I don't know "anything" about coffee, but I wanted to commend you for helping the kids look at saving money. Cooking meals that have left overs and buying food on sale at the grocery store(not mark downs, the sale flyer), shopping with coupons....all good tips! Your right...$50 will buy a ton of food!!!!!

I too hate the concept of the k-cups for environmental and financial reasons. I am currently drinking the canned coffee from Costco - I like it a lot but I am not a coffee connoisseur. It is Kirkland Signature 100% Colombian coffee, Supremo Bean, Dark Roast, Fine Grind.

When ever there is an article about saving money, invariably the cost of food is the first way to cut back.

Writing down the expenses is the best way to really see where the money is going.

Debby, it's true, you should cut back on the coffee! A big part is the caffeine fix that you need, but the other is the way we feel just taking the time to sit and sip a hot drink. It can be relaxin.

I used to work in an office with a coffee pot going 24/7. I realized this was not doing me any favors. I decided to give up caffeine when we decided to have children. I only drink decaf, and only one in the morning. I switch to tea, which is caffeinated, but only one cup for the afternoon.

Calling Grainlady.........:)

I agree about the plastic waste of k-cups and the monthly expense is something to think about too.

Not sure where you're from, but Peet's Coffee is really good if you can get it. I've found that the reusable cups don't work very well and you get a lot of grounds in your cup. I bought a little 4 cup pot that I use when I want fresh brewed, usually on weekends. Weekdays I have 1 cup in the morning using the Keurig.

Try grinding your beans. That preground Folgers stuff is nasty.

Another vote for Kirkland's coffee.

My son and I are finding either our tastes have changed or coffee and tea is changing. It's getting harder and harder to find coffee or tea we like. I gave up coffee last summer, but have had several cups since the holidays started. Am weaning myself back off it again. My husband won our Kuerig at work. We also found it was too expensive to use the K-cups so we use the refillable pod. We like the flavored coffee you get from the in-store bins where you can choose to grind it there or take it home. The kids are figuring out you can sort of replicate Starbucks drinks at home if add whip cream, vanilla, caramel sauce, etc., and a good flavored coffee.

I'm glad you are sitting down with the kids to teach them budgeting. It's hard. My parents were very frugal growing up so I knew the frugal part, but had to learn how to spend money for fun. I'm trying to teach my kids frugality and spending our money in ways where we value it more. We aren't there yet.

I use Folgers Black Silk all the time. I have never tasted a keurig that I liked...too weak for me. I also am particular about my coffee....and I like my coffee with out any flavor except coffee.

I have enough food in my cupboard and fridge to put together a meal, but every payday I go buy more. Why? I buy meat every other month, stocking my freezer. Since it's only me here I buy one pork chop, one lb. this, two of that, etc. ha This month I vowed to eat everything on hand before buying anymore groceries (besides, eggs and bread), but I still picked up " a few things". As far as coffee, I drink the Maxwell House powdered coffee drink in the small tin cans - Cafe Francais to be exact. I buy three which last me a little over a month at $2.88 I think at Walmart. Anyplace else they are over $3. Tea I buy by the pound bag from Harneys that lasts a long time.

Always keep a bag of potatoes on hand. During the winter I don't buy much fresh produce except onions or for special dishes. No fresh fruit to speak of. And during the winter I should. In fact, thinking about it now I might just do that today.

A good part of my budget goes for cat food. I buy the best I can, thinking I'm doing right by them. Sometimes I'll price check at pet food stores and get good deals, but I'd like to cut back. Cats are so finicky you have to be careful of switching brands.

Good job trying to help and see the reality of things. At our house, every dollar has a name - even our "walking around money" ;-). And we are in a financial position where we live on 1/3 of our income, and save/invest the other 2/3, so there's really no real reason I even need a budget, but a lifetime of keeping a budget allowed us to be able to do exactly that.

Here's a free on-line budgeting tool that might help: http://www.daveramsey.com/everydollar 

I teach budgeting classes on a regular basis, so I practice what I teach - including $2 meals (one of my favorite things). For groceries (and groceries means FOOD, not magazines, personal care products, cleaning aids, and the "million-and-one" other non-food items available at the store) we start with a $25 amount per person, PER week, and I emphasize buying ingredients - not convenience foods. I teach meal planning, premeditated leftovers, and I also teach them how to have a Q&E "fast food" option at home to help avoid that drive-thru fix.

