Painful spending cuts

[vfinx]

I am considering enacting some spending cuts to exercise the muscle, and prove to myself that I can do it. Painless cuts (e.g. inefficiencies) are always being hunted down, but I would be curious to know what kind of painful spending cuts people have made, and how it turned out.

While anyone can obviously post whatever they want on the internet, the following would be particularly useful to me:

• The spending cut should have (or at least was anticipated to have) caused some displeasure.
• Explain why you made the change.
• Explain whether it turned out well, or if you ended up regretting it, or undoing it.
• Small and large spending cuts are both interesting.

And the following aren't really useful to me:

• Expressions that no painful spending cuts have ever been necessary since one is optimal.
• Expressions that one doesn't worry about spending, because one has enough to buy whatever one wants.
• Tangents into judgements of the hedonistic treadmill, or keeping up with the Joneses.

[lazynovice]

I asked my family to eat what was in the house rather than buying a bunch of new food. They did great. We almost had the freezer cleaned out in late February 2020. Genius! Luckily, I made no such toilet paper challenge.

[stan1]

Sold 8 year old BMW 3-series and bought new Honda Accord in 2018 for about $30K instead of buying another 3 series for around $55-60K.
Made the change to avoid spending about $25K, and figured the Accord was "good enough" for our purposes.

It is, although spouse feels the Accord seats are not comfortable for 6-8 hour drive. I am fine.

We don't feel the need to deny ourselves anything we enjoy. Earlier in our lives, absolutely yes we made many sacrifices, but we've been financially independent for a long time now and aren't going to go back to austerity as part of a drill to see if we can still do it. If we had to, we are confident we'd stop booking vacations and would eat rice/beans more often (we do eat rice/beans one night per week now).

[Outer Marker]

The bonus situation is not looking good this year, so considering cuts. Admittedly luxuries, but I do enjoy them.

- cutting bi-weekly maid service @ $200/visit. That nets $5,200/yr. I feel a little guilty about it because (i) burden probably falls more heavily on my significant other who has a lower filth tolerance than me, and (ii) feel some responsibility to the crew who works for me. Maybe I'll cut back to once a month as a compromise. I'm not above scubbing my own toilets and showers, but it's a chore I prefer to outsource.

- cutting $200/mo gym membership. The deal I made with myself is I can keep it, but only if I go 4x month. Target is 3x/wk, but there are too many months I don't make it at all.

[Outer Marker]

Sold 8 year old BMW 3-series and bought new Honda Accord in 2018 for about $30K instead of buying another 3 series for around $55-60K.
Made the change to avoid spending about $25K, and figured the Accord was "good enough" for our purposes.

You should have kept your BMW! I'm still driving my E90 3 series from 2007. Less expensive on the whole and much more fun to drive than a new Accord. It does throw off the occasional expensive repair, but nothing compared to a new car, and they just don't make 'em like that anymore. I'll be driving it for as long as I can get parts.

[JBTX]

Not sure this exactly fits the OP’s criteria, but

- discontinued some of kids out of network medical/therapies, because they weren’t cheap and we felt like we were getting diminishing returns, and were burdensome logistically. No regrets, but it is always hard to make such a decision, because you want to do everything you can to help kids.

- We have always driven modest cars - for 25 years have always paid $20-$25k for sedans, originally new, but then low mileage used 2-3 years old, and now low mileage used 5 years old. Never bought the fancy SUV’s all of our friends had.

- lived in same house for 25 years when all of other friends have upgraded.

In spite of the above, we are above average spenders, primarily due to kid’s (now adult) medical and related expenses, frequent dining out, and some of wife’s expensive hobbies. Those items probably account for 1/3 or more of our spending. while we have saved enough for a comfortable retirement for most people, I’m not sure we could ever save enough to continue with those added expenses indefinitely.

[celia]

DH and I were both out of work for a year. We had just planned a cross country (driving) family vacation when we were both laid off. So, we changed to just visiting a national park for a week instead. The kids understood we wouldn't have much money coming in so we explained we could only pay for things that were required for school.

We cooked all our meals at home instead of going to restaurants. We bought a few clothes at the thrift shop. For gifts, we made crafty things or a food item the person would enjoy.

During this time, I volunteered for playground duty at their elementary school. I got to know all the teachers there and our kids' classmates. We worked the bingo fundraiser in the evenings to get a discount in tuition.

We were able to keep paying the mortgage, property tax, and most of the tuition at their faith-based schools, but cut back on almost everything else.

[JDCarpenter]

DH and I were both out of work for a year. We had just planned a cross country (driving) family vacation when we were both laid off. So, we changed to just visiting a national park for a week instead. The kids understood we wouldn't have much money coming in so we explained we could only pay for things that were required for school.

