What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
Prices of everything are rising much faster than income. Our monthly budget no longer balances and we have made some cuts.
Are you cutting back on any monthly spending? Do you care to share what discretionary item(s) are being cut?
We curtailed our dining out, certain superfluous grocery items, car pool when possible, and reduced our Roth IRA contributions temporarily until prices stabilize.
Are you cutting back on any monthly spending? Do you care to share what discretionary item(s) are being cut?
We curtailed our dining out, certain superfluous grocery items, car pool when possible, and reduced our Roth IRA contributions temporarily until prices stabilize.
I don't know what the future holds, but I know who holds my future.
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Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
We used to eat out a lot -- we still do, but we go for lunch instead of dinner. Our favorite Indian buffet is unfortunately out of the monthly budget, so it's turning into once in a few months now.
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
This thread is now in the Personal Consumer Issues forum (how you spend your money and your time).
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
OP,
Nothing. My personal inflation rate is significantly lowered than average folks. In fact, I planned to eat out more to help out my favorite restaurants.
KlangFool
Nothing. My personal inflation rate is significantly lowered than average folks. In fact, I planned to eat out more to help out my favorite restaurants.
KlangFool
30% VWENX | 16% VFWAX/VTIAX | 14.5% VTSAX | 19.5% VBTLX | 10% VSIAX/VTMSX/VSMAX | 10% VSIGX| 30% Wellington 50% 3-funds 20% Mini-Larry
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
The opposite. I am buying more as I expect prices to continue rising, but my income is not. Better to buy in today's dollars than tomorrow's inflated prices (deflated dollars).
The question isn't at what age I want to retire, it's at what income. |
- George Foreman
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Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
Unfortunately, we have reduced our previously generous travel budget to just about zero.
This went into effect very unexpectedly starting about 2-3 months after we returned from a wonderful cruise and land vacation in New Zealand and Australia... in mid-December, 2019.
We had several other trips already planned. Fortunately, all deposits were fully refundable.
If current economic conditions fail to improve, we'll probably cut back a bit on the frequency or length of some of that travel, but probably not on the quality of our accommodations and tours, etc., once we feel comfortable traveling at all...
RM
This went into effect very unexpectedly starting about 2-3 months after we returned from a wonderful cruise and land vacation in New Zealand and Australia... in mid-December, 2019.
We had several other trips already planned. Fortunately, all deposits were fully refundable.
If current economic conditions fail to improve, we'll probably cut back a bit on the frequency or length of some of that travel, but probably not on the quality of our accommodations and tours, etc., once we feel comfortable traveling at all...
RM
This signature is a placebo. You are in the control group.
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
I reduced my monthly health insurance expenses. Also, my car loan is about to be paid off. And income taxes have dropped significantly.
Last edited by livesoft on Tue May 17, 2022 12:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
Nope, not cutting back. We are frugal and also minimalists. We have seen the cost increases hit us (mostly in food and household items), but there isn't really anything to cut back.
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
Only thing I am doing is encouraging my family to not drive so much, but I have been doing this for years.
52% TSM, 23% TISM, 24.5% TBM, 0.5% cash
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
Unrelated to economic conditions we finally cut the cable. Reduced our internet/cable/phone dramatically.
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
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Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
In the same boat. Our budget is bare bones, almost unbelievable to most here. I guess we could cut out our gym memberships, but otherwise our discretionary spending is almost non-existent.runner3081 wrote: ↑Tue May 17, 2022 12:02 pm Nope, not cutting back. We are frugal and also minimalists. We have seen the cost increases hit us (mostly in food and household items), but there isn't really anything to cut back.
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
What are you buying more of?
"The day you die is just like any other, only shorter." |
― Samuel Beckett
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
Here is a Bloomberg link https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... ood-sports from April 12, 2022 that discusses what cuts consumers are making.
I don't know what the future holds, but I know who holds my future.
