Here is my husband's infamous car. Anybody who knows Kevin, knows that when you talk about him, you talk about the awesomeness of his car, or the unawesomeness of it, whichever way you wanna look at it.
When I say I'm married to THE. CHEAPEST. MAN. let me tell you
I ain't kiddin'.
Oh, you don't believe me?? Well, let me just blow your mind for a sec.
Evidence #1 - On our SECOND DATE, he took me to a Diamondbacks game. He brought a backpack. A backpack full of food, so he wouldn't have to buy any concessions. In his backpack were chips, applesauce, & FROZEN CHIMICHANGAS.
He asked the Subway guy if they would heat it up for him.
YOU GUYS, he asked the Subway guy if they would heat it up for him.
I. AM. NOT. KIDDING. Did I mention this was our SECOND DATE?
He asked the Subway guy if they would heat it up for him.
YOU GUYS, he asked the Subway guy if they would heat it up for him.
I. AM. NOT. KIDDING. Did I mention this was our SECOND DATE?
Evidence #2 - He needed a new toolbox. NO worries. He just went to the recycle bin and found an old TIDE BOX. "Works great.", he says. "Even has a handle.", he says.
Evidence #3 - After we were married, we loved to go to this restaurant called Fazoli's. It was awesome because they would give you UNLIMITED, FREE BREADSTICKS. Unlimited, people. They literally had an employee whose job was to walk around with a basket of breadsticks and pass them out to whoever wanted more. I would order a meal and eat a couple breadsticks. Kevin would order a kid-sized small piece of pizza and eat about 50 breadsticks. The problem was, the breadstick man would only give out 2 at a time. Now I'm not great at math, but that's A LOT of Kevin asking for more breadsticks, people. In the end, poor Fazoli's went out of business. I still wonder if it's because Kevin ate them out of house and home. And breadsticks.
Give me a sec to wipe my tears from laughing so hard. My kids are staring at my like I'm crazy.
Oh Kevin. Kevin, Kevin, Kevin.
I agree that these examples are EXTREME. But Kevin has always valued the principle of saving his money. He's always shown a great example of sacrifice. After high school, knowing he had one year before he would serve a mission for our church, he sacrificed to get as much school completed and as much money saved as possible. He went to college full-time during the day, then worked the graveyard shift at Kinkos at night. Before he left he for his mission had $10,000 saved up. When he came home from Argentina, he bought a reasonable used car with his money (a sweet '95 Honda) and continued with school & work.
When I met him a year later, he had $12,000 in his savings account. I had exactly $0 and owed $200 on a student credit card. Let's just say being married to the most frugal man in America was not an easy transition! First of all, I didn't understand why the heck he cared about the grocery ads. And why he didn't understand that it was TOTALLY worth it to buy $18 hairspray from Ulta. Slowly, but surely I realized the man I married had another love. And that love was frugality. I knew I was in for it when I opened his wallet one day and instead of finding cash, I found coupons. TONS of coupons.
Don't worry, over the years we have found a balance. As a spender, I made sure of that!
But to his credit, Kevin's frugality has saved us thousands. And over the 11 years we have been married, we have been able to.
Oh Kevin. Kevin, Kevin, Kevin.
I agree that these examples are EXTREME. But Kevin has always valued the principle of saving his money. He's always shown a great example of sacrifice. After high school, knowing he had one year before he would serve a mission for our church, he sacrificed to get as much school completed and as much money saved as possible. He went to college full-time during the day, then worked the graveyard shift at Kinkos at night. Before he left he for his mission had $10,000 saved up. When he came home from Argentina, he bought a reasonable used car with his money (a sweet '95 Honda) and continued with school & work.
When I met him a year later, he had $12,000 in his savings account. I had exactly $0 and owed $200 on a student credit card. Let's just say being married to the most frugal man in America was not an easy transition! First of all, I didn't understand why the heck he cared about the grocery ads. And why he didn't understand that it was TOTALLY worth it to buy $18 hairspray from Ulta. Slowly, but surely I realized the man I married had another love. And that love was frugality. I knew I was in for it when I opened his wallet one day and instead of finding cash, I found coupons. TONS of coupons.
