Steph - I''m the same way with cars. . .I''m not into expensive ones and my car isn''t newer. Unfortunely, I still have payments on it even though it''s getting up there in milage/years because DH and I decided to pay off his truck in a lump sum. I''d like to keep my car until it gets up to 200,000 miles! I just don''t want a newer car and have to worry about the doors getting dings in them or the interior not being prestine. (oh and even though having a payment is a choice, I''d rather have that obligation then an older less reliable car and have it break down on the side of the road.) Of course, that is because we can make the payment. There is always the bus if I had to.
I tried using my credit card for purchases and would tally up my receipts, but then I''d loose some of them and it was a pain. Now when I go shopping for clothes or fun stuff, I bring a specific cash amount and when that amount is gone, I''m done. I may take $200 to the mall and I can easily see where the money is going and will know when I hit my budget max.
MC, I''m hoping to keep ours for a long time too. DH works in the auto industry and gets to drive a company car, so that is how we were able to not have any car payments, but if he didn''t I''m sure he would still be driving my old Acura I had with 140k miles on it. But I''m just not into cars I guess....as long as they can get me from point A to point B without breaking down, I''m good to go!
It would require you to be more disciplined because you are not required to pay the balance in full every month wereas with a debit card, your item is already paid for. Someone may splurge on an item like a handbag at the beginning of the month, and then their car might break down and that money will have to go to the repair instead of paying for the handbag. I think too many people use credit cards as their safety net or emergency fund instead of having cash reserves. That's the importance of having that emergency fund set up instead of just relying on credit cards to pay for unexpected things, because unexpected things do come up.
Ha ha, yup! The other night I asked my husband what he wanted for dinner and he said pizza. I said, are you kidding, that''s twenty bucks!
We do the same. For us using credit isn't dangerous because a.) We live on a budget, thus paying cash or credit is irrelevant. We would never open our credit card statement and be surprised that it's $1,000 higher than we thought. and b.) We're never at risk of possibly not being able to pay. I feel like credit cards are bad for people who have a hard time budgeting and live at their means. We do neither and like getting the 1% cash back reward. In fact, just last month we were going to put our vehicle on a credit card, then write a check for it and immediately get money off of it--we ended up buying from a private seller, but I wouldn't blink at putting very large purchases on a card (without carrying a balance, of course). My FIL put his mortgage on a credit card and locked in 2%.
Uh no, that is why it is easy for us. I don''t even think about buying the handbag if I don''t have money for emergencies. That''s just not a smart use of money.
Basically I buy nothing unless I have the money for it and then some. I agree that many people can''t do this. If you don''t have the emergency fund lined up, you have no business running around buying whatever items you feel like. My husband and I have a credit card each. We don''t accept all the credit offers that come our way nor do we take the full amount that the bank is willing to loan us for a house.
Our friends drive Mercedes. We drive Fords. I got a fair amount of ribbing for buying a huge box of used baby clothing for my daughter that came out to about 30 cents per item. I don''t care. I''m all for a splurge here and there, but it''s called a SPLURGE because you should be living the rest of your relatively frugally.
I read somewhere you can tell how well a child will succeed academically by his/her ability to delay INSTANT GRATIFICATION. That is a bigger indicator of success than general intelligence. I believe the trait of being able to not need to be instantly gratified translates to being a fiscally responsible adult as well! Hey, I''d love a fancy car, nice shoes, lots of handbags, etc too, but I simply cannot afford it! Why is it that this concept is so difficult for so many???
Rant over.
I make savings like a fun challenge as well. Since I quit work to stay home with our son, I basically try to make up for my salary I had as a teacher the best I can. So between savings from daycare, cooking from scratch instead of going out like we used to, saving on gas, work clothes, lunches, etc. I actually make up pretty well for my lost salary.
Interesting, a 50K limit might be an Australian practice? Not sure, but you can definitely get higher limits here in the U.S.--I can''t imagine really needing more than 50K in credit though, you know? My in-laws have over 30 different credit cards, but I think the mortgage was put on 2 cards and they paid off one. They don''t carry a balance on any other cards, so I have no idea why they have so many.
Actually, with your gals' descriptions of that marshmallow experiment, those kids sound like they were psychologically disturbed. Pulling hair over a marshmallow??? Sounds like they picked kids with certain behavioral traits, didn't feed them for four hours, and then stuck them in a room with the treat!
Date: 2/23/2009 1:45:49 AM
Author: Dancing Fire
we swipe CCs a lot but we do pay it off each month. i''am proud to say we''ve been ''debt free since 2004'' no mortgage payments, no car paymentsbut i spent too much $$$''s dining out and other stuffs
not if they marry a Chinese. you know the "Chinese rules" the groom side pays for everything.Date: 2/23/2009 6:39:02 PM
Author: zhuzhu
Date: 2/23/2009 1:45:49 AM
Author: Dancing Fire
we swipe CCs a lot but we do pay it off each month. i''am proud to say we''ve been ''debt free since 2004'' no mortgage payments, no car paymentsbut i spent too much $$$''s dining out and other stuffs
That''s GREAT that you are debt free, DF! I guess what''s left for you to pay is just the cost of weddings for your daughters?
My goal is to be like you, be free of all debts by the age of 50 (we have no debt other than mortgage at this point) and own our house outright. Then I hope to retire early to do all the things I enjoy doing without feeling pressured to get paid.....
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