We cooked all our meals at home instead of going to restaurants. We bought a few clothes at the thrift shop. For gifts, we made crafty things or a food item the person would enjoy.

...

We had similar experience when our 3 kids were in their teens. For one year, income dropped by a bit more than 75% in connection with a job change. Then, it gradually ramped back up.

It's been nearly 2 decades, but I don't believe we had any meals not cooked at home that year. Generic foods became mandatory. No vacations that year or the next, except for driving to DW's annual family reunion. DW and I did not go out for entertainment, other than to the kids' school related activities. Basically, any discretionary spending was drastically limited, and we tried to delay necessary spending.

Oh, and we were in the middle of gut-rehabbing our present house at the time. So I did even more of the work than I had originally planned.

That year, and part of the next were memorable for our kids; in the end, it did them good, I think.

Per OP's sub-question--we eventually opened spending back up when income became higher than it had originally been. DW never developed a taste for some of the store-brand foods (yet, others are ok!). But, buying prepared food has continued to be a rarity even now. So too, the electrical and plumbing skills that I developed during that stint have continued to be useful to both us and to our sons. Finally, the experience helped us with retirement planning. We know that we can handle drastic spending cuts when/if our portfolio takes a nasty hit; thus, we are comfortable with a fixed percentage withdrawal...

[nalor511]

-caulked and sealed the baseboards and windows instead of hiring someone
-dismantled the rotting deck and hauled the lumber to the dump instead of hiring someone
-stopped eating out entirely, takeout no more than once a week
-stopped buying prepared food and only buy ingredients
-almost completely cut meat

[crinkles2]

No more nespresso coffee pods for the house. At 50c each and with three teenagers this was costing us a bit. Now we're on the house brand instant.

How's it going? Well today is day 1, I'm sure the teenagers will complain tomorrow

[RetiOpening]

Some of these cuts that I have implemented resulted in varying degrees of pain (on a pain scale of 1-10):

- quitting weekday drinking (1 - No pain. Feeling much better.)
- getting one nice short haircut a year, and having the neighbor boy do it the rest of the year (5 - the pain is probably in the fact that it doesn't save a ton of money, and you have a questionable haircut for a good chunk of the year)
- ceasing to flush pee (6 - DW is not on board. Can only really do this in select circumstances. Run the risk of an explosive argument every time you save three cents.)
- adding complexity to my credit card game (4 - You can get 5% cashback using a handful of cards in many big categories of household expenditures, but you're sacrificing that beautiful simplicity of a single 2% cashback. That's opportunity pain.)
- sticking with used, small- to mid-sized sedans (3 - Pain is mainly in the spatial sacrifice. Nice payoff here.)

[snackdog]

Sold beloved and pristine 455hp X5 sport with fun but rough ride for an RX350 sport of the same year and pocketed $5k. Never happier.

[YeahBuddy]

I recently switched auto insurance companies to Progressive. I saved a lot of money. I didn't realize it at the time but it was at the expense of customer service. It's been a painful experience having almost no support or guidance from my own insurance company during this stressful time. Obtaining quotes from other companies now and trying to decide if paying more than double for auto insurance is worth it.

[Godot]

- ceasing to flush pee (6 - DW is not on board. Can only really do this in select circumstances. Run the risk of an explosive argument every time you save three cents.)

Words to live by: "If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down."

[whodidntante]

I'd like to have a dog but avoid it due to the high costs. I travel a lot for work and personal travel because I like it. Kennels and daily pet sitters get expensive.

Do I regret it? Sometimes. But I would regret having a dog more.

[dcabler]

Recently retired but was between jobs for a portion of 2013 and half of 2014. Wife was a SAHM for our kiddo who was in middle school at the time, and all that implies.

1. Healthcare: Was on COBRA for 3 months in 2013 and was able to convince previous employer to pay for 1 month. Better than nothing. But ACA was just starting for 2014 and I moved to an ACA plan, given how costly COBRA was for us. It was an early plan so we were able to get a true low deductible PPO and with tax credits, cost was reasonable. Still, coverage was less than what my employer sponsored insurance covered, but it did what it needed to do. Unemployment insurance covered the premiums and then some, at least until it ran out. Went back to work in summer of 2014 and at tax time I had to pay back all of the tax credits.
2. Eating out: We love to eat out but that was seriously curtailed that during this time. More fresh cooking at home, etc. And while we always had some meals cooked at home, it was mainly a change in magnitude that happened and it required a lot more planning on our part.
3. Energy Savings: I'm an engineer so I spent quite a bit of time understanding the major factors that went into our power bill. Made a few easy changes with only the thermostat setting requiring a change in our expectations. But I also borrowed a FLIR from a friend and was able to find multiple spots around the house where insulation was weak and fixed those. Step function improvement in utility bills.
4. Telephone: Dropped the landline and moved to Ooma.
5. Cable: Dropped CableTV and started streaming.
6. Misc Insurance: Sat down with our insurance agent and went through all over our coverages, making some changes here and there.

