards every month (about $3,000 including gas and groceries). It's soo frustrating.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are a frugal people. All four of our parents grew up during the depression and came of age during the rationing of WWII. With the exception of a house and occasionally a car, we buy when we have the money (pay as you go).

We wash our shirts (only use dry cleaners a few times a year). We don't do Starbucks. We don't buy lunch more than once a week. We eat real food prepared at home. We keep our thermostat at 68' in the winter and 74' in the summer. We did the non sexy stuff to our house first (insulated, roof, efficient heating and Air conditioning). We drive cars until they die, but take care of them so they don't die prematurely. We fix things, reuse things then recycle them. We buy high quality clothes that last and not tons of them ( we have a regular closet- no walk in). We mow our own lawn. We do get an every other week housecleaner. We plan our errands. We plan our purchases. We tithe. We don't go to concerts or plays (except local free or nearly free ones). We use the library weekly. We clean our own gutters. We go to family for summer vacations most years (have a bigger vacation every 2-4 years- use VBRO type of places). We use DH's frequent flyer miles when we fly (which is not often). We host potlucks. DH has a smart phone from work, but the DCs and I have a pay as you go phones that cost $100/year each. We have purchased couches, beds and mattresses, but most of our other furniture is "inherited" (I call it 'early attic'). We have done renovations to our house once we have saved up the money. We wash and reuse our zip lock bags. We use cloths napkins and dish towels instead of paper in the kitchen. We use rags for cleaning instead of paper towels. From the get go, we set our expenses off of one salary and saved as much as we could.

Little things add up. It isn't just the Starbucks habit- it is 12-24 Starbuck type habits.

I'm the $185k income from earlier. We do almost all of the same things. And still live paycheck to paycheck! Mortgage is $2800/month, student loans $600. We pay off our credit cards every month (about $3,000 including gas and groceries). It's soo frustrating.

Anonymous wrote:We are a frugal people. All four of our parents grew up during the depression and came of age during the rationing of WWII. With the exception of a house and occasionally a car, we buy when we have the money (pay as you go).

We wash our shirts (only use dry cleaners a few times a year). We don't do Starbucks. We don't buy lunch more than once a week. We eat real food prepared at home. We keep our thermostat at 68' in the winter and 74' in the summer. We did the non sexy stuff to our house first (insulated, roof, efficient heating and Air conditioning). We drive cars until they die, but take care of them so they don't die prematurely. We fix things, reuse things then recycle them. We buy high quality clothes that last and not tons of them ( we have a regular closet- no walk in). We mow our own lawn. We do get an every other week housecleaner. We plan our errands. We plan our purchases. We tithe. We don't go to concerts or plays (except local free or nearly free ones). We use the library weekly. We clean our own gutters. We go to family for summer vacations most years (have a bigger vacation every 2-4 years- use VBRO type of places). We use DH's frequent flyer miles when we fly (which is not often). We host potlucks. DH has a smart phone from work, but the DCs and I have a pay as you go phones that cost $100/year each. We have purchased couches, beds and mattresses, but most of our other furniture is "inherited" (I call it 'early attic'). We have done renovations to our house once we have saved up the money. We wash and reuse our zip lock bags. We use cloths napkins and dish towels instead of paper in the kitchen. We use rags for cleaning instead of paper towels. From the get go, we set our expenses off of one salary and saved as much as we could.

Little things add up. It isn't just the Starbucks habit- it is 12-24 Starbuck type habits.

Anonymous wrote:I am a single mom of 2 that makes 145K/yr. About 6 months ago, I took a hard look at my spending bc I was also living paycheck to paycheck and wondering where it was all going. After suggestions from others (some on this board), I was able to cut my grocery budget in half to $100 per month by buying in bulk those items we use when on sale and shopping at places like Aldi's for some items like organic fruit, bread and snack items. I also cut back eating out to one day a week and tend to go to cheaper places now and use groupons, etc. when possible. This fall, I bought a lot of dc's clothes at thrift stores and on ebay and saved a ton. I also now make my own coffee to drink on the way to work and bring breakfast and lunch from home so I rarely spend any money on food during the day.

There are areas where I could make even more improvement but with what I have done so far, I have been able to save an additional $400 per month.

Wrong, wrong and wrong. I'm raising three kids on one income with the income you describe. We own our own home on the Hill so we have good school choices. I'm SAHM, so we carry NO credit card debt because it's too expensive. Yes, we only need one six-year-old car because DH walks to work, but when I return after the kids get older, I'll probably take metro. No we don't go out very often, and then we split the entree to save $$ and calories. He's a fed, so we have health insurance, a good retirement and a couple of car (not airplane) vacations yearly. Our veggies are frozen, fresh or organic, depending on our moods. Our parents are elderly, so I help ILs, rather than vice versa. They're not available for babysitting, as they're octogenarians, but since I stay at home, I can help out.

I never shop at thrift stores, although I do watch for specials at Macy's. I don't have time to clip coupons, but that's not a bad idea if you have the time.

We'd rent out the basement, but right now we're loaning the space to a friend in need. Perhaps when he's on his feet, that'll be a source of more income. When the kids are all old enough for middle school, I'll return to work and then we'll get closer to $200K. However, I love our lives now. The kids are cute, the schools are good, the museums are close. I may not take the family to Europe every summer, but I'm pretty lucky.

Here's my take: there are people who just lost long term unemployment benefits out there. They have real problems. DH and I have to tighten our belts to cover overspending during Xmas and to pay for a few new appliances, but we're lucky in love, so we'll be fine.

It's all in the way you look at life.