Author Topic: I Am Shocked  (Read 4249 times)

oldtoyota

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I Am Shocked
« on: May 05, 2013, 05:04:19 PM »
I spent hours going through my CC bill from last year. We use this card a lot in order to capture the majority of our purchases.

The good news is that we already save 33% of our income.

The bad news is that we could be saving a LOT more.

Thankfully, I have learned a lot. DH really likes getting the paper newspaper. It costs more than $300 per year. Our mobile phone plans are around $1800 per year. I have GOT to figure out how MMM pays only $10/mo. And, yes, I still have a landline. I will get rid of it. The reason I've kept it is because we have storms. When the elec goes out--which is often--the mobiles have trouble with charges and reception.

I am sharing with DH the hair-on-fire mortgage idea and hope he's cool with getting rid of some of these expenses.

It was also enlightening to see that some courses I took added up to more than $1000. Also, I found some side biz expenses I'd forgotten about and can deduct those.

I am determined to find $10K in our budget to put toward paying off our mortgage. We think of ourselves as extremely frugal but even we have a lot more waste than we thought. I think DH will be fairly surprised when he sees what I've discovered.

Btw, Netflix was surprisingly expensive. We got rid of it earlier this year. Now, we use RedBox. I prefer RedBox because I pay only for what I use. Last year, we spent $15 on RedBox whereas we paid more than $100 for Netflix (which we did not use all that much).


frugalman

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Re: I Am Shocked
« Reply #1 on: May 05, 2013, 05:50:12 PM »
Unless you were pressing and ironing your bills like MMM did when he was a lad, you probably are going to be shocked when you learn the ways of being Mustachian. Forgive yourself your past sins, accept where you are at, and resolve to do better. Every "win" such as reducing cell phone costs emboldens you to look at the next problem area and the next. Eating out, eating out for your work lunch, driving an expensive car, paying for cable with bells and whistles, paying too much for insurance, drinking, smoking, recreational shopping, expensive vacations, lavish gift giving, paying too much for education... The possibilities for saving real money seem endless. So save some, and save some more. The better it gets, the better it gets!

oldtoyota

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Re: I Am Shocked
« Reply #2 on: May 05, 2013, 08:34:31 PM »
Thank you, frugalman!

I went through the second credit card to capture expenses and see we spent a lot. However, I just saved $10K off my budget for next year so I am feeling rather badass!

We saved so much over our lives. We drove hand-me-down cars and lived in a cheap area near a subway station. I thought we were doing everything right. Thankfully, I went through this process of checking nearly every expense and can see the true cost of everything. Man, this has been eye opening.


jamccain

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Re: I Am Shocked
« Reply #3 on: May 05, 2013, 10:50:42 PM »
Hey, you're aware NOW and know what your options are....

95% (or more) of us were sent into the "real" world with zero useful financial knowledge.  You are figuring it out.  A large majority never do.  So, pat yourself on the back, great job!

oldtoyota

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Re: I Am Shocked
« Reply #4 on: May 06, 2013, 02:47:20 PM »
Thank you. You're right. Way back when, I recall asking my grandmother how I would go about opening an IRA and I had NO idea that an IRA was invested (or could be invested). She sort of rolled her eyes yet she helped me learn a little. The problem I found was that adults never wanted to give advice lest they tell you the wrong thing. What happened was that learning stopped. I will be teaching my kids ALL of this.

Nords

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Re: I Am Shocked
« Reply #5 on: May 06, 2013, 07:56:39 PM »
She sort of rolled her eyes yet she helped me learn a little.
I will be teaching my kids ALL of this.
That means you'll be greeted with a different set of eye rolls...

... but years later, when none of their friends are around to hear, they'll quietly thank you for helping them look so squared away.