LBYM used by Harrine

[mickeyd]

Not sure who Harrine Freemen is, but she must be a member of this ER forum with a quote like that! If not, send her an invite...

"Everyone should pinch pennies no matter what your situation to ensure you live well below your means," says Harrine Freeman, a personal finance expert, speaker and author of the book "How to Get Out of Debt."

Living a frugal lifestyle no matter what your financial situation will prepare you for any money crisis that may hit without having to make drastic lifestyle adjustments, she says.

Start with small steps, Freeman says. That includes everything from saving coins in a jar, using coupons, shopping the sales, eating at home -- and, yes, even forgoing the $4 latte.

Eventually, savers can graduate to bigger steps, such as downsizing a house or car, or eliminating luxury expenditures such as expensive vacations.

Yahoo! Finance - Business Finance, Stock Market, Quotes, News

 

[Moemg]

Isn't it amusing how LBYM is suddenly trendy ?

 

[citrine]

I just never stopped living like a college student.....helped me a lot over the years!

 

[CuppaJoe]

Start with small steps, Freeman says. That includes everything from saving coins in a jar, using coupons, shopping the sales, eating at home -- and, yes, even forgoing the $4 latte.

Eventually, savers can graduate to bigger steps, such as downsizing a house or car, or eliminating luxury expenditures such as expensive vacations.

She's got it upside down and backwards. Start with the big items: chuck the expensive house, car, vacations and enjoy the lattes. Apologies to Paul Terhorst, it's almost a direct quote.

 

[freebird5825]

Not sure who Harrine Freemen is, but she must be a member of this ER forum with a quote like that! If not, send her an invite...

My approach is to scrimp on discretionary stuff all year long so I can take expensive vacations.
So nice to be cool again (LBYM)

 

[IndependentlyPoor]

She's got it upside down and backwards. Start with the big items: chuck the expensive house, car, vacations and enjoy the lattes. Apologies to Paul Terhorst, it's almost a direct quote.

I second that. There is a real danger of kidding yourself into thinking you are frugal by these small gestures, but it is the big stuff that counts. Don't buy that boat, resist the snazzy new car. Eschew the McMansion.

OK, I am out of glib phases, but I do think that is what the old aphorism is getting at: "penny wise and pound foolish".

Lord knows that I too am guilty of scrimping and saving to afford expensive vacations. Hi freebird.

 

[freebird5825]

Lord knows that I too am guilty of scrimping and saving to afford expensive vacations. Hi freebird.

Hey, you only go through once.
I would rather forego eating out for a year, and buying clothes I don't need, or kitchen and garden gadgets, etc, so I can see David's buns. Priceless.

 

[haha]

If buns is the goal, I'd just spend more money on dates. I mean, can you lick David's bottom?

Ha

 

[Amethyst]

I mean, can you lick David's bottom?

Ha

Nope...can't beat it with a stick!

 

[Alan]

"Unlike our peers who have gone to bigger and more expensive houses, we're still in our starter home," says Yeager, 51, who is married with no children.

- emphasis is mine

Now there is a huge saving

We also like our vacations, and our biggest savings was to not buy the biggest house we could get a mortgage for and not buying more car (or cars) than we needed. Public schools and in-State colleges for the kids were also big savings.

That way we can enjoy our beignets and cafe-au-lait at a weekend.

 

[CuppaJoe]

...

That way we can enjoy our beignets and cafe-au-lait at a weekend.

Uh oh! I like the apple fritters we can get here but now there's a reason to travel, genuine beignets. Being a Yankee, I'm not even sure what they look like; is this them?

 

[IndependentlyPoor]

Want2retire, are those lovely old coffee shops still in the quarter near the French Market? Was one of them named The Morning Glory? It has been a long time, but I can almost smell the rich cafe au lait and crispy beignets.

 

[Alan]

Uh oh! I like the apple fritters we can get here but now there's a reason to travel, genuine beignets. Being a Yankee, I'm not even sure what they look like; is this them?

Yep, that's them - powdered sugar makes a mess, but still a real treat

Want2retire, are those lovely old coffee shops still in the quarter near the French Market? Was one of them named The Morning Glory? It has been a long time, but I can almost smell the rich cafe au lait and crispy beignets.

I was down there Thursday night with some colleagues who were visiting from out of town and wanted to do "Nawlins"

Still got the coffee shops down there. We had our cafe-au-lait and beignets at Cafe-du-Monde on the corner of Jackson Square. I did notice that on one of the other corners Cafe Beignet was missing, but it had just moved onto Bourbon Street.

Can't remember seeing The Morning Glory, but then again I wasn't looking specifically for the name.

We ate at The Court of The 2 Sisters on Royale and went to the piano bar in Pat O'Briens where my colleagues each had a Hurricane and they boxed the glass for them to take away.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Isn't it amusing how LBYM is suddenly trendy ?

Its easy to LBYM when you make a lot of money. DW and I are the perfect example. Of course what we bring in is probably small potatoes to some of you folk.

 

[W2R]

Want2retire, are those lovely old coffee shops still in the quarter near the French Market? Was one of them named The Morning Glory? It has been a long time, but I can almost smell the rich cafe au lait and crispy beignets.

Yes, they are still there. I remember one called the Morning Glory. We were down in the French Quarter late this afternoon. It was raining on and off, but I took a couple of random photos from the car (below).

 

[IndependentlyPoor]

LBYM California style

In today's L.A. Times
(may require registration, but it is free)

Recession may forge a housing shift in California

quote:

Kenneth Wang, 53, who recently closed escrow on a $520,000 condominium on Pasadena's posh Orange Grove Boulevard after looking for years, is also feeling the stress of stretched finances.

To make ends meet, he is considering taking a second job on top of his special-education teaching post and won't be eating out as much. If it's the joy of new homeownership, it's bittersweet.

"I plan to sacrifice or suffer for a few years to see how far I can go," said Wang, who also owns rental units in Pasadena. "I can't pay a mortgage until I'm 80."

​

A special-ed teacher with a $520K condo? I imagine he is considering a second job. Maybe his rentals are generating a good cash flow.

The American dream of owning a home is still alive, and so is the keeping-up-with-the-Jones' pressure to own an enviable one. The willingness to take a second job to afford a luxury condo is a statement of the power of dreams and aspirations.

 

[W2R]

I suspect that he thinks housing is a bargain in his area right now, and that he is buying the condo as an investment. Once he has seen how far he can go (which I assume means how long he can pay the mortgage before his savings run out) then I guess he plans to sell and realize some profit. I would never do that but then I am not faced with the high cost of living in S. California on a special ed teacher's salary.

If we experience massive inflation and rising real estate prices, with more stagnant stock market profits, his strategy might be especially worthwhile.