Q: You really should consider posting about how you two budget and save for your purchases and DIY. I’m constantly amazed at how you seem to never charge anything and how you consistently mention saving up for things. Now just tell us how you do it!! What about making the decision to replace something that still works? Is that a hard call for you guys? I never know when to live with something, replace it with something semi-cheap for the interim or save up for the big thing I actually want and go right to buying that instead of putting money towards a placeholder while I save. I’d love to know more about how you know when to save and when to splurge and how you live such a debt free life full of projects and home makeovers! -Barbara
A: First and foremost, John and I are super lucky to each come from families with famously frugal dads. So we both learned all about saving up for things, paying off our entire credit card balance, and never buying anything that we can’t afford on the day that we buy it. Of course it takes a decent amount of discipline (and it means that we’re constantly walking away from great deals & lovely things), but if we can’t afford them they’re not such good deals after all. So to honor our dads, we thought we’d post embarrassing old photos of them. Notice John’s dad’s tie- it was a Father’s Day gift John made using puffy paint… proof that paint doesn’t always make something better.
It’s funny because a lot of our stuff falls into the “simple and affordable” category (our dining table was around $150 from Target and we have a $25 thrift store chair in our den and a $30 consignment shop coffee table in the living room). So that really helps us keep money in the bank. We don’t believe in buying chintzy low-quality stuff to save a quick buck, but if there’s a chunky wood dining table at target.com with good reviews for a third as much as the one on potterybarn.com, we’re likely to go for the thrifty Tar-jay version (we’ve had our current dining table over three years and haven’t had one complaint yet).
But although we usually shop around for the best deal (and read reviews to be sure we’re not seduced by a lemon), every once in a while we do fall in love with the notion of something pricey and save for it like crazy (like our plush organic mattress or the new 2009 Altima that we saved for over the course of the past few years and then paid for in full on the day we drove it off the lot). But more on that a bit later. Basically, the key to our financial approach really is just to hold out for sales, use coupons, shop around, and aim for affordable items to mostly fill our home- and then devote a sliver of our savings to spendy stuff here or there (so we don’t feel totally deprived but also don’t drain all that money that we saved up overnight either).
Oh and living in Richmond helps! The cost of living is waaaay lower than it was in Manhattan, so years of dealing with those insanely inflated expenses makes it seem a lot easier to cut costs and save money here (since our mortgage is half of what we used to pay to rent two tiny NYC apartments). Our house was also completely affordable since it was a total fixer-upper (as in: less than 200K, you guys have seen the befores!). So we knew we could afford to put money towards fixing it up since we didn’t spend it all up front by purchasing a newly renovated casa to come home to (and since our monthly mortgage payment is a lot lower than it would have been for an already gorgeous new home in the area).
We also try to be frugal in other ways like by sharing a car, getting books from the library, making our own bagged lunches, and DIYing whatever we can (from tiling to haircuts) instead of paying an expert (you’ll see some links to other how-we-save-money posts at the bottom of this one). It’s not always glamorous, but the old a-penny-saved-is-a-penny-earned adage really rings true to us. So instead of making lots of money and spending it just as quickly, we choose to do what we love- aka: blogging- but live comfortably on less with a few simple switcheroos like haircuts at home and one dollar spaghetti dinners.
As for what we do when it comes to replacing something that works but still bothers us (like a functional old fridge that’s big and yellowed and probably not terribly energy efficient) we just save our pennies up if it truly makes us cringe. Once we have enough to actually afford a new one without putting it on a credit card that we won’t be able to pay off right away (which makes us feel so guilty that we wouldn’t enjoy the spurge) we go for it. Oh and we always sell the working thing that we’ll be replacing on Craigslist so we don’t send it off to a landfill. Plus then we get a bit of money for it (which we can mentally put towards our upgraded version, so it feels even more affordable in the long run).
We’ve learned that in our case it’s never smart to buy something cheap for the interim just to tide us over because we end up hating the fact that we spent money on something that’s just a placeholder for the real thing that we want (and we would rather have waited and put our money towards the forever-item instead of some temporary solution). This is a personal thing though, so if replacing your cringeworthy chandelier with a $50 version from Home Depot will help tide you over while you save for the $250 beauty that you’ll love forever, then it might be the best approach for you. Just think about what makes you happy and what you can honestly afford and try to weigh the pros and cons to come up with a plan that feels right for your situation.
