Comments on: The Small Economies of Pleasure

By: Patsy

Patsy — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 14:37:09 +0000

Because of our work schedules, my husband and I found that the thought of not having “date nights” for eating out would be very difficult for us….so we agreed to eat out once per week or biweekly instead of two or three times per week…also cooked at home and set a nice table and actually ate at the table instead of in front of the TV as well to socialize whenever we could. Made a big difference in our pocketbooks and in our attitudes knowing we did not have to give up eating out altogether. I am more of the “we need to give it up completely” austerity-budget wife, and he is more of a realist that we would be very resentful giving up everything….compromise is alive and well in our household!

By: Liz

Liz — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 12:01:10 +0000

I am with Tyler. I value looking good, but have cut the number of drugstore products down to a minimum. My splurge in this area is foundation; I need a perfect match for my skin and am willing to pay a department-store level price for it. To each his (or her) own.

By: Tyler @ Dividendmoney

Tyler @ Dividendmoney — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 21:33:27 +0000

Invest in (pay for) the things that you value. Cut everything else to the bare miniumum.
The same rule applies to where you spend your free time.

By: valleycat1

valleycat1 — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 20:58:02 +0000

I agree with Trent that a key point is to keep track of small savings & actually move the money you’re saving out of your checking account into savings, or else the small dollars and cents will just reabsorb into your available balance. And for something like airing up your tires, you’ll need to calculate what you should be saving on gasoline & move that amount.

By: krantcents

krantcents — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 20:16:45 +0000

Many people cut the wrong expenses because it is easier versus the right choice. Making decisions about what to cut requires a lot of time and effort. For example, the standard advice is to cut cable, but it is important to me. I instead reduced its cost by negotiating with the cable company.