swamp
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THEY’RE EATING THE DOGS!!!!!!!
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Post by swamp on Dec 31, 2014 8:54:30 GMT -5
Even when we were into the doll it didn't really get AG clothes... Lots of 18 inch doll clothes out there for less. But what will people think?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2014 9:00:19 GMT -5
My 4 year old got a doll for Christmas. She wears hand me downs and Salvation Army clothes. LOL
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giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Dec 31, 2014 9:05:32 GMT -5
Even when we were into the doll it didn't really get AG clothes... Lots of 18 inch doll clothes out there for less. We did this. I bought a bunch of AG doll clothes from Joanne's for $5 with my 50% coupon. After 6 months, the AG clothes were very pilled. I won't do that again. I bought DD1 a pair of twins off craigslist when she was 2 for $40. My DD2, is now starting to use them a little. I figure the dolls are close to a decade old and still look nearly brand new. (just a couple of white marks on the face.) I don't know of many toys that withstand 5 kids playing with them, including a toddler, and looking brand new. Our first kitchen we inherited (also about 10 years old, and DS and DD1 were the 4th/5th kids to play with it) was falling apart when it hit the decade mark. Shoot, we've had expensive FP toys look more trashed after one kid played with it for less time. We have chosen to buy a few things, because they will get used for two girls. I also think there's a middle between going whole hog and not getting anything. DD1 generally gets two or three AG things a year. This year, she got four between us and the grands. We also tend to find things at garage sales. I got her an nice ice skating set for half price at a garage sale. It was missing a medal, but she was fine with it.
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justme
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Post by justme on Dec 31, 2014 10:51:57 GMT -5
All your kids are spoiled! There were no AG competitors when I was a kid. I got outfit she came with and one other one and was told I was going to like them! Dolls don't need many outfits!
:-p Jk I'm jealous, I could have had more outfits if target had they knockoff then
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HoneyBBQ
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Post by HoneyBBQ on Dec 31, 2014 11:06:43 GMT -5
So.... did I scare off the OP?
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TheHaitian
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Post by TheHaitian on Dec 31, 2014 11:22:29 GMT -5
So.... did I scare off the OP? Don't take all the credit, I think you got a lot of help in this thread
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2014 11:34:42 GMT -5
She could be working some OT!
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milee
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Post by milee on Dec 31, 2014 11:50:22 GMT -5
My guess is that in the process of gathering the actual data, she realized the numbers are worse than she originally thought or have provided info that's a bit of a shock. Give her some time to digest, grieve (?) and decide what she wants to post. She's been pretty level about things, so she'll probably be back.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2014 13:42:22 GMT -5
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wonderland
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Post by wonderland on Jan 1, 2015 11:58:54 GMT -5
No, I haven't been run off. I have been working and spending time with family. When I am working I don't have much time for typing on message boards.
I have spent my free time this week looking over where our money has gone, as well as trying to come up with a livable budget. I know I want to get more on track with our finances, but I want to do it in a way that we can still enjoy our lives and not feel like we are just working to pay bills/squirrel away money.
Reading through other threads has been eye opening, It seems a lot of people are getting irritated that I won't commit to their advice, when I look at other posts of theirs even they aren't following their own advice. I'm not here to call anyone out, but I also have decided that I am going to come up with my priorities and focus on those instead of being pressured by others as to what to do.
DH and I talked, and things that are important to us both are:
Saving for DD college Saving up a large EF Going on vacations Increasing retirement savings Paying off debt
Given those priorities, we are working to come up with our budget around them. I also enjoy being fashionable and having nice things, so I will cut back but not cut off. I would be miserable and depressed if I had to wear walmart clothes and hand me downs, especially given how hard I work to earn my money.
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wonderland
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Post by wonderland on Jan 1, 2015 12:01:31 GMT -5
I looked over January 2014's bank statement. I seems I spent almost $600 on amazon.com, $200.00 on entertainment, $700.00 on groceries, and $100.00 eating out, among other things. I don't have any idea what I purchased on Amazon, probably a lot of kindle books and such. I also spent a lot of money at GAP and Kohls for DD clothes.
Looking at our numbers, I am in the process of finding ways to cut these back and put more into savings.
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wonderland
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Post by wonderland on Jan 1, 2015 12:04:04 GMT -5
Affluenza is the dumbest thing I have ever heard, I can't believe people are still talking about that nonsense. That kid got drunk and wrecked, I know a lot of really poor people who do that too. Because he had wealthy parents, he had a good lawyer who made up a disease to let him walk. The fact that he was privileged didn't cause him to drink and drive, I think that has more to do with being young and dumb. You can give your kids a good life, with many luxuries, and still teach them to be responsible people.
