kent
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Post by kent on May 12, 2011 18:12:31 GMT -5
I still spend money on stuff that people here would turn their noses up at, I just save for retirement and pay the bills first. If there's enough left to blow on stupid stuff fine. There's nothing wrong with what you're doing Dark. You take care of your bills and save for retirement FIRST and then piddle some away on fun stuff. ![](http://us.social.s-msn.com/s/images/emoticons/thumbs_up.gif) You have to live your life and you don't want to be sitting on the front porch at age 80 saying, "Gee, I wish I had bought or done such and such when I was young enough to enjoy it." Same goes for working extremely long hours. You'll never find a person on their death bed saying, "I wish I had spent more time in the office."
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azphx1972
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Post by azphx1972 on May 12, 2011 18:17:01 GMT -5
I'm a lazy ass as well. ;D
If you looked at my house, and saw how much I spend on food/dining out each month, "cheap ass" would be the furthest thing from your mind.
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midjd
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Post by midjd on May 12, 2011 18:34:13 GMT -5
What an insult! I am NOT a cheap ass! I'm a YMer because I don't want to work forever. I am a lazy ass! ;D ![](http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff155/JiminiChristmas/smileys/button49554436.png) Me too!
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busymom
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Post by busymom on May 12, 2011 18:45:38 GMT -5
I am frugal. I also LOVE to shop (when I have time, which isn't often these days!) Life's lessons have taught me to be frugal. You never know what problems may wait for you "around the bend", but if you don't spend every last dime, and put something away for the future, most likely you won't have to be a "bag lady" when you get old. By the way, if you want to test me, give me several hundred dollars & send me over to the COACH purse store. I've never bought one, but always thought it might be fun to own one someday. Any takers? ![](http://boards.msn.com/Themes/default/emoticons/tongue_smile.gif)
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Post by tiredturkey on May 12, 2011 21:12:48 GMT -5
I think it's all about doing what makes you rich inside and DH & I have spent a lot of years figuring that out. I clip coupons like crazy, we wash and reuse plastic bags and we go to Europe every couple of years. We also do our own yard work, laundry and housecleaning and we just spent $2,000 on new deck furniture. That's priceless to us as we sit on the back deck and realize that the lovely house finches have one female and one male baby this year; that little sibling gray squirrels vocalize their rivalry at a feeder, that our resident cardinal family has only one baby this year, and that 15 whitewing doves are about 10 too many unless you want to grill bacon-wrapped dove breasts. This is also the very same deck where we sat when DH told me the diagnosis was cancer.
I love to have things and I hate to shop IRL. If it weren't for the "support your local merchants" quilt factor I would do all my shopping online. Except for groceries, of course, because I love to see and smell all the veggies and fruits.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on May 12, 2011 21:30:38 GMT -5
I am frugal. I also LOVE to shop (when I have time, which isn't often these days!) Life's lessons have taught me to be frugal. You never know what problems may wait for you "around the bend", but if you don't spend every last dime, and put something away for the future, most likely you won't have to be a "bag lady" when you get old. By the way, if you want to test me, give me several hundred dollars & send me over to the COACH purse store. I've never bought one, but always thought it might be fun to own one someday. Any takers? ![](http://boards.msn.com/Themes/default/emoticons/tongue_smile.gif) There is a Coach outlet closeby and everybody and their grandma here has a Coach purse.....except me. I like a purse that has a lot of organization inside instead of "C"s on the outside. ;D
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on May 12, 2011 21:36:38 GMT -5
I dislike shopping and after about an hour of it, I'm ready to be done.
I have been in horrible credit card debt and I never want to be there again.
I will never have huge retirement savings because of the age I was when I did this to myself.
I do enjoy eating out. I do enjoy concerts. I take mostly mini-vacations. I do have Dish and internet. I have a cell phone with pay as you go text.
I drive a 1994 Honda Civic, but am saving for a new car.
