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You never save on something you buy. Spend less, yes. Save not possible by definition.
I see where you are coming from. Still, if you were going to buy bacon and you bought the store brand instead of Oscar Myer, then you saved whatever the difference was. Though I guess I could have worded it with "what do you spend less on".
The zipper on our purse opens pretty reluctently on everything so we can continue to spend the winters in Florida.
Admittedly, being 'old' and retired means we have lost any desire to acquire 'things' so don't get tempted by much that doesn't provide a return in usefullness or convenience.
I only have a major medical policy for $50.00 per month. I eat healthy and stay in good shape so that this plan will be enough. I believe in preventative health maintenance and no stress.
One car for both of us that is paid for and we have "low driver mileage" insurance.
We chose an area with low taxes to live. Our property taxes on 40 acres is $112.00.
We are off grid- so no electric bills. Ever.
We don't go on vacations because we live in paradise.
We don't eat out because I can cook.
We buy all our clothes and shoes from Walmart, thrift stores, and yard sales. We spend maybe $100.00 a year on shoes and clothes for 2 of us.
We only have a Net10 pay as you go phone and we use it rarely.
We have a well and our own septic so no outside bills for that.
I shop and stock up on grocery and health & beauty sales. I also don't need name brands except for a few items.
I love to read but I never buy books or magazines. The library is my friend.
I started my first garden this year and hopefully will produce a lot of my own veggies for the year.
I dye my own hair and do my own nails.
We don't exchange gifts or buy presents for each other. Only for the kids and grandkids.
I spend under $15.00 for haircuts. If I could I would cut my own but I am not "stupid".
Splurges:
Direct TV for my DH.
Satellite Internet for me.
If we "really" want something we buy it because we can. Last week I splurged on a pressure canner for $80.00 so that I can can my own fruits and vegetables this year.
We will buy and splurge on any tools we need to work on houses and fix properties because to us that is an investment.
Name brand peanut butter-Skippy, ketchup-Heinz, and mustard-Heinz. Of course a small bottle of ketchup lasts me a year and a two-pack of mustard from Costco lasts 2-3 years, the big two-pack of Skippy from Costco only lasts about 3 months though.
We're retired and like to travel 3-5 weeks a year, but we do "coupon" on hotels and stay a bit "down-market".
Good coffee, usually at home, when I have Starbucks from their store is $1.90! I don't drink the "slurpee" stuff!
I like to ski 15-25 days a year.
I golf 200 plus days a year.
Furniture- a fair amount of what we own is custom built-ouch. But we'll never have to replace it.
Scrimp:
99.99% of the clothes we wear are from Goodwill or other thrift stores.
If we go to the movies (we usually Netflix) we go to the matinee on Monday, $5.00!
When I play golf I take a 32oz water bottle with a couple of tablespoons of honey and a tangerine or a sandwich, depending on what time I play. I never buy the food or drinks at the course.
We keep our cars pretty long and we always buy the cheapest gas!
We clip coupons and check out the grocery ads for deals.
When we eat out we either split a meal (on the road) or take to go boxes when at home.
No house payment, we seldom run our A/C (we live in CO so seldom have to) and we collect the "waiting for warm" water for flushing and some lawn watering.
Splurges:
- Some times I will get root beer in glass bottles. This is a very rare occassion, but its much better then can or plastic bottle.
- I absolutely refuse to buy anything other then Band-Aid brand bandages
- I cant lie, I do have a netflix subscription. However, that kind of saves money in a way, because that serves as my primary form of entertainment per month, and comes in at $15.
- I do have cable internet, because I believe the internet has become a neccessity rather then a luxury, and dial up doesnt cut it.
Savings:
- I also buy mostly store brand stuff
- I grow food, so does my mom and we swap stuff
- I always cook, and eat out less then 5 times a year, mostly holidays. Even then, I try to stick to places that I have coupons for, and they are never more fancy then Ruby Tuesday.
- I always wear clothes and shoes until they are thread bare
- I buy almost everything used when possible, and when I actually buy something
- Im guilty of swealtering in the summer and freezing in the winter to avoid touching the thermostat
- I am notorious for trying to combine errands in to one trip to save gas and time
- I do clip coupons even though I rarely find items I actually use.
- I will not subscribe to any insurance that is not required by law, or free through my employer. I will go without health, life, disability, and any other insurance neccessary to achieve that.
- My car is almost 10 years old, long paid off, and I continue, and will continue to drive it
- I do not have cable, and I keep my appliances until they blow up. My televisions are over 10 years old, and were both free.
Last edited by Randomdude; 05-29-2009 at 08:37 AM..
I didnt know it was still possible to use dial up. Even simple modern web pages are massive. It probably takes 5 minutes for this page to load up for someone on dial up.
Splurge - eating the prewashed organic salad blends
Splurge - I still have my 2007 truck and I love it - but we keep a vehicle 12 years on average.
Splurge - we are getting ready to buy a fence for the dogs.
Save - drinking water no diet or other colas
Save - Not eating any fast food and rarely eating out in general
Save - Thermostat and combined trips in vehicle
Save - I telecommute and have hardly any clothes - business is cutting travel due to budget so woo hoo, I can work nekkid if I have too.
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