The following is a guest post by Renee of Tune My Heart Blog
Sometimes I’ll jokingly say to my husband, “when we’re out of debt, I would like to buy __________.”
Then we both say, “womp womp,” because it’s not really a joke. There are a lot of fun, extra, optional things we aren’t buying right now while we pay down student loans.
1. Books, Music, Movies & TV
The hubs and I like all of these things. If we weren’t giving gobs of our money to Auntie Sallie Mae, we’d load up our kindle accounts, buy new music, go to movie theaters, and watch cable.
Right now, however, we use the library or borrow books from family and friends. We listen to music we already own, YouTube channel playlists, google play radio with ads, or free podcasts.
2. Eating Out
We almost never eat out. There is no I’m-too-tired-to-cook-let’s-get-pizza card anymore.
For lazy nights, it’s PB and J, pancakes, rice and beans, or something that requires a similar level of energy. And yes, I said rice and beans. All 3 of my family members love rice and beans. I barely tolerate them.
3. Clothes
My husband and I each have a small amount of “pocket money,” or “blow money” every month. The only new clothes we buy right now come out of this category. Whether it’s a clothing necessity [underwear], or fun purchase [vacation outfit], it always comes out of our individual pocket money.
As someone who used to shop whenever I wanted, this is a big change. The silver lining is that it now feels like a treat (rather than an entitlement) if I do spend my monthly pocket money on a fun clothing item.
4. Random Kid Stuff
Toys, games, puzzles, clothes, whatever. We don’t buy it. Any fun treats for the kids come out of individual pocket money or Swagbucks.
We also have a very small monthly kid budget ($10) that somehow has lasted us through all the kid necessities.
Our kids have very generous friends and relatives who keep them in style and get them fun toys. Plus we love sharing hand-me-downs and toy-swapping with friends.
If the kids do need something boring like new socks, shoes, or undies, the $10 budgeted amount rolls over each month and ends up covering it.
5. Home Improvements
We rent right now, so we are not responsible for the major necessary home fixes (water heaters, air conditioners, plumbing, etc.)
It was really hard for me mathematically to justify “wasting” the money to rent when we could pay the same amount monthly toward ownership. But the thing is, it’s not the same.
Any homeowner will tell you there are always extra expenses to owning a home. The cost of renting is 100% fixed. Not to mention, we didn’t have the 20% down payment so we would have added PMI.
I’m not saying you need to sell your house in order to get out out of debt. Often that’s not a good idea. But trying to buy a home for the first time with a pile of debt can be stressful. Renting has kept our costs and stress minimal. Plus, I put no pressure on myself to decorate or have a nice home.
I love home decorating, but since our current home is relatively short-term, it’s easier for me to not decorate or paint or fix things up. The goal is to get financially free and get out of here, not make it so beautiful that we don’t want to leave. 🙂
These are just 5 of our “off-limits” purchases. I’d love to know what you do to find extra money in your budget!
Renee is a former music teacher turned stay-at-home mom blogger. She loves Jesus, people & coffee. She writes on Tune My Heart Blog about babies, budgeting, grace and everything in between.
I am moving from Verizon to Visible. They are now owned by Verizon, use the same networks/towers, and it’s only $25 per phone totally 100% unlimited. No contract, just month to month. You don’t pay, then you don’t have service. They have auto pay as well if you want that. I haven’t found anywhere as cheap as they are for one phone. (I don’t have need for more than 1) So far it’s been great!
Great article and comments!!! We still have $22K left to go but we are feeling good today because we paid off the 2nd of our 3 credit cards yesterday! We are budgeted to be debt free other than the house by the end of the year but we’re hoping that will be much sooner with overtime, side jobs, selling things, etc. But we’ll see!
Some tips I can add:
– Not for everyone, but Sam’s helps us save all year long – I know we get back that $45 membership in things like dog food alone. One bottle of Ecos laundry detergent lasts 6-8 months. 1 bottle of Downy lasts us 6 months (see tip below). I still compare costs with local stores/sales to make sure I’m getting best deal especially of food items but we still get enough value out of it to keep the membership.
