Come Defend Yourselves

[HayGan]

I've been here for a while and I have to say I agree with the other thread.

SOME posters on the budget board are a bit extreme. There comes a point when you have to say we just can't afford this. I've read many threads here and thought, maybe it's time to cancel or postpone your trip.

There are DISers here receiving WIC and planning WDW trips. I just canceled our August free dining trip, yet I'm helping to fund WIC receiving DISers trips.

People have posted here that they can't pay their bills each month but they are still going to WDW or on a Disney cruise. The things some DISers are willing to do to save money while there is mind blowing. (Cooking meals in a resort room that isn't equipped for cooking.)

I've found some very good deals here. However, there are plenty of threads/posters that really confuse and amaze me.

While I don't agree with the namecalling and mudslinging that was going on in the other thread, I do have to agree with your points. I'm all for saving a buck but my family's health and welfare comes well before anything in life including - gasp - Disney vacations.

I know it is easy to get caught up in all the excitement of a Disney vacation but there has to be limits. If you need to rely on the government or the generosity of others to give your family the basics, then a vacation really should not be a priority. A vacation is a privledge not a right. When I was young and my parents had split, my mom was on welfare for 2 years while raising 3 young girls. She utilized the programs available so that she didn't have to rely on the system forever. She could have sat on her butt for many years collecting that governement dime but she didn't. She went to school for a profession that would enable her to support her children on her own. She never would have thought of using that money to take us on vacation. Despite not getting that coveted vacation, we had a great time. For fun, we would regulary go to the museum on free Saturdays, attend fun and free community events, go to the Library on a regular basis and use literature and our imaginations to entertain ourselves. Were there kids who had more than we did - sure there were. But we had the most important things in life - a roof over our head, healthy food in our bellies and a mom who loved us and showed us that there are more important things in life than material things.

I think most Americans need to take a look at their priorities in life. That includes people everywhere including the Budget and Community Boards!!!!


BTW, DisneyJunkie - I'm sorry to hear you had to cancel your Sept. trip. I know you and your DS were really looking forward to it. I hope everything is ok

 

[ZuZugal]

Some of the advice on the budget board I take, and some of it I leave. Just like everything else. Not every bit of advice from other people is a good fit for me or my family, but some of it is.

I guess none of us are really ever going to change the people who depend on government funds and the choices they make with their money or lives. I'm just grateful that I do not have to depend on the government or outside sources to sustain our family. I do like to save money and get the most for my dollar, esp. on our Disney vacation.

Live and let live.

 

[patsal]

Just like everything else, some threads are not going to be useful to me. For every person on a board like this on gov't assistance there are many who really need it so I figure we all live with our choices. I recall an old post from years ago when someone had their stove go and refused to buy a new stove until after their WDW vacation. While a stove is a necessity to me and a WDW vacation is a luxury that is my frame of mind not someone elses. To each their own. I will continue to read the budget board, some things are a great help to me while others not so much. Kind of like a magazine, some articles help out, others not so much. As in all things in life some things work for some people and some things seem over the top to people. Do what works for you and your family; it is never my place to judge you for your choices. I don't find any of you scary though

 

[aubriee]

We also don't go out and buy new sneakers and new outfits for each and every trip. In fact, we don't go out and buy new clothes at all for each trip. We actually manage to wear what we wear here during the warm months.

So, each to his own. And for the mother who said her kids would call CPS on her if she fed them XXX(can't remember), maybe your kids should be taught to be happy that there is food on the table because in many homes kids are downright thankful to get an evening meal! Okay, that was snarky and I take it back but I've got my panties in a bunch still but I'm working it out

Are those the free panties we all got from the Freebie Thread a month or so ago. If so, you are too wearing something new to WDW .
Hey, I'd wear my freebie panties too, if Hanes hadn't sent me those ugly teal green ones . As it is I might give those ugly freebie panties to my ex-mother-in-law as a cheap Christmas gift. Hey, I've learned alot from the Budget Board. Before, anyone gets their freebie panties in a wad, that was a joke folks. (I happen to like my ex-M-I-L and would never give her ugly panties)

Seriously though, I agree that thread was just plain ol' mean. I've also laughed at some of the stuff people do on the Budget Board, but have also received some good tips, along with the outragious stuff.

