Financial "line in the sand"..

[C.Ann]

Do you draw a financial line in the sand in terms of what you will pay for various things and then stick to it - no matter what?

I've pretty much been like that my entire life and I have found that it really curtails overspending.. If I say, "I'm only going to spend xxx amount of dollars for Christmas" that is exactly what I spend - I refuse to cross over my financial "line in the sand".. If I say I'm going to purchase a car - and I have a set amount in mind - I will not go over that amount, even if it means looking a little harder or waiting a little longer.. Ditto with hotel rooms; items of clothing; birthday gifts; food items; etc..

Do you just pay the "going price" or do you place strict limits on yourself?

 

[tinaluis]

I refuse to pay over a certain amount for a hotel room because I've been spoiled by Priceline. I'm the same way about most other things but have been known to "cave in" when it comes to bday gifts or things my daughters need.

 

[blondimom]

I'll scour all available resources for the best prices. Usually I get good deals and I am able to stick to the "Line in the Sand" theory.

 

[MScott1851]

Yes...and it works really well for us. I hate to pay full-price for ANYTHING, and very rarely do so. I research things extensively on-line before purchasing big ticket items or travel.

The only thing that I don't scrimp on is groceries. I don't have the time or energy to compare prices at three different stores and make two stops. I clip coupons and shop on double coupon days, but if a pound of ground beef is $3.69, I'm paying it. I'll save my money on other things.

 

[chiconh]

Absolutely! I do not pay full price for anything. For smaller items, I'll wait for a sale or look for a coupon. For larger value items, I'll research the net looking for the lowest price. I watch the prices of things that I buy and if they are cheaper within 30 days, I'll go back to the store and get refunded for the difference.

I agree with MScott, about hating to pay full price for anything. The way I look at it is that any $$ I save is better off in my pocket than going to the retailer.

 

[Muushka]

Absolutely! I also refuse to pay full price for pretty much everything (except when it comes to medical stuff and shoes ).

Especially with groceries. If it is not buy one get one free (except for vegetables and fruit and milk) I don't buy it! My poor husband. He is finally trained. He ran out of Healthy Choice frozen lunches. He understood that it may be a week until they are replenished, of course he never should have let them run out in the first place .

What I find amazing is the pricing for souvenirs at WDW. I will pick something up, draw that line in the sand (for example "I won't pay more than $8 for that) and sure enough, it is $1 to $2 more than that line I drew. How do they do that??? It is NEVER the amount I set or less.

 

[PaulaSue]

We are some where in between. Depends on what, Disney is a BIG splurge but it is for our 10th anniversary. We hadn't taken a trip real (we have season passes (our families take turns buying for us for Christmas) to the local amusement park) with the kids since I was pregnant with my 2nd DD 5 years ago. Our next big splurge will be at least 5 more years. I am already thinking Disney .

 

[C.Ann]

For those who say they "shop around for the best price" the question is more along the lines of "do you already have a firm price set in your mind that you will NOT waiver from"? (I guess I wasn't too clear in my first post - sorry..)

Like a few months ago when my DD and her DH insisted that I needed a car up here for the summer.. I was perfectly content to wait until I was ready to buy an almost new car this fall/winter, but they wouldn't hear of it.. So I told them I would spend $1200 on a reliable vehicle and not ONE PENNY more.. Ended up getting one for $900..

So do you draw your "line" first - or only "after" you've started shopping around?

 

[EthansMom]

DH and I try to shop around as much as possible for big purchases, but there have been some items that we really don't know how much they will or should cost until we started to look.

For instance, DH has been looking at getting a plasma t.v. He has saved up his OT pay and it's something he really wants -- we figured we should be able to get a halfway decent one for $3000 or less, but really had no idea until we started looking. As it turns out, the t.v. DH currently has his eye on is about $2300, but it could have just as easily been $3300. And if it was $3300, DH would have had to wait until he had more OT money saved.

On the other hand, there have been times when I've gone looking for an item and found what I wanted at a price that I thought was fair in the first store I looked, so I buy it without looking around. Maybe I could have saved a couple more dollars if I looked around a bit more, but sometimes it's worth my time and gas to buy an item in the first store.

In general, I do have an idea of what I'm willing to pay and if something costs more, I either put the purchase off until I have enough money or purchase an alternate product or else forgoe the purchase altogether. But I wouldn't say that it's a hard and fast "line in the sand" for me.