Living within your means

thegiver

Wed, Jun 28 2023, 5:07 am

What does this look like for you if you are not rich? (No vacations, no luxuries) (I learned everyone seems to spend beyond their means)

What do you cut back on in day to day expenses?

(Where do you find the best deals online too—side question)

amother

Feverfew

Wed, Jun 28 2023, 5:36 am

* Groceries on sale
* No new furniture, clothing - wait for people to give away secondhand
* No buying anything else
* Water from public water fountains
* Small illegal apartment in someone's house
* Walking and busses
* No eating out
* Inexpensive date nights

Not sustainable, but doable when you're young and scrappy

LovesHashem

Wed, Jun 28 2023, 6:03 am

I mean we live within our means and go on vacation, do trips, and eat out. Why no vacations? We went on "vacation" last month by doing two full day trips planned back to back with food packed and arranged in advance. We brought all our food with us, we did national parks which are very cheap and free parks and other nature activities. We only spent money on a car rental and gas and minimal money on entrance fees. It was so lovely and nice. We slept at home which was so much less stressful than packing and being at a hotel or something, and it was easy to get out in the morning because as I said I had clothing, bags food and all prepped for both mornings.

I think we're very frugal, also because we speak to people who live in our financial bracket or even have more than us and are surprised by how we shop and spend money.

We plan on going on a vacation sometime this summer, probably getting a hotel/Airbnb for one night and going away for two days, bringing lots of food and doing free/low low cost activities.

amother

Latte

Wed, Jun 28 2023, 6:19 am

thegiver wrote:

Everyone’s means are different. Figure out what is coming in so you can figure out a budget that works for you- and stick to thr budget. That’s all there is to it

imasinger

Wed, Jun 28 2023, 7:08 am

We are financially comfortable, but still tend to limit our spending.

- Vacations are camping trips.
- We try to fix things (DH is handy like that) rather than replace them. The old rhyme goes, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."
- plan meals around what's cheap. Coupon clipping, stock up on nonperishables on sale then use those, etc. Meat and chicken are expensive, save that for Shabbos or YT.
- buy clothing on clearance or secondhand. Look for what looks good on you, don't worry about fashion.
- online is a double edged sword. Definitely coupon shop. Dansdeals is useful, but some people can get tempted to overspend because you get frequent alerts about bargains, you have to really watch how much you're actually spending.
- plan to spend money on things where "economizing" would actually cost you more. I bought a bed from a college student once. The bed was cheap. The bedbug infestation was not.

amother

Chestnut

Wed, Jun 28 2023, 7:30 am

No cleaning help
As much clothes and furniture secondhand as we can swing
Free weekend activities
Never scroll amazon. We go in a store to buy whats a need when we need it. No constant deliveries or shopping on whims

My main splurge is takeout once a week but I shop sales and make a lot of homemade everything throughout the week to balance the food budget. I just can't handle the mental load of being responsible to feed everyone 24/7

Bnei Berak 10

Wed, Jun 28 2023, 7:43 am

amother Feverfew wrote:

Some of the above mentioned tips aren't dependent on age.

Mayflower

Wed, Jun 28 2023, 7:56 am

- We live in a smaller house than most in our community
- We go on a yearly vacation but choose an AirBNB instead of kosher hotels
- I shop on sale as much as possible
- I managed without a cleaning help for a few years after we bought our house (b'H now she comes twice a week)

amother

Lemonchiffon

Wed, Jun 28 2023, 8:11 am

I agree with all of the posts (I was raised to live within or below my means. My BH very comfortable parents do this and so do my husband and I) but it might be more helpful to see how you spend (breakdown) so we can advise if cuts can be made

Chayalle

Wed, Jun 28 2023, 8:14 am

We've managed with DH learning/Klei Kodesh for alot of years. I BH have a good job, but stretching the dollar has meant:
*shopping on sales whenever possible (when my kids were little I ALWAYS shopped a season ahead, and bought shoes at shoe sales or the mall, etc...now it's not always possible, but we still do this ALOT)
*food gets bought around food sales too. Stock up when it's on sale, etc...take advantage of chometz sale after Pesach...
*I do alot of my own cooking/baking. We NEVER buy Challah or dips or cake, etc...(my kids have gotten spoiled and don't like bought stuff anyway). We make a variety on our own. I have a bread machine and it's my best friend (but we do buy regular and whole wheat bread. It's extra - but frequent extra. I make my own pizza dough, and babka, and various breads using the bread machine.)
*We do whatever household repairs we can by ourselves. I learned to unclog a bathroom drain myself. I recently painted most of my house by myself (and it came out quite nice BH!) We do our own gardening (including lawn mowing). I own a power-washer. I didn't have cleaning help for years, but more recently due to having some back trouble, I started having minimal cleaning help (about 3 hours a week).

amother

Forestgreen

Wed, Jun 28 2023, 8:51 am

thegiver wrote:

Where did you learn that everyone seems to spend beyond their means?
When I had to be extremely frugal, I cut back on EVERYTHING, and I mean everything.
When my income tripled, and we had breathing room, we barely changed our spending budget, so that we can save an emergency fund and never be in that situation again.
Slowly, slowly, we increased our spending budget, but ALWAYS lived below our means. (And still do)

salt

Thu, Jun 29 2023, 6:22 am

imasinger wrote:

Perhaps you are financially comfortable BECAUSE you tend to limit your spending.

amother

Pewter

Fri, Jun 30 2023, 1:09 am

we're staying in a community in which we no longer wish to live because it's likely the cheapest frum community in the country where you can be in a house (not apartment) for under $1500 a month. Seeing apartments for $4000 a month rent where we used to live makes my stomach turn.

amother

Hydrangea

Fri, Jun 30 2023, 2:58 am

amother Pewter wrote:

Where is this?