Yes, I do have a holiday budget for 3 reasons: 1) I recently moved into a new place and rent is a bit higher than the last place therefore I need to be money-conscious more than ever and spend less overall on unnecessary items, 2) I am much more of a giver than a receiver and MUST set a budget or else I'm all over the place, and 3) Worst of all, I'm slightly addicted to shopping :o) If you are in the same situation(s) I am, I recommend setting a holiday budget ASAP! The end.
We have an amount per person to spend. We actually set a gift budget at the beginning of the year, for both birthdays/special occasions and Christmas. We don't always suceed in coming in under budget, but having a number helps us curb our spending.
I buy throughout the year, so I really don't have a total budget. I try not to spend more then $10 a person, except for my husband and my brother. This year I'll only be spending less then $25 on my husband, since our budget is really tight.
Oh, gosh, I hadn't even thought of that. My husband and I don't exchange gifts for birthdays or holidays, so I hadn't considered the implications of equality in gift giving.
I'm in my mid-20's and screwed up my credit when I was in college so I decided buying a home in cash was definitely my best route. Fortunately, I run a successful business and currently rent my parents condo for a low cost. I need $150k to purchase a suitable 2BR apartment here (just outside NYC, expensive) so I crunched numbers; literally calculating every expense from bills to vacations/weekend fun. I then added 15% of my yearly expenses as room for error. I still have a large portion left over (30% of my annual pay) and simply throw it in the savings account and pretend it's not there. I've been doing this for a year and have another 3-4 years to go. I'm highly contemplating moving down south since you get a much better bang for your buck, plus people are a lot nicer. I guess it'll be a gametime decision down the road. If you have a plan, budget, and discipline there's no reason why you can't do it.
I received a Living Social deal from my boyfriend as a birthday gift last month. Now, he makes a great deal of money every year- he's living VERY comfortably - though he's not very good at giving 'nice' gifts but still will spend a great deal of his money on other expensive things, such as lavish vacations with friends, for himself. He rarely if ever takes me out to eat (a girl just likes to be taken out every now and then) so when my birthday rolled around I thought "Okay, maybe for my birthday this year he'll do something different. Something a little more grandiose." When I learned he got me a majorly discounted gift I was a little disappointed. I don't need him to spend a lot of money on me, I just wish he wasn't so cheap! Granted, the gift was for a chocolate making class, and I do love chocolate, my excitement dropped a few notches when I found out it was a Living Social deal. On top of that, we called to add our names to an upcoming class and they didn't have any availability until 6 months later because the deal was such a hit. Oh well. I guess there's always next year. My advice, don't get these kinds of deals for your significant other as a birthday gift unless you are in college and have no money. I would've totally loved this as a surprise, but as a birthday gift - no. I spend way more than he does on gifts for him...I think I will have to change that after this past birthday.
Here in Southern California, oil changes are often advertised as loss leaders for local shops, so an oil change shouldn't cost more than $20 - often the advertised price is $17 plus the $3 waste disposal fee. Of course, with the long commutes many of us have, we change the oil much more often than twice a year. Check with your favorite local shop and they may match coupon prices for you, especially if you're a good customer (mine does).
These are some awesome ideas!! I think some of the best are- a subscription- especially to his favorite magazine, or NetFlix which he'll definitely be able to enjoy for the entire year, a worthwhile gift no doubt about it. Also, I think almost any guy would be impressed and gracious to receive a DIY beer brewing kit! What a cool gift to give or receive. And of course, a special bottle of his favorite liquor always goes over well, but your idea of giving personalized shot glasses with them (maybe with some funny inside jokes on them?) is a really great idea. Thanks!
"Keeping up with the Joneses" seems like the biggest flaw in our society today (or at least where I live). Our population is becoming more and more about materialistic goods and outward appearance, even during this time where many people cannot afford the best or newest version of something. But spending extra cash on "looking good" is the dumbest thing we can do during this economic crisis. Why spend your pay check on new shoes because you have a party to go to, when you could have just borrowed a pair from a friend if you didn't have any you wanted to wear. I've had the same wardobe for almost 3 years now because I refuse to spend the little money I have, on superficial nonsense. I think MANY people would be in less debt if they stuck to this rule.
I realize this is an old thread, but I found it, so that means other people can too, and I hate to see people like Shane spread something NOT TRUE about Dave Ramsey's recommendations.
In response to Shane's statement, "He(Dave Ramsey) also suggest that you pay your house off before you invest into a 401K or Roth IRA."
Totally NOT TRUE....at no time anywhere, in any place has Dave Ramsey ever suggested this. Baby Step 4 is invest 15% on income to retirement savings, Baby step 5 is to fund kids college (if it applies to you), and Baby step 6 is to pay off the house early. Baby steps 4, 5 and 6 are performed at the same time, but in the sequential priority as listed.
