I've been living consistently below my means for years...

I'm #2, like most of us. It's not a huge amount...I just paid off my car so now I can put that money toward my credit card bills. I'm hoping that within a year I can be all caught up and out of debt.

Although tempting to use...credit cards are the devil. I just use my debit card now so if I don't have the extra money then Carrie can't go shopping!!! Waaa!
[Edited 3/14/06 8:03am]

#1, fighting a slip into #2.

Credit cards are, indeed, evil. I had them for years without carrying a balance, and then I had to have a root canal without dental insurance, so that went on a credit card.

Boy, once you're already carrying a balance, it's SO EASY to be like, hey, what's another $100? Got up to about 7k. I paid it off when I sold my house. I'm not sure I'm responsible enough to have the cards around now, though. I've been way broke lately, and while I've gotten pretty good at living within my means -- I rarely buy clothes/shoes/jewelry/fun girly stuff like that, I didn't have a car until yesterday, I haven't been travelling -- I have an occasional moment of weakness, usually with books or music, and it's SO EASY to just pop it on a credit card. I've got about $250 on one right now, and it has to stop there.

I'm tired of money. Having it, not having it, whatever. I wish it would just go away.

Bad news is, I'm going back to school full-time in the fall, and will be living off of loans. The idea makes me sick to my stomach. I'm going to be poor forever!

SeattleInvasion said:

I hear ya, sister.
I'm going back to school in the fall too, and the loans will begin.
I'm currently about $7000 in debt, which really isn't all that much, but again, I just don't like it hanging there. I have put my credit cards in a drawer at home, so I do not carry them about with me when shopping or whatever. I have not used them in about 3 months, which is good. I just have to keep it up.

#1 here, no credit cards or in debt

CarrieMpls said:

Nah, you've got a real job. 7k isn't bad. But it just doesn't feel good to have it hanging there.

Yeah, I had to stop carrying mine. Dangerous, I say.

School debt sucks, but not like, I-couldn't-live-without-some-stupid-doodad debt.

SeattleInvasion said:

As for the 'real job' part... I may be scaling back on that too. With school coming, I don't want to be stressed over work when I'm trying to do my school stuff. I've applied for a position that's a step down from where I'm at now. It may be less money, but it will be in a new location (downtown Mpls) that's only blocks from school. I'll be back to riding the bus to work (as I'm not paying for downtown Mpls parking) so it might actually even out a bit and I'll be back walking around more again, so I'll feel healthier too. Lots of benefits. I just hope I get the job now. lol.

Growing up, I struggled to learn to live within my means. Those means were very poor. But now, my means generally outsize my need/wants. The only debt I am in is a house and student loan.

I think I'm on the side of #1.

I have a cool ass job, but I don't spend, not even on boat loads of super girlie things like designer duds, and I even work with couture stuff alot, but I never buy hardcore designer stuff unless it's a timeless piece I know I can get 5 years milage out of: the perfect white shirt, the softest cashmere sweater, the comfiest loafer, or the studiest leather bag...

At the moment, I have no car because my Saab died and I'm not getting another one until I can pay for it CASH (NO LEASE!). Luckily I live in a major city with a kickass (and ULTRA SAFE) subway system, and if I can't hail a taxi on the street, very easily I was allowed to open taxi cab account( that I only use to get to work when I have a lot to carry, or if I'm too tipsy after a party).

The main reason why I expatriated myself to Europe in the first place is because I wanted to maintain a certain lifestyle without SPENDING so much money. After paying bills, I like to do things like travel, garden, and eat VERY well. Now that I live in Europe, I can,for example hop a flight to Paris, Mallorca, Istanbul, The French Riviera, Tuscany with minimum 4 hours notice on an air shuttle for $50-$100 RT when I'm lucky, and be there in 1-1/2 hours.If I wanna get jiggy and go to Morrocco and shop for exotic earthenware they sell 10 day vacation packages for $350 (inc.1 daily meal), and the flight is only 3 hours.

I keep my home filled with fresh cut flower arrangements and bulbs according to season for less than $10 a week (it's tulip and hydrangea time for me now), and when I want to pull out appetizers for the old stand-by cheese tray for cocktails with guests, I can gather together the procuitto, olives, FRESH figs, warm breads, goat cheese and buffalo mozzerella for like like $8, when it would cost me at least $30 at Whole Foods or Wild Oats at home in the US. Here, Ciabatta bread only costs 69 cents a loaf; fresh, handmade pasta is about a $1.50 for 4 servings, fresh lox (cured salmon) costs only $2.50,and frozen lobsters cost about $7...

so...all in all, I live within my means, try to save money, but I'm still living very "richly" in terms of the quality of my life. Oddly enough, I would NEVER be one of those people who could spend money on say, expensive rims for a car---with the money an average "trendy" person wants to spend on rims, I could use to go on a guided Safari in Kenya, AND swim on the Cote dAzur!

