There are plenty of ways to get ahead. The first is so basic I'm almost embarrassed to say it: spend less than you earn.This quote is perfect for today because I've been thinking along these lines a lot lately. I like how he say's "I'm almost embarrassed to say it." Like, duh, everyone should know this. But do we? I've heard that no matter how much you make rarely will it be enough. People who get raises or move on up the ladder in their careers just buy nicer cars and bigger houses, they begin spending $15 on a t-shirt instead of $5 or $25 instead of $15. More often than not we spend our money. Period. And as a society we're darn good at spending more then we make. We spend money with our eyes. We spend money with our tummies. We spend money with our dreams (even if we're only dreaming about that next mocha frappuccino). You know that once you start dreaming about Starbucks you're likely to find yourself standing at a counter or pulling up to the drive through window shortly there after.
-Paul Clitheroe
Spend less. That is pretty much always my goal but here I am thinking about it again and by golly thinking about spending less has gotten me a pretty far way along this journey (this very long, slow, arduous journey).
This is silly but one way I've started to spend less is by no longer putting creamer in my coffee. I never thought I'd drink coffee without creamer but a few months ago I ran out and decided to try a week without it and wa-lah a few months later I still haven't bought any. (I know I'm mildly insane) Before cutting it out I probably bought one small thing of Hazelnut Coffeemate a week, usually around $2.49. When the big ones went on sale I'd buy a large one for probably $3 and that'd last two weeks. So if I cut out creamer for a year and saved $3 every two weeks well I'd have saved $78 that year. If I never found them on sale and spend $2.49 a week (come on that doesn't seem like a ton of money) I'd have saved $129.48 in a year. Spending less is spending less. (that $3 number seems really low but I'm thinking the sale is two for $6... now I have to watch the sales on creamer or this is going to bug me)
It's first thing in the morning so this could change but I'm planning a no spend day for today.
Spending rundown today: $0. NO SPEND day 62 for the year.
My budget for the month is $436 which leaves $208.51
Average daily spending for 2015: $18.10
Unless it's real cream, "creamer"(powdered or liquid) is bad for you(yes, I am being the food police. lolz). You should use half n' half or real milk in your coffee. Otherwise you are just putting chemicals in your coffee. I'd rather see you put a real food in there and spend a little more and cut back somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteFeel free to ignore this comment, it's worth what you paid for it. ;-)
Oh I know it's chemicals (just one other reason I can justify giving it up) but come on everything we're eating now a days is filled with chemicals, dyes, preservatives and like 80 percent of it now contains the bad kind of GMO's the round up ready seed grown crops. We're doomed. okay, okay, but you're right I don't like drinking chemicals. Also why, even though I LOVE coke I've stopped drinking it (except for maybe one every three months).
DeleteThat average daily spend is creeping down. Good on yer, girl!
ReplyDeleteHave you ever read, "Money secrets of the Amish" by Lorilee Craker? If you can borrow a copy, may I recommend it? I think it might resonate with you.
That does sound intriguing. I will have to look it up at the library. We have a neat coop of libraries where if one has the book but not the one you go to they transfer the book for you (all free of charge of course... that is if you turn the book in on time).
DeleteNah, I'd say spend more! you only live once LOL At the same time I'm sort of frugal too, I look at prices and use coupons etc
ReplyDeleteHS
Spending more than one makes sure seems a philosophy held by many these days. Very interesting world we're living in.
DeleteI totally agree - we have definitely found over the years that we spend according to what we make and THINK we should be buying instead of just buying what we NEED. Keeping up with the Jones' is getting harder & harder - at least we are finally at the point in our lives where we don't give a darn about the Jones' anymore....although it took long enough!!
ReplyDeleteI had a similar conversation with my husband last night - we pay $7.99/month for Netflix - we very, very RARELY watch Neflix anymore (especially during baseball season) so I suggested we should cancel it. He said "well, how much is it" - "$7.99" (and we won't go into why I am the ONLY one who knows all this information...... so he says "well that isn't much" - ummmmmm - it is almost $100 a year - when did $100 become "not that much"????? Guess we still have some work to do....
Oh the Joneses... as much as my husband likes spending money (or dislikes not thinking about money; I'm not sure which it is) at least he's not a keeping up with the Joneses guy. Oh, thank goodness! And then there's me. I'm about as far away from caring about the Joneses as you can get. (I've had a bit of the punk rocker attitude towards life most of my life)
DeleteHaha, my hubby doesn't know how much we pay for Netflix either. We on the other hand use it all the time! A few of my son's favorite shows are on Netfilx and we have basic cable so we can't watch them on TV. Thus, both.
Okay, saving $100 a year sounds good to me! Crazy how pennies add up right, LOL.
I spend in spurts. Kohls and Target lure my money with their cash and gift cards for buying more. I feel like I am reigning spending in as I strive for bringing less clutter in my life, but still challenging. I agree that small changes add up so don't balk the little ones.
ReplyDeleteAfter I read the quote, I said in my head, "Or make more than what you spend.". Them I read the rest of your post. We've always saved money but it's easier to save more money when we make more. I think there is something to be said for spending less but you can only stretch a dollar so far. The mortgage, medical bills, phone bill, electric bill and any debt all needs to be paid still.
ReplyDeleteWhen you spend less, do you transfer the money over to savings or debt right away? If not, then what's the point? I think one needs to spend less than what they earn and save the difference.
I don't disagree with your outlook on life at all but it certainly is not my outlook. I've noticed that over the years in reading each others blogs. I've seen a great deal of different financial situations, as I'm sure you have and I do really believe in simple living, making life truly grand with less. Sure we can talk about making more money but that doesn't negate my point. I talked about making more money. If you make more money and just spend more, how are you getting ahead? That was my whole point.
DeleteIn theory it would be easier to save more if one made more, but in truth MOST people who make more do spend more. That doesn't address the root of the problem: spending. Most people can cut stuff out somewhere in order to get their spending down, so that yes, they could save more, or borrow less, or pay back money they'd borrowed. But we don't, generally. We make more we spend more. You are good at saving. I love that your family is on the right track but statistically most people aren't good at spending less than they make; saving money.
I have debt. I don't want to have debt. I'm not going to work more and spend less time with my son so that I can pay the debt off faster, that's a decision I've made for my life and won't change but I can spend less. That's my point. And when I spend less the debt will get paid off faster.
I know that you don't want to work more from reading your blog. I suggested making more money. There are lots of things you could do with your little guy to bring in a few bucks. House sitting, watching a friend's kid, dog walking, companion care. All of those could be fun activities that you would do with your little guy that he would probably have fun with. I have had friends watch my kids when my daycare was closed and I always paid them. I always see in the paper here that older folks are looking for somebody to visit with for a couple hours a week and that is paid. Old people love kids for the most part.
DeleteI'm not talking about making more money to buy designer jeans but to put more of a dent in your debt. I've watched you struggle for years and I think it would be much easier if you didn't have the debt. At that point, you could probably work less hours.
I do believe in some aspects of simple living. This is why I have a large garden and barter with friends for food that I can freeze for winter. I believe in rarely eating out and making most meals from scratch. I don't think this needs to ever change no matter how much money we're making.