# You May Be Throwing Money Away



## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

3 Ways You May Be Throwing Money Away Without Realizing It
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/3-ways-may-throwing-money-175718513.html
Interesting write.


----------



## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

The article said "We always talk about how much money someone can save if they just stop drinking fancy coffee. The truth is, coffee doesn't do anywhere near the damage this move can." I'm not comfortable blowing off the concept of consuming your way into poverty. I honestly believe they do. How many $500 purses & $600 pairs of shoes can you buy on $50k a year & not be broke? More importantly is the mindset that those things are important, more important than financial stability. It's the inability to sacrifice in the present for better things in the future.


----------



## invision (Aug 14, 2012)

tsrwivey said:


> The article said "We always talk about how much money someone can save if they just stop drinking fancy coffee. The truth is, coffee doesn't do anywhere near the damage this move can." I'm not comfortable blowing off the concept of consuming your way into poverty. I honestly believe they do. How many $500 purses & $600 pairs of shoes can you buy on $50k a year & not be broke? More importantly is the mindset that those things are important, more important than financial stability. It's the inability to sacrifice in the present for better things in the future.


Dead on there... I love traveling to a variety of casinos to play poker against the grinders - the ones making or squeaking out a living playing cards... Why I typically win is, I am not playing with my rent and lunch money - after a few reckless/risky calls that pays off, I have them insulting me, how can you play that or call that, I look at them and say, I am not playing with my lunch money, but now I am playing with yours... The real pros will get up, knowing I am danger to them, while the young ones come after me, and typically lose the rest in their pockets by the end of the night... If you can afford the LV purses that cost $1,000+ that is accepting expenditure but when your paying with debt that is wrong, and that concept - even up to the federal level is why as a country we are on the teeter totter of bankruptcy... Shameful.


----------



## BillS (May 30, 2011)

I've seen cases of people buying more house than they could afford. There was an expensive subdivision that went up. Some of the houses were lived in but didn't have drapes or furniture because the owners overbought on the houses.

Most people buy a more expensive vehicle than they need. Most people don't need a truck or a SUV. It's insane to lease a vehicle. And it's insane to borrow $18,000 or more to buy a new vehicle. A vehicle purchase is by far the worst investment you can make. We're on the very low end when it comes to vehicles. We have an average income. We bought our last three cars on Craigslist. I checked CL every 10 minutes all day long so I could be the first to respond to the ad. We kept cash at home so we were able to show up with cash on a Saturday to buy one of the cars even though we weren't first to respond.

1992 Olds Cutlass Ciera, $2,000, 53,000 miles on it in 2010

1995 Buick Century, $2,000, 58,000 miles on it in 2010

2000 Buick Century, $5,000, 19,000 miles on it in 2009

Right now we have enough cash to buy a car if we needed one right away. I don't plan on ever taking out a loan to buy a car.


----------



## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

Oh don't get me wrong, hubby is a builder/contractor, we have seen many, many people who are house poor. We've seen many who live in a 3000+sf house who can't afford to fix the leaking roof & let it go until the house has so much water damage it's uninhabitable. They then let it get foreclosed on. That's why it's hard to get a home loan now & will be even harder after the first of the year. 

Honestly, when I see a high end car, I usually laugh to myself & wonder what "inadequacies" someone is trying to compensate for by wasting so much on a stupid car or I think they're just immature. I never think of them as well off financially. In reality, though, we blow too much money on vacations & many would think that was stupid. Statistically, though, most people can't afford whatever it is they're spending their money on because they have way too little in the way of savings, retirement, & assets & way too much in debt & other liabilities like vehicles.


----------



## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

BillS said:


> I've seen cases of people buying more house than they could afford. There was an expensive subdivision that went up. Some of the houses were lived in but didn't have drapes or furniture because the owners overbought on the houses.
> 
> Most people buy a more expensive vehicle than they need. Most people don't need a truck or a SUV. It's insane to lease a vehicle. And it's insane to borrow $18,000 or more to buy a new vehicle. A vehicle purchase is by far the worst investment you can make. We're on the very low end when it comes to vehicles. We have an average income. We bought our last three cars on Craigslist. I checked CL every 10 minutes all day long so I could be the first to respond to the ad. We kept cash at home so we were able to show up with cash on a Saturday to buy one of the cars even though we weren't first to respond.
> 
> ...


