Living Within Your Means

It's a phrase we often hear when discussing finances or almost any other resources: "Living within your means." But what do we think it really means? Living within our means as long as we can stand it? Living within our means except when a cool thing is on sale?

For my husband and I, it meant re-evaluating our needs and wants. No, we didn't go out and sell a bunch of stuff (though I hope to sell off some small stuff over time, like gently-worn shoes and such that I never wear). It meant not getting stuff we weren't going to use in the first place. Trust me, it can be tough.

Our first decision before we got married and moved was where we would live in our new town. Moving away, we didn't have the option anymore of living in a parent's basement until our debts were paid off. So we knew we'd be renting, since we didn't have time to go looking at houses and had no money for a down-payment. After looking at a few and different price ranges, we picked one we knew could work for us. Not tiny, but not large, either. We had looked at a larger one, but the cost would have strained us greatly. In our current home, we can easily make our payments, as well as live comfortably. Admittedly, we would like more space, but we have learned that we don't need more space, and we can live like this until we save up for a down payment on a cheap home (by cheap I mean well-priced for its size, not falling apart), that hopefully has a garage (our hardest sacrifice of living in an apartment: cold and hot cars that require even more maintenance).

Now that we have two incomes, we're re-evaluating again what is important to us, and both of us have said two things: Paying off our debts, and getting a home. Note, nothing we discussed was "get a bigger TV" or "get new furniture." I will say those would be nice, but they are also things I can live without. We have a TV that works fine. We have furniture that is not falling apart (yet). We have food, shelter, communication, insurance, and enough "stuff" that we are content. And everyday I am learning that I can live without even more stuff we have. I have learned that clothing shopping at Goodwill is just as fun if not sometimes more so than going to new-clothing stores ($6 dresses and $3 shirts!; and I've learned I hate Target's current styles).

Now and then I will try to update this blog with a few of the tips and tricks I've learned to save us money. After learning how little it costs to keep us happy, we don't fear the recession.