Do other people's bills.......

[SSDreamin]

Wannabefree, I have a friend, or three , like that! One constantly gripes about having to work and can't grasp how DH & I do it. She then freaks out when she hears we go out to eat 3-4 times per year, do NOT buy our child $100 shoes every other month or designer clothes, and do NOT try to have the fanciest house, newest car, etc, etc. Love the girl, but she is so not getting it!!

DH works. I 'don't' We own our home outright, own both our vehicles outright. Both my guys are garbage cans. By that, I mean DH has won contests, and shock people with the amount of food he packs away (and yet he's perfect weight-wise, the jerk ). Groceries are never less than $600/month, even though we have chickens/eggs, venison in the freezer and a large garden every year. DS#2 is his father, in miniature. Food is always a huge expense for us and, believe it or not, I have cut the cost A LOT(store brands, homemade, coupons, etc.).

Electric : Here - $100 New house: $25 or less, for now
Insurance: Three houses, a car, a truck and a motorhome(DH lives in it when he's out of town. $336/mo pymt): $4775/year
Taxes: Four properties - $3850/year
Propane: Here - approx. $250/mo New- unknown. Buying a tankfull Wednesday for $832, we'll see how far it goes
Cell phones/TV/Internet (no land line): $220/mo DH refuses to let me drop TV/satellite service or Internet/satellite service, and phones are at the minimum considering our usage (we talk nightly when he's gone - gotta have my DH fix!) so it is what it is
We also have a personal bank loan for $434/mo and $300/mo paid on credit card. Dh likes to spend money, and likes me to mop up the mess :/ He is getting much better though.
Gasoline: Me- $40/mo DH- $0 (company pays)

So, just over $3000/mo

I think it's horribly high. When I think of my friend, above, I wonder how they survive. If we had a house/car payment, we would not be able to make it, I'm ashamed to admit. We are struggling quite a bit right now, as the house we sold on L/C (the only one with a mortgage on it); the people have stopped paying. Lately, that is an extra $575/mo we have to pay. It is putting us in a bind right now So, $3600 or so a month. Ugh! Don't even want to think about it!!

 

[Leta]

I used to live on $800 - $900 / month. With mortgage, property insurance eating up $500 of that. Absolutely miserable. Obviously no phone, interenet. 1 car, rarely having gas money. Our electric bill was about $20 - on account of only havin 4 light bulbs in the house - no electronics. Keeping the heat well below 60 degrees in winter, no A/C in summer.

Getting down to a certain $ amount is counter-productives in my opinion. Crazy bills? no. True austerity? no thank you.

You know, this is interesting. We lived on $850/mo for about 18 months in 2005-2006. It was that time that really has motivated me, because I *know* we can do it. My goals are to achieve a higher standard of living (having equipment, supplies, no debt, etc.) on that same income.

 

[Marianne]

I think many of us here on the forum know that we have what it takes to survive on much less money than what some of our friends and family think they need. Knowing what to cut back on, what is really needed vs what we have been told we need by the media, etc is part of the equation. We know how to do lots of stuff!

I keep saying it, but we make a lot less $$ now than we used to, but it seems like we have more. We do have everything we need, and then some. I'll take the SS route plus simple living over our 'friends' bills and stress any day.

 

[Mattemma]

DH has been looking at cell plans and said a 2 year contract anywhere would be around 3k. I said we should do without phones for 2 years and put that cash on the mortgage!

We canceled our cable last April so that saved $65.I canceled the land line phone and it was $23.Our cell is $110 for 2 phones.Dh has that stupid iphone with the $30 net charge. I don't know why he needs it.Me I could do without any phone.

For me it is a game to get the electric,water,and gas lower each month.My mom pointed out that in her city/county the gas and water charges when UP due to people conserving so well.The companies said they had to increase rates to cover basic.So all those people sitting in 60 degree homes in the winter got screwed anyway!

 

[FarmerChick]

yea I hear you.

we got the notice in the mail Duke Power elec. rates are going up. Every time I save, they take more anyway they can. Truly I want to throw in the towel somedays , run tons of elec. and say screw it....but then the bill comes at the end of the month
So conserve more it will be.

 

[Marianne]

Wow, that's just crazy. The town we used to live in has had water rationing for the past few summers. If you go over your limit, you have to pay a higher rate. But, businesses are exempt. So they have lush lawns, sprinkler systems running a lot, water running down the gutters... I met a couple that have a $300 water bill every month during the summer. He loves his garden, but doesn't like how mulch looks or a rain barrel.

In our neck of the woods, our electric rates are based on the overal usage. If we all trimmed back a bit, we'd all have cheaper rates. Blows my mind when I see folks that leave lights and radios blaring in an outbuilding 24/7 'to help keep racoons and other critters out'. Uh, ever thought about shutting the doors?

 

[Wannabefree]

I see rising rates here with conservation. It's about money in the end. Greedy companies..I want off grid!!

 

[Leta]

Me too!

 

[moolie]

I can't even take part in this conversation because where I live the cost of living is high, even for a family like mine that is super frugal, so listing my mortgage payment amount and bill costs wouldn't mean anything compared to what I'm reading here.

Sure, I see people around me spending money on "ridiculous" things as well, from my point of view, but I try not to judge them because I don't know their financial position and I may not share their goals in life.

"Rich" people don't always look the part, neither do "poor" people--those who truly have lots of money often have it because they don't spend, and those who truly don't have any money are often deep in debt on top of it because they are "keeping up" with the neighbors.

I try to keep my own eyes fixed on dealing with my own issues rather than judging what other people are up to. YMMV.

 

[me&thegals]

I can't even take part in this conversation because where I live the cost of living is high, even for a family like mine that is super frugal, so listing my mortgage payment amount and bill costs wouldn't mean anything compared to what I'm reading here.

Sure, I see people around me spending money on "ridiculous" things as well, from my point of view, but I try not to judge them because I don't know their financial position and I may not share their goals in life.

"Rich" people don't always look the part, neither do "poor" people--those who truly have lots of money often have it because they don't spend, and those who truly don't have any money are often deep in debt on top of it because they are "keeping up" with the neighbors.

I try to keep my own eyes fixed on dealing with my own issues rather than judging what other people are up to. YMMV.

I love this attitude!