Why do YOU post/read the Budget Board?

[semo233]

Here is the explanation of the Budget Board from the Disney Trip Planning page:

Learn the 'in and outs' of smart earning, saving, and spending your money. Our motto: 'Any dollar saved or earned is another dollar for Disney!'

I choose to get the most out of my dollar. I could make twice what I make now and I still wouldn't leave "money on the table".

 

[StephMK]

Like other posters, I come here for budgeting tips, sale alerts and discussion about whatever looks interesting to read. From this board, I have learned how to negotiate for a better cable deal, good cell deals when we shopped our pay as you go phones, grocery game, keep utilities lower, etc. All that helps our budget and I'd never know without being here.

It's interesting how other think about money and I like reading the discussions. My grandfather was a great example about how you can't ever read someone by appearances. He wore 25+ yr clothes and drove a clunker. After retirement as a business owner, he worked as a bagger at a grocery store until he was 88 because he loved people. He died at 90 as a very wealthy man in part due to the choices he made and enjoyed during his life. His kitchen cabinets were filled with plastic trays & cups recycled from his dinners at his retirement home. He took his kids on some amazing vacations and chose to spend his money on things important to him & didn't care to spend in other areas.

I think spending money and budgeting is all about priorities, save in some areas so you can enjoy spending in others. I hope to get there someday.

 

[chocovrdmicears]

Ok I'm confused here.

I honestly thought most posters on this board stay at the Pop Century, pay rent, have limited income and are here for tips for saving for a Budget Disney trip.





So what exactly IS the purpose of the Budget Board?

I am confused. Why would you assume all this? Budgeting has absolutely nothing to do with how MUCH money a person has...It has everything to do with how a person SPENDS their money.
The purpose of this board is to help anyone (regardless of their income) make the most of their budget. Just because someone doesn't pay rent and stays at a deluxe, it doesn't mean they are not *budget conscious*.

 

[ericamanda01]

Ok I'm confused here.

I honestly thought most posters on this board stay at the Pop Century, pay rent, have limited income and are here for tips for saving for a Budget Disney trip.


We've got people with incomes of $300k- $500k
Kids that go to expensive Summer Camps
A guy who wants to lug a suitcase of Spam and Tuna Fish to a Luxury Carribean Resort.




So what exactly IS the purpose of the Budget Board?

Just because you have money doesn't mean you want to waste it. Now I am in no way claiming to have a lot of money. My DH and I work hard, but I come to the budget board to help me stretch a dollar. Were not cheap or frugal, but really why should I pay full price for something when I can just do a 5 minute search and get it on sale. The rich don't get wealthy by throwing money away. So why should I.

 

[Kay1]

Because it's not what you make - it's what you keep. I've learned about eBay, half.com, Priceline, Hotwire, rental homes in the Orlando area, and Restaurant.com on the Budget Boards.

I get to have lots of nice things and pay only pennies on the dollar.

 

[tnd]

Like many others, we have a decent income (probably would be high to many, but in comparison to our obligations, it's not out of this world). But, we haven't always. For years we didn't go on vacation at all, other than to see family, and scrimped every penny. Frugal message boards and books like the Tightwad Gazette were my bibles. Now we're in a different place, but old habits die hard. We're still buying generic brands of pretty much everything, buying marked down meat, driving old cars, only buying clothes on sale, and stuff like that. There is no reason to spend money on things that aren't important, even when we have it. We can splurge on the things that are important to us now, which for our family is travel and cultural experiences.

The Budget Board is a great collection of like-minded people. There is a lot of great information on saving money here, and a lot of great deals and coupons.

 

[punkin]

I just want to know why OP is on the budget board since she obviously has no clue why it even exists. Try some of the other boards (or even other websites). They may be more to your liking.

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

You don't have to be "poor" or "cheap" to appreciate a good value.

If someone can save $110 on a Disney trip by participating in a fridge swap, why not? If I find out that I can rent a stroller from an offsite company for 1/2 the cost as I would pay for a Disney stroller, why not? If the budget board can tell me the cheapest place to find toy X at Christmastime, I'm going to take adavantage. If I get a tip that that the generic of product X sold at Kroger is better than the original, I'm going to give it a try!

 

[Belle5]

Ok I'm confused here.

I honestly thought most posters on this board stay at the Pop Century, pay rent, have limited income and are here for tips for saving for a Budget Disney trip.


We've got people with incomes of $300k- $500k
Kids that go to expensive Summer Camps
A guy who wants to lug a suitcase of Spam and Tuna Fish to a Luxury Carribean Resort.




So what exactly IS the purpose of the Budget Board?

I think it would be very interesting to hear back from you, OP! What are your thoughts now that you have read these responses?

 

[annsteere]

I read for three things: motivation, practical information, entertainment.

Just reading that somebody managed to go the whole month of June without any impulse buys inspires me

I learn about ways to stretch my dollars.

Somedays reading keeps me entertained--for free!

 

[crisi]

The budget board is inspiring - I paid off my mortgage with the inspiration of the budget board.

Its educational.

It reminds me that I don't "need it all" and that there are a lot of people out there living simple and fulfilling lives.

Its a place to discuss economics - micro, macro - and finance - micro and macro.

And sometimes its really funny.

I don't like the "Yankee Candle is having a sale!" threads - but I just don't go into them.

 

[ilovebassets]

I think the OP should consider reading Millionaire Next Door. It's precisely because people stay at Pop Century and ship their lunch meats to their vacation destination when they earn $300,000 that they can retain so much wealth rather than drown in debt. People spend their money very differently and have very different values.

