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

[RamblingMad]

I just wanted to pop in and encourage anyone reading who has debt to not feel defeated by these suggestions. Habits don't form overnight. Find some suggestions in here that will help you save and pay off what you owe. There are some great tips in here! (also join us in the Debt Dumpers thread!)

• I have our propane on auto deduct and get the tank filled when they offer reduced rates. I usually carry a surplus, so getting the tank filled isn't as painful.
• I use a cash back credit card for buying gas and groceries that I pay off every week.
• Auto deduct goes straight to savings per paycheck. This has helped in emergency situations many, many times. I don't even count the amount in savings toward the budget.
• Have an old Keurig (1st generation) that helped me kick the drive-thru habit. Sure the pods are more expensive than ground beans, but I only drink a cup a day.
• Home DIYer all the way. Installed LVP flooring last year after several YouTube videos. Window screens replaced. Grouted kitchen tiles.

Debt is usually caused by insufficient wages and the cost of goods going up. Wages barely keep up with inflation for a good chunk of the country. And we have less organized labor to fight for higher wages. It’s difficult for a lot of people to live within their means when their neighbors are using debt to drive up prices. You can afford more if you take on debt and then cycle bankruptcy every 7 years. But for the person not doing this, they might find their salary inadequate. Telling them to make more doesn’t help as they usually don’t have means for school or the labor bargaining power to get more.

Do the best you can given your circumstances. Luck plays a much bigger role than a lot of people think.

 

[tzolkin]

i noticed at costco last week a number of carts with what i suspect were much larger than normal purchases of feminine products and adult diapers. unlike the other paper products like tp and paper towels there was no limit on them so some are starting to stock up.

I wonder if more people will start to use reusable menstrual products. It certainly won't fund your retirement, but it's probably a few hundred dollars' savings per year.

 

[TreeFalls]

We have saved a lot by not decorating/upgrading our house, or by doing so very frugally- we repaint a lot less often than some would, all our furniture is hand-me-downs or from thrift stores, our kitchen was built in the 70s, and we don't replace appliances unless they die.

Our house is not catalog-worthy, but it doesn't look bad and it functions, which is enough for us!

 

[dclpluto]

We don’t do drugs, smoke or drink alcohol

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

I think our biggest thing is cooking our meals. We rarely go out to eat, maybe 4 times a year. Except if on vacation as vacay time is too valuable to spend the time cooking for us. But we like cooking so that being the norm for us isn't a big deal.

We just got back from a little getaway. Granted some of the nights we went to some expensive restaurants but 2 of the nights we had what I consider just normal meals. One was Smashburger (so just a burger, fries and soda for each of us) and the other night Cava (so a salad and drink for each of us and we split a pita app with hummus). Each dinner was about $40 for the 2 of us. So that is probably the normal price for a dinner if we would not cook at home and run out somewhere. If you ate out 2 times a week at that price you're looking at over $4k/yr in going out to eat.

In comparison we spend about $125/week on groceries and I think we eat pretty good.

 

[Judique]

Thousands is an exaggeration.

Right now a pack of size 1 Target diapers (44 count) is $4.59 (not on sale). Let's say that's 5 days of diapers -- 8 1/2 diapers per day. Newborns will use a little more, older children will use a few less.
Let's assume that's an average: If you use disposable diapers for 2.5 years, you'll spend about $850 total to diaper one child -- though in reality diapers go on sale pretty often; a person who stocks up when they're on sale could literally never pay full price for diapers. (In all fairness, I ignored tax.)
You think 8 1/2 diapers is too few per day? Okay, let's say 10 diapers/day -- that'll raise the cost to $951 -- again, that's store brand diapers, never once catching a sale.

If you find Aldis diapers acceptable (which everyone doesn't), you could slash that number by 20%. Their diapers are about 40 for $3.99.

I'm going to take a little issue with your math. 44 for 4.59 = 10.4 cents per diaper for Target brand (although in my area that same pack is 4.79.