We also always talk a lot before taking on a major room makeover to be sure that we’re both on the same page about how much we’ll spend. For example, after a lot of chatting and number crunching we guessed that we’d spend 3-5K on the bathroom remodel- and were totally surprised when we got it done for $1800 by doing all the labor ourselves and hunting down some amazing deals. So in the case of the big bathroom reno, we saved our pennies until we had 5K sitting there in our high yield savings account and ended up super happy to just spend the 1800- which meant we could move on to our nursery makeover with extra funds already on hand… which is always a bonus!
We actually find that we overestimate things a lot more often than we go over our budget- which we’re very thankful for- but we still like to save up all the money and make sure it’s in the bank just in case we don’t come in under budget (it would be super stressful if we only saved two thirds of what we needed for a project just because we assumed we were overestimating again). Oh and there’s a bonus to having our renovation dollars in the bank before we start. We’ve found that it takes a lot of stress and anxiety out of the equation, so the project is a lot more fun.
Take the nursery makeover for example, we went into it thinking that we’d spend around $1500 since we needed totally new furniture and accessories (like a crib, mattress, dresser, chair, ottoman, rug, curtains, chandelier, lamp, art, etc). But thanks to some deal hunting we’ve actually done everything from scoring a $20 thrift store chair and a $20 Craigslist dresser to hunting down a clearance rug and chandelier- which makes us confident that we’ll get ‘er done without reaching or exceeding our budget. Who knows, we might just come in substantially under if we’re lucky. It really does pay to spend the time pounding the pavement for the best deals and trolling places like Craigslist for solid well made furniture that you can refinish (a lot of which is much better quality than the cheap stuff that companies churn out today). See how the Craigslist dresser below turned out after we made it over with some stain, some paint, and some elbow grease.
All told, we probably spend between five and ten percent of our total income on home improvements (not bad considering that we’re pretty much constantly painting something or pulling up at Home Depot). But that’s just a rough approximation and it’s a really personal thing so each family should look at their bank account and their house to figure out what budget and home improvement priorities are the most important to them. Plus it’s kind of our job now (since I’m a full time home blogger we need to constantly take on projects to sustain our site). So because it’s such a high priority in our life, we go out of our way to save a lot of money in other areas, like by having just one car that’s fully paid off.
We drove a ten year old Maxima for four years with over 170,000 miles on it until we could save enough cash to fully pay for a safer-for-the-baby 2009 Altima, which we did a few months ago (yeah, that was a fun day). So making sacrifices and cutting costs in other areas has allowed us to save money which we use to pay things off completely (instead of continually laying out cash each month for a car payment or a credit card bill that we just can’t squash). And of course we do save a bundle on the transportation front by making the decision to be a one car household, so we can save all the money that might otherwise go towards purchasing, insuring and gassing up a second car.
We know the way that we save and pay things off is rare. And we know that there are probably people reading this post who have no idea how on earth two people like us could save up for renos before we do them or pay off a new car the day they drive it off the lot (hint: it’s not because we make a lot of money- in fact by national averages we fall way below the average income level, even in our area). So we’ll share this factoid about our spending habits. We’re insanely frugal in many areas where other “normal” people are not. A nice meal out for us is a once monthly trip to Chipotle. We probably spend about $10 a month on clothing (combined, and some months it’s zero). In fact I’ve spent less than $20 on my entire maternity wardrobe (thanks to generous friends and family members who have passed their leftovers my way). We’ve even begun to make our own cleaning products to save more money in that area and we already mentioned that we give each other haircuts instead of paying a professional.
So before you think it’s totally impossible to save a few hundred dollars a month towards some big reno goal or some dream furnishings that you’ve had your eye on, consider whether you can cut anything out at all (from that Starbucks coffee to that monthly haircut). And if you want to save even more, try going a whole month without buying clothing or going out to eat. All of a sudden you’ll see that it’s not that hard to save money once you really decide to make a major change. Heck, you can even downgrade from two cars to one (and start carpooling or riding your bike). Or you can even sell your expensive vehicle for something a bit older with more miles on it (trading car glamour for house glamour isn’t a foreign concept to us since we drove our last car into the ground and sold it to Carmax with nearly 200,000 miles on it when we finally had enough saved up to replace it).
