Why is saving money so hard?

[Jumpem]

I spend six to seven hundred dollars per month on groceries. My wife shops at several grocery stores and warehouse clubs.

MY one suggestion on how people can easily save a large amount of money is only have a single vehicle for the family. If you and your spouse work in the same town, you can commute to work together.

 

[brianmanahan]

Inflation makes saving money hard while on a fiat currency standard.

Much easier to save money while on a silver, gold, or bimetallic standard. US Dollar doubled in value between 1800 and 1914 (average prices dropped by about 60% during this period).

of course, that means your mortgage payments get more expensive every year

 

[Wuzup101]

uh. No. We are having a conversation about food. Some of you have some seriously malnourished bodies. Why would anyone cheap out on the most important thing for your body? I will never believe you feed a family of 4 at whole foods for 1000 a month.

$250/week buys a sufficient amount of groceries (even in the city) to feed a family of four for a week with nutritious food. You seem to be confused as to what malnourished actually is. One doesn't have to drink $200 worth of coffee and $500 worth of alcohol in a month to be "nourished." I like those things too (especially the coffee and whiskey), but they are 100% luxuries. If you go to whole foods and don't buy any "prepared" items and don't buy any "luxury" items you'll be surprised how far your money goes... and in many areas there are better places to shop than whole foods where you can still get quality nutritious food. Yeah that means you probably aren't going to be buying 6 lbs of prime rib or cheeses that are $10 for 1/8lb.

 

[brianmanahan]

uh. No. We are having a conversation about food. Some of you have some seriously malnourished bodies. Why would anyone cheap out on the most important thing for your body?

TIL that you are malnourished if you don't drink 200$ of espresso a month

 

[Svnla]

The last time I check, the median income of a US family is about $50K to $60K per year BEFORE taxes. So the $10K per month is NOT the norm for sure.

My groceries bill (just for myself) is about $150-$200 per month and I eat very well.

 

[Safeway]

My limit is about $25 per entree, maybe $40 if it's a fancy place (at least according to my AAA CostCo standards).

When I see $27k bar tab I think about the new car I could buy and 2 years Roth IRA contributions.

That's our normal limit for casual dining ($20-25ish per person), maybe up to $100 per person for specific occasions.

The bar tab was simply insanity. I went to a club with some very wealthy guys I met through a friend in law school. They ordered 18 bottles of DP at $1,200 per bottle, and assorted bottles of liquor. The very same DP that Costco had recently for $200.

It happens every time we go out. The excess is strong.

 

[Imp]

$250/week buys a sufficient amount of groceries (even in the city) to feed a family of four for a week with nutritious food. You seem to be confused as to what malnourished actually is. One doesn't have to drink $200 worth of coffee and $500 worth of alcohol in a month to be "nourished." I like those things too (especially the coffee and whiskey), but they are 100% luxuries. If you go to whole foods and don't buy any "prepared" items and don't buy any "luxury" items you'll be surprised how far your money goes... and in many areas there are better places to shop than whole foods where you can still get quality nutritious food. Yeah that means you probably aren't going to be buying 6 lbs of prime rib or cheeses that are $10 for 1/8lb.

Is Whole Foods one of the more expensive supermarkets in the US of A?

There's like one Whole Foods in my area and I've never been. Only ever see young'uns carrying bags from there. We have relatively more expensive supermarkets here -- the exact same items are noticeably cheaper at Super Wal-Marts.

 

[jpiniero]

Is Whole Foods one of the more expensive supermarkets in the US of A?

There's a reason why it's nicknamed "Whole Paycheck"

 

[Wuzup101]

Is Whole Foods one of the more expensive supermarkets in the US of A?

There's like one Whole Foods in my area and I've never been. Only ever see young'uns carrying bags from there. We have relatively more expensive supermarkets here -- the exact same items are noticeably cheaper at Super Wal-Marts.

Yeah - it is one of the more expensive ones. I'm a Wegmans fan myself, but like WF, they are only in certain areas. That being said, I would hate to have to do all my shopping at WF but would love to have one in my immediate area because they simply have stuff that is hard to find elsewhere (other than the internet). They do carry some really great stuff and "luxury" items. I've been to two of them several times each in the last 3 months or so (Downtown Miami near Bayfront and NYC Columbus Circle). Prices seemed fair given the locations... but they have a ton of awesome pricey prepared and/or luxury items that you have to avoid if you are on a budget (or take advantage of if have some extra spending $).

 

[Mixolydian]

Saving money is hard because spending money is fun.