Different types of pain were involved including: loss of convenience, more work on our part, initial costs to ultimately save money in the longer term. Some of the things we did carry on to today, mainly because we just became accustomed to it.

Echos of most of these things are still with us today. But with retirement comes more time on my hands to look at other items.

Cheers.

[Kagord]

Instead of "life hacks" and "economic utility decisions", does anybody on here actually have a painful spending cut and can give us the perceived misery from that and actual result, that's what I think the OP wants, no?

What about painful income add decisions?

Edit: I'll add one, not me, from a married co-worker with young children, he had above average income, he thought he could get rid of his 2 cars and bike/walk to do everything. This was on the premise to save more income, and get exercise...etc. He actually did it, was biking to work, family trips to the grocery store with kids in a bike trailer. I will note in this case, he was ecstatic, so not sure it qualifies for what the OP is asking for.

In the office, we had a $25 office pool going for how long this would last. I said 25 days, I lost, it was about 10 days, after a 2 day rain event, he bought 2 new cars.

[Ivygirl]

A big thing I cut: I sold my house and moved into a small 1-bedroom apartment. The house was built in 1949 and, although in overall good shape and well maintained by me, it was always needing something, and I got tired of, and wary of, the unpredictable large expenditures. Tree trimming and removal alone was thousands of dollars. The original sewer line was on the point of failure. The roof was nearly at replacement time. I decided "no more" and downsized radically, put the equity in bank CDs until I could decide what to do with it, and haven't looked back.

Yes I miss my garden space; I miss the trees and flowers I had planted. But I have transitioned into indoor flowers with grow lights, which is a whole lovely world of its own. My apartment has a substantial balcony, too, and I am already planning what I will do in terms of plantings next spring.

I'm also happy to have evaded the sudden dramatic rise in homeowner's insurance rates that happened in 2023, and happy to no more be mowing a lawn when I could be relaxing. I got rid of most of my stuff and don't buy any more and it is so much better and cheaper to live this way. What a lot of useless stuff I had, and I wasn't even a collector of anything.

Small things I cut: I no longer eat out unless it is a social thing with another person. Yes sometimes I would like to go get Thai just because, but I don't, and that makes when I do extra exciting and something to be eagerly anticipated.

I switched to instant coffee (Nescafe Taster's Choice). Cheaper, the strength of the brew is customizable, I can mix it half and half with decaf if full strength would make me wakeful or jittery, and it is just plain cleaner. Coffee-making generates quite a mess. When I dine out I always order brewed coffee and it's some kind of amazing experience.

I stopped recreational shopping (visiting a store just to see what they have). This was a huge part of my family culture and I had to sacrifice the good opinion of pretty much every family member I had. Not exaggerating. Still glad I did it.

With recent food inflation, I changed my buying habits (already fairly frugal) to rely mainly on bulk purchases of a few staples: chicken leg quarters (10-lb bag for around $5), whole chickens (2 for around $13), large bags of carrots, 10-lb bags of russet potatoes, 2-lb packages of ground turkey, and so on. I divide and prepare the food immediately and freeze serving sizes. The cheap chicken quarters are sometimes fatty but I figured out how to deal with that: I bake them 4 at a time, remove the skin and excess fat, then re-fry them in the air fryer. Crispy and yum!

Sauces are super-important for feeding oneself cheaply. Korean BBQ, teriyaki, soy sauce, ketchup, mayo (homemade is cheaper and tastier), Italian dressing, salsa, the brine from a jar of pickles. Freshly-ground black pepper, if you use the stuff. Sauces elevate and dignify plain things, so are a good investment. Cook plain things and dress them well.

Sorry for the novel but the subject interests me.

[LadyGeek]

This thread is now in the Personal Consumer Issues forum (how you spend your money and your time).

[Ivygirl]

- ceasing to flush pee (6 - DW is not on board. Can only really do this in select circumstances. Run the risk of an explosive argument every time you save three cents.)

Listen to your wife on this one. Imagine the humiliation for her of having an unexpected guest over, who opens the toilet and finds that.

[KlangFool]

I replaced one car with an electric cargo bike. It is a spending cut. But, I don't think it is painful.

KlangFool

[Sandtrap]

I am considering enacting some spending cuts to exercise the muscle, and prove to myself that I can do it. Painless cuts (e.g. inefficiencies) are always being hunted down, but I would be curious to know what kind of painful spending cuts people have made, and how it turned out.

While anyone can obviously post whatever they want on the internet, the following would be particularly useful to me:

• The spending cut should have (or at least was anticipated to have) caused some displeasure.
• Explain why you made the change.
• Explain whether it turned out well, or if you ended up regretting it, or undoing it.
• Small and large spending cuts are both interesting.

