1. Do you limit your spending according to your income?
2. Do you spend more than you should and have high credit card bills?
3. Or are you so fabulously wealthy that you buy what you want and have plenty to spare?!?!?

I am, unfortunately, #2.
It's not that I buy fancy clothes or anything like that, but I like to enjoy my life while I can. We eat out alot. We go to the movies alot. We take the kids to Florida every year, and they have gone to every beach, zoo, museum, theme park and attraction in the tri-state area.

So yes, I'm broke. But I'm happy.

Although I'd rather be #3!

I am only in debt about 300 dollars. If I want something, I save and then buy it. Credit is a joke. I learned my lesson.

SO, yeah, I live within my means. I should stop spending so much when I go out though.....

I'm more #2.

I have recently examined my spending pattern and it is horrible.

I don't think I'll ever be #3 so I'm trying to find a balance.

I want to live for today AND save for tomorrow.
[Edited 3/13/06 18:25pm]

jerseykrs said:

Credit isn't so much of a joke as it is a NIGHTMARISH ADDICTION!
...one day I'll wean myself off Visa & Mastercard!

PurpleJedi said:

Credit is not your friend

I'm probably number 2. I didn't have credit card debt until about the last 3 years, and I've gone a little over board, I think. But overall, it's really not that much money. I'd just prefer not to have it. This year, I'm trying to teach myself to be just a bit more responsible.

PurpleJedi said:

Oh trust me, I learned the hard way. They gave me a credit card when I was about 16 with a 5 grand limit. I think I was making 150 a week. Crazy. I've actually been debt free for about 4 years now, and you know once I got used to saving for the things I want, it just became habit. I get paid monthly, so I pay all my bills, go food shopping, put away some money to go food shopping again in two weeks, and then the rest is up to me. Sometimes I save, sometimes I go to more concerts than normal. It's a good balance.

we are in debt by $250,000 but that is good debt. We live without spending any more than we have to. Credit card is paid off in full every month.

i'm #2, like my daddy used to always tell me, "shucks, when you die u gonna owe somebody anyway..." might as well live now while you are alive, because when you die, you can't spend any of the money that you have saved...and even the money saved will be gone, either by your receipients in your will or on your funeral expenses...
[Edited 3/13/06 18:39pm]

I'm somewhere between 1 and 2.

#3. I'm filthy rich.

I live w/in my means, but I have rich parents.

I'm a 1 right now, but I need to get serious about saving more money.

Check it out.

www.daveramsey.com

CynthiasSocks said:

For the longest time I spent like I was insane and worked up monstrous debt. I got like 4 credit cards (including a limitless American Express) when I was a freshman in college. I thought I was friggin' Puff Daddy -- also making about $150 a week!

I suffered bigtime, but I managed to clean up all my debt except school loans and a little I owe the IRS.

I still spend too much probably, although I don't amass a bunch of "crap." (I've actually purged about 75% of the incidental stuff I've had over the past two or three years. My wife thinks I'm crazy.) I'm a sucker for clothes, but aside from that, my money tends to go into investing in our home. I don't feel soooo bad, as I rationalize it as an investment... and I do pay cash for nearly everything.

So I'd say I'm 2, but, thankfully, without the credit card bills.
[Edited 3/13/06 19:46pm]

...definately #1... with the exception of our mortgage, debt free!!! Been that way almost 2 years now...of course, thats all because of my wife, without her sensibilty, I'd be broke and buried in debt...

Can someone loan me $50?

althom said:

i used to but ive learned my lesson since then.

TMPletz said:

althom said:

Okay, how about this instead?

TMPletz said:

althom said:

Don't make me break it down even further.

TMPletz said:

i was #2 REALLLLLY bad. ended up having to declare bankruptcy, worked my way back, and got a couple cards with a low limit. maxed those out and thought "oh crap, here we go again." but i paid those off, paid off my school loan, and now the only debt i have is my mortgage and my car. now if i don't have it i don't spend it. and it's STILL hard to live within my means. but with my other debts just recently paid off (thanks to my tax return! ) i'm expecting it to get much easier. so, hopefully, in the next couple months i'll actually get to pay all my bills and not worry that my heat will get shut off!

during my late teens and early 20's I was REALLY REALLY bad with money... I learnt a lot from then though and am in no debt now at all thank goodness

I'm pretty much #1

I had CRAZY credit card debt all the years I was in school but I worked my way back from that & now I'm pretty much cash only - if I don't have it, I simply can't buy it. I also try to keep just enough in my checking account & move everything else to another savings that has no ATM access - so I gotta really want something if I need to move $ around to get it

ONE credit card for emergencies that I haven't had to use much (car repairs) but my car is paid for (please God let it last me another 2 years, so nice not to have a car note!!! ) & the only outstanding debt I have is my school loans.

I save something from every single paycheck so I'm pretty good about stashing $ away. I don't have as much saved as I'd like (enough to take a year off from work & still have $ saved ) but all I can do is keep trying. I never, EVER want to be in so much debt again if I can help it.

It's weird though b/c I'm always wondering if I'm spending too much - I'm used to having very little, so now that I've moved into a new earning bracket I can't seem to guage it right But I try to be responsible, not get clothes crazy & send back anything that I'm iffy about. I've stopped buying my lunch everyday (frozen foods, yay! ), started making my coffe & bagels @ home, only have a real dinner out about once a week if that. I think I'm doing pretty good

I live within my means, but those means are student means and I have a boatload of debt, and I eat beans on toast. All the time! I came from a dirt poor background, and I was in debt before I went to university at 19, so with nothing behind me or from my parents to tide me over it just got worse. at the moment I owe about £11000, and its only going to get worse until summer 2007 when I can finally start work. Theres nothing I can do to pay it off, hell Im living on more credit right now! Im looking forward to working