The problem with being budget minded is other people.

[PauletteGoddard]

I suppose I use a credit card because I do dumb things like buy gifts for faraway friends that are dear to me, buy gas when the gas station is unstaffed, make reservations for hotels and car rentals. I use it as a convenience to me, and the credit card company makes a small amount on the purchase even when I pay in full.

If you can "easily" pay them back then why in the world do you have a CC????? Cut it up.

I bet George Soros, Steve Ballmer, Oprah Winfrey have credit cards too. Not everyone who has a credit card is carrying a balance.

[Ima saver]

I know what you mean about having no friends who are like minded as you. At all these parties I go to, they spend all their time talking about going to greece or on some 30 day cruise! I have spent 30 years trying to get my best friend to start saving money and quit spending.
When her husband had a heart attack, her church bailed her out and paid her rent, food, utilities, car, everything for months at a time, because she had no money at all. No emergency fund at all. Her phone bill was $200 a month, and the church paid it every month!! My long distance bill is usually about $4 a month, and my dh calls his father every week.

[The Budget Man]

It's a challenge when other people don't see money in the same way we do. We work hard to clear a debt or are very careful with our credit card. Then we see others around us treating money differently.

This shouldn't surprise us. We like different clothes, movies food etc, yet when it comes to money we expect everyone to see it the same way we do.

The day I realised I saw money differently to the way my wife saw it was a revelation!

I was stunned at the way she could budget in the "traditional" sense of the word. Me, well I'm so focused on projects that I'm always too busy for a traditional budget.

The exciting part is that we each have a great financial personality. When we know the strengths of our personality, we can budget happily. The first thing our friends and relatives need is to discover their unique "Financial Personality" and how to budget in a way that suits them.

Enjoy Your Money

[veronak]

It kills me that people tend to think public schools are soooo bad, in some cases yes, However...I worked a a private school one to the top ones in my stated...which had more kids on drugs than the public school I worked at.

[PrincessPerky]

Originally Posted by StressLess

FrugalFarmWife said, "If it weren't for like minded internet friends I'd have gone nuts a long time ago!" That about sums it up for me.

Someone commented on my blog that I could shop with a friend at Goodwill, have a friend help with coloring my hair or with home improvements. Sad to say, largely for economic reasons, we have very few friends at the moment. Certainly none that would go for these activities!

The friends and acquaintances we had back in our college years, and people we've currently met at work, all seem to either have or spend a lot more than we do. Even most of our relatives.

We'd go to a party where people were discussing their latest expensive vacations, or which tanning salon was the best, and we'd have nothing to say. We'd try to start a conversation about something like books, and we'd get looked at like we had extra noses. My SIL keeps trying to arrange things like $100 trips to a baseball park, or family cruises.

In a way, it's almost like we're still living the "poor student" lifestyle but everyone else moved on.

Edit: The point I'm trying to make, which isn't coming out very well is--it's not just the pressure to have the same things as other people. It's also about not being able to socialize with other people the way they want to. Most people expect to DO things with friends besides sit around and talk, like going to concerts or movies or out to dinner. If you keep saying no, because you don't want to spend the money, you are apt to get dropped as a friend. You just aren't fun anymore!

I'm hoping someday we can connect with some folks who have lifestyles closer to ours--maybe through volunteering, or a simplicity circle, or freecycle, or something.

I have that problem too, but I have found that slowly you can find a common ground, just don't talk about money! Kids usually works, though don't talk about education! sometimes TV shows works if I have seen them, DH is better he can read up on a show at work and know enough to carry on a conversation. I well fortunatly I am a loner by nature or I would go crazy!

[Ima saver]

I enjoy just sitting around and talking with friends. I don't need to spend a lot of money going to concerts or fancy restaurants. I wish some of you guys would move to my town. Then we could sit around on my deck over the creek and talk about being frugal together!!

[Broken Arrow]

That sounds like wonderful idea, Ima.

I wish I knew people who are frugal in real life.

[Ima saver]

I do too. I know one couple, in Florida, but I have to say they are really cheap. They like the all you can eat for $3.00 buffets, even tho the food is terrible. They went somewhere on vacation for $70 a week. It was their room and their food for $70. They had to cheat somehow to do it. They used different names and moved out of their room and into another one. I am not into cheating or eating food just because it is cheap.
But I would like to meet people who are frugal and don't believe in wasting money.

The ladies I party with all drink expensive wine. They make fun of me cause I like Boones farm wine. It is $2.99 a bottle and I like it. (obviously, I am not a wine person)

[cbmeeks]

Originally Posted by PauletteGoddard

I bet George Soros, Steve Ballmer, Oprah Winfrey have credit cards too. Not everyone who has a credit card is carrying a balance.

