What About Your Lifestyle/Habits Saves You Big $$$ ?

[barkley]

I recently purchased a gym membership for dd20, a workout nut. She went months going to gyms with free day or week passes, combined with being a guest with her friends. I can’t tell you how many times she used my email to sign up again. She now goes to a gym at college that has a branch here at home. The covid restrictions at her university’s awesome gym made it pretty hard (reduced capacity, needing to sign up for different floors).

i did'nt realize until recently when our gyms reopened and one posted a banner about being affiliated with certain insurance companies to check borh ours/dd's health insurance to see if they provided free gym memberships as a benefit. sure enough both do with several national chains.

Our biggest thing is probably our home. When we bought a house a few years after we were married, we bought a home based on the fact that I might quit working and stay home with the kids someday (which I did for 6 yrs).

we did the same when we bought our first home (way back in '91) but a tragic event for a co-worker made us up our game in regards to covering our mortgage. a co-worker in her late 20's married to a man of similar age. she was 8 months pregnant and went to bed early one night. when she awoke the next morning she couldn't wake her dh who was subsequently found to have passed due to a massive heart attack (no preexisting conditions). they had bought their home with the idea of either being able to cover the cost of the mortgage independently but she initially had no income due to the shock/bereavement, and subsequently due to no childcare (their plan was for her to stay at home). after witnessing her lose her home, auto and face near bankruptcy that we opted (when we held mortgages on our homes) to always have a life insurance poly on each other that would cover the payoff entirely for the surviving spouse.

 

[MrsPete]

Holy Cats I LOVE this idea!!!!! I have to take a hike anyway to our nearest University town when I want to hit up Trader Joe’s - when my kiddos get bigger this is what I am going to do!!!

I promise you, those are THE TIMES to shop for teens. The university near us attracts a large number of out-of-state students, and at the end of the semester quite a few of them have to cram EVERYTHING into one car-trip home -- often something has to go.

We live 20 minutes from a major university, and we also like to shop at a Plato's Closet, which is quite nearby -- higher prices than Goodwill, but still cheap. For example, jeans at my Goodwill are all $6.99, whereas Plato sells them for $14-18 -- and their clearance is great; the last thing I bought from them was a pair of skinny black jeans that fit me perfectly, and they were $4.
The stuff's teen-trendy, which my girls like. Lots of workout gear and college-logo stuff. Guys and girls' stuff.

Don't forget to check for furniture left on the curb by those same college students. My DD25 went to college in Boston. They call the last week of May, "Allston Christmas"--Allston is the town next to Boston, where a lot of college kids live in apartments. When the kids move out, especially the international students, they leave a TON of furniture on the curb.

Two comments:
- I was an RA in college, so I was always the last one to leave the floor. Every evening we'd "make the rounds" and pick up stuff that was abandoned -- three decades later I'm still using a small trash can and a plastic pitcher that I picked up. Other things I had: clothing, Northface backpack, calculators, canned food, school supplies, a lamp, extension cords, even textbooks (WHY did anyone throw those away? I was willing to lug them across campus to sell them back to the bookstore.)
- My girls both attended another state university that's VERY big on ecology /conservation /recycling. They ask students to pile unwanted things in the lobby, and volunteers come around at the end of the day to collect it. They save it and have a big sale in the fall. New /returning students can buy rugs, microwaves, refrigerators very cheaply.

if you just can't stand not having some form of gym membership or need some type of psychical activity-check out your local university ...

Changing the topic, but the university near us sells a one-year library membership to alum for $10/year or the general public for $25/year. That's a great price for access to a university library. At least I think that's the price; I haven't had a card with them for some time.

