A luxury you can't give up...

[highlandmum]

We are on a super tight budget over the next few months. I can give up a lot of luxuries, but one that I have soooo very much trouble with is coffee. I want my Starbucks French Roast coffee, and I go through a bag/week ($10/bag). I just can't get my brain around giving it up.

Do you have a luxury that you just don't want to give up, and how to you get around it?

[HollyBearsMom]

I like my coffee too! I blend my high end premium roast with fresh ground lower end. I buy non-premium beans when on sale and keep in the freezer. The I grind fresh in the AM and mix with the kona. Makes the kona last sooooo much longer and you can barely taste the difference.

[Ellien C]

Good haircuts. But I only get them every 3-4 months and the good hair products that go with them. I gave up coloring my hair.

[highlandmum]

What a good idea about blending!!! And you really can't tell the difference? I must try this.....Thanks!

[Ianthe]

Coffee here too.. with Silk creamer

[leavemealone]

Good makeup. Not necessarily expensive makeup, but good makeup that I like wearing. I can't bring myself to use certain brands anymore even if they are free.

Another one is good moisturizer. I know what works for me and buying cheaper moisturizer is a waste of money. Like makeup, I don't need super expensive moisturizer, but I can't use the super cheap kind either.

[mama_ani]

High speed internet. The thought of dial up makes me want to sit in the corner eating my hair.

[Drummer's Wife]

Good coffee beans.


Also, shampoo. Even though it's $9 per bottle, I would rather use nothing over a 99 cent variety - mostly due to synthetic fragrances.

[Purple*Lotus]

My Netflix. I have the $8.99 a month plan so I can watch online unlimited. I just can't go without it.

[HollyBearsMom]

Originally Posted by highlandmum

What a good idea about blending!!! And you really can't tell the difference? I must try this.....Thanks!

You really can't once you get the right blend. I started about 1/4 low end to the 3/4 kona and then slowly added more of the fresh ground. Now I can do about 1/2 and 1/2 but had to adjust myself first. So start slow!

[Deir]

Keep your little luxury! It might mean the difference between keeping the spirit and getting discouraged.

[zebra15]

ITA agree about "good" internet. I also keep about $10 for MAD MONEY when DS and I cant take it here anymore and we need to hit a fast food joint. (our current living arrangement is getting a bit tense)

[Denvergirlie]

Arbonne RE9 day/ night serum -- I will not give up as a consumable.

This stuff is simply amazing and my skin has never looked better after years and years of trying perscriptions and anything/ everything else on the market.

[abiyhayil]

My blackberry, I no longer *need* it, but I don't have a phone to downgrade to; and if I couldn't browse mothering on my phone I'd never be able to

[katiesk]

wine. but fortunately, i like it cheap, and i often make my own, which is delicious and cheap!

[jewelsJZ]

Do I have to pick just one?
Moisturizer, coffee, highspeed internet and air conditioning. All things I could not live without. So I look for things to cut out that cost more. Like I just gave up my gym membership. It hurt like hell. I loved going there, it was such a stress reliever for me but it just cost too much.
Regarding the coffee, is there a place you could buy it and get a better price? Dh found someplace to order on line our k-cups if you bought in bulk and it costs way less than buying at costco or other stores. Wondering if there is someplace on line that you could get it for less, then you might not feel so bad about spending the money. Just a thought.

[Angelorum]

I indulge myself by always having one fun pen. Usually a funky colored gel pen, one of the pricier brands that writes smoothly. It sounds so juvenile, and it is, but it makes me happy. I use it for nearly everything, grocery lists, calendar, journaling, notes when I'm in school. When it runs out I get a new color! It all started when I was working in the music office in college, and my supervisor sent me to buy myself a new pen the day my car got stolen.

[AbigailGrace]

Originally Posted by highlandmum

We are on a super tight budget over the next few months. I can give up a lot of luxuries, but one that I have soooo very much trouble with is coffee. I want my Starbucks French Roast coffee, and I go through a bag/week ($10/bag). I just can't get my brain around giving it up.

Do you have a luxury that you just don't want to give up, and how to you get around it?

I say keep your coffee!! You need something to boost your spirits and any "real" coffee drinker understands that!!

No matter how tight things are, dh and I buy our good coffee! Our favorite is the Starbuck's Verona. But we have an HEB store who brought out their Central Market organic coffees and they are really good... $7.99 normally but they've been $5.99 with a coupon lately. I know it's hard to try others but if your grocery store carries them, it might be worth trying. You can usually smell it through the bag - that helps me before I try something. Oh, but I don't buy the already ground coffees... even Starbucks. They are usually nasty or they are hit & miss. It's beans only for me.

[Noelle C.]

Remind yourself that $10/wk is $520 a year. I can give up any luxury easily, even without being tight on money, by looking at how much it adds up to in a year. I once said I couldn't give up my Bonne Maman French blueberry preserves at $6/jar every two weeks, but that's $156 in a year, a lot of money to just shove in my mouth. Also when I get a craving for a food luxury, I wait ten minutes and then tell myself, "Okay, you would have inished it already and wouldn't have it anymore. So there's some money saved."

The only "luxury" we have around here is our cell phones. Once the baby's born, even though we can't afford the early termination fee, we're going to let the phones go and just take a hit to our credit. We need them right now because it's the only way I can contact anyone when I go into labor, and AT&T won't let us cancel one phone and keep the other without paying the termination fee.

We've downgraded all else (and have the lowest plan AT&T offers) and constantly look for ways to cut more and keep our eyes open for a cheaper and cheaper downgrade.

It's easier to accept the cuts when you try to make a game out of how much money can be saved. If what we normally buy is $1.99, and we find a cheaper alternative for $1.25, then that 74c is saved, and it's encouraging to see a little savings start. More than one it's this little bit of savings that gets us through when we just don't have any more money and my fiance has to get to work. It's not a truly fun game, but it makes it easier to accept.

I miss my good preserves and whole wheat bread and good tea and Splenda or sugar and our old monthly date night, but these things get consumed/done, and we'd rather spend what money we have on things that are going to last long-term. Better a new pair of insoles that will last several months than going out to McDonald's.

It sucks at times, but is do-able. There is no luxury we haven't cut back on. As soon as we can afford to move to a cheaper place, we'll do this too.

[PenelopeJune]

TV. We have satellite that costs $25 per month. We have the very most basic plan available, and then I also asked for a cheaper price and they gave it to me. Without satellite, we wouldn't have any channels at all, and I really like to at least have locals.

I also have dial up internet, but only until the end of November. (I do National Novel Writing Month in November and I neeeeeded internet. ) Other than this month I haven't had internet since May. Blech.