Good morning on this Tuesday. Hope you are all well.
Today is just a little reminder that a little can be a lot. It is true in so many instances - but this one is a big one for sure.
People don't realize how fast things add up.
$27.40 a day - could be meals out (on the low end), coffees, cigarettes, bar visits, junk food, lotto tickets, thrift shopping, daily store visits, you name it. It's your money and you can do what you want with it - but when you do - you need to realize WHAT you are really spending!!!!!
$10,000 is a lot of money. That can pay off debt, pay off a home early, save for the future or emergencies, it could be invested, you name it. I think in most people's books that is a chunk of change.
Now you add in things like interest fees, late payments, wasting food and trashing it, not taking care of your possessions, etc. and the money just keeps racking up!
I have a neighbor that does a big grocery shop every Saturday - and then goes to the store absolutely every day and brings home at least 2 bags of stuff!!!! That is surely $27.40. They also gamble on things a lot. He smokes like a chimney. Both work jobs that pay a good salary and well - they live in my neighborhood. I know what they pay for rent - most people would be happy to pay it. They even have a roommate to help with expenses! They have had to sale things, because they can't afford them. They are a fine example of what excessive spending looks like (they are about my age). All I can do is shake my head.
Years ago, we wrote down & logged absolutely every penny we spent. EVERY! It was eye opening how much money got spent on frivolous things. We sure curbed back on our "wants" and that is when we really started to save $.
Be a good steward of what you have.
Pennies do make dollars and dollars CAN and WILL make a huge difference in your life.
Stop and think about all those littles buys - they can make a big difference in your funds.
Have a wonderful day!
I have a friend whose husband does the same thing. He shops every day without fail, bringing home a bag or two of groceries.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
I know if I asked - my neighbor would say "we're vegetarian and want fresh". They buy from WM - no way is it fresh!!!
DeleteJust amazes me.
True about WM produce. The last time we were in there it all looked ready for the compost.
DeleteMaybe it depends on the WM? The tomatoes we bought last week were huge, fresh and delicious on sandwiches. I've also found the leaf lettuce to be fresh. Carrots. Potatoes. Apples and oranges recently. But we're in AZ. Oddly enough, in CA the WM produce was awful. --Elise
DeleteWell, he goes to the one up the street and no they have nothing that appears fresh ever.
DeleteYes, ours at WM is pretty fresh too. Probably depends on the store.
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ReplyDeleteIt pays to know where the dollars go - it can be eye opening.
DeleteThanks
Yes ma'am. Love that first meme. It's amazing how quickly it adds up. I wrote a check for my very nice car in December 2015 after driving the prior car for 16years. A friend told me then, keep writing that car payment check to your savings account and pay cash next time. Sound advice!!
ReplyDeleteThat is good advice. It is amazing how quickly it all adds up.
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DeleteI know people like that - they eat dinner out, for the family - almost every day. Then they moan that they've not been able to contribute to their retirement account. Are they thinking that every meal during the work week has to be like Thanksgiving Dinner and they haven't the energy after a full day at work? I can sympathize with being tired, but .... but but but!!!
ReplyDeleteMaryB
LOL - but, but, but!!!! Yep.
DeleteIt is amazing. A sandwich or bowl of soup, or a good baked potato can fill a person at home and save a lot. I will never understand.
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DeleteI think it's just so easy to spend on little things. You're in Target to buy a gift. Limit- $20 cuz I think we all set an internal limit for gifting... otherwise we'd buy diamond rings at Harry Winston!! So, you get the Lego kit and then see the dollar spot. Suddenly, your $20 is $30 and your bag has 6 more things that you didn't even know existed, but now you NEED them lol. You're walking out and get a whiff of Starbucks. Hmmm, smells good. I'll just get a tall one. Oh, the Grande is only a little more. Extra espresso shot? Sure, I worked all day, I'm exhausted. Pulling out of driveway...what? It's after 7pm? I was in there a lot longer than I thought. Better just pick up McDonald's for dinner.... And suddenly the cost to get the gift is twice the price of the gift itself!!! I have seen friends do this many times. And they tell me they *had* to. That's one reason I pay cash. No choice if I'm only carrying $25. My friend used to carry a $100 bill as a backup, in case she saw a really good bargain. She said there was no temptation to use it on a $6 cup of coffee. Whatever works!!
ReplyDeleteI see people do it too - you can JUSTIFY anything to yourself if you want to. They can't convince me! I often smell, see, or think about something that is just an extravagance - and usually I can talk myself out of it - "I have that at home".
DeleteI pay cash too.
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DeleteElise, you asked if the Farmer had plans to build the herb table. He is dyslexic and has trouble with reading plans. He wings it and it works out very well. He made a rabbit hutch several years ago. Just started cutting lumber and screwing it together.
