Comments on: 5 Surefire Ways to Stop Thinking Your Paycheck is Never Enough http://moneyning.com/money-beliefs/5-surefire-ways-to-stop-thinking-your-paycheck-is-never-enough/ A personal finance blog where we share insights on carefully saving money, investing, frugal living, coupons, promo codes because the little things matter in achieving financial freedom! Thu, 24 May 2012 16:20:48 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: alain http://moneyning.com/money-beliefs/5-surefire-ways-to-stop-thinking-your-paycheck-is-never-enough/comment-page-1/#comment-78951 alain Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:22:35 +0000 http://moneyning.com/?p=2014#comment-78951 It is not so much what you earn, but the important part is what is left after you paid for everything. The fun begins by finding ways to give less of your earned money to monthly bills. A good example is to use the internet phone (VOIP), so no more phone land-line bill ($360 a year). You can also get all the free long distance ($1200 a year), free movies ($1000 a year), and no more satellite TV bill ($1200 a year). It adds up fast. My point is to reduce the monthly bills, as they are a killer on any budget. The internet bill: $400 per year covers everything. It is not so much what you earn, but the important part is what is left after you paid for everything. The fun begins by finding ways to give less of your earned money to monthly bills. A good example is to use the internet phone (VOIP), so no more phone land-line bill ($360 a year). You can also get all the free long distance ($1200 a year), free movies ($1000 a year), and no more satellite TV bill ($1200 a year). It adds up fast. My point is to reduce the monthly bills, as they are a killer on any budget. The internet bill: $400 per year covers everything.

]]> By: WorkerBee http://moneyning.com/money-beliefs/5-surefire-ways-to-stop-thinking-your-paycheck-is-never-enough/comment-page-1/#comment-60363 WorkerBee Tue, 29 Nov 2011 22:30:10 +0000 http://moneyning.com/?p=2014#comment-60363 Pattie -- oh yes, I would love to move. We actually live 45 miles south of the city in a little town called Matawan, NJ - the commute to my job is about 1 1/2 hours each way so we don't exactly live in the city -- although we work in the city. That is usually the case for people who work in NYC...rarely do people actually live there. However even living that far out of the city, we have a 950 sq ft home -- for the 4 of us -- the mortgage with taxes and insurance is about $2700/month - then there are utilities, gas for cars, food, etc. I would LOVE to move to a cheap place -- however we both work in finance type jobs -- of which really don't exist outside of a major city......I would honestly move though...and just work some low-end job ...I never really enjoyed my career anyways......but my husband flat out refuses. My husband is from India so for him, the thought of living anywhere rural is unappealing as he thinks folks in those parts of the country will thing "Al Qaida is coming to town" the minute they see him. He's beyond ridiculous.....and it sparks so much fighting......sigh ......should have married a doctor so I could just sit home and be with my kids......better luck in the next life :P Pattie — oh yes, I would love to move. We actually live 45 miles south of the city in a little town called Matawan, NJ – the commute to my job is about 1 1/2 hours each way so we don’t exactly live in the city — although we work in the city. That is usually the case for people who work in NYC…rarely do people actually live there. However even living that far out of the city, we have a 950 sq ft home — for the 4 of us — the mortgage with taxes and insurance is about $2700/month – then there are utilities, gas for cars, food, etc. I would LOVE to move to a cheap place — however we both work in finance type jobs — of which really don’t exist outside of a major city……I would honestly move though…and just work some low-end job …I never really enjoyed my career anyways……but my husband flat out refuses. My husband is from India so for him, the thought of living anywhere rural is unappealing as he thinks folks in those parts of the country will thing “Al Qaida is coming to town” the minute they see him. He’s beyond ridiculous…..and it sparks so much fighting……sigh ……should have married a doctor so I could just sit home and be with my kids……better luck in the next life :P

]]> By: Pattie http://moneyning.com/money-beliefs/5-surefire-ways-to-stop-thinking-your-paycheck-is-never-enough/comment-page-1/#comment-60346 Pattie Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:44:12 +0000 http://moneyning.com/?p=2014#comment-60346 WorkerBee, that sounds crazee to me. Have you ever considered living somewhere that is NOT insanely expensive, even with a salary cut? My children are grown and gone, but my husband and I gross about $80,000 a year together and live in a small city in central Virginia. The mortgage on our 2900 sf home is $1100 a month, and the rest of our expenses are likely to be about 25-30% of yours. The city is a nice place to visit, but who would want to live there?? WorkerBee, that sounds crazee to me. Have you ever considered living somewhere that is NOT insanely expensive, even with a salary cut? My children are grown and gone, but my husband and I gross about $80,000 a year together and live in a small city in central Virginia. The mortgage on our 2900 sf home is $1100 a month, and the rest of our expenses are likely to be about 25-30% of yours.

The city is a nice place to visit, but who would want to live there??

