Great article. You are so right on so many things! Frugal doesn't have to mean flour sack dresses and soaking navy beans nightly before bed (unless of course you like flour sack dresses and really love eating navy beans that is!). Frugal just means being conscious of your spending. We gave up cable and switched to Netflix and Huluplus years ago. Sure, we don't get all the shows from before, but we get enough -- we've decided HGTV and Food Network are just 24 hour long commercials enticing you to always want better, different, more, but with a "fun" host. Besides the benefit of financial savings, TV has shifted from us changing our schedules for "must see TV" to "eh, when I have time to see it I will TV" now. Liberating on many fronts! Another trick has been grocery shopping more often for produce and dairy so there is less food waste from spoilage. It's decreased our family's food budget dramatically. Of course there are millions of small, easy changes when you start looking for them.
We ditched the landline years ago, currently we use Republic Wireless with a MotoG phone. The phone is versatile and a good size. We have their talk and text plan for $10 a month. Even adding the cost of the phone its still cheaper than most plans, even the discount ones. It works on wifi, which we already have, but will also make calls and text outside of wifi.
I usually take lot of water when there is severe stomach pain. I also chew cinnamon seeds and drink some ginger tea to ease the pain. Gelusil and antacids also ease a lot. Better avoid eating outside. Home foods are the best.
While I'm sure there are countless ways to save money on phone bills, I receive a 20% monthly discount through my employer. Check to see if your employer offers an employee discount with a carrier.
I'm surprised they didn't consider Tucson instead of phoenix. There both got the same weather except Tucson never gets hit by a big sand storm every year.
I am curious from a standpoint of law, are these people stating on the record in court what their true reasons and motives are for divorcing? Could a judge bar them from getting divorced when their marriage has not actually broken down? And what about Medicaid - would they be able to use the divorce decree (a public record) to deny coverage for people who are trying to play the system like that? Also, I imagine they still have to comply with any state requirements to maintain separate resides...when you factor these expenses, court fees, mediation/attorney costs, it seems like they would be laying out a lot up front with no guarantees that they accomplish their objective in the end. Any lawyers care to take a stab at answering?
Yeap, brilliant. Had three cards with under $3 balances sitting here and one just expired the other day. That annoyed me, so searched and found this thread. $.50 minimum through my Amazon account. Perfect. Thanks for the post and replies! (07/2014)
Love #3. When we purchased our first house, we bought about $80k less house than 'they' said we could afford. Fast forward through the economic mess of '08 and the following years, and two kids later, and we still have that house, even though we're down to one income since I stay home with the kids. Best decision we ever made, and had we purchased the amount the bank suggested, I am confident we would have lost that nice house to foreclosure sometime after '08.
Don't let the lender decide what you're borrowing. Ever.
Thanks for the comment on this - much appreciated. No question about it, change happens. And I absolutely agree that becoming a landlord is not for everyone. Hopefully, though, the chart does illustrate how different housing choices can have a big impact on your monthly cash flow, and that can lead to dramatic long-term consequences on your retirement plans.
Everybody has their own views and experiences. I'm of the school that teaches "You can't manage what you don't measure." True, you can't measure everything precisely but my experience has been that using the best measures available gets me to a better outcome than avoiding the numbers completely. But again, that's just what works for me.
Good post - I've got some friends who just refute to be good with money, saying that they can't be! It really frustrates me that they won't even begin to try.
If there's something I need to take with me when I leave the house, I always put my keys with it. Hard to leave home without the keys! I can't tell you how many times I've gotten to the car, couldn't unlock it, and remembered my lunch because my keys were in the fridge.
I haven't had a land line for years, and I currently have no-contract cell phone service with Virgin Mobile for $25 each month. It comes with unlimited texts, 2.5 GB of data (beyond that they may throttle it) and 300 voice minutes. I never use anywhere close to all the minutes, but if I did come close, I could always call people from my home computer on Google Voice or Skype. FreedomPop has a cell phone plan for something like $7 per month if you pay for the whole year, but it relies on wifi and data to make calls, so it may not work for everybody.
The adviceoin becoming a millionaire by age 30 is way off. No way are you going to hit that mark by saving 20% of your income unless you were making about a 40% return! And let's be honest...by the time you get out of college with student loans, this is not achievable unless you win the lottery. It would be nice to see some NEW ideas on saving money, not just the same ones recycled.
I use my landline for everything and use my cellphone only when out and about for emergencies. Most calls can wait until I get home, and its safer to have your phone turned off while driving.
