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

[alison]

Spotty Dog, I'm looking at you! Where do you save money, and what are your splurges? I'm talking about--do you reuse your aluminum foil, wear your underwear twice before washing, bike to work, etc.? Do you splurge on electronics, clothes?

And to answer my own questions.

We save with biking, walking everywhere, although...we have one, expensive car (gulp) that rarely leaves the garage except for grocery shopping and day trips.

We aren't house poor, and will live in 1400 square feet until we bust at the seams.

I splurge on kids' stuff (clothes, shoes, toys) and electronics (currently eyeing the iPad mini).

Fess up, people!

[GrayMatterWife]

Save: food (we rarely eat out) and sitters: we rarely get them.

Splurge: books and lawn (I have someone cut the lawn every two weeks. I hate lawn care).

[MrsK]

I'm so weird about saving. I basically feel like anything that is not essential to our survival is a splurge.

I'd say that I splurge on clothes; although I buy nearly everything for myself second hand or off clearance, I feel badly when I spend money on things I don't need. So, I was giddy when I bought a vintage fur jacket for $88 last week but then felt badly about spending $88 on something that I could, arguably, life without. When I buy re-sale, I go for cashmere, designer labels, NWT stuff.

I'm an avid coupon clipper and generally save 30-40% on groceries though I do indulge in splurges when I feel like I've got to bake or cook something special.

I'm a saver/spender when it comes to craft supplies. I buy on sale/clearance/use coupons, etc. but I buy more than I need.

I save by taking my kids to the library but then I buy books and magazines for them when the school send's home the Scholastic catalogue and I have a serious amazon.com addiction.

I buy toys at yard sales but the kids already have 700 toys and I'm a sucker for any educational toy.

I eat out, go to starbucks, take the kids to applebees far too often.

We rarely replace our technology but when we do, we try to get the best that we can afford since we know it will be a long time before we upgrade again.

Target. I really should not go in there.

[corn poffi]

Crap. We are terrible at this.

I have a smallish car that I plan on running to the ground. We save a ton on money on rent now (but are pressed for space). We don't have kids. That's probably where we save the most.

The splurge list is bad. We go out to eat regularly (probably eat 2 meals a week at home). I was going to post more, but I'm kind of embarrassed. We don't live beyond our means, but should work on being more aware of what we really spend our money on.

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

Splurges: Photography - I drop $200 on mini photo sessions once a quarter. Pool - it was expensive to join but it's an activity we all enjoy all summer long and now that we paid the initiation fee, it's cheaper. One vacation a year we do something nice the requires a flight - this year we're going to the Caribbean come hell or high water!!! I do buy DD clothes regularly but only from Marshalls/secondhand.

Save: We never, ever, eat out. I haven't bought myself new clothes except for maternity clothes (even then it was 3-4 shirts and 2 pairs of pants) or holiday party dresses (once yearly so I guess that's a splurge) since 2009ish. We bike/walk almost everywhere, use the library, and I clip coupons for groceries and any crafts.

I do get the "benefit" of splurging during business travel - Starbucks, nice dinners/wine, nice hotels, etc. when I do travel so I don't feel deprived.

[Chrisada]

We're horrible. I think we decided it's residency, so we'll keep a certain amount in savings and spend the rest. We eat out, I drive a nice car, we have the newest iPhones. I do utilize our library extensively for books and movies. We often have 40 items checked out. We don't spend much on gas, since we are two miles away from the hospital and our community is a six mile radius. We didn't spend alot on our house, so we are able to splurge. We do plan on living on about the same we do now (which is a lot for a resident bec. of moonlighting) for the first few years after residency though. We will aggressively pay down our loans.

[ladymoreta]

Save:
- Clothes: Our closet is ridiculously bare; we may actually have to do some more shopping soon
- Hair: I can't remember when I had my last haircut; I'm pretty sure it was over a year ago
- Sitters: We now live close enough to use grandparents
- Entertainment: Haha this is kind of a joke between DH and me, but we spend a lot of free time playing an online video game with no monthly fee, so we're not spending money doing other things, right?