Here's a breakdown for the $25 per person (once they have common pantry/kitchen staples on-hand).

-vegetables - $6

-fruit - $5

-grains - $4

-protein - $4-5

-dairy - $4

-other - $1-2

These figures will vary according to your location. If you live in Hawaii, you'll need to adjust up. I happen to live where food is relatively inexpensive and well under the national average, so I adjust that amount down. I personally spend under $17 per person per week (for 2 adults), so I know it can be done - and we are also gluten-free, consume mainly whole foods, so special diets can also be handled within a budget.

What you LIKE is a completely different issue than what you can afford, and they can both be addressed - within the confines of a good budget. Adults shouldn't act like 5-year olds in the cereal isle, they should be making deliberate decisions that will help get them out of debt, keep them out of debt, and help them to get ahead so they can have more of the things they can actually afford.

I find, as a general rule, people spend far too much on liquid beverages of all kinds, and that includes the insane need to purchase bottled water!!!! Most of which do not necessarily contribute to a good diet or good health. Everyone loves to champion their "favorite" habit (including my penchant for good tea).... but never really put it into perspective or count the amount of money it costs. Beverages are one of the biggest budget leaks, and that really surprises people when you pinpoint it. I will take a look at a months worth of store receipts for people and then discuss where their money goes - and often a large amount is for liquid beverages. FYI: The K-Cup inventor says "he regrets ever inventing them because he realized the horrible effect they've had on the environment". At 11-grams of coffee per pod, it can equal as much as $40 per pound for coffee. It's the most wasteful form of coffee there is, including all the #7 plastic cups that can't be recycled. Instant coffee is the most economical, especially if you heat your water with an electric kettle - just for some perspective.

Here's some interesting numbers:

$1 Fries @ McDonald's. They own their own potato farms, so they pay about 75-cents for 10# of potatoes. That small portion of fries you paid $1 for costs them about 1-cent to make. They are making a 1000% profit. You can make your own at home for about 20-cents per serving.

From 5# of flour. There are approximately 18-20 cups of flour in 5#. Here are a few things you can make with it plus a few pantry ingredients.

*3-4 c. = loaf of bread

*1-3/4 c. = 12 muffins

*1 c. = 8-10 pancakes

*2 c. = 3-dozen cookies

*1/4 c. = 4 servings of pudding

*2 c. = eight 9" tortillas

*2 to 2-1/4 c. = 5 servings of homemade noodles

*2 c. = 12-20 biscuits

*1 c. = recipe of crepes

*1-1/2 c. = one 8" Wacky Cake (no egg needed)\

-Grainlady

confines of a budget. That's the point I made poorly, you did well Grainlady!

That is precisely why my entire food budget was in one spot. So if I went to the grocery store, and had "leftover" money, I could either buy something extra, something more expensive, or blow it on going out. I think it's having that stretch in there that made it bearable to quit going out to eat.

I will never spend money on the Keurig/Tassimo kind of coffee makers. I've had a cup once or twice at friend's and I don't like the way they taste anyway. What makes the manufacturer decide how people like their coffee?

LOL we love Maxwell House! That and President's Choice when it's on for a good price. Neither of us like Folgers, it tastes too strong and bitter for us.

As far as buying coffee "out" which we do maybe twice a year, I don't care for Timmy's and could never drink Starbucks. McDonald's has good coffee.

It's frustrating trying to save money while spending it on necessities. We're saving some money at the gas pumps but spending way more at the grocery store. We were ecstatic when we bought cauliflower for $4 at No Frills. We bought 2 heads.

We also get excited on Thursdays when we save 20% at Shoppers on our milk purchases. We buy 2 or 3 bags. No one knows better than you Debby, how popular that is! I just did the math on the weekend, and we're better off buying the eggs at full price on Thursdays to save the 20% than buying them at the sale price!

What variety of Maxwell House did you buy? I look for the sales on the specialty ones. The Colombian, the South Pacific, and one or 2 others are better than the 'Classic'. However, I find that the Classic is better than the 'Morning Blend'.

