Luxuries

Is anyone else feeling like we spend too much money on things we don’t even need?
We have to renew our cell phones soon and this has caused me to look at how much we’ve been spending on our current cell phone plan. Have you ever added up how much you spend on your cell phone plan in a year? How about TV? Internet? When added up yearly, it’s a big number.
For us, all three of those combined equal $1620 a year.
These are all luxuries that I know I didn’t grow up with. Somehow these have all become normal expenses now. How did that happen? Isn’t technology supposed to make our lives easier?
Why does it seem to make it more complicated and expensive?
I have friends who choose not to have cell phones and some who choose to use “rabbit ears.” (at least before the new regulations.)
But, for the most part, we just see these as expenses that are fixed on our budget sheet.
My suggestion isn’t that we cancel all these items but rather that we take a look at those bills and see if we need every option that we are paying for. Do we need all 3 million channels or can we get by with 1 million? Do we need the fastest internet connection possible, or can we stand to wait for a couple of seconds?
Do we need all those minutes and texting on our cell phones? We might use them currently, but do we actually need them?
Do you know what I got my first cell phone for? Emergencies.
That’s a joke- I don’t think most of my calls and texts have been about an emergency. Can we scale back on the options on our phones? Seriously, do we need to have caller ID? What happens if we don’t know who’s calling us? (I believe this is how most of us lived most of our lives – when the phone rang, we had no clue who it would be on the other end.) How about call waiting? Can someone not just leave a message and we’ll call them back, if we happen to be on the other line?
Is anyone else tired of paying for all these items that have become commonplace in our society?
I know I am guilty of paying for a lot of luxuries I certainly don’t need.
I think we’ve lost sight on what we “need” and what we “want.”

Not A Good Deal!

Do you have any friends who are suckers for a good deal?
We are all guilty of bragging about our good deals from time to time. I know I definitely am. I have bought a skirt for $1.99 before. But, I’ve only worn it once in my whole life. I’ve gotten the kids their number 3 and 4 bathing suit for only $5 when all they needed was one (okay maybe two) bathing suits.
Guess what? I didn’t need that skirt and I didn’t need those extra bathing suits. We are such suckers.
A good deal really only counts if it was for something we actually needed (notice I said needed not wanted), it happened to be a good price and we could actually afford it. If we added up all the items we have bought but didn’t need, and used that money towards something crazy like savings, giving to charity or buying something we really did need, now that would be a good deal!
What about people who put their “good deals” on their credit cards? If you are paying interest for your purchase, it is definitely not a good deal.
So, let’s stop it. Let’s stop looking for good deals, unless we really need something and it happens to be a good price and let’s stop bragging about our good deals on the things we didn’t even need in the first place.
I am the biggest sucker for a good deal, but unless it’s something I actually need, I’m going to stop buying things, just because it’s a good price.
If you don’t have the money for something or you don’t need something and you buy it anyways, then (say it with me now) it is definitely NOT A GOOD DEAL!