Great article. You are so right on so many things! Frugal doesn't have to mean flour sack dresses and soaking navy beans nightly before bed (unless of course you like flour sack dresses and really love eating navy beans that is!). Frugal just means being conscious of your spending. We gave up cable and switched to Netflix and Huluplus years ago. Sure, we don't get all the shows from before, but we get enough -- we've decided HGTV and Food Network are just 24 hour long commercials enticing you to always want better, different, more, but with a "fun" host. Besides the benefit of financial savings, TV has shifted from us changing our schedules for "must see TV" to "eh, when I have time to see it I will TV" now. Liberating on many fronts! Another trick has been grocery shopping more often for produce and dairy so there is less food waste from spoilage. It's decreased our family's food budget dramatically. Of course there are millions of small, easy changes when you start looking for them.
We ditched the landline years ago, currently we use Republic Wireless with a MotoG phone. The phone is versatile and a good size. We have their talk and text plan for $10 a month. Even adding the cost of the phone its still cheaper than most plans, even the discount ones. It works on wifi, which we already have, but will also make calls and text outside of wifi.
I usually take lot of water when there is severe stomach pain. I also chew cinnamon seeds and drink some ginger tea to ease the pain. Gelusil and antacids also ease a lot. Better avoid eating outside. Home foods are the best.
While I'm sure there are countless ways to save money on phone bills, I receive a 20% monthly discount through my employer. Check to see if your employer offers an employee discount with a carrier.
I'm surprised they didn't consider Tucson instead of phoenix. There both got the same weather except Tucson never gets hit by a big sand storm every year.
I am curious from a standpoint of law, are these people stating on the record in court what their true reasons and motives are for divorcing? Could a judge bar them from getting divorced when their marriage has not actually broken down? And what about Medicaid - would they be able to use the divorce decree (a public record) to deny coverage for people who are trying to play the system like that? Also, I imagine they still have to comply with any state requirements to maintain separate resides...when you factor these expenses, court fees, mediation/attorney costs, it seems like they would be laying out a lot up front with no guarantees that they accomplish their objective in the end. Any lawyers care to take a stab at answering?
Yeap, brilliant. Had three cards with under $3 balances sitting here and one just expired the other day. That annoyed me, so searched and found this thread. $.50 minimum through my Amazon account. Perfect. Thanks for the post and replies! (07/2014)
Love #3. When we purchased our first house, we bought about $80k less house than 'they' said we could afford. Fast forward through the economic mess of '08 and the following years, and two kids later, and we still have that house, even though we're down to one income since I stay home with the kids. Best decision we ever made, and had we purchased the amount the bank suggested, I am confident we would have lost that nice house to foreclosure sometime after '08.
Don't let the lender decide what you're borrowing. Ever.
We like to do DIY Chipotle nights. Everyone brings a taco or burrito filling to share.
You can also try Trend-Labs, they have nice and clean interface to explore top selling items per category: http://www.trend-labs.com/
that was easy!
Thanks for the comment on this - much appreciated. No question about it, change happens. And I absolutely agree that becoming a landlord is not for everyone. Hopefully, though, the chart does illustrate how different housing choices can have a big impact on your monthly cash flow, and that can lead to dramatic long-term consequences on your retirement plans.
Everybody has their own views and experiences. I'm of the school that teaches "You can't manage what you don't measure." True, you can't measure everything precisely but my experience has been that using the best measures available gets me to a better outcome than avoiding the numbers completely. But again, that's just what works for me.
Good post - I've got some friends who just refute to be good with money, saying that they can't be! It really frustrates me that they won't even begin to try.
Working as a tour guide will help you gain lots of experience. That's is a good way to show people about your beautiful country! It's an awesome job!
If there's something I need to take with me when I leave the house, I always put my keys with it. Hard to leave home without the keys! I can't tell you how many times I've gotten to the car, couldn't unlock it, and remembered my lunch because my keys were in the fridge.
I save on my phone bill by bundling services with my cable and internet
I actually find it helpful. :)
Nice article. Thanks for the shout out!-Laurie
Our landline is packaged with the internet service.
I limit my data usage and use my employee discount!
I haven't had a land line for years, and I currently have no-contract cell phone service with Virgin Mobile for $25 each month. It comes with unlimited texts, 2.5 GB of data (beyond that they may throttle it) and 300 voice minutes. I never use anywhere close to all the minutes, but if I did come close, I could always call people from my home computer on Google Voice or Skype. FreedomPop has a cell phone plan for something like $7 per month if you pay for the whole year, but it relies on wifi and data to make calls, so it may not work for everybody.
No land line, but I'm not sure we save much with the smartphones. We have the plan that makes the most sense for us, but we could do better!
The adviceoin becoming a millionaire by age 30 is way off. No way are you going to hit that mark by saving 20% of your income unless you were making about a 40% return! And let's be honest...by the time you get out of college with student loans, this is not achievable unless you win the lottery. It would be nice to see some NEW ideas on saving money, not just the same ones recycled.
I use my landline for everything and use my cellphone only when out and about for emergencies. Most calls can wait until I get home, and its safer to have your phone turned off while driving.
Basic landline and pay-as-you-go phone. Lots of e-mail, too.