Nothing New/Mindful Spending Week Five

[Ginevra]

The "rules" of this challenge are self-defined. Anyone can join in at any time. The aim of the challenge (for me) is to combat consumerism, wastefulness, mindless buying, and overspending. It is meant to nurture creative problem solving, ecology, frugality, intentionalism, and resourcefulness. To support these goals, I seek to buy nothing new/unnecessary. I aim to use existing resources, borrow, hand-craft, and buy existing second-hand materials to the greatest extent possible. However, I recognize that life is unpredictable, and family life increases this factor exponentially, so I will buy new in the following cases, when a non-buying option does not present:

 

Food, health, and necessary household goods excluded.

Requirements for school, work, or health and well-being which cannot be obtained used.

Gifts, when a creative non-commercial option will not suffice.

Anything animal or gardening related that cannot be obtained used.

Fuel/energy sources.

 

Posts will appear each Saturday, referring to the week that is ending. Post your successes, creative solutions, relapses and weak moments. It doesn't matter if you have a weak moment! Just keep swimming!

Expenses this week: boots and mittens for DS16. Verdict: glad I did it. He was so happy!

Regular grocery stuff at Aldi today; still dumbstruck how little I spend there. I spent $43!

I did go to Target where my bill was a good bit higher than that. I needed some odd different things: a new work belt for DH, bird seed, vitamins, tweezers, measuring cups. The measuring cup and tweezers are because I always need another. Need a tweezer for the cats? Can't find it, because it's somewhere totally different...and so on. Same with the measuring cups - the one I need is always dirty.

 

I also bought a few more things to put in a care package for DD, plus shipping for that.

[JustEm]

Aside from groceries we bought nothing this week! Being forced to stay inside is good on the budget

[knoxinsox]

I bought nothing this week, not even groceries.  Next week though.....LOL  

 

We rent and so we have moved our storage pieces over and over---wire shelving from Sam's Club, dressers, etc. We seem to live in older homes without much built in storage, so it changes every place we live.  

So this week, I was needing storage in the laundry room, and was trying to think outside the box in order not to purchase anything,  I went thru each room to evaluate the storage items. Decided that the tall wire shelves could go in the laundry room, and the metal work table could go in its place in the kitchen instead of being used as an island.  

Which led to dumping out my homeschool items so I could use the storage baskets in the kitchen,  

The table that was in the laundry room will be headed to the living room, taking the place of an old dresser, which is going to be the island in the kitchen.  

Hubby was appropriately grumpy when told the news.   The old dresser had a few tools in it, but was mostly empty since a heavy purge.  So yay for not spending money.  I have paint and the table and dresser are getting repainted this coming week.  

 

I made sandwich buns again today instead of buying bread and cookies instead of snacks.    Tomorrow, I'm trying my hand at making liquid hand soap from a new bar I found when decluttering the bathroom.   

 

Feeling pretty darn good about this week!  

Edited February 14, 2016 by knoxinsox

[Annie G]

I'm embarrassed to even post this week. But you know, some weeks are like this. So here goes.

 

Dinner out with the family to celebrate dd landing a job that actually required her college degree. Yay! Her first professional job!

 

$4 worth of Valentine themed fabric and ribbon to make quilted postcards for the grands. And $2 to mail them. 

 

Lunch out with dh to celebrate his birthday. 

 

Pizza to continue the birthday celebration. 

 

$4 for a Valentine card and a box of movie theater candy for dh. 

 

$3 for two bottles of Pepsi from a convenience store <-- I usually keep a few bottles on hand and ran out and was SO mad that I had to pay that much.   But since dh's heart attack we share one occasionally and we REALLY needed one. Or two.g

 

For me- new jeans, new tennis shoes, and a new shirt. 

 

Plane ticket so I can go visit my oldest dd (and grandkids) and also my sister who lives near them.   

 

We never eat out three times in a week. I can't even remember when we ate out three times in a month. But this week....it is what it is.  The airfare was budgeted. I haven't seen the kids since July.  

 

On the plus side, I picked up a new student to tutor. Common core math is proving to be good for my wallet. 

Edited February 14, 2016 by Annie G

[JustEm]

Oh shoot I forgot! I spent $100 buying my sil's old DSLR camera. Her skills have outgrown it and I've always wanted one but refused to pay hundreds of dollars for a new one. Dh was planning on buying me one for my bday in July so I have happily used a portion of our refund to purchase this off of her. It is more of a savings than a spending since he already set aside the larger amount to purchase a new one for me for my bday.

