Yeh most our summer is spent at home. We run a small landscaping company and between that and the homestead doesn't leave too much time for frolicking lol. We are going to go see the Bf's niece motorcross race in a few weeks and go hike some waterfalls thank god waterfalls are free.

 

I rarely go out. If I'm going into town to get something, it's either on the way home from work or on my lunch break. I rarely make a special trip. Generally, once I'm home, I'm home for the rest of the day.

 

Wifey and myself will be walking the whole 3 blocks to our local saloon for a $20 night "out on the town" lols. "Town" consists of under 800 residents.........

 

man, that sounds awesome.

 

I'm unable to store beer long-term.

 

Ditto! ....My Guiness is gone.

 

Before the bad economy hit, I was eating out, perhaps three breakfasts, three lunches, and maybe four or five dinners a week!

I cut back...

Helped me pick up a lot of AR parts. I've got a bad habit of tipping generously.

Now we eat out a whole lot less. I do hit the lobster and prime rib buffet every other week, and it was good cutting back on meals in resturants, for a while, but increases in food prices, and gas sorta ate up that glut of savings.

 

Before the bad economy hit, I was eating out, perhaps three breakfasts, three lunches, and maybe four or five dinners a week!

Helped me pick up a lot of AR parts. I've got a bad habit of tipping generously.

Now we eat out a whole lot less. I do hit the lobster and prime rib buffet every other week, and it was good cutting back on meals in resturants, for a while, but increases in food prices, and gas sorta ate up that glut of savings.

I do save enough every month to the extent that I can comfortably eat out a few times a month. But I don't. Not only do I spend little on lunch during the workweek, I tend to eat out at relatively inexpensive places. I had dinner w/ a very good friend this past Thursday - I think it was the first time in all of May I had a social eating-out event. I have dinner tomorrow evening with friends but that was planned as one of these friends is visiting from out of town.

I now budget all these things. There are times I simply resist the urge to go to the $20 all-you-can-eat in town because I already spent that much or even more the week before (or will be spending that much or even more shortly afterwards) on dinner with friends. And the fact I don't want to get fat also helps.

Can I afford to go out and eat out more often? Yes, I can. My budgeting/saving lifestyle now enables me to do that. But I don't. Even today, I went to the bank in the morning, bought a $2 cup of coffee, and was tempted to buy something to eat. I didn't. I came home, opened a can of stew, popped it in the microwave, and voila, no need to spend money on lunch.

 

My DH has been out of town on business for 3 nihts. It will be nice to stay in w him tonight.

 

Umm... Yeah!! For more reasons than one!!

 

I'm a homebody most of the time and love it.

 

I don't have to try to stay home, I prefer too. I have a very nice shop and can always find something to do. I don't socialize much.

 

I have so many books to read it's ridiculous. The wife and I are pretty happy reading together on the couch with some music in the background. I can spend $40 on a new book that will teach me something valuable and meaningful for decades to come, or we can spend $100 going out for dinner and drinks. I've been spending a lot more time reading over the last 5 years and I feel like I'm enriching myself and my family, instead of the local restaurant, club or bar.

 

I got more than 20 books in my pipeline. Documentaries and news articles (on the economy, the government's doings, and other current affairs) get in the way.

Saw 3 documentaries today and read up a bit. Will stay up quite late tonight reading. Ah the joys of reading.

 

I used to do it all the time back when I had very little money and I was working 12 hour shifts on a 4 on, 4 off roster. My aim was to keep the car in the driveway for 3 of those four days, because if my car wasn't in the driveway, it meant I was spending money.

Day 1 was sleep and recovery, day 2 was washing and cleaning, day 3 was any other odd jobs around the house, day 4 was the weekly shopping excursion.

 

I have a giant hole in my pocket syndrome.

Since November, I have changed quite a bit.

Now that I actually know what I want to spend my money on, I spend it on those things only.

Upgrading the van, cheap ass beer and cheap ass food.

When the van is all upgraded, I will change spending tactics, yet again.

I am obsessed with books, and would love to have my own two story library, but I will not allow that to ever happen.

I do not own BOL, but my BOV is coming along well.

One day, a BOL might be purchased. Wether it will have 'stores' for years, that remains to be seen. I am 28 and seem to just get into worse luck as I age.

I can spend 10 or more hours reading online, or paper books...all weekend.

I have always made little weekend lists, just to make sure I actually 'accomplished' some 'outside' chores.

I enjoy doing laundry, and just preparing/cleaning/planning. I am a very mental person, so it comes easily.

Being social, usually just drains me.

Seeing a movie, or going to a buffet and eating five or more plates by myself is a big weekend treat for me, when I can afford it, and that is rarely, as I am going through a revelatory and painful poverty phase this year so far.

 

I have a giant hole in my pocket syndrome.

