Comments on: Your Money or Your Life: 101 Sure Ways To Save Money (Part Two)

By: Eileen

Eileen — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 23:27:40 +0000

I have to agree with Ariella about hobbies. I refuse to chose my hobbies based on their frugaility. The “best” hobbies are the ones that re-energize you and make you feel good about yourself and your skills, which means you’ll likely do better at life overall. Yes I’ll grant that it is foolish to let your hobby run you into debt, or to chose your hobby over paying your rent. My hobbies (mostly craftwork) are not the cheapest. But then again Trent, I never spend a dime in William Sonoma.

By: Ariella

Ariella — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 13:10:39 +0000

The best hobby is one that’s truly cost-effective.

Come on, give me a break. I like to read a lot, and take walks outside, both of which are fairly frugal activities. But I guess I must not be as “committed” as some people are, because I’m not going to give up activities that I enjoy simply because they are not frugal enough. I may cut down on them, or try to get the materials at a lower cost, but trying to find a hobby that is essentially a hobby because it’s cheap defeats the purpose of having a hobby.

I knit, which can be expensive, and I also SCUBA dive, which is also expensive. I love them both, I have enough money to do them both, and I save sufficiently. I guess I think your attitude is really uncompromising and doesn’t recognize that there is a grey area out there.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 16:43:18 +0000

Regarding life insurance, and whether the spouse has or could get a good job. I believe it is very important to keep in mind that the lose of a spouse, particularily a young spouse in a family with young children, would most likely be emotionally very devestating. It might be very difficult for the surviving parent to devote the time and energy they had previously given to a job. Children may need extra attention. The loss of a stay at home Mom who may not have had a “paycheck” means that Dad now has to hire child care or cannot work the overtime he used to because the kids need him. This is a very sensitive issue which really needs to be looked at from all angles, not just the numerical ones.

By: Lu

Lu — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 12:23:44 +0000

Great ones! I TOTALLY agree with the first one. If you don’t go to the store, you don’t buy anything! That’s why we only grocery shop 2 times a month! Less things that I can go, well, we ran out of that, or that would be yummy…. Nix the temptation!

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 02:55:44 +0000

I completely agree that a college education is not for every child, and I’d argue that some of the wealthiest people on the planet did NOT finish college, but rather, learned good financial basics and started a business of their own.

I had a friend in college who dropped out during his sophomore year, took the rest of the money he was going to spend towards college (his parents agreed to think wholeheartedly!) and he used that money to buy a small 4 unit apartment building right on the edge of campus. By the time I graduated from college he owned two apartment buildings and spent most of his days sleeping until noon!

As for trade school, I also agree. Mechanics, electricians, plumbers all make very decent livings and many of those jobs and trade certifications require much less expensive training than a college degree requires…

-Tom

By: joanE

joanE — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 00:54:49 +0000

we took our kids on an expensive houseboat vacation once when we had a little windfall. we saved most of it and did one of those once in a lifetime things. our kids never forgot how great it was. they still talk abt it and they’re grown up with families of their own.

By: ClickerTrainer

ClickerTrainer — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 00:32:30 +0000

I don’t know, golf might be expensive, but it is also good exercise. You are meeting two life needs with one activity, and that seems like a good value. You can play the munis at twilight for about $12 around here, they let you wear jeans and a t-shirt, and you can carry your bag for an extra workout.

Disclosure: I do not play golf. I’m just sayin’…

By: lorax

lorax — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 00:09:57 +0000

Insurance: This is a tough one. If you don’t have enough health insurance coverage, you might die needlessly, for want of money. Certainly, hospitals will stabilize you, but they can decide not to treat your cancer. Yes, I know people who had this happen to them. Moving to Massachusetts is one option.

I can’t help but wonder if Joe Dominguez had this happen to him – but I don’t know the specifics, so it’s only speculation.

By: Money Socket

Money Socket — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 00:02:04 +0000

I find vacations very rewarding, and its more rewarding when you find some place special right in your area. This summer I went to Monterey CA, beautiful place just 2 hours from San Francisco. My girlfriend and I drove up there, stayed one night and headed back. It had the whole “vacation” feel without the expensive air fare, long lines, luggage and rip off shops.

I think if you can avoid air fare, you’re in pretty good shape when it comes to vacations. Another good way to save some cash is to plan large group vacations, rent a vacation home and split the costs. I’m going to Lake Tahoe for some skiing during the winter, and lodging will cost us about $85 a person for 3 nights! Talk about a deal compared to hotels.

By: Nadine

Nadine — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 23:34:30 +0000

I buy groceries once a week in order to have fresh fruits and vegetables. It is essential to have a grocery list. It always saves money to have a plan and keeps me out of the grocery store thoughout the week. Keeping shopping to a minimum is the real money saver!

By: Jillian

Jillian — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 22:29:52 +0000

I usually find my hobbies are more of a waste of productive time than they are of money. I bought 3 tournament packs of Magic cards a couple of years ago when I first started playing and haven’t spent anything on it since, but I have wasted an awful lot of time playing it! (My best deck still wins 70% of the time, too :-D)

As for grocery shopping, I try to only go once every two weeks, but in the meantime I’m running out of fresh food and starting to resort to the pre-packaged stuff… there’s definitely something to be said for having a big enough freezer to cook lots in advance!