]]> By: WorkerBee http://moneyning.com/money-beliefs/5-surefire-ways-to-stop-thinking-your-paycheck-is-never-enough/comment-page-1/#comment-58165 WorkerBee Wed, 16 Nov 2011 05:32:58 +0000 http://moneyning.com/?p=2014#comment-58165 AWESOME article! My husband and I pull in over $300,000 a year and it feels like we can barely live on that....we have zero debt (except mortgage), drive 10 yr old cars, rarely ever eat in restaurants, and dress pretty shabby -- our clothes are as old as the cars! We do live in the NYC area though so perhaps the expenses of mortgage, daily life, and taxes are just high. I would LOVE to be a stay at home Mom....but my husband doesn't feel we could live on a $100k salary .......I say it's possible.....although property tax around here is about $1,000/month.......this article makes you think though! AWESOME article!
My husband and I pull in over $300,000 a year and it feels like we can barely live on that….we have zero debt (except mortgage), drive 10 yr old cars, rarely ever eat in restaurants, and dress pretty shabby — our clothes are as old as the cars! We do live in the NYC area though so perhaps the expenses of mortgage, daily life, and taxes are just high. I would LOVE to be a stay at home Mom….but my husband doesn’t feel we could live on a $100k salary …….I say it’s possible…..although property tax around here is about $1,000/month…….this article makes you think though!

]]> By: Papa Ray http://moneyning.com/money-beliefs/5-surefire-ways-to-stop-thinking-your-paycheck-is-never-enough/comment-page-1/#comment-49425 Papa Ray Sun, 21 Aug 2011 14:49:23 +0000 http://moneyning.com/?p=2014#comment-49425 A discussion that is missing here is the dangers and ease of Credit Cards. Long story short is never get one, never use one. If you have to have credit, like for purchase of a car or furniture on time, pick and choose wisely and know what your getting into. One or two percentage points make the difference of paying a little more than the product your financing and paying way too much for the same item. Yes you do need to build a good credit rating, but like they say in every real estate ad, "Never buy a car before you buy or lease a house". Which brings up something else to consider. NEVER buy a new car or house. You can get the same car or house for much, much less if you buy used. When you drive that new car off the lot and it hits the street you have just lost 20 percent or more of the value of that car. Don't believe me, do a little research. Another example, If you need a refrigerator, don't buy a new one, look for a used one and when you find it, do a google on the make and year built and determine if it is a good buy and a good reliable unit. Also check out the business your buying from. Check out their Better Business rating and/or ask for contact info of previous customers. Always ask what the warranty is on used equipment, or if it has a warranty at all. Another pointer. Do you really need to have those 35 dollar Jeans? Shop thrift stores and Goodwill and you can find the same jeans in pretty good shape for 5 dollars. One more thing (I could go all day on this subject) when your shopping for food, buy the store brands if the difference in price is more than 5 percent. Also check out the store for day old breads and other baked items. Often you can buy something for less than 20 percent and it tastes as good as the "newly" baked items. OK, I lied, here is the last thing you need to know and practice in your shopping. If you use something a lot and are always buying it, consider a membership to stores that sell in bulk, like Sams Club. Just be sure that by the expiration date all of it will be used. For an example, I raised five grand kids and keeping them in clean clothes cost a fortune until I figured out that buying a years worth of detergent and associated items to keep them clean saved me a lot of money. Just as I found out that buying school supplies in bulk did the same. I also found out that going to meat wholesalers and buying freezer packs of meat and putting in a $200.00 chest freezer saved me hundreds of dollars a year. Shop smart and understand that having that expensive ice cream or cookies can be made much cheaper at home "from scratch" and is much more enjoyable. TV? We tried cable and satellite and decided we got enough TV programs off of Antenna, which is FREE. Use your head and do some research and you too can live on much less money. Save the rest for a rainy day or disaster. Papa Ray West Texas A discussion that is missing here is the dangers and ease of Credit Cards. Long story short is never get one, never use one. If you have to have credit, like for purchase of a car or furniture on time, pick and choose wisely and know what your getting into. One or two percentage points make the difference of paying a little more than the product your financing and paying way too much for the same item.

Yes you do need to build a good credit rating, but like they say in every real estate ad, “Never buy a car before you buy or lease a house”. Which brings up something else to consider. NEVER buy a new car or house. You can get the same car or house for much, much less if you buy used. When you drive that new car off the lot and it hits the street you have just lost 20 percent or more of the value of that car. Don’t believe me, do a little research.

Another example, If you need a refrigerator, don’t buy a new one, look for a used one and when you find it, do a google on the make and year built and determine if it is a good buy and a good reliable unit. Also check out the business your buying from. Check out their Better Business rating and/or ask for contact info of previous customers. Always ask what the warranty is on used equipment, or if it has a warranty at all. Another pointer. Do you really need to have those 35 dollar Jeans? Shop thrift stores and Goodwill and you can find the same jeans in pretty good shape for 5 dollars. One more thing (I could go all day on this subject) when your shopping for food, buy the store brands if the difference in price is more than 5 percent. Also check out the store for day old breads and other baked items. Often you can buy something for less than 20 percent and it tastes as good as the “newly” baked items. OK, I lied, here is the last thing you need to know and practice in your shopping.

