Yep, these are the kind of things that drive our budgets upward; however, we must realize that all of them are LUXURIES, not necessities. I've never had 7 of the things on this list, and I certainly am not deprived.
You and me both...
Cell Phone--have one, it's also my business phone
Cable TV--basic is included in my HOA dues, I thinkwe pay $60 a month for the rest which inlcudes Internet
Netflix subscription--You know, I don't even know exactly what this is other than some sort of movie rentals I think.
Unlimited calling home phone--got it--through Vonage, at $28/mo including taxes for unlimited calling, I dare anyone to find a better deal on a home phone.
Gym memberships--there's a health club in my community that my HOA dues support. When I lived in NJ we had one in our building, $15 a month.
Rhapsody or yahoo music subscription--nope, and couldn't be bothered. I get so many free CD's from my p/t job that I can't even listen to them all.
Internet service--cable Internet. We need it for my small business and DH's work-from-home and on call 24/7
Monthly Tivo Service fee--nope
Audible.com membership--no idea what this is.
Lawn service--yes. I'm asthmatic and am allergic to half the stuff out there. DS has terrible allergies, it would be unhealthy for either of us to even try. My guy charges $105 a month to mow and edge, and I've got a half acre. That's a good deal IMHO. I could never keep it looking as nice as he does. We do our our pruning and weeding to save costs--that would be an extra $50 a month.
Housekeeper--
You're reading the mainds words.
Pool Membership--through our HOA dues, there's a community pool. Additionally my next door neighbors have a pool. It's a vacation home for them, and I'm welcome to use it any time. I've used it a couple times when it was beastly hot in the summer, but I'm not going to run up thier power bill by heating it, so otherwise I'll take a bath in my own tub, thanks.
Example: I have a membership to a little community pool three blocks from my house. It's $280/summer and is open from June 1 to September 30. It's not much of a pool, but it's a great value for my family. Since I'm a teacher, I'm home all summer, and my girls get tired of just being here at the house. We can walk to the pool, and they can meet friends. We get a lot of use out of that $280 membership.
HOWEVER, if we were seriously short on cash, we'd have to realize that this membership IS a luxury. Just because something's a good value doesn't mean we should buy it.
When I was a kid we had a pool membership to a community pool as well with about the same "hours." My mom dug up the money every year to join. We never took family vacations, that was the vacation. We used to spend from 11:00 am when they opened until 7:00pm when they closed every day all day, all summer there. Well worth it. But I agree, it was a luxury, and we all knew it.
Anne