We buy cars the same way. We also keep a car fund on hand. We do all our own repairs but if it needs something we don't want to do (some things are getting too hard for us because of our back problems) we just buy another one, often we can sell the previous one for enough to refill the car fund almost completely. 
We don't need anything special. As long as it gets us where we need to go and has a tow bar it'll do.


----------



## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

Ever follow the Food Stamp Purchaser out to their new car and watch as they pull in at their shack that has a extremely weathered plastic tarp used for a roof repair, lawn that hasn't been mowed since... and a shiny satellite dish?


Then there is the co-worker who's credit cards were maxed out and he couldn't borrow against them to buy food. He took another house mortgage to pay off his credit card debt, then "refinanced" his house mortgages for a longer term to lower the monthly payments. Then went out and bought a brand new SUV with the money he had "saved". And no he did not change his credit card purchasing habits either. He got mad at me when I ask how all that rigamarole is "saving" him any money? He just dug the hole deeper and for longer!


----------



## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

My daughters wedding is this Sunday (well she got married yesterday but the party is on Sunday  ), going to be interesting to see how all the guests respond. So many people spend big $$$ on weddings and it's become expected. 

We're having a farm grown pig on a spit, baked potatoes, salads, lots of fresh bread, smoked chicken platters and some finger food. Big bowls of choc mousse, fresh fruit jelly (jello?) and sweet buns for sweets. Honestly only cost a few hundred dollars all together and that has been spread over the last few months. 
We're dressing the tables with pasture weeds, lol. Instead of hiring cutlery and crockery, I stalked ebay for 6 months and bought all new restaurant quality for just a few dollars. It'll be a great day and all the more so because it's been done on a budget....

I see so many young people going into debt before they even start their lives together, how on earth are they ever going to make ends meet if they can't control spending from day one?

This need to impress others with things you've bought is beyond my understanding, I can be impressed by something someone has made but not by something someone has bought.


----------



## invision (Aug 14, 2012)

tsrwivey said:


> Oh don't get me wrong, hubby is a builder/contractor, we have seen many, many people who are house poor. We've seen many who live in a 3000+sf house who can't afford to fix the leaking roof & let it go until the house has so much water damage it's uninhabitable. They then let it get foreclosed on. That's why it's hard to get a home loan now & will be even harder after the first of the year. Honestly, when I see a high end car, I usually laugh to myself & wonder what "inadequacies" someone is trying to compensate for by wasting so much on a stupid car or I think they're just immature. I never think of them as well off financially. In reality, though, we blow too much money on vacations & many would think that was stupid. Statistically, though, most people can't afford whatever it is they're spending their money on because they have way too little in the way of savings, retirement, & assets & way too much in debt & other liabilities like vehicles.


I got to laugh a little at your and BillS's posts... I am the one that has the 3 cars, all 2010 or newer and all over $60,000 each in price tag. We are not over compensating for inadequacies, we just work damn hard for what we have and are both highly compensated employees - well wife is, I just own a business....but we both work 60+ hrs a week, we both make over $200k a year, and thus reward ourselves with items er... Ok toys. 2 sports cars and a big family SUV - check, big monster house - check.. $1,000 purse for wife - check. 4-5 digit watches- yep, check LOL... we also, however, can afford these items. There are those of us out there that can afford to have these items, not many but there are a few of us. Now I 100% agree there are those who are trying to live a lifestyle that they simply can't afford! and that is wrong,

Let me ask a question, if you and your spouse pulled in say $450,00-600,000 a year, would spend more on things? BillS, no more craigslist, I am talking walking into a Chevy dealership, and cutting a check for a new Vette, or truck, or a hunting lodge or fishing lodge - what ever your heart desired?!?

