How many people here live frugally?

amother

Blue

Sat, Dec 29 2018, 9:34 pm

amother wrote:

Whoever wrote about selling used clothes. Im trying to sell used clothes. I sold 1 thing in 3 months for bobkes.

I sent emails to raise money for my mental health problem child. It brought a little relief in the begining. Im still trying to figure how to strech my dollar.

There are so many temp jobs out there for financial relief..those few dollars earnt from selling online are just a pain in the neck. I tried it out on Ebay. I made a few dollars on selling stuff that I didn't need but those few dollars aren't enough to cover more than a few boxes of tissues...

amother

Maroon

Sat, Dec 29 2018, 9:41 pm

amother wrote:

Please link the thread and where it says that. Yes it is cheaper if your car is older and needs more work to it. A leased car is new and by the time three years are up and you give it back it usually doesn't need any work done to it besides regular wear and tear.

https://www.imamother.com/foru.....t=180

Page 10 is where the lease/buy discussion starts. If you buy a reliable car, the repairs don't take you into the same range as leasing would, by any stretch.

My4Jewels

Sat, Dec 29 2018, 10:21 pm

I’m sorry but to those suggesting that buying a car is cheaper than leasing. Yes I read that thread and that has not been our experience. While ofcourse in the long run clearly it is cheaper to buy and the better long term financial decision. But when people have no money they often don’t have the best credit. Leasing a car is easier with credit that is not great. When buying our experience was a requirement of more money upfront because of not great credit scores. So buying used was not an option as we literally do not have even an extra $50 laying around let alone money for a down payment. Additionally since our credit isn’t great our interest rate wasn’t the lowest for a loan. We were told that leasing the requirements are easier as far as credit since it’s not buying the car.

So for everyone standing in judgment I suggest you perhaps just accept that perhaps you don’t always know everything. And some people really are doing the best that they can do under extremely difficult circumstances. Not everyone’s just makes poor decisions. Not everyone just buys things they cannot afford.

Sometimes people just do not have enough money to make their life work.

May you never know such struggles.

I have thankfully learned one thing from these 2 threads. One day when I am out of this horrible financial situation I will never ever sound as judgmental as some of you have sounded. I will never claim to know what other people are spending their money on.

Sigh.. I’m just so sad honestly .. at my situation and to know that people probably look and find reasons to judge me too. What a world..

amother

Peach

Sat, Dec 29 2018, 10:23 pm

amother wrote:

Sometimes it's cheaper to.lease a car than to buy. I know many ppl who are frugal and have little money yet need a reliable car that won't break down on them and therefore lease. You can lease for very cheap nowadays.

Not true. For the amount you spend on a 3 year lease you can buy a used reliable car and drive it for 10 years including occassional repairs. Just buy a model with a good reliability rating from consumer reports and get it checked out by a good mechanic before you buy it.

oliveoil

Sun, Dec 30 2018, 12:07 am

amother wrote:

We are BH wealthy but live very frugally. (I.e. my neighbor's O&R bill is always around $400+ mine is never above $250 in the same size house). We do not leave lights on, use candles, keep the heat low, barely use a/c in the summer, we have 4 kids and I've only purchased 5 new pieces of clothing for them, buy everything second hand and have a pretty cheap car lease. That being said, I do have a live in housekeeper and a nanny 9:00-3:00 because without that we would not be able to work. I haven't bought myself more than 3 items in the last year, etc. and I have a budget which I don't exceed.

Lighting candles instead of using lights and not using AC in the summer when you are (as you say) wealthy, with two full-time employees in your house, seems way beyond frugal and creeping into unwell.

My4Jewels

Sun, Dec 30 2018, 12:16 am

amother wrote:

It is true if you only have a certain amount of cash to spend every month.

Buying a car costs more monthly then leasing. We bought our car 14 years ago to the tune of $600 a month payments. $1000 down plus good credit score back then for lower interest. We lease now for $320 a month zero down. We absolutely cannot afford to buy.

amother

Bisque

Sun, Dec 30 2018, 12:24 am

oliveoil wrote:

I guess I left too much open to the imagination. If were very hot, then well use ac, but can manage most of the time without it (especially downstairs) or with it on occasionally. We use candles instead of lights at night, adults only in rooms or bathrooms. I dont do it just to save money but that is a plus. I'm not sure why being conscious about saving money is unwell if no one is suffering from it. We also use disposable diapers which saves money but that's just an added plus because we'd use them anyways. Dh and I get a kick our of saving money, but if something needs to be done we take care of it. Hope this clarifies some stuff.

Mommyg8

Sun, Dec 30 2018, 12:44 am

Actually... It does seem that leasing is cheaper - at least in the short run. And it can make sense for many other reasons as well, according to this article:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/l.....r/amp

What the article does not say, though, is that the choice is not necessarily A or B, it could be C.

We bought a car and financed for approximately $200 a month. So we got an older car with less bells and whistles and it is not exactly what we wanted. But we'll own the car when we finish paying, and it's ours. It was more an emotional decision than a financial decision, to be honest.

