The Boy and I, like many of you, have a household budget that’s shrunk dramatically in the last couple of years, due to my career change and his lack of permanent work. Therefore, we’ve had to really watch how we spend our money.
It’s funny, back when I worked at the Firm, we did a book about the “trading up” phenomenon, where people spend more in certain categories. The concept included the fact that the middle class had significantly more money and would always be trading up….until the second book “Treasure Hunt,” came out, which showed how people managed their pennies and maximized them as much as possible. The penny pinching book did come out a little while before the recession hit, but I think the two are an interesting set because with the second, this trading up/trading down philosophy really takes hold. Basically, in order for most middle class people to trade up, they have to trade down somewhere. And when they lose a significant chunk of income, the trading down happens a lot more.
However, I think that even though times are tough for us, we aren’t trading down for everything. At least, not in a way I imagined. Sure, we don’t go out nearly as often as we used to, and our wardrobes aren’t going to get replenished as much as maybe they should. Yet, there are some things I’ve chosen not to skimp on. Those would include:
- beer/liquor - Again, we’re not buying booze nearly as often as we used to, but on the rare occasions we do get beer, it’s microbrew. Liquor has to be a brand we enjoy–otherwise it’s not worth drinking.
- toilet paper - I’ll get Angel Soft (a cheaper brand), but I won’t go to one-ply.
- toothbrushes - I had to replace my toothbrush, and we had a cheap one in the bathroom vanity. I bought a new Oral-B the next day.
- toothpaste - I used to skimp (bought cheap more because it only came in one flavor), but the dentist said I needed to use the Sensodyne enamel building stuff. It did make a difference at my next visit, so it’s worth it.
- shoes - My everyday shoes are pretty pricey Merrells (not pricey as in $400 Jimmy Choos, but they’re closer to $100). I love them, and they’re good for my feet. I also buy pricey insoles (take expensive shoe and make it even more expensive), but it’s totally worth it. My running shoes are also around $100. However, even for dress shoes and loafers, I like to spend a good $50-$100. Anything lower than that, and they either won’t last or won’t be comfortable.
- Diet Coke - enough said
What about you? Is there anyplace you don’t skimp? How about categories where you found it’s OK to skimp?
October 23rd, 2009 at 11:33 am
we buy cheap (but soft) Costco toilet paper and paper towels. but will not skimp on Coke or Diet Coke. store brand fruit snacks. store brand dressing. afraid of store brand cereal, although it’s probably the same. tried prepackaged salami for Thomas’ school sandwiches, and he puked. could really go on and on. Spend about 20% of my time and energy on food purchases and preparation.
October 23rd, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Wow–20%. When you put it like that, it seems like a ton of time, but I bet you’re either dead on or underestimating. It’s amazing how much effort this task takes.
October 23rd, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Eating out??—What’s that like, I seem to forget these days…that is something we have cut out completely here at the Voss household. However, we tend to not skimp on foods that we eat often here at home. For example, we are on a NON-HIGH-FRUCTOSE diet right now. It was spurred by the fact that Jason’s Deli, where Roy works, has eliminated all HFC except soft drinks from their menu. So for PB&J sandwiches that go into my kids lunches daily/weekly/monthly–I am purchasing organic jelly and all natural peanut butter which is sans-HFC. Planning meals/shopping smart does take extra time, and we have found lots of alternatives that are just as yummy as name-brand and I typically have to shop several stores (Aldi is my first stop for food/paper goods). Other areas we skimp: buy clothing at resale often/shop sales, use coupons regularly, enjoy the Charles Shaw line of wine from Trader Joes (just $2.99!), and we check out movies from library rather than Blockbuster or Redbox!
October 23rd, 2009 at 1:04 pm
We skimp on many things. No car, that’s a big one. Walking a lot to save on bus fare, and get some exercise. Not using the dryer, at 75 cents a dry. No cable. And we do buy the one-ply, it doesn’t feel rough to me and it doesn’t clog our toilet.
But we won’t skimp on a lot of things. The largest is food, it is what we put in our bodies after all. We buy good, local pastured meat, but eat less of it. We eat a lot of organic stuff as well. But we skimp by buying as few prepared products as possible. We make our own bread, yogurt, baby food (this is a huge savings), the list goes on. Of course this is all possible because I am staying home. I figure that my job, aside from providing the best care for our little guy, is to figure out how to live well with what we have. Plus, making all this stuff keeps me busy.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Since we moved back to WI, I always buy Seventh Generation or Method cleaning products; just something I decided to do as part of the new start, and I keep it up even though I do get tempted by the gigantic and cheap regular brands at Costco. We skimp on car care…never get it washed, use the cheapest oil for oil changes, don’t add Heet or any other “performance” stuff in winter, and the floor mats are completely bald and need to be shoved back under the pedals after every trip…but who cares, they’re FLOOR MATS.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Oh, and one other new skimp for us now that we bought a house: lawn care. My father wanted to know whether we were going to use fertilizer, and didn’t we want to put on the winterizing fertilizer (yes, there is such a thing) now? Um, no, not really. It’s GRASS, for cryin’ out loud. We rake with a rake, not a leaf blower, too (lots cheaper and more fresh air).
October 26th, 2009 at 11:17 pm
I’m a big fan of both Seventh Generation and Method (good Christmas gift for Jill? Method cleaning products–I’m not hinting; I’ve asked for and received them as gifts in the past and have been totally happy with them), although I will admit to being in Walgreens the other day, needing dish soap, and refusing to buy Seventh Generation because it was probably twice as much as what it costs at the grocery store. Bought a small bottle of Dawn to get us through until I remember to buy it at the grocery. Then we racked up a $50 bill at Walgreens anyway, which seems a little ridiculous, but don’t get me started because that discussion involves the time vs. money saved by trekking to a Target (hence the reason I rarely shop at discount stores–they’re too far away).