In general our advice is just never to spend beyond your means and to take the time to save for items and projects that are truly important to you… instead of frittering away funds by grabbing a bunch of cheap accessories (but they’re on sale!) that you don’t need every time you walk into a store. Resist the urge! Really, if we don’t have the money in savings that we’re talking about spending then we just don’t spend it. Instead we use paint and other items that we already have around the house for some free mini makeovers to tide us over. And we’re always sure to take our time hunting down the best deals while our savings account grows (even doing things like hosting a garage sale or selling unnecessary items on Craigslist to make money to put towards our latest goal). And it seems to work for us- so we certainly hope that it does for you guys as well. Happy saving (and smart spending) to you and yours!
Oh and we’d love to hear how you save your pennies (any envelope system peeps out there?) or how you live well on less income. Share and share alike!
Pssst- To learn more about how we pinch pennies here at Casa Petersik check out our Save It series (read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, and Part 3 here) and find even more money saving ideas right here. Oh and this post about living with less (along with this one and this one) might help too.
Renae says
I’ve been reading your blog recently and was fairly surprised to hear how financially responsible you are … just because so many people aren’t these days I guess. My hubbie and I had saved up to buy a place in Seattle and then moved across state where houses are much cheaper, so even though I took a pay cut and he’s not working we still have a lot in savings which has helped. We have credit cards that give us pretty significant cash back and pay them in full every month. Other ways we save – no cable, watch TV online, try to make coffee at home, and I’m working on the DIY idea.
It’s really refreshing to hear there are other frugal people out there and I’m excited to read your other posts!!
Andrea says
Applause for buying your car outright! But don’t you worry about what you’ll do if there’s an emergency after Baby P arrives, and you have no way to get to the hospital? I’m a new mom and it totally freaked me out …
Love the blog!
YoungHouseLove says
Good question! John will be taking a nice long paternity leave so we’ll both be home with the car and the bean for a while. And once he goes back to work we’ll probably just play it by ear (since some days a friend or family member will visit so he can take the car, while other days he can carpool with his sister who drives right by our house and also works downtown). Either way we’ll be sure the bean and I always have a means of transportation in case of an emergency. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Begoña says
I’m totally with you (except that thing about home haircuts, I’m too afraid of doing something really terrible to my hair, so I preffer to pay for it, but just two or three times a year, but I dye it at home). I dont ever ever ever spend more money a month than my month income, and if, for some reason, like a car breakdown that needs to be fixed, I have to I make sure I replace the money the next month. I save money every month as an imperative and wait to buy the things I want till I know I can pay for them right away, without leaving my account bankrupt. I’m ok about having a mortgage but that’s the only thing I will pay in monthly instalments. I think that living like people is used too, without their means, it’s just insane. Having a maid, go out for dinner or order food every two days, having a expensive car, buy clothes every week, have luxury furniture or go vacation to exotic place is way out of my means. So, I say: GO FRUGAL LIFE!!! (You should print t-shirts with that, i’ll buy one, lol)
Sheena says
It’s so nice to see people who are in financial peace. I believe that Americans are so numb to debt, and everybody thinks car payments and credit card payments are normal. I’m a HUGE Dave Ramsey fan, and believe in paying for things in cash. I’m 100% debt free and am going to stay that way!
I use a monthly budget that I stick to like glue and a electronic envelope system. (I pay for everything with my debit card, sometimes cash, but it all comes out it’s respective “envelope”). I never knew how liberating a budget could be! Now I know where all my money goes before I spend it and it makes big purchases much more attainable and enjoyable.
Erin says
I love saving for projects and purchases with SmartyPig. I love that there is a company out there that supports wise spending; save before you buy. Not all financial businesses are wishing for you to fail.
jlyn says
GREAT post :) And I’ve been a curious one too–so thanks for taking the time to open up & answer this question…
But I’ve got yet ANOTHER question for you that relates to spending…obviously you both have a fabulous eye for finding ‘deals’. I’d love to know how you decide WHAT you are going to buy, especially when you spend SO MUCH TIME gazing at other beautiful homes. For example, in the photo of your living/dining room in this post, how’d you decide on THAT coffee table? Could you share your process? And do you ever become dissatisfied with your casa (even though you love it) after you spend all day trudging through the likes of Pottery Barn, ZGallerie, etc.?
I think that a lot of our “spending habits” trend back to our ‘dissatisfaction’ with what we DO have. And you guys seem to avoid that by buying only pieces you LOVE. So if you have time (you know, between decorating, running a blog, & birthing a human), could you share some tips for finding those STAR pieces & STAYING in love with them?