Why not, if, and I mean, if someone can afford it? Why look down on success. I was raised in a very very fiscally conservative household. My dad really is a self made multi-millionaire as described in my book. The only vacation they take is to go to a condo in FL from late Dec to April... When my dad read my book, where I kill them off, I wanted to make a point there to them personally and I did. They should enjoy what they have, not horde every dime they have. I have savings, if my business failed, I could land a director, VP, or CIO position in a month - even in this economy... It would pay similar to my take home now... my wife has savings, plus retirement, and I also have the trust. Yet, I think we all know the shit will hit soon, as we all have preps? And my guess most have a decent amount too... So why not live your life and enjoy things that you earn... You can't take it with you, can you?

BillS, you said you were on CL every five minutes... How long, how many times a day, how many days? Would you say 3/4 hours a day for a week? 20 hours? If so, to me that is a waste of $2,700 worth of my time at my billable rate... See my point there?


----------



## camo2460 (Feb 10, 2013)

Wellrounded said:


> My daughters wedding is this Sunday (well she got married yesterday but the party is on Sunday  ), going to be interesting to see how all the guests respond. So many people spend big $$$ on weddings and it's become expected.
> 
> We're having a farm grown pig on a spit, baked potatoes, salads, lots of fresh bread, smoked chicken platters and some finger food. Big bowls of choc mousse, fresh fruit jelly (jello?) and sweet buns for sweets. Honestly only cost a few hundred dollars all together and that has been spread over the last few months.
> We're dressing the tables with pasture weeds, lol. Instead of hiring cutlery and crockery, I stalked ebay for 6 months and bought all new restaurant quality for just a few dollars. It'll be a great day and all the more so because it's been done on a budget....
> ...


First of all my friend, all the best to your daughter and her new life and second that's a spread any caterer would be proud of. Wow my mouth is watering and I'm about 4,000 miles away. Man I got to get over there to visit! Anyway the pride one feels from doing for oneself is greater IMO than going out to purchase something that someone else has made or purchasing something for a real bargin, rather than going into debt to have something you don't need in the first place.


----------



## cqp33 (Apr 2, 2012)

invision said:


> I got to laugh a little at your and BillS's posts... I am the one that has the 3 cars, all 2010 or newer and all over $60,000 each in price tag. We are not over compensating for inadequacies, we just work damn hard for what we have and are both highly compensated employees - well wife is, I just own a business....but we both work 60+ hrs a week, we both make over $200k a year, and thus reward ourselves with items er... Ok toys. 2 sports cars and a big family SUV - check, big monster house - check.. $1,000 purse for wife - check. 4-5 digit watches- yep, check LOL... we also, however, can afford these items. There are those of us out there that can afford to have these items, not many but there are a few of us. Now I 100% agree there are those who are trying to live a lifestyle that they simply can't afford! and that is wrong,
> 
> Let me ask a question, if you and your spouse pulled in say $450,00-600,000 a year, would spend more on things? BillS, no more craigslist, I am talking walking into a Chevy dealership, and cutting a check for a new Vette, or truck, or a hunting lodge or fishing lodge - what ever your heart desired?!?
> 
> ...


Good on ya brother! Here is my thought process in regard to this topic! If you have the money and it isn't coming from my tax dollars do what the hell ya want with it! It is the people that are on welfare, food stamps, EBT or whatever the hell guberment handouts that bug the crap out of me with their Caddy SUV's, cell phones and any other unnecessary expense that they might be carrying!

If you make that kind of money and choose to spend it on a 5 figure watch, a $60,000 SUV, a hunting lodge or whatever good on ya and congratulations on your success! Me however that is not how I choose to spend my money and I also make no where near what you do, however I have a retirement check coming at age 39 (well if the guberment keeps paying my military retirement, which without the guberment being funded they are not) I have a full time job, salary plus overtime that pays well over $50,000 but we are still cautious with our money because we have been the ones in debt living off of credit cards and being stupid! Luckily for my wife and I we realized what we were doing before we reached the point of no return so no foreclosure, we payed back each and every dime on every credit card but we were close to that tipping point! We haven't had a car payment now since 2002 so we are a lot more careful, er frugal! If I had a annual household income over $250,000 I would probably have a lot more toys too!