 

[bdiddy]

i did'nt realize until recently when our gyms reopened and one posted a banner about being affiliated with certain insurance companies to check borh ours/dd's health insurance to see if they provided free gym memberships as a benefit. sure enough both do with several national chains.





we did the same when we bought our first home (way back in '91) but a tragic event for a co-worker made us up our game in regards to covering our mortgage. a co-worker in her late 20's married to a man of similar age. she was 8 months pregnant and went to bed early one night. when she awoke the next morning she couldn't wake her dh who was subsequently found to have passed due to a massive heart attack (no preexisting conditions). they had bought their home with the idea of either being able to cover the cost of the mortgage independently but she initially had no income due to the shock/bereavement, and subsequently due to no childcare (their plan was for her to stay at home). after witnessing her lose her home, auto and face near bankruptcy that we opted (when we held mortgages on our homes) to always have a life insurance poly on each other that would cover the payoff entirely for the surviving spouse.

Oh wow that’s really sad. And yeah I’m sure that would make anyone rethink how they do things.

 

[melissalovesfigment]

The biggest thing I do that hasn't been mentioned has to do with Amazon. If I think of something I need (not immediately but something that I would like to have), I put it in the cart. Then I wait at least 2 weeks to actually purchase it and I check the price every day. Usually, after 2 weeks, I realize that I don't really need it anyway and it gets "saved for later". Eventually, most of that gets deleted. Everything left at the end of the year goes on the Christmas list. We have a solid income but I find that the more disposable money we have, the more frugal I become.

 

[Belle83]

Neither one of us have big commutes. We drive maybe 5,000 miles a year each pre-pandemic.

Paying off cars early saves money but hopefully our next cars will not be financed at all.

 

[barkley]

Neither one of us have big commutes. We drive maybe 5,000 miles a year each pre-pandemic.

Paying off cars early saves money but hopefully our next cars will not be financed at all.

there's also a nice discount through most insurers for this level of driving as well. when dh and i stopped commuting our auto insurance dropped significantly.

 

[DisneyFamilyHV]

You'll never save your way to prosperity. While looking for ways to save money certainly helps, and avoiding dumb money decisions is important, you're better off focusing on how to earn more, rather than how to spend less.

Love this!

 

[ford91exploder]

Rebuilding my trucks, I drive a 2000 Ford F350 and an escape Hybrid The F350 goes in every 5 years for body and mechanical overhaul, It still looks almost new and on checking a new one like mine was $91,000 with same level of features, The last overhaul cost me about $8,000, Shop is saying this one will be about $5,000

Escape goes in every 3 years and usually costs about $2,500 for body and mechanical work. (rubber parts, shocks, springs hoses, etc and body repair) so at the end of each repair cycle I basically have a fully refreshed corrosion free vehicle and I live in the salt states.

The other secret is WANTING WHAT YOU HAVE, Not wanting the latest shiny.

 

[4luv2cdisney]

Rebuilding my trucks, I drive a 2000 Ford F350 and an escape Hybrid The F350 goes in every 5 years for body and mechanical overhaul, It still looks almost new and on checking a new one like mine was $91,000 with same level of features, The last overhaul cost me about $8,000, Shop is saying this one will be about $5,000

Escape goes in every 3 years and usually costs about $2,500 for body and mechanical work. (rubber parts, shocks, springs hoses, etc and body repair) so at the end of each repair cycle I basically have a fully refreshed corrosion free vehicle and I live in the salt states.

The other secret is WANTING WHAT YOU HAVE, Not wanting the latest shiny.

Wow! Do you put a lot of miles on the vehicles?

How do you know what needs to be done each time?

I lost an engine on a just barely out of warranty vehicle a few years back. I was so shocked and upset, I definitely wasn't thinking clearly. I didn't think it was worth putting the $ into it and I junked it. Thinking back, I should have spend $6-8K and I'd still been driving it today. Instead, I bought a $17K vehicle in a rush that I hate and already want to replace.

Otoh, one of my daughters has a car (that is technically still mine) and I love that thing! I'd love to see it last (for her or me!) So. I can see doing this if you really love your car! I would love to know how you decide it's still worth doing each time and do you draw the line at something big (like the engine)?