[Annie G]

Oh shoot I forgot! I spent $100 buying my sil's old DSLR camera. Her skills have outgrown it and I've always wanted one but refused to pay hundreds of dollars for a new one. Dh was planning on buying me one for my bday in July so I have happily used a portion of our refund to purchase this off of her. It is more of a savings than a spending since he already set aside the larger amount to purchase a new one for me for my bday.

I love mindful spending this way! You saved money and your sil was able to sell her old camera without the hassle of Craigslist!   Hope you enjoy it!

[Jane in NC]

First for the mindful:  a couple of years ago, I saw one of those beautiful Romanian lap harps (Melody Maker) for children at a charity shop. It came with a stack of music sheets. It had a broken string but I knew it was a bargain at $5.  One of my grand nephews is now at the perfect age for this so I contacted his mom and asked if he might like it.  Yes, she was delighted.  Given her enthusiasm, I not only ordered replacement strings but also a case.  Essentially I am spending more on the latter than the initial $5 but I think this is a worthwhile investment--and a great example of recycling.

 

Something new but mindfully needed:  a book lamp for me.  My husband rises early for work and thus goes to sleep before me.  I like to read in bed.  Instead of using the lamp on my bedside table as he is falling asleep, I have been using a book lamp that clips to my book.  Yes, paper books and not an e-reader for me.  Unfortunately I have found that these book lamps are cheap pieces of you know what.  My first, the well known Itty Bitty, went through a bulb every few weeks.  Considering the cost of the special replacement bulb, this was not cost effective.  So I switched to a GE clip on lamp that I found in the clearance bin at the grocery store of all places.  When the first one died, I bought a new button battery only to discover that the reading lamp was officially dead.  The second one is now fading--the light is so dim I cannot see the words on the page.  This led me to try my husband's LL Bean headlamp but that is too bright!  So I ordered the Moleskine model, one with LED bulbs that can be recharged in a USB.  Keeping fingers crossed. 

 

Semi-mindful:  We just had part of the interior of the house painted and are mindfully returning things to where they belong, discarding or passing along a number of items.  But some stuff is just plain shabby.  For example, the floor protector for my husband's office chair looks so beat up.  Even though it still functions, I replaced it.

 

Total impulse:  One of my girlfriends came over sporting a pair of Ugg boots that she found in a charity shop.  She and I wear the same size of shoe so I tried them on. I have an upcoming trip to a cold place and she offered to loan them to me.  Last night in bed I decided to see if LL Bean had something comparable.  They did.  I ordered them immediately. I don't usually do things like this but I guess I have been toying with the notion of boots for a few weeks now.  So maybe it was not completely impulsive.

[Guest]

I bought nothing this week, not even groceries. Next week though.....LOL

 

We rent and so we have moved our storage pieces over and over---wire shelving from Sam's Club, dressers, etc. We seem to live in older homes without much built in storage, so it changes every place we live.

So this week, I was needing storage in the laundry room, and was trying to think outside the box in order not to purchase anything, I went thru each room to evaluate the storage items. Decided that the tall wire shelves could go in the laundry room, and the metal work table could go in its place in the kitchen instead of being used as an island.

Which led to dumping out my homeschool items so I could use the storage baskets in the kitchen,

The table that was in the laundry room will be headed to the living room, taking the place of an old dresser, which is going to be the island in the kitchen.

Hubby was appropriately grumpy when told the news. The old dresser had a few tools in it, but was mostly empty since a heavy purge. So yay for not spending money. I have paint and the table and dresser are getting repainted this coming week.

 

I made sandwich buns again today instead of buying bread and cookies instead of snacks. Tomorrow, I'm trying my hand at making liquid hand soap from a new bar I found when decluttering the bathroom.

 

Feeling pretty darn good about this week!

Fantastic job reusing and repurposing what you already have! I love it when things work out that way.

 

One of my favorite books I have on my shelf, bought years and years ago, is a book called "Use What You Have Decorating." I think it is *brilliant*! It explains design principles and then helps you to re-arrange and see your ordinary belongings in a new light or arrange them in a better way.

