It's OK to splurge on a little thing if you already have enough to cover your bills for the month and some e-fund savings. It's OK to splurge on something bigger if you have a bigger savings cushion and you genuinely need/want it in an it-will-improve-my-life sort of way.
You can replace some of the water with whey when you're baking. Soaking grains, beans, and flour before cooking/baking. There's a great book/cookbook called "Nourishing Traditions", I think that's the name of it. I'm away from my house so can't look at it. I read it often. Talks about food traditions that have long been in place before more modern farming/processing methods. Traditions that have supported healthy cultures for centuries. I highly recommend it.
I bought a re-furbished Garmin car navigation unit, and it was not reliable. It lasted 3 days prior to no longer functioning. The retailer did accept it back, however, I did have to pay for return shipping.
I bought a Verizon Motorolla Droid X refurbished, and I had much trouble with the phone. Verizon swapped out the phone, and the 2nd Droid X, also refurbished, is a little glitchy. I am unsure if this is due to the refurbished condition, or the phone itself.
I think that a little splurging once or twice a month can be a good thing as long as it's something that brings the greatest pleasure and enjoyment to a person and they can pay for it without borrowing.
The art of splurging is to not do it too often so that it stays a "treat".
I'd say it's okay to splurge on birthday/anniversarys and other special occasions. These events don't happen too often and to me are meant to be memorable. Of course when I say splurge, I don't mean spend all your money until your credit card is declined. Be smart with what you buy and enjoy a little extra for yourself, loved ones, family, and friends.
I think that quality overtakes being frugal sometimes, as in medical and dental care. I once used a cheaper dentist and am now paying more to have things she did fixed, but in saying that I still always ask if they have any specials.
I have also found that cheaply made clothes wear out and break fast, so I get better quality, with coupons of course.
Lastly when my husband comes home from deployment we are taking the kids to Disney, and although I am scoping out specials and discounts, we will splurge and have fun!
Great question!
First of all, you're wrong about computers. Computer ownership is higher than 1% even in China and India, so it's much higher than 1% world-wide.
More to the point, I actually did some research on income levels, trying to see who the 1% would be if we were thinking globally rather than nationally. The data is a bit hard to pin down, but the article "True World Income Distribution, 1988 and 1993" by Branko Milanovic puts the 1% at $24,447 in 1993. That suggests that the current value would be around $40,000 (assuming inflation and a little growth.
I think it's ok to splurge once in a while. For example, on your birthday or to celebrate an accomplishment. Splurging is nice but only when you can afford to do so.
You have to be realistic about your budget at the same time. My last post "Living Within Your Means: Thou Shalt Not Covet" @ StrivingforSimple.com. Splurge Carefully People!
Like a number of others, we splurge on vacation--and we ALWAYS save for it. This year, it was our honeymoon to Mexico at an all-inclusive, and in the last few years our vacations have been to Europe, Israel, and Vegas (two years in a row, we loved it so much!). I consider vacations a splurge because we go once a year and we feel free to spend the money we've saved without any guilt. Every other day of the year we live frugally, meticulously budgeting every dollar we have so that when we're on vacation, we feel as if we can live it up and enjoy ourselves. And for the last 4 years, we've actually returned home well under budget :-).
if you're looking through your own computer now, you are the 1%
or am i missing something... is it the 1% of the 1% that we're having issues with?
==========
If the World was a Village of 100 People
If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following.
There would be:
57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western Hemisphere, both North and South America
8 Africans
52 would be female
48 would be male
70 would be non-white
30 would be white
70 would be non-Christian
30 would be Christian
89 would be heterosexual
11 would be homosexual
6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth;
all 6 would be from the United States.
National Zoo in DC is free admission. You can always sign up for annual membership with local museums or science centers or aquariums and visit often to get the money worth...
It's OK to splurge on a little thing if you already have enough to cover your bills for the month and some e-fund savings. It's OK to splurge on something bigger if you have a bigger savings cushion and you genuinely need/want it in an it-will-improve-my-life sort of way.
When I'm buying something for my son :)
DO NOT give them to homeless shelters - if you saw the kind of food they're given you would know this is a horrible idea!
You can replace some of the water with whey when you're baking. Soaking grains, beans, and flour before cooking/baking. There's a great book/cookbook called "Nourishing Traditions", I think that's the name of it. I'm away from my house so can't look at it. I read it often. Talks about food traditions that have long been in place before more modern farming/processing methods. Traditions that have supported healthy cultures for centuries. I highly recommend it.
