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So, how many meals do you get out of two pounds of lobster claws? How much would it cost to go out and buy those same meals at a restaurant?
An occasional treat is not a waste of money. I recommend balancing economy with a bit of enjoyment of life.
Now, if you were eating lobster every night of the week, it might be a bit indulgent, but that would depend upon your income. If Aristotle Onassis ate lobster at home every night of the week, that would be his economy budget when he was in money saving mode. if a person living on minimum wage tried to eat lobster every night of the week, that would be a real budget buster.
I will probably get 2 meals (for 2 people) and then have some left for a pasta dish, a salad or something like that. I just felt it was going overboard but I know we will enjoy every bite or we better. Of course if we were to eat the same thing out we would be looking at 3 times that much or more.
I also will not waste a bag by throwing it away half full. And I do not even pay for the bags. I use points/rewards for employer purchases, to pay for paper goods for my home.
I keep the heat on 65° and my bill was $680 last month. I hardly think that is being frugal. But 65° is still not comfortable, so I do not want to experience the frugal heat setting.
I think 65 is a frugal temp! I can't do it anymore except when sleeping. I am too warm in my covers to know if it's 50, which I have woken up to before, with the heat set to off at night.
$680 for the month ! is astronomical. (I hope that was a typo)
Depends on the size of the house and how cold it is where the poster is. Or as someone said, maybe there is an insulation problem or the HVAC system needs to be upgraded.
I live in a small space so to me, even in Texas summer, $300/month is not cool. I decided it was the old, inefficient A/C unit and replaced it.
My neighbors don't believe me I guess, they will not replace theirs. They just pay the $300 a month spread out over the year with balanced billing.
My food spending is unrestrained. Although I shop the ads for the 4 grocery stores in town, I still spend more than I should. There are only 2 of us, and I keep my dinner cost under $10. I feel this is still too much. That is $300 a month, but some months I go way over, and once in awhile I go under. One month, when I bought a lot of meat on sale, I spent $900.
I also will not waste a bag by throwing it away half full. And I do not even pay for the bags. I use points/rewards for employer purchases, to pay for paper goods for my home.
I keep the heat on 65° and my bill was $680 last month. I hardly think that is being frugal. But 65° is still not comfortable, so I do not want to experience the frugal heat setting.
I do well with my utilities and I take my lunch to work, but when I get home oftentimes I am too tired to cook. So I would have to say that my vice is going out to eat and getting food delivered to the house. And I would never dream of doing that without tipping a decent amount. But it all adds up.
I think that buying lobster or steak at the grocery store can be "frugal" if you would have otherwise gone out to a pricey restaurant for it instead. Obviously, if you're behind on your bills or in a ton of debt, then you should probably be shopping more frugally. If you're in a good financial place, though, there is nothing wrong with treating yourself...especially if you're doing it in a more frugal manner (such as shopping around for the best prices on steaks, etc. before buying them or buying a more affordable cut of steak).
Eating organic, healthy food is not necessarily the most frugal short-term choice one can make, but I feel that it is much better for my family's health. I "preach" this to everyone since I suffered a serious illness that may have been related to consuming too much red meat/cheap cold cuts with nitrates. We comparison shop, use coupons and postpone making purchases to avoid impulse purchases. Ultimately, our goal is to make prudent choices that allow us more funds for our life priorities..... maintaining our health, retiring before age 62, living in a comfortable home and climate while enjoying activities. Folks, none of us is guaranteed to live to 80+. Set goals, be smart but try to leave enough margin to enjoy life day-to-day..... my 2 cents after having the grim reaper drop by to remind me of my mortality.
Eating out is our biggest weakness but we have taken it from $150 a month to $60 so definitely doing much better. Groceries we always stay under $200 for the two of us. We really dont spend otherwise, entertainment is usually zero every month. No cable, netflix, and we only rent from the library for movies. For fun we normally do free events, museums, parks ect so really eating out is the only big wasteful expense.
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Of course if we were to eat the same thing out we would be looking at 3 times that much or more.
(I hope that was a typo)
