LBYM Question

[mystang52]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ready We live in a nice home, drive nice cars, eat well, and have all of the latest technology gadgets. One might look at us and say we are big spenders. But the key factor to consider in LBYM is the M. Everybody's means are different. If you make $50K/year and you spend all $50K, you are not living below your means. If you make $300K per year and spend $150K, you could easily argue that you are living below your means. So when I read all of these comments, I have to remember that everyone is coming from a different base, which must be considered when comparing these posts.

Bingo. We are not wealthy, but we are comfortable. We don't spend money recklessly, but if we can afford it and want it (whatever the "it" is) we'll buy it. But I have to confess if it's a big ticket item, a great deal of thought goes into it before deciding to buy it.

[coveredbridge]

Camelcamelcamel Amazon Price Tracker...allows you to view the price history of almost anything sold on Amazon and alert you when the item reaches your target price.

[RobbieB]

I know that I'm living below my means because I'm still stacking dough.

I could care less weather or not you are living below your means.

Means are means and spending is spending and all that really matters is having fun!

[brucethebroker]

Save money washing clothes using cold water, then hang items overnight (laundry room or nearby bathroom) to let them air dry. The next day, use "air fluff" mode on dryer. Works well on most clothing and saves $$ on hot water and drying costs. Really makes a difference when your home is all electric.

Good friend takes his own coffee mug to gas station to save 35 to 50 cents a cup. We use McDonalds "senior" coffee and soft drinks. Free refills.

Publix often has gas card promos. Spend $100 on groceries and buy a $50 gas card for $40. 20% savings-not bad.

Check out ebay for partial packages of dog flea treatment. The good stuff is expensive. People give up their dog and still have $25-$30 of individual flea treatments left-then sell them for cheap.

Public transportation at airport drops me off 1 mile from vacation home. Nice walk, and the bus ride is only $1.50 Sr. rate. Walk, ride bike and bus the rest of the week and save hundreds on car rentals each trip. Thousands a year by not keeping a "condo" car there.

Local business type bank offers 2 free "office type" offices and a 10 person conference room-nice safe place for Craigslist transactions. Free coffee, soft drinks and cookies. Mags and WSJ + local newspaper in small lounge with cable business news on TV. 2 computers. Nice place to take a break when running errands.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by exnavynuke ...I find growing my own food tends to be much cheaper than buying fresh fruits/vegetables every week.

We grow food as a hobby and to get exercise. We don't do Fitbits. Maybe another benefit is the real organic stuff that comes from our garden. The food often tastes better.

But to save money? How can we beat tomatoes, onions, zucchinis, cucumbers, various other veggies sold for $1 for 3 lbs at the local market?

[brucethebroker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound We grow food as a hobby and to get exercise. We don't do Fitbits. Maybe another benefit is the real organic stuff that comes from our garden. The food often tastes better. But to save money? How can we beat tomatoes, onions, zucchinis, cucumbers, various other veggies sold for $1 for 3 lbs at the local market?

Yeah, kind of our thinking too....never really enjoyed gardening anyway and finally gave it up after a couple of bad years in tomatos....

Makes a nice hobby for many people, though.

[Scuba]

Find simple things to enjoy. Also as others have said, spend on your priorities. And don't spend on the rest. Ditto on avoiding malls. Also avoid online impulse shopping.

[427Vette]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Michaela
....
5. I've actually walked into Brooks Brothers (before a date) purchased a shirt or tie - and after the date - took it back and got my money back.
....
9. When staying at a hotel or work, I will take the toilet paper. Some people take towels and soaps. I try to get a roll of toilet paper for each day of my stays.

....I've been living this way so long that I cannot differentiate between cheap and frugal.

Cheers,

Michael

Quote:

Originally Posted by pb4uski IMO you cross that thin line between frugal and cheap .... into "little white lie" fraud and theft.

+1

When you resort to thievery to be supreme tightwad you have definitely crossed that line. How is it that you suppose the hotel covers the cost of the extra a$$ wipe They build it into the cost of everyone else's room. So all of us are supplying your toilet paper. For all of my life I have only been using one side of my toilet paper. I am willing to send it to you for your use so you no longer have to operate outside of the law!

[Tetto]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michaela 1. Wife and I only drink water when we go out to Resturants. 2. Wife and I will order ONE large salad at Panera and ask the staff to put the contents in two bowls. Oh, we'll also ask the server for an extra baguette when he brings our salads. 3. I suffer from FOBO. "Fear of Better Offers" which really limits my spending. I feel like such a chump when I purchase something and subsequently (within a few days) find it for a cheaper price. 4. Typically take vacations in the fall - because airfare and hotels are cheaper. I always use a Govt ID at a leisure rate on Hotel stays. 5. I've actually walked into Brooks Brothers (before a date) purchased a shirt or tie - and after the date - took it back and got my money back. 6. Use of Walmart Savings Catcher on IPAD. 7. Consumer Cellular offers $15 a month for 250 minutes of phone service. If I exceed 250 minutes, the cost will increase by $5 for the entire month. 8. I receive the basic 26 cable stations but watch the entire cable package at our local clubhouse/activity center. 9. When staying at a hotel or work, I will take the toilet paper. Some people take towels and soaps. I try to get a roll of toilet paper for each day of my stays. 10. When I used to get Per Diem for work related travel - I was so fortunate to stay in hotels that included breakfast in that I would always be able to pocket the extra meal per-diem. I could go on - but needless to say my frugality is a lifestyle that I have conditioned myself to and I've been living this way so long that I cannot differentiate between cheap and frugal. Cheers, Michael

Wow! My wife sometimes calls me cheap, but in comparison to this^, I roll like a rock star!!

