where do you save (and where do you splurge)?

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

Confession - I usually have two! My morning coffee, then a tea or cappuccino during naptime.

We use the reusable ones and they work awesome! It's a cheap version of a single cup machine!

[Chrisada]

We use the reusable ones and they work awesome! It's a cheap version of a single cup machine!

We also have the reusable ones, but there is just something about that fresh K-cup!

[v-girl]

I have to have the sissy flavored ones so I don't think reusable would work for me. But 2-3 boxes of k-cups a month is still cheaper than a daily Starbucks.

[JaneDoe]

Splurges:
Food. We dine out more than I think we should, mostly for the sake of convenience. I also buy good quality food at the grocery store; i.e., a lot of produce, cage free eggs and poultry, etc.
Clothing. This is an area where I am splurging more than I used to. I am tired of buying cheap stuff that doesn't last so now I spend more for good quality; i.e., Hanna Andersson, North Face jackets, etc.
Duck Football and travel. Duck Football is Dh's thing. We spend a lot money for tickets and we travel with them for big games and bowl games.

Save:
School. My kids go to public school. They are thriving there and I have no plans to send them to private schools.
Cars. I drive a Honda Odyssey that we paid for in cash. We will likely own it for at least 10 years, assuming good mechanical health and no accidents. Dh drives a Prius that we paid for in cash. We will also own it for at least 10 years. We will only buy cars that we can pay for with cash.
Home. We have a 15 year mortgage, which is about 22% our monthly draw (not gross income). Our home sits on a small lot and has very low maintenance costs
Student Loans. I'm categorizing this in the "save" section because we have made a choice to allocate our money towards paying Dh's debt down quickly. We spend $1000 above and beyond the minimum payment so we can save on the interest over time and to just be done with the student loans.

[poky]

I have to have the sissy flavored ones so I don't think reusable would work for me.

Sure, it would; you can buy flavored beans at the store for not much more than unflavored ones.

[v-girl]

Really? I'll have to look. My current favs are Coconut Mocha and Caramel Drizzle. Yum!

[spotty_dog]

LOL! Great thread!

We are unreasonably thrifty in most areas. Not to the extent of re-wearing underwear but we don't buy new electronics, don't have cable, don't have iPhones, don't have fancy cars (20 year old Toyota and 4 year old Kia), don't buy clothes for anyone. I don't get my hair cut, we order in take-out maybe once a month, we go on about 4 dates a year. He rides his bike to the job site 30 miles away and walks to the one 1.5 miles away. The thermostat is at 65 during the day, 61 at night. No joke. We have bare bones medical insurance and no dental. Preschool costs us $75 per month and our only activities so far are spring soccer, fall soccer, and summer swimming. (I even cheaped out and didn't buy the kid cleats!)

However, I usually am pretty frivolous about grocery shopping (I reign it in for a few months at a time when I feel guilty but mostly we spend an unreasonable amount). Our beer and wine and k-cup budget is through the roof. We own a time share (1/12 share, 4 weeks per year). DH has complete free reign on his bicycle expenditures. My pets eat like kings and poop on the finest litter known to man. We have a ridiculously large TV. And, well, I think it is a pretty big luxury splurge to be able to put as much into investment accounts and retirement accounts as we currently do!

We're also recipients of some economic outpatient care. We don't buy kids' clothes because my mom drowns them in consignment store finds and Gymboree. We don't buy electronics because my parents hand us down their old iPods and give us car GPS and AppleTV and such for gifts.

[SoonerTexan]

Save:

Clothes: DH just doesn't buy anything or his mom buys stuff for his birthday. I buy 90% of N's clothes at large consignment sales (and they are super cute--lots of BabyGap!). I still buy stuff for me occasionally, but not much lately because I refuse to buy much in my current size.

Food: We still spend more than we should, but I've put us on a strict budget lately. Almost no eating out and lots of meal planning. We still go over budget every month, though.

Cars: But mine is starting to suck so badly, this may be a splurge soon.

Decorating: Except for the couch and loveseat in our living room, and our bed (which was purchased at TJ Maxx for $500) all other furniture is a hand me down or from Craigslist. I spent less than $400 on my daughter's nursery and I think it looks great! And I really splurged there, honestly. I like my house to look nice and think I've done a decent job decorating on a budget.

Entertainment: We don't do cable, Netflicks/Hulu Plus, go to the movies, or even rent them. I watch a handful of shows online, but otherwise I don't miss it in my life at all. DH does play XBOX.

Splurge:

Birthdays and gifts: I love buying things for people. Birthdays are a big deal in our house. And we have 9 siblings between us. We don't give them Christmas gifts, but we do birthdays. I do try and do lots of gift cards from our Chase rewards to lessen the hit.

Our house: It really was a splurge. That being said, to rent something similar would have been way more per month and to rent something barely livable would not have been much less. We need space. We have spent a lot on "homeowners stuff" that does add up, though, which is why this is definitely a splurge, but we were aware of that when we bought. If we get to stay here for residency, it will have been a very good choice.

Holidays: I spend more than necessary (and none is really necessary) on autumn and Christmas food, outings, and decorations.

Sports: I enter 5Ks and Triathlons and DH spends a decent bit on sports. I like his latest sport, though--disc golf. Cheap, and he can take N with him. I'm all for it.

The Tollway: I spend at least $40 a month on the tollway. My other option to get to work is really dangerous (sometimes you cannot even tell what lane you are in due to construction) and would add 30+ minutes to my already crazy commute, so I consider it a necessity.

Electronics: We have Apple products, including iPhones, and I have a nice camera.

I also need to stay away from Target. And TJMaxx

[HouseofWool]

I have to have the sissy flavored ones so I don't think reusable would work for me. But 2-3 boxes of k-cups a month is still cheaper than a daily Starbucks.

