Budget board sure has changed

[EagleScout]

Originally Posted by HHSTigerFan

Speaking of this, is Dave Ramsey still around? Used to see him everywhere, now haven't seen or heard him in a year or two, both local stations have dropped his show.

Fox business channel dropped him 2010 so not on tv, but radio show (where he started) still exists ans syndicated on 100s of channels across country, including most major markets (including Orlando)

[eliza61]

Originally Posted by HHSTigerFan

Speaking of this, is Dave Ramsey still around? Used to see him everywhere, now haven't seen or heard him in a year or two, both local stations have dropped his show.

Not really. I think like many "fads" they tend to fade after a while.

[lttlmc3]

I, for one, got sick of Dave Ramsey. It seemed the richer he got from his show, the more he was cruel to the callers. MHO

[crisi]

Originally Posted by Colleen27

I've switched away from a lot of disposable products for the same reason (though I draw the line at toilet paper! ) and have generally been happier with the cloth equivalents of paper products.

Yeah, the "family cloth" thing wasn't for me - and frankly, I think it was more for something for people to point at and few people did it.

But I do wash sponges as well - my husband tosses them the moment they get stinky, I throw them in the microwave in a little bleach water.

And I still love my reusable grocery bags

[goodfood4ursoul]

Originally Posted by writersblock42

or gather up the fragments of soap in the tub all in an effort to save a buck for Disney.

There were some other extreme things, but I would have to look back at my subscribed posts to see. Now, I see things about Abercromie, Dyson, smart phones and staying at the deluxe resorts. Is this a sign of the economy changing finally or maybe just a different crowd now.

Yes! I do this!
The slivers of soap go with whatever travel size soap I have lurking in my linen closet, or in the bottom of the bathroom cabinet, into a saucepan on the stove with some water and get melted down.

Add lots of water when it's boiling to make your own soft soap for your soap dispenser or add only a small amount of water and use a potato masher to mash and mix the soap well and pour into lined muffin cups to make your own "new" soap.

I added some drops of lime oil someone had given me to my melted soap
and Ooooooh... it smells SO GOOD

I keep soap in a small, old zippered lingerie laundry bag in the shower- which is like a netted bath spongee when you squish it all up.
My soap lathers well and the bag means I am never picking slimey soap off the floor of the shower or picking hair off the soap.

Thanks for the topic, OP.
I think the topic of budgeting and saving money can range from true frugality (you should visit http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/ ) to saving on i phones...

Even though I have no desire to have an i phone (and to me they are a luxury item) I can see how saving on a phone and plan is pertinent in today's world.

But so is saving soap and packing lunches, and making hand made gifts and finding a source of bat guano for fertilizing your garden...

I guess that makes me bat-guano crazy~

[peyjax]

Boy are you right! It has changed a lot. I used to read it for pure entertainment value.

There were so many doozies. Things that would make you go The community towels and reusable unmentionable were just I aways got a kick on the one on how to feed the family of 6 on $150 a month. They used some type of paste or food that was debatable as to whether it was actually considered food or not. (can not remember what that stuff was) Then they would use powdered milk etc. All I remember thinking was if you are that tight how are you on the internet?

There were some helpful ones I miss. Like the CVS lady. I did use her at times and got some good deals, however it did get tiresome trying to get the deals.

[Colleen27]

Originally Posted by eliza61

Not really. I think like many "fads" they tend to fade after a while.

I think there are a few things that contributed to his relative decline in popularity. First of all, quite a bit of the information in Total Money Makeover is outdated even in the new edition, which left me with the impression that he's deliberately left in inaccurate info to strengthen his point. It was most apparent in the new car/used car discussion - used car prices are higher than they've ever been, and the old saw about the car losing half its value the minute you drive it off the lot is terribly outdated. We looked at 2 & 3yo cars that were only 10-15% less expensive than brand new, and even a 5 year old car in good shape seems to go for around 50-60% of new prices.

