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Old 07-25-2018, 01:44 PM
 
18,626 posts, read 33,192,920 times
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I like to have some cash around. I like to tip in cash for the convenience of the worker. Whatever little purchases there are, like under $10. Any mom-pop purchase or restaurant so they don't have to pay the credit card company.
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Old 07-25-2018, 02:01 PM
 
12,047 posts, read 10,181,832 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brightdoglover View Post
I like to have some cash around. I like to tip in cash for the convenience of the worker. Whatever little purchases there are, like under $10. Any mom-pop purchase or restaurant so they don't have to pay the credit card company.
Same. Prefer to leave cash tips. We go out to eat at least four times a week. Nothing extravagant so like to pay cash for meals also
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Old 07-25-2018, 02:16 PM
 
Location: on the wind
22,888 posts, read 18,172,172 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mathjak107 View Post
same here , anything i can auto pay gets auto paid .

we were just issued warnings from nypd not to use corner mail boxes for mailing checks .

there is a load of mail box fishing going on. checks are being bleached out and re-written . mailing checks is the least secure way to pay and can be the hardest to get your money back when check fraud happens
I only use auto-pay for basic bills that are the same month to month. I use electronic billing to avoid all that paper use, but prefer to go the the bill's website to pay them so I can check the charges. Manage and monitor my accounts via web too. Tracking things in a minimal way keeps the old brain engaged and aware of where the money is going. Not a bad thing, and as I am only responsible for myself, easy. So, not quite a Luddite but not addicted to digital either.
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Old 07-25-2018, 05:05 PM
 
13,256 posts, read 8,338,082 times
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I've yet to master a budget.

Only had ingrained three things.
Roof over head.
food in belly
and clothes.

Some times the roof over the head was the hardest....
I'm not glued to money. But I wish it was glued to me!
Tired of skimping on the three basics above......

When life handed me lemons...I had NO sugar to sweeten it!
Just an attitude that it had to get better....Yet it rarely has....
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Old 07-25-2018, 05:20 PM
 
Location: Center City
7,528 posts, read 10,192,212 times
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When I was in elementary school, I received a 25 cent allowance each week. Every Saturday, my mother and I would use that quarter for a spending spree at the local Woolworths. One week, a giant puzzle book captured my fancy, but it cost 50 cents. I pleaded with my parents to advance me the extra quarter so I could buy that puzzle book NOW. No way. If I wanted that book, I needed to pocket my quarter and wait a whole 7 days until I had enough money to make my purchase. Torture! Nevertheless, those were the conditions if I wanted the book. One week later, I was the happy owner of the largest puzzle book I’d ever seen.

Fast forward: I retired happily at age 55.
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Old 07-25-2018, 05:38 PM
mlb
 
Location: North Monterey County
4,971 posts, read 4,425,099 times
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Cash just burns a hole in my pocket.

We use the credit card for everything and it gets paid off 100% every month.

That way returns and problems can be nixed.
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Old 07-25-2018, 06:28 PM
 
2,129 posts, read 1,762,310 times
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I started "practicing" budgeting when I was about 12. Because I knew my mother would just kick me out eventually - she did my older sister, and eventually my older brother (though he got away with a whole lot before she did so because he was male).

I started buying a lot of the groceries when I was about 6. So I knew very well the cost of food. Also started doing all the cooking and cleaning at 6. So I had that under control. Also did all the sewing and repair for clothing for all of us. So THAT was taken care of.

Then I would check the "For Rent" ads every week so I knew how much THAT was going to cost and where the best rates were, while also checking around to find out where the safe neighborhoods were.

I still got taken by surprise because she didn't wait until I was 18 to kick me out. Kicked me out at 17, which meant I was legally unable to get a job or rent an apartment. What's one more major trauma after 12 years of daily trauma?

At least I was able to get back on track as soon as I turned 18.
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Old 07-25-2018, 06:47 PM
 
2,189 posts, read 2,592,321 times
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I've never made a budget in my entire life. I've just spent as little money as possible and lived below my means.
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Old 07-25-2018, 06:50 PM
 
Location: Florida
6,593 posts, read 7,248,860 times
Reputation: 8102
In college I had a few dollars a week to spend and just did not spend more than I had. No formal budget. After graduation started using the envelope system and 13 saving accounts (there were free back then) for periodic expenses. Did that for a couple of years and by then I knew what I could spend and what to save. The formal budget was gone.
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Old 07-25-2018, 08:49 PM
 
Location: Verde Valley AZ
8,775 posts, read 11,852,389 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fumbling View Post
I've never made a budget in my entire life. I've just spent as little money as possible and lived below my means.

Same here. I suppose I got better at it as the single mom of four kids because I had to. I have this awful fear of being broke. BTDT a couple of times and it's killer to me. So I live frugally, save as much as I can and 'be prepared'. I figure since I've never been evicted, had my utilities turned off or starved to death, I'm doing pretty good!
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