Best to cut spending or not get in too deep in the first place
By suspenseful
@suspenseful (40192)
Canada
December 7, 2008 7:51pm CST
I was thinking of the advice giving in these economical times, and to me, it sounds like if you live in a mansion, to sell it and rent a house, if you get all the cable Tv stations, get rid of the cable, and then go with antenna Tv or no Tv at all, cancel your magazine subscriptions, stop buying books, and rely on the library -- well you get the idea. It is almost as if you have gone from a high standard of living to near poverty. Oh yes I did not tell about the switch from restaurants to growing your own veggies and making from scratch.
But I was wondering if this is not the case of worshiping poverty and despising wealth? Could this not be avoided by not overexpanding in the first place. Look getting cable or dsl is not bad if you only order the programs you want to see. Why get a mansion when you can get a good two story house with a large yard? Why get all magazine subscriptions when you just love craft magazines and cooking magazines?
Why not get two good books rather than one hundred medicore books, etc/
The trouble is that when you cut from a rich lifestyle to near poverty, when jobs finally become plentiful, you go hog wild, but when you cancel just one station, just one magazine subscription, and maybe make your own bread rather than buying, it does not seem so bad and when times get better, you do not go crazy and get back in the same mess again.
Comnents anyone?
6 people like this
14 responses
@mipen2006 (5528)
• Australia
8 Dec 08
There is a lot of merit in what you're saying, but I'd hardly call living in a two storey house living in poverty. The problem was credit was made too easy for folks to get. Just sign here sir/madam, you only have to pay a few dollars each month. Well before you know it you have signed more of these forms than you realize. You haven't done your maths, and suddenly your outgoings exceed your income, so you decide to sell some of these assets. However what you sell for is not enough to clear the debt plus interest, so you're now paying for something you don't even have. This kind of thing goes on in Thailand, and local people are getting into more and more trouble.
Everyone should learn a lesson here. Always ask yourself two questions before you buy.
1. Can I afford it?
2. Do I really need it?
Fortunately my positioin is OK, but I don't have many deflating assets.
3 people like this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
8 Dec 08
It is not that living in a two storey house being poor, it is I was saying that if one has to cut expenses, instead of moving all the way down to the one room in a flop house that is usually inferred by the cutting expenses very frugal type, one can just go down one level. I suppose if one cannot afford to live in a two storey house, the next level would be a four bedroom bungalow and so on.
It is the same with cable Tv, if you get one hundred channels, and you find that you only watch seventy-five, cut out the twenty-five. If you go to the restaurant once a week, cut it down to once a fortnight, etc. then when times get better you will not go hog wild and go on a spending spree.
1 person likes this
@mipen2006 (5528)
• Australia
8 Dec 08
I understand what you're saying, that going back a step on each of your spending levels will help you financially. It' a pity more people didn't take this advice before they got themselves in too deep.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
9 Dec 08
I was thinking of when I went on this diet, and I cut back on everything, candies, cookies, desserts, and then one weekend, I bought a bag of chips and ate it all in one setting. Then it led me to think of those poor people who win the lottery. Now someone who is used to money, thinks well I won the State lottery, I better invest it and get a better house or property, but the kids still have to go to school, and then they are able to raise their living standards and keep up with it, but if one is not used to money, then one does not know bow to handle it.
So they get themselves farther into the hole.
1 person likes this
@Marie5656 (336)
• United States
8 Dec 08
Interesting you post this. My husband and I were driving home from our annual indulgence..dinner at Outback for our anniversary. Anyway, we were driving through one of the rich sections of town and were commenting on the big houses. My husband said the only reason some people buy them is to show off they have money.
But still, the cost of maintaining such a big hose, with utilities, lawn care and all. Is it really worth it? Even if I did have a lot of cash to spend on a house, I'd still want a small one. Just more user friendly.
We have cut back some, but there are other things we still like. We have sattelite, and some of the premium stations, we have two cars, because we sometimes work different schedules, but both are smaller and not huge gas guzzliers.
We would never want to live a poverty life, but we do pick and choose what to cut back on.
2 people like this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
8 Dec 08
I love large. And being quite clumsy, living in a small house I am always bumping things and knocking things over and it is hard to keep it clean, not with the lack of storage space, etc.
