For FUN!! What's the 1 "luxury" you find hard to give up when budgeting

[Grog]

World of Warcraft. It sounds so juvenile, but we've got 3 kids, no sitter that lives close by, and live in a small town with practically no nightlife even if we were inclined and able to go out in the evenings. Logging into the game and hanging out with my "invisible friends" (what DH calls our guildies - my invisible friends that live in the computer) is my "me time" at night when the kids are in bed.

I'm right there with you. For $15 a month I get a lot more entertainment from WoW than I would trying to spend that $15 somewhere else. I can sit in Dal for hours just chatting with friends. It would cost me a fortune to spend that much time with friends IRL.

 

[cecepelle]

Fresh ground coffee here too! Dunkin Donuts to be exact. I did find its 6.99 in the grocery store for an 11 0z bag I believe and we pay 7.99 for a full pound at the DD drive thru. Also they have a special a few times a year when you get 2 full pounds for 11.99.

 

[pat fan]

Dunkin Donuts to be exact. I did find its 6.99 in the grocery store for an 11 0z bag I believe and we pay 7.99 for a full pound at the DD drive thru. Also they have a special a few times a year when you get 2 full pounds for 11.99.

Do you have a B.J.'s near you? We get our DD coffee there. It's 2.5 lb's and I think it's like $14.00.

 

[ancestry]

I also agree with the hair appointment -- although I also now stretch my appointments to every 8 weeks.

Also the other thing that we (i.e. the entire household) won't give up is k-cups. We have a keurig for coffee/tea. With 4 adult coffee drinkers in the house our monthly coffee k-cup bills is very high but it is the one thing we all refuse to give up.

 

[Disney-Kim]

We have really had to budget the last year since I was cut to p/t hours. We really have cut out a lot of spending but....these are the things we still splurge on:

Estee Lauder face cream
cable/internet/dvr
special dog food/treats (dog has allergies)
Eating out - just eat way more cheaply now
hair color - no skimping for me but I do use cheaper products now
vacations - look for deals and we save like crazy and do lots of ebay

so far thats the main stuff I can think of....

 

[cecepelle]

Do you have a B.J.'s near you? We get our DD coffee there. It's 2.5 lb's and I think it's like $14.00.

I wish we did as that is a great price.

 

[dimimi]

Estee Lauder face cream


I happened to see on tv and read in several magazines how the Estee Lauder face cream (and other brand names) were no better than the less expensive drug store brands. I did make this switch....very difficult for me...and haven't noticed a difference.

 

[Disney-Kim]

Estee Lauder face cream


I happened to see on tv and read in several magazines how the Estee Lauder face cream (and other brand names) were no better than the less expensive drug store brands. I did make this switch....very difficult for me...and haven't noticed a difference.

I did notice...and thats why I went back and stayed

 

[TMB1203]

Cable
Internet
Tide. I know there are less expensive detergents out there and I have even come across sales and coupons for them but I cant seem to give up my Tide. It smells too yummy!!

My husband suggested on our last shopping trip that I try the generic laundry detergent. I will use generic of almost anything, but not my Tide!

 

[hipchickie]

Well, you didn't say "little" thing, so I have to say, it is our winter vacation. We live in new england, and I hate the cold & snow. I would literally lose my mind if I did not go away in the winter.
There are so many things we do without (I think I am officially the last person on earth without a smart phone ) or do on the cheap, but it is all so we can have a week in the sun in the depths of winter.

 

[richmond282]

Diet Pepsi here. WE have cut waaaay back, but can't give it up entirely.

 

[Spacepest]

I'm right there with you. For $15 a month I get a lot more entertainment from WoW than I would trying to spend that $15 somewhere else. I can sit in Dal for hours just chatting with friends. It would cost me a fortune to spend that much time with friends IRL.

*another fellow WoW player raises her hand* Its cheaper for me to play Warcraft every month than it is to see a film in my local movie theater! Shocking, I know. Movies have gotten way too expensive nowadays.

High Speed Internet access-not giving this up. In my area most job and government applications have to filled out online. After working for years in a public library that provides free public internet access, for various reasons I would never want to have to subject myself to no internet access on a regular basis. (And now that our economy is in the toilet there is a huge line every day for free internet access at all the public libraries in our area just from people needing to fill out job applications and apply for government assistance).

Hair coloring and highlights--ok I'll admit, I used to do this myself. Until I started aging and my eyesight started getting worse, making dye application difficult. I would buy quality dye and developer from a beauty supply house, which are more expensive that grocery store aisle dyes. It only costs me $20 more to have my hairdresser do all this for me. To me, the $20 savings wasn't worth the hassle and mess it would leave my house, plus if my hairdresser does it, I don't have to worry about color mishaps. And sorry, I don't want to go back to my natural color...it makes me look tired and old. Plus I can get away with not wearing make up as long as a I have a good colorjob!