A similar comparison can be drawn through the Folgers' lines. It's trial and error, but mainly waiting for the sales, then stocking up. Of course, grinding at home is always better, but when you are balancing price too, well compromise... If I do see the bags of whole beans hit the clearance rack, or go on a deep discount, then I 'scoop' it up fast.

I'm into a can of Chock Full O'Nuts now. It isn't too bad. It was way cheap. Like $5 cheap. I got 3 large cans.

Oh, and it may be my own personal taste, but I find the cheapest Folgers... the Country Roast... to be absolutely insipid. I can trudge through most mediocre coffee, but I had to blend that Country Roast in as I used a few cans of better stuff just to get rid of it without just throwing in into the garden unused.

rob333 -

I have a $125/month food budget, and never spend it all each month. I had $200 left at the end of the year, but that's money I will use to purchase a bucket of powdered milk (enough for a year) the next time I find it on sale, or make a large purchase of any other food item in home food storage I need to replace by purchasing it in bulk to save money. The food budget is always used for food. I also donate 10% of my food budget in food and/or cash to the local Food Bank. If you find you are still having too much money left, or not enough money in any budget item, you need to adjust accordingly, and give it a "new" name.

The ebbs and flows of the seasons have a lot of influence. When we are eating out of the garden, I sack away a LOT of grocery money because I don't need to purchase as much from the store. There was once a time where that money would be used to purchase grass-fed meat, but now we just eat less meat.

On average, I spend 70-80% of my food dollars restocking our home food storage.

Just to drive home the point of how expensive Keurig cups are, my daughter was living in west Los Angeles two or three years ago when the Keurig company had a big give away. They sent delivery trucks into selected neighborhoods, and left a huge box at her door labeled "A Gift for You." It was a free Keurig coffee maker. Now why do you suppose she and her neighbor got free Keurigs? Because the real money maker for the company is in selling the K cups, not the machines. I don't drink coffee frequently, and then only one or two cups a day, so I asked for a Keurig coffee maker for my birthday several years ago as well as a refillable cup. I don't like strong coffee, so the refillable is fine for me. But I buy K cups for when the kids visit and folks can brew their own coffee as they want it.

The only beans in a pod that I'm prepared to stomach are the beans that come from the garden: I'm not about to pay someone between 50 cents and a buck a cup, the liquid from which enters my mug (or from a mug into my mug, for that matter) ... for coffee that I make at home!

I don't visit Starbucks ... and recent talk has been that the big McD's coffee has improved, so is competitive (or even superior to) the product offered at Timmy's( which has been mainly popular in Canada, thus far).

I won't buy a large can of President's Choice for myself (but I've been known to, for my son: daughter has long lived far away).

I thought that I'd heard that there was a large crop of coffee recently, so prices might be more reasonable ... but the prices on some of the powdered stuff of different kinds in the store this morning, were up there - one more than double the price last month. So much for a 69 cent Cdn $, it seems.

I've been wondering about checking prices of food and other supplies, e.g. toilet paper, per unit at restaurant supply stores and buying there, then sharing with friends ... have checked with a few: some interested, some not. Maybe I'd better get busy on that, visiting the city 5 days weekly for the next month, as my consumption of toilet paper has increased substantially, lately - can almost see the size of the roll diminish!

Don't like laundry detergent in pods, either - seems to me that even the liquid stuff, in plastic rather than cardboard, makes a great deal more weight to cart around, between factory, warehouse, store and home. Does it do so much of a superior job that it justifies the weight/price?

I provide a major portion of my food intake by shopping the specials in the store, as listed weekly (but staggered cut-off days) in their flyers, buying some of items infrequently on sale for future use, but don't make much use of coupons - I think they're not used extensively in Canada. I check the weekly specials in various stores, but try to fit the visits with other activities taking place in the area.

Usually unit price is lower in larger sized boxes, but not always: comparison needed.

The cheapest flax that I've found was a gift from the son of my brother's former buddy who rents brother's land, which I grind in the blender.

Is the story that flax in the unchanged grain form, that says, "Hi" as it enters your mouth, then wends its way through your digestive system, and waves, "'Bye" on the way out, leaves no nutritive value behind ... have some validity to it? Or is it just an (if you'll pardon the expression) old wives tale?

Seldom eat out, and usually then only for a frugal meal, unless it's with family or friends.