It is interesting what you said about buying a home. My husband and I were going to buy this past year but, decided to put it off and continue renting.
We have fat free cream cheese topped with finely chopped nuts & brown sugar. pop it under a broiler for a minute to carmalize the sugar....YUMMY!! sweet treat We also serve a block of low fat cream cheese on a fancy plate with canned baby shrimp on top. Drizzle red cocktail sause over, garnish with chopped green onion. Always been a great hit.
Thanks! Yes, that's the goal. I've also heard that making small purchases of consumables more often makes you feel happier than making a rare, big-ticket purchase!
Thanks - that's so true! I think older folks who've lived through tougher times are used to doing this, but it is so easy to buy things now that it's gone out of favor.
You bring up a good point about staying in large homes. I think another pressure out there right now is that because interest rates are low people think everyone should be buying. I hear it all the time "Now is a great time to buy." This is making people think that they are missing out. But the truth is, some people should not be buying. Low interest rates and low prices do not mean that buying is right for everyone.
I note that most of these are consumables - that's a great idea. The guy who has everything and isn't a hoarder will eventually go through what you get him then - and you can buy him something similar (but not necessarily equal) the next time it comes up!
Have read numerous posts but I don't remember seeing anything
about preparing the solution in advance. Can a couple gallons
be mixed in advance and held until ready to use.
I see that you are opposed to 40 hours. I have found many people have same opinion but may be for different reasons. I list you reasons as I found - (1) not enough time to care for home (2) Women are also in the work force (3) have technological advances that eliminate the need for many types of labor.
In the following site that you have reviewed, http://createmoneylesseconomy.wordpress.com/
I have said - “The work is defined as any meaningful effort desired or required for the benefit of the society.” Thus home care and child care are included as meaningful work. So in a single parent family, taking care of the kids will be considered as full time work worth 40 hours and in return they will get free food and shelter. Family is the vital part of every society. Anyone, male or female, who takes care of the family, is part of the labor force.
In fact, an artist just painting every day, at his choice of site, and people are taking his art work home, is also a very meaningful employment. This type of work has been included in the above site.
I do not think technological advances will eliminate the need for labor, in fact opposite may happen. However we should not extrapolate the concepts in capitalism to moneyless economy (MLE). Technology may become completely different in MLE. We have wrong technology now; it pollutes the natural environment, and destroys human values and health.
You also said - “A phase-in plan would need to be developed to protect small and medium businesses during the changeover”. I am not sure what you mean by this. The phase-in begins without any kind of money in the economy, so no tax benefits are required.
I have said - you can run the same economy, we have now, in the exact same way, without any kind of money. If government has courage against the threat from money power then the MLE can begin at any moment, without any phase-in plan.
Sort of. $10 for assorted cousins (14 of them, children only), $50 for each niece or nephew (4 of them), $50 for parents, $30 for siblings (5 of them). I don't really have a budget with the husband. All these, of course, are approximate, and I go over or under by a little bit.
Definitely. I have four teenagers at home. I can't just go out willy nilly spending money. I have a $200 limit per kid, and I shop for the best deals to stretch that $200 as far as I can.
Umm...gross. Coming from someone who eats local & organic meat only, I'd go "veggie" before I ate road kill. Bugs are just bugs... I guess if I was starving, I don't think that's such a big deal, but road kill? Ugh! :/
I'm in Australia, so maybe the numbers are different, but we have been having pizza every Friday night for the last two years. We make it ourselves almost every week, and I've crunched the numbers.
On the odd occasion we buy a pizza (from Eagle Boys, because they are much better value than Dominoes) we have to get two pizzas, and usually there isn't any left, depending on which toppings we get. Sometimes we are still hungry. The minimum that will cost is is $12. $12 will get us two basic pizzas, but we usually get ones with more than just ham and cheese. We expect to pay around $18 for two pizzas with vouchers. Plus we have to drive to the pizza shop to pick them up because it costs extra for delivery.
On the other hand, I make my own base (2/3 cup warm water, 1 tsp yeast, pinch sugar, 2 cups plain flour, 1 tbs olive oil, 1 tsp salt) and chock it up with toppings. For example, mushrooms, capsicum, salami, olives, sundried tomatoes, ham, cheese. It usually costs under $15 to make the one pizza, $12 is probably average, and we only ever eat three quarters of it, so there is always some left for lunch the next day. And it tastes far more awesome, and doesn't cost us anymore in time than if we bought pizza.
