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

[THEFAN]

Our phone, electric and internet is 105.00 a month. We don't have TV or high end internet. We have no need for it. I'm not a youtube buff or any of that. E-mail, research, and selling things in te main reason for internet.

We started cutting things back right after 9/11 . We are frugal with everything in our house.

 

[Britesea]

we HAVE to live on 2000 a month. That's DH's take home pay, lol. I don't work, so my job is to save money by making everything I can rather than pay someone else to make it for me. It definitely keeps me busy. A lot of my acquaintances simply don't understand how much time it takes to wash dishes by hand, hang clothes out to dry (using a washing machine is one of my few luxuries), cook EVERYTHING from scratch (even my spice mixtures and things like mustard, ketchup and mayo), make my own soaps deodorant and toothpaste, as well as grow a garden and glean from anyone else's that will let me, and so forth. We don't have television reception, although we do have an old tv and can watch dvd and vhs movies. For news we have a radio, and the internet. We currently have a couple of cell phones but we are going to let them go when the contract runs out and go with just the land line and maybe a couple of those prepaid cells for emergency calls. We also save money by keeping the heater thermostat turned down to 64F... if you get cold put a sweater on, or do some vacuuming (I guarantee that will warm you up!)

 

[pinkfox]

i feel realy poor...i have to live on 768 a month...thats it, that includes the food budget...so far its tight but doable... but when we take into consideration that thats how much i was living on in CT, and managing (not quite sure how), and now my mortgage is actually cheaper than my rent was...

im hoping once im settled in and can start crafting again to try and bump it to $1000 a month but my guarenteed take home is 768 a month...so yeah...fun times.
I may HAVE to apply for energy assistance but im hoping not, itll depend on how much the car insurance runs...

i was incharge of my own car insurance but all power heat and water was included in my rent to my parents in ct, here my mortgage is about $10 cheaper than my rent but im incharge of my own utilities...hoping the cheaper insurance will offset.

 

[i_am2bz]

No, no, this is in the middle of Kansas!! I think the median income around this area is something like $27K a year?

What brought the whole subject up was recently when they were at our house, the guy said he was looking for a better paying job. I said my goal was to be able to live well on $1K a month. Holy cow, I got blasted - all in that 'you poor dear' tone. I guess they think I'm some kind of 'tard, you know?

(I didn't say that I 'could' live on that, I just would like to. I figure off grid, SS lifestyle, etc..it's do able.) But they didn't ask how or why, they just pretty much told me that I was a moron. I kinda think I don't like them anymore.

I was thinking that, too, Marianne, & I don't even know them!

 

[Marianne]

we HAVE to live on 2000 a month. That's DH's take home pay, lol. I don't work, so my job is to save money by making everything I can rather than pay someone else to make it for me. It definitely keeps me busy. A lot of my acquaintances simply don't understand how much time it takes to wash dishes by hand, hang clothes out to dry (using a washing machine is one of my few luxuries), cook EVERYTHING from scratch (even my spice mixtures and things like mustard, ketchup and mayo), make my own soaps deodorant and toothpaste, as well as grow a garden and glean from anyone else's that will let me, and so forth.

Isn't that the truth. Don't you just love the 'why don't you just go buy it' thing, too? Uh, that's not the point.....

After you find your groove for this stuff, it's not too bad, or maybe we're just used to it? It's nice to know that you have everything needed to make what you want.

And Pinkfox! You can do it!

 

[Beekissed]

Yes...I shake my head over other's bills. And then I thank God for giving me the common sense to not be incurring those types of bills.

 

[Leta]

I do this a lot. I swear, I am not trying to judge, but it's really interesting to me that people spend crazy money, over and over, on stuff I just wouldn't consider.

DH makes $32,000/yr, gross. I stay at home full time. We have our two kiddos, plus my stepson about 40% of the time.

DH brings home $2000 per month. Twice a year, we have a month with an "extra" paycheck in it, and we get a pretty hefty tax return, $4500-$6000, every spring.

We have relatives who have two kids and live on one $36,000 full time income, plus a spotty part time income. They are constantly complaining about being broke. They have two very nice cars, a summer cottage, a lovely home, etc. We don't have all that stuff, but we don't complain, either.

I think I have most folks beat here on phones/internet/TV. I pay $37/mo for all of that. ($30/yr VOIP home phone, ~$80/yr on TrafFone, $16/mo for Netflix and Hulu+ on Roku, but only for 6 months of the year, and $20/mo for mid level DSL from AT&T). We spend $310 on our house payment that includes taxes and insurance, and another $300 on utilities, though that's going down some since we just got a bunch of water conserving appliances last month, which was the same time I started the "no more clothes dryer" regimen, and I've been sticking to it! Yay me!