YoungHouseLove says
Our biggest tip would just be to take the time to pin down your style and learn what you love so you’re not seduced by items that won’t work in your home (or things that you’ll grow tired of quickly). One easy way to do this is to rip out inspiration images from magazines and study them for commonalities. We actually have a post about this planned for sometime in the next few months but if you just can’t wait peruse some of the posts on our How To page under the “Decorating Lessons” category for more advice. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Taylor says
I’m digging these tips and think it’s really great of you guys to be so open on the Internet!
I’m wondering what you guys think about travel. Obviously, you run this blog so I’m sure you must love being at home, but is traveling something that interests you/do you save money toward big trips (along the lines of your Alaska honeymoon)?
YoungHouseLove says
We do love to travel and definitely saved up for our big Alaskan honeymoon for a while. We haven’t taken any major trips since then by plane, but we love a road trip (we drove to Texas last August and to an island off the Florida coast two years ago- and we often visit friends in Charlotte and New York and Atlanta too). Plus driving saves us from the cost of a flight and allows us to have a vehicle with us without paying for a rental. And Burger can easily come along (we’re crossing our fingers that the beanette is a good traveler too) and we love being in the car together. We’re always up for an adventure and we truly believe we don’t have to book an expensive cruise or fly to Europe (although those things can be amazing) to have fun, reconnect and unplug for a bit.
xo,
s
Nicole says
Everyone seems to bring up the haircut point, but if you don’t have a friend/partner with haircutting skills – check out a local beauty school! There is an Aveda school near where I live and I can get my haircut for $18 (well $20, the students only make money via tips) and it looks great! It takes an hour or two longer, but they are all supervised by instructors and I have never been dissatisfied with my haircut! I also am lazy about cutting my hair and don’t get it done often…but $20 is almost as cheap as my husband’s haircut at Supercuts! (where there is a student discount by the way!)
Angela says
I saw all those comments about the car and it got me thinking. I thought you didn’t have a license. Did you renew it?
YoungHouseLove says
I always have a license! I do make sure to renew it and drive occasionally enough to stay “proficient” but it’s definitely fair to say that John is the primary driver in our household- and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
xo,
s
selina says
You probably don’t read every comment but I just want to say I am so proud of you guys (OK I sound like a grandma -I’m only 33) but there are NOT a lot of people out there like you guys. In this day and age everyone seems to want things immediately and can’t seem to wait till they can actually afford it. They don’t want to buy a small plant that can turn into a beautiful tree they need the beautiful expensive tree NOW. OK- I could go on but wont – you guys are so refreshing and thank you for such a well written post.
Amelia says
We used to think we had to have stuff we couldn’t afford, but now we adhere to the same practices you guys do. In addition, I’ve really come to realize that we are wasteful people, which has totally changed my attitude. In short, anything I can buy used, I do. 100% of the clothing purchases we have made have been used (and I always look good), and I also get my hair done at the beauty school. I went today and got a color, cut, and style for $30. And I only fork that out when my roots are O.O.Ceee! :)Also, I take full advantage of the local university’s free gym- classes and all!
Eva Kristjansdottir says
I loved to read your money saving tips! In my household it’s very similar, we only buy things we can afford and we don’t find it difficult to save up for the things we need. My best money saving tip is only to buy things that you know you really really like and always think “where will this item be in 5 years time? will I still want to have it”. And it also helps to think about the environment, being green and saving money often goes together… For example, buying used stuff and selling things you don’t want. And the good part is, that buying something old and fixing it up is far more satisfying than paying the big bucks to buy something new.
Brittany Jones says
Thank you so much for your inspiration! It’s so refreshing to read your blog knowing that you are doing things the right way. It’s real; not a facade. I appreciate all your money tips and am inspired to be better myself.
Katie Maland says
It was nice to read about your money saving tips. My husband and I are the envelope system people. It seems to work great for us and has allowed us to be able to feel stress free about updating our home. It’s nice to know that you guys are like the rest of us and living a budget and save up for things.
Rachael Goodman says
Can you please post how you make your own cleaning supplies? I have heard white vinegar and water is a good all purpose cleaner. The only problem I run into (and maybe this is me being OCD) what to use to clean the bath tub. I usually use clorox spray but I know the chemicals are bad for you. I have two young children so the tub is used very frequently. I worry though if the tub is cleaned sufficiently with all natural cleaners. Please help!
