Thursday, May 26, 2011

money drains & alternatives

Recently I have considered canning my cable, but Mr. LLF wants to keep it.  Since we don't spend a whole lot on entertainment, I am keeping it, for now.  I am looking into alternatives to cable TV with netflix, hulu, and amazon prime.  Then I wanted to look into other money draining expenses and their alternatives.
  1. New kids toys - I am not saying all new toys are bad, but I have found decent and gently used kids toys at garage sales and craigslist.  The only toy I haven't found used is LEGOs.
  2. Fancy hotels - it seems that the pricier their get, the more the charge for the extras, like internet.  Plus, I am only really just sleeping and keeping my stuff there. 
    ALT: hostels and budget inns, they often have free internet and breakfast.
  3. In car DVD players/GPS - one more thing to break and cost a lot to fix.
    ALT: portable DVD players, you can take it with you anywhere other than the car
  4. Unitasker gadgets - they just take up space in your drawers, unless you use it more than once a week for that purpose or no other what of getting around it
    ALT:  multitasking gadgets
  5. Bank and credit card fees - unless they give me a reward greater than the fee, then maybe (like earn in 5% cash back on everything, and fee was $50 annually)
  6. Trash bags - do we really need to pay so much for re enforced bags, plus these are awful for the environment.
    ALT: we get more than enough bags from grocery shopping, or composting and recycling will reduce 90% of trash.
  7. wrapping paper -
    ALT - gift wrap bags
  8. Books & magazine - I am all for reading, but I don't want to keep all this stuff that I will never again
    ALT: use a book swap, the library.  If you really want to support the writers, send them a check.
  9. Big weddings - it's nice to celebrate people getting married, but there's a lot of fluff in weddings that no one but the bride cares about: flowers, brides maid dresses, the cake, fancy invitations, table dressings, favors
    ALT: a small and simple wedding and a kick ass bash afterward - that's what most guests would remember anyways: the food and drinks, the band/DJ, and the fun they had or not.

2 comments:

  1. The problem with your item #9 is that "kick ass bashes" cost money. Usually the reception with the food and drink and DJ/band makes up the majority of the cost of the wedding. The wedding itself is pretty cheap in comparison, unless you're talking about $20k designer dresses and 18 attendants. :)

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  2. @ frugal forties I know that the party costs a lot of money. However, that is something that people will remember from the wedding compared to the dress, flowers, the fluff stuff. I mean to spend your money on the party and not so much on the other things that are not so important to other people. When you celebrate your wedding, you share the experience and the joy. I don't know that the guests really share so much of the flowers and the $20k dresss.

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