unnecessary necessities
I liked this article, 12 new necessities that drain your cash. It lists things that were once thought of as luxuries come to be thought of as necessities in the last while. Here's how I did on the list:
1. Bottled water. We buy it when we go on holidays, because I really do hate the taste of tap water. (I also have this weird thing about drinking water out of a bathroom tap. )But it's not an everyday thing. We have a Brita and I try to bring water along in reusable water bottles.
2. Second car. Yep, we have one. My job requires me to have a vehicle so I can do client visits. We tried staying with one vehicle for about 6 months after I started, and it was very inconvenient for Rob to never have a vehicle during the day. I think we could lose it quite easily if I had a job I could bus to. Sometimes I even enjoy the reading time on the bus.
3. Private school. No, we don't private school. They make a point that we already pay for school through our taxes, so one might say the same about homeschooling. But we have decided not to buy prepackaged curriculums, we make a lot of use of the library and internet resources. Just the cost of lunch time supervision at our old school, once Conor started school, would be many hundred dollars a year, not to mention what they charge for all sorts of little things that come up. All in all, I think it's cheaper for us to home school. However, that doesn't factor in the cost of Rob being unable to work much for pay.
4. Childhood parties. I, too, think the degree of expense in some parties are insane. We did go to that indoor park that used to be on confusion corner once, when we lived in the old house and had no room for guests. But the parties this year were low-key, in our home and I've let the kids know that we won't have parties for them every year because I think family is way more important than friends and it's okay if it's just us - we're fun too.
5. Pet grooming/walking. We've told our kids we're not sure we're responsible enough to have them, never mind another creature added to the mix. Next.
6. Daily latte. Well, not daily, but I do succumb to the lure of Timmies more often than I need to. I always make my own coffee in the morning, though.
7. Cable TV. Yes, we have it, but we really put thought into what we would actually watch and then went with MTS theme groups option rather than Shaw's full package. Could we live without it? Of course. But I don't want to. So there. Plus, we do see a lot of educational stuff with the kids, and for us that is part of homeschooling.
8. Manicure/pedicure. I have a peddy about once every 3 years. A doctor once told me I should have them regularly due to how callouses build up on my feet. Alas, they are not paid for by medicare so I must still class it as a luxury and get one when I get gift certificates.
9. Botox. As tempting as it is to get rid of the frown lines etched into my forehead (from concentrating, of course, I'm a very happy person) I think Botox is insane.
10. Cellphone. We do have one. If you count my work phone, we have two. I justified it when I was self-employed to make it easy for clients to contact me. Then it somehow just stayed. We do use a prepaid plan, which is probably less than half what a monthly plan would be, and use it minimally.
11. Lawn service. Ha ha ha. If only.
12. Clothes. I think we're worse with kids' clothes than we are with our own. It seems like we always think they need something new. I think it's parental guilt. I'm always concerned about my professional image. Does it look weird to wear the same 3 pairs of pants over and over? However, that said, I don't think I spend a lot on clothes. But like it said, could I stand to go a year with buying nothing? Probably.
How do you do on the list?
1. Bottled water. We buy it when we go on holidays, because I really do hate the taste of tap water. (I also have this weird thing about drinking water out of a bathroom tap. )But it's not an everyday thing. We have a Brita and I try to bring water along in reusable water bottles.
2. Second car. Yep, we have one. My job requires me to have a vehicle so I can do client visits. We tried staying with one vehicle for about 6 months after I started, and it was very inconvenient for Rob to never have a vehicle during the day. I think we could lose it quite easily if I had a job I could bus to. Sometimes I even enjoy the reading time on the bus.
3. Private school. No, we don't private school. They make a point that we already pay for school through our taxes, so one might say the same about homeschooling. But we have decided not to buy prepackaged curriculums, we make a lot of use of the library and internet resources. Just the cost of lunch time supervision at our old school, once Conor started school, would be many hundred dollars a year, not to mention what they charge for all sorts of little things that come up. All in all, I think it's cheaper for us to home school. However, that doesn't factor in the cost of Rob being unable to work much for pay.
4. Childhood parties. I, too, think the degree of expense in some parties are insane. We did go to that indoor park that used to be on confusion corner once, when we lived in the old house and had no room for guests. But the parties this year were low-key, in our home and I've let the kids know that we won't have parties for them every year because I think family is way more important than friends and it's okay if it's just us - we're fun too.
5. Pet grooming/walking. We've told our kids we're not sure we're responsible enough to have them, never mind another creature added to the mix. Next.
6. Daily latte. Well, not daily, but I do succumb to the lure of Timmies more often than I need to. I always make my own coffee in the morning, though.
7. Cable TV. Yes, we have it, but we really put thought into what we would actually watch and then went with MTS theme groups option rather than Shaw's full package. Could we live without it? Of course. But I don't want to. So there. Plus, we do see a lot of educational stuff with the kids, and for us that is part of homeschooling.
8. Manicure/pedicure. I have a peddy about once every 3 years. A doctor once told me I should have them regularly due to how callouses build up on my feet. Alas, they are not paid for by medicare so I must still class it as a luxury and get one when I get gift certificates.
9. Botox. As tempting as it is to get rid of the frown lines etched into my forehead (from concentrating, of course, I'm a very happy person) I think Botox is insane.
10. Cellphone. We do have one. If you count my work phone, we have two. I justified it when I was self-employed to make it easy for clients to contact me. Then it somehow just stayed. We do use a prepaid plan, which is probably less than half what a monthly plan would be, and use it minimally.
11. Lawn service. Ha ha ha. If only.
12. Clothes. I think we're worse with kids' clothes than we are with our own. It seems like we always think they need something new. I think it's parental guilt. I'm always concerned about my professional image. Does it look weird to wear the same 3 pairs of pants over and over? However, that said, I don't think I spend a lot on clothes. But like it said, could I stand to go a year with buying nothing? Probably.
How do you do on the list?
posted by Jude | 6:43 PM
2 Comments:
Cool. I like this. We do 1 obviously, as the well water is not potable but we are looking into a distiller to lower the nitrates, either way, it's an expense.
We have the second vehicle, because I for one don't want to be stuck on the farm with 5 kids and no transportation... yes, it's a luxury, could also prove to be a life saver.
The latte, rarely, even more rarely now that I am de-toxing from caffeine....
the clothes, only on a need to replace basis and always good will except for socks, delicates and sometimes shoes.
The rest of those luxuries are not a part of our lives and never have been. We're simple folk and we like it that way. I do have a calling card though, and hey, I thought *that* was a luxury :D
Moving to a small town cuts a ton out of this list! Yay for me!
Bottled water: No, our tap water is better then most bottled stuff (this comes from a water test guy)
Second car: No, although that might change once I have 3 kids in school.
Private school:No, I know a good school is not always the case in a small twon, but we are very lucky, the parents are really involved and all the staff support the idea of "we want kids to be kids for as long as possible."
Childhood parties: No, I hate birthday parties! We have never done them and the kids don't seem to care.
Pet grooming/walking: We have farm cats who recieve minimal care, plus they serve a function on our land.
Daily Latte: I wish!
Cable TV: We have satelite, but we like our tv in the winter. After this summer we have decided to look into cutting it for summer and having it only through the winter months.
Manicure/ped. : Uhh...no, I don't like others touching my feet.
Lawn service: Again I only wish!
Clothes: I love hand-me downs!
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