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wonderland
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Post by wonderland on Jan 1, 2015 12:04:53 GMT -5
My guess is that in the process of gathering the actual data, she realized the numbers are worse than she originally thought or have provided info that's a bit of a shock. Give her some time to digest, grieve (?) and decide what she wants to post. She's been pretty level about things, so she'll probably be back. No, my numbers are not worse than I thought, and I am not grieving. Grieving? About money? Oh, my, life is too short for that. I won't be buried with my bank account.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2015 12:05:39 GMT -5
You can go back and look at your amazon orders, no need to guess. Just go to your account and your orders.
Who do you feel is not taking the advice they are giving?
I really don't think anyone cares if you take anyone's advice or not. Personally speaking though I can't call something a good plan when it seems full of holes and likely to fail.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2015 12:10:54 GMT -5
I really don't think anyone cares if you take anyone's advice or not. Oh yes they do! Actually I don't know if "care" is the right word. But they sure take it as permission to attack.
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wonderland
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Post by wonderland on Jan 1, 2015 12:13:39 GMT -5
I really don't think anyone cares if you take anyone's advice or not. Oh yes they do! Actually I don't know if "care" is the right word. But they sure take it as permission to attack. Absolutely they do. Which is unfortunate, because there are a ton of very helpful posters who have given me some great advice. I am overall glad I started this thread, and will continue posting on these boards. Once I hash out the final budget I will post it, because enquiring minds want to know...
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wonderland
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Post by wonderland on Jan 1, 2015 12:15:49 GMT -5
As far as whether or no my budget will be successful, only time will tell. I know that when you surround yourself with people who encourage you to meet your goals, you are more likely to meet them, so hopefully by sticking around here I will continue to be inspired to reach my goals.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2015 12:17:16 GMT -5
I really don't think anyone cares if you take anyone's advice or not. Oh yes they do! Actually I don't know if "care" is the right word. But they sure take it as permission to attack. You think I'm attacking her later?
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giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Jan 1, 2015 12:19:57 GMT -5
Saving for DD college Saving up a large EF Going on vacations Increasing retirement savings Paying off debt Given those priorities, we are working to come up with our budget around them. I also enjoy being fashionable and having nice things, so I will cut back but not cut off. I would be miserable and depressed if I had to wear walmart clothes and hand me downs, especially given how hard I work to earn my money. That's fine. Glad to hear that you are cutting back.. I would be miserable and depressed if I had to work past 60. Actually, I want to be in a position to stop by 55 if I get laid off. Again, I would be miserable knowing I HAD to find another job when I was between 55 and 60. I'm not so sure that agism will disappear in the next decade. Having your run a retirement calculator? Inflation and all that. I'm too tired to figure out what you should be saving to replace 5-6K of current spending a month in 35-40 years. I'm betting what you have isn't enough. You know the saying "Your kids can borrow for college, you cannot borrow for your retirement."
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2015 12:21:26 GMT -5
I don't remember exactly who posted what oped (and I'm not going back to identify it), but there are posts here that are attacking her. Many of the comments about vacations, and shoes and accusing her of being unwilling to change anything. They were not productive posts. Personally I don't think not putting any shoes on your kids feet is a point of pride
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2015 12:26:32 GMT -5
Yes, because everyone was advocating barefootedness I actually think OP has been the one to say she won't stop spending on many things. Maybe it's this contradiction which leads to skepticism. Particularly when her plan seems to have been to work a lot more and spend a whole lot less. But those were broad strokes. Hopefully we've had some influence and as she gets to the actual budget some of the caveats will be accounted for... We'll see, I'm sure.
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wonderland
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Post by wonderland on Jan 1, 2015 12:27:32 GMT -5
Actually, playing with some retirement calculators has shown me that we aren't that far off track. Assuming I start this month, and markets perform at average, we'll be above our retirement needs, if they perform below average, we will still be almost there. We don't plan to have a mortgage in our retirement, and we also won't be socking away money for retirement and college and raising a kid, so there's that.
Thanks OPed, I had been hesitant to look at the calculators. But it looks like we're alright.
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wonderland
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Post by wonderland on Jan 1, 2015 12:28:35 GMT -5
Yes, because everyone was advocating barefootedness I actually think OP has been the one to say she won't stop spending on many things. Maybe it's this contradiction which leads to skepticism. Particularly when her plan seems to have been to work a lot more and spend a whole lot less. But those were broad strokes. Hopefully we've had some influence and as she gets to the actual budget some of the caveats will be accounted for... We'll see, I'm sure. Well, how do you positively change your cashflow, besides earning more and spending less?
