Mitt Romney ... Plastic Man... there IS a bit of a resemblance.
Good for them!
“Economides”? Did they change their name too—or did their name become their destiny?
good for them, but does that $44K income include the direct subsidies they get back from the gubmint in lieu of paying any tax? Plus subsidies and reduced fees for that income and family size?
A tax free income of $44K plus thousands in “earned income” credits and “child credits” plus free lunch, free or sliding scale medical care, etc = equals an income of about $75-80K to the poor working slobs who actually pay taxes and also have to pay full freight for everything else
1. Buy a personal hair cutter/shaver and give your boys military crews. This thing paid for itself with the first haircut.
2. Shop resale/consignment. I've gotten real fur coats for $50, designer clothes for a fraction of the cost, and brand name expensive bags for a song.
3. Craig's list for furniture. Solid antiques are selling cheap, and last a lot longer than modern furniture.
4. Join the YMCA. The entire family can go, they are free babysitting, and offer a variety of very inexpensive classes and programs.
5. Instead of video rentals and video games, have family game nights instead. Your kids will enjoy spending time with you!
6. Trips don't have to be expensive. Visit museums instead and pack a cooler with pastries and donuts for breakfast, P&B and bread for lunch, and drinks and snacks. Our family of 5 took a 3-day trip to Norman Oklahoma and spent less than $300 for the entire thing. The most expensive part was the hotel, but we got a fabulous package price on-line. The kids LOVED it.
7. Get into gardening. You can supplement your table with veggies and fruits right from your own backyard.
8. Visit the library. Great brain food for free.
9. Get involved in your church. Lots of churches host wonderful events that are free or cost very little. Get your kids involved in volunteering; will build great character.
10. If you don't need it, don't buy it. If you can do it yourself, do it. I recently recovered my dining room chairs for less than $25 worth of excellent fabric on clearance. Made my set look new.
11. Cut everything. Do you need your house phone? Drop it. Cut your cable package to the minimum. Cut up your credit cards and pay cash.
My family was devastated by medical bills. I've learned, out of sheer necessity, to live the frugal life just to hang onto my house. These habits haven't gone away now that we are financially stable again.
That’s all well and good, but how about having an economy that provides for people to live well again? I hate this Obamaesque Dem scolding about people “spending too much,” especially with a president who takes a luxury vacation every other week and government bureaucrats who make an average of 30% more than private sector employees.
Let’s have an abundance mentality, a growth mentality, and not a shriveling down “the cattle are dying and all is lost” mentality.
‘on just $44,000 a year’
Isn’t that $30,000 a year above minimum wage?
So their sane?
Only in 2010 could this be a news story!
“Just $44,000 a year” actually sounds pretty posh here. But the cost of living might be lower in this area. If I’m doing the math right, someone in the story makes $22 an hour. A lot of us here in fly-over country make half that much.
You’re needed here...bring coupons :-)
How nice of these folks to live this way. Great. Ah, C”MON! This is America! People don’t immigrate here so they can live like papuers and neither should we. Screw this ‘’economy’’ bs. We’ve got to start living like Europeans because a Marxist posuer in The White House says so? F that sh!t! When we take this country back and get the worlds greatest economy going full bore again SUPER SIZE ME! It’s steaks ‘n’cocktails all around and screw this ‘’frugal’’ bs.
What’s their secret?
Probably the fact that they believe in working for what they need and don’t spend on their time whining about what other people have.
I do applaud them, though, for helping to starve the beast. Stop buying, until every government-paid little tyrant is unemployed. We need new blood in business, too.
The key to keeping your head above water is simply to live below your means. Good rule of thumb is 20%. So if your family income is $50,000, live as though your family income was only $40,000. If your family income is $100,000, live as though your income was only $80,000 - and so on.
You should set up your automatic deductions in such as way that you never see that 20%. Have it go directly into a 401(k), a money market account, bonds, savings accounts, whatever you are comfortable with - but the key is to always have that 20% come out of your income no matter what. This takes discipline but once you adopt that mindset, it becomes easier as time goes on.
I'm talking pre-tax income by the way.
So what does that 20% get used for? Things like college tuition, a down payment on a new house, getting the roof repaired. But make the money hard to get to, so that you are not tempted to dip into that money for frivolous things like vacations, going out to eat, etc.
The good thing about this is that you don't have to necessarily eat Kraft Macaroni & Cheese and wear other peoples discarded clothing. As your income rises, your disposable income also rises. At the same time, that 20% you are putting away also rises. I think it is too depressing to adopt a mentality that you will always live as though you were poor (but certainly that is necessary from time to time if you keep to a strict budget).
Living below your means and saving/investing the rest is the easiest way to build wealth, however, without discipline and an honest marriage (in which both spouses are on board with the plan), it will be nearly impossible to pull off successfully.
6 vacuum packs of Chock Full 'O' Nuts coffee
2 liters extra virgin olive oil.
4 liters Canola oil
3 large bottles Ajax dishwashing liquid
4 A/C filters
150 oz automatic dishwasher liquid
I also got a bunch of other stuff for almost nothing like 50 oz bottles of Whisk laundry detergent for just a buck each. Oh, and yesterday I picked up a bunch of Pledge anti-allergent cloths for FREE!