Don't worry, over the years we have found a balance. As a spender, I made sure of that!
But to his credit, Kevin's frugality has saved us thousands. And over the 11 years we have been married, we have been able to.
- Graduate from college without student loans.
- Save up an Emergency Fund (8 months of expenses should Kevin ever lose his job)
- Save up a "when Kevin's car dies" fund. Which probably will never even happen, that dang car will live forever!
- Refinance to a 15 year mortgage, (14 more years and we will be completely debt-free)
KEVIN'S RULES FOR SAVING MONEY:
1. Expensive cars are overrated! Really, they are. To us, it seems kind of ridiculous to spend so much money on something that you are in about 1-2 hours a day at the most. Now, I'm not saying you HAVE to get a clunker like my husband's. (It's more a game to him to see how long that thing will last anyway) Kevin is really into consumer reports and will only buy the Make, Model, & YEAR that a car has a good rating (that's right, the year is very important because car companies make changes every year - some good - some not so good) Then he is PATIENT. And he looks and looks and waits for that used car being sold. And he makes sure it was taken good care of (oil changes, low miles or highway miles, and general care) We've always saved up for our cars and paid cash. When we were young, our car budget was $2500-$3000. Now our budget is $6,000-$10,000. This plan has always worked for us. We've always been able to buy a car that's run well, had low gas mileage, and hardly needed any repairs. No, we don't have super nice cars, but yes, they work great and we're happy in the 1 hour a day that we're in them.
2. Use coupons to determine where you go out to eat, instead of going where you crave the food. Trust me, if you buy those entertainment books, you will ALWAYS have somewhere good to eat and it will cost you half as much each time. Because most of the coupons are Buy 1, Get 1 Free, and most dishes are around $10, we spend about $15.00 total if you include tax+tip. Depending on the restaurant, we can sometimes even share the 2 dishes between all 4 of us, but now that our kids are big enough to have real appetites, we'll have them share a small dish or appetizer along with some of our food. So our total eat out cost for our family of four is about $20-$25. We go out once a week and call it good. We always drink water, because well, it's healthier AND free AND even when we used to drink soda, we would never buy it while eating out because one drink cost as much as 1 liter at the store. And that takes us to #3.
3. Watch your small spending more than your big spending. This is a huge rule because $5 here, $10 there can add up faster than you think. Of course the big things matter, they always matter. But big purchases are usually decided on as a couple with care. Little purchases are often made alone and you shouldn't have to ask your husband if it's okay if you spend $20 at Target, am I right? Enter the MISCELLANEOUS budget. This is SO very important. Not only does it keep you in line, but it's a way to have some autonomy in a marriage. Now, the way we determine what constitutes as "miscellaneous" is basically, "everything that varies from month to month". For example, Mortgage, Utilities, Phone, Cable, Insurance(Car&Life), Gas, Groceries, Eating Out, Animal Feed --those all pretty much stay the same every month. Sometimes they are a tad higher or lower, but mostly stay the same. Now, instead of having a clothing budget, haircut budget, shopping at Target budget, kid's sports budget --we decided to put it all together in a miscellaneous fund budget. IT'S SO MUCH EASIER let me tell you, to stay on top of your goal. And it's fun because whatever's left over at the end I spend on something fun for me! For example, our miscellaneous budget is $300 a month. Now I know that sounds like a lot, but it goes fast. We split it between us and Kevin only gets $30 because we tried $50 and he didn't spend it, so I stole it. On a high month I would have to pay for the kids soccer registration ($160) and school pictures ($50) and some home improvement stuff I got at Lowe's ($50) so I knew that anything extra fun like clothes shopping or sometimes even a haircut, might need to get done in the next month, when I knew we didn't have any expensive miscellaneous things going on. On a low month, I would only spend a little and so I got to do some more shopping! YAY me!
