What have you sacrificed?

[Marionnette]

How many times have we read about Senior Citizens giving necessary prescription medicines because they couldn't afford it? You can give up necessary things.

People don't "give up" necessary medications. They choose to spend their limited resources on other necessities.

 

[nugov2]

Sacrifice to me indicates giving up something necessary. I don't sacrifice anything necessary, just shift discretionary income.

That's how I see it.

 

[tvguy]

People don't "give up" necessary medications. They choose to spend their limited resources on other necessities.

Not always. That always seems to be the issue, they spend the money on cable tv instead of on their blood pressure meds.

 

[lustergirl]

We moved and I have no living room furniture. I want a new dishwasher. And our extra laptop started on fire. (We still have one but I have 3 kids who need to use it.)

However, we decided those purchases can wait because we'd rather go to Disney. After our trip is paid off then we'll start saving for those things.

Also cut dh and the kids hair.

Wow. You have a family and won't use the money to buy furniture or a new laptop for your kids but save the money for disney? Disney is a luxury.

 

[Marionnette]

We moved and I have no living room furniture. I want a new dishwasher. And our extra laptop started on fire. (We still have one but I have 3 kids who need to use it.)

However, we decided those purchases can wait because we'd rather go to Disney. After our trip is paid off then we'll start saving for those things.

Also cut dh and the kids hair.

Wow. You have a family and won't use the money to buy furniture or a new laptop for your kids but save the money for disney? Disney is a luxury.

Meh! We didn't furnish the living room for 3 years after we bought our house but we went to Disney in the meantime. I have a family room and it gets used all of the time. The living room is largely unused except when we have company. I think that my lab spends more time in there than anyone else in the family.

And the PP said that she has a laptop for the 3 kids to use. Judging from her signature, one of those kids is kindergarten-age and the other two are 10 years old. They certainly can share one laptop. It's not as if they are college kids with term papers to write.

To me, it looks like the PP is prioritizing her luxury spending and Disney gets a higher priority right now.

 

[kiramay]

Meh! We didn't furnish the living room for 3 years after we bought our house but we went to Disney in the meantime. I have a family room and it gets used all of the time.

To me, it looks like the PP is prioritizing her luxury spending and Disney gets a higher priority right now.

Thank you. Exactly.

Wow. You have a family and won't use the money to buy furniture or a new laptop for your kids but save the money for disney? Disney is a luxury.

Judge much?

We have furniture in all the other rooms, including a family room, loft, and finished basement. Why in the world would furnishing a living room be a necessity?

And we have a laptop. We don't need a 2nd one right now. My kids can share! Heck, when I was growing up 4 of us kids shared one computer! Family memories on vacation are worth more than a 2nd laptop for our family.

Furthermore, I don't need to justify my luxury spending to you or anyone.

 

[lustergirl]

Thank you. Exactly.




Judge much?

We have furniture in all the other rooms, including a family room, loft, and finished basement. Why in the world would furnishing a living room be a necessity?

And we have a laptop. We don't need a 2nd one right now. My kids can share! Heck, when I was growing up 4 of us kids shared one computer! Family memories on vacation are worth more than a 2nd laptop for our family.

Furthermore, I don't need to justify my luxury spending to you or anyone.

Not judging much but when you put something on the internet, expect opinions. Way of the world. My household comes first and then if I have money leftover then I will take a trip to disney. This includes furnishing my house and other things.

 

[Mpls Mom of 4]

We try to go to Disney and Universal every 2-3 years, so that it gives us more time to save. I started coloring my own hair, we gave up eating out. Instead of ordering pizza (for a family up 6 this can get spendy) we make our own for less than $10. We also canceled cable and called our insurance company and got better rates for car insurance by paying annually versus monthly (saved $600 per year doing this!). When my youngest starts Kindergarten next year, I plan on getting a part time job. All of this goes into our Disney fund. In the big scheme of things - these hardly feel like sacrifices. We spend more time together as a family (less time in front of the TV), and the memories we make on our trips are priceless. Don't get me wrong though....I miss my HGTV

 

[pjlla]

I think we all need to stop and realize that it is all about PERSONAL PRIORITIES!!!

QUICK STORY: My extended family has been vacationing together for 20 years..... but a few years ago one cousin and her DH and DDs stopped coming because they "just couldn't afford it." Knowing that money has always been a bit tight for them, I was understanding.... until I found out that they actually hadn't paid their portion of the rent (her sister and Mom covered it) for a number of years. Since we primarily eat in, it was really only costing them gas and of course, time off from work. So I was still trying to be understanding.... until I attended a family function at their home and Dcousin's DH was telling us all about the beautiful chicken coop they recently built.... and when all was said it done, the coop cost about $3K (he is a skilled craftsman and carpenter by trade and really has champagne taste with everything). But meanwhile there are no back steps on the house (had to use a 2 x 4 ramp to get in and out) and they still "couldn't afford" to go on vacation with us. I am having to realize that vacationing with the extended family is no longer a PERSONAL PRIORITY for them. It isn't that they are "poor" and we are "rich" or anything like that....... it is a matter of PRIORITIES! And I just need to not feel badly that our family vacations were no longer a priority. That being said, after a multi-year absence from the group, they FINALLY came this year! It was wonderful to have them with us! And I hope and pray that next time I visit they have some back steps!