 

So, for example, one of the principles is to use Pairs. Oftentimes, we have two of something (two lamps of the same kind, two pieces of artwork, two tchotchkes, but they end up in different parts of the room, or even the house where they aren't making a design statement. Group them together and it brings harmony to the room.

 

That is a terrific book!

[Ravin]

Let's see...I did pretty good this week. I did transfer DH $50 to take his girlfriend out for valentine's day, in addition to money for gas and DD's medical appointment on Monday.

 

I need to make sure I have enough money set aside to cover four nights in hotel rooms the second week of March.

[knoxinsox]

Quill, I used to have that book!!  I think it got decluttered about 3 moves ago, but the ideas in it are timeless.   I've used ideas from it many times and it helps me think outside the box.  No idea why, but I often think of the picture where she used a short Walmart bookcase as a side table.  

[prairiewindmomma]

good:

1. I shopped my homeschool shelves for next year.  Other than a couple of workbooks, I only need to order for my oldest.  I'm reusing many things with my younger children.  My PK curricula will be used for the 5th time!

2. I shopped for clothing off of a written list. I went through everyone's wardrobe and we assessed needs.

3. I used the library rather than buying books.

 

bad:

1. Dh wanted to buy me Valentine's Day flowers. Lovely gesture, but $$.

2. I bought Valentine's Day candy for the kids, $$. So much for just sticking to cupcakes and healthy foods.

3. We ate out twice due to me feeling poorly. 

4. Pottytraining is not going well.

 

ugly:

1. Our microwave is dying an electrical death.  Dh just saw electricity sparking, so we have unplugged it and called it dead. 

2. Our kids feet grew. Older dd's grew three sizes; there was no putting off buying shoes. 6 pairs of shoes between the kids' needs = $$$.

3. They needed new swimwear too.  We belong to the neighborhood pool (which is open 7 months of the year) so it will get use, but $$$.

4. Dh needed shorts. His old ones were 6 years old and ratty and needed to be replaced. He is unusually tall, so $$$ for three pairs of them.

5. House repairs...two calls on the irrigation system this week, and now I need to hire a plumber. $$$ with $$$ to come.

[MomtoCandJ]

Well bought some more stuff for school and am now planning a trip to Pennsylvania in March. So far I have reserved one night at a hotel (for the town dh needs to take his test in) and bought the ez pass thing for the toll roads in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

[SKL]

Summer math camp - I already mentioned it on the last thread, but technically it was paid this past week.  I don't know the final price, because there will be discounts for doing 2 kids and 2 camps in the same week.  However, it is worth whatever it costs.  :)

 

Kids' valentines - I didn't look at the price.  I was going for convenience.  Candy and valentine all in one.

 

Maid service - $160 which is paid roughly once a month.  A mindful purchase because it saves me valuable time and reduces my stress level.  And it benefits the women who are doing the work.  They are always so thankful when we let them come.

 

A mindful business investment, paid out of a fund I have for business investments.

 

A new parakeet to keep Pikachu company.  As I expected, we also needed a bigger cage, and I bought a few more toys and some food.  Total bill $170.  Unfortunately, when we got home, Pikachu was dead in her cage.  When we got over the shock, we agreed that we should go back today and buy another bird from the same batch as the one we bought yesterday, so they would kinda know each other and hopefully get along well.  So we did that.  The bird itself was only $20.  The girls decided today that they would name one of the new birds Pikachu, and the other one Raichu.

 

I think that's all.

 

Horse riding was canceled because it was so cold, so I saved another $100.

[Guest]

SKL, I am sorry about the bird. How sad!

 

 

ETA: typo

Edited February 14, 2016 by Quill

[BarbecueMom]

I spent about $20 on painting supplies, $40 on groceries, $60 on Rx and cold/allergy med refills, and $120-ish on Amazon for things DH needs after his surgery, fridge water filters, and a couple cork boards for the kids' art room.

 

My mindful spending efforts have been tested this weekend. My kitchen utensil drawer fell into pieces on Friday, the crock pot stoneware and my two sauce pans ate it on Saturday, and one of the range hood light$ went out this morning. I can hold off on the crock pot. I'll start researching lots and pans, and DS6 made me two "utensil holders" out of empty Ziploc boxes and paper.

 

But oh my goodness I so want a brand new fancy FUNCTIONING kitchen.