Having tons of money doesn't mean you are smart. I bet Britney Spears has a CC too. What's your point?

cbmeeks

[Thrifty Ray]

I have a rewards cc and I charge EVERYTHING on it...then I pay it off each week/month... I never pay interest and every month or so, I request a check which goes into my challenge account.

If you are disciplined, you can reap some benefits from having a credit card.

I understand some folks aversion to cc's but there is nothing wrong with maintaining one if you can do so responsibly.

[Ima saver]

That is just what we do too, Ray. My husband charges lots of materials at home depot. I deduct it from our check book the day he charges it and then pay the bill in full. So far, we have over $500 which we will get back in August!! It is money he has to spend anyway. It keeps him from writing a check almost every day and we get money back.

[Thrifty Ray]

Originally Posted by Ima saver

That is just what we do too, Ray. My husband charges lots of materials at home depot. I deduct it from our check book the day he charges it and then pay the bill in full. So far, we have over $500 which we will get back in August!! It is money he has to spend anyway. It keeps him from writing a check almost every day and we get money back.

IM (controversial) O you are missing out if you qualify for the opportunity and don't take it. It truly is free money- but the key is DISCIPLINE.

Disclaimer: If you don't have self discipline, it is NOT worth the possibility of getting into debt.

[Ima saver]

Oh no, it has to be paid off every month. In our case, it is often something charged for someone elses house and they are really paying the american express bill with this month's draw!

[The Budget Man]

Originally Posted by Thrifty Ray

IM (controversial) O you are missing out if you qualify for the opportunity and don't take it. It truly is free money- but the key is DISCIPLINE.

Disclaimer: If you don't have self discipline, it is NOT worth the possibility of getting into debt.

Here's how to work out if it is worth getting the rewards. If you have not overrun the payment date on your card in the last year you have the discipline. On the other hand, missing one payment date per year usually costs you more than the benefits.

Enjoy Your Money

The Budget Man

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

cbmeeks, I think Paulette means that just having a credit card does not mean that you will charge it up to the point that you cannot pay it off each month. I have credit cards and never in my life have I been umable to pay them off each month. Having a credit card is not dumb, though there are dumb ways to use one. You know that, right? I do not consider having and using my cards the slightest bit risky. I have the money to pay them before I even use them.

[DebtManWalking]

In our experience, we have lost friends now due to our financial position. Not because we are broke and can't afford things, but because according to our friends we "have it but don't use it". I have read the replies in this thread and can't believe how many comments strike me as having heard them before.

We have friends that are in debt up to the eyeballs, big house, BMW's and the white picket fence. The inside of the house is barely furnished because to them the outside appearance is far more important than the inside.

In our house, the outside comes last and the inside is the first to be looked after. We have a beautiful home that is beautifully landscaped by the two of us as we enjoy that stuff, but we had to wait and be patient because our life is about we feel and live on the inside than what we look like on the outside.

Thanks!

[The Budget Man]

Originally Posted by Joan.of.the.Arch

cbmeeks, I think Paulette means that just having a credit card does not mean that you will charge it up to the point that you cannot pay it off each month. I have credit cards and never in my life have I been umable to pay them off each month. Having a credit card is not dumb, though there are dumb ways to use one. You know that, right? I do not consider having and using my cards the slightest bit risky. I have the money to pay them before I even use them.

That's the excitement and freedom a credit card can give a person who has the ability to use it correctly.

You can still have a credit card and enjoy it even if you have difficulties with credit. The trick is of course to have a small limit and stay within it. The larger the limit the more you need to know you can walk away from a purchase.

I've broken up my credit card limits across multiple cards and only use them in specific circumstances.

Enjoy your money.

[Ima saver]

We never charge large ticket items. If my husband needs something big, like a $1000 tool, we pay for that by check. It is just smaller items, like things in catalogs, that we charge and pay off monthly. That is with my credit card. His credit card is for home depot, or building supply places that we pay each month.

[flash]

Originally Posted by DebtManWalking

In our experience, we have lost friends now due to our financial position. Not because we are broke and can't afford things, but because according to our friends we "have it but don't use it". I have read the replies in this thread and can't believe how many comments strike me as having heard them before.

We have friends that are in debt up to the eyeballs, big house, BMW's and the white picket fence. The inside of the house is barely furnished because to them the outside appearance is far more important than the inside.

In our house, the outside comes last and the inside is the first to be looked after. We have a beautiful home that is beautifully landscaped by the two of us as we enjoy that stuff, but we had to wait and be patient because our life is about we feel and live on the inside than what we look like on the outside.

Thanks!

Same here...isn't it odd, people think that they can AFFORD something just because they can cover the cost, on the short term. We do use it, that's just it, we USE it, to work for us and keep us financially secure. Spending isn't the same as using! Thanks for the post!

[tgavin71]

If you lose friends over issues such as this then they weren't your friends in the first place.