My son has a friend whose I Q is way up there, I'm told (and I know that he has an able mind) ... but he has some difficulty coping with regular life. He's around 50, has lived on thin income, and alone for several years, but doesn't know how to cook. (I don't have a large supply of knowledge to teach him, were he willing).

While my giving to charity is done from a sense of personal responsibility to my Lord, my community and a hungry, hurting world ... I used to do it with after-tax dollars, by writing cheques from pension income or from ongoing payments from, or sales of investments, on which income tax had been paid earlier. In recent years I have changed to using mostly before-tax dollars, by transferring investments that had increased in value to charities, to get a receipt for the full current value, but avoid paying tax on the capital gain.

When I have money in the bank, bonds, etc., the interest that they produce is taxed at my top marginal rate, but if I invest in Canadian stocks, the dividends that they pay me used to be taxed at a much lower rate, and for the most recent ten years at an even lower rate.

The number of dollars that the bank or bondholder pays me back at the end of the term is exactly the number that they received, but the value of each has shrunk every year (since the 1930's, at least), so the extra that I must add to the basic amount invested each year to keep up with inflation must come from the interest that they paid.

When the tax has been paid on that interest income ... and more of that annual income added to the principal each year to keep up with inflation ... not only is there none of that year's interest left, there isn't enough to keep up with the current inflation rate.

That makes me underwater with this year's interest income ... and it has been thus for several years ... and appears to be in a similar situation for several future years.

One can be under water only for a very limited time ... or/until one drowns!

When one has owned stocks, the long-term trend has been of substantial increases in value over longer numbers of years, more than enough to pay for the lower taxes on the dividends that they pay over the years, and to provide for the lower than usual tax rate that may be owing in future years when they are sold (unless, as told above, they can be avoided - but that's at the cost of losing the investment ... but that relates to an action that I've planned to do, in any case, and this method reduces its overall cost to me).

But - a proviso: when one is in one's mid-80s, dealing with a less than usually dangerous kind on cancer, and the markets are going down ...

... just how does one define that "long-term", which trend was referred to?

There is, however, some help available.

Some assets would need to be liquidated, granted, at lower return for each than earlier, to cover one's final income tax ... and the taxes on the estate.

Whatever gifts to charities that one chose to make from one's estate would be of smaller amounts, thus providing fewer tax credits.

After taxes on capital gains till the date of death were paid, the remaining stocks could be transferred to the kids intact, with a letter to the kids saying that they were likely undervalued, so if they need money, short-term, use them as collateral for a secured, thus lower interest loan, of which most will be covered by the dividends earned, taxed at a low rate ... and probably wise to hang on to them until their face value comes closer to their "real" value (whatever that may be).

Both, especially one, has learned quite a lot as a result of relating to their mother's estate, about ten years ago ... and, while she was nine years younger than I, I'm still running around ... so life does seem a bit unfair, at times, doesn't it?

(Sure would have taken many messages to have carried this on Twitter ).

ole joyfuelled

Good point grainlady.

Oh yea. I totally have learned exactly how much I am going to spend each and every time I go to the grocery store. If there is extra left, it now goes into savings. And the going out to eat part? That got grouped into "entertainment" budget pretty quickly on. After paying things off ;) It was good to get to splurge anytime I wanted to after all that belt tightening. It's actually now called "vacation" budget, as we don't do things as often. We got sated. Vacation budget didn't happen until three years ago. I've spent decades not traveling, even though I love to! And now we can do it. Thanks to budgeting!

SheilaJoyce, getting a free Keuring coffee maker is akin to the free Ladies Schik shaver I received. The refills were horrifically expensive (triple blades) so I tossed it.

When my son was in grade 12 he was debating about going on to college. I sat him down and went over a budget based on making $10 an hour (all he would make with only a high school diploma) and I included all his expenses. That didn't include being able to afford a car or going to movies or anything extra. It couldn't be done.

I then upped it to $15/hr based on an associate degree and all I did then was increase the rent budget so that he could live on his own instead of a basement suite with shared accommodation and added one social outing. Still didn't allow for a car or skiing or travel for ultimate which he plays at a high level.

He went on to school and got an associate degree and a business degree and at 28 is doing pretty good salary wise. He knows about investments and RRSP's (Canadian retirement plans) and next up is to help him start an investment account.