Again Congrats on your success! That is what makes America what it is supposed to be after all! We should not be looking down on you for making a crapload more than the rest of us, we should be celebrating your success because after all isn't that the American Dream?:2thumb:


----------



## pawpaw (Dec 21, 2011)

*The OTHER end of the spectrum....*

cbdfgryuuiold


----------



## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

invision said:


> Let me ask a question, if you and your spouse pulled in say $450,00-600,000 a year, would spend more on things?
> Why not, if, and I mean, if someone can afford it?


You are the exception to the rule.... you are probably in the very top 1% (or smaller) of people in the USA making over $300,000 a year (combined). That is not common at all.

"Most folks" are like me - $60,000/year, 3 kids, 10 year old minivan, 50 year old house. Our time isn't worth $2,000 an hour, so that is why we do our own home and vehicle repairs, and cut our own grass. We don't have the budget to pay someone else, so we HAVE to do it.

The other counter to your argument is: *you don't HAVE to spend it* just because you have it! Look at Warren Buffet - how many $10,000 suits does he own? I would say probably zero. He probably doesn't spend more than $500 on a suit. He has a nice house, but it sure ain't no mansion. He live s a modest lifestyle. And the reason he has billions is because he doesn't spend more than what he NEEDS to live on. Bill Gates is in some ways the same, I think he drives a Toyota Avalon.

That's how I feel - I typically buy what I need to do what needs to be done, and nothing more than that. I could spend $2500 on a really nice AR-15, but the one I paid $899 for is just as accurate and reliable, so why spend more? A 10 year old minivan with 70,000 miles on it will get us around just as well as a new one will. etc. etc. etc.

We are glad you are as successful as you are, but you probably don't relate to how many of us live our lives.


----------



## FatTire (Mar 20, 2012)

If i made 200k a year, id quit after five years, and go live on my self sufficient 50 acre homestead. I have zero desire for new trucks n shiny sports cars and sparkly watches, and I have very little understanding of those that do. Dont take this the wrong way, I dont begrudge you the toys you have, but seriously, why do you want all that stuff? Im genuinely curious as to what drives a person to want more than they could ever use, it seems pretty pointless to me...

Course, maybe thats why ive never been good at making or keeping money...


----------



## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

FatTire said:


> If I made 200k a year, I'd quit after five years, and go live on my self sufficient 50 acre homestead. I have zero desire for new trucks n shiny sports cars and sparkly watches,


Same here. My dream is to have just enough in an account somewhere to pay all my land taxes until I die, and a few extra items that I really enjoy, like chainsaw parts, primers/powder, and cultivator sweeps. I am actually very happy driving a 20-year-old Ford Ranger, and my '49 Farmall is more fun to drive than a new Cadillac. Same for my '88 Softail with a bazillion miles on it.



FatTire said:


> Don't take this the wrong way, I don't begrudge you the toys you have, but seriously, why do you want all that stuff? I'm genuinely curious as to what drives a person to want more than they could ever use


Well, he likes to gamble and that takes money. But since I don't gamble - and have *NO* DESIRE to - I wouldn't find that to be a recreational activity that I would enjoy.

If I had that much money, I would hire *someone else* to cut my firewood and pull my weeds.... I enjoy doing all the other chores.

...and I would spend all my time hunting, and restoring old tractors & airplanes.