Since November, I have changed quite a bit.

Now that I actually know what I want to spend my money on, I spend it on those things only.

Upgrading the van, cheap ass beer and cheap ass food.

When the van is all upgraded, I will change spending tactics, yet again.

I am obsessed with books, and would love to have my own two story library, but I will not allow that to ever happen.

I do not own BOL, but my BOV is coming along well.

One day, a BOL might be purchased. Wether it will have 'stores' for years, that remains to be seen. I am 28 and seem to just get into worse luck as I age.

When I was your age, I'd just split with the missus and had to pay child support for 3 kids, the youngest of whom was only 3 at the time.

In the meantime, I've scrounged and saved, I've got a nice start on that 2 story library and I've managed to buy my own house and start saving for another.

You're still young, there's plenty of time left. Don't panic! :thumb:

 

You're talking to a solo mother. The way I see it, that salami and six pack are money you must have lots of.

I have no money for alcohol. i have no money for anything. I have no money for socialising. I have decided I have the money for karate and the gym however - otherwise I will go mad.

Every penny I earn goes to bills. Yay.

 

I stay home ALOT! That being said I live in a very small town (less than 400 people) so there is not alot of socializing things to do here. I do however enjoy staying home and honestly prefer it. While I am far from rich I have found living in a small town, which is cheap to live in, and working hard, which I do, can leave plenty of money to buy preps or do other projects around the house.

I lived in Colorado Springs for a spell and about crapped when I saw how much houses go for out in the city. I wanted to own a home and didn't think it was gonna happen out there so I moved back to my home area and found a 3 bedroom house with 2 car garage and 3/4 fenced in backyard for under 20,000 dollars! The amount of money I spent eating out all the time was ridiculous. I think that's why I love to stay home so much anymore.

 

I usually stay home on the weekends, unless it's to go to a few yard sales or the necessary grocery shopping trip. I content and comfortable staying at home. Doing odd little projects around the house, or now working on the garden. When I can spend a weekend at home w/o spending any money is a great feeling.

 

I completely agree. Staying home is good and cheap. When I go to the shops it is for the weekly groceries and the necessary purchases and paying bills etc. Then I come straight home for lunch. If I stay out any longer I end up buying coffee and things I don't need.

It is an excellent strategy for saving money. :thumb:

 

My wife and I stay home alot, but we get out regularly and go fishing or we do camping trips. Our next camping trip in TN will also be when we meet with some people about doing the septic, well, and building our retirement / BO Cabin

 

Today happens to be one of the very infrequent days off I get from working two jobs and I really enjoy being at home where it's nice and quiet. I deal with the public and some major league sheeple coworkers, so the occasional day off becomes a blessing to stay home, veg out, sit around in some shorts and do as little as possible. And I like it that way!!!

 

The more I think about it I don't actually stay home nowadays to save money. I stay home because it's a preference, saving money while doing so is just a perk!:thumb:

 

This is a good topic. I work in the bar and grill industry and its
hard to keep up with the "I wanna be rich" thing that's goin on.

I too drink a bunch before I go out, but still spend money when I
go out and TIP well. I guess people still go out to eat and drink
but see a lot of why? when I can stay at home. Yeah you pay for
entertainment when you go out. I find it funny people will wait in
line for a 800 dollar iphone but bitch when you charge then extra
for cheese sauce for their fries.
This a prime example of how the economy is hurting.. I always say
its not hurting, but changing.
If they change the bhlimit even lower, theses industries are really
gonna take a beating. But like everything, it will adapt. Shuttle
services will grow...

 

I stopped going out a few years ago. I became a huge penny pincher and think of everything in the amount of dollars its going to cost me, even miles per dollar etc. So I barely drive and rarely eat out. The last time was to take my mother out on mother's day and before that I cannot remember.

I stopped with the bar scene altogether and rarely even drink at home as well due to the cost of alcohol and what it accomplishes (Some dead brain cells, albeit I do miss those brain cells dying sometimes). That $20-$40 bottle could be ammo or food or even gas. Sometimes it is miserable (No special foods like chocolate, expensive cheeses and cheesecake. Rarely alcohol or my favorite juice simply limeade.) I can stand it though. I read A LOT like the rest of you.

 

The reminder that alcohol kills brain cells... man! But it's what someone I know told me many, many years ago - as a joke: "you should smoke pot because you think so much that you have too many brain cells."

Reading is fun.

I have never been a smoker (cigarettes, cigars, marijuana, etc). Drink very, VERY moderately, and for the most part at home. $6.50 for a six-pack (plus taxes) sure beats $5 for 1 beer at a bar without tip.