When we started talking about budgeting I had him list the things he would have to pay for and what was surprising (or perhaps not) was what he missed. Going to the dentist, paying for his contacts, buying a bus pass, paying for cable, all those "little" things that get missed but add up.

The one thing my husband and I don't do with our money is to have fun with it. It just isn't in us to do so. There are no movies, dinner outs, vacations - to us they are an unnecessary expense.

ETA - Minimum wage where I live is now $10.25/hour and we live in a very expensive real estate and rental market with a high cost of living

The late teens-early twenties is when kids should learn to budget aspects of their life that are finite. The need for time management, money management, space management, etc., all become apparent at this age. Whether the direction chosen is to go to college or enter the workforce, it's all the same, Mom and Dad aren't doing everything for them anymore.

To me, money management isn't only about accumulating savings. Like time management, it's more about having a plan and making choices for where the limited resource will be spent. The broad outcome over time of a "managed resource" is never a surprise. You choose how to spend your time, you choose how to spend your money.

blfenton, I hope your life is happier than your description paints. It's not like spending money produces joy or is a measure of it. Conversely, saving money shouldn't be an end in itself either if in doing so you deny yourself life's pleasures that you can afford (and like) . Money is of no value if accumulated beyond your needs.

I do not have the patience to cull only "Food" from my grocery store receipts. I do know that we spend less than the $8K a year I budget for 'groceries' (including paper goods, toothpaste, etc). and 'eating out'. So...that's everything that goes into our mouths plus household supplies. We rarely eat 'out' except when treating our DS and family to lunches. (Last week we got take-out from Paia Fish Market. It was delicious and value received -- broiled Ono and more fried shrimp that we could eat -- but it was also $36 with tip.)

We drink chilled water from the fridge, three cups of coffee and two cups of tea (for two) per day, wine or a mixed drink at dinnertime. I never enter the Poisoned Food & Beverage Aisle at the grocery store. (Soda, chips, crackers, bottled water, etc.)

We have saved throughout our fifty years of marriage. We continue to save. We live *near* 'our means', not above them, but also not far below. We budget our charitable giving. I 'assess' our spending a couple times a year, and I make a budget estimate for the next year every November. I know where we could 'cash out' to live more frugally, but do not feel the need to live 'on the cheap' day to day now.

What continues to bug me is the inflated and growing cost of medical care and insurance against it. It's more than my $8K budget for food and drink. How can that me right for a couple *with no major health issues*? (DH has two maintenance meds for mild clinical depression, and I have Advair for asthma.)

BTW, I brew a small pot of coffee in the morning from beans I grind -- often bought in bulk from Costco. We have a pot of tea brewed from one of three types of tea leaves; tins bought in bulk from Twinings.

The way you approach budgeting must feel comfortable to work. Ledgers and spreadsheets work well for those who like math and organization, but feel like jail to the more organically inclined (organic as in natural forms). Rob's all one pot idea with the idea that one can splurge with the surplus, even if one doesn't do so, is a nice strategy. An acquaintance gave up cigarettes that way. She didn't quit. She just chose not to smoke most of the time, but kept in mind that she could have one if she really really wanted to. And did. Then would go back to choosing not to most of the time. For myself, I only put what I expect to spend in my regular checking account. The big essentials, like mortgage, insurance, taxes, etc., come off the top and their dollars never have a chance to commingle with discretionary funds.

Budgeting is like dieting. There's not one right answer, the best approach for any given person is the one they can use and stick with. Unplanned outcomes will happen predictably with unplanned behavior.

For coffee, I echo the suggestion to buy beans, grind them fresh, and use a coffee maker. I use a cup-top funnel with a paper filter in it. It only takes a few minutes to use and no better non-espresso coffee can be had. The Keurig thing is an obvious razor and razor blade play. Coffee that's processed, ground, packaged and shipped can't compare to fresh beans.

I've been to the Paia Fish Market, it's a solid "local" place. Also in that general neighborhood but up the hill a bit (both geographically and price-wise) is the Haili'imaile General Store. I think it's one of the better restaurants on Maui.