DeleteElise, I think I read the same article, and freaked when I saw the price of a Big Mac in Connecticut! There was even a chart/map of the prices of a Big Mac in the USA. Gee whiz.
DeleteAm planning to go to lunch with my cousin tomorrow at the local fish place - maybe I should slip another $20 into my wallet. My Soc Sec has gone up, but not *that much*. :(
MaryB
I stood in line to get a refund. I was overcharged. The guy behind me didn't say anything, but his attitude reflected his disgust at waiting for me to explain and then receive my refund. As I was walking away, he stepped up and spent his money on lottery tickets.
ReplyDeleteEllie
Central Az
Refunds or return, I'm in line. The Farmer's mother used to say that it was "only $24.99" and throw it in the trash. Yikes!
DeleteI will stand in line for a refund! Heck yes. Priorities in my opinion! You value money - he values chance.
DeleteYIKES - DONNA I have seen people like that - just burn the money, why not?
This is just mind blowing! Just wow!
ReplyDeleteAmazing huh?? No one would think that until you do the math!
DeleteIf a person doesn't keep track of her money, it will disappear. If I feel I need a little "treat" while out, that idea gets squashed like a bug. The Farmer has a big variety of coffees that can be prepared at home to his liking. Back in the day people didn't walk around with water bottles or soft drinks. You waited until you got home to drink something. The Farmer and I have had it with eating out. The last meal we splurged on was not particularly good and the size of the sides was diminished a great deal. We have an anniversary coming up and we will prepare something at home.
ReplyDeleteGloomy day! We were spoiled by the sunshine. I texted Alana to ask if she was ready for her new knee tomorrow and she said whether she was ready or not, it will happen. She has enough time off accrued through her job to take to use it for the entire recovery time and not have to work from home.
Treats are nice. But you aren't doing them 365! I always get water when eating out!
DeleteYes money does just disappear! So easily. I pay cash for most everything - and some days (not often) I may stop places when out. I look at my wallet on the last one - and wonder 'where did it go?' It goes quicky!
Yep, pretty cloudy today.
Hope the surgery is a success and she has quick healing.
Yep, I was "that person" (to an extent) years ago. For my goals for the year, I want to keep groceries, gas, and my spending on outings in check and I track those expenditures in my planner. But, as an example, I had a meeting with a new member of our widows group yesterday. We met at Starbucks (her request) and I purchased an iced latte (what I often used to get when commuting downtown). It totaled $5.83. Take that amount x 5 = $29.15 a week x 48 weeks (allowing for work holidays and 2 weeks vacation) = just shy of $1,400 a year. JUST on a morning coffee!!!! And I know people drive thru Starbucks daily and flash their app (tied to their credit card) and willingly pay it without a blink. I can't justify that cost any more. Maybe once in a while, but not every day. Those funds need to be applied elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you - I can not justify it. Some people can justify anything if it is THEIR idea!
DeleteSure once in a while we all splurge - but the everyday thing is crazy. That would buy a lot of cans of coffee and make a whole mess of it at home!
Goodness me, that is one mind blowing statistic. I’ll be thinking about that all day today. Louise
ReplyDeleteI know! It is a staggering number.
DeleteYou can be frugal with yourself and do without the coffees and lottery tickets and then you get faced with the constant barrage of donating to charities. Particularly around holidays, every store has the bell ringers and every checkout has the cheery question, "Care to donate to school lunches or soup kitchen or..." I feel that charity should be given from a person of their free will and as they can afford. Begging is not pretty in any form. When I was working my first job, my supervisor was associated with the Salvation Army and approached me asking how much I wished to have deducted from my weekly check for that business. I said, "nothing." I was clearing $50. a week. He was furious and expected that we serfs would play along. I know that many folks love the Salvation Army but keep in mind they are a huge business and have lots more money than most. "No" is a great tool to have in your frugal arsenal not just for you but for the beggars. Many charities and churches exist for the enrichment of the administrators; do some research before you donate.
ReplyDeleteI am frugal with it all. I only donate where I want - and when I want. Never at the grocery store checkout line. IF I want, I can walk by the red buckets - but I don't appreciate the people asking me at my time of purchase of expensive goods to donate. There is a time and place for it.
DeleteFYI when you donate through the store - such as rounding up or adding on for food banks, etc - that amount gets donated to the charity from THE STORE. They take the tax writeoff. You're much better off sending donations to those charities directly if you're inclined to donate - then it's your tax writeoff.
DeleteOBSCURE - good tip. I never thought really looked at it that way! Thanks.
DeleteEver since I can remember I have looked at the price of something and figured out how many hours I had to work to pay for it. Even though my income has increasingly gone up over the years I still do it most of the time. It's my way of justifying whether it's something I REALLY want or not.
