and are not financially comfortable...

When you are paying off your debt, do you buy whatever you please or are you as frugal as possible, sticking as close to your budget as possible?





I'm pretty frugal. Sometimes we will get a lunch or dinner at this place that costs $8 for both of us or maybe a few Starbucks runs a couple times a month, but that's it. I don't buy myself anything fun and neither does he.

It's very annoying to me to hear others complain about their money situation but yet still spend like money is burning a hole in their pocket. My mom is like this. Drives me nuts and takes a lot to bite my tongue.

With about 14yrs of university between us, two cars and a mortgage, it's going to take a loooooooooooooong time to pay off our debts! Whilst we don't spend as we please, we do set aside a small amount of money each month to enjoy ourselves with.

I am on a very tight budget. When I get paid I make sure all my bills are paid, house, electric, etc. Then IF I have anything left over I might treat myself and kids to a dinner, nothing fancy, normally a chinese place where you get lots of food and can take some home.

we do make a point to "pay ourselves" each month. We are very careful with our money and don't spend a lot of money during the month. Normally we go without so that we can have that one special thing whether it be a new shirt or a trip to a museum.

and are not financially comfortable...

When you are paying off your debt, do you buy whatever you please or are you as frugal as possible, sticking as close to your budget as possible?





I'm pretty frugal. Sometimes we will get a lunch or dinner at this place that costs $8 for both of us or maybe a few Starbucks runs a couple times a month, but that's it. I don't buy myself anything fun and neither does he.

It's very annoying to me to hear others complain about their money situation but yet still spend like money is burning a hole in their pocket. My mom is like this. Drives me nuts and takes a lot to bite my tongue.

Same here

We have a lot of student loans, plus our van payment.
We try pretty hard, but we are human and have three kids.
If we were really trying to get rid of our debt quickly then my daughter would not be in dance twice a week and the boys in karate, along with other stuff, but we make choices and try and find a balance. We are lucky though, most of our debt is back in Canada so it really does not affect us out here as far as credit and what not goes. We pay what we can.

I try and stick to a decent budget, I allow for some extras- some blow money, babysitter money, etc. But I am still able to put over $1000 towards debt, my school tuition and saving for my future school tuition, all on E5 pay, so I think I'm doing pretty well. Our monthly bills and necessities are actually really low.

We have a lot of student loans, plus our van payment.
We try pretty hard, but we are human and have three kids.
If we were really trying to get rid of our debt quickly then my daughter would not be in dance twice a week and the boys in karate, along with other stuff, but we make choices and try and find a balance. We are lucky though, most of our debt is back in Canada so it really does not affect us out here as far as credit and what not goes. We pay what we can.

I don't think that's bad! I would do the same for my kids :yes Your spending your money on something worthwhile, not some frivolous material thing, etc.

When Dh joined and was all on his own, he didn't pay most of his bills, he spent most of his paycheck on crap. Most of his bills went to collections, we are paying the last one off as we speak. Once everything will be paid off, it'll be $4000, give or take, just on his bills.
This year, and I know it's not the best idea, but this year is pretty much a credit card Christmas, so that set us back quite a bit. I pay more than the minimum due on each card.
We don't really do anything fun. Going out to eat is McDonalds, and that's maybe twice a month.

We are a little of both. We splurge on ourselves to keep motivated with school and work to make it seem like it's all worth it. But we also pay down our debt in huge amounts each month. And we are never to the point where we can't buy groceries or clothes or Christmas presents or anything like that. When we splurge, we use the extra money we are paying on our debt, rather than adding more debt by using our credit cards.

But I know what you mean... when I hear that someone can't afford Christmas presents for their kiddos, but they have a new camera three weeks later, it makes me think twice about how they are handling the situation. At the same time, I did the same crap when I was younger which is why we have the debt we do now, so I guess I thankful to be out of that mindset.

We will buy things but only with cash. We have not charged anything in over a year..............of course we are still paying on our cards.

We are on a budget, and for the most part we are frugal. We do have a certain amount of money that we a lot for doing something for ourselves though! When we get paid we pay all bills due, and then alot all the money left accordingly!

We are a little of both. We splurge on ourselves to keep motivated with school and work to make it seem like it's all worth it. But we also pay down our debt in huge amounts each month. And we are never to the point where we can't buy groceries or clothes or Christmas presents or anything like that. When we splurge, we use the extra money we are paying on our debt, rather than adding more debt by using our credit cards.

But I know what you mean... when I hear that someone can't afford Christmas presents for their kiddos, but they have a new camera three weeks later, it makes me think twice about how they are handling the situation. At the same time, I did the same crap when I was younger which is why we have the debt we do now, so I guess I thankful to be out of that mindset.


same here

I budget budget budget as much as i can. I make sure i pay all my bills and put money into savings before i splurge on anything...I have money set aside for grocery, gas, family entertainment...and whatever else we need for that pay period. What ever is left is what we usually splurge with...

I have managed to pay off my credit card, so that is a bit sigh of relief...I still have my student loan and a car payment we are paying on...but i am trying to eliminate that in about 2 years...I am working part-time now to make sure that we are not in debt when the holidays are over. And hopefully to be able to pay down the student loan faster...

We are a little of both. We splurge on ourselves to keep motivated with school and work to make it seem like it's all worth it. But we also pay down our debt in huge amounts each month. And we are never to the point where we can't buy groceries or clothes or Christmas presents or anything like that. When we splurge, we use the extra money we are paying on our debt, rather than adding more debt by using our credit cards.



Same here. I'm not really "frugal" because penny pinching too much and being excessively worried about saving money tends to stress me out more than anything. So, we keep some revolving debt, we pay a good bit of it each month, and we treat ourselves and our children within our means. I think it can get ridiculous either way though. You have the people that spend like crazy and can't save a dime, but then you have the penny pinchers who are so ridiculously obsessed with savings that they can't possibly be truly enjoying much in life. Not that you need to spend a ton of money to be happy but penny pinching to the extent that some people do is just a tad overboard, IMO. So, we do a little of both. We shop sales, we don't spend excessively, but we do treat ourselves and don't obsess too much. :)

With about 14yrs of university between us, two cars and a mortgage, it's going to take a loooooooooooooong time to pay off our debts! Whilst we don't spend as we please, we do set aside a small amount of money each month to enjoy ourselves with.
There is a difference between "good" debt and "bad" debt. Good debt would be mortgage, cars and student loans (s.l. are an investment b/c you educate yourself and better your career). "bad debt" - credit cards and other kinds of loans....

THAN you need to do your debt to income ratio.