----------



## FatTire (Mar 20, 2012)

LincTex said:


> Same here. My dream is to have just enough in an account somewhere to pay all my land taxes until I die, and a few extra items that I really enjoy, like chainsaw parts, primers/powder, and cultivator sweeps. I am actually very happy driving a 20-year-old Ford Ranger, and my '49 Farmall is more fun to drive than a new Cadillac. Same for my '88 Softail with a bazillion miles on it.
> 
> Well, he likes to gamble and that takes money. But since I don't gamble - and have *NO* DESIRE to - I wouldn't find that to be a recreational activity that I would enjoy.
> 
> ...


ahhhh, now I do enjoy playing poker. I just did my first 6 month stretch as a +ROI player when mccain (R) shut down internet poker. Im a slightly above average player, and will still play live games as time and buget permit, but im not good enough to risk much


----------



## Badger (Oct 2, 2013)

So that’s how I have been losing all my money.


----------



## BillS (May 30, 2011)

Wellrounded said:


> My daughters wedding is this Sunday (well she got married yesterday but the party is on Sunday  ), going to be interesting to see how all the guests respond. So many people spend big $$$ on weddings and it's become expected.
> 
> We're having a farm grown pig on a spit, baked potatoes, salads, lots of fresh bread, smoked chicken platters and some finger food. Big bowls of choc mousse, fresh fruit jelly (jello?) and sweet buns for sweets. Honestly only cost a few hundred dollars all together and that has been spread over the last few months.
> We're dressing the tables with pasture weeds, lol. Instead of hiring cutlery and crockery, I stalked ebay for 6 months and bought all new restaurant quality for just a few dollars. It'll be a great day and all the more so because it's been done on a budget....
> ...


That's great. There's no reason to spend a ton of money on that.

Dave Ramsey said on his radio show that the cost of an average wedding is about $23,000. To me it's bizarre that people spend so much time and money planning the wedding and so little thought to planning the marriage.


----------



## BillS (May 30, 2011)

FatTire said:


> If i made 200k a year, id quit after five years, and go live on my self sufficient 50 acre homestead. I have zero desire for new trucks n shiny sports cars and sparkly watches, and I have very little understanding of those that do. Dont take this the wrong way, I dont begrudge you the toys you have, but seriously, why do you want all that stuff? Im genuinely curious as to what drives a person to want more than they could ever use, it seems pretty pointless to me...
> 
> Course, maybe thats why ive never been good at making or keeping money...


I'd love to have all those toys if I could afford them. But I refuse to pay even a dime of interest. The more payments you have the more interest you pay and the poorer you will be in the future.

To answer your signature quote:

(John 8:36 NIV) So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.


----------



## invision (Aug 14, 2012)

LincTex said:


> You are the exception to the rule.... you are probably in the very top 1% (or smaller) of people in the USA making over $300,000 a year (combined). That is not common at all. "Most folks" are like me - $60,000/year, 3 kids, 10 year old minivan, 50 year old house. Our time isn't worth $2,000 an hour, so that is why we do our own home and vehicle repairs, and cut our own grass. We don't have the budget to pay someone else, so we HAVE to do it. The other counter to your argument is: you don't HAVE to spend it just because you have it! Look at Warren Buffet - how many $10,000 suits does he own? I would say probably zero. He probably doesn't spend more than $500 on a suit. He has a nice house, but it sure ain't no mansion. He live s a modest lifestyle. And the reason he has billions is because he doesn't spend more than what he NEEDS to live on. Bill Gates is in some ways the same, I think he drives a Toyota Avalon. That's how I feel - I typically buy what I need to do what needs to be done, and nothing more than that. I could spend $2500 on a really nice AR-15, but the one I paid $899 for is just as accurate and reliable, so why spend more? A 10 year old minivan with 70,000 miles on it will get us around just as well as a new one will. etc. etc. etc. We are glad you are as successful as you are, but you probably don't relate to how many of us live our lives.


LincTex - yes, by classification we are 1%...but that 1% classification is a very large bandwidth, which BTW I hate it and most don't understand just how big it is in width. And while I can understand how you guys live. And respect that... I see a lot who don't understand how I live and yes, put it down.

Funny how that 1% classification works - you would see me as one, but only because the government classifies me as one do I accept it. We are in no way equal to a millionaire, yet a high dollar person like an actor/sports person, or even on the same planet as Gates or Buffet, yet we are 1% hmmm.