And the following aren't really useful to me:

• Expressions that no painful spending cuts have ever been necessary since one is optimal.
• Expressions that one doesn't worry about spending, because one has enough to buy whatever one wants.
• Tangents into judgements of the hedonistic treadmill, or keeping up with the Joneses.

Random notes: (for us not others, perspectives vary, lives vary, money varies) (dis laimer).

State of things.
1
DW recently informed me that she spends over 300 dollars for every grocery shopping trip, and there's nothing extravagant in the bags. We shop for nutritious food at the health food store (Sprouts, Whole Foods, etc), no meat, no "food in a box", no processed foods, no dairy, etc.
2
A pack of Charmin' toilet tissue, large with 120 equiv roles, costs well over 30 dollars at Walmart. Yikes! Inflation has us coming and going!
3
Despite having the best medical insurance (Medicaire Original (not privatized/corporate), and RX and other supplementals, RX copays have gone up fast. Why? Like everything else....
4
Homeowners and other insurance, (insurance companies....why?)..costs have skyrocketed. Yikes!
5
We have no institutional or gov't pension from years of toil...only our portfolio and SS and R/E income. It seems like our portfolio has not recovered well since being "hammered" in 2020. Maybe "sequence of returns risk"? (allocation 60/40). (Those with pensions as the primary asset fair better sometimes).
6
Large health issue related expenses over the past 2 years. "Black Swans" ...flocks of them.
7
No Medicare or other medical insurance coverage on some pricey "mobility aids", this year. (huge spending here).

**Warning to others: Medical insurance and private industry for "mobility aids" is highly predatory and a real slam despite all the fancy website ads and stores that advertise...

What we've done (or has happened):
A
Put on indefinite hold: Finishing the last major home property improvement on a 10 year plan. Landscaping around the house and grounds. Major pricey project. Large areas. For now...it's just flat graded gravel. Oh well. Also the back porch stairs is still missing. Oh well.
B
No fancy or big non essential expenses or luxuries. On indefinite hold.
C
Increase small expenses for things that improve quality of life from day to day. Fun things like shorts that fit. Overhauling some aspect of our clothing, stacks of stuff cleaned out and dropped off at Goodwill. Like that. Activities that dont cost much but are rewarding and fun.
D
Treasury ladders.
E
Full SS at age 70 coming up. Automatic deposit to our checking account for household expenses will be helpful.
F
3 of our dearest "fuzzy buddies" of 18 years have passed away over the past 2 years. Very sad. Great effect on the "feeling" of daily life and routines, but no real effect on household economics. Costs are irrelevant when it comes to these things.

As far as economic changes for us personally: In the Biggest picture: Nothing painful. As senior retirees, just surviving from day to day is painful...why add to it...
j

[PeninsulaPerson]

I am considering enacting some spending cuts to exercise the muscle, and prove to myself that I can do it.

Perhaps the OP could check back in to give a few examples of what they think qualifies.

Selling the Tesla and giving up tomahawk steak is obviously profoundly different from living in an unheated cabin in NH and eating only rice.

My cat is a luxury but also a great joy in my life. I would eat only rice to keep him and protect him. But I have one cat and don't travel much. A neighbor is always broke and she has 5 cats.

My point? The details matter.

[StevieG72]

No more nespresso coffee pods for the house. At 50c each and with three teenagers this was costing us a bit. Now we're on the house brand instant.

How's it going? Well today is day 1, I'm sure the teenagers will complain tomorrow

I am concerned for your safety!

[Ivygirl]

What about painful income add decisions?

Well, I worked required excessive overtime at time-and-a-half for 19 years at my last job. It resulted in burnout and panic attacks, and an ongoing anxiety disorder that has impaired my ability to drive confidently. So - painful, and not worth it.

[SmileyFace]

Nothing painful yet in the list and I am blessed so have nothing either. (Lots during childhood but I won't go there).
Painful cuts like Having to sacrafice a luxury car or expensive vacation for a less expensive one or cutting back on hiring servants. Boy, we are a spoiled bunch.

Thanksgiving is coming up folks! Hopefully everyone remembers how blessed they are.

[Wannaretireearly]

This thread is giving me ideas!
We’ve been slowly expanding our lifestyle over the years.

[bradinsky]

I am considering enacting some spending cuts to exercise the muscle, and prove to myself that I can do it. Painless cuts (e.g. inefficiencies) are always being hunted down, but I would be curious to know what kind of painful spending cuts people have made, and how it turned out.

While anyone can obviously post whatever they want on the internet, the following would be particularly useful to me:

• The spending cut should have (or at least was anticipated to have) caused some displeasure.
• Explain why you made the change.
• Explain whether it turned out well, or if you ended up regretting it, or undoing it.
• Small and large spending cuts are both interesting.

