Food Coupons/Discount Codes

I never found the right model for Levis until I found the 514 line. Where were they all my life?

stevewizzle wrote:

Yada wrote:

stevewizzle wrote:

atomic wrote:
I like to spend money it is fun.  I like expensive jeans, glasses, shirts, watches, cars.  I like to go to expensive restaurants and order expensive food.  I like staying in 5 star hotels when I am on vacation.    If I wasn't going to spend so much money I could get a job that is fun like being a lifeguard. 

out of curiosity, what expensive jeans do you buy? 

personally i buy one pair of raw denim a year.  i work outdoors about 50% of the time, so when my nice jeans get old, i rotate them to my work jeans rotation.  i'll have a pair of nice denim for 5+ years.  financially it probably works out to be a wash… lower quality jeans i blow through every 6 months or so.

I average a pair of Levis every few years or so and follow the same model of then wearing said jeans for working in the yard, etc.

i've never found the right model with levi's, and my few explorations into their premium line have left me underwhelmed for the money. i tried to make them work for a few years, and every time i would buy i pair they would never last more than 3 months.  

James wrote:
I guess sometimes the truth hurts?

If you're eating meals at Le Diplomat and  places of that ilk, you're not a thrifty eater.

A couple we're friends with both make six figure, do all their food shopping at Costco, get all their beer from Sam Adams mix packs, cut coupons out of the Sunday paper, and dine at ethnic restaurants in strip malls. That's eating thrifty.

hutch wrote:
James Ford you are so annoying when you get on your money management soapbox… just cut it out…nobody likes it…WTF? Who are you to tell people what to do with their money?

Really not thrifty in my eyes
they don't value food that tastes good, is nutritious, free from toxic things and doesn't destroy the environment shipping it from Vietnam/Chile
They kinda like beer, but don't really value quality or variety …or a good backstory
Cutting coupons… I bet that if they did the ROI, it really wouldn't work out for them
1. coupons are usually for crap, processed food….so crap
2. they only usually are only for a few items in the store, where the rest of the items are more…so are you saving money?
3. sometimes you have to go to multiple stores to reap the benefits…so gas and time

In my opinion…they are not thrify.  They are cheap, with poor taste in food and beer (and the environment) and they are really like to waste hours and gas to save a few dollars

so go for it…emulate them

James wrote:
Please point out where I was giving Yada unsolicited advice. The three of us are probably more on the same page than not.

stevewizzle wrote:

James wrote:
I guess sometimes the truth hurts?

If you're eating meals at Le Diplomat and  places of that ilk, you're not a thrifty eater.

A couple we're friends with both make six figure, do all their food shopping at Costco, get all their beer from Sam Adams mix packs, cut coupons out of the Sunday paper, and dine at ethnic restaurants in strip malls. That's eating thrifty.

hutch wrote:
James Ford you are so annoying when you get on your money management soapbox… just cut it out…nobody likes it…WTF? Who are you to tell people what to do with their money?

what's your goal of being thrifty/frugal, JF? one can be frugal or thrifty for decades, and find themselves in a financial situation where they can start to splurge in certain areas, and continue to be thrifty in others.  i call this "investing in yourself".  sounds like yada has been plenty thrifty in his lifetime if he's allowed the luxuries you speak of, and you maybe should be asking him for advice rather than providing yours unsolicited.  

it's indirect, but it's there.  you're using a different vehicle for your financial preaching here… using a third party for an example of what you think it the correct definition of thrifty.  maybe your six figure friends have six figure jobs because they spent their whole life not being thrifty, and now they have to because they lived outside their means their whole life or had too many kids, etc.. the fault in all of your financial discussion is that nothing is as black as white as you describe it as. correlation does not imply causation, and all that jazz.

edit: also, everything sidehatch said.

James wrote:

Do you carry any credit card debt from month to month? If you do, that makes you stupid.

I have no credit card debt.  I don't charge credit cards and pay them off at the end of the month either.  I don't spend more than I have in my checking account.  I usually put whatever I have left over into my savings account each pay period.  I have a couple of thousand every two weeks to spend on whatever I want.  Usually I end up with a surplus.  

I pay more than my minimum car payments each month.   I put the max into my 401k.  But if I see something I want to buy I buy it.  Is this some sort of contest?

