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A combination of the three.
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I have always been a saver until I married and had a child, After that we had to live in the moment and live from pay check to pay check. We saved here and there and it eventually grew to the point that we are actually able to plan.
The cool thing? We have always lived within our means.
Our house is paid in full. Our vehicles are paid for...
All that's left is insurance, utilities, and personal items?
oops! TAXES!
We aren't winging it. We aren't rich. We keep working. We aren't poor..... YET!
We are SAVERS!
Being hard working and frugal has served me well. I live debt free, only have my monthly living expenses. Today I went grocery shopping. I came home with six grocery bags full, a 15-pack of beer and only spent $23.50.
shareGood for you.
How the heck did you come home with 6 full grocery bags for under $24?
I realize that in certain parts of the country, something like this is unfathomable. First, let me clarify that these were the smaller plastic bags that are more widely used now instead of those tall, brown-paper bags. Nevertheless, I walked away with a nice haul compared to what I paid, one of my better grocery runs in awhile.
I got several items for free, one of which was a large $5 frozen pizza. This was through my online account with the grocery chain. Also through that account, a number of digital coupons were applied. I actually had an additional coupon for -$2 kick in which I hadn't expected, so there was an element of luck also involved. Some of the items were either on sale for the week ( my favorite gal. of ice cream was $1 less ) or otherwise reduced in price. A couple of items were store brand ( toilet paper, 30gal trash bags ), very cheap. At the final tally, I had over $16 knocked off my bill.
I must live in one of the parts of the U.S. where such a haul is unfathomable [laugh]
I was envisioning the tall paper bags, but even with them being the smaller plastic bags, that was some excellent shopping. I should look into my local grocery store site to see if they have similar perks. Like you, often enough I buy store brand for similar things, and I also usually shop according to what's on sale.
Just out of curiosity, what are the gas prices where you are? Here, for regular, it's $3+.
$2 a gal. We routinely have lower gas prices than the national average.
shareLucky you. Any guesses why gas prices there are below the national average?
shareWell, I'm aware that the general cost of living here is lower than other parts of the country, hence my earlier comment. Also, I know of at least one major refinery in the southwestern portion of the state, so if that plays a part would be a guess.
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Do you ever notice that you are paying stuff with your life?
Think about it for a second. You get paid a wage that dictates how much of life you devoted to whatever you buy. So if I make like $7.25/hr. and I buy stuff for $10; I basically sold 1.5 hours of my life away. That sucks!
The above situation became apparent when I honestly tried to save what I made. Then I noticed "Oh hey, I need to save at least some of my life to sustain my life." :O
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Where you see the peaks of bell curve fall on birth and retiring. You might as well just say that working and dying are in the same boat because you are giving your life away.
share"I just hate the thought that we are born,work,retire then die!"
Isn't that pretty much what life is? I don't mean to be rude, but that is the gist of it,
In between and along the way you have what you make of your life and whatever and who ever comes your way in life.
After a while you don't hate that thought. You accept it all as a part of life.
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Good point. It's an excellent reality check on purchases.
shareIn reference to spending discipline, a personal mantra of mine for a long time has been:
Use it up, wear it out.
Make it do,
Or do without.
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Very smart.
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"Use it up, wear it out.
Make it do,
Or do without."
In such a disposable world, more people should feel this way. With more recycling, I think that people are catching on.
I can remember us being referred to as " a throw away society " as far back as the 70's. To this day, I love the iconic Keep America Beautiful commercial featuring Iron Eyes Cody as the Native American with the single tear running down his cheek.
shareI remember that commercial well.
I like recycling things..... not just putting stuff out in the bins, but actually reusing things in different ways.
Another way is having yard sales where people can buy your things at a bargain.
That old saying about one man's garbage is another man's treasure is very true.
Yes, I agree completely. I make regular donations to the local Salvation Army and Goodwill. I have a compost heap in my backyard where I allow nature to recycle all of my biodegradable kitchen garbage.
share" I have a compost heap in my backyard where I allow nature to recycle all of my biodegradable kitchen garbage."
Oh. that is terrific! We do that. It's great fertilizer for our gardens.
And it provides sustenance for other living things ( insects, birds, squirrels, rabbits, etc. ), an all 'round good thing for the ecosystem.
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Have you ever lost a job when single? Man, everything from then on goes right out the window. Of course, when you are married, you have like 2x the support.
I could never go back to living pay check to pay check. I have to have at least a year saved (covering total for bills), before I buy something now and that is without using any kind of discount. Oh wait, yesterday I bought like 4 things from the gas station without getting or using any coupon for discounts. :O
Problem with me is, I love food and I will pay anything to get it. I only weigh 135 though and borderline for being underweight. Oh wait, that is because I had to save a year's worth.
I have, yes. But you're assuming that everyone who's married has a spouse who's working, and that isn't always the case. Even if both are working, a couple's income suddenly being reduced by half or more is a serious problem, which can easily be a disastrous problem.
Aiming to have at least a year's expenses saved is a great goal. If you've already achieved it, kudos to you.
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Same here
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