Aldi diaper 40 for 3.99 = 10 cents a diaper.

That's not a 20% difference. It's barely a 1% difference. And if you get the 5% for your Target card, you are cheaper than Aldi by 4% without other discounts.

Also, all diaper sizes do not contain the same number of diapers.

By the time you get to size 6, at Target the cost is the same but the number of diapers in the pack is down to 21 diapers, less than half the size one at 44.

So as baby grows and uses bigger diapers, so will your estimate, probably as much as 50% if not more, bringing the cost closer to thousands for 2-3 kids. Then add in the extra cost of more expensive diapers due to sensitive skin or other issues.

I agree somewhat with your opinions on cloth diapers. My daughter paid for them, then abandoned them as the work they entailed, plus her being a working mother, plus daycare that wasn't going to deal with cloth diapers, plus having to buy disposables anyway for convenience while traveling did not make them a practical option.

She was able to resell them as there was a market for this and when baby # 2 came along, she stocked up on disposables.

 

[MrsPete]

i noticed at costco last week a number of carts with what i suspect were much larger than normal purchases of feminine products and adult diapers. unlike the other paper products like tp and paper towels there was no limit on them so some are starting to stock up.

Interesting -- this may or may not come to pass, but I think I'll do some stocking up.

Debt is usually caused by insufficient wages and the cost of goods going up.

Eh, debt is caused by a multitude of things, and every debtor finds his way into that lamentable situation through a different combination of steps -- some his choice, some his fate.

I wonder if more people will start to use reusable menstrual products. It certainly won't fund your retirement, but it's probably a few hundred dollars' savings per year.

Agree. I started using a cup after my second child was born. The learning curve was very real, but -- once I had the hang of it -- I liked it better than disposables and the savings were nice. I only ever owned one cup, which lasted me more than two decades -- until surgery took away the need.

We have saved a lot by not decorating/upgrading our house, or by doing so very frugally ...

Yes, I don't change out my decor often -- certainly not because colors or styles have changed. We try to buy furniture carefully with the assumption that it's a lifetime (or near lifetime purchase).

That's not a 20% difference. It's barely a 1% difference. And if you get the 5% for your Target card, you are cheaper than Aldi by 4% without other discounts.

Yeah, you're right -- I "mathed carefully" in the first part of my post, but I made a quick guess when I added the part about Aldis. That's what I get for guessing instead of calculating, and what "feels true" isn't always true.

Also, all diaper sizes do not contain the same number of diapers.

Yes, BUT children also use fewer diapers as they grow older, so the number of packages used per week stays fairly stable.

 

[barkley]

We decided when we got married to always live on DH's income. It's been interesting, challenging at times, but means I don't have to work and gives us flexibility with the kids. If I do work, it's for debt repayment (not usually), vacations or renovations.

i think it's a great concept. i would encourage you though, as you are able with the demands of kiddos to consider keeping at least a toe in the workforce. one aspect that likely won't impact you for years down the road is social security (assuming it's still around), even a very part time job over the years can ensure your have enough quarters to at least have the option of drawing your own benefit vs. just 50% of your spouses. the other aspect i hate to think of but given that it happened in our household and i saw it far too many times when i worked for social services-one of the spouses becomes disabled. even a clear cut disability can take upwards of years to get social security disability for, someone lucky enough to work for a company that still offers a pension w/disability provisions can see it take months and months for all the paperwork to be processed and all the while the expenses of living continue on. we were fortunate to have some long term disability insurance and a second household income but when i worked for social services i saw far too many households that exhausted all their savings and retirement accounts b/c the traditional stay at home spouse didn't have the option of returning to the workforce b/c of no recent work history or outdated skills.

 

[tzolkin]

I only ever owned one cup, which lasted me more than two decades

Yup, my youngest turns 15 next week and I’ve been using the same cup since he was born. I think it was maybe $35 and it still basically looks new so I will likely get many more years of use. So I am currently at $2.33 per year for menstrual products.