 

[ford91exploder]

Wow! Do you put a lot of miles on the vehicles?

How do you know what needs to be done each time?

I lost an engine on a just barely out of warranty vehicle a few years back. I was so shocked and upset, I definitely wasn't thinking clearly. I didn't think it was worth putting the $ into it and I junked it. Thinking back, I should have spend $6-8K and I'd still been driving it today. Instead, I bought a $17K vehicle in a rush that I hate and already want to replace.

Otoh, one of my daughters has a car (that is technically still mine) and I love that thing! I'd love to see it last (for her or me!) So. I can see doing this if you really love your car! I would love to know how you decide it's still worth doing each time and do you draw the line at something big (like the engine)?

i dont really know how much until the shop pulls the truck apart. Things like cracked frames or a failure in the floor of a unibody car would be the impetus to junk it. But basically if you keep up on fluid maintenance and fix the little stuff as it breaks the big repairs will stay away.

the trick here is because the vehicle interior removed and the axles and drive train come out you can repair the hard to fix stuff because its the labor that kills your budget. But if you treat a car like an airplane and periodically take it all apart and reassemble with only good parts its much cheaper. Because instead of paying for repairs you are paying for disassembly and reassembly and body repair which is also a lot easier when everything is apart.

 

[DOREEN1779]

We keep our cars as long as we can. Our current fleet includes a 1999 Ford Escape and a 2011 Ford Explorer.
We do not have cable and stream tv and movies.
We carry no credit card debt but do use credit cards to accumulate points and pay in full each month. I monitor the reward sites for sales on gift cards (reductions in points) and purchase accordingly. Those gift cards are used for holiday gifts and the occasional out to eat dinner.

 

[Merlin's Magic]

I thought of another one, but probably not a money saver for everyone. We don't do appliance repair insurance. We thought about it when we bought our first house, but decided to set up a savings account with a minimum amount in it first, and see what would happen in those first few years. It solidified our desire to never buy in to one of those companies.

First thing that happened was our A.C went out in the middle of July. Same day my neighbor's unit went out, too. We called the repairman who came out, fixed it within 24 hours, and we were fine. Our neighbor waited a week, got a band-aid fix, and had to keep calling for the next 3 months for the insurance company to finally approve a real repair.

Then a pipe sprang a leak - plumber came out, fixed it, and went on his merry way.

In 3 years, the total repairs to the house were less than the insurance costs. We moved to an older home and kept the same savings account, taking note of things that would definitely need repair or replacement (like the water heater) in the next 5 years, and kept that as our minimum in the account as we shopped around. Most minor repairs we just do ourselves.

In a different house we might have used one of those insurance companies more, but having the flexibility to decide who we are going to use and what level of repair/replace we want is invaluable, not to mention having the benefit of not paying more than necessary.

 

[crisi]

supersnoop....it's interesting that you say this, because one of the 'mantras' of the early retiree groups is that it's not how much you make, but rather, how much you save. So there are definitely folks out there who DO save their way to prosperity. Absolutely it helps to have a great income to start with, but we've all heard the occasional stories about the janitor who left $xM to some charity upon their death. It can be done...not easily, not without sacrifice, but living beneath your means and saving can leave you in a very comfortable position later in life.

And few of them do it on $30k a year, unless they are doing something else, like living with their parents or inheriting money. I have saved myself wealthy and into early retirement. Two professional jobs, plus fairly frugal living - few extracurriculars for the kids, clothes bought on sale, used cars. The people who say they do it often have side gigs - they invest in rental property, where they do most of the work themselves. Some inherit money. I have a side gig in early retirement, which replaces about half my pre-retirement income. I've spent a lot of time on FIRE boards, and few people there are truly just not spending themselves into financial security, they are doing something in addition to buying groceries at Aldi. Often investing that savings into rental or flipped real estate - which takes a lot of work.

