When Kory and I were dating he once told me that his sisters used to call him Mr. McFrugal because he was such a cheapskate. He is still very frugal and I feel like I am also frugal, so why doesn't the dollar seem to be stretching for us these days?
I went to the store yesterday and it seems that I just can't make my money stretch the same way I used to. I use coupons, I shop sales and clearance racks, my kids live by hand-me-downs. And we do just fine, but it feels like more and more the "I wanna's" keep sneaking up on me. I feel like I am having a hard time balancing the needs and the wants - both for the present and the future. I am more and more wanting new clothes, new accessories for the house, a nice trip, a new car, etc. All these wants don't fit in with our short team goals (sticking to a monthly budget) or our long term goal (becoming financially independent). Yet, I still have the "I wanna's"
I was watching a show on TV, I think it was called Extreme Cheapskates and was thinking - "What can I do to be more frugal and still feel like I am not depriving my family?"
So these are my questions for all of you - What do you do to save money? How do you balance the needs/wants and feel at peace with your "I wanna's"?
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Mr. McFrugal
Posted by Marnie at 11:02 AM
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
umm.. No comment. I think your better then this then I am. LOL!
A wait! If you close your eyes to everything. then you can't see it to want it!
Manda, your funny! Man, I struggle with this too. Grocery prices rising and Gas too, the dollar realy doesn't stretch far at all. It is really hard to to not want everything. I want all the things you said. I think if you just keep doing what your doing, but put a little away each month for the thing you want most. It helps to know that even though you can't have it now, you are saving for it and you can have it sometime in the future. For us it's a family vacation. We haven't been on one for abt. 6yrs now. So now that we got our house, that is what we are saving for.
Marnie, I think you and Kory do a fantastic job. I've actually been feeling the same way lately. It's like, wait a minute, didn't I just get a PhD? Why am I not raking in the cash ( : What I'm trying to come to terms with is that my life changed forever the day Alina was born. We have so many more expenses now with childcare, health care, clothes, food. And we had to get a better car, a bigger place in a safer hood. All this stuff adds up. When we were single, Adam and I could live on almost nothing, we didn't worry about going without health insurance or leaving in a sketchy neighborhood or driving a junky car. We loved having money to eat out and travel! That said, I wouldn't go back for anything in the world. I'm convinced life will get easier someday and we'll travel and eat fancy food again. Until then, I don't think I'll ever regret being broke so I could be a mom. I just hope Alina doesn't regret it either ( :
Post a Comment