 

[Imp]

Yeah - it is one of the more expensive ones. I'm a Wegmans fan myself, but like WF, they are only in certain areas. That being said, I would hate to have to do all my shopping at WF but would love to have one in my immediate area because they simply have stuff that is hard to find elsewhere (other than the internet). They do carry some really great stuff and "luxury" items. I've been to two of them several times each in the last 3 months or so (Downtown Miami near Bayfront and NYC Columbus Circle). Prices seemed fair given the locations... but they have a ton of awesome pricey prepared and/or luxury items that you have to avoid if you are on a budget (or take advantage of if have some extra spending $).

Okay, that's what I thought. Most of the time when paparazzi stalk celebs doing random shit, the celebs are carrying Whole Foods bags or are in the parking lot.

 

[JSt0rm]

$250/week buys a sufficient amount of groceries (even in the city) to feed a family of four for a week with nutritious food. You seem to be confused as to what malnourished actually is. One doesn't have to drink $200 worth of coffee and $500 worth of alcohol in a month to be "nourished." I like those things too (especially the coffee and whiskey), but they are 100% luxuries. If you go to whole foods and don't buy any "prepared" items and don't buy any "luxury" items you'll be surprised how far your money goes... and in many areas there are better places to shop than whole foods where you can still get quality nutritious food. Yeah that means you probably aren't going to be buying 6 lbs of prime rib or cheeses that are $10 for 1/8lb.

I dont know where you guys live but I just went to the pavilions in weho and spent $100 on stuff to make burgers a 6 pack of beer (stone ipa) and some odds and ends. Maybe 3 days worth of food. Not even whole foods. Of course Im getting dried blue cheese and organic bibb lettuce but fuck it. I save and spend equally. As in balanced. I dont care about who dies with the most money. I care about making the most out of this short life and drinking and eating are prime places of enjoyment for me.

You guys who subsist on mac and cheese, hot dogs and beans and rice are crazy if you can afford more.

I also own a life fitness 95ti to keep me from getting fat BALANCE.

 

[JSt0rm]

Saving money is hard because spending money is fun.

http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2019628,00.html

^^^ This is how I live my life and I find it to be true. I bring in more then this but 1k a week is about 75k after taxes so thats what I live on.

 

[stlc8tr]

I dont know where you guys live but I just went to the pavilions in weho and spent $100 on stuff to make burgers a 6 pack of beer (stone ipa) and some odds and ends. Maybe 3 days worth of food. Not even whole foods. Of course Im getting dried blue cheese and organic bibb lettuce but fuck it. I save and spend equally. As in balanced. I dont care about who dies with the most money. I care about making the most out of this short life and drinking and eating are prime places of enjoyment for me.

You guys who subsist on mac and cheese, hot dogs and beans and rice are crazy if you can afford more.

I also own a life fitness 95ti to keep me from getting fat BALANCE.

I think someone doesn't know what the word "malnourished" means. :whiste:

 

[brianmanahan]

I dont know where you guys live but I just went to the pavilions in weho and spent $100 on stuff to make burgers a 6 pack of beer (stone ipa) and some odds and ends. Maybe 3 days worth of food. Not even whole foods.

i just ate a chicken broccoli rigatoni dinner that i paid 1.80$ for :awe:

 

[JSt0rm]

How could that cost 1.80? You have to be buying the cheapest of the cheap stuff.

 

[brianmanahan]

How could that cost 1.80? You have to be buying the cheapest of the cheap stuff.

normally 2$ at walmart but was on sale if i bought a few of them

 

[Subyman]

I put a mandatory 20% earnings into savings. When you make it a requirement then the "option" to spend instead of save isn't a choice to make. You have to have a plan to properly save.

 

[Wuzup101]

I dont know where you guys live but I just went to the pavilions in weho and spent $100 on stuff to make burgers a 6 pack of beer (stone ipa) and some odds and ends. Maybe 3 days worth of food. Not even whole foods. Of course Im getting dried blue cheese and organic bibb lettuce but fuck it. I save and spend equally. As in balanced. I dont care about who dies with the most money. I care about making the most out of this short life and drinking and eating are prime places of enjoyment for me.

You guys who subsist on mac and cheese, hot dogs and beans and rice are crazy if you can afford more.

I also own a life fitness 95ti to keep me from getting fat BALANCE.

First of all, I should clarify. I said that you can feed a family of four on $250 per week and provide them with the proper amount of good nutritious food. I didn't say that there was anything wrong with spending your money on luxury items (especially, but not limited to food and drink). I was just pointing out that someone who chooses not to (or simply can't due to the expense) is not necessarily "malnourished" as you stated.