 

[hookala]

The best tip I have is to start saving young. A friend once called the first years out of college your "compounding years," He told me that when he had just graduated, and I was in college. Not only does this have financial benefits, but can completely shape the way you view and value money. Furthermore, this is surprisingly easy when you first graduate, because you're already used to not having any $ in college, so it's not really a loss to divert money into savings once you get your first job. Now, I realize that ship has sailed for most of us, but we can encourage our kids to do this.

About 15 years ago, I taught a quantitative reasoning course at a college. When we studied exponents, I made the students calculate how much money they would amass by saving the cost of a fancy coffee every day until they were 65. I can't remember the growth rate I gave them, but I pulled it off the S&P 500 for as long as the history was available. I told them to find out how much a coffee cost. (Apparently, like 90% of them liked Dunkin Donuts ice coffee--who knew?). Needless to say, they were shocked by the total.

About half of them just did the project, but about 1/4 of them actually seemed like doing the math was going to motivate them to think more about spending. There were a couple comments in the report that stood out. One was from a student who was returning to school as an adult--maybe 30 something? He said I wish someone had showed me this when I was 18. It would have kept me from being in the mess I'm in now. (I believe him. He was hardworking and disciplined. He just didn't know what to do.).

The project also had a question about credit cards. It said something along the lines of, credit cards work the opposite way. You pay the credit card, instead of them paying you. The interest rate is 20%, you would still get (whatever the interest rate I gave them was 12%?) to invest. Should you? One girl wrote, I don't understand credit cards, so I don't use them. My comment: That's very smart. Avoid them.

When I got my first real job, I added up my rent, food, gas, savings (retirement and general), and I wasn't left with a lot, so that became what I called my allowance money. I remember once I saw a pair of earrings at Kohls that I wanted for $7, but I decided not to get them. I told my mom, and she said "I'll buy you the earrings," but I said no. It wasn't that I couldn't afford them; it was that I chose to not spend money on it. Somehow, that part was important to me--like I was buying something else, and her buying me those earrings would have taken that away.

At some point, I realized that money wasn't for things--it was for flexibility. So when my (then) husband wanted to go back to school for a graduate degree, we could afford it. And when we got divorced, and I needed to go back to school after having been a stay at home mom for 10 years, we could afford the more prestigious private school in our area. And when we had a medical event, we were able to select an out of network provider, whose care I am grateful for.

So, yeah, I think saving on diapers (I use cloth napkins, rags instead of paper towels and containers instead of baggies when I pack lunch), and stocking up on trash bags when items are on sale at Target is important, and it does matter. It not only grows with time, but it can change your mindset.

 

[QueenIsabella]

The best tip I have is to start saving young. A friend once called the first years out of college your "compounding years," He told me that when he had just graduated, and I was in college. Not only does this have financial benefits, but can completely shape the way you view and value money. Furthermore, this is surprisingly easy when you first graduate, because you're already used to not having any $ in college, so it's not really a loss to divert money into savings once you get your first job. Now, I realize that ship has sailed for most of us, but we can encourage our kids to do this.

About 15 years ago, I taught a quantitative reasoning course at a college. When we studied exponents, I made the students calculate how much money they would amass by saving the cost of a fancy coffee every day until they were 65. I can't remember the growth rate I gave them, but I pulled it off the S&P 500 for as long as the history was available. I told them to find out how much a coffee cost. (Apparently, like 90% of them liked Dunkin Donuts ice coffee--who knew?). Needless to say, they were shocked by the total.

About half of them just did the project, but about 1/4 of them actually seemed like doing the math was going to motivate them to think more about spending. There were a couple comments in the report that stood out. One was from a student who was returning to school as an adult--maybe 30 something? He said I wish someone had showed me this when I was 18. It would have kept me from being in the mess I'm in now. (I believe him. He was hardworking and disciplined. He just didn't know what to do.).