YoungHouseLove says
We actually already did a huge post about that, so just follow this link: https://www.younghouselove.com/2009/10/clean-up-your-act-all-natural-homemade-cleaners/
And here’s another post with more all natural homemade recipes: https://www.younghouselove.com/2010/03/real-simple-solutions/
Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Andrea says
I never comment on anyone’s blog, but I just had to mention I love your posts about living frugally and pinching pennies. My husband and I fixed up our first house while I was still in college full time and living on an income of under $35,000 a year. Although that was nearly 7 years ago now, our frugal ways of living have stuck with us. Our friends just do not seem to get how we live and it’s very hard to explain. They make fun of us for only having basic cable, not texting, not having an iphone and having cheap slow DSL internet, but they also don’t realize it saves us well over $100 a month and we LIKE not being so connected with the world so we can stay more connected with each other and our two little ones.
Anyway…keep up the good work. It’s MUCH harder to live frugal with a baby around, especially a little girl. For awhile, I threw all my frugalness out the window…of course she needs that adorable $70 dress for Easter! ;P
Allison says
I totally agree with this! I have a very specific way that I handle my money. I ended up having tons of money in my savings last year, that I didn’t even know existed the year before! It is really not that hard, but I am definitely going to take away a few helpful hints from this post because I could definitely be better about it!
I am totally one of those people that buy things as I see them, instead of taking the project at hand and focusing on that. Aren’t you afraid you are going to miss out on that perfect accessory for a spruce-up you will be doing in 6 months, or do you just wait until the time comes and search out more accessories???
PS- I am DEFINITELY one of those envelope people :) I have soo many and I know it is not a practical thing for a lot of people, but it has worked incredibly well for me to keep all the savings categories separate!
YoungHouseLove says
We definitely walk away from a ton of accessories that we love, even if they’re super cheap. But if we see something that we just have to have and we’re confident it’ll fit with our decor (even if we don’t know where it’ll go) we’ll grab it (assuming we have the money for it of course). It’s definitely a delicate balance of walking away from cute stuff 9 out of 10 times in exchange for saving tons more a month, but we do occasionally get something we adore when it really speaks to us and it works within our budget. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Laura says
My husband and I have a slightly different take on the “placeholder” idea–when we really need a placeholder, we pick up something off of Craigslist, with the intention of reposting it on there a few months later for a roughly similar price to the one we purchased it at.
For instance, we just bought a new house, which didn’t come with a refrigerator. We definitely needed a refrigerator right away. We know that we’ll be doing a fairly substatial kitchen remodel (though we haven’t agreed on exactly how substantial) in the next year or so, but we haven’t decided on most of the details of the new kitchen. Rather than trying to map out right away what color appliances we want, where we want the fridge to be located and what dimensions it will need to be, etc., we bought a 12 year old refrigerator off of craigslist. It’s not going to depreciate much more in the next 12 months than it’s already depreciated in the previous 12 years, so we should be able to resell it for roughly our purchase price. It’s a bit of hassel in terms of arranging appointments and moving the thing, but that’s a small price to pay for a refrigerator!
marybeth @ www.babygoodbuys.com says
You are so inspiring! My husband and I save money like you two do, and we buy what we want AFTER we have the money for it.
I just found your blog and I’m finding tons and tons of ideas for my own 50-year-old home, and I’m looking forward to getting to work on it!
Jess says
We use a cash budget, also known as the envelope system, and it’s been amazing! We know exactly how much we can spend on things like groceries, clothing, etc. I’m the type of person who needs to see how much money I have left, as groceries can actually add up quickly, and going out to eat is killer. One great thing about this system is that if you want to save more money for something at certain times of the year, you can easily tweak your budget to fit those needs/desires. Plus I scored a great wallet at a flea market that has built in dividers!
osarah says
My first two years out of college (2006-8), I made about $14,000/year. I was single and honestly, I knew I didn’t make much, but I never really felt it. I lived in an older apartment complex with 3 girls from my church who I didn’t know prior to moving in. My portion of the rent was $300/month. I spent about $60/week on groceries and about $70/month (guessing) on gas. I spent $125/month on student loans. I had a gym membership for $25/month. Utilities split among my roommates ran somewhere between $20 and $50/month – I honestly can’t remember. That still left $300 or so per month of flexible spending.
I used the envelope system for these two years to allocate for monthly bills and saving and was even able to save up enough money to afford roundtrip airfare to Germany to visit my then boyfriend now husband, who had just gotten stationed there (Army).