Oh snidelywhiplash, it is! We love having no mortgage and a big number in the bank. Do I clip coupons and buy generic brands at the grocery store - nope. In my fridge is a brick of brie cheese (always), real parmesan cheese, nice bread from our local bread, real vanilla, etc.

We were able to gut our house and renovate it without going into debt and that ability makes up very happy. We love our rebuilt house. So budgeting, as mentioned, means different things to people and the reasons for it and uses for money are so different.

I have a friend who goes into debt to pay for holidays and she still has a whopping big mortgage at the age of 58 which is not something I could do but she seems to be ok with it.

I guess I should have defined fun a little more carefully as I suspect we define it differently than many people.

That's how I define it, too, blfenton.

Jasdip, we HATE Seniors Day! LOL Our store is the #1 store in Canada for milk sales at regular price. We don't allow seniors to buy the 2% with their seniors discount (it's always on sale anyway), so they'll buy 4 4l jugs of the 3% milk to save that 20%. We sell milk at almost $1.50 below cost. And all we do on Seniors day is, run to the cooler to bring out 5 more crates (each hold 4 4l jugs.. no bagged milk in Alberta... haven't seen that here in about 25 years). We run our butts off and make 0% profit. ugh.....

I noticed my son having a smoke when he picked up our grandson. He doesn't smoke in his car, so he was standing next to it. I messaged him and said, "how much do you spend on smokes a month?" He messaged me back, "this is my last pack". He had stopped smoking for almost 4 months. He only started again a month ago because someone cut him off and he totalled his car with his girlfriend and their son in it. The only way to calm himself down, was to light a smoke.

And I'm trying hard to like the reusable coffee filters for the Keurig. I will NEVER drink less coffee, but I am determined to spend less money on it. I stopped buying a coffee at McDonalds 5 days a week on my way to work. That was on average $15 a week! For one coffee (Latte) a day. I have one black coffee when I wake up. Then I bring a coffee with coconut oil and butter in my travel mug to work. And today I filled my thermos with two more cups of black coffee (it has to be very strong) and when I come home I have one more with coffee flavoured whipped cream on top. YUM!

I messaged my son yesterday to let him know we have frozen pizza on for $3.99 each. Two minutes later he texted me to say his girlfriend wanted him to buy Chinese food and I got to them first. He ran to the drugstore and bought 3 pizzas. :) He is trying. I'll give him that.

I don't know your son and his gf's life style, so maybe time is an issue? Maybe they also need some lessons in cooking? There are plenty of meals that can be cooked ahead and frozen. Pizza is as simple as a tortilla, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan, and any veggies and/or meats you want with a little garlic powder or salt on top. I make a lot of homemade stir fries and fried rice at home. If you want something fancier, there are plenty of recipes on-line. If you have a meal plan, it's a lot easier and you can do some prep work in advance.

Debby, I was thinking of you busting your butt when I was making the comment!

The Shoppers here sell their milk for the same price as all the other stores. Everyone sells it for the same price. The 1% always runs out, there's plenty of 2% in the cooler.

We have to sell it for 10 cents less per jug than the closest grocery store, which for us is Safeway. And people will spend that 10 cents in gasoline and time to drive the extra 2 blocks to save that 10 cents. LOL How much is a 4l jug of milk there? We sell it for $4.63. We pay $6.10 for it. :(

adellabedella_usa, they both know how to cook. They have a lot of cookware and I bought them a deep fryer, rice cooker, slow cooker and bake wear so they have everything they need. BUT, they're lazy. LOL I've also given them cookbooks just like her step mom has. The trick is getting off their lazy butts and walking into the kitchen and turning on the stove. I told them the average meal only takes as long to cook as it takes to boil a potato: 20 minutes.

Smoking to calm down? Ridiculous. It increases your blood pressure and heart rate. No way that calms you down. I hear that excuse from smokers all the time, and that's just what it is--an excuse. That would be one way to save tons of money. Hope he quits again.

I grind my coffee as I go and use a simple manual French Press that is very easy to use and less costly than a coffeemaker. It makes my usual Italian Starbucks coffee taste so much better. It has the taste of what I call hotel coffee. I think grinding as you go brings out the best flavor in whatever your choice is.

Your description seemed almost melancholy, blf, great that it's not the case. Of course people have different preferences and spending patterns and it sounds like you are well in touch with yours.