The project also had a question about credit cards. It said something along the lines of, credit cards work the opposite way. You pay the credit card, instead of them paying you. The interest rate is 20%, you would still get (whatever the interest rate I gave them was 12%?) to invest. Should you? One girl wrote, I don't understand credit cards, so I don't use them. My comment: That's very smart. Avoid them.

When I got my first real job, I added up my rent, food, gas, savings (retirement and general), and I wasn't left with a lot, so that became what I called my allowance money. I remember once I saw a pair of earrings at Kohls that I wanted for $7, but I decided not to get them. I told my mom, and she said "I'll buy you the earrings," but I said no. It wasn't that I couldn't afford them; it was that I chose to not spend money on it. Somehow, that part was important to me--like I was buying something else, and her buying me those earrings would have taken that away.

At some point, I realized that money wasn't for things--it was for flexibility. So when my (then) husband wanted to go back to school for a graduate degree, we could afford it. And when we got divorced, and I needed to go back to school after having been a stay at home mom for 10 years, we could afford the more prestigious private school in our area. And when we had a medical event, we were able to select an out of network provider, whose care I am grateful for.

So, yeah, I think saving on diapers (I use cloth napkins, rags instead of paper towels and containers instead of baggies when I pack lunch), and stocking up on trash bags when items are on sale at Target is important, and it does matter. It not only grows with time, but it can change your mindset.

This is so true! I know I've mentioned it here before, but when I started my first "real" job at 21, they explained 401ks to me, and it sounded like a scam. Nonetheless, I put a few % of my pay into one, and kept doing that. My tiny contributions have grown to almost $500,000!

My oldest is a teacher, so she has a future pension (assuming things stay on track). She also puts a small amount into a 403b (I think--457?). But, she's had a couple windfalls along the way. She got some money when her grandmother passed--I suggested she put $10k in a Roth, $5k a year, and set the rest aside. Similarly, an uncle left her ~$10k--she'll put half in the Roth, and set the other half aside for when she needs to replace her 17yo car. I figure, she won't miss these windfalls, she hadn't expected them. And if she's desperate in future years, she could (hopefully won't) take out the initial deposit. She's young, time is on her side for growth. And even these relatively small amounts could offer her a great return in 40-50 years, even if she doesn't continue to make Roth contributions.

Along the same lines, with my younger kids (24, 18, 15)--we show them statements (Grandma left them money, too--they don't have access to it). We explain that the best thing they can do with Grandma's gift is leave it alone to grow. Now, there's nothing wrong with tapping the money down the road, to buy a house or something, but I call it my "set it and forget it" strategy.

 

[4luv2cdisney]

The best tip I have is to start saving young. A friend once called the first years out of college your "compounding years," He told me that when he had just graduated, and I was in college. Not only does this have financial benefits, but can completely shape the way you view and value money. Furthermore, this is surprisingly easy when you first graduate, because you're already used to not having any $ in college, so it's not really a loss to divert money into savings once you get your first job. Now, I realize that ship has sailed for most of us, but we can encourage our kids to do this.

About 15 years ago, I taught a quantitative reasoning course at a college. When we studied exponents, I made the students calculate how much money they would amass by saving the cost of a fancy coffee every day until they were 65. I can't remember the growth rate I gave them, but I pulled it off the S&P 500 for as long as the history was available. I told them to find out how much a coffee cost. (Apparently, like 90% of them liked Dunkin Donuts ice coffee--who knew?). Needless to say, they were shocked by the total.

About half of them just did the project, but about 1/4 of them actually seemed like doing the math was going to motivate them to think more about spending. There were a couple comments in the report that stood out. One was from a student who was returning to school as an adult--maybe 30 something? He said I wish someone had showed me this when I was 18. It would have kept me from being in the mess I'm in now. (I believe him. He was hardworking and disciplined. He just didn't know what to do.).