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
Dito (also cutting back on my use of t's).stoptothink wrote: ↑Tue May 17, 2022 12:06 pmIn the same boat. Our budget is bare bones, almost unbelievable to most here. I guess we could cut out our gym memberships, but otherwise our discretionary spending is almost non-existent.runner3081 wrote: ↑Tue May 17, 2022 12:02 pm Nope, not cutting back. We are frugal and also minimalists. We have seen the cost increases hit us (mostly in food and household items), but there isn't really anything to cut back.
"The day you die is just like any other, only shorter." |
― Samuel Beckett
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Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
deleted
Last edited by AerialWombat on Mon May 23, 2022 2:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
This post is a work of fiction. Any similarity to real financial advice is purely coincidental.
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
Eating out more, it's cheaper.
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
My son graduated from private high school and his college at least for the first 2.5 years will be fully funded via 529 so I have about a spare $1200/month in my budget (my ex covered half of the tuition). This is way more than inflation's effect on me so far which has honestly been pretty minimal. But I expect it will get eaten up when I move to renting an apartment (on a shorter term lease) from my current SFH rental so I can be more ready to fire on buying a place if the real estate market cools somewhat.
Unlike some others here I am still travelling (three international trips this year and one already scheduled for next year). My points are saving me quite a bit on travel and are coming in handy to fly my son back from college. I am easily seeing 2-3 cent of value per point for flights to get back from college which is very high for domestic flights.
Unlike some others here I am still travelling (three international trips this year and one already scheduled for next year). My points are saving me quite a bit on travel and are coming in handy to fly my son back from college. I am easily seeing 2-3 cent of value per point for flights to get back from college which is very high for domestic flights.
Last edited by THY4373 on Tue May 17, 2022 12:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
I start driving my 1993 GEO Prizm 5MT (Corolla clone) instead of my 19999 Lexus LX470 (Land Cruiser). Get 30mpg instead of 15mpg. Very happy with that.
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
We are giving up rent to travel more, but that has been a bit of a long term plan.
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Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
Nothing being reduced.
We are already pretty frugal. I wish we had more tax advantaged space.
We haven't had cable for years, we use an antenna.
We do use three of the cheapest streaming services (having added 2 during the pandemic)
but we don't rent movies or go to the movie theater.
We do almost all home maintenance ourselves.
Vet bills have increased on our elderly cat, as she nears end of life.
We spent some extra in prior years to reduce ongoing cash outflow.
Solar panels on the roof and a hybrid car, and an electric mower.
I bought a gas/propane generator to avoid spoiled food during a power outage.
We also bought rain barrels for watering the garden & flowers,
which saves on water, and since the sewer bill is based on the water bill,
it saves there too.
We make our own coffee, splurging on Starbucks on vacation.
We eat out or order in mainly only on special occasions.
I take my lunch & coffee to work.
Household income has increased greatly in the last few years, but is now barely
about the 80th percentile.
Household wealth is just under 95th percentile.
You must spend well below your income to be able to invest and generate income from
those investments.
We are already pretty frugal. I wish we had more tax advantaged space.
We haven't had cable for years, we use an antenna.
We do use three of the cheapest streaming services (having added 2 during the pandemic)
but we don't rent movies or go to the movie theater.
We do almost all home maintenance ourselves.
Vet bills have increased on our elderly cat, as she nears end of life.
We spent some extra in prior years to reduce ongoing cash outflow.
Solar panels on the roof and a hybrid car, and an electric mower.
I bought a gas/propane generator to avoid spoiled food during a power outage.
We also bought rain barrels for watering the garden & flowers,
which saves on water, and since the sewer bill is based on the water bill,
it saves there too.
We make our own coffee, splurging on Starbucks on vacation.
We eat out or order in mainly only on special occasions.
I take my lunch & coffee to work.
Household income has increased greatly in the last few years, but is now barely
about the 80th percentile.
Household wealth is just under 95th percentile.
You must spend well below your income to be able to invest and generate income from
those investments.
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
Becoming much more aware of my driving habits. No jackrabbit starts, timing red lights so as not to stop, staying off the local interstate as much as possible, etc.
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Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
I’m also hypermiling. My mom did this when I was a kid—way before it was cool. Little did I realize that it would eventually have a name.