4. Shop thrift stores like nobody's business. Seriously, you guys, we were shopping at Goodwill before it was cool. So, we'd officially like to take full responsibility for hipsters. Wait, I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing... Anyway, I totally used to scoff at the idea of going to thrift stores, but besides rockin' vintage clothes, there are a lot of great finds. Luggage, dishes, books, shoes, art, furniture, games & toys. Just not underwear. Don't buy underwear. Besides the fact that it saves us money, I like the idea of repurposing things. Like I'm saving the planet or something. One funky frame at a time.
5. Avoid that "Keeping Up With the Joneses" mentality like the plague. When you reaaallllyyy reallllyy want something be sure to ask yourself, am I wanting this because I want it, or because it makes me look cooler? Sometimes I see the beautiful landscaping of my neighbor's home and I tell him that we can't wait to do what he's done. Our neighbor is so nice, he always says, "We've lived here for 30 years, it takes time to make your dream home. Rome wasn't built in a day." So, don't care about what your neighbors have, be happy for them when they get a new awesome car or a boat, but don't feel like you need to keep up with them. Do your own thing. Make your own goals & decide what is most important to you, not to anyone else.
6. Make it a "monthly savings goal" and STICK. TO. IT. When we were first married, we could only save like $200 a month. It was the best we could do at the time and we stuck to it even though it didn't seem like it was growing very fast. As we increased our income and continued to live frugally, we found we could put even more into savings. Our first goal was our Emergency Fund and we now put $1000 a month into it. Our 2 favorite money-saving gurus (Dave Ramsey & Suze Orman) recommend 6-8 months of your personal expenses set aside in a savings or money market account for real emergencies, like losing your job. It took us a long time, in fact we just barely made our goal, and now we are saving for some fun things, like my big garden & a family trip to Hawaii.
7. Find the best deal in town. When shopping for either big or small items, be sure to shop the sales! And honestly, some of the best deals aren't in town, they're on the internet. Just be sure to look for them instead of running to some random store. Also, REFINANCING your home, especially now, is a great deal! The interest rates have never been lower (2-3%) and the closing costs can be rolled into your mortgage. If you need a good mortgage guy, go to ours HERE. He's the most honest man we know and he's always found us great deals.
8. Become a DO-IT-YOURSELF-ER. About a month after we were married, I cut Kevin's hair for the first time. Well, my first time cutting hair, not his first time getting a haircut. And I totally botched it. In fact, he ended up with a buzz cut. But, that's besides the point because I got better and better at it and he hardly ever gets a buzz cut anymore;) Being a do-it-yourself-er pays off! Especially when it comes to home improvement projects. A couple years ago, we needed the exterior of our house painted. We found a great guy we trusted and we asked him if he would lower the price if we did all the prep work and taping off the windows. It saved us about $400 and was totally worth it!
9. Find CHEAP or FREE Entertainment. Family fun time & dates with your partner don't always have to be expensive. And expensive doesn't equal fun. Be creative. Become aware of all your city has to offer because a lot of it is inexpensive. We get all our movie rentals from our library. Redbox is super cheap, I know, but the library is better and here's why. A) It's free. B) You can reserve them online(even before the new releases come out) and they are waiting for you when you get there. C)They carry the newest releases & CLASSICS. D) You can keep them for a week or longer. E) While your there, you're more likely to rent out books too, which gives you educational, free entertainment for your kids.
10. Be patient. Really, the main thing that Kevin is great at and I am, well, NOT SO MUCH is being patient. You want to buy a house? Be patient. Wait for the right one. Want to buy a car? Just keep looking and be patient. You want to save up for something? Just determine how much you want to save without depriving yourself completely and STICK. TO. IT. It adds up faster than you think;)
5. Avoid that "Keeping Up With the Joneses" mentality like the plague. When you reaaallllyyy reallllyy want something be sure to ask yourself, am I wanting this because I want it, or because it makes me look cooler? Sometimes I see the beautiful landscaping of my neighbor's home and I tell him that we can't wait to do what he's done. Our neighbor is so nice, he always says, "We've lived here for 30 years, it takes time to make your dream home. Rome wasn't built in a day." So, don't care about what your neighbors have, be happy for them when they get a new awesome car or a boat, but don't feel like you need to keep up with them. Do your own thing. Make your own goals & decide what is most important to you, not to anyone else.