– Establish a Price Book – on paper or using Excel like I do. Save/gather all your grocery receipts and enter all your data! You can google how price books work – what to track – doing this I learned about unit cost and how to know for sure which store has better deal. You also learn more about sale cycles at your stores as you track over time.
– If you have an Aldi nearby and haven’t gone yet, RUN don’t walk. Plenty of info online, Pinterest, etc. on why they are so awesome. I would lose my grocery mind without them! And I love that their foods have no artificial colors, no MSG, are preservative free many times!!!
– Use vinegar in place of fabric softener, at the very least do this for your towels. Regular fabric softener builds up on fabric overtime and causes them to be less absorbent. NOT what you want for towels! DH objects to using vinegar on our clothes because he says he can smell it – I think he’s imagining but for everything else I use a cheap spray bottle filled 1/3 to 1/2 full with Downy and the rest with water. Give a good shake and spritz onto wet clothes as you put them into the dryer. Toss is a handful, spritz 4-5 times, and so on. Works great and makes the Downy bottle last a LOT longer!
– Meal planning, crock pot use, freezer meals are all staples for us! Can’t say enough about using the freezer to save time and money. Could spend hours on that subject!
– To help keep our sanity and avoid take out, I try to keep ingredients on hand for treat meals. A tasty dip or some indulgent thing – usually in the appetizer family – that can be made quickly and easily. OR I will work in the ingredients for a Copy Kat meal into the meal plan. Sometimes it is just not the same as eating out, but often it is really close or better!
Could go on, but I think my comment is long enough!
I’d say that what is saving us the most money right now is:
1) making homemade laundry detergent
2) using Netflix and Hulu rather than satellite
3) COUPONS (every once in a while I have caught deals where I paid pocket change for everyday stuff- Tresemme Shampoo, razors, Deoderant, etc and now have a good supply for the next several months)
4) buying off brand
5) finding freezer meals on pinterest that goes WITH what is on sale, going and purchasing the ingredients and prepping your freezer meal as soon as you get home. MAKE YOUR CROCKPOT WORK FOR YOU!
I needed this right now! 6yrs ago we moved across country where I became a SAHM overnight…meaning single income! We were $60K+ in student loan debt between my husband and I. I’m proud to say we have it down to $16K today and will have it paid off in just 14mo. It sucks to say no to so much and keep things with 3 kids minimal but I see the light at the end of the tunnel and can’t wait to make that final payment! It’s within reach….I can almost taste it!
you are so close!!! Your story is encouraging to me, because I’m also a SAHM with 2 littles + 1 on the way. Single income + just under 70k LEFT. haha we’ve already paid down 30. anyway, i know what you mean about it feeling hard to keep at it. You can do it!!! Good luck!!! Would love to hear when you’re debt free 🙂
These are all great ideas! We also have a zoo membership that my in-laws give us each year. Our four girls love it and we also pack our lunch/snacks/drinks when we go. We also have decided when it comes to birthdays for my husband, myself or our girls that gift cards are the way to go. It is great because it allows for a date night for my husband and I several times a year that way. Our daughters love choosing different activities that they normally wouldn’t be able to do like bowling, movies, Claire’s (ear piercing bc that is WAY expensive), Sky Zone/House of Boom, Dairy Queen, Steak n Shake (which has kids eat free on the weekend-score), etc. This means less stuff coming in the door like toys they play for 30 minutes. We are also blessed with the hand me downs since we have all girls. I have friends that give us the clothes their kids have outgrown and then I do the same with one of our neighbors. I love reading these posts! I always learn new ideas :-). Thank you!
asking for gift cards for activities for kiddos is a GREAT idea for gifts!! 🙂
Debt-free, but still watching the cash flow. Have a pre-paid phone. choose not to put Internet access on it. Used as if it is just a phone.