I didn’t purchase it with savings in mind, but now with multiple females in our household we are saving a few hundred dollars a year compared to using disposable products.

 

[JenBush]

I have a few lifestyle things that save me money:
1.) My friends and I prefer hanging out at each other’s houses rather than at a bar or restaurant. This saves a lot of money on drinks and food.
2.) I don’t have a gym membership. I workout at home and utilize all the great free workout videos on YouTube.
3.) I enjoy reading when I have free time and I take advantage of my local library. I mostly use their digital downloads.

 

[barkley]

I enjoy reading when I have free time and I take advantage of my local library. I mostly use their digital downloads.

i don't think people avail themselves enough to free literal and digital books. in addition to what local libraries offer they frequently belong to associated larger libraries that members can utilize. additionaly-if you have a public college or university in close proximity check on their libraries 'community memberships'. we have a state university near us that offers residents who live within a certain radius of miles free community library privileges which not only provides access to all of their literal and digital books but access to all of their NATIONAL affiliated libraries digital downloads. it's an amazing free resource.

 

[nycdisneygal]

I live below my means: We bought a house that is much less than we could afford. We dont have new fancy cars although I could buy. I could afford a very fancy purse but I dont
Mostly cook our dinners. Buy a lot on sale and freeze when I can. Lots of crockpot thighs recipes! OR drumsticks. Look at whats on sale to decide week's menu.
Buy clothes/shoes on sale. Younger DD has a lot of hand me downs from sister and friends.
Try to stop myself from buying all those cute home decor things.
We make our own coffee. I buy the grounds from TJMAxx

 

[WaltsMartini]

For teens, if possible, go to a Goodwill near a university in December or May (just after college students leave the dorms and clean out their closets).

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!!!

 

[WaltsMartini]

I just wanted to pop in and encourage anyone reading who has debt to not feel defeated by these suggestions. Habits don't form overnight. Find some suggestions in here that will help you save and pay off what you owe. There are some great tips in here! (also join us in the Debt Dumpers thread!)

Amen imbatman!

It took us a decade to get where we are today. I read Dave Ramsey, Suze Orman, and David Bach - all similar messages but different sayings and systems that, depending on your situation, may be more or less motivating for you.

 

[QueenIsabella]

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!!!

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.

 

[barkley]

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 to see what they offer both in the way of day passes or monthly memberships to their facilities. the one nearest ours offers residents who live w/in a certain mile radius of campus 'community member'-$11 single day pass/$57 unlimited monthly/$98 unlimited FAMILY monthly-

ice skating (they provide skates as well),
rock climbing walls,
fitness center w/all amenities that also include group lessons and fitness instructors inclusive,
indoor running track (nice during our snowy months),
open gym for basketball and volleyball,
both lap and recreational swimming.


for an active family it can be a tremendous savings over a couple of adult gym memberships and a few thrown together activities for the kids on the weekends.

 

[mjkacmom]

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 to see what they offer both in the way of day passes or monthly memberships to their facilities. the one nearest ours offers residents who live w/in a certain mile radius of campus 'community member'-$11 single day pass/$57 unlimited monthly/$98 unlimited FAMILY monthly-

ice skating (they provide skates as well),
rock climbing walls,
fitness center w/all amenities that also include group lessons and fitness instructors inclusive,
indoor running track (nice during our snowy months),
open gym for basketball and volleyball,
both lap and recreational swimming.


for an active family it can be a tremendous savings over a couple of adult gym memberships and a few thrown together activities for the kids on the weekends.

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).

 

[kuhltiffany]

Oh, I do . I have 2 college diplomas and 2 university degrees, including a Masters Degree. That gives me lots of options and flexibility. I pick up contracts, part-time jobs, etc., and can choose based on the amount of stress/responsibility or time involved, instead of "having" to take a job. My kids are both teenagers, but one has special needs, so having the ability to be home and support him and what he needs is key. Right now we're saving/planning a main floor renovation this summer, we already have more than half saved up and with me picking up shifts should have the rest paid off in a year or so.

