Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Hard Earned Dollars

Here are thought provoking articles and some great comments regarding cash and credit.

From the great money saving mom site. Just found this site a few weeks ago. Love. It. Wish we had Walgreen's & Kroger & Tom Thumb. (They have a house brand of vodka... in a grocery store. How can you not love that?) But I am going to start shopping at CVS just because of this web site.

From my favoritest money-budget-bargain blogger. Mir. Yes, I AM on a first name basis with her. What? Well, ok.... one time she sent me an email after I asked about some fleece sheets... that's practically bestest friends, right? (By the way.... I didn't get fleece sheets. I still have the same set of dark green flannel moose sheets I bought for Hot Stuff in 2001..... Bless me, I am frugal.)

I think I need to read a Dave Ramsey book.

We are credit card people. We have one account (with two cards) and we put EVERYTHING on the card. I find that if I have cash I spend it and don’t know where it went. If I use the card I’m less likely to fail to put things down when I do the monthly break out of spending. Call me lazy. Go ahead.

That said…. We don’t carry a balance on our card. I can’t. It makes me anxious. And you know I go to great lengths to prevent anxiety.

I’m trying to get a handle on what other REAL WORLD people spend on things. Without giving away dollar amounts (yet) I will say…

Our monthly expenses are: cell phones, home phone, internet (dial up), electricity, health club, car payment (only 9 more months…. Just like gestation), student loan.

Expenses I don’t pay on a monthly basis but project out over the course of the year are: propane, pellets, property tax, homeowner’s insurance, vehicle registration (x3), vehicle insurance (x3), house payment, college funds, IRA’s, daycare.

Items to fit into the monthly expenses are: groceries, household (tp & stuff), Hot Stuff’s lunch money, fuel, entertainment (movie rentals & booze & eating out).

So what are YOU spending your hard-earned dollars on?

4 comments:

M&Co. said...

I'm sorry but I missed the transition between loving Walgreen's and shopping at CVS. We have both a couple of blocks from us but I shop mostly at Walgreen's. I don't break down very much the difference between food/vitamins/tp/drano/papertowels.

Anonymous said...

waht do we spend our money on? mortgage, food, HOA fees, netflix, cable, internet(hispeed), gas, electric, water, house phone, preschool, ballet, gas for the cars, insurance. Once we move, the HOAs (yes more than 1), ballet, preschool ( it is public in NY),cable, and water will disappear. How does walgreens and CVS help save money again?

Elle said...

hard earned dollars around here go to: mortgage, cars (x2), netflix, health club, karate for little, violin for big, soccer for middle, preschool (flex account helps with that) -- um, groceries, cable, hispeed internet and cell phone fall under the umbrella of "expenses the business can fund"; oh, then insurance (thank God . . . read the story of the flooded basement); and food, did i mention food? we really love food here.

Homestead said...

I am so happy to no longer pay for water and sewer.... talk to me next spring when the pump in the well house goes out and I'm buying a replacement.......

But I really, really wish we had hispeed internet.

It took me a minute to figure out what an HOA was.... but I'm with ya now...