But kick up your heels a bit, take some vacation time. There's plenty to do in your area without going too far or needing to spend a lot of money. Everyone benefits from a change of pace and scenery. And afterwards, it's much more fun to look at and show friends your vacation pictures than the copy of your bank statement or final mortgage bill.

Deb, our dairy is supposed to go up. Butter already has, it's on sale for $5 often, when it used to be under $3. A few weeks ago it was on sale for $3 at Walmart, and none of the stores could keep it in stock. I got a couple of rain checks. Milk is constant at $3.97 4-litre bag.

Your milk is CHEAP! At that price, we would have to find room for a 3rd walk in cooler. We got a second one a year ago because we couldn't keep enough milk in stock and customers were furious. It wasn't until Saputo told us we are the #1 milk sales stores for the company in Canada that we were finally able to get a second cooler. Our butter is often on sale for $3.49. I won't buy it unless it's that cheap. We don't eat margerine so I stock up when it's on sale. It's just the Loblaw NN brand, but butter is butter. Odds of us running out of butter is rare. We usually have about 20 cases in the cooler.

sleeperblues, if you've never smoked you don't understand. I stopped smoking 17 or 18 years ago. When I'm stressed, I still want to reach for a smoke to calm me down. It stopped my shaking hands and I felt better. Now I bite the crap out of my fingernails....

Everyone budgets in their own way. We never smoked, drank alcohol, nor coffee. Many years I sewed all most all of my clothes and my children's when they were little. When I had a place for a garden I canned and froze all I could. I did the coupon clipping and the refunds too. We own our home, our business and another property. I too use real butter but growing up we had margarine we used. I don't buy skim or 2% I use the whole milk. I buy little meat any more as my husband is unable to eat most of it. We do most all of our own repairs or remodeling or have family that helps with it. Good luck all of you with your budget.

Sue

I have been a smoker, Debby, but it was in my errant youth. I recall cigarettes tasted very good with alcohol. I understand the powerful addiction, and I understand that people make excuses so that they can let themselves smoke. I really honestly can say that I don't understand how people can afford to smoke nowadays. We have patients come in on state aid to our ER all the time who smoke, which doesn't make sense to me. If you can afford to smoke you should be able to afford the insurance you will need to deal with the chronic health problems associated with your habit.

On Seniors' Thursday in this area, a bag (4 litres, 3.85 litres per U.S. gal.) of skim, 1% or 2% milk, that's much of the time $3.97 at several stores, is $3.18 at Shoppers' Drug Mart, where I assume that Debby works. If you're 55 or higher and have their loyalty card. I'm frequently able to arrange things so that I visit them on that day, along with other activities nearby.

As our penny died some time ago, if the milk is the sole purchase, the $3.97 amounts to $3.95, rounded down and the $3.18 is $3.20, out of pocket, rounded up.

Last night I attended a financial presentation by a life insurance/mutual fund guy, dealing with retirement ... and old joyful had a few things to say on the various issues ... especially the bonds, recommended by many for seniors, paying 2% interest that's taxed at top rate, at about 25% for low-income folks, and with official inflation running at about 2%, leaves one under water ... and one can operate under water for a strictly limited time ... before one darn well drowns! I told my recently-elected federal Member of Parliament's office the same message, this afternoon.

I offered near the end, though, that we should look upon money management and budgeting much less as a somewhat onerous and unattractive chore ... than as some fun ... and a few seemed to appreciate that viewpoint. Also ... that learning how money works can be considered as an interesting hobby ... that pays well.

ole joyfuelled

Snidely -- PFM opened a branch in South Kihei; that's were we go. We stick close to home! We don't go Upcountry much, but like Gannon's in Wailea. I am no foodie, and have a small appetite. It's kind of a waste to take me out to dinner!

Now in our seventies, I can see through the telescope the far shore where we will cease 'saving' for the first time in our lives. We've always had vacations and fun -- things we could manage while still saving and raising our DS. We've traveled around the States, the UK and the Continent. We've taken cruises: Baltic, Mediterranean, Caribbean, Panama Canal. We've stayed on various islands in the Caribbean and the four major Hawaiian Islands many times. Now we just do one trip to Maui in winter. It would never have occurred to us to charge a vacation (or anything) that we wouldn't pay for in full next billing statement.

