Households face the unthinkable: budgeting

[sweeps]

After years of living large, U.S. households are finally learning what financial experts thought they never would: to live within their means...

"Frugality is in, extravagance is out."

Reuters Article

[vsjhoc]

I was at a shopping mall this past weekend. You would never know there was any kind of financial crisis in this country. Everyone was buying, buying, buying.

[rduell]

A budget? Horrors! LOL

Actually, I would never go back to living without a budget. I like the security of knowing that my recurring expenses are covered.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

We do not have a family budget, but we still live within our means.

[aevans1206]

When I think of all the money I've wasted over the years by not operating off a budget, it makes me want to cry. When you begin to place things into perspective, you realize what you truly want and what you could have simply lived without.

[Exile]

It's amazing what people can do to live within their means once they've cut out unnecessary expenses. It can be as simple as a famiy of four giving up the expense of movie theatre tickets and renting a DVD instead. And speaking of borrowing DVDs, CDs, and even videos for thoses who still have VCRs, one of the best kept secrets for cheap rental sources is the public library.