 

[TinkerBess_SnowTori]

I think what bothered me so much was the attitude of the thread. So condescending, like we budget board-ers were the lowlifes of the DIS.

It made me feel that they were saying that it is just budget board people who neglect their children's health to save money, just budget board people who are on WIC or other types of assistance and yet still doing Disney, just budget board people who go on trips to WDW even though they just lost their jobs and their mother is on life support.

And that is just not true you can find threads like that all over these boards from time to time and to pick on this one, the budget board - one of my favorite places since the beginning - kind of hurt.

The community board has it's bizarre threads - ones that freak me out a bit , but so does the family board, the cruise one, the resorts, strategies, even the craft board has to get the strange/mean/and just plain weird threads from time to time. But I don’t feel the need to point it out on my “home board” – what would be the point, other than to be hurtful?

But pointing it out and calling names - was unnecessary. And rude

JMHO - I will now go back to my scheduled lurking

OH - BTW - I love this board and appreciate all the help with budgeting, freebies, sales and promotions that you have helped me with over the years. I think this board rocks!!

 

[KKB]

I think what bothered me so much was the attitude of the thread. So condescending, like we budget board-ers were the lowlifes of the DIS.

It made me feel that they were saying that it is just budget board people who neglect their children's health to save money, just budget board people who are on WIC or other types of assistance and yet still doing Disney, just budget board people who go on trips to WDW even though they just lost their jobs and their mother is on life support.

And that is just not true you can find threads like that all over these boards from time to time and to pick on this one, the budget board - one of my favorite places since the beginning - kind of hurt.

The community board has it's bizarre threads - ones that freak me out a bit , but so does the family board, the cruise one, the resorts, strategies, even the craft board has to get the strange/mean/and just plain weird threads from time to time. But I don’t feel the need to point it out on my “home board” – what would be the point, other than to be hurtful?

But pointing it out and calling names - was unnecessary. And rude

JMHO - I will now go back to my scheduled lucking

OH - BTW - I love this board and appreciate all the help with budgeting, freebies, sales and promotions that you have helped me with over the years. I think this board rocks!!

"The budget board is a scary place"--sadly, not as scary as the judgemental thread they started.

Yes, there are some extreme cases here...IF they had bothered to read ALL the threads, they would find that we OFTEN advise these people to manage their finances and postpone a trip, in cases of job loss, CC debt, etc!

We make a comfortable living, and certainly enjoy nice things in life, especially vacations. BUT the value of a dollar is utmost to me...I wanna get the most out of my hard-earned $!! I DON'T want to spend $ on things I don't have to, save where I can--and I get such pleasure about it when I do! THAT is why I check this board out nearly daily. I doubt I feed my family for less than $10/day, but think it is cool that there are those that do. I rarely check out the freebie thread, but have stumbled onto a few goodies over there. I will NOT go into debt to pay things I don't need...and wouldn discourage anyone from doing so, but I won't judge.

HOORAY BUDGETEERS! WE will get more for our money than others, and be proud of it! (but if someone doesn't feel they have the time, or it doesn't give them pleasure to chase the bargains...well, they are choosing to spend their $ on what is important to them...as am I!)

 

[Youarehere]

Ok- time to defend yourselves, they have started a new one. Closed.

 

[eclectics]

"The budget board is a scary place"--sadly, not as scary as the judgemental thread they started.

While I'm not the OP, I suppose my remark started the "scary" debate that everyone seems to be fixated on.

As I explained, if anyone bothered to read it, it was a tongue in cheek comment meant to poke a little fun, not start a war. I'm all for saving a buck, but I must say, some of the threads here I found to be a bit...well extreme. That's all. I certainly did not mean to bash the entire board.