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
Became eagle-eyed in the grocery store. Not buying some stuff that has increased in price a lot. Substituting cheaper things, although they cost more than they did but not as much as the others. Store brands.
Hardly buying any discretionary stuff.
Hardly buying any discretionary stuff.
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
I haven't reduced anything, but I did put the brakes on my wife's spending.
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
Not traveling as much. I dropped our Peloton membership.
I've been driving the 2019 Nissan Versa (38mpg) instead of the 2015 Ford Expedition EL (15mpg). That stays in the garage. It is quite affordable with $2 gas. $4.20 is a tad painful.
I am more selective at the grocery store. Hitting Aldi more, having less variety.
In the end whatever we save seems to be spent in some other unexpected way.
I've been driving the 2019 Nissan Versa (38mpg) instead of the 2015 Ford Expedition EL (15mpg). That stays in the garage. It is quite affordable with $2 gas. $4.20 is a tad painful.
I am more selective at the grocery store. Hitting Aldi more, having less variety.
In the end whatever we save seems to be spent in some other unexpected way.
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
No cutbacks. Since January we have finally been traveling at the pace we want. Joined the gym again. Concert going. We are retired and are in lucky to be in good shape financially.
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
Real assets. Just replaced the roof, driveway, landscaping, some plumbing. Just pulling forward things that I was going to do anyway.
Last edited by Harmanic on Tue May 17, 2022 1:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
The question isn't at what age I want to retire, it's at what income. |
- George Foreman
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
Cut down on restaurant bills, call cable companies to downgrade and make sure to turn off lights when you leave a room.
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Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
We're about 700 miles into ownership of a Ford Maverick hybrid, averaging a tick over 47mpg in mixed driving (EPA estimates are 33 highway/42 street). I know all the tricks and employ them, wife (who does the majority of the driving - drives into the office 3 days per week by choice) has a lead foot. Drivers are reporting anywhere from <30mpg to close to 50 for this baby truck, almost completely dependent on driving behavior. For some, that's quite a bit of money.DesertDiva wrote: ↑Tue May 17, 2022 1:04 pmI’m also hypermiling. My mom did this when I was a kid—way before it was cool. Little did I realize that it would eventually have a name.
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
I’ve mostly cut out beef, and particularly steak. It’s not worth it to me over chicken or turkey at the higher prices. And if I want beef I’ll just make burgers and skip the steak.
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
My income has been down the last 6 months so I mentioned to DW to pull back a little on the Costco shopping. Instead she got a part-time job. That little bit of extra income makes a difference.
"Better is the enemy of good." Good is good.
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
You know that those are selling for $38,000 to $41,000 used on Autotrader. Considering the MSRP is $20,000, that's insane. Hopefully you got it before all the craziness. And yes, over 50mpg is doable - on a pickup truck!!!stoptothink wrote: ↑Tue May 17, 2022 1:23 pmWe're about 700 miles into ownership of a Ford Maverick hybrid, averaging a tick over 47mpg in mixed driving (EPA estimates are 33 highway/42 street). I know all the tricks and employ them, wife (who does the majority of the driving - drives into the office 3 days per week by choice) has a lead foot. Drivers are reporting anywhere from <30mpg to close to 50 for this baby truck, almost completely dependent on driving behavior. For some, that's quite a bit of money.DesertDiva wrote: ↑Tue May 17, 2022 1:04 pmI’m also hypermiling. My mom did this when I was a kid—way before it was cool. Little did I realize that it would eventually have a name.
The question isn't at what age I want to retire, it's at what income. |
- George Foreman
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Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
Like a few others who have commented on this thread... I'm wired to be pretty frugal all the time.
My spending habits at this moment won't be much different compared to when inflation gets back to 2%.
-- Brian
My spending habits at this moment won't be much different compared to when inflation gets back to 2%.
-- Brian
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Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
Interesting thread. I am having a hard time thinking about what I've cut back on recently, because most of our cutbacks in spending took place a few years ago.
My wife gave up her car because of health issues, but that was her expense (she makes more in retirement than I do).
Food? We have most of our groceries delivered, which costs more in some ways but saves me having to drive and waste hours shopping in person.