6. Make it a "monthly savings goal" and STICK. TO. IT. When we were first married, we could only save like $200 a month. It was the best we could do at the time and we stuck to it even though it didn't seem like it was growing very fast. As we increased our income and continued to live frugally, we found we could put even more into savings. Our first goal was our Emergency Fund and we now put $1000 a month into it. Our 2 favorite money-saving gurus (Dave Ramsey & Suze Orman) recommend 6-8 months of your personal expenses set aside in a savings or money market account for real emergencies, like losing your job. It took us a long time, in fact we just barely made our goal, and now we are saving for some fun things, like my big garden & a family trip to Hawaii.
7. Find the best deal in town. When shopping for either big or small items, be sure to shop the sales! And honestly, some of the best deals aren't in town, they're on the internet. Just be sure to look for them instead of running to some random store. Also, REFINANCING your home, especially now, is a great deal! The interest rates have never been lower (2-3%) and the closing costs can be rolled into your mortgage. If you need a good mortgage guy, go to ours HERE. He's the most honest man we know and he's always found us great deals.
8. Become a DO-IT-YOURSELF-ER. About a month after we were married, I cut Kevin's hair for the first time. Well, my first time cutting hair, not his first time getting a haircut. And I totally botched it. In fact, he ended up with a buzz cut. But, that's besides the point because I got better and better at it and he hardly ever gets a buzz cut anymore;) Being a do-it-yourself-er pays off! Especially when it comes to home improvement projects. A couple years ago, we needed the exterior of our house painted. We found a great guy we trusted and we asked him if he would lower the price if we did all the prep work and taping off the windows. It saved us about $400 and was totally worth it!
9. Find CHEAP or FREE Entertainment. Family fun time & dates with your partner don't always have to be expensive. And expensive doesn't equal fun. Be creative. Become aware of all your city has to offer because a lot of it is inexpensive. We get all our movie rentals from our library. Redbox is super cheap, I know, but the library is better and here's why. A) It's free. B) You can reserve them online(even before the new releases come out) and they are waiting for you when you get there. C)They carry the newest releases & CLASSICS. D) You can keep them for a week or longer. E) While your there, you're more likely to rent out books too, which gives you educational, free entertainment for your kids.
10. Be patient. Really, the main thing that Kevin is great at and I am, well, NOT SO MUCH is being patient. You want to buy a house? Be patient. Wait for the right one. Want to buy a car? Just keep looking and be patient. You want to save up for something? Just determine how much you want to save without depriving yourself completely and STICK. TO. IT. It adds up faster than you think;)
I hope these help you out in your saving adventures! It's actually kinda fun to save, just remember to treat yourself too! It does take sacrifice, but being financially secure is so worth it!
p.s. I just want to say we are NOT PERFECT. There are a lot of arguments over here about money, that's to be sure! He has his opinion, and I have mine. But we've agreed our goal is to save and somehow we've survived the craziness that is living frugally!
p.s. I just want to say we are NOT PERFECT. There are a lot of arguments over here about money, that's to be sure! He has his opinion, and I have mine. But we've agreed our goal is to save and somehow we've survived the craziness that is living frugally!
This post is a part of Living Green Tuesdays
Just found your blog and I find it inspiring.. and I've only read a few posts so far!! You've posted a lot about the same exact things I have been worrying/trying out lately... i.e. budgets, saving money, whole & REAL food!
ReplyDeleteTHANKS!
Thanks! I think being married to Mr. Crazy Frugal Guy has definitely taught me how to save, but I also want to make sure and enjoy life too. It's a good balance!
Deletewhat great idea :) i am your newest follower and lovin it!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Glad to have you!