I download tons of free books onto my Amazon Kindle. Many (ok, most) of them are not that good but I also found a few awesome authors to whom I am now stalkishly attached.
You are definitely right about the costs of home ownership. I own my home (still paying mortgage) that my husband bought before we got married. After he passed away several years ago, I would have loved to sell and move to a rental. Raising two kids on my own is more than enough of a job without the expense and time of maintaining a home. Unfortunately, my home needs a lot of cosmetic updating (all those projects we thought we had plenty of time for) and a couple of bigger updates to make it attractive for a sale, and so far I have not been able to fit those things into the budget. It’s enough just to keep up with basic maintenance and necessary repairs (like the water heater that gave out and leaked out in our basement last week).
As great as owning your own home is, it’s not as great when you feel like you’re trapped there with no way out any time soon. While I don’t rule out buying another home someday, if I ever am able to sell this house I will definitely be renting for at least a year or two before taking on that kind of commitment again.
Paula, thanks for sharing a bit of your story. I’m so sorry to hear about your husband passing away. You articulate that “trapped” feeling well. It’s scary. And you never think you’ll be in that scenario. But you’re so right – sometimes your home can become a burden instead of a blessing. I just prayed for you a minute ago – that you would be able to find a living situation that suits your needs and is a blessing to your family!
Contact a realtor and ask what kind of a price you could reasonably expect in current condition. Some folks love to buy project homes so that they can customize them rather than paying for an updated home they will just go in and change… of course you want to get what you need from it, but you may find that it is more cost effective than you think just to get rid of the constant maintenance fees.
Great list, Renee! When my husband and I were getting out of debt we did most of the things you listed, plus the “usual” things like couponing, shopping grocery sales, and hitting the thrift stores. Actually, with one child in university and another headed that way in a few years, we still do those things! It has become a way of life.
One thing I might mention to go along with your list is the importance of finding reasonable splurges that you don’t have to eliminate entirely. Enjoying a little treat once in a while can really help you stay in a positive frame of mind and on track with debt reduction. For example, I have favorite recipes for homemade iced coffee, vanilla sugar, and biscotti so I can indulge without blowing my budget. When people ask what I want as a gift, I suggest coffee house gift cards so I can have my frappe or my husband and I can have an inexpensive date night.
Leigh – funny how you cut things out thinking it will be temporary, but then realize you don’t miss them that much. Prioritizing saving money is always of some value no matter what stage of life you’re in. Good luck with college savings!!
Good idea for splurges too. Thanks for mentioning that. My husband and I each budget a little spending money for ourselves and still have dates in the budget. Sometimes I feel ‘guilty’ like we shouldn’t be doing that while we’re getting out of debt. But it’s the ONLY entertainment we ever spend $$ on. Plus with 2 toddlers, we have to be really intentional about getting time together just us for our sanity and marriage. I’m glad you “gave permission” – it reminds me that it’s okay, and maybe even better, to have planned splurges while we’re getting out of debt… (ya know, if a $20 dinner date with a coupon counts as a splurge!)
We own our home outright and it is still a big expense monthly. Taxes, utilities, repairs, yard upkeep, and the extra gas because my husband commutes. We rented in town before which allowed me to use annual memberships to the zoo, children’s museum etc. almost daily which I can no longer do because of the cost of gas and just the time. We’ve actually been talking about renting again… Lol we shall see. I’ve always liked renting. It’s always been a good experience but there are horror stories out there with everything. I know landlords have their own as well. I like your ideas. I just started making lunches and bringing drinks when we head out on the weekend and I’m really loving it. It saves on the annoying fast food wait times and then frustration when they mess up an order. Plus we actually eat the food we buy!
Plain vinegar makes an excellent fabric softener.
Interesting! Do you still have young children? There are definitely some perks about living closer to things even if it means less space for the $$… Good idea to bring food on outings! we try to do that too 🙂 Every once in a while I have a $1 chicken nugget Wendy’s “emergency.” (Wendy’s is the only one that still has $1 nuggets!)
