Your “complications” also sound similar. My husband and I have four cats and our roommate has two more, so I definitely understand about kitty expenses. But they are totally worth it. Eating right is worth it too, though I eat more veggies than filet mignon and my grocery bills have come down a lot this year by eating more simply.

We actually got our house for a good deal — I guess less than 20% of our income right now. Our mortgage is less than what some of our friends pay to rent much smaller places in locations not nearly as nice. However, at 1800 sq.ft. it’s still more room than we really need, even though only about 1300 of that is really living space due to long-term renovations that are going to cost us more than we had expected (ironically, in part because we still want more room in the kitchen and living room). It’s amazing how much even cheap houses can cost! But our solution has been to put an extra bedroom to good use and have a roommate. So far, that has worked out really well. It saves us all money.

if only everyone knew how effective vinegar & baking soda were!

thrifty grocery buyer? not me. i mean, i have a generally allocated amount per month for groceries but ive stopped reading articles like ‘how to cut your grocery bill’ or ‘eating on $15 per week’ because i LOVE food. i am lucky enough to not need to cut my food budget to survive so food is where i spend for what i want to enjoy my meals. i am very thankful for this luxury. as far as eating out though, i have a strict budget per week of “allowance” and meals out are taken from that. unless… =]

good post!

The windshield replacement would have worked well, except that the Tercel developed issues the day of. So I couldn’t get to work, and what’s more, the windshield guy didn’t show up, possibly because Matt spent so much time dithering on the phone with him about when to show up (so that he would have time to bring me to work).

As for the energy efficiency… I think this year we’ll try to save up paper garbage for burning in the wood stove. Just a little bit of a fire in there warms the whole house. Closing off rooms is only effective when you have a separate thermostat for each room, which we don’t. On the other end of the seasonal spectrum, while I could deal with the heat and humidity without too much need for central air, I suspect Matt would suffer.

I’m with you on the cell phones thing. We’re the same way. I’ve been trying to reduce my cell phone plan on T-Mobile’s website, but I think they are sticking their fingers in their ears and are ignoring me.

Did you know that when you reuse a teabag, the caffeine is brewed out in the first cup, and subsequent ones are caffeine free? It’s an easy way to naturally decaffeinate your tea if you are trying to cut out the caffeine. (Herbal Teas are typically caffeine free to begin with though) So a quick steep to lose the caffeine, then a longer one in a fresh cup to actually make tea with.

Childfree: Children are not your thing. As they’re not your thing, it makes no sense to have them, other arguments aside. As for those who do bring them into the world, it’s up to them to deal with, pay for, clean up after, etc. Eventually these children become adults who can have a positive impact of their own upon the world. Or not.

Amanda and I allocate about $50/week for groceries (total, not per person), and regularly trim our options to fit into that allotment. Try it, you’ll be surprised how far it can actually go.

Energy inefficient: part of this is the too much house. We have window units, and are pretty good about closing off just the part of the house we are cooling, and only cooling it when it is truly uncomfortably hot or humid. Electric Bills this summer have been in the $50-$60 range.

How did it go with the windshield replacement??