And the following aren't really useful to me:

• Expressions that no painful spending cuts have ever been necessary since one is optimal.
• Expressions that one doesn't worry about spending, because one has enough to buy whatever one wants.
• Tangents into judgements of the hedonistic treadmill, or keeping up with the Joneses.

Random notes: (for us not others, perspectives vary, lives vary, money varies) (dis laimer).

State of things.
1
DW recently informed me that she spends over 300 dollars for every grocery shopping trip, and there's nothing extravagant in the bags. We shop for nutritious food at the health food store (Sprouts, Whole Foods, etc), no meat, no "food in a box", no processed foods, no dairy, etc.
2
A pack of Charmin' toilet tissue, large with 120 equiv roles, costs well over 30 dollars at Walmart. Yikes! Inflation has us coming and going!
3
Despite having the best medical insurance (Medicaire Original (not privatized/corporate), and RX and other supplementals, RX copays have gone up fast. Why? Like everything else....
4
Homeowners and other insurance, (insurance companies....why?)..costs have skyrocketed. Yikes!
5
We have no institutional or gov't pension from years of toil...only our portfolio and SS and R/E income. It seems like our portfolio has not recovered well since being "hammered" in 2020. Maybe "sequence of returns risk"? (allocation 60/40). (Those with pensions as the primary asset fair better sometimes).
6
Large health issue related expenses over the past 2 years. "Black Swans" ...flocks of them.
7
No Medicare or other medical insurance coverage on some pricey "mobility aids", this year. (huge spending here).

**Warning to others: Medical insurance and private industry for "mobility aids" is highly predatory and a real slam despite all the fancy website ads and stores that advertise...

What we've done (or has happened):
A
Put on indefinite hold: Finishing the last major home property improvement on a 10 year plan. Landscaping around the house and grounds. Major pricey project. Large areas. For now...it's just flat graded gravel. Oh well. Also the back porch stairs is still missing. Oh well.
B
No fancy or big non essential expenses or luxuries. On indefinite hold.
C
Increase small expenses for things that improve quality of life from day to day. Fun things like shorts that fit. Overhauling some aspect of our clothing, stacks of stuff cleaned out and dropped off at Goodwill. Like that. Activities that dont cost much but are rewarding and fun.
D
Treasury ladders.
E
Full SS at age 70 coming up. Automatic deposit to our checking account for household expenses will be helpful.
F
3 of our dearest "fuzzy buddies" of 18 years have passed away over the past 2 years. Very sad. Great effect on the "feeling" of daily life and routines, but no real effect on household economics. Costs are irrelevant when it comes to these things.

As far as economic changes for us personally: In the Biggest picture: Nothing painful. As senior retirees, just surviving from day to day is painful...why add to it...
j

+1 Couldn’t agree more. Ours mirrors yours.

[backpacker61]

I lost my job during the GFC (2009), and it took a while for me to find work again (finally in mid-2010).

While looking for new work, I cut back from 3 meals per day to 2 meals per day; breakfast and a mid-afternoon meal that served for both lunch and supper. I was vegetarian already and not heavy before, yet I did continue to lose weight. I just prepared the meals at home and avoided dining out.

I still eat out rarely; primarily just when I meet friends, dine out with colleagues, or am on a road trip. But while working, I do enjoy having a mid-day meal to have a break in the routine, and then a meal again in the evening.

[Halicar]

Over all, I live a very simple and frugal lifestyle. I do have one expensive hobby, though (modular synthesizers) and refraining from buying the Make Noise Black and Gold Shared System https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... ynthesizer is causing me a bit of pain.

[jebmke]

I learned how to manage spending as an undergraduate in the 1970s so no additional exercise required. Each semester my father would give me a check for tuition and expenses and remind me that the next one was a semester away and to "pace myself." After a couple of years I got a part-time job to top off my bank balance as needed.

Graduate school was on my dime.

[fishmonger]

Wife and I had one car for +/- 5 years when she was a stay at home Mom and the kids were little. So in some respects it was easier than if we had two fill-time jobs, etc. Definitely took a lot more planning when she went to grad school. We now can't imagine not having two vehicles but for that time in our lives we made it work.

We also bought a 2 family, lived on one floor and rented out the other. Again, where we are now can't imagine having "roommates" again but at the time it's what it took to get by

[climber2020]

For 2 years at the start of graduate school, I lived in the basement of a house that was converted to a small efficiency. It had an odd smell, a humidity problem, no central heating/air, and a 7 foot ceiling. I invited my high school friend over once, and his first words were "this is some Ted Kaczynski sh**." The rent was cheap and it bordered the university property, so I could walk to class and save on gas. After living there and making that my mental anchor, every place I've lived at since then has been a huge upgrade.