I bought a re-furbished Garmin car navigation unit, and it was not reliable. It lasted 3 days prior to no longer functioning. The retailer did accept it back, however, I did have to pay for return shipping.
I bought a Verizon Motorolla Droid X refurbished, and I had much trouble with the phone. Verizon swapped out the phone, and the 2nd Droid X, also refurbished, is a little glitchy. I am unsure if this is due to the refurbished condition, or the phone itself.
Camilla, thank you for the easy pho recipe! This is the greatest stuff if you have a cold.
I liked you and your post on Facebook.
I responded on Twitter. http://twitter.com/#!/1bets1/status/124170481225048064
Sometimes I splurge on vacations. It feels like a little reward for working all year.
I think that a little splurging once or twice a month can be a good thing as long as it's something that brings the greatest pleasure and enjoyment to a person and they can pay for it without borrowing.
The art of splurging is to not do it too often so that it stays a "treat".
I'd say it's okay to splurge on birthday/anniversarys and other special occasions. These events don't happen too often and to me are meant to be memorable. Of course when I say splurge, I don't mean spend all your money until your credit card is declined. Be smart with what you buy and enjoy a little extra for yourself, loved ones, family, and friends.
I think that quality overtakes being frugal sometimes, as in medical and dental care. I once used a cheaper dentist and am now paying more to have things she did fixed, but in saying that I still always ask if they have any specials.
I have also found that cheaply made clothes wear out and break fast, so I get better quality, with coupons of course.
Lastly when my husband comes home from deployment we are taking the kids to Disney, and although I am scoping out specials and discounts, we will splurge and have fun!
Great question!
I "like" (LOVE) your Facebook page!
First of all, you're wrong about computers. Computer ownership is higher than 1% even in China and India, so it's much higher than 1% world-wide.
More to the point, I actually did some research on income levels, trying to see who the 1% would be if we were thinking globally rather than nationally. The data is a bit hard to pin down, but the article "True World Income Distribution, 1988 and 1993" by Branko Milanovic puts the 1% at $24,447 in 1993. That suggests that the current value would be around $40,000 (assuming inflation and a little growth.
Thanks for the all the info David! I think I can say you've helped a lot of us out.
I think it's ok to splurge once in a while. For example, on your birthday or to celebrate an accomplishment. Splurging is nice but only when you can afford to do so.
You have to be realistic about your budget at the same time. My last post "Living Within Your Means: Thou Shalt Not Covet" @ StrivingforSimple.com. Splurge Carefully People!
Like you guys in FB! thanks!
Like a number of others, we splurge on vacation--and we ALWAYS save for it. This year, it was our honeymoon to Mexico at an all-inclusive, and in the last few years our vacations have been to Europe, Israel, and Vegas (two years in a row, we loved it so much!). I consider vacations a splurge because we go once a year and we feel free to spend the money we've saved without any guilt. Every other day of the year we live frugally, meticulously budgeting every dollar we have so that when we're on vacation, we feel as if we can live it up and enjoy ourselves. And for the last 4 years, we've actually returned home well under budget :-).
I thought we were the 1%....
if you're looking through your own computer now, you are the 1%
or am i missing something... is it the 1% of the 1% that we're having issues with?
==========
If the World was a Village of 100 People
If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following.
There would be:
57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western Hemisphere, both North and South America
8 Africans
52 would be female
48 would be male
70 would be non-white
30 would be white
70 would be non-Christian
30 would be Christian
89 would be heterosexual
11 would be homosexual
6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth;
all 6 would be from the United States.
80 would live in substandard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth
1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education
1 would own a computer
It's ok to splurge (within reason) on memories. Such as trips to go see family and such.
National Zoo in DC is free admission. You can always sign up for annual membership with local museums or science centers or aquariums and visit often to get the money worth...
PS- You can thank organized labor for the 40 hour work week, and weekends.
And let's not let the middle class be just an aberrant blip on the timeline.
Von Berry- 3. Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. Need I say more?
Everyone's budget is different but I like to splurge from time to time when all the bills are paid and I'm meeting my savings goals! :)
It is okay to splurge when doing so saves money in the long run or when it makes a positive difference in someone's life.