s/o $ again Poll: What won't you skimp on in your budget?

Lucky_N_Love

As I calculate our budget for the millionth time as I have my I was to SAH meltdowns I realize my problem is I don't want to skimp on anything ha ha. I want cable! I want a nice cell phone plan!

So spill it what do you have in your budget that you won't skimp on?

hav2run

Smart phone plan and cleaning service.  I will give up cable and other things in favor of those.  I have to have them.   Maybe that is dramatic, but I want them. 

kel716

My droid, DirecTV, high speed internet, hair cut/color, and my meal out once/week (if not more)

adamsbabble

I guess Ava's preschool program.  Other than that, I can't really think of anything I work into our budget b/c I have to have it.  We stick to a pretty tight budget in order for me to SAH.  We do go out to eat and have Starbucks here and there, but if the extra money isn't there, then we don't have it.  We don't work it in.  We also have cable, high speed internet, etc. but only because it's free (DH is an employee), otherwise we would have basic.

l.m.k.

I will spread out the time between out my hair cut/color, but I won't give it up. Also, DH won't give up cable TV or smart phones and phone plans.

KYmama9286

I am similar to Kessler-- I guess I would be pretty bummed if we had to downsize my clothing budget or entertainment budget but both of those categories are already pretty bare bones so if we cut them down it would basically be eliminating them haha We dont have fancy cell phones (DH has a company phone that they just upgraded to a HTC smart phone thingy, I am able to stay on my parents family plan and only pay $20/month and I have the free phone that comes with the contract renewals).

We got rid of cable and surprisingly I havent missed it. We do have tivo which that would suck to get rid of that since I rarely have time to watch tv when the shows I like are actually on but thats a whopping like $100/year so its not a huge expense either. We both pack our lunches/eat at home and I cook 95% of the time. Its worth it to not have the luxuries to be able to SAH, I think if you just get firm with yourself and cut out some of the unneccesary things (like fancy phone, cable, etc.) you will be surprised at how little you miss them. Plus when you get rid of some of those things it gives you more time to spend doing face to face things with the fam which is a nice bonus :-)

mcmann05

DVR, cable and internet. I refuse. :-)

jerseygirl81

DVR and HDTV - we keep talking about ditching pay TV and doing the internet TV thing for the shows we watch, but I just couldn't live without live sports. I need those ESPN channels for baseball and winter would just drag without football.

Cleaning service is also at the top of my list. I don't spend a lot of $$ on "stuff," we're more experience/activity people.

Meg41208

count me in on the HDTV/DVR wagon.  We also have a large food budget because we buy a lot of organic/minimally processed products because it's important to us.

We have cut back on dining out, but that was more health/weight loss related than $$$ motivated.   

pinkylu

High speed internet, passes to zoo and aquarium, nice clothing, Starbucks a few times a month.

 

johnandkristin

Ha. We skimp on almost everything in the budget right now. I guess, I would have to say cable/internet. Really I could do without cable, but I need the internet:)

Christine.Louie

Hmmm as I think about this it's probably the more "luxury" items of travel, high speed internet, and the occasional eating out at restaurants.  Traveling is probably the single largest line item in our budget and I've actually increased my budget each year proportionally as we've gotten raises.  It's important to us to see the world while we have the freedom of being DINKs.  Honestly we keep our budget pretty bare bones otherwise...

DH has an iPhone 4 and I inherited his old iPhone 3.  But, I don't have a data plan (yes, somehow we've gotten away with it despite AT&T saying you must have one...knock on wood they don't randomly start charging me but if they do it's back to my old non-smart phone and I'm cool with that). 

We have basic cable (ie: about 20 channels) which only costs like $10/mth.  Given how much TV DH watches you'd think we'd have a fancier package but honestly, the network TV fills up his schedule just fine and I catch up on Food Network and stuff at my parent's and IL's when I'm over.

Oh and I'm lazy/cheap and only cut my hair once...maybe twice in a year.  I go through spurts of growing and cutting for donation....that's my excuse...err...cause.

ETA: Oh Jazzercise is also a big splurge for me now.  But, my health is worth it (honestly I don't think I'd exercise otherwise) and I have lots of fun so it stays .

mcmann05

OH and pop! :-) lol

teacherjess

Our splurges are daycare and cable TV. Leah could go to a decent daycare that didn't cost as much, but we love her center so much that I am willing to pay more so that I can know that she's happy and learning every minute of the day. And cable TV...I just could never go back to basic.

Those are our only splurges, sadly . We've been saving for a house for so long, so now that we've bought one, I hope to start saving for travel and some new clothes.

jules_9

our DirecTV package & internet.  The internet is pretty much a necessity though since I work from home. 

And the other one is the food budget.  We've cut out some specific ingredients and changed our eating habits - which means more expensive foods.  I still use coupons and shop sales, but inherently it's just more expensive.  

buckeyethor

Eating out, cable/internet/phones. We tried giving up cable but it just didn't work. We switched to a cheaper Dish Network plan but still had to have something. I really miss DVR and I don't know how much longer we are going to go without it.

Traycee1242

Internet/cable is a must have. Also I refuse to skimp on food.. We buy only organic and fresh natural food. People magazine subscription : ) also my fancy coffees. I guess I don't skimp on anything, lol.

Ttimes3

1) healthy food options

2) cable/DVR/internet

3) activities/memberships/learning experiences for the boys

4) cleaning service