I have sissy flavored coffee in my reusable cup. I love it

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

[Michele]

Save: I keep the thermostat around 79 in the summer and 68 in the winter. We have an antenna for TV. My rent is pretty reasonable for the area and my mom is my daycare.

Splurge: I have lawn care, a new minivan, and iPhone with the unlimited texting/data plan, Nextflix streaming, Comcast Internet, Diet Coke and disposable diapers.

My kids and my dog eat well. The kids play a sport and I buy used or new equipment depending on what is easily obtainable. Their dad is supposed to cover the cost, but its variable.

What I've done recently is set a cash budget for food, clothes, gifts, etc for the month...when its gone, it's gone. I take it out at the 1/2 month marks. I'm hoping to decrease it and save some...but I'm still getting my single financial bearings. It makes me feel less guilty about individual purchases. I view food as a splurge bc I don't know the difference between necessary food and entertainment food....things that are "essentials" (electricity, gas, health insurance, etc) I don't worry about controlling or limiting. But my day to day discretionary spending gets the cash treatment.

Spotty. Some of your ideas are most impressive! However, I fully expect to work in some capacity or another until I'm at least 70.

[diggitydot]

Saves:

- We don't outsource anything. The kids have chores and DH & I rarely, if ever, run into something that one or both of us can't figure out how to fix or replace.

- Zero daycare costs.

- We rarely eat out. There aren't that many restaurants here in BFE. While we can get some pretty amazing Mexican food here, but that's about it.

- We almost never go out. There is nothing. to. do. here in BFE.

- We rarely shop for anything other than groceries. I occasionally shop for clothing online because there aren't any shops here for clothes aside from Walmart and the tiniest JCPennys, ever.

- Our furniture was all on a HUGE sale and is decent quality so we won't need to replace it for a very long time.

- Heating/cooling -- house is 67F in winter and 78F in summer.


Splurges:

- Olympic weightlifting and crossfit home gym.

- Good locally-roasted coffee.

- Homes. Yes, more than one. We still have the residency house on the market.

- Cars. Well, not yet, but we will be getting an SUV for me and a pick-up for DH. We need AWD here and as much as I love our Kias, there isn't a Kia dealership within 3 hours of our town. We need to drive cars that we can actually find mechanics who can work on them.

- DH being one of the traveling team docs for USA weightlifting.

[alison]

As a follow up, what of your splurges could you do without if it means better/earlier financial security? I know coffee pods (in the grand scheme of things) isn't going to make a big difference, but maybe they do... My grandparents were landscapers and they scrimped and saved. They retired far wealthier than my dh's grandparents who were professionals (physician and nurse).

[v-girl]

We've already postponed the new house thing. I would further postpone it if we had to in order to continue paying for dance stuff. I do work at the dance studio part time to get a discount on dance lessons.

[BonBon]

Our lives are vastly different than they were 12 years ago. In the beginning, we scrimped like mad. It was painful, but DH insisted and I'm so glad he did. We bought an inexpensive house, continued to drive our cars (DH's was a 10 yo Cavalier that didn't have power anything...oof), paid down all debt very aggresively and setting aside $500/month in an emergency fund. Anyway, now...

Save:

-catastrophic health insurance. We maxed out this year (thanks to my fall) but usually we save buckets.
-no cable, no landline
-since we built our house, I was able to choose EVERYTHING, so I chose all the most energy conscious items. Our gas and electric is ~$400/mo in winter, tops to heat 6400sf of space (we heat the basement even though it's not finished yet)
-we drive our cars into the ground, or until their mouse-eaten
-I do as many home repairs myself as physically possible (see a few lines up about my fall...)
-I color my own hair and only get it cut once a year
-cleaning supplies are bought at Sam's...gallon bottles of vinegar and big sacks of baking soda. And tap water, which is almost free.
-I buy my high end clothing at resellers, either NWT or very gently used, and I only buy it if it's 75% or more off regular jacked price
-however most of what I wear is bought on sale at Target and Old Navy
-workout at home and outside
-we heavily utilize the library

Splurge:

-because we drive our cars for so long, we save up to pay cash when we do buy. This year we both bought luxury (used) cars. I'm still in love
-I buy whatever I please for food. We try to buy local whenever possible, and always buy grass-fed/pastured animals. We eat almost no processed foods and I am so grateful that we can eat this way. It's not THAT much more than what we used to spend, but so so worth it.
-netflix streaming *and* Hulu plus.
-some of my clothes do cost a lot :blush:
-the hugest one...this freaking house. (there is a backstory for those who are new...)
-my kids' clothes.
-furniture. I'm getting picky.

[weeniegeniewife]

Save:

Schooling for our children. They went to private school for a few years but it 1) wasn't a good fit and 2) wasn't worth the cost. They've been in public school for years and are thriving.

College accounts for all three kids, numerous retirement accounts for both of us, other savings vehicles. We don't have any credit card, student loan, or car debt.

Utilities: We don't have a landline and only have basic cable. We keep the heat and A/C down and only use when necessary.

We don't have a yard (we live on a steep slope) so we don't have to maintain it.

I hate shopping so I haven't purchased new clothes for myself in forever. DH has to drag me shopping. Now, he loves shopping, and could do it every day, LOL.

Splurge:

We bought all of our cars new with cash. We own two homes (we did own three and a lot, but recently sold those two). We have housekeepers who are worth their weight in gold! I have a serious Amazon addiction.

I feel weird even listing anything here. Our "splurges" are things we can afford. We live within our means and don't overspend. I am the saver whereas DH is the spender; but he works his ass off and has for a long time, so he can purchase whatever he wants whenever he wants.