You don't have to justify your habits to anyone. It's your own money. I spend plenty of money on food and drink too because I enjoy it. That being said, I consume a fair amount of items that I consider "luxury" items which I don't need.

 

[tential]

Safeway,

With all due respect to the work you've put in to get to where you are now, I think you really don't have an accurate perspective of what it's like for the majority of people out there. A lot of hard working and well educated people make sub 100K salaries regardless of where they live. A lot of your monthly costs estimates are very, very high. As Z1g pointed out, most of us can't help but wonder what the heck you're doing to spend that much.

$1,000/mo for food? My monthly food budget for just myself is $150. I shop sales at Sprouts or Target, cook most of my meals, and eat out less than once a week.

Buying two new cars at $30K each? My god, Man... Buy two 2-4yr old cars: a small 4-door for work/groceries and a minivan for hauling the kids. You'll spend no more than $40k for both and save on insurance to boot.

$500 for internet and util? I live in Austin, so I know how hot it gets in TX, but I keep my apt at 78* and run a dehumidifier to keep the room feeling comfy at 50% humidity. I spend maybe $68-$75/mo on electricity to cool a 750Sqft apt. My internet costs me $50/mo for 100/10 (Yay for Google forcing competition) and I don't bother with TV. Cellphone for work is free, and I pay $55/mo for my personal line with unlimited talk/text and 1GB data through AT&T.

I get the housing, I do. ATX is going nuts right now, so I'm dreading to see how much it's going to cost me to buy a home in a good(ish) area come next year. That being said, it's really up to each person to decide what home they are willing to pay for; but most of us have to look in the not so great areas because $250K is the max we can bite off.

Safeway, don't get me wrong, If you have that kind of money to buy luxuries then more power to ya. You should, however, realize that your standard of living is way higher than what 85% of the US actually thinks is normal.

Living in Austin is super cheap. I feel like a king here and I live on a budget. That said, I get paid twice a month and I try to live off only 1 of those paychecks and save the other.

 

[JSt0rm]

First of all, I should clarify. I said that you can feed a family of four on $250 per week and provide them with the proper amount of good nutritious food. I didn't say that there was anything wrong with spending your money on luxury items (especially, but not limited to food and drink). I was just pointing out that someone who chooses not to (or simply can't due to the expense) is not necessarily "malnourished" as you stated.

You don't have to justify your habits to anyone. It's your own money. I spend plenty of money on food and drink too because I enjoy it. That being said, I consume a fair amount of items that I consider "luxury" items which I don't need.

I wasent referring to everyone but living off of $2 frozen broccoli pasta is not healthy.

 

[brianmanahan]

I wasent referring to everyone but living off of $2 frozen broccoli pasta is not healthy.

why not? only 260 calories, decent protein, low sugar

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Weight-Wa...-Rigatoni-with-Broccoli-Chicken-9-oz/15754129

 

[NikolaeVarius]

I wasent referring to everyone but living off of $2 frozen broccoli pasta is not healthy.

Eating veggies isn't healthy?

I think I understand why you seem to have such a warped view of food and nutrition.

 

[stlc8tr]

I wasent referring to everyone but living off of $2 frozen broccoli pasta is not healthy.

You weren't talking about $2 frozen pasta entrees.

uh. No. We are having a conversation about food. Some of you have some seriously malnourished bodies. Why would anyone cheap out on the most important thing for your body? I will never believe you feed a family of 4 at whole foods for 1000 a month.

Not everyone has to shop at Whole Foods. You can buy plenty of decent quality produce and foods at other places like ethnic markets.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

I dont know where you guys live but I just went to the pavilions in weho and spent $100 on stuff to make burgers a 6 pack of beer (stone ipa) and some odds and ends. Maybe 3 days worth of food. Not even whole foods. Of course Im getting dried blue cheese and organic bibb lettuce but fuck it. I save and spend equally. As in balanced. I dont care about who dies with the most money. I care about making the most out of this short life and drinking and eating are prime places of enjoyment for me.

You guys who subsist on mac and cheese, hot dogs and beans and rice are crazy if you can afford more.

I also own a life fitness 95ti to keep me from getting fat BALANCE.

Ground beef is really expensive these days, but $100 for "maybe" 3 days worth of food? lol. Enjoy overpaying for everything. I'm in a household with more than 4 people right now and I'm fairly certain that my mom doesn't pay more than ~$500 a month (probably a lot less than that). Of course, she shops at Costco for the bulk stuff (rice, beans, chicken breasts, etc) and gets veggies and spices and etc from Sprouts, no overpaying at Whole Foods.