Although I wouldn’t use the envelope system now, it was really useful to me at the time, and I never spent more than I had.
bfish says
I really respect your money management skills and wish mine were better — we’ll be trying much harder to emulate you.
As a long-time homeowner and DIYer, I have a question — when you do a room renovation (e.g. kitchen, bathroom) are you aiming for something you’ll live with a long time or do you figure that you’ll save up in the future and remodel again? I ask because (with all due respect) the vessel sink in your master bath strikes me as a look that will not be in style forever. (Plus it would seem less practical for little kids to use as it’s so much higher to reach.) Relating this to money management, one way over time to be able to save up for major purchases is to choose not only buy quality, but also a look that will stand the test of time (makes for less re-doing down the road).
YoungHouseLove says
We definitely try to choose things that are classic and that will work for the long haul for the most part. Trendy for-now decorating just strikes us as a waste of money in most cases. In our bathroom we actually avoided a glass shower door because we thought a curtain was more kid friendly. We also can see how the vanity & sink design that we went with might not strike you as the most timeless choice, but the dark wood and the white sink felt simple and clean enough for our tastes so we’re confident that we’ll like it for a nice long while. We also debated a raised bowl sink (you know, the ones that look like a giant fruit bowl on the counter) but we worried that it would be harder to reach and easier to bonk a little kid chin on. So instead we picked the sink that we did because the top of the sink is the exact height of any standard vanity (so it’s not any taller or harder to reach) and it has less protruding edges than the bowl-sink option. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
bfish says
Many thanks for the additional info on your bathroom — that is interesting and certainly fits with your thoughtful shopping strategy! Admittedly I’m a traditionalist when it comes to bathroom fixtures, esp. in an old house. We need to remodel the main bath in our late 1920s house (the room isn’t much bigger than yours) so am having fun researching online.
We’ve been in this house 23 years so far and it feels like the forever house to me. Do you think it’s crazy to eliminate the bathtub and install a large shower instead? There isn’t room for both. In other words, this is based on assumption that this is the last house and to us, a bathtub has no utility whereas a shower does (obviously a case of personal preference!).
YoungHouseLove says
It’s really your call but it sounds like it makes really good sense for you! Many people prefer showers to tubs so even as far as resale is concerned it shouldn’t be too risky (remember, you only need one buyer to make a sale). And until then it sounds like a shower will really work out nicely for you!
xo,
s
osarah says
I just had to follow up on this. I came back to this post, because my blog stats showed I got a referral from this site and I figured it was from a comment I made. I just had to laugh when I read my comment “Although I wouldn’t use the envelope system now…” Guess what my husband and I started 10 days ago? Oh yes, the envelope system. Haha. Hurray!
Vangie says
Thanks for the great money saving tips! I read every post on your blog about how to save those pennies. I have two little girls that make it a little bit harder to keep the $$ in the bank, but they are also a huge reason why I want to save. Will you be posting any more tips now that you have sweet little Clara and how you both continue to save?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, we actually have a baby-related save money post in the hopper. Stay tuned!
xo,
s
Caitlin says
Your family is seriously an inspiration for me. My husband and I live in Memphis and bought our first home this past April (a little 1950s ranch style that luckily came with a few sweet renovations) and we’re living on one income. We are slowly but surely painting, decorating, and adding our own touches to make this cozy place OURS. We are debt free (sans mortgage) and drive a little 2000 Daewoo hatchback that my grandfather gave me for my 16th birthday (haha! but hey, it works!).
I found your site through a friend and as of today, I am adding your blog to my daily blog list. Please keep up the wonderful work and enjoy your beautiful home! :)
Erin says
I use the envelope system (except I actually use paperclips) and it’s the only thing that’s worked for me!
Leanne says
This is the reason that I love your blog so much! I am a new reader and love seeing all that you have done with money that you actually have. Great job! I look forward to reading more!
Tamiko says
This post was so heartening and inspirational. I’m in the market for a home and am wondering how on earth to save for the small to large fixes that a home will require. Your candor makes saving for it all seem possible. Thank you!
