jljack

You ladies are an inspiration!! My DH and I lost our business last September. While we were not "well off", we could go out to dinner and buy what we wanted...we are not extravagant people. When the business went, so did the income, except for my job. We had all the business debts left, too. Were able to sell off some of the vehicles, but 1 was repossessed, and we still have one we are paying for that we can't sell. Anyway, he was unemployed totally for slightly over 4 months, and now working for less than half his previous salary. We have learned to do without a lot of stuff, turned down the A/C thermostat, use a window a/c in the bedroom at night instead of cooling the whole house, buy food through Angel Food Ministries, cut down on "errands" trips around town. Lots of little things, but it all adds up. We have had to borrow money from family to make mortgage payments, but that ends this month...I am caught up with all the bills and have a budget that we can live with. It's hard when you are used to living a way, but if you work at it, you can figure out a better way!

aorlflood

THe best of luck to you and your family, Janice! I'm glad you have come through this hard time and can finally see the light of day.

This economy can be scary. Our son and his family are just now starting to get their heads above water again after being unemployed/underemployed for too long!

Even though we are debt-free, we still are VERY frugal and still do all the money-saving things we did while we were getting out of debt. We found that we don't need to spend money to enjoy our lives!

susie0808

Yes!!! Your Welcome!!! It is possible! Last year DH was laid off for a couple months. That time really put things in perspective. That was when we re thought alot of our spending.I cut spending in every direction. No more eating out 3 nights a week. No more coffee out. No more movie out too. It's not much but it adds up. I just look for ways to cut spending. I had always saved my change and rolled it. In 1 year I saved 677.00 dollars. Thats alot of change. It can be done. You just have to look for it. I even have a vegetable garden. The one vegetable I love is red peppers and there so expensive so I grow as many as I can then freeze them. I will have them all year long.

One thing I have done for quite some time was budget myself on my fabric spending. i don't need to, I just want to.I like seeing my money grow. We live a quieter life style but like it that way. I can go on and on about this. :thumbup:

CarrieAnne

Janice, I hope things get better for you! Losing a business must be so awful! I am glad to hear you guys are doing better though!
I am dept free too, except the mortgage, but I got very scarred when the place I worked at closed with NO WARNING!!!!!!!!! Sometimes you just cant help what happens. I was so glad I had a small bit of savings, food in the house a garden, and I know how to be thrifty,lol!

aorlflood

Now you just need to work on getting the house paid off as well! The house was the last thing we paid off. It's a very exciting thing to do! It is an AMAZING feeling!

MomtoBostonTerriers

You ladies who are passing these lessons on to your children are SO SMART. One day they will rise up and call you blessed. (Well, a parent can dream.)

My parents taught me many good things, and I am most appreciative that they taught me how to do without. It has been a great lesson and served me well through the years. You can always get used to having more, but it's rare to find a person who can get used to having less material stuff.

I am traveling across the country to visit my parents today (ages 85 and 89). They raised 3 kids, put us through college, and now they are making more money just from their retirement investments than they can spend. All this on my dad's meager government salary. My mother once noted, "Now that we have more money than we need, I just can't get used to spending it." What a hoot!

susie0808

Mom to boston terriers,

You have a safe trip. Take alot of pictures!! You are blessed to have both parents at their ages. For them to be able to live off of investments is a miracle now a days. They are proof that you can live and enjoy. God bless them.

My son is 16 now.... I don't normally keep extra cash in the house. So if I need to borrow any money he will lend it to me. We now call him Mr. Moneybags!!!! He is the kid that you give lunch money to that only spends half and pockets the rest. He is a saver!

CarrieAnne

Loretta, I really want to! My Dad built my house, and I helped with a lot of the little stuff, so I got a great deal, and my payments are really cheap, since I refinanced with a low rate!
Since I am single with some kids still living with me, it might be a while before I have it paid off, but every extra cent goes there or somefabric....lol!
I bet it is an amazing feeling, just not to owe anyone anything! I cant wait!

aorlflood

How we stay out of debt, too, is that we have an "emergency fund" for when something breaks or needs replaced. Instead of putting it on a credit card, we use the emergency fund and then build it back up afterward.

For our cars, we put money away every month in a savings account. We are making "payments" that are EARNING interest instead of paying the interest to a bank! Then when it comes time to replace our car we just withdraw that $$ and pay cash for the car! We buy used cars with a good life expectancy and run them till they are well over 200,000 mi! :) Right now we own 2 Subarus...one has 185,000 and the other has 147,000 mi. They both are super reliable and we take them to TN, GA, and ME without batting an eye! We make about 4-5 long car trips a year because none of our family live very close.

We shop mainly yard sales, thrift stores, and estate auctions to find what we need/want.

We use the "envelope system" for budgeting...wouldn't know how to live without it! :) We've used envelopes since 1989! LOL

I think I have officially become my parents! ROFL!

lucylockett

You ladies are inspiring! We need more information like this on how others manage to live with less. We are retired, my husband grows lots of veggies, and we can/freeze them. We never ate out a lot, went to movies, or wasted money on anything. I have seriously curtailed my fabric purchases and am working mainly from stash that I'd saved for retirement. DH says that he has all the tools that he needs and then some.

Credit cards are scary these days! I pay them off soon as they come, but I need to get in the habit of leaving them alone-Period. Thanks for the encouragement.