The reason why we do spend is because we have it to spend, besides keeping 6+ months of living expenses in reserve, maxing out 401k plans and such... I can't play in the market, and even though I know the real estate market from growing up under my dad, neither my wife or I want to pursue that line of investments. Some of the items I mentioned - watches, art, etc besides being nice toys are also investments. My watch for example, I know I can sell for 105% of the purchase price due to the custom band that had to be made for me, and when the maker stops making the watch itself, then it will only go up in value more. Funny, my AR was $899 too that I got F2F pre-Sandy inflation, while my daily carry is a Walther p99 - only reason I carry that over any other gun is how it feels in my hand, so to me worth the little extra in comparison to a Glock or something else...

The only debt are the cars and house. We worked 2 years to pay off the CC debt we had... We moved into the house because we wanted a better built house than my wife had at the time our marriage, and mine was even older than hers... Hers was 10 years old and within 2-3 years would have needed all the windows replaced - which due to the size and number would have been more than $20,000 based off 2 estimates we got prior to selling. Her house was in Johns Creek was modest, but nothing compared to this one, but was one of the boom houses - build as fast as possible to sell when market first started to ballon. Also, instead of paying for a private high school, another deciding factor was to move to the school zone in the general area that had a nationally ranked top public school for my stepdaughter. Thus also the size of the house and price tag. Now with the CC debt paid off, and extra money around it gets spent. Not all, but enough to enjoy life.

Some people hate to gamble and some love it. It's a personality trait, I believe. For me, I have always been a risk taker if there is a potential for reward, as a poker player, having a very high level of math skills, plus my negotiation experience gives me an advantage, thus bringing my risk factor down below the average player's risk. When we go to a casino, my wife's 3 day through put may be $30,000 - but that is typically all comp play, we get a 2 inch stack of comp offers in the mail from Ceasar/Harrahs ever week, her average coupon is $800- so when we decide to go, she has 5-10 $800 comp coupons to play on, not to mention the airfare, car rental, limos, suites (and we always get two - 1 to smoke in 1 to sleep in) and all food and entertainment are comp'd by our exec host... When we play poker, that is our money at risk.

As for the why buy it. It's a good question. For us it isn't keeping up with our neighbors, it is simply as a reward, I know you all went wtf?!? Let me try to explain Oh I guess for the last two and a half years maybe 3.5 yrs, my wife has been under extremely high stress at her job, not only being the exec in charge of all North America's Account Receivables for a Global 500 but she has had 2 M&A which their departments were horrible condition in comparison to how she runs her ship... Accounting system migrations that went 6-8 months over budget and time before she was handed them and told to step in and put back on track in X time. I have seen her literally in tears after coming home completely spent mentally. Not only does she have to deal with CEO and CFOs of struggling companies like JCP & many others everyday, but also in direct communication with her own c-levels at her company... Think Microsoft, UPS, Walmart size and she is a member of the C-level inner circles (if you understand that meaning)... While not busting out physical labor work days, the mental labor is crushing, the demands are unbelievable. A week ago, she was given a new title, a decent raise, and her bonus will now go in the same realm of the C-levels (20% plus extra benefits) So, when she sat down last night after getting home at 8:30 from work and said: I am in the new car mood - I didn't think twice, I said: Armada or Vetter? The Armada is what I want to change was her reply.... Now, even though the Nissan Armada has 18,000 miles and is 1.4 years old, simply said, what are you thinking? Her: Escalade. My reply was - Saturday or Sunday? Yes, we will have less than 2.5% interest payment, but the monthly cost will be equal to what we have now or less... She wants it, she has enough coming in to afford it, if it takes any stress off her by just the mental thought of getting in the new shiny toy, then guess what? IMO - she deserves it and I support it. Oh, and her reward at her job for the promotion is to take over another accounting part of the division which has the worst stats worldwide and the expectation she will have it turned around in less than 12 months... Did it mention those M&A integrations are still in process too?