Yep! My oldest just turned two and I have 5 month old. When my first son was born we got a zoo membership and I would go about three times a week. It was my workout. We were about 5 minutes from the zoo so it worked out well. Renting will mean less space but I think that’s a good thing! Less stuff! I guess I just don’t feel like you ever really own your home. Just home insurance and taxes are $600 a month for us. Thanks for the Wendy’s tip. My son loves chicken nuggets 🙂
so fun!! we had a zoo membership when my second was born last summer. With an active 18 month old and a newborn, we did it all the time. the membership was a gift so it was free and WAY fun for my toddler. baby would just sleep. and yes it definitely counted as my workout in those days 🙂 i’m with you – less space = less stuff. but on the other hand, someday i want a house big enough to host 20+ people… we’ve had close to 20 here before but it was borderline uncomfortable 🙁
How often do you like to host large numbers? If it is only a few times a year, perhaps look into saving for an AirB&B or other temporary home rental.. it may be cheaper to splurge for a weekend in a 5 bedroom cottage than to own and maintain one year round… just a thought.
Another few things you could easily cut are paper goods and cleaning products. We use cloth napkins and hankerchiefs, real plates and cups, and rags for paper towels. We make cleaners out of vinegar and baking soda. I do not make my own laundry soap, but I always buy cheap, on sale, with a coupon. I don’t use dryer sheets, and don’t miss them at all. We also don’t buy water bottles or drinks in single use bottles and cans. When I am grocery shopping, I can bypass whole sections of the supermarket! I started doing it to be a good earth steward, but found it saves $$ too!
Rose, thanks for sharing those tips!! Funny you mentioned paper products because I just included those in a list of things I don’t buy anymore on my blog last week – http://tunemyheartblog.com/2015/08/11/3-semi-hippie-things-i-do-to-save-money/ You and I have similar habits (you know what they say about “great minds”) 🙂 We also use real dishes, cloth napkins and rags instead of paper towels…. buy laundry soap on sale, don’t use dryer sheets or ever buy any sort of individual drinks.
And yes – SHOP THE PERIMETER!! where the fresh “real” food is… I often don’t hit the aisles at all. (Except for Coffee and cans. Must have coffee!)
Great tips!
We didn’t have TV for 4 years into the marriage and have been watching shows only through Youtube. We use library for books except children books for some of my son’s favorite books.
I never calculated how much it saved for us as this habit came naturally for both my husband and I.
I’m thinking of eating more organic and cutting “eating out” budget relatively. It won’t help us save money. But it will help us eat better.
Good idea to swap eating healthier for eating out! We always joke that our no eating out and no ‘fun food’ at the grocery store (snack foods, desserts, beer, wine, pop, etc…) makes us skinnier!! 🙂
Renee,
for sure 🙂 I don’t think we will completely stop eating out. but I’m reducing the number of visits and put that excess money on grocery for organic food.
Great list!! As a homeowner, I can tell you that the costs of maintaining a home can feel almost limitless! The winter is the most expensive time of year for us, since we live in the northeast, and heat with propane.
Good luck with your debt repayment!!
Thanks Amy!! We hope and pray to become homeowners in the next 5 years but from everything we’ve heard and seen, it really adds up and we’re grateful my husband’s common sense saved us from jumping into a house payment we couldn’t afford… and phew, those winters are a utilities bill sucker!! 🙁
These suggestions are good. It helps a lot if both people are committed to doing them.
Totally! In fact it’s probably almost impossible if both people aren’t on the same page. Our unity in this process is a huge blessing.
Lots of free kindle books! I get a daily email with free and low priced books. I filled my Kindle with free books this summer. Used a few Amazon credits to buy a couple.
I refuse to pay for books!! So I signed up for Bookbub. You choose what genre(s) you prefer and they email you daily with deals. I only download free books and I currently have over 1000 that I need to read!! My girls (teens) have Kindles and they do the same thing. It makes us all happy and frees up not only money, but space in your home too!!