I also have a cat! ;D
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Havoc
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Post by Havoc on May 12, 2011 22:28:17 GMT -5
Let's call a spade a spade, under the veneer that the YM crowd makes for budgets and for investing in the future and having money for retirement, is the bottom line. The bottom line is thus, more important then anything else is your personality and the fact you're a cheap ass. In order to feel good about this choice you mask it under monetary restraint and good business practice. How many people admit they were born with a tight sphincter and that they really wish that they had the cojones to go on a shopping jag? I understand your point, I just don't agree with it... I think a lot of YMers, myself included, would fall in Dark Honor's description. "Paying yourself" first via paying off your bills and adding to retirement/non-retirement savings isn't being a cheap ass - it is saving for expenses you *know* you will have at some point... which is, IMO, being *responsible*, not cheap. I blow a good deal of money on my hobbies: I have an incurable book addiction, I just bought a new riding mower and tiller... but it was all after savings were at an adequate level, DRP contributions were made, etc. If not spending $$$ on stuff that isn't important to me or The Better Half makes us cheap asses, so be it... but we are happy with where we are and where we are going so why bother with some version of Keeping up with the Jones?
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formerexpat
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Post by formerexpat on May 12, 2011 22:40:28 GMT -5
I'll admit I've got a tight sphincter. That's not my sort of thing...and I do my kegel exercises. ![:P](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/tongue.png) As for shopping, I don't get off on shopping. Shopping serves a purpose of buying my needs and some of my wants.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2011 8:27:38 GMT -5
Cheap? I'm still working on responsible!
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daisylu
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Post by daisylu on May 13, 2011 8:47:23 GMT -5
Not me, I am about to pay $6,000 for a deck out back. And another $4,000 for a door and installation. ![:o](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/shocked.png)
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swamp
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Post by swamp on May 13, 2011 9:16:54 GMT -5
I am cheap because I hate crap in my house. However, I would be more than happy to blow tons of money on restaurants and vacations.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2011 9:20:07 GMT -5
I am cheap because I hate crap in my house. However, I would be more than happy to blow tons of money on restaurants and vacations. HERE HERE! ![](http://us.social.s-msn.com/s/images/emoticons/thumbs_up.gif) I love spending money on experiences, not things. Especially useless things. Don't get me wrong - I love artsy and beautiful decor items, but I don't need the house to be a stuff museum.
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cronewitch
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Post by cronewitch on May 13, 2011 9:28:15 GMT -5
I like shopping but don't have what the OP might call sprees but I will make major impulse buys like a car because I want one that day. My last two were that way didn't mean to buy when I left home but decided and bought. First in 97 I didn't get a promotion at work so was sad, stopped on the way home and bought a truck. Second in 2009 my truck has a heater problem repaired and they said it might not last so I stopped on the way back home and got a car. The truck is still fine and I still have it, take it on trips when I want to take stuff or when it snows or to haul the boat. The boat was an impulse buy too, I was at the boat show just looking and bought a new walleye boat, I didn't even know what a walleye boat was before the boat show.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on May 13, 2011 10:25:00 GMT -5
I used to shop a lot, wish I hadn't spent all the money I did on clothes and junk. Paid cash so no debt, but still just wasted. I don't need anymore stuff, we have everything you can think of and more. So now I do go to the mall once in awhile but I do a lot of my shopping online when I need something. Hubby does too. We try to strike a balance, save but spend what we want too. Of course when you are making a nice chunk of change its a lot easier to save it and still have what you want. For people not making much and saving, I admire them, takes a lot of self control I would think. And yes we should have saved even more as hubby says. But I also want to have a life as you never know what tomorrow will bring. This is why I think it is soooo important to try to get info out to young people. There's nothing wrong with buying something that you really want occasionally, but most people don't even think about what they're buying - especially items that cost $10-$20-$50; but all those 10s and 20s add up. Phil concentrates on the income side of the equation and that's EXTREMELY important, but the spending side of the equation is equally important. It's really easy to piss away money. If at the end of a year you asked most people what they had to show for the money they spent, most people would have a very short list.
