Comments on: My Biggest Budget Busters

By: dishtv

dishtv — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:48:44 +0000

LOL, “Stupid Tax” really cracked me up. Parking/Speeding tickets are another “Stupid Tax” example.

By: Smart Spending

Smart Spending — Fri, 09 May 2008 21:14:03 +0000

What busts your budget?…

We all have those items that tempt us to overspend. For some, like Amy at My Daily Dollars, it’s shoes. For others, it’s video games. For us, it’s anything with a Steelers logo on it and travel. Many personal-finance bloggers have shared theirs — …

By: 10 Ways to Eat Out For Less

10 Ways to Eat Out For Less — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:32:55 +0000

[...] share more of our budget busters this week, since Lynnae at Being Frugal shared her biggest budget busters and asked me to do the [...]

By: Five Budget Busters Meme | I've Paid For This Twice Already...

Five Budget Busters Meme | I've Paid For This Twice Already... — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:07:40 +0000

[...] Lynnae at Being Frugal tagged me in the 5 Budget Busters meme. As far as I understand, I need to list 5 budget busters for us, and then tag 3 other people to do the same. Since I’ve been budgeting for a little while now, I figure I can probably do this. My budget busters aren’t quite line items in my budget though, rather attitudes and behaviors that increase my spending. [...]

By: Kelli Myers

Kelli Myers — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 07:20:20 +0000

Our biggest budget buster are eating out frequently, buying clothes even when its not really needed and the late fees as I always fail to return the library book on time or pay bills at the right time.

By: My Biggest Budget Busters | Moolanomy

My Biggest Budget Busters | Moolanomy — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:01:20 +0000

[...] at Being Frugal tagged me and asked about my biggest budget busters. The request could’ve been difficult [...]

By: Lynn

Lynn — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 00:03:56 +0000

Biggest budget buster here is my hubby’s midlife crisis. It has two wheels and is patently unnecessary. He got it in his head last week and he just HAD to have a motorcycle. I made him buy used, and he is not allowed to put a cent into it for the next year, other than gas.

Dollar stores, take out coffee, and specialty foods at the grocery store are my extras here.

By: Wordsmith

Wordsmith — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 06:33:58 +0000

My budget busters are:
–buying new books at Barnes & Noble instead of the used bookstore (there are two in Medford but have limited hours; B&N are open ’til 10 so I can stop on my way home from work)
–eating out; because of my irregular work hours and days, lots of times it’s just plain easier to eat on the way to or from work and buy canned or frozen food to eat at work because I can’t leave my workplace
–got rid of the dish TV last summer; was turning hubby into a zombie, but still have landline phone because I need DSL for school
–dumped Netflix because hubby couldn’t remember how to order new movies (this was the alternative to the dish TV)
–He drives a gashog he won’t give up (you pick your battles, right?)
–Disabled hubby is home all day so utilities are in use most of the time except when he’s asleep (heat, electricity)
–Upped cell phone plan to unlimited, which increased cost $30, but that’s because I go out of state to care for sick mom from time to time and make a lot of phone calls when I’m gone

We all have our particular budget busters, eh?

By: Elizalex

Elizalex — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 02:50:08 +0000

Wonder if the utility companies are scamming us??
We did an experiment. This past January and February, we turned off the heat and hot water heater to the upstairs of our two story home and stayed downstairs (we have separate water heaters and heat pumps up and down). We quit washing dishes and used paper plates and cups. We went from 1-2 loads of laundry per day to 2 a week. We turned our downstairs thermostat to 68 or colder. Well, guess what, hardly any difference at all in our bill or “reading”. 13 whole kilowatts less than the month prior with the same temperatures and no different from the same time the previous year. So really, why bother? I think they are just manufacturing these readings. We also had no change in use when we were gone from our house for a month one year. Hmmmm. When you call them up and tell them they act like they cannot hear what you are telling them and go into their pat speech about things you can do to cut back on use–infuriating!!

By: Elizalex

Elizalex — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 02:43:32 +0000

I used to fall into the trap of eating out because I was too tired or it was too hot or I was just tired of my own cooking. My trick: Buy a few gourmet frozen dinners (the really good brands like Bertolli, Stouffers) and have on hand when you get weak. A quick heat in a pan or zap in the microwave and we have elegant dining for a few dollars instead of $25-45 average restaurant bill. Be sure to serve on fancy plates and you’ll forget it was frozen. Guess what, many chain restaurants just heat up frozen meals from the corporate kitchens!