Travel: We're set to take a few nice cruises (including some necessary flights, but we're not paying for this (it's all coming out of our children's' inheritances at this point).
We live modestly (not necessarily frugally). If I feel I can afford something, I get it. I work out at home (no gym). The cost of eating out these days is higher than before, but expensive/fancy restaurants no longer appeal to me. Been there, done that. I'm not deprived, I guess.
My wife gave up her car because of health issues, but that was her expense (she makes more in retirement than I do).
Food? We have most of our groceries delivered, which costs more in some ways but saves me having to drive and waste hours shopping in person.
Travel: We're set to take a few nice cruises (including some necessary flights, but we're not paying for this (it's all coming out of our children's' inheritances at this point).
We live modestly (not necessarily frugally). If I feel I can afford something, I get it. I work out at home (no gym). The cost of eating out these days is higher than before, but expensive/fancy restaurants no longer appeal to me. Been there, done that. I'm not deprived, I guess.
"What does not destroy me, makes me stronger." Nietzsche
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Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
Yes, our dealer offered to buy ours (XLT with spray-in bedliner and trailer hitch) when we went to pick it up, for $30k on the nose (we paid $26.2 OTD). I laughed because I knew we could get far more selling it to Carvana.Harmanic wrote: ↑Tue May 17, 2022 1:39 pmYou know that those are selling for $38,000 to $41,000 used on Autotrader. Considering the MSRP is $20,000, that's insane. Hopefully you got it before all the craziness. And yes, over 50mpg is doable - on a pickup truck!!!stoptothink wrote: ↑Tue May 17, 2022 1:23 pmWe're about 700 miles into ownership of a Ford Maverick hybrid, averaging a tick over 47mpg in mixed driving (EPA estimates are 33 highway/42 street). I know all the tricks and employ them, wife (who does the majority of the driving - drives into the office 3 days per week by choice) has a lead foot. Drivers are reporting anywhere from <30mpg to close to 50 for this baby truck, almost completely dependent on driving behavior. For some, that's quite a bit of money.DesertDiva wrote: ↑Tue May 17, 2022 1:04 pmI’m also hypermiling. My mom did this when I was a kid—way before it was cool. Little did I realize that it would eventually have a name.
We ordered June 24th last year and took delivery April 30th. After that wait, and being even more happy with the vehicle than we imagined; zero chance we're selling.
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Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
Eating out less. Buying tickets to live performances less. More Aldi grocery shopping.
Never panic. Stop looking so much.
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Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
Hotel prices are going crazy... gas prices are insane. We are staying home this summer for the first time in more than 10 years.
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
Very little to cut out. We cut much during COVID and haven’t really increased. Having a baby during COVID really makes you unable to go out and do a bunch of stuff. We did pick up daycare/formula/kids stuff expenses.
Things that have really increased in prices — gas and groceries — we’ve been able to leverage *lots* of credit card deals. We’re in the 15-20% rebate on groceries, 10-50% savings on gas.
Things that have really increased in prices — gas and groceries — we’ve been able to leverage *lots* of credit card deals. We’re in the 15-20% rebate on groceries, 10-50% savings on gas.
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
I cut out lima beans, brussell sprouts, cauliflower, and Turkish cigarettes.
"Earn All You Can; Give All You Can; Save All You Can." .... John Wesley
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
Reminds me of this James Bond quip:
James Bond: "Free radicals," sir?
M: "Yes. They're toxins that destroy the body and the brain, caused by eating too much red meat and white bread and too many dry martinis!"
James Bond: "Then I shall cut out the white bread, sir."
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Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
DW buys the groceries and the gas for the van, and she has mentioned the increases in both. However, she hasn't cut back on driving (already low miles, <9,000/per year) and the refrigerator and pantry both seem well stocked.
I have noticed our dining out tabs cost more, but we haven't cut back restaurant visits. Portions are still generous at our regular eateries, so we always get enough to take home and enjoy again.
Overall I'm sure we are spending more $$$, but we have not felt the need to reduce any of our consumption.
I'm sure our experience isn't the same as so many others who have very little (if any) slack in their budgets; gas, groceries, and rent has to be crushing many households.