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Frugal Nurse
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Post by Frugal Nurse on May 13, 2011 10:48:55 GMT -5
I LOVE to shop. However, I also LOVE to have a roof over my head, food in my pantry, and gas in my car. So I exercises restraint while shopping. I allow myself luxuries, while making sure I am contributing to my future (retirement, saving, staying out of debt). I save money on things that don't bring me joy (food, cleaning supplies) so that I can spend money on things that do (vacations, nice clothes, shoes, doing fun stuff with DH). I even try to save on those things when possible, like using coupons at Macy's or Limited, or getting Groupon deals (a couple weeks ago I got a $100 travelocity gift card for $20!- Hello beach!). Not a tight-wad, just a person trying to make good decisions. And yes, I am fulfilled. ;D
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Frugal Nurse
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Post by Frugal Nurse on May 13, 2011 10:52:28 GMT -5
I used to shop a lot, wish I hadn't spent all the money I did on clothes and junk. Paid cash so no debt, but still just wasted. I don't need anymore stuff, we have everything you can think of and more. So now I do go to the mall once in awhile but I do a lot of my shopping online when I need something. Hubby does too. We try to strike a balance, save but spend what we want too. Of course when you are making a nice chunk of change its a lot easier to save it and still have what you want. For people not making much and saving, I admire them, takes a lot of self control I would think. And yes we should have saved even more as hubby says. But I also want to have a life as you never know what tomorrow will bring. This is why I think it is soooo important to try to get info out to young people. There's nothing wrong with buying something that you really want occasionally, but most people don't even think about what they're buying - especially items that cost $10-$20-$50; but all those 10s and 20s add up. Phil concentrates on the income side of the equation and that's EXTREMELY important, but the spending side of the equation is equally important. It's really easy to piss away money. If at the end of a year you asked most people what they had to show for the money they spent, most people would have a very short list. I humbly disagree that spending money on clothes is wasting it. Nice clothes make me feel confident and put together. I am in a much better mood when I'm wearing a nice, girly dress and heels than when I'm in sweats. I just think there has to be a balance (and for me, there always has been). I started reading the MSN money articles when I was a 21 year old newlywed, because I was determined to keep our finances good. I learned to save where it didn't matter and spend where it did. I see nothing wrong with someone buying things that bring them joy, as long as they can afford it and aren't jeopardizing their future.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on May 13, 2011 10:53:44 GMT -5
I LOVE to shop. However, I also LOVE to have a roof over my head, food in my pantry, and gas in my car. So I exercises restraint while shopping. I allow myself luxuries, while making sure I am contributing to my future (retirement, saving, staying out of debt). I save money on things that don't bring me joy (food, cleaning supplies) so that I can spend money on things that do (vacations, nice clothes, shoes, doing fun stuff with DH). I even try to save on those things when possible, like using coupons at Macy's or Limited, or getting Groupon deals (a couple weeks ago I got a $100 travelocity gift card for $20!- Hello beach!). Not a tight-wad, just a person trying to make good decisions. And yes, I am fulfilled. ;D frugalnurse: AWESOME JOB!! That's just the way that it's done. It's not like you can't live a little; there is always a less expensive way to do something or get something - ya just have to find it; and it sounds like that's exactly what you do. ![](http://us.social.s-msn.com/s/images/emoticons/thumbs_up.gif)
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april47
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Post by april47 on May 13, 2011 11:08:02 GMT -5
So if I come here to YM I am a cheap ass? Yippee!! I made it! Here I thought that I came here to learn NOT to spend too much money and I here am a cheap ass already! ![:o](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/shocked.png) Signed: Cheap Ass and Proud of it ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png)
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tskeeter
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Post by tskeeter on May 13, 2011 13:59:52 GMT -5
I think you're a bit off the mark, ihearyou2. While having enough resources for a very comfortable retirement is important to us, it doesn't mean that we don't do other things. We live in one of the nicer neighborhoods in town (and bought at the peak of the market, oops). While we don't buy luxury cars every couple of years, we do buy new cars. We have a cleaning lady and, when I worked in a more demanding job, we had a lawn service. We probably spend $300 - $500 a month eating out (don't bother to keep track). We were to Europe four times in about seven years, spend a week in the British Virgin Islands about every other year, take an annual week long ski vacation, have season passes to one of the Lake Tahoe ski resorts, and are planning a week in Hawaii this fall and a couple of weeks in France about a year from now. We believe that community service is important, so are active volunteers and donors. We are currently considering whether we should work another year to help fund scholarship programs at the high schools we graduated from. Our retirement budget includes plans to provide financial assistance to parents, if they should need it, and a mentally challenged sibling.
What we don't have is a lake/river house, ski boat, quads, imported luxury cars, RV, or credit card debt.
What we do have is retirement accounts measured in multiples of a million dollars.
I suspect that my description would apply to many YMers.
If this description is your idea of a cheap ass, I guess I am one.