[meowcat]

The most painful spending cut we did was to sell our beautiful 5 bedroom home with a pool because we simply couldn't afford it. We paid off all of our debt, and in that time, our net worth has skyrocketed.

[stan1]

Sold 8 year old BMW 3-series and bought new Honda Accord in 2018 for about $30K instead of buying another 3 series for around $55-60K.
Made the change to avoid spending about $25K, and figured the Accord was "good enough" for our purposes.

You should have kept your BMW! I'm still driving my E90 3 series from 2007. Less expensive on the whole and much more fun to drive than a new Accord. It does throw off the occasional expensive repair, but nothing compared to a new car, and they just don't make 'em like that anymore. I'll be driving it for as long as I can get parts.

It was actually a 2010 335d which had an "experimental" urea-based diesel emissions system for the US market. It was a very fun car but not worth carrying the costs of walnut blasting carbon buildup and expensive repairs. I'm sure someone else is enjoying it though.

[Call_Me_Op]

I am considering enacting some spending cuts to exercise the muscle, and prove to myself that I can do it. Painless cuts (e.g. inefficiencies) are always being hunted down, but I would be curious to know what kind of painful spending cuts people have made, and how it turned out.

While anyone can obviously post whatever they want on the internet, the following would be particularly useful to me:

• The spending cut should have (or at least was anticipated to have) caused some displeasure.
• Explain why you made the change.
• Explain whether it turned out well, or if you ended up regretting it, or undoing it.
• Small and large spending cuts are both interesting.

And the following aren't really useful to me:

• Expressions that no painful spending cuts have ever been necessary since one is optimal.
• Expressions that one doesn't worry about spending, because one has enough to buy whatever one wants.
• Tangents into judgements of the hedonistic treadmill, or keeping up with the Joneses.

I spent my childhood in poverty - that was quite enough for me.

[Ivygirl]

I thought of another one. In order to "crash" save for retirement (I was in my 40s and had nothing) I made a long-range plan that included buying a capsule wardrobe for work: four identical pairs of black pants, one pair of jeans, one pair of black dress shoes, a cheap purse, and cheap blouses. I let my hair grow long and didn't color it, I wore my natural face no makeup, and had one pair of earrings.

I worked in an office with women who had nice clothes and nice hair and designer purses and they did not think much of me. The first glance goes to the hair; the second glance goes to the purse; the next (expressive) glance goes to their friends. Sometimes they gave helpful advice about where to buy things or gave me the card of their hairdresser. Rejection by one's peer group for such a reason is hard to bear, and my family didn't understand it either.

I was able to leave that job with not much concern about being unemployed, because of radical saving. The ladies didn't understand how that was possible and thought I must have been overpaid; it set off quite a scramble where they tried to find out who was getting what.

[stan1]

Also I would not inflict real pain on my family, like telling kids they can't have piano or dance lessons due to an austerity drill if in fact there was plenty of money to pay for such things. Not clear this is what OP is talking about. Finally, if OP is married and spouse is not on board with an austerity drill just to see if we can do it -- divorce is very costly.

[cs412a]

No more nespresso coffee pods for the house. At 50c each and with three teenagers this was costing us a bit. Now we're on the house brand instant.

How's it going? Well today is day 1, I'm sure the teenagers will complain tomorrow

I am concerned for your safety!

Yes, this seems like a change that might actually be painful Good luck!

[cs412a]

A big thing I cut: I sold my house and moved into a small 1-bedroom apartment. The house was built in 1949 and, although in overall good shape and well maintained by me, it was always needing something, and I got tired of, and wary of, the unpredictable large expenditures. Tree trimming and removal alone was thousands of dollars. The original sewer line was on the point of failure. The roof was nearly at replacement time. I decided "no more" and downsized radically, put the equity in bank CDs until I could decide what to do with it, and haven't looked back.

Yes I miss my garden space; I miss the trees and flowers I had planted. But I have transitioned into indoor flowers with grow lights, which is a whole lovely world of its own. My apartment has a substantial balcony, too, and I am already planning what I will do in terms of plantings next spring.

I'm also happy to have evaded the sudden dramatic rise in homeowner's insurance rates that happened in 2023, and happy to no more be mowing a lawn when I could be relaxing. I got rid of most of my stuff and don't buy any more and it is so much better and cheaper to live this way. What a lot of useless stuff I had, and I wasn't even a collector of anything.

Small things I cut: I no longer eat out unless it is a social thing with another person. Yes sometimes I would like to go get Thai just because, but I don't, and that makes when I do extra exciting and something to be eagerly anticipated.