[Annie G]

BarbecueMom I absolutely must have my kitchen fully functioning so I feel for ya there- but it's adorable that you have a custom utensil holder.g 

 

SKL, sorry about the bird! 

[myfunnybunch]

The only extras I bought this week were a coffee drive-through smoothie for ds13, because he had a long ballet class and forgot his snack, and new ballet shoes, also for ds13. He has a back-up leather pair but doesn't like them as well as the canvas, and his canvas ones have holes. He's dancing so many hours right now that I decided it's better to indulge his shoe preference than to make him dance that much in shoes that aren't as comfortable.

 

Oh, and I bought some heart stickers and pretty paper to replenish our Valentine box, but it been years since I added something new, and one bag of Valentine hearts to share. Our Valentine celebration is homemade Valentines, heart pancakes, and trading candy hearts of breakfast, so not too much $$. :)

 

I'm trying to decide how to help ds15 decide about purchasing some basic recording equipment for his laptop. His choir director can make the package available for a pretty reasonable cost, and ds would use it for activities beyond music recording, but it's still all brand new and a lot of money for him to spend. He's pretty sure he'd use it for a variety of activities, though. I'm directing him to the choir director to get more information before he decides.

 

Which brings me to a question that's probably been addressed, but since I'm new to this, I haven't read it....Do you, or how do you, encourage mindful spending in the rest of the family? With your kids, or with your dh?

[Prairie~Phlox]

We had an expensive week with beef processing at $172.xx (my parents own a beef farm, so thankfully we only have to pay processing) Also had a big Sam's run, $107 there, but got Dial soap that will last a year and water softener salt, so that added about $25.00 and a few other things that I shouldn't have to buy for a while.  I am still under budget for the month as far as groceries and both vehicle insurance bills are less next month due to a good driving refund.  It's snowing, so DH will get at least 3 hours of comp time going to shovel work sidewalks this evening.  3 hour min for being called in and it will probably take an hour. 

[Annie G]

 

 

Which brings me to a question that's probably been addressed, but since I'm new to this, I haven't read it....Do you, or how do you, encourage mindful spending in the rest of the family? With your kids, or with your dh?

Last year my family knew I was doing this but I didn't push them to join me. I talked to dh quite a bit about it because we are only a few years from retirement so we're doing a lot of talking about retirement budgets, relocation costs, etc. But I didn't push him to join me. 

 

Toward the end of the year, I noticed dh being more mindful with his spending.  (We have joint accounts and we each also have our own accounts with our own discretionary money) And this year he's doing pretty well, but he still struggles in a few areas, such as books. I buy maybe three books a year at most  and use the library for the rest. He just hasn't been able to shake that book buying habit.  

 

Of our two left at home, our son is quite frugal so spending just isn't an issue with him. Our daughter is frugal except she loves makeup. And omg can that be expensive. But she's 23 and it's her money so all I can do is model behavior I hope she will follow. She generally sees me as too frugal...and I am definitely not.  I hoped that earning her own money and paying her own bills would nurture a more frugal mentality but like so many people she works hard and wants to enjoy the fruits of her labor. 

 

All of this is to say that I don't want to force my views onto the other adults in the house. Sure, I'd love for us all to be more mindful, but it can be a tricky tightrope.  Relationships are a big deal to me and I don't want to screw it up over money.

[Jane in NC]

 

All of this is to say that I don't want to force my views onto the other adults in the house. Sure, I'd love for us all to be more mindful, but it can be a tricky tightrope.  Relationships are a big deal to me and I don't want to screw it up over money.

 

We are a parsimonious group by our nature but the thing that I strive to emphasize with my adult son is the true value of an item. "Cheap" is not necessarily better.  By this I mean not only quality but ethical decisions in terms of investing in one's community, buying items made in the US, etc.

 

My husband works really hard in his corporate position.  Frankly I feel that he deserves some toys given that he brings in a handsome salary.  But before he buys a new camera lens or a new kayak, he talks to me about why he is making the purchase.  He calls me the CFO (Corporate Financial Officer) and appreciates my money management decisions. 

 

I think that every family, every marriage, has different dynamics.  Some spouses want to eat lunch out every day or buy a fancy coffee.  These seem like small expenses but they add up.  I think the best one can do is have a family budget talk and look at the big picture.  If a spouse feels that a $5 coffee is a daily need, can that spouse justify $100 a month or $1200 annually as a "need"? Family goals can enter the discussion if need be.  Spouse may want a vacation.  Would $1200 help fund it?