Broken Man 1999
I have noticed our dining out tabs cost more, but we haven't cut back restaurant visits. Portions are still generous at our regular eateries, so we always get enough to take home and enjoy again.
Overall I'm sure we are spending more $$$, but we have not felt the need to reduce any of our consumption.
I'm sure our experience isn't the same as so many others who have very little (if any) slack in their budgets; gas, groceries, and rent has to be crushing many households.
Broken Man 1999
“If I cannot drink Bourbon and smoke cigars in Heaven then I shall not go." - Mark Twain
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
In Houston, price of electricity goes up (even after we shop around) when we renewed our 3 year contract. So we keep our thermostat in the low 80s during the daytime while it's 95 and higher outside. We're used to heat (it's a way of life around here), so it's pretty wasteful to keep the A/C blasting during the daytime. The less workload we put on the A/C, the longer we can keep our current A/C system running.A440 wrote: ↑Tue May 17, 2022 11:16 am Prices of everything are rising much faster than income. Our monthly budget no longer balances and we have made some cuts.
Are you cutting back on any monthly spending? Do you care to share what discretionary item(s) are being cut?
We curtailed our dining out, certain superfluous grocery items, car pool when possible, and reduced our Roth IRA contributions temporarily until prices stabilize.
Not related to the spike in gas price, but I have changed how I drive since many years ago. I don't accelerate quickly or race to the red light anymore. I don't follow the car in front closely to avoid constant breaking and accelerating. I know that I ain't get to my destination faster with traffic. Just drive smart and we save a lot of cost in gas, cost of replace tire and brake, etc. The cost of replacing tires, brake, and its motor ain't cheap. My car is closing in 170k miles and still have minimal repair & maintenance cost.
We actually do more vacations. We have hotel and airline points that we can deploy strategically, so we can spend more on dining out and activities. We do more roadtrips than we fly and rent a car. When we dine out, the portion is typically big enough to be shared between us. So typically we spent roughly $40-$50 for a typical meal, $60-80 if it's seafood. Breakfast is free with our hotel status. Then we typically just want a meal after instead of two separate meals. We don't order drink (aside from water) from the restaurants because of insanely high markups. We make drinks ourselves at our hotel. It's easy for us to stop by the store to buy juice and liquor to make our drinks.
We still save in the range of 2.8 - 3.2x of every dollar we spent (varies from month to month).
Last edited by H-Town on Tue May 17, 2022 3:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Time is the ultimate currency.
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
We could cut plenty, but don't need to. Mainly higher inflation is annoying rather than really damaging to us. But I'm puzzled when people claim they don't change *anything* in the face of higher prices especially if it's not uniform increases in all things, which it almost never is. Unless I guess they really are at the absolute minimum across the board already, but that's rare, I think. For example I'm not a seafood fan but my wife is. We can afford now significantly more expensive lobster, crab prices as often as before (or much more often if we wanted) but she's not as enthusiastic to do it as often because the difference in price vs other foods has increased but the difference in enjoyment hasn't. Seems natural to me that she doesn't want to buy it as often.
Also as somebody else mentioned, long term retirement saving is one thing (we're already retired). But if you're going make a major purchase like a car or home remodel in a couple of years or now, higher inflation and lower real return on savings (you wouldn't use stocks to save for a year or two or I wouldn't) could be a reason to buy it sooner. But all depends. I am holding off on replacing our 17yr old car with another maybe only 2-3yr old used car because used car prices have been so elevated. I think they could go down. OTOH I bought a new car recently at MSRP. It could be the out the door prices go back below MSRP on new cars before very long, but I think if so that will likely be accompanied by big bump ups in MSRP next couple of model years. I didn't see value in waiting for the new car. I could be wrong about either thing of course
Also as somebody else mentioned, long term retirement saving is one thing (we're already retired). But if you're going make a major purchase like a car or home remodel in a couple of years or now, higher inflation and lower real return on savings (you wouldn't use stocks to save for a year or two or I wouldn't) could be a reason to buy it sooner. But all depends. I am holding off on replacing our 17yr old car with another maybe only 2-3yr old used car because used car prices have been so elevated. I think they could go down. OTOH I bought a new car recently at MSRP. It could be the out the door prices go back below MSRP on new cars before very long, but I think if so that will likely be accompanied by big bump ups in MSRP next couple of model years. I didn't see value in waiting for the new car. I could be wrong about either thing of course
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
Slack in the budget is key.Broken Man 1999 wrote: ↑Tue May 17, 2022 2:50 pm DW buys the groceries and the gas for the van, and she has mentioned the increases in both. However, she hasn't cut back on driving (already low miles, <9,000/per year) and the refrigerator and pantry both seem well stocked.