DeleteYou forgot to mention driving slowly. After we left the restaurant last week, we were like, "Man that car is going slow! Oh, it's Kevin!" Hahaha!!
ReplyDeleteHaha, you're so right! You see, I've been brain-washed that I don't even realize his weirdness anymore :)
DeleteLove these great ideas! (Stopping by from SITS) :)
ReplyDeleteOh I think our husbands would get along well LOL. We agree with most of your points, the car one especially!
ReplyDeleteVisiting from SITS, thoroughly enjoyed this post, especially the Fazoli breadstick part LOL
Great tips - I know we're not nearly as frugal as we could be! That being said, my husband still drives a 1995 Nissan Maxima. It's no longer pretty, but it still drives great, so why get a new car, right? So we've got that one covered at least.
ReplyDeleteStopping by from SITS.
Yay for old cars, haha!
ReplyDeletewow. Really great. I am definitely book marking this. I agree with watching the small spending. My husband and I did this for a couple months by taking cash out to pay for the small things like lunch and snacks and entertainment, and it was crazy how much we saved because we actually realized how much we were spending! Also about the cars thing--- I had a cheap civic a few years ago and it got stolen, gosh if that didn't cost me an arm and leg to replace... seriously the insurance company didn't come close to even covering me for what it was worth. I know I only spend a few hours a day in my car, if that, but it's nice having spent a little bit more this time. It's not a NICE EXPENSIVE car... I spent 13k on it... and I think sometimes having that peace of mind that it's not going to get stolen, and that it's still under warranty is worth it. I feel like you have go for a happy medium. If I had spent less at the time, I'd probably be making a lot more repairs. I haven't had to make any so far... knock on wood!
ReplyDeleteIt's true, a lot can be said for having that peace of mind!
DeleteLove this post. I was at Goodwill on the 50% off day and the lady in front of me was buying her kids underwear. I swear, if I had cash, I would've begged her to get some at walmart instead.
ReplyDeleteAnd, as an ex-server, I would like to remind you that tipping on the pre-coupon amount is appropriate :) Servers feel like they're getting jipped on tables that 1)order water 2)share food, and 3) use coupons. So if you want to make up for all those things, leave a good tip. I know this is not what anyone wants to hear, but it is their job. And they work hard for those tips. And it's part of eating out.
Okay, that's all.
It's true, I'm always sure to make Kevin tip good so they don't spit in my drink or something;) And they have to make money too!
DeleteGreat and very practical tips. You have wonderful husband who is financially responsible. Great blog!
ReplyDeleteI give you all credit because I could never do it. I work and earn an almost six figure salary so that we can enjoy some things and not have to scrimp. We do watch our money and cut coupons, but that's about as far as I'm willing to go :)
ReplyDeleteYou are a better woman than me because if my date brought a backpack full of food, that would have been it for me :)
You are awesome!
Oh this is a wondeful post! I have been reading the book "Young Fabulous and Broke" by Suzie Orman and this blog post is probably better and more realistic than the whole book!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, what a compliment! Thank you so much!
DeleteYou are such a pleasure to read. You are helpful and informative and usefule!!!
ReplyDeleteGod bless!
Hi, visiting from www.CallMePMc.com. Found you on the SITS girls, now following. great post
ReplyDeleteYou have me cracking up! What a great way to start the day.
ReplyDeleteHere from SITS. Enjoy your weekend.
Happy SITS day! I am crying with laughter at the beginning...oh my Lord, that is so awesome! These are some really great tips, though, and I really like the one about watching your small spending more because you are so right!
ReplyDeleteSo now I'm wondering if the Subway guy warmed up the chimichangas.
ReplyDeleteGreat tips. I think #3 is so important to pay attention to. Thanks for the reminder.
Happy SITS Day!
Great tips, all around! I wish I'd known more of this stuff when I was in college - I spent SO much money in school not thinking about the future. I could have had such an amazing head start on saving. Hopefully my kids will learn from my mistakes!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post. We've been practicing frugality together and will be married 40 years this December. The only thing we've done the past few years is buy new cars. We live simply and it's important to my husband to not have to fix cars anymore. It put him through college, he fixed our cars, our daughter's cars and he just wants to stop. Enjoy your SITS Day.