 

Modeling behavior to our kids and talking with our spouses is about the best we can do, I think.

 

Good luck!

[Annie G]

 

 

My husband works really hard in his corporate position.  Frankly I feel that he deserves some toys given that he brings in a handsome salary.  But before he buys a new camera lens or a new kayak, he talks to me about why he is making the purchase.  He calls me the CFO (Corporate Financial Officer) and appreciates my money management decisions. 

 

 

 

 

Modeling behavior to our kids and talking with our spouses is about the best we can do, I think.

 

Good luck!

 

Same here. Dh works hard at a stressful job (he manages a test lab that has a third of the staff he has when he took the job but twice the workload)  and I'm not going to complain about the books he buys. He doesn't eat lunch out or drink pricey coffee or anything...his main vices are books and our sports car.   But I have my own vices- I'm a quilter and I travel with my sisters at least once a year. And I travel to see our grandkids, too.  So we each spend money and I completely appreciate that he doesn't give me grief about my travel or quilt stuff. 

 

Oddly enough, we  split financial stuff like bill paying. I handle all the monthly bills like utilities, groceries, and household stuff and he handles the house, cars, and medical stuff. If I have a medical expense I toss it on his desk and he takes care of it...same with snowplow charges, plumber visits, and property tax bill.  I really like that we both handle certain things because if something happens to either of us, the other will be able to carry on easily.  My mom passed before my dad but would have been totally lost if he had passed first.   We talk about stuff so we know what each other is doing.  

 

Here's a true confession about our weirdness: since we each have our own accounts and each handle certain budget items, when we take trips we each like to 'treat' each other. So last year we took a road trip and I planned a day at The Grand Old Opry and bought the tickets and arranged the tour and planned dinner and the hotel that night. I paid for it from my account and it was so cool. Earlier in the trip he planned  a day and he covered those costs.  We do that with day trips throughout the year-- it's kind of like dating, which now that the kids are grown, we're enjoying very much. Our friends think we are totally weird though. 

[myfunnybunch]

All of this is to say that I don't want to force my views onto the other adults in the house. Sure, I'd love for us all to be more mindful, but it can be a tricky tightrope.  Relationships are a big deal to me and I don't want to screw it up over money.

 

This is kind of what I was thinking, too, and how I try to approach spending with my dh. I'm mostly pondering how to encourage the boys to make balanced decisions. Ds11 just asked me to walk him to the store because he had some spending money burning a hole in his wallet, and I was trying to help him think about spending wisely without telling him what to buy.

[knoxinsox]

I think as Jane put it, modeling it to your kids is the best.  When they are young, its the best time.  I want my kids to think through purchases.  No we don't go to the dollar store and get toys.  They are bad quality with harmful chemicals.  We don't purchase broken toys at yard sales. They will be sad when there are crucial pieces missing.  We try to model saving up the pennies for something on our own wish lists.  For me, that means showing them the literal pennies I earn on Swagbucks becoming hundreds of dollars saved up in my Paypal account.  

 

Its clicking with my son--he's asking for jobs to do to squirrel away money for a specific Lego set he wants and saving up the Christmas and birthday money.  

We talk about turning off lights in rooms that no one is in, using reusable things instead of throwaways--water bottles, paper towels, etc, being careful with our possessions so that they last as long as they can, not being greedy with food and taking more than needed and not finishing it, and just doing without sometimes.  We don't expect to always get drinks or a treat when we go shopping, because we take water and snacks along.  When they were little and clamoring for things in the store, we said things like, "it sure is fun to look, isn't it?"  But I have to show that I don't purchase everything I want, not even groceries.  So we talk about the budget, work on math at the grocery store, talk about the water bill, etc.  We have conversations about how rich we are as Americans.  It blew my son's mind that there are families who live in garbage dumps.  

I'm trying to cultivate an attitude of thankfulness and contentment in them that will stick with them for the rest of their lives.  

 

Husband is not as on board as the kids are.  He wants a lot more convenience than I do and he's bought into the lie that brand-name items are better.  He does understand that we need to be even more careful right now, but he wants cable back!! And going out to eat. I'd just like his student loans to get paid off.  But you cannot change an adult--just like with decluttering, they have to do their stuff and come to their own realization of the mess.  