It's the longest story ever, but after thinking we were never going to have a car payment again (!!!), we got stuck in another one, at $239/mo. Fortunately, that's paid off in June. Car insurance costs $70/mo.

I spend a ridiculously small amount on groceries- about $100/mo. I'll spare you the details- explaining how I got it that low would take a zillion years. I do spend more when DSS is here, but it isn't a huge difference. I spend about $30/mo on pet food and another $20/mo on toilet paper and sundries.

The thing that kills us is GAS. Right now, we are spending $300/mo on gas, and that's combining discounts and me b-a-r-e-l-y driving. DH is considering switching shifts at work so that he can take the bus, which is actually free for him due to his employer having an agreement with the bus company.

I hear all the time about people thinking they are getting "a good deal" on things that I think are vastly overpriced- oh, I only spend $65 per month on satellite, and $80/mo on my iPhone- oh, I only buy the doggie doo bags because they are $4- oh, I need unlimited cell service because I don't have a home phone because I'm never home (but you are home enough to need cable TV, hmmm....). I have come to realize that virtually everyone wants to think that they are frugal, but we tightwads are actually a very small, elite group.

Summer of '10, I took DSS to the Verizon store up here because his hand me down cell phone finally died. He's on his stepdad's plan though work, so I had to actually go in to get him a new phone because there were lots of Ts to cross. While we were waiting to get in touch with his stepdad, and then his stepdad's boss, yadda yadda, I overheard a lady restructuring her cell phone plan. She had five phones on the family plan, and was just as pleased as punch with herself when she left because she'd whittled the plan down to two hundred and some per month. Her previous plan had been north of my house payment. I damn near choked.

Everyone talks about how you need to save for retirement. I am pretty lukewarm on that. I prefer to invest for our retirement. Our goal is to be entirely off the grid, producing at least 75% of our own food, be debt free, and have an income property for the small amount of money we need to buy new mattresses and shoelaces from time to time. We are getting there, one piece at a time.

The thing is, most of us don't control our income. That's up to our corporate masters. What we do control is our outgo, and that's the portion that everyone seems to ignore.

 

[moxies_chickennuggets]

No, no, this is in the middle of Kansas!! I think the median income around this area is something like $27K a year?

What brought the whole subject up was recently when they were at our house, the guy said he was looking for a better paying job. I said my goal was to be able to live well on $1K a month. Holy cow, I got blasted - all in that 'you poor dear' tone. I guess they think I'm some kind of 'tard, you know?

(I didn't say that I 'could' live on that, I just would like to. I figure off grid, SS lifestyle, etc..it's do able.) But they didn't ask how or why, they just pretty much told me that I was a moron. I kinda think I don't like them anymore.

I lived on 900$ a month, in Kansas, 3 different areas...for the 8 years. 2000-08. I could do it, I had to be very careful and frugal...but I did it. Because I had to. Even with healthcare certs, my jobs never made it past 8.50$ hr. I worked 2 jobs, for 6 of those years. I had a minor child at home. She was a teenager then. Then, we both moved so she could go to college on her grants.
I just moved myself out to SC back in 08. I had gotten tired of Kansas brutal winters.....inability to make more income.....and just being in Kansas for the most part. When I got here, I got a production job, and had doubled my income in 8 months. Then, I got laid off. But, I still got my income on unemployment then I did in kansas working 2 jobs.

 

[Denim Deb]

I shake my head over our bills. Hubby makes great money-but he's in charge of it and we have a ton of debt. I HATE living this way, and do everything I can to save. But, we live in NJ. Taxes are high, insurance is high, housing is high. You cannot make it in this state on minimum wage-unless you're willing to live in an area w/high crime rates, run down houses, etc. I sat down and figured out what it would cost me to live on my own and just have the basics. It came to close to $2000 per month, and that left no wiggle room.

 

[moxies_chickennuggets]

I shake my head over our bills. Hubby makes great money-but he's in charge of it and we have a ton of debt. I HATE living this way, and do everything I can to save. But, we live in NJ. Taxes are high, insurance is high, housing is high. You cannot make it in this state on minimum wage-unless you're willing to live in an area w/high crime rates, run down houses, etc. I sat down and figured out what it would cost me to live on my own and just have the basics. It came to close to $2000 per month, and that left no wiggle room.

ouch