For example, my DH is finishing up his PhD and I'm a physician in residency. It is conceivable that in the next five to ten years, our gross household income could exceed $500,000 (of course, our tax rate then will probably be close to 50% rather than the 20% we pay now and if national health care really comes to be then all bets are off, but I digress). But we rent an old 2 bed/1 bath place in a major city for $1100 a month. I drive a 1998 altima and until 1 year ago, DH drove a 1993 volvo. We have zero credit card debt and throw all our money at student loans (which are probably more than the majority of everyone's mortgage on this board) and our roth IRAs (since we we'll earn too much to qualify for roths when I'm done with residency--high income definitely has its downsides when it comes to taxes and tax benefits).

Contrast this to other folks our age in residency who bought houses at the end of medical school and new luxury cars because they knew in the future they would earn more but are now sitting on piles of debt (including student debt) only to see the value of their houses plummet.

I clip coupons (when I have time) and most our meals out involve coupons. I spend my free time comparison shopping online. While we aren't earning the big bucks yet, our social class puts us in the high earner groups. But here i am on the budget board always excited to see how I can save more money.

I guess my point is that it's not what earn that determines how budget-minded you are. Plenty of low earners and high earners live way beyond their means and find themselves in over their heads with debt. Then there are low earners and high earners alike who live budget minded. For the low earner, budget may mean staying at a campsite and packing there own lunches to the park for their disney vacation. For the high earner, budget may mean getting 40% off at the deluxe resort of their choice and never ordering alcohol with meals because it's too expensive. both are budget---they're just a different kind of budget.

 

[chocovrdmicears]

EXCELLENT post ilovebassets!

 

[tnd]

I totally agree with you Ilovebassets. My husband just finished fellowship last week (so excited!). He still drives the 1996 (purple) Ford Contour that I bought when I graduated college. Everyone from other doctors down to the maintenance staff has a nicer car than he does. But the car works just fine, and there's no reason to replace it just because he's a doctor.

 

[sk!mom]

I guess my point is that it's not what earn that determines how budget-minded you are. Plenty of low earners and high earners live way beyond their means and find themselves in over their heads with debt. Then there are low earners and high earners alike who live budget minded. For the low earner, budget may mean staying at a campsite and packing there own lunches to the park for their disney vacation. For the high earner, budget may mean getting 40% off at the deluxe resort of their choice and never ordering alcohol with meals because it's too expensive. both are budget---they're just a different kind of budget.

Very good points...

DH and I have always been budget minded. When we were starting out, that meant putting all available cash to pay off DH's student loans and taking inexpensive vacations- within a couple of hours from home. In those early years, we took one Disney vacation. Now budget means, making our money stretch as far as possible so that we can indulge our love of travel as much as possible.

Now matter how much money you have, if you don't have a budget you're likely to wind up in trouble. Who would think it possible that Michael Jackson or Ed McMahon could die so deeply in debt? I mean look at their incomes over the years. It's possible to overspend at any income level.

As far as why I like this board- I like the economic discussions and articles that are sometimes posted. I find inspiration in those who manage to live a fulfilled life without debt. I avoid most of the "sale" threads as I avoid shopping as much as possible.

 

[minnie1928]

Somedays reading keeps me entertained--for free!

The LMT promotion fiasco was one of the funniest times I've ever spent on the internet...and I didn't even win! If I would've won...well, that would've been even better. But I'll take the fun memories just the same.

 

[mrsklamc]

I say this without criticism, because it's true of me, too--

but material things/money are never 'enough.'There was a point in my life when just a trip to Disney- any trip to Disney-would have been the most that I could hope for. I worked hard, improved my circumstances, and took an ultra-budget trip. A few years later, I took one that was a bit nicer.As the years passed, I started wanting to go on a Disney cruise- just a short one. And an inside cabin was fine, I just wanted to be on the boat. Now that I've been, someday, I would like to take a seven day cruise- maybe in a cabin with a balcony. But I could never, ever, have taken ANY of my Disney trips if I hadn't worked hard, saved, and lived within what my means were at the time.

There's a perception that wealthy people in this country got there easily- and there are a small number of inherited family fortunes. But the vast majority of millionaires in this country are first generation wealthy people who worked for it. Why? Because in families where kids are handed everything, where the kids never have to work or budget, the money never lasts. You are more likely to appreciate, and hold onto, what you yourself have worked for.

 

[Piecey]

We stay at Pop Century because I can't justify the money to stay in a Mod/Deluxe when I'll spend all day in the parks anyway. When my kid gets older, we'll upgrade for the pools [probably] but that is it. I love Pop Century. We might buy DVC, who knows.

I'm frugal. I coupon clip. I shop clearance racks now for stuff my kid won't wear for years. I don't care that the moose on his shirt might be 'last season' (That is what the woman at the Carters outlet told me when I bought a shirt out of the clearance tub)

We own our home, drive nice vehicles (one of which we own free and clear, the other we bought last weekend) and are doing extremely well for our age.

That doesn't mean I'm going to stop doing what I'm doing, I know we are where we are in large part thanks to what I have been doing.

 

[HighClass]

I just want to know why OP is on the budget board since she obviously has no clue why it even exists..

Actually, I have read this board now and then.
A couple threads about people cooking all their meals in their rooms at WDW to save money with crock pots etc.

Threads about shipping groceries to WDW for their food.

A thread where women posted how they fed their family on really cheap food daily(that one was rather scary how un-nutricious the meals were.)

I guess then I lost interest.

When I go to WDW I want to not cook for once.


I do budget & cook from scratch every single day

-on vacation I dont want to.

 

[kathie859]

I adore the Budget Boards Dis'ers

In addition to appreciating the different viewpoints and methodology re: budgeting, I find that the Budget Board really helps me focus on living well but not expensively. Plus the entertainment/education factor is huge for me.
i.e., I NEVER would have thought about taking meat with me to an island vacation destination