I think it could be bitterness. After all, there are advantages and disadvantages in living in a big house. If you are like me, and wish you could have more over to entertain and a large kitchen, etc. and someplace private, you really do not care about the upkeep. But as for cars, I want a car that is cheap on gas, not cheap on size. That is what we got. It can take five people, and it gets 35 miles to a gallon on the highway and it is not a hybid.
@danishcanadian (28955)
• Canada
8 Dec 08
I believe in starting off slow, and not relying on too much, that will only end up costing more in the long run. I went without internet in my home for half a year, and did most of my "living" at the coffee shop, where I could get the internet for a very small fee. That saved a lot of money for me in the long run, and I was able to make money on line while I was there, and enjoy the coffee.
2 people like this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
9 Dec 08
We started with dial up. That was slow. Then it was just the sons's having connections because they got free internet from the University so when us parents went to look for something, we had to make as if they were doing research. Then we just got internet for one when they were out, and then internet for two.
We got the big dish first, and we checked through and only got what we wanted, and when we switched to digital, it seemed in order to get the good programs, like the educational ones, we had to take the whole package, but even then you could pick and choose from the last tier. And we get the combination, internet, digital phone, and cable which is a lot cheaper then getting it separately.
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
11 Dec 08
I agree. We need to learn to not only live with in our means but to live with what we need and little else. I know that we have lived above our means in the past and it has taken a lot of hard work to get us to the point where we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. If we would have lived more on the frugal side then, life would be a lot less stressful now.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
1 Mar 09
Yes but I have been with people who took frugal to a whole new level, that they did things like not flushing the toilet until it got really yellow to save water, turned off the lights even when you were going to be in the room again five minutes later, etc. I do think you should be able to live within your means, but not at the expense of your health. If you need a large house, then it is best to put aside a large down payment so you will be in essence paying the mortgage payments you would have done if you had done a regular down payment. So if before you put aside $1,000 down payment, think of how much a house you can get for the same mortgage if you were able to work hard and then put aside $10,000.
@callarse1 (4783)
• United States
8 Dec 08
I agree with you suspensful :). We can do a lot by lowering our costs and living withing our means. Many people are taking too much credit and they need to budget themselves instead of buying a lot of items. I have to agree it's good to reduce your costs like you were saying. Kudos to your discussion!
Your pal,
Pablo
1 person likes this
@callarse1 (4783)
• United States
10 Dec 08
Wow suspenseful! Thank you for your best response. I love myLot because it allows us to hae more money in our budget, right?
Pablo
@TessWhite (3146)
• United States
8 Dec 08
I know there are many people who live in mansions or big homes who are selling out and downsizing. A quick drive thru the rich side of town here shows sign after sign in front yards saying for sale. But, not everyone who is struggling right now over extended in this way. Some of us were just plain poor before the economy went bad. I live in an old mobile home that the termites have had a feast on. My windows won't open, or shut completely so I've sealed them with duct tape. Yup, call me what you will for living this way, but it certainly isn't out of choice. And while I do have internet - its my one extravagance since I am disabled and home 24/7. We rarely dine out, unless you call McD's drive thru and the dollar menu dining out. LOL But even living the life I have now we are still struggling. My medical needs and bills are unreal, as are the costs of my medications. As for selling and downsizing, believe it or not I do have my place up for sale. I know I won't get much for it, but I have to move closer to family since I can no longer live on the shore (expenses are too high) and my health has gotten worse. So, I guess in my own little way I am downsizing as well. And as for cutting spending, if I cut anything else out I might as well find a nice box under the nearest overpass to move into.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
9 Dec 08
My brother-in-law who lives in Surrey, British Columbia bought one of those big houses for a steal when they lived in Edmonton, Alberta, after the oil industry went bust. And I think that it is the same as down there, people think that they can get away with the minimum down payment and then put the maximum on mortgage payment every month. Well what happens if they get laid off? They lose their house. Now it is different if it is what we went through, the interest rates were sky high, and we had to pay the max for our house, but we made sure that we had a good down payment and not only that we took out a bi weekly mortgage.
We have always lived in a three bed room house, had to fix up the basement, add more insulation, etc. I do not like downsizing because of living high way beyond my means like those people in your town, or those people whose bank foreclosed on them in Edmonton. That would hurt more than deciding to cancel one tv program or turn the thermostat down to below 68 all winter.