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sbcalimom
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Post by sbcalimom on Jan 1, 2015 12:28:48 GMT -5
I looked over January 2014's bank statement. I seems I spent almost $600 on amazon.com, $200.00 on entertainment, $700.00 on groceries, and $100.00 eating out, among other things. I don't have any idea what I purchased on Amazon, probably a lot of kindle books and such. I also spent a lot of money at GAP and Kohls for DD clothes. Looking at our numbers, I am in the process of finding ways to cut these back and put more into savings. Somebody already mentioned that you can go back and look at your purchase history on Amazon to see what that $600 went to. But, also wanted to mention something I do to help with my Kindle habit. I buy a giftcard to keep on my account and then just purchase books using that. I usually use Christmas and birthday money to keep it mostly funded for the year and then add a little here and there when needed. I spend a ton of money on books but this helps keep it predictable and manageable. And, for my two girls I found keeping a list on my phone of what I had for them in their current size and the next few sizes up was really helpful in limiting my clothes spending for them. It's so tempting to get "just one more shirt" because it's just so cute but looking at the list to see how many they already had helped me make a conscious choice about whether it was really needed or not.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2015 12:29:10 GMT -5
I think that was Gira
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sesfw
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Today is the first day of the rest of my life
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Post by sesfw on Jan 1, 2015 12:30:08 GMT -5
Going on vacations
That she won't remember. As young as she is she will be happy going on a picnic at the local park and playing on the playground with other kids.
Wait at least another 6-8 years for big trips. Everyone will enjoy them a lot more. I have a Kindle and if the book isn't free I don't get it. And I have a lot on my unit that I used during my chemo sessions. Otherwise I go to a used book store ..... and donate the books back after reading them.
Good luck on your New Year's resolution. Keep us updated on how you do ...... both good (we'll cheer you on) and bad (we'll do a reality check on you).
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2015 12:31:21 GMT -5
Yes, because everyone was advocating barefootedness There are actually 2 posts of people bragging about their kids not wearing shoes at all unless they are going to church or something. And ya, now your general tone with her is really disrespectful. The OP has a good job, her husband is working and she is looking at things before they get critical.
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wonderland
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Post by wonderland on Jan 1, 2015 12:35:14 GMT -5
Going on vacations
That she won't remember. As young as she is she will be happy going on a picnic at the local park and playing on the playground with other kids.
Wait at least another 6-8 years for big trips. Everyone will enjoy them a lot more. I have a Kindle and if the book isn't free I don't get it. And I have a lot on my unit that I used during my chemo sessions. Otherwise I go to a used book store ..... and donate the books back after reading them.
Good luck on your New Year's resolution. Keep us updated on how you do ...... both good (we'll cheer you on) and bad (we'll do a reality check on you). But we enjoy the vacations, and would take trips even if she wasn't here. The travel is as much for us as for her. She may not remember, but we will cherish these memories forever. In the end, all we have is our memories.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2015 12:37:23 GMT -5
Yes, because everyone was advocating barefootedness I actually think OP has been the one to say she won't stop spending on many things. Maybe it's this contradiction which leads to skepticism. Particularly when her plan seems to have been to work a lot more and spend a whole lot less. But those were broad strokes. Hopefully we've had some influence and as she gets to the actual budget some of the caveats will be accounted for... We'll see, I'm sure. Well, how do you positively change your cashflow, besides earning more and spending less? I am interested in your budget, maybe you have applied some of the things you've read already. What I've observed from your posts though is counting on 1) a large increase in hours worked, 2) an absolutely huge decrease in spending... Coupled with 3) no real intent to get specific about your spending past or present. While the broad strokes of make more, spend less make sense... The reality is that a successful plan is going to be more detailed than that.
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wonderland
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Post by wonderland on Jan 1, 2015 12:37:59 GMT -5
I looked over January 2014's bank statement. I seems I spent almost $600 on amazon.com, $200.00 on entertainment, $700.00 on groceries, and $100.00 eating out, among other things. I don't have any idea what I purchased on Amazon, probably a lot of kindle books and such. I also spent a lot of money at GAP and Kohls for DD clothes. Looking at our numbers, I am in the process of finding ways to cut these back and put more into savings. Somebody already mentioned that you can go back and look at your purchase history on Amazon to see what that $600 went to. But, also wanted to mention something I do to help with my Kindle habit. I buy a giftcard to keep on my account and then just purchase books using that. I usually use Christmas and birthday money to keep it mostly funded for the year and then add a little here and there when needed. I spend a ton of money on books but this helps keep it predictable and manageable. And, for my two girls I found keeping a list on my phone of what I had for them in their current size and the next few sizes up was really helpful in limiting my clothes spending for them. It's so tempting to get "just one more shirt" because it's just so cute but looking at the list to see how many they already had helped me make a conscious choice about whether it was really needed or not. Keeping an inventory of her clothes sounds like a great idea. IT is easy to forget how much she has. When she changes sized and all of a sudden nothing fits, i go into a bit of a panic trying to rebuild the wardrobe with correct sizes! I think for the kindle, I'm going to start using our library's kindle services. In late February or early march we are going to start back with library story times and I will be able to check out books regularly, so that should help. Until then, I am rereading some old favorites :-)
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