I have noticed our dining out tabs cost more, but we haven't cut back restaurant visits. Portions are still generous at our regular eateries, so we always get enough to take home and enjoy again.
Overall I'm sure we are spending more $$$, but we have not felt the need to reduce any of our consumption.
I'm sure our experience isn't the same as so many others who have very little (if any) slack in their budgets; gas, groceries, and rent has to be crushing many households.
Broken Man 1999
We have plenty, so we haven’t made any changes. I can, however, imagine that I might at some point, on principle, refuse to pay above a certain price for a given item.
But mostly, my goal is to spend what I need to in order to do/have the things that I want to do/have.
Tempus fugit. To be interpreted at my age as “If not now, when?”
We’re very fortunate to be in this position.
One thing that humbles me deeply is to see that human genius has its limits while human stupidity does not. - Alexandre Dumas, fils
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Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
Since everything is more expensive going out to eat I just get water instead of an ice tea for 2 or 3 dollars. That is about 10% of the bill. Then I leave an extra tip. I try not to look at the prices in the grocery store. I worked in one in high school in the 1970’s and still remember the prices so it haunts me.
Pack of cigs was 35 cents, can of campbells chicken noodle soup 44 cents, head of lettuce same 44 cents, six pack of red,white, ad blue beer 1.44. Pop tarts 44 cents.
We are lucky we have what we need to survive plus some. Peace to all.
Pack of cigs was 35 cents, can of campbells chicken noodle soup 44 cents, head of lettuce same 44 cents, six pack of red,white, ad blue beer 1.44. Pop tarts 44 cents.
We are lucky we have what we need to survive plus some. Peace to all.
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Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
1. Canceled Netflix.
2. Canceled Peloton.
3. Shopped around my auto and home insurance and saved $210 year.
4. Less Roth conversions to keep taxes and IRMAA lower.
5. Eat out 2x a week vs 3x.
6. Shop grocery store sales and Trader Joe.
7. Live like a minimalist. Stopped buying stuff.
8. Sold off a bunch of things I no longer use.
9. Once a month massage vs every 2 weeks.
2. Canceled Peloton.
3. Shopped around my auto and home insurance and saved $210 year.
4. Less Roth conversions to keep taxes and IRMAA lower.
5. Eat out 2x a week vs 3x.
6. Shop grocery store sales and Trader Joe.
7. Live like a minimalist. Stopped buying stuff.
8. Sold off a bunch of things I no longer use.
9. Once a month massage vs every 2 weeks.
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
We were never big spenders and don't have kids so we haven't explicitly cut anything back recently. We are actually budgeting more charitable donations this year over last.
"...the man who adapts himself to his slender means and makes himself wealthy on a little sum, is the truly rich man..." ~Seneca
Re: What (if anything) are you reducing in your monthly spending?
I wonder if you hadn't bought Peloton, would you be able to use that fund on the other 8 items on your list?retired-early wrote: ↑Tue May 17, 2022 4:02 pm 1. Canceled Netflix.
2. Canceled Peloton.
3. Shopped around my auto and home insurance and saved $210 year.
4. Less Roth conversions to keep taxes and IRMAA lower.
5. Eat out 2x a week vs 3x.
6. Shop grocery store sales and Trader Joe.
7. Live like a minimalist. Stopped buying stuff.
8. Sold off a bunch of things I no longer use.
9. Once a month massage vs every 2 weeks.
Time is the ultimate currency.