Yes, I do have a holiday budget for 3 reasons: 1) I recently moved into a new place and rent is a bit higher than the last place therefore I need to be money-conscious more than ever and spend less overall on unnecessary items, 2) I am much more of a giver than a receiver and MUST set a budget or else I'm all over the place, and 3) Worst of all, I'm slightly addicted to shopping :o) If you are in the same situation(s) I am, I recommend setting a holiday budget ASAP! The end.
We have an amount per person to spend. We actually set a gift budget at the beginning of the year, for both birthdays/special occasions and Christmas. We don't always suceed in coming in under budget, but having a number helps us curb our spending.
I buy throughout the year, so I really don't have a total budget. I try not to spend more then $10 a person, except for my husband and my brother. This year I'll only be spending less then $25 on my husband, since our budget is really tight.
Oh, gosh, I hadn't even thought of that. My husband and I don't exchange gifts for birthdays or holidays, so I hadn't considered the implications of equality in gift giving.
I'm in my mid-20's and screwed up my credit when I was in college so I decided buying a home in cash was definitely my best route. Fortunately, I run a successful business and currently rent my parents condo for a low cost. I need $150k to purchase a suitable 2BR apartment here (just outside NYC, expensive) so I crunched numbers; literally calculating every expense from bills to vacations/weekend fun. I then added 15% of my yearly expenses as room for error. I still have a large portion left over (30% of my annual pay) and simply throw it in the savings account and pretend it's not there. I've been doing this for a year and have another 3-4 years to go. I'm highly contemplating moving down south since you get a much better bang for your buck, plus people are a lot nicer. I guess it'll be a gametime decision down the road. If you have a plan, budget, and discipline there's no reason why you can't do it.
I received a Living Social deal from my boyfriend as a birthday gift last month. Now, he makes a great deal of money every year- he's living VERY comfortably - though he's not very good at giving 'nice' gifts but still will spend a great deal of his money on other expensive things, such as lavish vacations with friends, for himself. He rarely if ever takes me out to eat (a girl just likes to be taken out every now and then) so when my birthday rolled around I thought "Okay, maybe for my birthday this year he'll do something different. Something a little more grandiose." When I learned he got me a majorly discounted gift I was a little disappointed. I don't need him to spend a lot of money on me, I just wish he wasn't so cheap! Granted, the gift was for a chocolate making class, and I do love chocolate, my excitement dropped a few notches when I found out it was a Living Social deal. On top of that, we called to add our names to an upcoming class and they didn't have any availability until 6 months later because the deal was such a hit. Oh well. I guess there's always next year. My advice, don't get these kinds of deals for your significant other as a birthday gift unless you are in college and have no money. I would've totally loved this as a surprise, but as a birthday gift - no. I spend way more than he does on gifts for him...I think I will have to change that after this past birthday.
Here in Southern California, oil changes are often advertised as loss leaders for local shops, so an oil change shouldn't cost more than $20 - often the advertised price is $17 plus the $3 waste disposal fee. Of course, with the long commutes many of us have, we change the oil much more often than twice a year. Check with your favorite local shop and they may match coupon prices for you, especially if you're a good customer (mine does).
These are some awesome ideas!! I think some of the best are- a subscription- especially to his favorite magazine, or NetFlix which he'll definitely be able to enjoy for the entire year, a worthwhile gift no doubt about it. Also, I think almost any guy would be impressed and gracious to receive a DIY beer brewing kit! What a cool gift to give or receive. And of course, a special bottle of his favorite liquor always goes over well, but your idea of giving personalized shot glasses with them (maybe with some funny inside jokes on them?) is a really great idea. Thanks!
"Keeping up with the Joneses" seems like the biggest flaw in our society today (or at least where I live). Our population is becoming more and more about materialistic goods and outward appearance, even during this time where many people cannot afford the best or newest version of something. But spending extra cash on "looking good" is the dumbest thing we can do during this economic crisis. Why spend your pay check on new shoes because you have a party to go to, when you could have just borrowed a pair from a friend if you didn't have any you wanted to wear. I've had the same wardobe for almost 3 years now because I refuse to spend the little money I have, on superficial nonsense. I think MANY people would be in less debt if they stuck to this rule.
I realize this is an old thread, but I found it, so that means other people can too, and I hate to see people like Shane spread something NOT TRUE about Dave Ramsey's recommendations.
In response to Shane's statement, "He(Dave Ramsey) also suggest that you pay your house off before you invest into a 401K or Roth IRA."
Totally NOT TRUE....at no time anywhere, in any place has Dave Ramsey ever suggested this. Baby Step 4 is invest 15% on income to retirement savings, Baby step 5 is to fund kids college (if it applies to you), and Baby step 6 is to pay off the house early. Baby steps 4, 5 and 6 are performed at the same time, but in the sequential priority as listed.