If you use something a lot and are always buying it, consider a membership to stores that sell in bulk, like Sams Club. Just be sure that by the expiration date all of it will be used. For an example, I raised five grand kids and keeping them in clean clothes cost a fortune until I figured out that buying a years worth of detergent and associated items to keep them clean saved me a lot of money. Just as I found out that buying school supplies in bulk did the same. I also found out that going to meat wholesalers and buying freezer packs of meat and putting in a $200.00 chest freezer saved me hundreds of dollars a year.

Shop smart and understand that having that expensive ice cream or cookies can be made much cheaper at home “from scratch” and is much more enjoyable. TV? We tried cable and satellite and decided we got enough TV programs off of Antenna, which is FREE.

Use your head and do some research and you too can live on much less money. Save the rest for a rainy day or disaster.

Papa Ray
West Texas

]]> By: Kim http://moneyning.com/money-beliefs/5-surefire-ways-to-stop-thinking-your-paycheck-is-never-enough/comment-page-1/#comment-44767 Kim Sat, 04 Jun 2011 10:13:17 +0000 http://moneyning.com/?p=2014#comment-44767 First of all, this article contains far too many exclamation points and too many exclamation points indicate frivolity and triteness. (Where's the editor?) As for content, I do not agree with the writer at all. What about people who can't afford rent and food or medical care? Would the author tell them to be satisfied with what they have? Ridiculous. There are far more people in these desperate types of situations these days than people who should simply cut back on their cable and lattes. This article doesn't seem at all aware of the ugly realities. My personal philosophy is that although frugality can of course be a good thing, you only live once and it has been said that when Death finally comes, we all regret more what we didn't do rather than what we did. First of all, this article contains far too many exclamation points and too many exclamation points indicate frivolity and triteness. (Where’s the editor?)

As for content, I do not agree with the writer at all. What about people who can’t afford rent and food or medical care? Would the author tell them to be satisfied with what they have? Ridiculous. There are far more people in these desperate types of situations these days than people who should simply cut back on their cable and lattes. This article doesn’t seem at all aware of the ugly realities.

My personal philosophy is that although frugality can of course be a good thing, you only live once and it has been said that when Death finally comes, we all regret more what we didn’t do rather than what we did.

]]> By: John http://moneyning.com/money-beliefs/5-surefire-ways-to-stop-thinking-your-paycheck-is-never-enough/comment-page-1/#comment-44028 John Thu, 19 May 2011 04:01:31 +0000 http://moneyning.com/?p=2014#comment-44028 This article uses too many ".". They lose their importance if used too often..... This article uses too many “.”. They lose their importance if used too often…..

]]> By: whattodo http://moneyning.com/money-beliefs/5-surefire-ways-to-stop-thinking-your-paycheck-is-never-enough/comment-page-1/#comment-43837 whattodo Mon, 16 May 2011 17:44:26 +0000 http://moneyning.com/?p=2014#comment-43837 When we first started out together, my spouse and I were making only $26k together and we were able to live frugally and even pay off some debts. Then we moved to a larger city with a faster-pace lifestyle. Now, my spouse alone makes double that amount but is never happy with it because our (same square footage) housing costs more, eating less food costs more, driving farther in traffic to work costs more... basically all of our daily expenses increased. Live within your means sometimes means living in a humble city where your dollar goes further. When we first started out together, my spouse and I were making only $26k together and we were able to live frugally and even pay off some debts. Then we moved to a larger city with a faster-pace lifestyle. Now, my spouse alone makes double that amount but is never happy with it because our (same square footage) housing costs more, eating less food costs more, driving farther in traffic to work costs more… basically all of our daily expenses increased. Live within your means sometimes means living in a humble city where your dollar goes further.

]]> By: David Dodenhoff http://moneyning.com/money-beliefs/5-surefire-ways-to-stop-thinking-your-paycheck-is-never-enough/comment-page-1/#comment-42848 David Dodenhoff Thu, 28 Apr 2011 02:22:31 +0000 http://moneyning.com/?p=2014#comment-42848 Well said, Steve. The substance of the article was good, but wow...15 exclamation points. That's a couple years' worth. Well said, Steve. The substance of the article was good, but wow…15 exclamation points. That’s a couple years’ worth.

]]> By: Steve http://moneyning.com/money-beliefs/5-surefire-ways-to-stop-thinking-your-paycheck-is-never-enough/comment-page-1/#comment-42398 Steve Mon, 18 Apr 2011 21:36:41 +0000 http://moneyning.com/?p=2014#comment-42398 Really?. You way overuse the exclamation point. It distracts the reader into thinking that everything you say is wildy exciting. It isn't. Declarative sentences should end with a period. I hope this makes sense. Punctuation matters. Really?. You way overuse the exclamation point. It distracts the reader into thinking that everything you say is wildy exciting. It isn’t. Declarative sentences should end with a period. I hope this makes sense. Punctuation matters.

]]>