Splurge:
- Electricity: We keep our house at about 72°F year round
- Eating Out: I love taking the kids out to restaurants. I want them to be foodies.
- Groceries: I am appalled at how much we spend at the grocery store. DH loves to cook elaborate meals, and DS loves his fresh fruit, especially berries. I buy organic whenever it's available, and it adds up quick!
- K-Cups: Might be a necessity with the way my kids sleep

[ides]

Food is both a save & splurge: we rarely eat out but I buy mostly organic and high quality which is $$. I also make our own muffins & can our own beans so I guess that evens it out some.

Save:
Dh & I both have 7+yr old used cars that we own (no loans).

We don't have a lot of or buy a lot of clothing, which I buy mostly on sale when we need it.

We buy used furniture.

We buy electronics when necessary. We still have a crt tv & will keep it until it dies.

No babysitters yet. I think we might use them in future but we don't plan far enough in advance to do so.

Splurge:
kid stuff- O has more toys than I like, we enroll him in activities/lessons.

[Chrisada]

- K-Cups: Might be a necessity with the way my kids sleep

How did I forget those!! I have a K-cup every single day.

[ladymoreta]

How did I forget those!! I have a K-cup every single day.

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

[Thirteen]

I shop at Goodwill, Ross, consignment sales, TJMaxx, and Marshall's.
I love Free section on Craigslist.
I use the library all the time for my books, and some educational DVDs for DS.
We don't own a dryer: I hang up everything to dry.
I am a jerk about electricity - the thermostat is around 76 for a/c, and 68 for heat.

Having said that, we have:
Amazon.com Prime
iPhones
Verizon FIOS TV/Internet
2 new cars (that we will happily drive into the ground)



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Bittersweet]

Splurges: We eat out maybe once a week. However, food still manages to be one of our biggest expenses. DH is still in training, but dang it I'm old and have decided that my days of crappy cheese and produce are (hopefully) over. Neighborhood expenses - we pay waaaay more in gas to live where we do and paid a blush worthy amount for a family pass to our neighborhood pool this summer. Childcare - they are cheaper options available but we're very happy with what we have.

Saves: Cars - both are used, paid off and not at all beautiful. Electronics - our TV is second hand and from the early 90s (it's a brute) and we both have crappy cell phones. Furniture - we're still rocking the college chic look.

[Phoebe]

Save- We don't outsource much. My house isn't as clean as I like it, but I want things done a certain way. I would rather splurge on other things than someone I don't trust in my house. I mow the lawn and we did our own landscaping. I haven't really decorated our home of 5 years. I would love window treatments. Clothes- I shop mostly at Target and Costco. I have no style at this point and rarely wear makeup. I use coupons whenever possible. We are trying to eat out less. Sometimes that is a problem. We have one new car and one old car without a car payment. We just went on our first vacation in a couple years. We rarely get babysitters. I recently quit my gym

Splurge- We keep having kids which are expensive. We splurge on kid's activities. Competitive gymnastics for two girls is like a monthly car payment. Our house is larger than we need, but not enough bedrooms. We splurged on a pool three years ago. I have also started buying more organic produce and less processed food which can be more expensive. I am willing to pay money for a good haircut and highlighting a few times a year. I also just started playing tennis which will be expensive if I join a league. We splurge on cable because DH is a TV junkie. We don't have any movie channels, but it seems really expensive.

[v-girl]

Food - buy cheap as possible (while maintaining my "I can't cook" standards), but buy a lot (family of 5, kids share snacks with friends at dance)

Eat out - we eat out a lot, but try to stick to budget-friendly restaurants -- our family of 5 can eat at our fav Tex Mex hole in the wall for less than $40 (including sodas for hubby and kids, frozen margarita the size of a fish tank for me)

Clothes - bargains for the still-growing kids, quality staples bought on sale for the rest, trendy items have to be bargains, try to buy good quality shoes for those of us who stopped growing since I will keep my shoes until they die (I have shoes that are 10 years old and still wearable)

Utilities - thermostat doesn't go below 77 -- there are ceiling fans in every room, if you get too hot just change into shorts and a tank top and drink ice water

DH's car is definitely a save. It's a '97 Honda with over 200K miles. With regular maintenance it will be M's first car in a couple of years.
My car is a splurge, but we were in a bind and I knew we'd be able to afford it. We hope to pay it off early since we had no money down we ended up with $490 car payment. Ouch!