Funny you mention this, Jennifer because just today I got an email about free kindle books!! I didn’t even know that was a thing! 🙂 I don’t have a kindle but I would read books on my computer… especially if they’re free!
The kindle app is free and can be downloaded on a smartphone or a computer that works with apps.
You can also check out kindle books from many local libraries. When your loan is over, it just disappears–no more returning the book late!
I have a very small income, but like doing things with the kids – so we try to make the most of what I get…
I pay $20 a month for my cell phone through Freedom Pop, get Sprint’s coverage, and 5GB of free internet on an internet hotspot device every month – it’s perfect for on-the-road, and when I travel to and from work. (I work out of state.)
We “rent” movies for free from the library, and since our local library belongs to an extensive inter-city collective, simply requesting a new release, while we may have to wait a little bit for it, guarantees that my kids are just as up to date as their friends. Also – books!
Alot of my money goes to gas money, so I sucked it up after my last beater bit the dust, and bought another beater, cash with what I sold the last one to the parts yard for, and some ‘repairs’ money I had saved. I bought a much smaller car (the last was an Explorer), and while not comfortable for everyone for long road trips, is perfect for everyday commutes, or trips by myself or with a friend for work. I do my own vehicle maintenance (thank you, Uncle Sam), and keep costs down by checking my fluids and tire pressure monthly, rather than doing the all-in-one like at the shop.
Clothes are mostly hand-me-downs for my youngest, and second-hand or thrift shop for the teens. There is an amazing amount of new and like new at my local stores (Savers, Thrift Town), and the kids always like to shop the colored tags. They are learning early!
Most evenings and weekends are spent gaming. We have a large collection of board games (mostly the ‘get your buddy’ kind), and the kids love developing strategy, then messing with each other in fun. Munchkin, Ticket to Ride, Mille Bornes, Life, Operation, Catan, and Firefly: The Game are some of their favorites. Plus, they are learning unique skills with each one! (*snicker*) Many of these were found at the second hands (except Firefly, which was a personal splurge), and were bought for $2-$3 a piece.
Groceries are a big pain, and we like eating out. We peruse the sale flyers from the mail, and often find restaurant coupons, and if we can eat out for equal to or less than making it at home, out we go! Plus, we don’t have to do dishes! Score!
All of the kids have their own water bottle, and when we head out for a day-long activity, they take their water bottle with juice, shakes, or just plain water inside. We ain’t stopping for drinks ($10 or more, sometimes).
Back to school was a breeze, too. We stopped by the Family Resource Center on Base, and they were giving out school supplies. The kids stocked up, saving me hundreds (backpacks had come at the beginning of summer from the second hands, just after school let out – my daughter got an almost new Jansport for $3).
We live with friends, who own their home, so ‘rent’ is in exchange for housekeeping, yardwork, and light maintenance, allowing me to be home with my preschooler, cutting out childcare, too.
It’s a tight budget, and there have been times I went over into the red, but knowing what is a ‘need’ and what is a ‘want-to-keep-up-with-the-Jones’ helps.
Tee, this is such a great list!! Thanks for sharing all these. I love board games so I’m going to make a note of your kids’ faves so I can look it up in a few years (we have 2 toddlers right now… not much Catan for them yet!) 🙂
This is terrific advice, and really, it doesn’t need to end when you’re out of debt. While you’ll be able to cut yourself some slack on spending, continuing your frugal lifestyle can help you save for the things that are really important to you (which I suspect are not Kindle books or eating out). When we cut out (or cut down on) stuff like this, we found there were a lot of things we didn’t miss. Congratulations on making progress on your debt!