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

Well, you didn't say "little" thing, so I have to say, it is our winter vacation. We live in new england, and I hate the cold & snow. I would literally lose my mind if I did not go away in the winter.
There are so many things we do without (I think I am officially the last person on earth without a smart phone ) or do on the cheap, but it is all so we can have a week in the sun in the depths of winter.

Nope, I don't. In fact one day I was having lunch at school wiht my DD11 (it was 5th grade) and my phone and keys were on the table. One of the girls in her class picked it up and laughed at it and said she had that phone "like 4 years ago". I said yep, that's about when I got it. She said it was soooo old, why didn't I get a new one. I so wanted to say cause mommy and daddy didn't buy me a new one, but I bit my tongue.

We also don't have a flat screen TV and the kids friends can't believe it when they come over, that ours is so thick and all. Could we go buy one, sure, but nothing wrong with the one we have so why replace if we don't need to?

 

[hipchickie]

We also don't have a flat screen TV and the kids friends can't believe it when they come over, that ours is so thick and all. Could we go buy one, sure, but nothing wrong with the one we have so why replace if we don't need to?

yeah, we don't have one of those either...but I can practically taste those frozen drinks on the beach in Mexico already

 

[cseca]

Hmm... it's interesting that some people think Internet is still a luxury nowadays.
Honestly I mostly do my couponing online. Including finding crazy deals on stuff that we need (groceries, ink for printers, baby stuff). Without it, I think we would be spending a lot more $ without knowing.

Plus, how would I do disboards?

So my daily luxury I've refused to go without so far is our satelite TV. We've been talking about switching to a different company to get the better price but just haven't gotten around to it.

The weekly luxury would be eating out. I need my break... I'm a SAHM so I do 90% of the cooking at home. At least once (or twice) a week I like to take a break. Don't care if it's wendy's/McD/BK or sit down restaurant. Just someone else to cook and clean...

The big luxury is our vacation. I honestly think I would give up satellite tv and reduce eating out budget before I give up our vacation. But we've been blessed enough to not have to do that.

Thinking about it more, I think most of our "spare" $ (after emergency fund, etc.) goes to vacation. We don't bother with fancy phones (or fancy phone plans), fancy clothes, cars, boats, etc. But we do own DVC. That's our big luxury ticket item.

 

[r&kmommy]

It's been my hair coloring... I have horrid grays, imvho waaaay too gray for a 36 year old. I get my hair colored and highlighted every 3 months for about $200. BUT I am seriously considering trying it myself. It's just so much money and my hair is growing faster these days and my grays are showing faster and faster.

I will never, ever give up my Dish Network/DVR. TV is my life (after the kids go to bed, of course loL!!!)

 

[MarriedToAPrince]

Internet.

 

[DawnM]

You CAN do it!

I have been coloring my own hair for years and years now.

It isn't that hard. The only hard part is picking the right color and the right brand. I have found that Clairol leaves my hair dry and straw like, but L'Oreal is much kinder to my hair.

I use the L'Oreal Preference with the highlighting kit. It is an added step and a bit of a pain.....but it takes about 1.5 hours and I can do it in the comfort of my own home. I have a few old T-shirts I use specifically for wearing when I color my hair. It is much better for me than trying to keep a towel around my neck.

It is $14 every 6-8 weeks. Last year I found my color on sale for $5 closeout at the grocery store. I had a bunch of $3 off coupons, so I bought 13 boxes for $2 and they are sitting in my bathroom closet.....I am set for a while! But even the $14 is not bad compared to $200.

Dawn

It's been my hair coloring... I have horrid grays, imvho waaaay too gray for a 36 year old. I get my hair colored and highlighted every 3 months for about $200. BUT I am seriously considering trying it myself. It's just so much money and my hair is growing faster these days and my grays are showing faster and faster.

I will never, ever give up my Dish Network/DVR. TV is my life (after the kids go to bed, of course loL!!!)

 

[mizzoutiger76]

We've had to cut back on a lot of things since DH is in school and we're living off my income, but I will not give up

1. Coca Cola/Dr Pepper/Pepsi - I will limit myself, but I'm not drinking the generic kind
2. Internet - we decided to keep the internet and not have cable, no cable is just a minor annoyance but I don't think either of us could live without internet
3. Eating out on Friday nights - I like to have one night where I don't have to worry about dishes and someone else prepares the food

Everything else is managable, we use the library (I can't live without books), use the Red Box for movies, etc

 

[kinntj]

internet-can't give it up.
coffee-could give it up, but it could get ugly in this house.
cable-love HD channels with DVR
hair color appointment-would do my own, but the salon is my vacation every 6 weeks.