Ashleigh says
You guys are so great! My husband and I are just now beginning to live a frugal life. We’re using a budget and an envelope system and trying to become debt free so that one day soon we can buy a house and make it ours like y’all have done. (Dave Ramsey, woot!) This post drove it home that you don’t have to live like hobos to be smart with your money. I really applaud you both for not buying into the notion that we have to go into debt to be happy or that we deserve to have everything we want right away (we’ve vowed to never have a car payment). I hope that my husband and I will get into our financial groove quickly and follow your lead!
Kellie says
Glad I finally don’t feel like the “weird one” because of how frugal I am! I’ve been able to live on my own for over a year on my savings alone, without a job, a 6 month relocation in Cali and with a car payment. I do like to buy nice things every now and then but won’t do it if I don’t have any money coming in.
Thanks for making me feel a bit more normal!
Misty says
I truly love your site and am always finding inspiration from you all. My husband and I bought our house almost a year ago (in April), it is over 80 years old. As I was reading this post I felt I should respond and let you know we feel the same way when it comes to budgeting for our projects. We became a one car family (which will be paid off in a year) by selling our other car and trading in our other one for my dream car (2006 Volvo XC70). We got such a great deal and will pay it off in less than a year. I walk to work each day, we live in the Midwest and that means even in the winter. My husband is a full time student and we have a bus stop at the end of our street so he takes the bus each day. We either walk or bike to the grocery store (depending on the weather) and to the library where we rent free movies and library books. I also make our own cleaning supplies and laundry detergent. I make it a point to buy what we need and am definitely not an impulse buyer. I am sooo patient and can wait so long for the right price. It is amazing how much you can save from not buying clothes each month. One thing my mother taught me was a classic sense of style which never it outdated, so by wearing classic pieces you don’t have to buy clothes every month.I never pay full price for the things I do buy, I love consignment shops and goodwill stores (I found a pair of tailored J crew jeans for $2.00) I am so glad to read that we are not the only ones out there who live this way. It is definitely refreshing to see that frugality is spreading.
Heather says
We pack our lunches every day, but I think it’s difficult to choose a variety of portable, affordable, healthy food (especially when one of us won’t have access to a microwave.) I like bringing yogurt and a variety of fruit and fresh veggies. My husband works a construction job and isn’t about to sit down to a strawberry greek yogurt … any suggestions of how to avoid the sodium train of deli meat and chips? (AKA, what can I pack with his apple??)
YoungHouseLove says
Maybe an almond butter or peanut butter sandwich (on wheat bread)? Or something like a grilled chicken sandwich made from leftovers from the night before? Anyone else have ideas for Heather?
xo,
s
Amy says
Hi! I just wanted to say that I LOVE this site. I’m still not sure how I found it, but once I did, I saved it to my favorites (after exploring it for 2+ hours!).
Anyway, my tip to others is to try living without TV. My husband and I cut it out of our lives when we moved in together for the very first time (the poorest we’ve ever been!) -We were married very young and learned quickly how to live within our means! I am so grateful for that now. Anyway, when we bought our house last year, we decided to continue living without TV since we had already adjusted to life without it! We do have Netflix, and I watch all my shows online.
Anyway, that’s my tip- hope it helps. I can’t tell you enough how great your site is & how much I would LOVE to do this for a profession. Home renovations & frugal living is my passion!! :)
Liz says
I love this post! My husband and I have been married for almost two years and we really want to start saving money and setting goals that we can accomplish. I found really good tips on your blog for saving money and we feel really motivated to start saving money.I just have one question, how do you spend $10 a month on clothes??
YoungHouseLove says
I have what I need, so most months I don’t buy anything. Maybe a cardigan on clearance from Target for $9. Or a pair of flip flops for $4 the next month. And if I do spend $20 on a clearance skirt or pair of dress pants that I need, I usually just wear all the clothes I have for the next month or maybe even two, so I’m not constantly trying on or buying clothing to make up for the $20 I spent the previous month. Hope that makes sense!
xo,
s
martha says
My parents have that exact same dresser… the exact same one… they’ve had it since god only knows when, definitely since the early 80’s though. lol. So funny seeing it on a website.
Carshena says
I’m not alone. My family also drives one car, which we also saved our pennies for. A 2005 Honda CR-V. And my husband also cuts his and my son’s hair. And you should see how much money I have spent on my two kids Christmas gifts. I have three words for you: clearance, clearance, clearance! I’m so glad I’m not the only cheap-o in the world!
jadie says
I know this post is old but I hope you get notified of new comments!