We're Canadian, so have a different system than you do, but also have savings in RRSP's for DH and I, and spousal RRSP's for me too to even the $$$ for retirement out.

i think it's a great concept. i would encourage you though, as you are able with the demands of kiddos to consider keeping at least a toe in the workforce. one aspect that likely won't impact you for years down the road is social security (assuming it's still around), even a very part time job over the years can ensure your have enough quarters to at least have the option of drawing your own benefit vs. just 50% of your spouses. the other aspect i hate to think of but given that it happened in our household and i saw it far too many times when i worked for social services-one of the spouses becomes disabled. even a clear cut disability can take upwards of years to get social security disability for, someone lucky enough to work for a company that still offers a pension w/disability provisions can see it take months and months for all the paperwork to be processed and all the while the expenses of living continue on. we were fortunate to have some long term disability insurance and a second household income but when i worked for social services i saw far too many households that exhausted all their savings and retirement accounts b/c the traditional stay at home spouse didn't have the option of returning to the workforce b/c of no recent work history or outdated skills.

 

[bdiddy]

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 live in NE Ohio and could have afforded a $250k-ish house but we bought a fixer-upper for just over $100k. We didn't want to be stuck with a huge mortgage and giant house that we don't really need like so many of our friends and family. It's an old colonial and we've remodeled it over the last 20 yrs but our mortgage is SO cheap and will be paid off really soon.

We are also very cheap when it comes to most material things. I don't get my hair or nails done or anything like that. I just don't care. We don't have gym memberships. We live next to a national park and there are endless outdoor activities and hiking to do. I shop at discount grocery stores and mostly use consignment stores for clothing. We always buy a used car and only have 1 car payment at a time although right now we don't have any but probably will next year since our DD will be taking one of ours to college. DH also has a 20 yr old motorcycle he'll take to work to save on gas. He also works for AT&T so we get significant discounts on our phone/internet/cable bills.

And when I went back to work full-time, I got a job at a big state college that is nearby so I now have the free tuition benefit for both kids which is awesome. We do plan on paying room & board though if they want to live in the dorms the first year but since working here I now know how the whole scholarship searching thing works to be successful, so hopefully we can get a big chunk of the R&B covered.

So now I'm working full-time and DH makes pretty good money since he's been there for 20 yrs and is in management. Over the last 2 yrs we've been taking a lot of my income and paying off every bit of debt we had built up when I was a stay-at-home mom. We lived paycheck to paycheck for so long and had a ton of student loan and credit card debt as well. Me going back to work full-time has made such a big difference.

As of now, all we have left is a bit on our Disney Visa which will be paid off by end of summer and we'll be debt free other than the mortgage. And I'm sure we'll have car payments off and on through the years. DH will also get a good pension in addition to his 401k and my 401k and he'll be able to retire in 10 yrs at 55 so with our mortgage paid off in a few years, we are going to be in an excellent spot for retirement. I may continue working a bit longer for the medical and tuition benefits if the kids need it for grad school though.

The one thing we do spend a lot on is traveling. I grew up in a military household and didn't really go on vacations when I was growing up and DH's father had bad MS his whole life so vacations were out in his family. Neither of our families had much money and we always swore no matter what, we would travel and give our kids the experiences we didn't have. It was really important to both of us even if we accumulated debt while I was staying at home and didn't have an income. I don't have any regrets about the debt either because our DD is almost a senior and will be leaving home soon and we have had all of these amazing trips and luckily my FT job has allowed us to get it all paid off.

 

[DnA2010]

Ours are just for of the usual sort-
We don't carry debt other than the mortgage
We drive older, paid for cars
Kids clothes are mainly hand me downs or lots bought on marketplace, and then sold again- you can easily get nice stuff and they don't wear it for long
Meal planning
When we travel, we do bring food/make food where we can- ie breakfasts, snacks
I'm not really a shopper- don't even have amazon prime as I think I'd be tempted to buy too much stuff