[SKL]

Regarding the kids' spending habits.  I'm behind on teaching money management, I'll admit it.  But this past Christmas, some people gave my kids money instead of gifts, which has been interesting.  One of mine is a saver and the other is a spendthrift!  But on the positive side, the spendthrift did give generously to charity on a whim.  I think for now, it is probably best to kind of sit back and let them try this and that with limited amounts of money.  I plan on giving them an allowance (I was supposed to start it already), with no limitations except on sugar.  (We have sugar issues here.)  And my kids can earn a little fun money by doing odd jobs.  That's how I started out as a kid.  It was a long time before I was expected to cover any living expenses other than pure fun stuff (and library fines).  Despite not having financial "responsibility," I did learn a lot about getting a good bang for my buck.

 

As a model for my kids, I'm a mix of money management styles.  I come from a poor background, and spent frugally for many years to get into a comfortable financial position.  My kids didn't see any of that.  They came along when I didn't have any real money worries.  They don't get everything they want just for the asking, but they have few wants/needs because they are pretty well set.  In a way, this puts them at a disadvantage - they might think the plastic card in my pocket has magical qualities.  I'm sure they take a lot of things for granted, and I'm not proud of that.

 

When we are out and they want something, I rarely buy it, but I don't say "no" either; I encourage them to work out a way to buy it themselves.  And when they have asked why we don't have something other families have, I say I choose to spend my money on other things that I consider more important, such as education and travel.

 

I will encourage my kids to work for pay as soon as they qualify for paying jobs of any sort.  I'll encourage them to get certified for first aid, babysitting, lifeguarding, etc., and to look out for opportunities to use their skills.  We'll see how it goes.

[Jane in NC]

We talk about turning off lights in rooms that no one is in, using reusable things instead of throwaways--water bottles, paper towels, etc, being careful with our possessions so that they last as long as they can, not being greedy with food and taking more than needed and not finishing it, and just doing without sometimes.  We don't expect to always get drinks or a treat when we go shopping, because we take water and snacks along.  When they were little and clamoring for things in the store, we said things like, "it sure is fun to look, isn't it?"  But I have to show that I don't purchase everything I want, not even groceries.  So we talk about the budget, work on math at the grocery store, talk about the water bill, etc.  We have conversations about how rich we are as Americans.  It blew my son's mind that there are families who live in garbage dumps.  

 

When my son was in 6th or 7th grade, I had him make histograms of our electrical and water usage over the course of the previous two years.  Hey--he needed some practice for math, right?  I asked him to look for patterns and trends.

 

One thing that came out of this was an awareness of cost since the dollars were printed on the bills he used to plot the data.  After that exercise, he became the enforcer as far as light switches and power strips were concerned.

 

[Garga]

We eat too many carbs around here, so I'm trying to get us to eat more meat.  I hate meat.  I would live off of pasta if I could, but the kids are gaining too much weight. Doc says they need to lose it.  I was ready for a huge blow to the budget, but I've been surprised by my last two shopping trips.  Buying all this meat isn't as expensive as I thought it would be.  But, I used to buy 3 gallons of milk a week and about 5 bags of cheese.  We're cutting down on milk and cheese and maybe that's why the money isn't so much higher?  Milk and cheese adds up.  We're down to 1 gallon and 1 bag of cheese.  We also don't buy cereal anymore.  I'm so glad it's balanced out.  I spent the same amount of money and come home with a ton of meat.

 

We had our annual outing to Ikea yesterday and I found out that The Great Cookie was nearby.  I haven't had a cookie from The Great Cookie in 20 years.  I thought they'd gone out of business!  Nope.  Just the local one closed. I lurve The Great Cookie.

 

1/2 lb of snickerdoodles was $10.

Spent $53 on stuff at Ikea.

Spent $25 on lunch. 

 

All in all not too bad.  We really shouldn't have spent any money this week because this past week we took a bunch of hits (tooth extraction, cat vet bill, curriculum purchase.)  But we only go to Ikea once a year for Valentine's Day weekend.  It's tradition.

