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I still can not get over how much typical middle class people will spend on things and not bat an eyeball.
Have you noticed how almost everyone at the Movie Theatre needs to each get a huge large popcorn and 32 oz drink along with their $11 ticket?
People spend $9.00 for a single beer at the football game
I have friends who go to a coffee bar and spend $7.00 for a fancy Coffee in the morning and in the evening also.
Others go out to lunch and spend $30 at simple places like Ruby Tuesday.
What happened to the middle class lifestyle?
this is why a lot of places are suffering financially. Starbucks is closing 600 stores. I dont go to the theater anymore becasue of prices and also because I don't enjoy going. Rather sit in front of my large screen tv at my house and pause, rewind or do whatever I like while I watch my flick. Plus blu ray looks ohhh so pretty.
People want to LIVE their life instead of constantly trying to scrimp and save every penny they make. I love my Starbucks coffee every morning and I like to go out and eat a few times a week; it isn't like this spending is cutting into anything important. These little luxuries make life worth living, I could never be one to stay at home all the time and not go out and enjoy myself.
$30 for a meal is nothing, my bill at an average priced restaurant with my girlfriend usually over the $40 mark. Figure two meals for $15/ each and add 2 drinks each at about $4/ drink and you're already at $46 plus another $9-$10 for a tip and you're around $55 for the evening. It's just something I enjoy doing and $55 for an enjoyable evening is worth it to me. You only live once.
I don't think there is anything wrong w/ the way you live if that is the way you want to live and that is what you can afford.
We've always scrimped and saved and lived below our means. We can afford to live much more extravagant but it's just a life choice for us but doesn't mean we don't enjoy life by any means. We prefer giving to charity and travel and making sure our son is as wealthy as he can be!
It gives us great pleasure to have started a scholarship for others and have our sons trust fund grow. Scrimping doesn't mean you can't enjoy life. People just live differently. I get more satisfaction knowing I can have something than actually going out an getting it.
We hardly go out to eat, but I'm a great cook that most things I cook we can't get going out and we entertain or prefer home cooked.
Our lifestyle works for us and we're happy with it. It's those who suddenly have to adjust to changing that have a big problem.
These are things we also have never done and can well afford to but why? I'm an excellent cook-we enjoy quality food at home.
Yes we got out occassionally and enjoy when we do.
We have 2 college educated children, savings and stocks for our grands, no mortgage, a beautiful home, fairly new vehicle, no debt and are beyond content.
As a former mortgage loan officer for a major bank I met with many people who were in dire straights due to credit card debt and high car payments.
Fine, but live with the repercussions if you lose your job and can not find a new one and discover you had no money saved.
I never said I didn't have money saved, I actually do save quite a large chunk of my paycheck and I have money invested, bonds, CD's, etc. Not wealthy by any means but I like to think I'm financially saavy.
Besides I'm single, 27 years old, and really don't know how to cook well. I can grill which I do 90% of the time when I eat at home but I can only eat hamburgers, brats, and steak so much before I get sick of it.
Every time I'm tempted to go out to eat, I remember that I am a really good cook and can make myself a much better meal at home, LOL. Sure, I do treat myself sometimes, especially when it's hot and I can't face standing next to a hot stove, but it's always something like Chinese or Thai food -- things that I won't make at home because buying small amounts of the special veggies and things are expensive at the grocery store.
I buy great coffee beans at Sam's Club for a very reasonable price and can make good coffee drinks whenever I want. I do treat myself to a premium ice cream in a waffle bowl or cone maybe once a month. But I usually buy half-gallons of ice cream. Geez, one half-gallon of Blue Bell ice cream on sale costs less than one ice cream at a premium shop.
As for the movies, I rarely go unless the special effects make the movie a must-see on a huge screen. And I smuggle full meals into the theater, LOL. We stop and pick up steak sandwiches and smothered fries before going to the theater, sit in strategically located seats and enjoy.
Great!! I use credit cards, it is the best way to keep track of expenses for taxes. I pay them off each month.
Congratulations! Good for you! That is wonderful and always great! We don't get bothered when our statements come in either. I mean you have to use them when you travel or shop online. I don't personally but my husband orders online. Somethings require a credit card in advance but we always give the card and pay cash, but, since we're going to pay it off, we'll use the card and we like using a mileage card so we can get mileage benifits. The miles add up fast.
These are things we also have never done and can well afford to but why? I'm an excellent cook-we enjoy quality food at home.
Yes we got out occassionally and enjoy when we do.
We have 2 college educated children, savings and stocks for our grands, no mortgage, a beautiful home, fairly new vehicle, no debt and are beyond content.
As a former mortgage loan officer for a major bank I met with many people who were in dire straights due to credit card debt and high car payments.
At the bold, and I don't mean to offend anyone because I have family members that do this, but I don't understand how people can have $300, $400, $500 car payments and think nothing of it. Even if I could easily afford it, I think I would throw up if I had to pay that much for X amount of months for a car.
At the bold, and I don't mean to offend anyone because I have family members that do this, but I don't understand how people can have $300, $400, $500 car payments and think nothing of it. Even if I could easily afford it, I think I would throw up if I had to pay that much for X amount of months for a car.
I have a $400 car payment. Now I wish I would have went with a lesser car and it would have got better mileage to boot. The vehicle I get gets 19 miles per gallon. It saddens me because I was looking at a hybrid, but the car salesman talked me out of it. SUVs, luxury cars, and sports cars are status symbols to many. I fell into that trap of trying to keep up with the Jones'. Thats what I was expected to do because thats what everybody else was doing. Today, I care less about status and more about saving every penny I can, but I can't just change my lifestyle overnight.
I have a $400 car payment. Now I wish I would have went with a lesser car and it would have got better mileage to boot. The vehicle I get gets 19 miles per gallon. It saddens me because I was looking at a hybrid, but the car salesman talked me out of it. SUVs, luxury cars, and sports cars are status symbols to many. I fell into that trap of trying to keep up with the Jones'. Thats what I was expected to do because thats what everybody else was doing. Today, I care less about status and more about saving every penny I can, but I can't just change my lifestyle overnight.
It does take getting accustomed to someone who has never watched had to watch their spending. My husband used to pick up breakfast on his way to work every morning and his lunches every day.
Now, he no longer has breakfast on his way to work and lunches are always leftovers. He enjoys my cooking so he can work through lunch and he's a lot more productive at the ofc. but he told me it was a habit for him and that particular habit of going out to eat was the most difficult to break. If he has a business lunch he of course will go out for lunch but no longer does he spend money like some of his collegues. That's humdred of dollars a month he no longer spends.
As far as your car goes. Status is just a state of mind. The person you are driving next to has no concern for your budget, who you are as a person or how well you sleep this evening. They won't give you a second thought. A car is a material possesion that means nothing.
Once you break certain spending habits you'll be well on your way!
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