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I don't see people cutting back on much of anything here. Stores are full. Restaurants are full. Life is good.
It appears some people simply can't accept things being good. They can't accept that prosperity is not some form of evil. I don't live on credit and live well within my means, but I plan on going down fighting LONG before I decide to become frugal. I bet I enjoy life a lot more than the penny pinchers!
Ha ha -- you ARE frugal. Frugality is way more than penny pinching.
Being frugal on stuff that doesn't matter to me instead of "keeping up with the Joneses", allows me to spend money on stuff that IS important to me. I don't give a horse's hiney about driving around in a Mercedes or BMW, like my neighbors, who baby their stupid cars. I'll take my Toyota Matrix over their overpriced cars any day....
BUT --
It's very important to me that I can walk into my local quilt store and not worry about the prices of fabric. I just spent around 130 bucks for fabric to make a 45x45 inch baby quilt. Last year I spent 4000 bucks on a sewing machine. I use that sucker nearly every day.
To a lot of people that's a complete waste of money. But I love to quilt. I just sent off a table topper for my sister's birthday. I just emailed my neice several options for her wedding quilt. This is stuff that makes me happy.
Being frugal doesn't mean I'm missing out -- it means I can afford to do the things I LOVE.
We got hit up side the head with frugalness a few years ago, but I don't care how much money I had, I would NEVER waste $6.-$10 at Starbucks everyday, like I see a lot of people doing.
It's like a cult of mindless sheep there. I don't even like the taste of their coffee.
I always imagine some Starbucks employees in a boardroom saying something like, "Yes, and not only will we make them call a medium coffee some foreign name, we will make them think that burned tasting coffee is good."
They don't call it Starburnt here for nothing. I don't give them any of my money.
Ha ha -- you ARE frugal. Frugality is way more than penny pinching.
You are absolutely correct! Thank you for seeing that. It was a tad tongue in cheek.
I figured it would zip right past everybody. You can live nicely without having to be extravagant or live in debt. I guess I'm frugal but scared of the word!
What if they can survive then how will this person have trouble paying the bills for basic needs? If they dropped from 90K to 50K then they bought too much house to begin with. Why do you think we have so many foreclosures? $30 is not poverty level infact in some states that is the medium income.
Quote:
Originally Posted by selhars
Are you saying a person making 70K who had
money left over to save should have no problem making it on 30K? I don't really think that's the case.
CAN someone survive going from making 100K to 50K? -- or 70K down to 30K -- uh, yeah they CAN -- but to quote you -- that doesn't mean the "person should not have any problems pay his/her bills."
If you make 90K a year and have a mortgage of 1400 that's certainly reasonable. If that person's income gets cut to 50K, the mortgage alone that was below one's means on 90K is not supportable on 50K -- not without drastic changes to other expenses and maybe not even then.
If you make 70K -- live below your means -- and bank say 1K in just savings a month on top of 401K and IRA deposits (which means you are paying all your bill and still have enough disposable income to save for retirement and save liquid assets) -- I dare say going down to a GROSS of 30K is more of a drop than just not having money to invest and save -- a gross of 30K would not be supportable certainly not at the level the person had been living -- and maybe not even with with DRASTIC changes -- and I'm talking beyond just cut out cable and a landline.
A GROSS of 30K is like poverty level wages to someone who has been making 70K -- even IF that person HAS been living below ones means...IF ONLY because of the difference between living below your means on 70K meant living as you wanted AND still being able to save....and making 30K means subsistence level and still BARELY paying the little bills you have.
I don't see people cutting back on much of anything here. Stores are full. Restaurants are full. Life is good.
It appears some people simply can't accept things being good. They can't accept that prosperity is not some form of evil. I don't live on credit and live well within my means, but I plan on going down fighting LONG before I decide to become frugal. I bet I enjoy life a lot more than the penny pinchers!
Maybe those people have the money to buy stuff at stores and eat out and if they lose their jobs then there would not be a problem. You do know that there millions of millionaires in USA right?
We got hit up side the head with frugalness a few years ago, but I don't care how much money I had, I would NEVER waste $6.-$10 at Starbucks everyday, like I see a lot of people doing.
It's like a cult of mindless sheep there. I don't even like the taste of their coffee.
I always imagine some Starbucks employees in a boardroom saying something like, "Yes, and not only will we make them call a medium coffee some foreign name, we will make them think that burned tasting coffee is good."
You can make your own at home for much cheaper. Just buy coffee in bulk at Costco or Sam's Club. Just as good as Starbuck's.
Texas User So someone who bough a house they could MORE THAN AFFORD on 90K -- bought too much house if they can't afford that home on 50-thousand?
So someone making 30-thousand should be able to live off 15K a year?
I'm done.
Quote:
What if they can survive then how will this person have trouble paying the bills for basic needs? If they dropped from 90K to 50K then they bought too much house to begin with. Why do you think we have so many foreclosures? $30 is not poverty level infact in some states that is the medium income.
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Frugality is way more than penny pinching. 
It was a tad tongue in cheek.