 

To make up for our $100 trip to Ikea (it's a two hour round trip, so lots of gas), we're going back to spending NOTHING for the rest of the month to make up for it all. :)

 

But we got some lovely pillows for the couch.  We toyed with the idea of buying a new couch, and then remembered we have to try to come up with the money for plane tickets this year.  We could have bought 4 couches with the cost of these stupid plane tickets.  So, still using the saggy old couch.  The new couch pillows will support our backs because our couch has no back support.

Edited February 15, 2016 by Garga

[Guest]

The only extras I bought this week were a coffee drive-through smoothie for ds13, because he had a long ballet class and forgot his snack, and new ballet shoes, also for ds13. He has a back-up leather pair but doesn't like them as well as the canvas, and his canvas ones have holes. He's dancing so many hours right now that I decided it's better to indulge his shoe preference than to make him dance that much in shoes that aren't as comfortable.

 

Oh, and I bought some heart stickers and pretty paper to replenish our Valentine box, but it been years since I added something new, and one bag of Valentine hearts to share. Our Valentine celebration is homemade Valentines, heart pancakes, and trading candy hearts of breakfast, so not too much $$. :)

 

I'm trying to decide how to help ds15 decide about purchasing some basic recording equipment for his laptop. His choir director can make the package available for a pretty reasonable cost, and ds would use it for activities beyond music recording, but it's still all brand new and a lot of money for him to spend. He's pretty sure he'd use it for a variety of activities, though. I'm directing him to the choir director to get more information before he decides.

 

Which brings me to a question that's probably been addressed, but since I'm new to this, I haven't read it....Do you, or how do you, encourage mindful spending in the rest of the family? With your kids, or with your dh?

It is an interesting question. In our family, I have always tended not to buy much unnecessary stuff, either for myself or for my kids. So there has been that model all along. But, like most people, it also fluctuates between how serious I am vs. how loose I let the reins go. Some years, I have bought 90% of the children's wardrobes at Goodwill and/or consignment shops. Other years, I have gone for ease and just ordered several outfits from Lands End and called it done. But overall, if you asked my kids or husband what my attitude is towards money, I almost guarantee they would say "frugal."

 

I have never been one to buy toys or snacks as an everyday thing. My kids also see that I use things a long time; I am slow to change phones, for example, and use the same digital camera and laptop computer I have had for ten years. (Please don't think I am saying I am a paragon of virtuous spending. I have my blind spots, too. But I think, taken as a whole, people characterize me as frugal and a conservative spender.)

 

DH and I are well-matched in attitude towards money, thankfully. I know this is frequently an argument point for many couples, but we rarely disagree about spending priorities, at least not to where it causes strife. The only thing he is more spendy about than I am is hobbies and experiences. If it were up to me, I probably never would have taken the kids skiing. It is a very expensive sport/hobby to pursue and, though I enjoy it as a family trip when we go, it sort of kills me what it costs.

 

My DD is probably not as naturally frugal as I am; she hasn't yet decided that Sephora makeup is not worth it. ;) but I am not worried about her getting burdened with consumer debt; she has a good head on her shoulders. DS16 is more frugal than I am. I actually have to work to keep him from feeling he is not allowed to require anything. DS11 - it's hard to say at the moment. He is not whiny and doesn't act entitled, at this point.

[Tsuga]

Did you guys know that if you get a punctured tire on a car with a four wheel drive train, they will tell you to replace all four tires??? If they can't patch the tire which according to their standards of service has to be in a narrow margin in the middle of the tread?

 

Yep. Now you know.

 

I'm so glad my car isn't four wheel drive!

[Guest]

Did you guys know that if you get a punctured tire on a car with a four wheel drive train, they will tell you to replace all four tires??? If they can't patch the tire which according to their standards of service has to be in a narrow margin in the middle of the tread?

 

Yep. Now you know.

 

I'm so glad my car isn't four wheel drive!

I have never heard that and it sounds scammy to me. Granted, if all four tires are worn down, I imagine they would recommend replacement of them all, but just because it's four wheel drive? That makes no sense to me.

[BarbecueMom]

Did you guys know that if you get a punctured tire on a car with a four wheel drive train, they will tell you to replace all four tires??? If they can't patch the tire which according to their standards of service has to be in a narrow margin in the middle of the tread?

 

Yep. Now you know.

 

I'm so glad my car isn't four wheel drive!

Yep, my brother is a mechanic and specifically cautioned my mother against AWD because her penchant for flattening tires would get expensive. It messes with the sensors or something.