Personal Investment

[hsifeng]

 This is something I need to try and remember to do. Not because I buy pricey clothes (I am a Thrift Store denizen and proud of it!) but because I do spend money I don't need to and then end up wondering where my cash has gone at the end of every month.

Part of this is the unavoidable side-effect of two adults with a first- and second-mortgage

Comments

[sstormwatch]

I will disagree on this one sentence, "And at that point, you can spend the extra on clothes." As you and I both know, don't spend it on clothes, as you will need that extra money for the upkeep of that home you own. Which is why I don't spend much money on clothes (not even bras and those are sadly in need of replacing), and gladly accept hand me downs for the kids.

[hsifeng]

Oh, I remember the days before I owned a home. No insurance (to speak of), no property taxes, no repairs or improvements. *sigh* *chuckle*

[stacymckenna]

Is there really that much excess spending on food? Food is worth prioritizing in my opinion. Is there some other category in your budget that's getting more money than your priorities really warrant that could be minimized to allow you to put your money where your mouth is?

[hsifeng]

You have to remember this is food and DRINK. Between farmers market and Trader Joes I easily go through $125+/week (and that doesn't include CostCo and beverage runs for beer). Between two people, that's a hefty sum...figure closer to $175. I know that I can manage more organized meals with less money and still not sacrifice on quality. I just have to sit down and plan.

Let's see, I spend a mint on gas for events but unless I manage to figure out how to squeeze OPEC I'm sorta assed there. Really there isn't much else that comes to mind as a major bill that I haven't minimized.

But I will keep looking, trust me! :)

[dravon]

Food is definitely an area that is easy to spend less on while still maintaining quality/taste. The biggest down side is that it's also very expensive in terms of time. It takes time to find the sales and clip the coupons, but in all honesty that's the fricken easy part. Coupons come in the newspaper or you can print them out on-line (I use www.couponmom.com), and the grocery sales fliers are delivered en masse to my house every Tuesday in the mail

[hsifeng]

“The biggest down side is that it's also very expensive in terms of time. It takes time to find the sales and clip the coupons, but in all honesty that's the fricken easy part. Coupons come in the newspaper or you can print them out on-line (I use www.couponmom.com), and the grocery sales fliers are delivered en masse to my house every Tuesday in the mail

[peacockdress]

I hear ya, we're the same. We spend the same as you do on food each week, probably a bit more, but that's the UK cost of living for you. Our solution, it seems, is to value our health and not our wallpaper. We own a lovely big home, but the wallpaper is peeling and we've never got around to saving to improve it since the day we moved in 5 years ago.

I am currently working on instilling a new attitude. Since I am in more control than most people of exactly how much I earn each month, I'm working on worrying less about overspending and not having enough, and instead spending the energy on thinking up ways to make more of it. :D

I do sympathise with the sentiment, however. Pay yourself first. (And do as I say, not as I do. 'Cause I still don't.)

[hsifeng]

“ Pay yourself first. (And do as I say, not as I do. 'Cause I still don't.)”

*chuckle* I hear you, if only I could take all the free advice I dispense as well. ;)

I think the solution here is to start setting aside a chunk of cash every month into savings. At The Beginning Of The Month and before I can get a chance to spend it on something. Once the tiny credit card debt I currently have paid off ($500 or so) I can start putting the money that has been going toward paying that bill away directly as well without even noticing a change.

right there with ya...

[claughter713]

this weekend was a real eye opener for me with finding what had been sitting around that had value - gift cards stuck in a box for gods know how long that all had some money left on them and taking clothes to the consignment store and getting up the courage to ask for something I wanted in trade instead of spending nearly $40 on it.

I also have money from every paycheck thrown into another account that I don't access which is not only a nestegg but also that thrill of "hey, I saved"...

Re: right there with ya...

[hsifeng]

It is always nice discovering those little ‘bonus items’ around the house and in ones wallet. I have been contemplating a yard sale for a bit here, but honestly those sorts of sales are totally ubiquitous to F-burg at this point (we’re a blue collar town and the recession has hit us hard) so I doubt that is the best means of converting things into cash. Perhaps I should start considering Etsy and Ebay…*hum*

All that after CoCo of course (a bill in and of itself - but one I have been planning for!).

Thankfully my job has a ‘nest egg’ already building for me (401K plus CSEA retirement benefits) but what I am really looking for is that thrill of having consciously saved money that I have earned and seeing it grow.