The project also had a question about credit cards. It said something along the lines of, credit cards work the opposite way. You pay the credit card, instead of them paying you. The interest rate is 20%, you would still get (whatever the interest rate I gave them was 12%?) to invest. Should you? One girl wrote, I don't understand credit cards, so I don't use them. My comment: That's very smart. Avoid them.

When I got my first real job, I added up my rent, food, gas, savings (retirement and general), and I wasn't left with a lot, so that became what I called my allowance money. I remember once I saw a pair of earrings at Kohls that I wanted for $7, but I decided not to get them. I told my mom, and she said "I'll buy you the earrings," but I said no. It wasn't that I couldn't afford them; it was that I chose to not spend money on it. Somehow, that part was important to me--like I was buying something else, and her buying me those earrings would have taken that away.

At some point, I realized that money wasn't for things--it was for flexibility. So when my (then) husband wanted to go back to school for a graduate degree, we could afford it. And when we got divorced, and I needed to go back to school after having been a stay at home mom for 10 years, we could afford the more prestigious private school in our area. And when we had a medical event, we were able to select an out of network provider, whose care I am grateful for.

So, yeah, I think saving on diapers (I use cloth napkins, rags instead of paper towels and containers instead of baggies when I pack lunch), and stocking up on trash bags when items are on sale at Target is important, and it does matter. It not only grows with time, but it can change your mindset.

Make the most money you can as early as you can and spend as little of it as possible.

Your compounding years - I like that.

Both of my kids have chosen careers that tend to fall on the low end of the wage-earning spectrum. So, it has been understood that the best path for them is to stay at home until they have:

A large enough retirement fund that the growth potential is still there if they need to cease contributions at certain times in their lives

A large down payment on a townhouse (no less than 30% and aiming for 40%) to keep living expenses low. Unfortunately, we are already in a pricey area and housing has just shot through the roof.

Emergency savings of at least 6 months living expenses

No debt

Doing this in their early 20's will set them up for much less stress for the rest of their lives.

I do set expectations that must be met. Those goals are their "bills / rent" and I know their income, so I make it a tight budget. If they weren't paying their "bills / rent", they owe me rent instead. They are both workaholics, but 1 daughter really likes clothes and shoes. She is learning to thrift shop! lol I really just do this so they learn how to be frugal when necessary.

They are very grateful.

My oldest was looking at a 2-3 year plan for living at home post college. Unfortunately, Covid is challenging that. New plan is to do the best she can until her income gets to where it should have been after graduation. So, we shall see. She is motivated and doing well despite the setbacks.

Younger D will likely do it faster since she has saved almost every penny of her regular earnings (since age 16) and lives on birthday $, Christmas $, and small side job $ (pet-sitting or whatever she can get). We are still paying many of her expenses while she's still in school.

 

[4luv2cdisney]

supersnoop....it's interesting that you say this, because one of the 'mantras' of the early retiree groups is that it's not how much you make, but rather, how much you save. So there are definitely folks out there who DO save their way to prosperity. Absolutely it helps to have a great income to start with, but we've all heard the occasional stories about the janitor who left $xM to some charity upon their death. It can be done...not easily, not without sacrifice, but living beneath your means and saving can leave you in a very comfortable position later in life.

And few of them do it on $30k a year, unless they are doing something else, like living with their parents or inheriting money. I have saved myself wealthy and into early retirement. Two professional jobs, plus fairly frugal living - few extracurriculars for the kids, clothes bought on sale, used cars. The people who say they do it often have side gigs - they invest in rental property, where they do most of the work themselves. Some inherit money. I have a side gig in early retirement, which replaces about half my pre-retirement income. I've spent a lot of time on FIRE boards, and few people there are truly just not spending themselves into financial security, they are doing something in addition to buying groceries at Aldi. Often investing that savings into rental or flipped real estate - which takes a lot of work.

I've been supporting myself since age 16, married at 19 and had my first child right after turning 24 - at which point I became a SAHM. We were young and broke and had not a clue what we were doing. Thankfully, I was frugal and did everything I could to stretch the dollars we had. DH went back to school after we were married (which nearly killed us to pay for) but I am so grateful for that decision.