ReplyDeleteLori, I used to work with a woman that taught me that trick. We worked at a little craft store for minimum wage. This was my fun job after quitting my real job and skipping out of there lol. My friend needed the job. She was doing a little math and I asked about it. She says something like "I'm eating pasta salad for the third day in a row and I'm sick of it. I'm trying to figure out how many minutes I have to stand on this cement floor to pay for a hot dog and small fries from DQ. I calculate that it's too long to be worth it.". And she ate her pasta salad!
DeleteLori - I have done the same many times. It sure makes you think "is it worth it?".
DeleteUsually for me - no.
I've been keeping track of almost every penny for at least seven years (about two years before I retired). At that time, I wanted to ensure I would be able to manage on my pension, which was significantly less than my paycheque. I soon noticed that I was too often just spending - especially for housewares. Who needs tea towels and dishcloths for every season? Those were just a couple of items I cut out..there was a lot more.
ReplyDeleteI still permit myself a small amount each month for craft and miscellaneous items. It certainly wouldn't add up to $10K! Definitely keeping track for these past years has been good for my pocketbook.
It really is good for the pocketbook. We did that for ages too - and it sure made us think about purchases. Our bank account liked it too.
DeleteHeck we all have that expenditure here and there - but the everyday thing is nuts.
That figure is mind-boggling!
ReplyDeleteYep, it sure is! I read that and then got my calculator out and dang if it wasn't true!!!
Delete:) I checked it with my calculator as well, it just seemed unbelieveable.
DeleteMaryB
My husband had a rare business trip to an all day thing 3 hours from home. They stopped as a group to eat. MC Donald's. He bought a Big Mac value meal and said it was just shy of $12. I thought that was crazy. My buddy in Cali said it would be at least $15 there. But those CT prices make me wonder how they stay in business!!!
ReplyDeleteMy Grandpa used to refer to hamburger as dog food. (My Grandma roasted pork and roast beast and then ground it in one of those 100lb. hand crank grinders). My buddy and I were joking today about what our parents and grands would think of the ground beef prices today lol. I remember my mom telling me years ago that "Grandpa would roll over in his grave if he saw hamburger for 99¢ lb.". He would only eat breakfast out because he didn't trust anything else lol.
From what I see McD is expensive - but not as bad here in my area as the prices listed. Most fast food is nuts. I did see a sale on the window as I drove by Arby the other day - 4 r.b. sandwiches for $10. That is reasonable.
DeleteI have gone through stages - I used to not spend over .99 lb. for most meat - then it went to $1.40 - then 1.99 - well the rest is history. I still hunt for the deals and only buy then.
An amazing statistic and not that hard to achieve if one is not careful. I've been tracking every penny since 2017 and have done it off and on in prior years. Haven't eaten restaurant food (sit-down or fast food) in over 5 years. Lousy food, small portions, rude patrons - just not worth the aggravation when I can make a much better meal at home. I donate time, not money. Volunteering in person at Project Linus costs gas money, but with all the donated fabric, yarn and batting, I haven't bought any for blankets in years.
ReplyDeleteI know - it wouldn't be that hard to spend per day if one was just not thinking.
DeleteYou have some good rules for yourself. yes most food out is not that good - not to mention we have no idea how it is prepared or what their kitchen looks like. I shudder.
Volunteering time is a great alternative. Things and time - work out perfect - doesn't have to be $$$.
Before my husband retired we read two books, "Your Money or Your Life" and "Debt Free Living". Both very informative. We made spread sheets of every penny spent to see how much we actually took home from his salary as a first responder. What an eye opener that was. If you think McD's prices are high, I just had a friend tell me that they went to Chipotle for lunch and for the two of them lunch came to over $40 and that didn't include any drinks. I guess with the price of food going up for the average consumer, it's also going up for every restaurant and fast food place as well. With the flooding, droughts and tornadoes happening I shudder to think of what it's going to do with the food supply this year. I think it's really important to remember that this higher prices and shortages are mostly because of the weather, but also there will be the unscrupulous who try to benefit and gouge. Cookie
ReplyDeleteBoth good books. Smart to plan ahead.
DeleteYes food prices won't be going down anytime soon I am afraid. There are just so many denominators involved in the prices of groceries. Lots!
Including greed.
I saw two guys smoking the other day and asked them what was the price of cigarettes, and they said up to $22 CDN per package, there goes that money if you smoke a pack a day! Gill in Canada
ReplyDeleteAmazing! I have heard prices lately from people and it just blows my mind. I smoked years and years ago - as a young person - boy I am glad I quite for MANY reasons. WOW!