CarrieMpls said:

Sounds like a plan, girlie. Work stress and school stress are NOT compatible.

For the record, I'm not going to work. I'm doing pre-med classes full-time, and I need to get awesome grades, so I'll be living totally off of loans and whatever meagar savings I can scrape together before then.

SeattleInvasion said:

I wish I could do that, but I'm scared to. I'm used to a certain standard of living and I'm scared to give it up, or go that far into debt. but it may come to that if I don't fell I'm progressing quickly enough in school.

CarrieMpls said:

I understand. It is pretty terrifying.

Right now I'm spending way more than I should since my new job requires me to buy a whole new wardrobe.

Ottensen said:

...now THAT'S what it's all about!
Living life in a perfect balance between what you WANT and what you can afford!
My wife and I are seriously considering moving off of Long Island because it's simply too expensive to raise 3 kids here without having to work 3 jobs or sacrifice the little things that make life bearable. I'll never buy chrome rims for my car...but I do want to be able to take the kids to the Aquarium or spend a day in NYC. So what little I have I spend.

No....


M

Ottensen said:

FUCKING AWESOME!!!

I definately live below my means. I only have 1 credit card and I haven't used it in over 3 years, I keep it so my Fico score will stay as high as it is. I save money by not having cable or high sped internet. I have to spend wisely because I am currently saving for a wedding, down payment on a house, and just emergency needs so I can't be stupid with my money.

RaspberryWoman said:

RaspberryWoman said:

...when I marry her I will be marrying a nice-sized savings account

Right now I only have about $1500 on credit cards, and that's only because I bought a new laptop on my Dell account and I've been lazy about paying it off (there's no interest for a year). I like keeping the extra money in my checking instead of paying off my bills with it.

Twice I jacked up my credit cards with over $10,000 in debt though, and ultimately paid them off, till I finally learned my lesson.

It's amazing how much money you have left over from your checks when you're not mailing out payments to 5 or 6 credit cards each month, that's reason enough to stay away from them.

The only good thing about being a credit card fanatic, is once you do finally pay them off, you have a nice credit limit on all your cards. Both times when I paid all my cards off, they immediately raised all my limits even higher, LOL. I've weened myself off using them, but it is nice to know they're there if some freakish emergency came my way.

lovemachine said:

I hope you're saving, too.

Tom said:

That's why I started using them in the first place, to build my credit.

CarrieMpls said:

When I was in college back in 95. I had a couple of credit cards with like a $500 limit. I used them for all my groceries and other living expenses and paid them off each month out of my savings. The only reason I did this was because I didn't want to bother opening a new savings account down there when I was only gonna be there for a little while, and the long distance ATM fees were absurd. So my bills went back to my home address, and my parents paid them out of my savings. Within a year and a half, the two cards I had raised my limits to $5000 on one card and $7000 on the other. When they see you charging a couple hundred each month then paying it all off right away, they go bonkers.

Ottensen said:

You're making me want to move to Europe!

missfee said:

I guess that means he didn't leave you much, did he? Sounds like my dad.

I'm currently a number 1. Recovering from a number 2. I have massive student loans, but am beginning to trust myself more as I slowly pay things off and develop sound habits. When I live within my means...I feel empowered!

heartbeatocean said:

It's true, we do live well in Europe. All the good food she mentions above she can probably get cheap at a farmer's market on a nearby square.

And let's not mention the price of wine in the south of France. Good wine. Fresh olives, figs straight off the tree (everybody in my neighborhood has a fig tree), large loaves of excellent organic bread for maybe $2 & it lasts you a week... Pastis is the cheapest drink at the local cafes, cheaper than beer. Excellent coffee, excellent seafood that comes from the region (as well as organic goods grown nearby).

My current flowers are crocuses. There's flowers here all year round. And dang, it's true that I've been living on the beach for a pathetically small amount of money. And my graduate education is costing me almost nothing... I lived here for over 9 years without my own car.

I don't know if I'm capable of living in the US anymore. I'm too spoiled for here now.

#1. in addition i save money monthly when i can. right now my credit card has a zero balance. i'm lucky, i know. one catastrophic illness could change all that.

Learned my lesson long ago.... I am living cash and carry for years now... Debt free and car is paid for..... Working on retirement investments now.