In the end he had a job with great benefits, 2 pensions, a retirement savings account and decent wages. However, his job (especially in the beginning) was somewhat seasonal and I know a lot of people in the same field had a hard time knowing how to handle the swings in pay. We just seemed to grasp that when you're working a lot and the money is rolling in, you save it for the days when you're laid off or working 3 days one week, 2 days the next. Having emergency funds saved and knowing how to make adjustments to live on as little as possible were crucial to our survival.

I fully admit, as the pay increased and the job became more stable, our kids were also young and living in a neighborhood of peers with CEO dads and trust fund accounts. We got a whole lotta loose with our money to keep up with the neighbors. There was no way I was thrift shopping and skipping out on expensive lessons/activities.

Now, we are seeing retirement on the horizon and kids poised to move out when the time is right for them, so we are swinging back to super save mode.

Earning as much as you can while being frugal with your $ are both beneficial. If I had to choose only 1, I'd choose the high earnings but that alone isn't always enough. Plenty of people making a lot of money and left with nothing to show for it.

See my post above about helping my kids get started. Obviously, things could change, but if they stay on the lower income side of life, saving early is the only way I see them having success at the rest. And it's taking the help of mom and dad by letting them live at home. So many people don't even realize they've had help along the way, but they have. In my eyes, even something like having parents that paid for your college (some, most or all) puts you at a great advantage over those that didn't and I consider that having 'help".

 

[Elephantay]

We've gotten much better with our everyday expenses. We still use paper towels for some things but have cut it down to 25% of what we used to use. I invested in some colorful, soft cloths that we use for napkins and keeping them rolled in a bowl in the kitchen has enticed people to grab one ( had less appealing napkins before!). We have cut way down on reusable plastics and now use sturdy (mostly glass) containers with covers for everything- not just for some things as we used to do. This year, grocery delivery and curbside pickup has helped to cut down impulse buys.
We are trying to simplify in general- no more buying books unless I absolutely think its a keeper forever. The library app is great. Bulk and sale buying. Just less spending.
We are needing a third car soon. Trying to decide how to best go about it. We typically buy new and keep our cars forever. For us, the peace of mind to not have to worry about potential repair costs with a new car is huge, and then we know whats been done for maintenance when they get old. We havent ever paid cash for a car, just couldn't.
Also, we dont go out to eat much, but if we do ( pre-covid) we choose lunch. We prefer to visit with friends and family at home.

 

[happiestpoe]

We get by with one car. We haven't got children (yet? maybe?) so my other half takes me to work, then himself, and is able to collect me. I suppose we're really fortunate to have schedules which match up. But it saves loads in insurance, gas, maintenance, etc.

I buy nearly all my clothes second-hand. My partner isn't fond of thrift store shopping, but he doesn't buy new clothes very often, and when he does he sticks to less expensive brands like H&M.

We're also 'buy it for life' people-- or at least try to be. So we'll spend more on kitchen items or household items which will last longer.

 

[smwisc]

We are needing a third car soon. Trying to decide how to best go about it. We typically buy new and keep our cars forever. For us, the peace of mind to not have to worry about potential repair costs with a new car is huge, and then we know whats been done for maintenance when they get old. We havent ever paid cash for a car, just couldn't.

Our strategy for cars is to buy a late-model used car with plenty of warranty left (typically a longer-warranty make like Hyundai or Kia) - so for example, if we were shopping right now, we'd be aiming for a 2019 or 2020 with around 30k miles. That way we get the savings on the purchase price (someone else takes the hit of that high early depreciation), plus the peace of mind of a warranty in case something goes wrong early on. Then we drive them for a long time, if not exactly forever - 10 years or more. We've not had to take out a car loan in almost 20 years, and shouldn't need to anytime soon.