 

I'm a homebody,I hate going to town,I spend 1 1/2 hours a day going to and from work 8-?? hours at work 5-7 days a week,when I'm off work I am home I Love my place a few cows,some chickens,a big garden and I grab a fishing pole or a rifle and get supper when the mood strikes,I go grocery shoping once every month or two,once a week I get milk an bread and maybe lunchmeat,guess that makes me a hoarder lol or maybe prepaired lol

 

We've been doing this so long, we're afraid we bore the crap out of company when they come down to stay with us, at the beach. Both of us are early risers - so nights out were always difficult. It got dangerous both where we used to live, and now, where we live, to be out after 10 pm, also. Fights, drunk tourists - some of which are gang members - makes it seem really unattractive.

We do have many very good (and affordable) restaurants here. We try to get out once a week for a late lunch (or in the case of dinner-only places - early dinner). We'll eat out if we go to the range (an hour away from home in summer traffic) or go visiting our LGS friends.

People ask me, if retirement is boring (I've always been a multitasker with a massively full schedule). I am not bored; I always have a long list of stuff I "want to do" attached to the list of stuff I "have to do". At home.

As a result, our vehicles which were new in '05-'06 - the highest mileage one has 30,000+ miles on it. It was the one we drove back & forth to our vacations at and moving to the beach. When gas soared to $4/gal I was still spending less on gas in the Rubicon (8 mpg) than most people with more economical vehicles... because I lived 3 miles from work and while it was our "errand" vehicle, I only had to fill it up every couple or few weeks. Last time we put gas in it here, I realized we'd gotten a whole 2 months out of the last tank... so we're driving even less now. It wasn't a "plan" or anything intentional - we're just easily amused at home.

 

gardening is a great way to past the time at home. Although we probably have the discretionary income to go out every weekend and not miss it. We find ourselves at home in the gardens tending to the flowers and the veggies.

Get a little exercise, a little sun and even some inexpensive vegetables to boot. You cant beat it

 

Most of my recreation is at home, so I spend less/save more!

I request books through the library system, and my garden has both flowers and vegetables in it. There is a grill on my back deck for cooking, and last fall I put in a dwarf apple to go with the miniature peach and North Star cherry.

Just because I wanted to, on Memorial Day weekend I did go to town, and I spent $20 total on some inexpensive annuals that I will move to a pot on the deck, a 2 gallon tomato plant from Aldi's, a snack, and a paperback.

I hit town every month or two for fun but mostly work is in town and fun is at home. And, yes, it does same money! Though last night, to my GREAT irritation, we ran out of propane before the BBQ was even warm, let alone cooked! I had to finish in the broiler!

On the good side today is the church pic nic: I am buying cole slaw as I am not feeling ambitious!

 

We only go out to eat once or twice a month now. Yesterday, porterhouse was on sale for $7.99 a pound. I bought a 20oz one for me and a 16 oz for my wife, and we got two potatoes and some lettuce, an onion and I made salad dressing (EVOO, vinegar, mustard, and some spices). The whole dinner cost us $25, but I also bought a case of Miller Lite for $15.99 and still have about 10 cans left. If we had gone out, this dinner would have cost well over $100 (with all the beers I drank). The downfall to this, is that I like to get on the internet after having a few beers, but I was good last night.

Other than the weekends, I've been trying to eat healthy, and cheap, while exercising and have been losing weight. Three days a week (Monday,Tuesday and Thursday) I have salad for lunch and dinner and some fruit for breakfast. I either get a bagged caeser salad that comes with the dressing, for $3.99 or I go to Panera and get a greek salad with chicken (protein) but that costs $8 (it's my own feast). I always drink a can of Sprite at lunch and dinner, so I wait until they go on sale, which is usually one or two times a month, and I can usually buy 4 12-packs for $12.00. I stock up on them.

Tonight, I'm grilling chicken, and that's about $8 for my wife and myself combined.

Wednesday night, is the night that I go off my diet, and I go this local bar, which has happy hour until 7:00PM. I get there at 5:30 and I usually have 4 pints of Yeungling, for $2 each and buffalo wings are on sale for 50 cents each, so I get 15. I leave after happy hour and only spend $20, including the tip. That's my entertainment during the week, when I'm away from home.

I need to cut back on my $8 salads and make them more often, but I'm not ready for that yet.

 

That's smart eating.

A pack of USDA choice rib eyes - big ones, more than 1 inch thick - will cost about $20-$25 for a pack of three at my local wholesaler. Good lucking paying less than $30 for ONE steak minus taxes, tips, appetizers, drinks, and side orders per person at any medium-level steakhouse. USDA prime can be found for $50 (I found a pack of 3 rib eyes for $40 way back). One USDA prime rib eye at a steakhouse will never cost less than $50 just for the entree.

That's why I almost never go out to steakhouses. I'll go to all-you-can-eats (where admittedly the food is just ok, you get quantity over quality), but when I can buy the meat and prepare it exactly how I like at home, why go out and spend so much with the markups etc at restaurants?