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

[DCJenn]

Save: Public school- with uniforms. 5 pairs of khaki pants and 5 dark green shirts and that's it for the year. Utilities- I keep it hot in here during the summer- air conditioning in South Texas is stupid. Thankfully my house is brick with 12 inch walls. and we have a 100+ year old pecan tree that shades us. Even then it's a couple hundred bucks. We drive paid-for cars and will for a while yet. We did (and always do) splurge on the highest efficiency appliances but then save in the long run. We all take lunches every day. I max my retirement (company matches 3%) and I have a portion of each paycheck from the FT job and 100% of the income from the PT job go to the savings account.

Splurge: after not having a vacation that required a passport from 2005 (second trip to Russia to get the kiddo) until this summer, we're just not going to stop. Nicaragua over Spring Break and I think we're going to go to Canada this summer.

Dining out and groceries- we eat out a lot- and buy organic and local whenever possible. I live in the middle of some of the best restaurants in San Antonio. That's WHY I live here. Our hobby is that we're foodies- the kid is a foodie. Our activities with our friends involve food (next up- http://slowfoodsouthtexas.org/harvest-gala) We're friends with the restaurant owners and the chefs. I mean really. It's kind of ridiculous. My kid announced that he thought he should be the food critic for the elementary school newspaper.

Pet care- oh to be one of my pets...

[ides]

We save with hair cuts. I cut both Dh & Os hair. I haven't had my hair cut in over a year though I try to go every three to six months. Without a babysitter its hard to get to a salon.

We splurge on having our lawn cut by a neighbor boy every two weeks. I'm fine doing it myself but we currently have no where to store one and Dh is deathly affraid that O will loose a hand/fingers if we have one so he won't agree to us getting our own.

[SoonerTexan]

I just thought of a splurge! Last year I insisted on hanging Christmas lights on our house. We had yet to do so the previous 5 years because DH didn't want to risk hurting his back by getting up on the ladder, and we live on a very steep slope. I totally get that. However, last Nov I was very depressed after my hysterectomy, and knew that Christmas lights would make me happy. So I hired a company to come and install an amazing light display down our long driveway and all over the front of our house. It was definitely a huge splurge and DH wasn't totally on board; however, I didn't give him a choice. After they were installed he loved them, and just last week he reminded me to re-hire them for this year. Yay!

I need pics of this. I'm getting tired of pumpkins and I'm ready to move onto the holidays. Well sorta. Just provide pics

[houseelf]

Love, love, LOVE this thread! Fascinating!

Save-
clothing and personal care. Mint.com revealed we spend far less than comparable families. I can't believe what women spend at salons and on make up and clothing.
We drive our cars until almost 200,000 miles.
We only occasionally eat out.
Most of our technology comes from DH's expense account
I'm really not big on gifts. (Heidi's husband Chad is an extravagant gift giver compared to me)
I'm the library queen

Middle of the Road-
-our home on a 15 year mortgage is the average amount we should spend for our income
-our kids do a lot of activities but mostly through community league as opposed to select or travel leagues. We buy used equipment
-we do eat out once or twice a week, but our food budget is still well below average expenditures for family of 5
-preschool is not the most elite, but still sets us back $300/month

Splurge-

-supplemental speech lessons for DS2, occasional tutor for DS2, and foreign language class for DD
-orthodontia for DS1
-our kids do a LOT of said community league activities, even though individually they are cheap
-summer camps for kids
-travel
-Starbucks
-iphones
-cable tv with a special FSN package to get all the hockey games.
-used Porsche
-race fees
-We max out retirment, savings, and pay the snot out of debt


I'm clearly a sucker for: 1)my kids; and 2) experiences.

[bokelley]

Saves:
insurance, all insurance is covered by Dh's hospital and it rocks.

Groceries and gas are pretty much all at Walmart. I get free money there each month due to family connections.

Splurges:
Vacations. Love them and do them often. Work hard, play hard right!

Hair done every 8 weeks

Clothes- it is ridiculous

Oh so many more, but I am feeling a bit ashamed

[bokelley]

Oh I forgot a huge save: our spg American Express card. We use it every month as our checking out and then pay it out. We get so many free hotel rooms and u can u the points 1-1 on most major airlines.