Btw, have done the per diem thing in the past; I used to travel for up to a month at a time to very expensive places, but I'd always come home with an extra $1500 in travelers checks...😂😂

[atmsmshr]

Standing in line yesterday asking for the 69 cent discount for item at the grocery store that I swear was posted on the display case - I stopped the clerk from a lookup much to the relief of people behind me.

My LBYM is usually reserved for the big ticket items (.$100) - but will snag the lower cost items whenever they appear.

However, some of the postings in this thread make my spending habits look like a drunken sailor on a liberty payday.

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brucethebroker ...........Check out ebay for partial packages of dog flea treatment. The good stuff is expensive. People give up their dog and still have $25-$30 of individual flea treatments left-then sell them for cheap............

Another trick is to buy the extra large dog size and just use half at a time on your smaller dog. Twelve doses are the same price regardless of the dog size.

[panacea]

And for the really creative, you could combine some of these ideas... like buying toilet paper and then returning it to the store after you've used it. Or turning your underwear inside out and using as a coffee filter!

[Closet_Gamer]

We are LMBYM...Living MASSIVELY Below Our Means.

From the time we got married (deep in debt) we would take raises and break them into 1/3s...1/3 to savings, 1/3 to debt, and 1/3 to lifestyle. Along the way when promotions or other things came along, we simply went crazy on the debt/savings side.

10 years ago I got into a fast growth career and pretty much held the line on expenses since the...we'll bank about 60% of our income this year even including a $50k remodel.

Otherwise we practice a rule from Millionaire Next Door: we're very sensitive to recurring expenses but fairly insensitive to one time costs. We like to travel with our kids so that's a big annually-repeated one time cost...but it could go over the side in case of bad income years.

Like compounded interest, compounding the gap between your income and your expenses is very, very powerful.

(Edit: and I ONLY buy used video games...30 hours of fun for $15...woohoo!)

[Backpacker]

Can't beat the library for saving$ on books

[COcheesehead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by panacea And for the really creative, you could combine some of these ideas... like buying toilet paper and then returning it to the store after you've used it. Or turning your underwear inside out and using as a coffee filter!

Don't give people any ideas

[COcheesehead]

My wife taught me a long time ago that everything is negotiable. We needed a new stereo reciever and Best Buy had the one we wanted, floor model only. I asked for a discount, boom, 50% off. Had it now for years. Works like a charm with our Sonos.
Buy your bikes on Craigslist, if you are confident you know your frame size. At least a 50% savings there.
Sign up and use any rewards programs. We get coupons for free stuff all the time just for being a member. Pro tip: keep and store your member ID and passwords so over time you can access your accounts. If you can't remember the account number or password, they become useless.
Use Bing as your search tool and sign up for their rewards program. Every 10,000 points gets you $5 at Amazon or Starbucks, just for doing your normal searches.

[pb4uski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by panacea And for the really creative, you could combine some of these ideas... like buying toilet paper and then returning it to the store after you've used it. Or turning your underwear inside out and using as a coffee filter!

OMG!! Please don't give the subset of cheapskates viewing this thread any additional ideas!

[Amethyst]

We had such wonderful gardens 20+ years ago. Then the deer arrived, and forced us to garden behind a fence. Still, we did it, despite considerable inconvenience (and expense). Then the stink bugs arrived and sucked the tomatoes dry while they were still green. Nothing kills them except painstakingly searching every leaf for egg cases, and even then they will migrate in from the rest of the yard. Two years in a row of watching our tomatoes turned to mush-filled skins overnight, and that was that for vegetable gardening.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound We grow food as a hobby and to get exercise. We don't do Fitbits. Maybe another benefit is the real organic stuff that comes from our garden. The food often tastes better. But to save money? How can we beat tomatoes, onions, zucchinis, cucumbers, various other veggies sold for $1 for 3 lbs at the local market?

[pb4uski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Backpacker Can't beat the library for saving$ on books

+1 In fact, the local library here writes on each receipt when you take out a book "You just saved $x by using your library. You have saved $y this past year and $z since you began using the library!".... all at full retail though... who pays retail?

[COcheesehead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pb4uski +1 In fact, the local library here writes on each receipt when you take out a book "You just saved $x by using your library. You have saved $y this past year and $z since you began using the library!".... all at full retail though... who pays retail?

Our library also lets you download movies and audio books.