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.

Wow! Way to live large, dude.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Wow! Way to live large, dude.

I'm impressed with this lady. She definitely has got it going on !

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.

Wow! Way to live large, dude.

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 imagine people "get by" by doing a variety of things such as

--Don't save or don't save as much for retirement
--Rely on family for babysitting if both parents work
--Don't save or don't save as much for college
--Buy really old cars, like cars from the mid 2000s or earlier
--Have one car, instead of two
--Don't buy organic fruits and vegetables, or buy more frozen vegetables than fresh
--Rent rather than buy, and live in spaces smaller than 2000 square feet, like 2 BR condos and other arrangements that people on this board find not "family friendly" with their kids sharing rooms
--Don't go on vacations except maybe to visit family
--Don't live in the most desirable school zone
--Shop at thrift stores
--Possibly don't have health insurance if not provided by their job
--Constantly have a credit card balance
--Don't go out to eat
--Take advantage of sales for groceries and coupon

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I imagine people "get by" by doing a variety of things such as

--Don't save or don't save as much for retirement
--Rely on family for babysitting if both parents work
--Don't save or don't save as much for college
--Buy really old cars, like cars from the mid 2000s or earlier
--Have one car, instead of two
--Don't buy organic fruits and vegetables, or buy more frozen vegetables than fresh
--Rent rather than buy, and live in spaces smaller than 2000 square feet, like 2 BR condos and other arrangements that people on this board find not "family friendly" with their kids sharing rooms
--Don't go on vacations except maybe to visit family
--Don't live in the most desirable school zone
--Shop at thrift stores
--Possibly don't have health insurance if not provided by their job
--Constantly have a credit card balance
--Don't go out to eat
--Take advantage of sales for groceries and coupon

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.

Anonymous wrote:We make 175k with no children and feel like it's not enough, even though we have only ~2k of actual expenses each month (rent, cell phones, insurance, etc). I feel your pain OP!

Anonymous wrote:I've been tracking our household expenses for a few months and just dont kniw how other families with 2 dc in daycare survive making under 200k. I don't feel we spend extravagantly at all. We have two used toyotas the newest is 4 years old. We have a modest 2000sqft house, still furnishing the house slowly, go on 2 vacations a year somewhere on the east coast, eat out maybe 1-2x a week, buy whats necessary for clothing... I do try to buy a lot of organic foods to cook. For the year, we easily spend 130k, which is 200k+ a year gross. How do families in this area survive on less?