Another quick anecdote about PERSONAL PRIORITIES: This morning as I was hanging out my laundry (yup, I use a clothesline as often as the weather allows), I noticed that DS's top sheet has a tear..... so I made a mental note to be sure that I SEWED THE TEAR before I fold the sheet and put it in the linen closet. I currently have a set of sheets on MY bed that also has a repaired sheet (actually, both top and bottom have been repaired). Am I too "poor" to afford new sheets? NO! My PERSONAL PRIORITY right now is saving money and putting it towards college tuition and an upcoming trip to see my DD who is studying abroad. Plus I am a pretty "green" person and new sheets would involve gas to drive around and find what I wanted at the right price, and of course those sheets would probably be packaged in non-recyclable plastic and would have to be washed before using to remove the stiff feeling and chemical smells. And then what would happen to the torn sheet? Worst case scenario it would end up in the landfill.... best case scenario I'd remember to save it and bring it to church next time they do a "rip and roll" event to create bandages for third-world countries.

As you can see, it is NOT a personal priority of mine to have fancy new sheets (or sheets that even match for that matter!). As long as they are CLEAN, SOFT (no rough scratchy cheapo sheets for me!), and functional, I'm good! Pretty would be nice, but not a requirement!

I think we need to stop being CRITICAL of each others PERSONAL PRIORITIES and just use this thread the way it was intended ...... to help each other think up new ways to save money! As long as you have a decent and safe roof over your head (and the heads of your children), food on the reg, insurance, and emergency savings, who else's business is it if you are living without furniture.... or a computer.... or regular mani-pedis.... or matching sheets!!???

(SHE QUICKLY AND QUIETLY STEPS DOWN FROM HER SOAPBOX).................P

 

[kathy884]

Isn't this thread really just people coming up with budgetary items that aren't as important to them as Disney vacations and their re-allocating their budget dollars.

I don't sacrifice anything. I have a budget that allocates monies based on priorities / what we value and we just stick to that. We just decide ahead of time how much we want to spend on vacation and how that fits in with other things we think are important, like to do and other savings goals. Our budget allocates monies for living expenses, savings for future goals and replacement of big ticket items, monies for charities, and a vacation fund. Our vacation budget often includes a little mini trip to Disney/Orlando. It's been close to an annual mini trip, although 2015 and 2016 were year's we skipped in favor of mini trips to New York City (theatre / big city kick and we are already in the area annually to see relatives anyway). We'll be back to Orlando on a mini trip in 2017, though. DH doesn't care for Disney, though, so Orlando is never our main vacation and when we go there it's just me and DS. On top of trips to visit relatives we usually do one big one week vacation trip a year (all of us) and another mini trip. Sometimes if the places we are going aren't that expensive, it's two week long trips.

These aren't sacrifices to me, but are places where perhaps we spend less than other people:
-- Cars -- We usually drive ours for 10 years and buy the next ones for cash too -- save ahead of time vs. car payment // I don't feel like that's a sacrifice though. It just seem practical, given how much cars cost and the value we place on them (We see them mostly as reliable transportation). And we don't have jobs where we need to impress anyone with a late model car.
-- Restaurants -- We drink tap water, but it's by choice not for savings. We only drink alcoholic beverages maybe two or three times a year (no opposition to that / it's just not our thing).
-- I think we have a lovely little home in a great neighborhood (safe, good schools, Beaver Cleaver kind of feel). Our home, though, by many people's standards might be considered pretty modest, given our family income. It's one that I could qualify for by myself, and I have the lower salary in the family.

Things that we probably spend more money than most other people include:
-- Theatre -- We get season tickets to our Rep theatre (six shows), and we go to any traveling Broadway shows we are interested in (usually just about three or so per year of these).
-- We pay for a monthly home cleaning service and pay for someone to cut our grass weekly in season -- We spend lots of hours at work and this frees up some weekend time for us.
-- I pay for both me and my son to work out regularly (twice a week) with a personal trainer. If money were tight, I'd probably cut this out for me. It would take a lot for me to cut this off for DS, though. He has a knee injury that resulted in destroyed/frayed cartilage, and this and keeping this up means he can walk without a limp and without pain (some very strong muscles around the injured areas makes all the difference), so this is of HUGE importance to me on my priority list.
And no -- I would not sacrifice any of these things for more time at Disney or more expensive vacations.

Vacations in 2016 -- Mini trip to New York City // Week long trip to Colorado
Vacations in 2017 -- Mini trip to Orlando // Week long trip to South Dakota - Blackhills