I must admit that the urge to buy things, needs or otherwise, has never left me. I wish it were, because those urges make tips on budgeting difficult to adhere to.

I am working so hard to get ahead and reduce spending, that I actually get frustrated when I see an ad for something and I know it’s not in my budget, or I walk past a really great pair of shoes that would be perfect for running and won’t even try them on for fear that they’d fit well and I’d be more tempted to buy them.

Thanks for the post,
Guy

I have never been one to buy something I couldn’t afford. I would usually save up andbuy it outright than carry a credit card balance. And if I do use my credit card, I make sure I have enough money saved up to pay it off every month. I have been paying extra on my mortgage and will finally be done with it next month. I just like knowing I actually own my home and not the bank. And even though I will have more money at the end of the month, I still have no urge to go out and buy stuff. I will up my automatic payments into some of my mutual fund and other investments. The rest will go to cover the things that I really do need. Car and homeowner’s insurance. Health insurance and medical bills. Utility bills, gas and food. I can live very modestly and could care less about keeping up with what other people have.

I amgood at fixing and building stuff and am gonna concentrate on fixing up the things in my house. I just felt paying off my mortgage was more important than re-doing some badly needed upgrades in the bathrooms. Leaking showers, bad wall paper and new toilets which will save money by using less water. I also need a new roof, but that is going to have to wait. Just living as simply as possible makes things so much easier. I think if you haven’t used something inover a year, it should be gotten rid of. I am not talking about everything, but maybe that blender you don’t use anymore or those clothes that are just sitting taking up space in a closet.

I did splurge and redid my kitchen. I like to cook and I figured why not have a nice kitchen to do it in. I hired my own contractors and combining sale items with being able to do a lit of the work myself, I probably did the kitchen fir half if what it actually should have costs. But I did it in pieces. Doing the appliances one year than the rest of the kitchen the next. I was able to pay for it without having to take out a loan.

Just having a nice little house that is comfortable, nice and everything works is a great feeling. I se my neighbors get the newest or best and I don’t even care. I fix everything in my house from cmputers to cars. I always felt I could do a better job than someone you could just hire. But since all my friends know this, I end up fixing all their stuff. It’s not a bad trade, they make me dinners and brownies and cookies for me. So I usually don’t need much when I grocery shop because someone is almost always feeding me. But I still like to cook and especially for friends. When you can have people over to your house and be able to entertain, that’s worth more than any new dangled thing. I still get busted about having a six year old Mac, but when something breaks or burns out, I have some other broken computers that I have and pirate the parts out of them to keep this one running.

So I just think living simply and having no debt if you can is the best way to go. Now I can go on the vacations I want and splurge a little by staying at really nice hotels. You can’t take it with you, so why not just have what you need to be comfortable and enjoy life. Accumulating things just isn’t important anymore. Being with friends and family is better than all those. But having a big screen TV so you can have your buddies over to watch sports or movies is a must have!

I used to get a big thrill out of shopping and spending money, then I wouldn’t really care about the stuff I bought — it was the actual purchase that satisfied me. I’m glad this reward feeling has changed — I need to save and to pay off my one remaining credit card. I just hope it lasts and I will continue to feel rewarded by saving, rather than spending.