If you all choose to take it personally, I guess there isn't much more to say.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

They said the Budget Board is a scary place.

Are we scary?

cannot be closed I just posted on it. My only gripe with the Budget Board is that we do not have a sub board for the Freebies each week(which I have made known repeatedly). How about his one nickles and dimes can break my bones but saving dollars will never hurt me!!

 

[Youarehere]

cannot be closed I just posted on it. My only gripe with the Budget Board is that we do not have a sub board for the Freebies each week(which I have made known repeatedly). How about his one nickles and dimes can break my bones but saving dollars will never hurt me!!

That was todays- there was one yesterday too that was very mean spirited in some of the posts.

 

[Muushka]

While I'm not the OP, I suppose my remark started the "scary" debate that everyone seems to be fixated on.

As I explained, if anyone bothered to read it, it was a tongue in cheek comment meant to poke a little fun, not start a war. I'm all for saving a buck, but I must say, some of the threads here I found to be a bit...well extreme. That's all. I certainly did not mean to bash the entire board.

If you all choose to take it personally, I guess there isn't much more to say.

I won't take it personally, mostly because the type of threads they are referring to are ones that I don't even subscribe to.
Heck, I don't even open them!

The ones I like are the ones with the leader "Great bargain at......." and occasionally the ones where people are asking advise or questions about mortgages or saving money. I would never advise someone to go ahead and take a Disney vacation if there were other priorities. Not scary to me!

 

[DisneyMomOK]

There are some great tips on the Budget Board: sale days at Target, Black Friday finds, and just ways to save money, in general, that other posters share. I have gotten some great advice on how to attack various problems (like making life simpler, getting rid of mess) and BethR (mod) is wonderful. I agree that subsidized freebies are infuriating, but I don't think it is a fault of the majority on the BB because some people are mooches.

Sharon

PS Disneyjunkie, so hard to postpone those trips (I had to cancel my F&W Ressie, too). Hopefully, we both will get to plan another soon!

 

[DawnM]

I honestly don't care if someone else thinks I am dum because I use Dave Ramsey and pay cash for everything. I am very happy about it!

I agree about the government subsidizing and going to Disney though!!!! That irritates me.

Dawn

 

[daisy_77]

Great post.
I try to mind my own business on the Dis. But I must say I would never plan a trip to Disney if I could not afford the basics in life, like housing, food, etc.

While I don't agree with the namecalling and mudslinging that was going on in the other thread, I do have to agree with your points. I'm all for saving a buck but my family's health and welfare comes well before anything in life including - gasp - Disney vacations.

I know it is easy to get caught up in all the excitement of a Disney vacation but there has to be limits. If you need to rely on the government or the generosity of others to give your family the basics, then a vacation really should not be a priority. A vacation is a privledge not a right. When I was young and my parents had split, my mom was on welfare for 2 years while raising 3 young girls. She utilized the programs available so that she didn't have to rely on the system forever. She could have sat on her butt for many years collecting that governement dime but she didn't. She went to school for a profession that would enable her to support her children on her own. She never would have thought of using that money to take us on vacation. Despite not getting that coveted vacation, we had a great time. For fun, we would regulary go to the museum on free Saturdays, attend fun and free community events, go to the Library on a regular basis and use literature and our imaginations to entertain ourselves. Were there kids who had more than we did - sure there were. But we had the most important things in life - a roof over our head, healthy food in our bellies and a mom who loved us and showed us that there are more important things in life than material things.

I think most Americans need to take a look at their priorities in life. That includes people everywhere including the Budget and Community Boards!!!!


BTW, DisneyJunkie - I'm sorry to hear you had to cancel your Sept. trip. I know you and your DS were really looking forward to it. I hope everything is ok

 

[mickeyfan2]

I've been here for a while and I have to say I agree with the other thread.

SOME posters on the budget board are a bit extreme. There comes a point when you have to say we just can't afford this. I've read many threads here and thought, maybe it's time to cancel or postpone your trip.