We were fortunate to have parents who were self sufficient throughout their lives and, far from being financial burdens, even left us a bit of money. Unfortunately, we had only one child -- but we also did not have to pay to educate a big family!

We had a mortgage for 30 years. We are able to buy what we want, but don't have extravagant 'wants'. It took us a while to see that we were living a bit too far beneath our means and to move up a bit once DS was grown and DH retired. Nothing wrong with 'frugal', but unhelpful to anyone to be all about saving for its own sake.

I really honestly can say that I don't understand how people can
afford to smoke nowadays. We have patients come in on state aid to our
ER all the time who smoke, which doesn't make sense to me. If you can
afford to smoke you should be able to afford the insurance you will need
to deal with the chronic health problems associated with your habit.

I don't understand how people can afford smoking either. It's all the more puzzling if they have low enough income to be on state aid, yet I doubt if quitting smoking will provide the dollars it takes to buy insurance. My mate and I pay $1365 a month at a group rate and we think that is a good rate. I can't imagine anyone really spends that much on smoking. Do they? What do cigarettes cost?--about $4 a pack?

On the other hand, I've heard that the various stop smoking aids, over the counter and prescription, might cost about the same as smoking. Presumably they'd be a one or two time only expense though. If smoking is really and addiction, it is a medical problem and I wish it could always be addressed successfully.

Another lover of Folgers Black Silk.

Matthias, I know cigs in Chicago cost 10.00 or 11.00 a pack. I was really referring to the health consequences of smoking and the costs related to poor health, in addition to the actual cost of the cigarettes. You probably wouldn't believe the people that come in on inhalers that can continue to smoke because the inhalers are so effective. And those inhalers are not cheap either.

Since you like the Emerils bold let me suggest trying Community club coffee dark roast. We can buy it locally here because it's made in Louisiana. But they have a website for ordering it so you can have it anywhere. In fact they have a wonderful program for sending it to our troops. It is a wonderful company and the coffee is superb. My family has been drinking it and only it for generations, it's the only coffee we buy. I used to have to stock up on it when we lived farther away, each trip home to Louisiana we would stock up on that and our other favorites from there. It would be much cheaper to buy a bag than the k cups, they do sell those too, we are a coffee pot full family.

In case anyone is interested this is a link to the community club coffee Military Match page.

Military Match

DH and I don't budget, we just save 1/2 of our income up front, and spend the rest. Since we never went in for "lifestyle inflation," we don't miss it.

As for coffee, we use a French press. Very simple, inexpensive device. We generally buy Starbucks ground, but the beans are even better.

Scone911, may I ask how you plan to use your savings? (We once did something similar until we realized we had no eventual use for that much savings in our remaining years.)

I feel uneasy posting that we are still able to be saving a bit in our seventies. I know there are people who have too little income to meet their basic needs, let alone save. I can't believe it is always 'poor planning' to blame when so many Americans say they couldn't come up with $500 in an emergency. We'd need to see *both sides* of their ledgers to understand.

@chisue, In the early days, we were starting at zero, so it only made sense to save as much as possible. Later, we both agreed that it would be nice to retire with a certain sum, and not have to worry about the stock market. We also dislike debt.

We also wanted to make sure we had money for hired help and long term care eventually, since we don't have kids to help. Then again, it would be nice to have the bucks to take care of other family members, should the need arise.

So this coming year we plan to build our retirement home in a coastal Maine town. A new house will have less maintenance than our current home, and a "master on the main." Travel is also on the bucket list. I have never seen Paris! So, lots to look forward to.

I guess DH and I value our independence, and the options savings bring. There was a book published a few years ago that really shaped my thinking, called The Millionaire Next Door. I can highly recommend it, along with the Bogleheads forum. HTH.

Scone...I do hope you get to do that traveling while you have the health to do so and have each other. Believe me, when you lose your loved one, traveling isn't much fun without them!

@phoggie, thanks. Unfortunately DH had an aortic dissection two years ago, and last year I had ovarian cancer. So there's no telling how much time we have. But then again you never do know that. :)

Thinking about this some more, my aunts, MIL, DH's aunts, etc. all outlived their husbands, and eventually traveled a bit. I think if I were so devastated that I could not enjoy life, I would suspect clinical depression.