I have been blogging for over a year now and working my butt off to pay down debt and just learn to live, spend and save smarter. I am working fiercely to get the consolidated loan paid down. I am frugal with 'most' everything, except perhaps groceries/dining out.
Yet I sit here with my brand new vehicle (57 more payments and it's mine) and my brand new laptop (20 months @$50 through work). I have renos in my home and new furniture over the past 18 months, almost bought and paid for (some of it is on the consolidated loan I am working on). I have the new desktop computer bought and paid for over the past school year.
What triggered the guilt the most was that my spouse, who never buys me anything, bought me an itouch for my bday last week. I feel like 'how can I be frugal if I have all this fancy stuff'?????
It's an interesting and rather disturbing mindset to be in.
Tuesday, Nice weekend!
1 day ago
6 comments:
The harsh answer is that you aren't being frugal at all by many people's standards.
Far be it from me to judge you, as I am a girl who will blow $$$ on a pair of boots or "unnecessary" wants, but even I find it strange, the way you described it.
You are "frugal with most everything except groceries & dining out"...
I guess I want more of an explanation if you could, on what you mean by not being frugal with eating out.
My definition of being frugal is that I don't eat out, save for once a month, if that.
And I buy smart when I buy groceries at the store -- like items on sale, meat in bulk to freeze, or just forgoing yoghurt for that week if it isn't on sale.
It's nice that you're saving here and there (umm.. but where exactly if not in eating out, groceries, toys, furniture & renovations?), and pinching the pennies, but frugality should generally be present in everything you purchase.
Many would have purchased a second hand car, laptop & computer, and forgone the iTouch (or bought it second hand if possible) instead of buying everything new.
As for the unnecessary renos and new furniture, being put on what is essentially credit -- a consolidated loan -- I would have just done without it, if it wasn't a necessity and/or saved for it and paid it in full in cash instead.
With that being said, I love technology so to me.. so laptops seems fine to buy even if people think it's extravagant and useless.
I do think it's kind of strange that you bought them on a leasing plan.
If you had a desktop already, why buy a laptop at $50/month for 20 months?
It must be a really good deal for me to have jumped on board for that i.e. 0% interest & it was a good price.
There's a saying my dad used to tell me: You're being penny wise but pound foolish
What he told me was that I was spending the big bucks where I thought it didn't matter because I had to live -- apartment for $1600/month but I was pinching on using cheap half off veggies in my food instead of buying the good stuff - $3 saved a month.
The cost difference was thousands of dollars in the end.
If I had gotten a cheaper apartment, I would have saved thousands, and thousands more than if I had eaten rotten veggies all year.
Good food for thought.
FB thanks for the comments. You put a lot of thought into them and I knew writing this post I was opening myself to all sorts of answers.
The Itouch was not my choice. It was a gift. I wouldn't have bought it for myself. Covet yet, bought no LOL
The renos WERE needed. The bathroom was filled with black mold. The fixtures and floor were from the 1950s and cracked and damanged. The carpet was from 1970s and torn in spots.
The vehicle? You're right. It's new. We weighed the pros and cons of new vs used...wear and tear etc. We needed something large enough for four plus hockey equipment and luggage that is safe for highways. With the cashbacks the vehicle came close to many of the used prices that would have no warrantee. (Canadian car prices are higher).
Two computers for four people. I teach so I am on mine a lot and with two boys doing homework...it got to be a time issue mostly. Both were 0% interest via my workplace or they wouldn't have been bought.
Groceries and dining out. By dining out I mean we are on the road most weekends at tournaments so there are extra costs there. I hvae reduced what I spend on my groceries but would still like to work on that. Sale items are my friend.
What do we give up? Our house is too small for four. 860 square feet so we have sacrificed space. We don't do high def or fancy satellite packages. Our furniture we replaced was anywhere from 15 to 18 years old.
Our clothes are not name brand. We work off handmedowns from family or chain store lower prices and buy that only on sale.
We don't go out with friends. period. We don't run off for weekends to the city just for the heck of it (and that is hard in small town nowhere). Neither of us smoke and we drink incredibly rarely.
The holidays in the summer are of the camp in the tent variety.
My kids are the only ones in their classes who have not been to Disneyworld/land or Mexico...who do not have outdoor toys like a trailer/fifthwheel, cabin, seadoos, ATVs etc. Not that we are complaining but we do appear 'different' compared to the bulk of the world immediately around us.
True, most out here in this blogosphere would not consider us frugal. I have managed to pay off a mess of debt and have some savings so I know I am headed in the right direction.
PS I have a serious boot fetish, but only at the fantasy level :-)
I don't think being frugral means not having nice stuff sometimes. It's about prioritizing the areas that are important to you, and focusing on those, rather than spending willy-nilly. It sounds like, for the most part, you've done that. Having a safe home for your family, having your kids engaged in sports that they enjoy, etc. instead of living in a big fancy home with new furniture all the time, and all the latest and greatest technology. I guess I'm a "balance" type person-I respond strongly to extremes, including extreme frugality. What's money for if not the things we judge to be important/enjoyable?
Jolie, I get where your coming from. I just switched careers, had no clothing for said career change, my 15 year old car was slowly dying and I remortgaged too, borrowing money for much needed renovations. Oh and my computer died too.
SO I blew my budget out of the water in August and September. But October is a new month and a new start. I can't wait to pay down my debts and finally have the monkey off my back.
Keep up your great work. PS I get the kids and computer thing, but I'm lucky enough that my work place supplied me with a laptop!
i wouldn't say hypocrite, i would say human. every human has wants and when you live for so long on a budget i believe that you are goign to want new things. whether thy be needed or not. i think your renos were very much needed since you had mold in your bathroom. and with 2 boys living at home i think the 2 computers were a must! between my husband and i we have 2 laptops. and i just got a brand new one, oh and did i mention i put that on a credit card , gasp! (it will be paid off next month) but i really couldn't wait 3 months to buy it! okay i could have but being human...i 'needed' it NOW! i think as humans and in the world we are in it makes us 'need' things. and really after reading your blog i think you are being frugal in many areas. you are more frugal than i am i admit. so bravo to you on your hard work and sometimes we just need a little reward for all our hardwork! and bdays are a time in my book to splurge on something nice!
I think it comes down to the definition of frugal. And based on its connotation right now (kind of a fad) I would say you are not being frugal because people think it means going bare bones.
On the other hand, I would call your budget and life reasonable. Most of the world is not. You are money-aware and put in time and work to deal with your debt and manage your finances.
Good on you! Don't feel disappointed in your efforts!!!
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