There are DISers here receiving WIC and planning WDW trips. I just canceled our August free dining trip, yet I'm helping to fund WIC receiving DISers trips.

People have posted here that they can't pay their bills each month but they are still going to WDW or on a Disney cruise. The things some DISers are willing to do to save money while there is mind blowing. (Cooking meals in a resort room that isn't equipped for cooking.)

I've found some very good deals here. However, there are plenty of threads/posters that really confuse and amaze me.

ITA with everything that you said.

We also canceled our October trip to WDW. This will be the first year in about 10 years that we will not do two Disney (WDW or DL) trips in a year.

I had surgery earlier this year and was off of work for 7 weeks (unpaid). Couple that with the medical bills that we had to pay (after insurance), ongoing testing (not covered by insurance), medication (not covered by insurance) and our trip next year for our 25th anniversary and there was not the extra money for this trip. We will not stop funding our 401Ks or other retirement money just for another WDW trip this year. We did take a very inexpensive one this year.

I don't understand the mentality of some that we will do WDW no matter what.

 

[DawnCt1]

I started the closed thread on the Community Board because I have heard many times that this board is a scary place. I love to save money. A penny saved is two pennies earned when one considers taxes. I really had no preconceived notions of this board so rather than wade through tons of posts looking for the "scary" ones I thought I would ask. I am of the opinion, if one has "needs" they shouldn't give into "wants".

 

[DawnCt1]

While I'm not the OP, I suppose my remark started the "scary" debate that everyone seems to be fixated on.

As I explained, if anyone bothered to read it, it was a tongue in cheek comment meant to poke a little fun, not start a war. I'm all for saving a buck, but I must say, some of the threads here I found to be a bit...well extreme. That's all. I certainly did not mean to bash the entire board.

If you all choose to take it personally, I guess there isn't much more to say.

If you made the comment about this board being "scary", you weren't the first so I don't think you should take the mea culpas here. Its come up several times. I love to save money, airmiles or anything else. and so I really should see if there are some suggestions that I could avail myself of. I never got the impression that you were bashing an entire board. In fact, I never realized that you had made a negative comment at all.

 

[ducklite]

I've been here for a while and I have to say I agree with the other thread.

SOME posters on the budget board are a bit extreme. There comes a point when you have to say we just can't afford this. I've read many threads here and thought, maybe it's time to cancel or postpone your trip.

There are DISers here receiving WIC and planning WDW trips. I just canceled our August free dining trip, yet I'm helping to fund WIC receiving DISers trips.

People have posted here that they can't pay their bills each month but they are still going to WDW or on a Disney cruise. The things some DISers are willing to do to save money while there is mind blowing. (Cooking meals in a resort room that isn't equipped for cooking.)

I've found some very good deals here. However, there are plenty of threads/posters that really confuse and amaze me.

I couldn't agree more. I'm all for saving money, within reason. I shop sales and use coupons, and love ECB's, but I refuse to compromise my families health by taking vacations when I don't have health insurance, or feeding my family food that frankly I wouldn't feed my dog. And the concept of taking a vacation when you can't pay your bills just amazes me.

Anne

 

[eclectics]

If you made the comment about this board being "scary", you weren't the first so I don't think you should take the mea culpas here. Its come up several times. I love to save money, airmiles or anything else. and so I really should see if there are some suggestions that I could avail myself of. I never got the impression that you were bashing an entire board. In fact, I never realized that you had made a negative comment at all.

I wasn't. Just seems that everyone posting here and on the other threads latched on to the "scary place" comment I made (I have no idea if I was the first one on that thread to do it or not) on the original thread and wouldn't let go. That's why I decided to post an explanation here, for whatever it's worth.

 

[IDoDis]

I honestly don't care if someone else thinks I am dum because I use Dave Ramsey and pay cash for everything. I am very happy about it!

I agree about the government subsidizing and going to Disney though!!!! That irritates me.

Dawn

FYI, dumb is spelled d-u-m-b. Sorry, I couldn't resist. I agree with you on your post!