DeleteSo, $20CDN/pack of cigs x 365 = $7300/yr. I don't know how people can afford it but such is the price of addiction. I think of all the monthly charges, i.e. call waiting, call display, PVR charges, streaming platforms, etc. Then there are the cell phones that need to be upgraded regularly in order for apps to work. We're nickeled and dimed to death. Don't get me started on $12 beer at the sports venues.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many things that take money. My solution for me - is stay away from them. I have a basic flip phone and have never had an app. I do have cable but nothing else I have to pay for. I guess I am old - I just stay away from temptation!! LOL
DeleteVery good reminders, Cheryl. I still save rubberbands! Haha. I take care of my things too, I buy Walmart tennis shoes for $9.99 and take care of them. I buy good insoles for the Walmart shoes (I have to have them but not necessary for most people, the shoes themselves are cushioned) and take care of the insoles too, the insoles are pricie but I can use them over and over. I've had some for probably twelve years or so. I take care of things, that was ingrained in me. My parents were Depression era and they polished their shoes every week and trained me to do so too, even my vinyl synthetic boots, I rub vaseline on them. I love eating out at a few special restaurants, all family owned and food we like to eat, nothing fancy, just practical. But not every day at all. We like the zoo and natural science museum but we invested in passes when on special at Christmas time, two visits more than paid for the passes and we can go and lolly-gag around and leave knowing we can go back and not over-do ourselves. We can just go hangout at the zoo, look at the eagles or whatever and relax on a bench under the trees at the old reflection pond they had when I was little and people watch too.
ReplyDeleteI don't like waste at all. It bugs me when I see people waste anything at all. When I hear.."They're only" (fill in the $$$ amount) I cringe. One of our daughters has a neighbor and she's a sweet person but she buys fresh roses from the store all the time...She says they're only $(whatever the amount) and she does this all the time. I guess I'm too close to Pearl Harbor as an old vet once said for that!
My mom was doing great yesterday, horribly today. She got on our daughter's phone for me begging me to come get her and I feel so horrible, she will be released in a couple of days but still, I feel so bad for her. I have a strong inkling the cough medicine they are giving her has some codeine in it. And the Ensure they give her... We all study nutrition over here and tend to natural doctors and are not liking the ingredients in that at all. Oh well, God help us all. I'm under a lot of strain, misplacing things etc. I'm hanging on to God, He goes before me.
Take care now, such a good post, ~Amelia
Amelia,
DeleteTell your mother the doctor won't let you take her out. And, if you do the doctor and hospital won't treat her again. Maybe that will make her quit asking.
I am old fashioned in so many ways too. I just see no need for waste - whether it is goods or money. Funny note - a couple times a year I buy 'fresh' flowers that have been discounted at Kroger. I pick out the so-so ones and display the rest. I couldn't even convince myself to buy markdowns all the time!
DeleteI am so sorry it was such a bad day. Codeine can have some bad affects. I know many people who cannot take it all.
Where will they be releasing her to?
Hoping you have a much better day and prayers and blessings to you all.
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ReplyDeleteI worked at a first time homebuyer place. A young woman who said she was raised in the ghetto of Atlanta said her mother walked them all to a convenience store every morning before school and bought them a little bottle of chocolate milk and pop tarts for breakfast, buying them with food stamps. She went through college eating the same thing. At our job she took a worksheet we gave to clients and figured out what chocolate milk in the individual sized little bottle cost over a month. She said she immediately quit buying that chocolate milk. It is amazing she got through HBCU without any awareness of money. In the ghetto she lived in a food desert, but not so in college and in Huntsville. It was amazing what she did not know about money.
ReplyDeleteHer mother could not get to a store to buy food, so they ate from the convenience store.
That is a huge problem in many areas. Just no grocery stores. We have those areas around here too. It is amazing to think that it happens in this day and age. I am not sure what the solution for that is. Knowledge is helpful - teaching folks to grow some of their foods. that has happened in some neighborhoods here - they use vacant lots and have community gardens.
DeleteThe system is so messed up in some areas. I wish there was more education and mindful help.
What a good story. There is a novel thought - SAVE for what you want! I love it. Yes, patience is a virtue - and we don't have to cave to all the stuff out there. My dad used to say - the anticipation is generally greater than the realization! YEP. Most times we just THINK we need things. They mean so much more, when we sacrifice and save for them. Too bad more people don't understand that.
ReplyDeleteSo happy you have gotten so much use from those purchases.
I had to get the calculator out to see for my own eyes that just $27.40 a day is $10,000 a year-just wow. I may have a recurring and unplanned expense coming up. Woah, will I put the breaks on anything unnecessary, or at least really think it through. I'll be just fine, but it will mean deferring a couple plans unless I can find through careful reductions, the gap. That sounds like a good challenge to myself.
ReplyDelete