@mtdewgurl74 (18151)
• United States
17 Jan 09
Yes it could have been avoided altogether by not over spending. I heard on the news yesterday that they have a $100,000 dollar budget to have the White house living quarters redecorated. Isn't that a bit much? Aren't we supposed to be saving money? When will it end?
1 person likes this
@sudiptacallingu (10879)
• India
8 Dec 08
Exactly, exactly exactly…I was just thinking of framing my response on similar lines i.e. before I got to the end of your post. See I am born and brought up middle-class and I want to stay that way. If there’s a good extra, I put that in the bank for the rainy day. People laugh at my traditional thoughts but to me the bank is always the safer (if slower) option than the stock exchange. I don’t have any credit cards (I was brought up in the 70s and we did fine without one), I have no mobile phone (same reasoning, I spent 15/20 years of my life without the mobile, only landline), I subscribe to one newspaper and one magazine (but both are THE BEST) and the cable is there but that’s one small luxury. My only indulgence is good quality wholesome food and a vacation once a year. So no need of running after wealth or despising it either, just healthy well-planned living.
1 person likes this
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
8 Dec 08
Well I dont get mags. I dont buy books I got to the library.
I will keep my cable as long as I can for I wouldnt have the net if I canceled and ya cant got o an attenna for they are couting them out in Feb,And I only ever get what I need . My daughter gets mad at me if I dont buy a new peice of clothing at least once a year but I just get on with the clothes I have had for years!
BUt would be good never to over spend even when times are good
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (97421)
• United States
9 Dec 08
My goal has always been to not live about my means. I don't want to spend more money than I bring in. Of course when things like medical bills arrive, sometimes those things get out of control. And I see your point. I have cut a lot of things recently, including my internet (I use the internet at my parent's house). However, I have not cut my cable. I don't have the digital cable, just the lesser more affordable cable. I am not going to stop everything I enjoy, but try to find ways to nip and tuck finances. If I had been living way above my means I would be in a lot of trouble right now, and would definitely have to be cutting everything I could.
1 person likes this
@nengs10 (3180)
• Philippines
8 Dec 08
In our house, we are really having some austerity measures. We are controlling our spending, saving more for the unsure future. To cut our spending, we eat vegies more when it comes to food. Also, before buying something, we would check other stores and compare the prices of the products.
@williamjisir (22819)
• China
9 Dec 08
Hello suspenseful friend. I think that it is a good idea to cut off unnecessary buying since the global economy is at such a harsh moment that many people have lost or are losing their jobs. It is a must that we need to rethink about our daily expenses on the necessities. If there is no need to get it, then we forget it to save some pennies...Take care, friend.
1 person likes this
@apples99 (6556)
• United States
8 Dec 08
I agree most people do live beyond there means I think we've all been guilty of that at one time or another, but living without even a few minor luxury's would be kind of boring for those who spend a bit more time at home, but I defintly agree that we should cut our spending as much as possible, I have cable TV right now but I never order pay-per view movies, I usually just buy my DVDs I rarely ever rent them, and sometimes I even buy used DVDs as long as there in good playable condition, and some times I shop at the thrift store for good Bergen's on close and I try to make sure I always cut my lights off when I'm not using them.
and I agree with you, even if I were wealthy I would not buy a huge mansion I would still just buy a nice ranch style home because why waste money buying such big place I dont need that much room.
1 person likes this
@ladynetz (968)
• Canada
9 Dec 08
If you have everything and have to cut down , it's really a mess.
Kids are used to receive certain benefits, as we are.
So, to have all sides in peace, I made a deal with the cable company.
I have with them internet, cable, home phone and cell phones - they give me 15% deduction from the price.Also, if I order movies through them, I pay an extra 10% less for each movie.
Food, I try to buy when things are on sale, and also use coupons.I buy only what I need.
I have membership at some stores that give points for each purchase.
After a while, I can use the points to buy what I need from the store.
The moment you get used to save and buy only what you need, after a while, it becomes like a second nature.
Not likely to go back to spend wild as before, because you can see that what you want not always is what you need, and it doesn't bring you more.
1 person likes this