I love your tips! We do almost everything you mentioned, and have been saving for our first home. We actually are about to move into a rental (a 60s home that has had one owner, and about that many updates hehe) that we will have the option to buy if we want. I have a question if it’s not too personal… What was your strategy with buying your home? How much (percentage wise) did you save for your down payment? Our goal is 20% but sometimes it seems pretty discouraging, especially when you start to find out how uncommon that is. Any first-time home buying tips you care to share I’d love to hear!
Thank you so much!
YoungHouseLove says
We were both huge savers when we met and started dating in NY, so we had a pretty nice NY salary cushion built up. And our first house was incredibly inexpensive (it started with a 1) so we were actually able to put down 30%. Like you though, we had saved money for years in NY (not necessarily for a house in VA, but when we started talking about starting our lives together and leaving the city, we were glad we had saved for all those years). All of this is to say, I think you’re incredibly smart to save as much as you can and it’s definitely not an overnight thing, but you’ll get there! And your mortgage payments will be so much more manageable if you do!
xo,
s
Melanie says
I applaud your penny-pinching tips, but I think what gets lost in translation is that everything costs, if not money, then time. With the downturned economy, saving money is more important than ever, but with employers squeezing more from their employees – or cutting pay, as in the case of John – something’s got to give and I have neither time nor money. My husband and I both work full time in the Northeast and have a young son not much younger than Clara. By the time we both put in 10-11-hour days, with me commuting an hour and a half away, “one car” is not really an option. I like to live green too, but I often can’t afford the “green” options, and often don’t have time to DIY, either. I barely have enough time to do the basics of daily maintenance cleaning, etc. — let alone for fixer-upper projects. I have yet to pursue anything on Craigslist or Freecycle that has not been an enormous time-waster (no-shows, etc.). I like your blog but I don’t think it reflects reality for a majority of people struggling out here.
YoungHouseLove says
We definitely agree that our blog is only an accurate representation of one family: ours! We’ve heard from many folks who also live with one car, shop on craigslist, and buy fixer uppers (tons of them have commented on this post) but we’re certain that those choices won’t work well for everyone out there. While one person might have a great experience with craigslist or be able to live with one car, that might not be an option for another family. So we definitely don’t think the way we live is the right way or the only way – it’s just what works for us. As for affording “green” options, we only buy two things that we use to clean our entire house for about $20 a year (they’re concentrated so one bottle lasts forever!). Maybe this post about that will help!
xo,
s
Elizabeth says
this post was exactly what i needed to read at the moment. my husband and I share the exact views you do, and it is hard. we just moved into our first home, so we’re just on the cusp of getting everything decorated. it’s a brand new house, so it’s definitely a blessing that we’re just looking at sparse furniture and walls and not huge fix-ups. we do the envelope system (dave ramsey) except for gas. and though the last couple of months we’ve sort of…gotten off track i’ll say…you two have inspired a re-dedication. thanks so much for sharing!
Lauren says
Thanks for your post! My husband and I live on a tight, military budget (he’s in the Navy). While I wish we could have one car, but due to his job that’s not an option. Fortunately we both came into the marriage with 2 paid off cars! We’re saving to get a larger, more fuel efficient car and plan on paying for it completely when we drive it off the lot. Our cell phone plan has a very low data plan, so if we are at home, we use our wi-fi on our phones. I do most of the shopping and plan our grocery store needs by couponing and weekly ads. We turned our Netflix account into the only online streaming – so for $8 a month, we can watch anything we want. Movies that we can’t find on Netflix, we get at the library- also how we keep our ravenous book habit at bay. We only spend what we have, and pay off our credit card bill online every two weeks. Keeping that up makes us look at our purchases consistently. We save at the beginning of each paycheck, rather than what’s left over. I agree- everyone has a plan that works for one family. Their own. :)
Tracie says
Thank you for being so honest! I love to hear the nitty-gritty details and understand exactly how you can do amazing renovations. So often, people are too vague but I like to talk dollars and cents and pennies! It gives me a better understanding of what I can do. Thanks again!!
Andrea W. says
I really learn a lot reading your Saving Money posts since I’m in grad school and trying to be a good saver. How did you decide to sell with CarMax? I’m considering doing the same and trust your guys’ mad research skills :)
YoungHouseLove says
We went to a few dealers and got quotes (which were much lower) and then got a Carmax quote and it was comparable to what others were privately selling similar cars for (on Craigslist, through personal ads, etc) and it was faster and easier so we just drive there and did it within an hour.
xo
s