Yes, you are so right. While we would never recommend someone go into debt, there have been things we are learning from the process of paying it down – like you said, there’s so much we’re doing without that we don’t even miss. Also, my husband’s income started out quite a bit lower which forced us to live very frugally in order to make progress. Then when his income went up a bit, we just kept our lifestyle the same. We’ve thought about how if his income was higher at the beginning, we probably wouldn’t have been as careful and the debt payoff would be going slower. Thanks for the encouragement! It’s good to know you’re able to keep at these frugal choices even when you don’t have debt in order to finance more important things than ‘stuff.’
This is a great post! My family and I do many of the same things that you already listed above. We rarely eat out also. Sometimes our splurge meal is take out from a local Chinese restaurant to bring home where I have extra rice and sides to fill the meal out more or a take out pizza from Costco. One of the best ways I have found to really assess your spending is to write down every single item you buy and how much it cost along with tax, every single day. Take a notebook with you and write it all down (God help you if you are needing to do major grocery shopping). My husband and I realized that we were spending way too much money eating out every week (thankfully we did not yet have children to worry about). Make sure to itemize every single item in your notebook: milk $2.49, cheese $2, etc. because that alone will make you stop and take note where it all goes. I also recommend stocking up on items that are on sale if you regularly eat them. Instead of paying full price next week on chicken breasts buy them while they are on sale this week for both this week and another week or more. Freezers are great for stocking up on low meat prices. Crockpot meals are awesome for both saving money and making sure dinner is on the table at dinnertime.
Great ideas!! We wrote everything down when we first started budgeting to figure out how much we were spending, where to cut, what to make the category amounts, etc… It’s a good thing to do again when you feel your spending getting out of control too 🙂 thanks for reading!
I would have to say though renter beware. Right now I have several friends that during these heat waves have been without A/C because the rental company refuses to fixes it or says the fix is several months off. I have one friend that the tile wall in her bathroom fell down in the shower and the renter refuses to fix it. It is a major fight through the court system to get things done. Our area is horrific for renters. We actually had one that when we moved out of the appartment tried to sue us so they could put new gutters on and this was a BIG renter and the owner was a lawyer of all things. Needless to say we fought that one in court but ended up settling because we were missing too much work which is what the count on.
Yikes! That sounds like a nightmare. I’ve never known anyone personally who had to deal with those things but I do know crazy landlords are out there 🙁 You definitely have to be careful. And sometimes, of course, it’s hard to spot the crazies before you get involved. One thing that I think has helped us in the 5 years (and 3 different places) we’ve rented & always called the previous tenants to get the “low-down” before signing with a new landlord. And we’re definitely eager to own a home! We will save up for a down payment as soon as the debt is paid down. We just decided we’d rather delay home ownership than add a mortgage (ex: 160,000$ more) to our existing $100k in student loans. gulp!
Great idea to call previous tenants! How do you get their info? We’re thinking of renting rather than buying our first home (we’re currently in a parsonage!).
Thanks!
It may cost a little more but we’ve always rented using a property management company you can research online. We’ve been in the same rental I had before we were together for the last 5 years. The owner uses a property management company and always approves fixes and sends out reputable companies to do any and all repair work. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship because the owners house is kept up and we’ve never made a late payment. I feel very grateful for our situation, because I’ve heard horror stories for sure.
Yep – good thinking! This is a safe way to do it too!
Sonja, we just ask the landlord and say something to the effect of: “Would you be comfortable asking the previous tenant for permission for us to contact them? We’d love to ask them about their experience in the house, the neighborhood, etc… ” Both times we’ve rented a house, the landlords have happily obliged and we got some great info from the previous tenants 🙂
I don’t spend money on a smart phone. I carry a hand-me-down 10+ year old flip phone instead. It works in an emergency, and that’s all I really need it for (I don’t make calls from it, unless we’re out of town).
