I wouldn't be able to have anything but the bare min. including cable and internet.
Not to beat a dead horse, but since when are these considered necessities?? Cable and internet are NOT bare minimum, they are luxuries. Basic housing, basic transportation, medication, food (that you cook, not that you eat out), water, climate control, enough clothes to keep you in a job... those are bare minimums.
I think if you can buy ipods, music, movies, dinners out, wine, whatever... WITHOUT GOING INTO DEBT FOR IT then great!! DH and I have made the decision that some of those things are important to have and so we make allowances for them. But, we give up other things in order to have them. Things like cable TV and going to the movies. We own a 10-year old and a 12-year old car, paid for and kept well maintained. We live in a 2 bedroom house and make due with our second hand furniture. We don't take yearly vacations or spend thousands on Christmas. We've decided that being debt free (except the mortgage) is more important. And, yes, we even rented a 600 square foot, one bedroom apartment when we got married.
What's wrong with not being independently wealthy in your 20's? We all look at our parents in their 40's and beyond and think THAT's the life we should be living, completely disregarding the fact that they are 20+ years ahead of us in life. I think that learning to be fiscally responsible is a huge deal and if you don't learn it now, while you're in your 20's, you'll still be trying to learn it while you're in your 30's and 40's and 50's and the cycle never ends. Learning to stay out of debt and support yourself is a big deal, IMO, and should be treated as such.
I think I'm in the minority here, so I'm preparing to duck from all of the rotten tomatoes headed my way...
Learning to stay out of debt and support yourself is a big deal, IMO, and should be treated as such.
I think I'm in the minority here, so I'm preparing to duck from all of the rotten tomatoes headed my way...
I completely agree with you. I made some mistakes in my 20s, so I do have some debt that I have to deal with now, but I wouldn't trade that because I know that I did it on my own, you know? We all make different choices, and I can respect that, but I'm just a firm believer in striking out on your own even if it means letting go of things we consider necessities but are actually luxuries.
Not to beat a dead horse, but since when are these considered necessities?? Cable and internet are NOT bare minimum, they are luxuries. Basic housing, basic transportation, medication, food (that you cook, not that you eat out), water, climate control, enough clothes to keep you in a job... those are bare minimums.
I agree. We don't have cable because it is just too expensive (and we can afford it). We also don't have a phone line because we have cell phones. We do have internet though. I had a friend who was constantly having money issues, borrowing from people and such but she had every channel possible on cable.
If I didn't make much money, cable and internet would be the last thing I'd think about. Buy an antennae, use the internet at a library, rent movies at the library or those $1 boxes on occasion (or budget in Netflix), get rid of any cars and use public transportation, etc.
Not to beat a dead horse, but since when are these considered necessities?? Cable and internet are NOT bare minimum, they are luxuries. Basic housing, basic transportation, medication, food (that you cook, not that you eat out), water, climate control, enough clothes to keep you in a job... those are bare minimums.
I think if you can buy ipods, music, movies, dinners out, wine, whatever... WITHOUT GOING INTO DEBT FOR IT then great!! DH and I have made the decision that some of those things are important to have and so we make allowances for them. But, we give up other things in order to have them. Things like cable TV and going to the movies. We own a 10-year old and a 12-year old car, paid for and kept well maintained. We live in a 2 bedroom house and make due with our second hand furniture. We don't take yearly vacations or spend thousands on Christmas. We've decided that being debt free (except the mortgage) is more important. And, yes, we even rented a 600 square foot, one bedroom apartment when we got married.
What's wrong with not being independently wealthy in your 20's? We all look at our parents in their 40's and beyond and think THAT's the life we should be living, completely disregarding the fact that they are 20+ years ahead of us in life. I think that learning to be fiscally responsible is a huge deal and if you don't learn it now, while you're in your 20's, you'll still be trying to learn it while you're in your 30's and 40's and 50's and the cycle never ends. Learning to stay out of debt and support yourself is a big deal, IMO, and should be treated as such.
I think I'm in the minority here, so I'm preparing to duck from all of the rotten tomatoes headed my way...
Sorry, I forgot the *not* in there. Not including cable and internet. And even without those things, I wouldn't be able to save much. I've even sold all my books and cd's and a lot of my clothes on ebay to help pay down some CC debt. I don't live outrageously at all. Or at least, I don't think I do.
I agree. We don't have cable because it is just too expensive (and we can afford it). We also don't have a phone line because we have cell phones. We do have internet though. I had a friend who was constantly having money issues, borrowing from people and such but she had every channel possible on cable.
If I didn't make much money, cable and internet would be the last thing I'd think about. Buy an antennae, use the internet at a library, rent movies at the library or those $1 boxes on occasion (or budget in Netflix), get rid of any cars and use public transportation, etc.
Thankfully my car is paid for. I also live in to small of a town so there is no public transportaion or I'd be all over that. If I move back home, I will be within a couple miles to my work, which will help lots.
you don't have to defend your position....I think you are making a wise choice. I happen to think that cable and broadband are necessary evils....and public transportation or riding a bicycle (like down a freeway to work) are not always feasible options.
you'll also be more relaxed as you pay off your bills and this will be allow you to focus more on your weightloss goals instead of worrying about saving and debt.....you know you have a long-term goal and hopefully your parents will be supportive. They may even appreciate the fact that you are living there (housesitter) so they have more freedom to go places.
Thankfully my car is paid for. I also live in to small of a town so there is no public transportaion or I'd be all over that. If I move back home, I will be within a couple miles to my work, which will help lots.
That really wasn't directed at you but just in general. If it was feasible for me, I'd get rid of my car, not because of money but just because it'd be nice to live somewhere and have a lifestyle where a car isn't required.
I also think life without cable is awesome. I can't believe all those years I wasted on paying money to a cable company.
I don't have cable either -- of nearly two years of living alone, I saved $1440. That money I didn't spend on cable went to buying a washer/dryer and my iPod. I do have internet though, but it's $60 just for that (but I had billing problems, and for my troubles, I got a promo rate of $20 a month for a whole year, so when I average it all at, it's not so bad). And cable is another $60 for basic digital! It's ridiculous. I think it's an expense many people can live without, and it helps me with getting my workouts done too -- I can get really sucked into tv and lay on my couch for hours. It's just a plus all around to not have it.
Sorry, I forgot the *not* in there. Not including cable and internet. And even without those things, I wouldn't be able to save much. I've even sold all my books and cd's and a lot of my clothes on ebay to help pay down some CC debt. I don't live outrageously at all. Or at least, I don't think I do.
BUT, even if you can't save much it sounds like you can support yourself. Why wouldn't you? Little bits of savings over time add up to big amounts. You don't have to be able to save hundreds every month to have an emergency fund... a little bit consistently will build up faster than you think.
