Comments on: Christmas Spending Recap

By: mc

mc — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 02:51:07 +0000

check out hulu.com — lots of tv for free. Maybe they have some of the shows you watch. hgtv has full episodes at their site as well.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 17:27:22 +0000

You didn’t do too bad with your budget. Congrats on getting through Christmas and spending less! It’s not that easy!

By: Tricia

Tricia — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 03:40:54 +0000

Our cable runs less than $19/month (used to be around $15, but it has been inching upward the last few years). It’s the very basic plan. But changes they are making to the programming is not sitting well with us. So we are thinking maybe it is time to say goodbye. Unfortunately, that means goodbye to all TV. We can’t even get local channels with an antennae where we live.

By: MVP

MVP — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 02:48:54 +0000

It is SO easy to live without cable. Don’t even give it a second thought. We did it long ago and haven’t looked back. We still watch too much TV, mind you, but not as much as we would if we had dozens more channels to choose from. Do it. Also, we subscribe to Netflix for only $18 a month – a far cry from what the cable companies charge – and can watch movies and TV shows that way.

By: Emmi

Emmi — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 21:00:58 +0000

Instead of softdrinks, maybe buy bulk teabags and keep sun tea going in the fridge. MUCH cheaper and gives you the caffeine you are craving. The health benefits of swapping out the diabetes-inducing high fructose corn syrup for regular white sugar (a more complex sugar) are pretty high too. The brominated vegetable oil in the mountain dew is no great shakes either. Google that if you need additional dissuasion to cut down.

By: Tricia

Tricia — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 20:33:15 +0000

Emily – we are not coffee drinkers, just soda. We won’t even get into the smoking habit of mine….

By: Tricia

Tricia — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 20:32:22 +0000

Oh, I just realized I didn’t mention this above. A gift we gave our son was snowshoes. Mom and Dad had their own pairs, but he needed a pair so we could go as a family. Now we are all set to go!

By: Tricia

Tricia — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 20:30:44 +0000

Colleen – It’s funny, because there was a theme this year with our spending. Even with gifts from relatives – they got us scarves, hats, gloves, etc. My husband also took some gift money he received and gave it to me to put towards a true winter coat. I haven’t had a real coat in years. I haven’t bought it yet – waiting for the end of season specials so the entire amount he gave will cover it

By: Emily C

Emily C — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:28:05 +0000

WOW – give up the coffee – I have in the passed and even if every once in a while you might order/make a cup – it is still only 1 cup. You will save on your health too. Start walking or running if you get a craving…it helps me always. I have given up cigarettes and 11 years later I still miss them – but I do not allow myself to attend my pity party. Go for it. Good luck!!!!!

By: Colleen in MA

Colleen in MA — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 18:32:17 +0000

I think spending only $250 for Christmas is remarkable and don’t know why some of your readers are giving you a hard time about it! It included outdoor wear too for you family, right? so it sounds practical as well.

As far as the soda, good luck! Although, I do think some luxury in a budget is good. Well, maybe not $50 of soda a month ;0) but I know that yes, I could cut out Dunkin Donuts coffee from my morning routine but one or two days a week won’t break my budget and makes me feel cheery once in a while. Everybody has their “thing”.

We gave up cable a few years ago and don’t miss it much. There are a few shows I really do miss, like Monk and other cable shows, but we rent them from Netflix now instead. The savings just really makes it worth it. And the time is spent reading or freelancing or cleaning – I just find myself vegging in front of the TV less and less.

Gosh, I had a lot to say about your entry! But as always I admire your eye on the big pictures. Good luck with your plans!

By: Honey

Honey — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 15:53:37 +0000

I could never.give.up.cable. Fortunately (or unfortunately) the BF signed a 3-year contract with direct tv, so we CAN’T give it up without a huge penalty.

By: Tricia

Tricia — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 14:22:32 +0000

Margot – I agree. That’s a lot of money. There have been times where one of us was not drinking soda. But right now…both of us are back on it. My weakness is Mountain Dew.

Bryan – I’ve found that it’s best to go cold turkey with caffeine. You get the headaches, but you can give a preemptive strike with Tylenol. It can be hard, though, to remember to do that. The headaches only last a couple days. Wanting the taste, though, that never seems to go away (at least for me).

By: Margot

Margot — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 06:52:23 +0000

Wow! That’s a whole lot of money spent on soda every month that could be going toward debt and saving you tons of money in the long term on your health. I wonder how many other food/beverage areas there are where you could cut out unhealthy items and pay off more debt at the same time.

I’ve found that with holiday spending, I need to draw an absolute line in the sand with my budget. Otherwise, it’s always possible to keep justifying going over it. There’s always a seemingly good reason to buy more, buy for someone else, buy on a good sale, buy something you or someone else needs anyway that’s practical, etc. It’s a dangerous, slippery slope for me and my finances!

By: Bryan White

Bryan White — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 05:13:30 +0000

Be careful going cold turkey off caffeine. I gave it up a couple of months ago and I got withdrawal symptoms. Best to taper off gradually.

Restricting yourself to $250 for Christmas presents is pretty good.