I hate spending money

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
I hate spending money
5
Fri, 05-19-2006 - 10:06am

I'm feeling like money is going through my hands like sand. We are putting in new hardwood floors--which are gorgeous--but expensive. When we went to get the flooring material, with our $1700 saved up, we discovered the floors we wanted had gone up in price by $1 a square foot. So instead of spending $1400 (with $300 left for accompanying expenses), we spent $1550, and instead of having enough material to do the entire downstairs we have enough material to do only the two main rooms (and maybe the entry way--that remains to be seen).

And then all the accompanying expenses keep getting higher, so that I'm worried we're going to run out of money. And of course with anything new, there are always things you *want* to go along with it--a curtain rod for the french doors so we can block the bright sun that can fade the floors, a swiffer vac & sweep to keep the floors clean more easily, new mop accessories, etc. etc.

Then we have $800 set aside for my five-year-old's activities this year--Little Gym, or tae kwon do or something. And it turns out that the place we REALLY want him to take classes, which are kung fu classes very heavily focused on the discipline, spiritual practice, mental focus, etc. aspects rather than simply the physical skills--it turns out THOSE classes are more than $1000 for SIX MONTHS. That's more than tuition to some private schools. Sheesh. So we're trying to figure out a way to do it, but it's seriously stressing me out.

And I'm having trouble keeping my groceries under budget, and gasoline is so expensive, and my power bill keeps going up (can't figure out why we're using more electricity than last year--we haven't even turned on the AC yet), and the cars both need minor repairs that there's no money left for... argh!

And I can't seem to get it under control. Not to mention that my freelance work, which is usually used to supplement these type things, seems to have dried up for now. Probably because I haven't invested twenty minutes in it in the past month, but it's still discouraging.

Sigh.

These are the times when I wish we could just win the lottery, lol.

It will look up soon, right? What should I be doing in the mean time?

Thanks for listening,

Heather

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-23-2005
Fri, 05-19-2006 - 11:00am

Hi Heather,


I completely understand how you feel!

lvhunnie2005

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Fri, 05-19-2006 - 11:24am

Thanks, lvhunnie! It's nice to know I'm not alone.

As for the kung fu... well, I'm kind of in a quandary about that. I'm supposed to go meet with the folks again today and ask some more questions. We thought about athletics, which is definitely cheaper (by FAR), but I'm really not into the competitive aspect of it, and would rather keep away. We have access to a pool this summer (friends in an apartment and a regular playdate with them), so swim lessons really don't make sense. The other option we seriously considered is a gymnastics/sports skills/general athletic (but non-competitive) training class for little ones called The Little Gym. It's really cool, I really liked the guy, and we could get BOTH our kids classes for less than the cost of Kung Fu. So that's the other major possibility, and it's still on the table.

And our finances are not out of control, per se. We still stay in our budget, and we haven't accrued any new debt in over four years. Most of our debt is paid off (we'll be debt free, except the house but including the cars, in twelve months). It just *feels* out of control because we've been spending out our behinds lately.

Oh, I say we haven't accumulated any new debt, but that's not entirely true. And that's just hit on a hot spot that I didn't even realize was simmering until just now. I think I'd better start a new thread for this, so I'll skip it for the moment.

Anyway, back to kung fu. There are other martial arts programs that would stay within our budget (barely). The reason we are considering the super expensive one is simply that the way they train is superior--it is really, really good. The kids in the program learn far more than just how to kick and punch. They learn self discipline, mental focus and control, spiritual examination and practice, they even learn a little bit of Chinese language! LOL The way the teacher interacts with the kids is impressive--I enjoy the fun & games aspect of places like the Little Gym, but this is something entirely different. It's all about the focus, the attention, the staying on target. And they know how to get those things from the kids.

I don't want to sound elitist, because we're not. But this place really, really impressed me. And we really believe in finding the best feasible educational opportunities for our kids, especially because we are homeschooling. So if we can find a way to swing it without crashing our budget, we'll probably do it.

But, I am thinking I'm going to ask for a one-month trial (ordinarily you sign a six-month contract, which can be paid in advance for a discount--which is what I would want to be able to do) to make sure ds will really do this week in and week out. And then I will wait until the money--for all six months--is in the bank, before we commit. Worse comes to worst, we can wait until our debt is paid off in twelve months and start then--at that point, $160 a month (plus fees) won't be such a big deal.

Anyway, thanks for getting me thinking. And thanks for sympathizing! Nice to know I'm not the only one.

Heather

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-23-2005
Fri, 05-19-2006 - 12:50pm

Someone mentioned the YMCA programs and for the price- it's an excellent way of introducing sports to a young one. We've done swim lessons (excellent program BTW since water safety is a big thing for a scaredy cat like me), soccer and baseball for our 7 yr DD. She's not at all competitive, and neither are the programs. They are for instructional purposes only and any kinds of competitive "stuff" from parents/coaches/guests is not allowed. This is one big reason why we let her participate. I want her to learn the sport, get exercise and most importantly have a good time with kids her age. If she wants to pursue the competitive side of things as she gets older, we'll look into it then. They also have a sliding scale for membership fees/sports fees- so that's something consider if cost is an issue.

Maybe if it's not specifically a YMCA, but maybe you could find another municipal type club? I know what you mean about finding the best activity for the best cost, but $1,000 seems awfully steep to me for one activity.

Good luck on this decision!!

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2005
Fri, 05-19-2006 - 3:00pm

I feel ya!

 

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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-09-2004
Tue, 05-23-2006 - 9:45pm

Hello,


Regarding the new floors and accessories, etc. I understand how the costs can go up, which is especially distressing when you've been saving up for that expense for awhile! Is it possible that you could set aside a small amount every paycheck ($20) in a savings account for those "wants" that are not absolute "needs", like the curtain rod, vacuum cleaner & swiffers, accessories, etc. Those aren't *absolute needs* at this moment, and I doubt that the new floor will fade significantly if you wait a month to save up for the curtain rod. =)


Regarding the kung-fu, if you can't afford it right now, please don't add to your debt or slow down your debt payments in order to put your child in this program. If it can be delayed six months so you can save up for it (and I know, it's one of those things you want to do now, darnit) and not slow down the snowball on your debt, I doubt it will really hurt your child to wait a little while to learn kung-fu.

Sincerely,
Lindsey Schocke


Geeks on Tap: Mission Accomplished

Sincerely,
Lindsey Schocke

Geeks on Tap: Mission Accomplished