In addition, Dave Ramsey, gives both good and bad advice... and I will bet he is the same as Clark Howard if he is married... Clark Howard gives very good advice typically IMO , BUT pulls a fast one on his audience. I don't know him on a first name basis, but have met him personally a few times - giving large donations to his charities each year for example. However, also living in the same social circles as him in the same part of town - it's funny really, I have seen him pull up to Walmart to do his toys for kids charity at Christmas in his electric car, yet the next day I have seen him driving his wife's $150,000 Mercedes and filling up two isle over from me in it at the gas station.. I have friends that live in the same multi-million dollar neighborhood that he lives in, and we have seen him a few tables over from us multiple times at a variety of restaurants where a steak dinner with no drinks will cost you $65-100 a plate... So my guess is Ramsey is the same way, if he is the same net worth as Howard... Warren is like my dad, and while his suits are custom made, read Snowball - he talks about them, his shirts and tie come from JCP, but he is of a different generation too... Bill Gates - a few years older than me, may drive an Avalon in the news but is a known Porsche fanatic owning 3 of the highest priced ones along with a few other $100,000+ vehicles in his collection, his house cost $63 million to build and his jet cost $45 million.


----------



## invision (Aug 14, 2012)

BillS said:


> That's great. There's no reason to spend a ton of money on that. Dave Ramsey said on his radio show that the cost of an average wedding is about $23,000. To me it's bizarre that people spend so much time and money planning the wedding and so little thought to planning the marriage.


Now that I totally agree with! Got married in??? Yep, Vegas, where else - total wedding, including wife's outfit, under $1,000... I have been to some of those $$$ weddings too.


----------



## dixiemama (Nov 28, 2012)

My husband and I reward ourselves (when we can hence the polaris ranger bill - it was a bday present). We don't have a big home (800 sq. ft) or fancy cars (07 Rav4 and 11 Chevy full size) or all the latest gadgets (no iPod/iPad in my house) but we do have slate tile in the kitchen (my bday present). 

We are poor by any standard. We made right at $40,000 last year and this year will be even less since he's been hurt and out of work; I make below the poverty line. 

I guess it all boils down to 'if you can, fine. If you can't, don't'. Too many ppl mortgage homes they can afford but don't need (3,000 ft home for couple with no kids just because 'we like how it looks'. I like a log cabin too but I didn't bankrupt myself to get it. I got my log cabin by paying for the pieces as I could, no mortgage or loan to default on. Our vehicles are not paid for but we have very cheap interest rates (2.9% on my Rav4 and .03% on the Chevy).


----------



## FatTire (Mar 20, 2012)

BillS said:


> I'd love to have all those toys if I could afford them. But I refuse to pay even a dime of interest. The more payments you have the more interest you pay and the poorer you will be in the future.
> 
> To answer your signature quote:
> 
> (John 8:36 NIV) So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.


There are no question marks in my sig quote. I do not believe in your fairy tales, so dont bother, k?


----------



## Possumfam (Apr 19, 2011)

invision said:


> The reason why we do spend is ......
> 
> The only debt are the cars and house.....
> 
> it is simply as a reward.....


Now, I have to smile at your post...

We've always had to watch our pennies. The mortgage was our greatest monthly expense followed by charitable giving. We have no form of cable, don't eat out much, and dont really have much interest in "things". We bust our hineys doing most of what needs to be done by ourselves. That being said, I guess our "reward" is that we have no "debt". Yep, paid off the mortgage in 12 years vs. 30 (didn't buy too much house, but 2,500 sq ft), haven't had a car payment in years. Could've done it differently... but... "no debt" IS my reward.


----------



## mojo4 (Feb 19, 2012)

The only money I consider as thrown away is debt interest. The cars and boats are great and if you want em go get em!! I don't like owing interest so all I have is my house. All my trucks are paid off and the wife is 0% interest. As far as the cost of a car, whether it be 2K or 80K, is more about how much you earn. I just hate paying interest and I plan on keeping it to a minimum. Now if I can just get a new minivan at 0% somewhere.......


----------