I switched to instant coffee (Nescafe Taster's Choice). Cheaper, the strength of the brew is customizable, I can mix it half and half with decaf if full strength would make me wakeful or jittery, and it is just plain cleaner. Coffee-making generates quite a mess. When I dine out I always order brewed coffee and it's some kind of amazing experience.

I stopped recreational shopping (visiting a store just to see what they have). This was a huge part of my family culture and I had to sacrifice the good opinion of pretty much every family member I had. Not exaggerating. Still glad I did it.

With recent food inflation, I changed my buying habits (already fairly frugal) to rely mainly on bulk purchases of a few staples: chicken leg quarters (10-lb bag for around $5), whole chickens (2 for around $13), large bags of carrots, 10-lb bags of russet potatoes, 2-lb packages of ground turkey, and so on. I divide and prepare the food immediately and freeze serving sizes. The cheap chicken quarters are sometimes fatty but I figured out how to deal with that: I bake them 4 at a time, remove the skin and excess fat, then re-fry them in the air fryer. Crispy and yum!

Sauces are super-important for feeding oneself cheaply. Korean BBQ, teriyaki, soy sauce, ketchup, mayo (homemade is cheaper and tastier), Italian dressing, salsa, the brine from a jar of pickles. Freshly-ground black pepper, if you use the stuff. Sauces elevate and dignify plain things, so are a good investment. Cook plain things and dress them well.

Sorry for the novel but the subject interests me.

Owning one’s a house and yard is wonderful - I loved my home and neighbors when I owned a house in CA - but like you said, there’s always some big expense every year or so. In addition to the cost, a house also demands a lot of time and energy. So I’m sure it was painful but a good decision ultimately.

You’re a gardener, so do post about what you decide to plant on your terrace. I have a balcony as well with a small raised planter for my vegetable garden and large pots with native plants. I had a lot of success with the natives and next year it will be all natives and veggies. No more potted annuals.

[vfinx]

Also I would not inflict real pain on my family, like telling kids they can't have piano or dance lessons due to an austerity drill if in fact there was plenty of money to pay for such things. Not clear this is what OP is talking about. Finally, if OP is married and spouse is not on board with an austerity drill just to see if we can do it -- divorce is very costly.

I am actually hoping to intentionally expose the kids to the austerity drill actually. I certainly won’t do it through anything that would compromise their education, but I want them to understand that resources are finite and efficiency matters. It’s a tricky balance though, as I don’t want them to develop a mentality that money should be hoarded.

And yes, DW is on board and in some ways will be leading the charge. I am a big spender in comparison to her.

[AnnetteLouisan]

I’ve made a lot of spending cuts in the past to get my spend to $38k annually. None was painful though. It’s remarkable how much you can cut, do less often *and find less expensive or free substitutions*. It’s even fun, when it’s voluntary. The only cuts that were mistakes were the gym and personal trainer. That’s a false economy.

The only one that was semi-awkward was my hairdresser, and I did it as much to save time scheduling appointments as for the cash. I bought some hairdressing tools and watched some YouTube videos. I do my own mani/pedis

If you are interested I can PM you my cuts. My categories are services, grooming, food, transportation and misc. This was a particularly strong suit of mine. Currently I am learning to spend more because I’d taken frugality too far.

This month I’ve cut out lattes and cheese. Not for cost reasons though. And I strive to keep the grocery bill under $200.

[cs412a]

I thought of another one. In order to "crash" save for retirement (I was in my 40s and had nothing) I made a long-range plan that included buying a capsule wardrobe for work: four identical pairs of black pants, one pair of jeans, one pair of black dress shoes, a cheap purse, and cheap blouses. I let my hair grow long and didn't color it, I wore my natural face no makeup, and had one pair of earrings.

I worked in an office with women who had nice clothes and nice hair and designer purses and they did not think much of me. The first glance goes to the hair; the second glance goes to the purse; the next (expressive) glance goes to their friends. Sometimes they gave helpful advice about where to buy things or gave me the card of their hairdresser. Rejection by one's peer group for such a reason is hard to bear, and my family didn't understand it either.

I was able to leave that job with not much concern about being unemployed, because of radical saving. The ladies didn't understand how that was possible and thought I must have been overpaid; it set off quite a scramble where they tried to find out who was getting what.

I also had a similar work wardrobe - although I wore khakis instead of jeans. Maybe it was all those years wearing a school uniform when I was a kid, but I have never felt like putting time or energy to into clothes or clothes shopping. Fortunately, whether I was working in an office, doing research or teaching on campus, I was never in a “dress for success” situation.

Sorry you had to deal with push back. I’ve always had the good fortune to work with wonderful people. I did clerical and secretarial work to put myself through college & grad school (my ex-husband through medical school), and while the pay wasn’t great, I enjoyed the people I was working with.