And I'm not looking to win the frugal award or anything - if I had the money I definitely would have spent more for a nicer and newer car.

amother

Bisque

Sun, Dec 30 2018, 12:47 am

Mommyg8 wrote:

We also lease because we put 100,000+ miles per year and doing that to a car you own would just be ridiculous.

amother

Pink

Sun, Dec 30 2018, 3:49 am

Really dont mean to be judgy here just curious and would love some insight. (I don't live in the great old USA) so don't jump at me please.
Some have said repeatedly they will never afford a house. Or can never pay tuition or will never earn enough etc..which is a really tough reality and future to face. But so many (not all -I know) are in the tri state area (from what I understand) paying through the roof rental....for sure houses are astronomical to buy...lots of keeping up in communities (clothes, constant simchas bh to dress for and attend, high priced camps) are there not better options that begin with moving out of tri state area? I respect people have jobs and kids in school and a move is massive but if there is no financial future in the place you live(because prices are so high) wouldn't it be better to move?
I know its suoer complex etc.

Amarante

Sun, Dec 30 2018, 4:28 am

amother wrote:

We also lease because we put 100,000+ miles per year and doing that to a car you own would just be ridiculous.

This would be an extremely unique situation especially in terms of leasing since most leases charge a huge mileage charge if you go above 10,000 miles - or 12,000 miles - it runs at least 10 cents per mile for standard non-commercial leases.

If you are putting that many miles on a vehicle, I would imagine the car must be used for some kind of commercial enterprise as that's about 1900 miles a week or 320 miles per day.

DrMom

Sun, Dec 30 2018, 4:54 am

I'm not sure if I live "frugally," but I do prioritize where I spend.

One one hand:
- My kids wear hand-me-downs, but if I am missing a key piece of clothing in their wardrobe, I'll buy it new.
- I'll walk or take a bus before plunking down cash for a taxi
- I don't care about fancy brand-name clothes
- We don't eat extravagantly. We do not eat much meat during the week (except for leftovers from Shabbat). Simple food works just fine.
- I wear shoes and clothes until they wear out.
- We keep cars for YEARS before replacing. Upgrades are almost exclusively to accommodate a growing family (couldn't fit all those carseats into our simple 4-seater sedan...).

OTOH:
- We do try to take a modest vacation once a year, and do fun activities when the kids have off from school
- I turn on the a/c to a modest (not frigid) setting when it's super-hot; I'll turn on the heat to take the chill out of the air when it's cold.
- I'm happy to pay for good extra-curricular activities for the kids.
- I'm happy to pay for cleaning help. My DH and I work full-time, and we'd like to spend time away from work with our kids and not with our toilet brushes and mops. It makes sense to pay someone's parnassa to take care of these tasks for us. Of course, all of us, including my kids, have chores to do.
- We'll get take-out occasionally if it makes our lives easier.

amother

Maroon

Sun, Dec 30 2018, 7:57 am

My4Jewels wrote:

What kind of car did you buy for 1000 down and 600 a month? How many years did you pay that off?

If you're going to buy a new car, of course the monthly payments will be higher. If you buy a used car, they can absolutely be lower than the monthly cost of leasing. And after three years you have no more payments! Vs leasing, where it's a monthly expense until you decide not to have a car anymore.

Again, there are people's actual numbers on the other thread. They spent 250 a month for three years and then stopped all payments. At that point, they can sell the car if they want for 2000 and recoup some money, or drive it free for a few more years. An equivalent lease would be something like 350 a month plus leasing fees, and it goes on forever.

amother

Navy

Sun, Dec 30 2018, 8:12 am

oliveoil wrote:

The live in housekeeper and nanny is one person.

We live in a large home and use way less AC and heat than others because our home is designed to be energy efficient. Our utility bill is less than those with homes a third our size.

Candles are lovely for a romantic meal but don't make sense for homework and reading. I don't see how they save money when star energy efficient lights save so much.

My4Jewels

Sun, Dec 30 2018, 8:17 am

amother wrote:

At the time we were able to buy a new Honda Odyssey. However your point doesn’t answer coming up with money as a down payment and interest rate for those with not such great credit. Where does one get a down payment for a car if they don’t have it? Maybe I missed the memo but if I don’t have it in my bank account then buying a used car and financing it is just not going to happen.

Additionally nobody drives something for free. While we didn’t have payments on our van for a few years there were plenty of repairs that were done that at this point in our lives we wouldn’t be able to cough up the costs.

I think you’re not understanding what’s its like to live under such financial pressure that the idea of a surprise $700 or $500 repair is so scary since I just DO NOT have the extra cash.

amother

Maroon

Sun, Dec 30 2018, 8:43 am

My4Jewels wrote:

Look, there's the rule and there are exceptions to the rule. As a rule, financing a used car is cheaper monthly and cheaper long term as well, as compared to leasing. Even if there are repairs, at the point that you're no longer making payments, the cost of repairs is still lower than the cost of leasing. No one has 350 worth of repairs month after month. Where is all the money being saved? If it's not going toward lease payments, it should be going to a savings account to cover surprise repairs. If the money simply isn't there, how does the lease get paid? Again, no one is suggesting buying a new car.

As I said, there are exceptions to the rule, and someone with bad credit will be an exception. In that case, it pays to apply for a penfed loan and see what the numbers will be in that specific case. If in fact the monthly cost of financing a used car is higher than the cost of leasing, that's the rule for that person at that time. In general, with good credit, no down payment is required, and monthly payments are low. Interest does not add significantly to the cost at all.

BTW, you assume I don't understand financial pressure. Why would I be financing a 10 year old car if I had extra cash lying around?