That’s amazing! it’s hard to find an individual smart phone plan for less than $50 per month (plus the cost of the phone). So, that’s a great way to save $600 a year 🙂
I bought a tracfone smart phone from Amazon – $100 = LG 800G phone, 1 year of service, 1200 talk minutes, 1200 texts, and 1200mb data. Pretty decent deal, and I even got it on sale for $89.99 🙂 Hope this is helpful for someone
So you pay $90 for the year and those are the limits? Interesting! what happens if you go over? WE use 1 GB of data a month each!! haha so that wouldn’t work for us but I’m curious about how it works 🙂
Renee, if I were to run out of min/txt/data, I just have to buy more units – there are various options, like buying texts or data separately, but I’d just buy another 1 yr card for $100 (base price, but you can find cheaper) which provides 1200 more of each. I leave my phone on wifi at home and in stores, so have only used my data for gps and checking emails.
We just got a metro pcs plan for 2 lines only $50 a month and free smart phones (Samsung) when we traded our old phones in. service is ok, I have data, and now lots of free grocery rebate apps that save me 20-30 a month. ( and no contract)
Megan, nice!! No contract is huge 🙂
We’ve been on Sprint for years. For a couple months, they were offering a “framily plan” (remember those commercials!?) It was SUCH a good deal since happened to have 10 people in our ‘framily’ which was the max and made it cheaper per person. My husband and I pay $60/ month combined for unlimited talk and text and 1GB of data each. which is plenty. When we want new phones (after debt payoff), we’ll just buy them outright for cash and use the same plan… We haven’t found a better deal for what we need/ use! Needless to say, Sprint doesn’t offer that plan anymore. Haha! Guess it was too cheap to offer 🙂
When shopping for a new phone, check Amazon for refurbished units on the network of your choice. They are great quality for a much better price. I have had no issues with ours. We prefer Verizon prepaid for our area because of reception… the prepaid option also has a family plan that saves us around $20/month, we get a discount for autopay, and my plan has rollover data (he has the unlimited plan because of his work requirements).
My husband and I are very happy with Republic Wireless. We bought our phones (about $100 for the entry level) and pay $11 per month ($22 for both of us) to have unlimited talk and text. It is a smart phone when you have acess to wifi, which I do most of the time. You also can buy “buckets” of data and then get reimbursed for the amount you don’t use.
We both switched this year from Verizon dumb phones that cost 3x as much.
We have had Republic Wireless for almost 2 years..no issues and what a savings…we are not on any budget, but we do enjoy the savings and we see family/friends wasting their money on phone plans and can’t afford to make house payments. We did our research and found this was a great deal and we have been happy with it.
I went to a smart phone at work, I work as a nurse and worked at a group home with no computer. That being said, the phone was a hand me down, and the $40 a month is just about $10 more than I was paying for minutes on my not so smart phone. I have kept it since changing jobs to a hospital. It is very handy, worth the $40.
Our smartphone service is $40 a month. Unlimited and no contract. Virgin Mobile (sprint coverage) You can get an IPhone or Samsung Android. Mine was under $200 (no rental fees). No one believes we get the same smartphone service for so little but we do.
Twilight, that’s amazing!! Unlimited data too!? Definitely going to keep that in mind if Sprint ever decides to stop letting us have our crazy low prices 🙂
I have bought a smart phone outright and use the prepaid program. I pay $45 a month for prepaid and hubby $30. Our internet costs $80 a month and we use an antenna for tv. It can be done.
I also carry a hand-me-down phone (not a flip, it slides) that costs me $100 per year through Tracfone. I use about 10 minutes per week.
That is how we used to be until my husband took a job with a cell phone company. One HUGE perk! My husband’s phone/plan is completely free and my smart phone is $30/month. We are so blessed to now pay less for two smart phones than we we’re paying for 2 old school phones. 🙂
Renting is only “fixed” cost until the lease is up. In every case when we’ve rented, the rent goes up substantially each year for the same dwelling. Additionally, there are add on fees that often rise as well. We purchased 3 years ago, have tripled our space, increased our comfort level, and lowered our utility bills for less than our previous rent. By the time we add in the maintenance and repairs it comes out within $100 per year so far. Well worth it for us.