Our house is a save - mortgage is less than $1K/month. It's small but we've had it since '98. Hope to either rent it out or sell it next summer so we can get a bigger house with a pool.

Splurge - Ballet. Serious splurge, but our girls love it and are talented. I added up the costs (tuition + shoes + tights + youth ensemble fees) one year and haven't done that since. LOL The things we do for our kids. We love the friends we've made through their dancing though and their dedication to their "sport" is impressive.

Save - Hair salon. I go maybe once or twice a year. I want to change that though and go more often. I feel better about myself when my hair looks good.

Splurge - Running shoes for me -- I need good cushion to be able to run without my knees going out on me. They have to be replaced every few months (though M and I both use the worn out ones to go hiking or play at the park with K).

Save - cable/home phone -- we don't have either. We have an antenna in the attic, a Wii that connects to Netflix, and ADSL internet. We do splurge on cell phone service - kids get a phone (no data) when they turn 11. DH and I have the $25 data plan with the iPhone 4, whole family has unlimited texting.

Laptops were bought cheap from Best Buy (so what if I have to order online on a Sunday and drive to another city to pick it up).

Curriculum (splurge and save) - depends on how you look at it. Catholic school tuition was $750/month for two kids our last year in school. I spent $1400 on curriculum for three kids this year + $130 for a high quality microscope to last through high school.

My couch was a splurge, but it was half off. And I love it so I don't care. And it's fantastic.

[MsSassyBaskets]

Save:
Housing - we rent a 1,000 sq. ft. 2-BR duplex in the sort of iffy part of town, and will be looking for another small-ish place with rent under $1k when we move in May. If I didn't work from home we would probably still be in a 1-bedroom apartment, but I need an office. Also, we have no home ownership costs like maintenance, plumbing, mowing the lawn, landscaping, etc. etc. We use a window air conditioner in the summer and keep the heat low in the winter.
Car - sort of... we have a 1-year old car that we're paying off, but it's economical and we plan to have it forever. Right now we share and don't drive much, and insurance is cheap. We'll need a second car after we move, but we'll get something used, cheap, and efficient.
Hobbies/books - I buy most of my books at the thrift store or take them out of the library, which is no small feat when you have a reading habit like mine. We don't have expensive hobbies, except that I did drop some bucks recently getting the materials to make our wedding album.
Clothing - Well, sort of. I do like thrift shopping, and most of my new clothes come from Marshalls, TJ Maxx or Old Navy. However, I know I buy more than I need. I'm probably somewhere in between LadyMoreta and Corn Poffi on this one.
Cable, etc. - We don't have TV, but I keep up on my favorites by plugging my laptop into the TV and streaming from Hulu. Also, Netflix. But we do pay for Netflix, cable internet and two smartphones with unlimited data.

Splurge:
Food - I have no idea how people spend so little on groceries! The fact that I have celiac disease does mean that even basics like gluten-free bread (or even bread ingredients -- I make it myself) and pasta are pretty expensive. How do you eat healthy, with plenty of veggies, without spending a ton? We eat dinner out maybe twice a month, so that's not too bad. DH goes out for lunch most days though -- his school doesn't provide refrigerators or microwaves for student use, so he either buys cafeteria food or goes somewhere like Chipotle.
Miscellaneous - A year ago it was wedding planning. Now it's our honeymoon. Then we decided we "needed" a tablet computer (to take with us on the honeymoon, of course!). Then my laptop broke and I "need" to buy a new one.....