[Jack FFR1846]

When my older son was in college, both my mom and FIL made generous contributions towards the college costs with checks written directly to the college. Some semesters, these together were quite large and helped tremendously. Because of their generosity, I didn't feel right keep my "toy car" Lotus Elise so sold it. I've yet to buy another toy car. At this point, however, my son has a car that I can drive which is sort of in between a practical car and a toy car because of its performance, a 2020 Subaru STi. He also has a 2004 Honda S200 with massive amounts of modifications but that's mostly a garage ornament continuously being modified.

[cs412a]

Also I would not inflict real pain on my family, like telling kids they can't have piano or dance lessons due to an austerity drill if in fact there was plenty of money to pay for such things. Not clear this is what OP is talking about. Finally, if OP is married and spouse is not on board with an austerity drill just to see if we can do it -- divorce is very costly.

I am actually hoping to intentionally expose the kids to the austerity drill actually. I certainly won’t do it through anything that would compromise their education, but I want them to understand that resources are finite and efficiency matters. It’s a tricky balance though, as I don’t want them to develop a mentality that money should be hoarded.

And yes, DW is on board and in some ways will be leading the charge. I am a big spender in comparison to her.

Please consider this carefully. I applaud the idea trying to teach your children that resources are finite, but I don’t think that spending cuts are necessarily the way to do this. I think your own example of being a good steward of your household is more important than anything else. Let your kids participate in discussions of major purchases. Let them see how you and your wife make up your budget and spend your money. Kids are smart and they will learn from what you do.

[vfinx]

I am considering enacting some spending cuts to exercise the muscle, and prove to myself that I can do it.

Perhaps the OP could check back in to give a few examples of what they think qualifies.

Selling the Tesla and giving up tomahawk steak is obviously profoundly different from living in an unheated cabin in NH and eating only rice.

My cat is a luxury but also a great joy in my life. I would eat only rice to keep him and protect him. But I have one cat and don't travel much. A neighbor is always broke and she has 5 cats.

My point? The details matter.

I think the vast majority of examples provided so far have been really good. But in terms of myself, the most recent example has been to forego a TV subscription which I was using to follow a pro sports team that I am huge fan of. It was about $600 per year. This will be the first year I don’t watch their games. It’s a particularly interesting season too, with lots of roster changes and other drama.

[gavinsiu]

I usually have to rein in vacation and dining out cost. This is because while we really enjoy them they can get really expensive. There are also subscription services. If you get a list of spending, there are a large number of things you can cut. There are the essentials like insurance, utilities, and rent/mortgage, etc.

In the distant past, when we were more poor, there were time when essentials need to cut. Instead of going to the doctor, one may just tough it out, or skip things like dental or visiion or hold off on car repairs. Even recently I have known people who have to balance between food and medication. These are things that shouldn't be cut because they can backfire in the future but often there is little choice if you are living on the edge.

[smitcat]

I am considering enacting some spending cuts to exercise the muscle, and prove to myself that I can do it.

Perhaps the OP could check back in to give a few examples of what they think qualifies.

Selling the Tesla and giving up tomahawk steak is obviously profoundly different from living in an unheated cabin in NH and eating only rice.

My cat is a luxury but also a great joy in my life. I would eat only rice to keep him and protect him. But I have one cat and don't travel much. A neighbor is always broke and she has 5 cats.

My point? The details matter.

I think the vast majority of examples provided so far have been really good. But in terms of myself, the most recent example has been to forego a TV subscription which I was using to follow a pro sports team that I am huge fan of. It was about $600 per year. This will be the first year I don’t watch their games. It’s a particularly interesting season too, with lots of roster changes and other drama.

"forego a TV subscription which I was using to follow a pro sports team that I am huge fan of."
I see no valuable reason to cut something you really enjoy for an experiment - many experiments backfire.

[stoptothink]

None of the things listed so far in this thread have ever been a part of our lives, so there is/was no sort of discomfort in not having them. The hedonistic treadmill is very real. I can't say we've ever had to make a painful cut because we're simple people who have always saved a big chunk of income so no need to cut anything.

This was painful for me just to read.

I'm totally missing the joke And after reading the OP twice over again, failing to see the point of the thread at all. "Pain" is completely subjective in this sense.

[illumination]

I used to eat out most days for my lunch. I have cut that down dramatically. It's mostly because I felt like this was a relatively inexpensive luxury years ago and I liked just getting out of my office. As prices have exploded, just hard for me to "stomach" spending that much for something that's pretty mediocre. So now I eat more home prepared meals. If anything, I'm way more financially comfortable than I was then, but I just don't think it presents the value it did. It just feels like lighting money on fire.

It wasn't "painful" to have more home prepared meals, the only issue is, I'm no chef and I don't have a deep bench of dishes to prepare. Having the right groceries first was the biggest obstacle. I still eat lunch out, but just not as much.