ReplyDelete{Melinda} These are AWESOME tips ... I have become much more frugal over the last two years. Wish I had been doing this all along. I can't believe how much money I would have saved! We were extravagant, just didn't pay attention enough to deals, and being PATIENT. What you said about the little purchases adding up is so true. We rarely make big purchases, but impulse small buys can kill the budget!
ReplyDeleteFollowing you now ... Happy SITS Day!
I used to think I couldn't have cash because it's too easy to spend. Now I find myself carrying just a bit and trying NOT to spend. I've made a challenge to myself to try and keep the same $50 in my wallet all month.
ReplyDeleteHappy SITS day...great tips on saving money, I have to sit and read it agan dn take notes.
ReplyDeleteGosh I love your personality. Your husband sounds like a riot, too. Great tips, by the way. My son is serving a two year church mission right now, he was only able to save up enough to buy all his clothes before he left. I'm now following you. Stop by sometime... http://hamershappenings.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love it! Are you sure you aren't married to my brother?? His wallet looks the same way - almost all coupons, and he has a Tide box for his tools too. Not kidding.
ReplyDeleteThose really are some good tips -- we use the library all the time for movies and books. And water is the best, and cheapest, drink whenever we go out. Every dime helps!
Happy SITS day!
What a great post! I'm a freebie finder and I LOVE good voucher, however we're not too blessed in the UK for vouchers.
ReplyDeleteYou're story is great, thanks for sharing x
Hello from SITS! Love your blog post. I was super frugal when I met my husband. He is the spender. We have also blended lives and are still trying to find that happy medium of saving vs. spending. :) Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness sooooo funny! Sounds just like my finace...now I know what I'm getting into. It's so hard for me to understand his frugal nonsence but this has helped. Appreciate it very much :)
ReplyDeletethese are great tips (and you're hilarious!). I totally agree about the miscellaneous budget - we have the same setup (we call it the "everything else fund"). it completely eliminates the stress we used to have when something unexpected came up!
ReplyDeleteI am laughing SO hard because I feel your pain...and lack of it as well. Frank is crazy frugal (or cheap) also and it is a love/hate thing for me. I just wish he was more cheap than obsessive, that way I could get cloth diapers...he likes money, but dislikes poop more :)
ReplyDeleteWhen we bought our house 10 years ago we didn't really know any better than to finance our house for 30 years. We refinanced a few years ago and add $100 and month to our mortgage payment. Some months it really stinks but in the end it will be totally worth it, because we'll only be paying on our 15-year-mortgage for 12 years. And in our city, many organizations sell a coupon book for fundraising that features buy one entree, get one free for a HUGE variety of locally-owned restaurants, which is perfect for me as a local food blogger!
ReplyDeleteThe story about your second date had me rolling!
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I are attempting to pay off some credit card bills and pad our savings with six months of living expenses. Your tips were very helpful! We'll get there. Thanks for reminding me to be PATIENT.
This is a great list of ways to save, I want to try shopping at thrift stores, but I'm not there yet! Need to remember #10!
ReplyDeleteStopping by from SITS
I love this post. It totally reminds me of my husband. On our first date, he took me to a restaurant and used coupons and gift cards. But I entered the marriage with $30,000 in debt and he was debt free, well-invested, had savings, a house, etc. I've learned A LOT. He drives me nuts sometimes, but it's better than where I was at financially before.
ReplyDeleteHAHA! Love it! Our husbands were cut from the same cloth although I'm pretty frugal too, not to the extent my husband is. But he has really come a long way in being more sensible about it. For instance...you don't save any money driving all over town shopping for the best price of gas. You do that while you drive by. All that happens if you drive around shopping is you waste money and eventually run out of gas!
ReplyDeleteIs also see that you are LDS, so are we. This is Sue btw, we spoke a few weeks ago on FB about the juice feasting.