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Clifford
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Post by Clifford on May 13, 2011 22:41:44 GMT -5
Go to work. Come home. Play with the kids. Exercise. Play with the dog. Cook some steaks. Three times a week - go to the dojang. Take the kids to their extracurriculars. On weekends go fishing. Clean house. Read a book. Mow the grass. Go to a tournament. Watch Netflix. One weekend a month and two weeks a year see some place new.
It's not that complicated and really not that expensive. Who wants to or has time to shop? For us, all of the above costs about 55K for a family of four. Why go out of my way to spend more?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2011 5:59:35 GMT -5
DH and I have a life similar to tskeeter's, although we just hit the multimillion mark a few weeks ago (and have lost some ground since). We got back from Spain yesterday. It was, as usual, a study in contrasts. We flew there in Business Class (DH on miles). Many of our meals were sandwiches from local grocery stores. We spent a little over $100 to hang out in airline lounges on 2 occasions (used PriorityPass at $27 per visit per person) when our flights were delayed, so we had comfortable seats, peace and quiet, munchies and open bar. We took the train from the airport in Zurich for about $6 (side trip so I could have some business meetings) but took a taxi back for about $60 because it was 5:30 AM and DH had spent the entire day before sleeping after coming down with the flu. The company will cover that taxi but I would have done it with our money, too. The only souvenirs we bought were a 2012 calendar, a refrigerator magnet and some duty-free booze.
On the way back, I was reading the in-flight magazine- the special version for Business Class passengers. It was good for a laugh. A $3,000 purse, a pair of $2,000 shoes, a flimsy blouse for $700, etc. While I could buy any one of those things if I really wanted to (and I would), I told DH that I could see why people could have ridiculously high incomes and no savings. It's all about balance. Call us tightwads if you will, but we're having a lot of fun without jeopardizing our future.
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upstatemom
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Post by upstatemom on May 14, 2011 9:07:54 GMT -5
I am frugal. I also LOVE to shop (when I have time, which isn't often these days!) Life's lessons have taught me to be frugal. You never know what problems may wait for you "around the bend", but if you don't spend every last dime, and put something away for the future, most likely you won't have to be a "bag lady" when you get old. By the way, if you want to test me, give me several hundred dollars & send me over to the COACH purse store. I've never bought one, but always thought it might be fun to own one someday. Any takers? ![](http://boards.msn.com/Themes/default/emoticons/tongue_smile.gif) My sister, the Queen of thrift store and yard sales, found a beautiful previously loved Coach purse last year at a local thrift store and guess who she gave it to?? ME! I love my sister.... My kids call me cheap but they are not deprived. I make them use their money for video games and even they now look for bargains. I love to shop, but do my best to stay out of the stores, its helps that they are 30 minutes away. I do shop online, love Kohls 30% codes, just bought s few new tees at LLbean with a 20 coupon cc rewards. I have really cut out buying "stuff" and am working on cleaning all that useless stuff out of the house and donating it. Our vacations are camping, we have a camper and have taken the kids to many states on the East Coast and Midwest. Boy what a beautiful Country God gave us ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png)
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ameiko
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Post by ameiko on May 14, 2011 10:06:01 GMT -5
Let's call a spade a spade, under the veneer that the YM crowd makes for budgets and for investing in the future and having money for retirement, is the bottom line. The bottom line is thus, more important then anything else is your personality and the fact you're a cheap ass. In order to feel good about this choice you mask it under monetary restraint and good business practice. How many people admit they were born with a tight sphincter and that they really wish that they had the cojones to go on a shopping jag? I AM NOT CHEAP!!! I'd have to spend more money to be cheap! ;D I definitely love to hold onto my money, no doubt about it, but I have bought some nice things (like my fully loaded Infiniti G37) and also like to tip well and help my nephews' college funds.
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TrixAre4Kids
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Post by TrixAre4Kids on May 14, 2011 13:19:06 GMT -5
What an insult! I am NOT a cheap ass! I'm a YMer because I don't want to work forever. I am a lazy ass! ;D Ding Ding Ding! Winner! Winner! I have champagne taste and beer budget. Ex-BF was a cheapskate, but he did teach me about saving money. Good thing, I want to retire next year.
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tloonya
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What status?
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Post by tloonya on May 14, 2011 15:25:27 GMT -5
iHOP...if you find someone you looking for...will your life FINALLY get a meaning?
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