Second, I think the costs of an anti-credit mindset are increasing across the board. I'm pretty anti-credit myself and for a long time I didn't see any reason to worry about credit rating since we own our home outright and don't finance or borrow for any reason. Then our insurance premiums jumped by 10% because our scores dropped below the good credit discount threshold from inactivity (no CCs, no mortgage, no negatives, just nothing reporting at all for years). Between the two policies, refusing to maintain our credit score cost us around $300/year so I did reluctantly open a CC account that we only use to autopay our fixed-cost bills (cell phones and internet) and pay off every month in hopes that we'll get the discount back by our next renewal. And with more and more employers using credit scoring as a way of filtering through a glut of applications, neglecting one's score long enough can even limit earning potential.

[Colleen27]

Originally Posted by crisi

Yeah, the "family cloth" thing wasn't for me - and frankly, I think it was more for something for people to point at and few people did it.

But I do wash sponges as well - my husband tosses them the moment they get stinky, I throw them in the microwave in a little bleach water.

And I still love my reusable grocery bags

My mom knits scrubbers that I've switched to almost completely. I keep a sponge around for little things but her double sided knit scrubbers are the best, machine washable, more durable than sponges, and tough enough to clean up burnt-on gunk without being course enough to scratch.

I love my reusable grocery bags too. After finding the store bought ones to be rather less durable and washable than I wanted I started making my own out of old jeans or t-shirts and they're just great - tough enough to really load and made of fabrics that can just be tossed in the wash when they get dirty.

[Marionnette]

Originally Posted by eliza61

For me, "budget" is way more than taking value vacations.

For me "budget" is how to get the most value for my hard earned dollars.

for example you mentioned deluxe resorts. Now for my family value resorts are too small and we don't like them. So for me staying at a value is a huge waste of money. So if some one can inform me of a deal at a deluxe, well then that's a good "budget" tip.

No matter what my income level is, I want to spend the least amount, get good quality and save a buck or two.

ITA!

Somewhere along the line, some people got the impression that budget = cheapskate. Or that having a budget means vacationing on a shoestring.

I think more like you do, Eliza. It's not about doing your trip for the very least amount of money possible. It's about getting as much value from the dollars that you spend. To that end, I would much rather get the kind of vacation I want for as little money as possible. The thought of taking extreme measures 51 weeks out of the year in order to afford 7 days in Disney make me shake my head in wonder.

[poohfriend]

A thread on how to save money on meals. Finally someone piped up with taking MREs (from a military surpluss) into the park and heating them on the concrete with a maginfying glass.

I laughed for days.

And I think they may have been serious. Or maybe it was all tongue in cheek.

Love the budget board ..... then and now. But I do believe it's changed.

[buckeev]

When it comes to saving/preparing for our vacations...ESPECIALLY our Orlando vacations, we do get a bit aggressive about taking advantage of discounts almost anyway we can. Sometimes it does become a distraction, but the whole family rarely complains. Just a quick mention of Le Cellier, Teppan Edo...etc...will get them back "on board" with the program pretty promptly.

(we do draw the line-albeit a thin line)-at skimping on toilet paper and the like!

[SamSam]

Originally Posted by Colleen27

My mom knits scrubbers that I've switched to almost completely. I keep a sponge around for little things but her double sided knit scrubbers are the best, machine washable, more durable than sponges, and tough enough to clean up burnt-on gunk without being course enough to scratch.

I love my reusable grocery bags too. After finding the store bought ones to be rather less durable and washable than I wanted I started making my own out of old jeans or t-shirts and they're just great - tough enough to really load and made of fabrics that can just be tossed in the wash when they get dirty.

The knit scrubbers sounds great (I'm a knitter), I'll have to see if I can find a pattern. I also like the idea of making your own reusable grocery bags, as you said the ones you buy aren't very durable and usually not washable.

[scheddj]

My faves were the ones explaining how to make grilled cheese sandwiches, quesadillas, etc., using the irons in hotel rooms! Gross.

[disneychrista]

Awe...the good 'ol days.

[IDoDis]

Originally Posted by disneychrista

Awe...the good 'ol days.

Yeah, like the infamous Diva Cup thread. Those were the days...