It is interesting what you said about buying a home. My husband and I were going to buy this past year but, decided to put it off and continue renting.
We have fat free cream cheese topped with finely chopped nuts & brown sugar. pop it under a broiler for a minute to carmalize the sugar....YUMMY!! sweet treat We also serve a block of low fat cream cheese on a fancy plate with canned baby shrimp on top. Drizzle red cocktail sause over, garnish with chopped green onion. Always been a great hit.
Thanks! Yes, that's the goal. I've also heard that making small purchases of consumables more often makes you feel happier than making a rare, big-ticket purchase!
Thanks - that's so true! I think older folks who've lived through tougher times are used to doing this, but it is so easy to buy things now that it's gone out of favor.
You bring up a good point about staying in large homes. I think another pressure out there right now is that because interest rates are low people think everyone should be buying. I hear it all the time "Now is a great time to buy." This is making people think that they are missing out. But the truth is, some people should not be buying. Low interest rates and low prices do not mean that buying is right for everyone.
I note that most of these are consumables - that's a great idea. The guy who has everything and isn't a hoarder will eventually go through what you get him then - and you can buy him something similar (but not necessarily equal) the next time it comes up!
Have read numerous posts but I don't remember seeing anything
about preparing the solution in advance. Can a couple gallons
be mixed in advance and held until ready to use.
Robert
For CUCUMBER, on Nov 29 and Dec 07
I see that you are opposed to 40 hours. I have found many people have same opinion but may be for different reasons. I list you reasons as I found - (1) not enough time to care for home (2) Women are also in the work force (3) have technological advances that eliminate the need for many types of labor.
In the following site that you have reviewed,
http://createmoneylesseconomy.wordpress.com/
I have said - “The work is defined as any meaningful effort desired or required for the benefit of the society.” Thus home care and child care are included as meaningful work. So in a single parent family, taking care of the kids will be considered as full time work worth 40 hours and in return they will get free food and shelter. Family is the vital part of every society. Anyone, male or female, who takes care of the family, is part of the labor force.
In fact, an artist just painting every day, at his choice of site, and people are taking his art work home, is also a very meaningful employment. This type of work has been included in the above site.
I do not think technological advances will eliminate the need for labor, in fact opposite may happen. However we should not extrapolate the concepts in capitalism to moneyless economy (MLE). Technology may become completely different in MLE. We have wrong technology now; it pollutes the natural environment, and destroys human values and health.
You also said - “A phase-in plan would need to be developed to protect small and medium businesses during the changeover”. I am not sure what you mean by this. The phase-in begins without any kind of money in the economy, so no tax benefits are required.
I have said - you can run the same economy, we have now, in the exact same way, without any kind of money. If government has courage against the threat from money power then the MLE can begin at any moment, without any phase-in plan.
Already liked on FB.
Sort of. $10 for assorted cousins (14 of them, children only), $50 for each niece or nephew (4 of them), $50 for parents, $30 for siblings (5 of them). I don't really have a budget with the husband. All these, of course, are approximate, and I go over or under by a little bit.
Definitely. I have four teenagers at home. I can't just go out willy nilly spending money. I have a $200 limit per kid, and I shop for the best deals to stretch that $200 as far as I can.
Umm...gross. Coming from someone who eats local & organic meat only, I'd go "veggie" before I ate road kill. Bugs are just bugs... I guess if I was starving, I don't think that's such a big deal, but road kill? Ugh! :/
We have a 1000 dollar budget for both sides of our family, I have gone slightly over, but no worries, it'll be all paid off by Christmas.
I'm in Australia, so maybe the numbers are different, but we have been having pizza every Friday night for the last two years. We make it ourselves almost every week, and I've crunched the numbers.
On the odd occasion we buy a pizza (from Eagle Boys, because they are much better value than Dominoes) we have to get two pizzas, and usually there isn't any left, depending on which toppings we get. Sometimes we are still hungry. The minimum that will cost is is $12. $12 will get us two basic pizzas, but we usually get ones with more than just ham and cheese. We expect to pay around $18 for two pizzas with vouchers. Plus we have to drive to the pizza shop to pick them up because it costs extra for delivery.
On the other hand, I make my own base (2/3 cup warm water, 1 tsp yeast, pinch sugar, 2 cups plain flour, 1 tbs olive oil, 1 tsp salt) and chock it up with toppings. For example, mushrooms, capsicum, salami, olives, sundried tomatoes, ham, cheese. It usually costs under $15 to make the one pizza, $12 is probably average, and we only ever eat three quarters of it, so there is always some left for lunch the next day. And it tastes far more awesome, and doesn't cost us anymore in time than if we bought pizza.
Thank you for this article/pep talk/lifeline to sanity. Truly your advice is the best I've read on this subject.