Now who is the one who is being a judgmental prick?  ;)

I never claimed that their lifestyle was better or worse than Yada's. Just that they likely spend far less on food. And for the record, our food spending habits are probably closer to Yada's than to our friends.

Sidehatch wrote:

James wrote:
I guess sometimes the truth hurts?

If you're eating meals at Le Diplomat and  places of that ilk, you're not a thrifty eater.

A couple we're friends with both make six figure, do all their food shopping at Costco, get all their beer from Sam Adams mix packs, cut coupons out of the Sunday paper, and dine at ethnic restaurants in strip malls. That's eating thrifty.

hutch wrote:
James Ford you are so annoying when you get on your money management soapbox… just cut it out…nobody likes it…WTF? Who are you to tell people what to do with their money?

Really not thrifty in my eyes
they don't value food that tastes good, is nutritious, free from toxic things and doesn't destroy the environment shipping it from Vietnam/Chile
They kinda like beer, but don't really value quality or variety …or a good backstory
Cutting coupons… I bet that if they did the ROI, it really wouldn't work out for them
1. coupons are usually for crap, processed food….so crap
2. they only usually are only for a few items in the store, where the rest of the items are more…so are you saving money?
3. sometimes you have to go to multiple stores to reap the benefits…so gas and time

In my opinion…they are not thrify.  They are cheap, with poor taste in food and beer (and the environment) and they are really like to waste hours and gas to save a few dollars

so go for it…emulate them

I believe I've spoken extensively in the past about my dry cleaning of denim.

Why do you have car payments? Wouldn't it be better to pay cash for the car and invest the money you pay on the payments in something with a return on investment? I'm asking, not accusing.

atomic wrote:

James wrote:

Do you carry any credit card debt from month to month? If you do, that makes you stupid.

I have no credit card debt.  I don't charge credit cards and pay them off at the end of the month either.  I don't spend more than I have in my checking account.  I usually put whatever I have left over into my savings account each pay period.  I have a couple of thousand every two weeks to spend on whatever I want.  Usually I end up with a surplus.  

I pay more than my minimum car payments each month.   I put the max into my 401k.  But if I see something I want to buy I buy it.  Is this some sort of contest?

stevewizzle wrote:

atomic wrote:
I like to spend money it is fun.  I like expensive jeans, glasses, shirts, watches, cars.  I like to go to expensive restaurants and order expensive food.  I like staying in 5 star hotels when I am on vacation.    If I wasn't going to spend so much money I could get a job that is fun like being a lifeguard. 

out of curiosity, what expensive jeans do you buy? 

personally i buy one pair of raw denim a year.  i work outdoors about 50% of the time, so when my nice jeans get old, i rotate them to my work jeans rotation.  i'll have a pair of nice denim for 5+ years.  financially it probably works out to be a wash… lower quality jeans i blow through every 6 months or so.

I guess they aren't really that expensive.  80 bucks on average I guess.  But I buy Lucky Brand Jeans.  They seem to hold up better than most jeans. 

James wrote:
Why do you have car payments? Wouldn't it be better to pay cash for the car and invest the money you pay on the payments in something with a return on investment? I'm asking, not accusing.

atomic wrote:

James wrote:

Do you carry any credit card debt from month to month? If you do, that makes you stupid.

I have no credit card debt.  I don't charge credit cards and pay them off at the end of the month either.  I don't spend more than I have in my checking account.  I usually put whatever I have left over into my savings account each pay period.  I have a couple of thousand every two weeks to spend on whatever I want.  Usually I end up with a surplus.  

I pay more than my minimum car payments each month.   I put the max into my 401k.  But if I see something I want to buy I buy it.  Is this some sort of contest?

I could I guess save up five years for a car but as interest payments are next to nothing on new cars it really doesn't make any sense.  Also you will earn next to nothing putting your money in the bank.  What can you invest in now that will guarantee you a ROI of any substance? 

Did you pay cash for your house?

back on topic.

I didn't pay cash for my house, but we made as large of a down payment as we could, and pay it off more aggressively than necessary. Which may not be the most financially prudent thing, but getting rid of all debt would make me a happier man.

atomic wrote:

James wrote:
Why do you have car payments? Wouldn't it be better to pay cash for the car and invest the money you pay on the payments in something with a return on investment? I'm asking, not accusing.

atomic wrote:

James wrote:

Do you carry any credit card debt from month to month? If you do, that makes you stupid.

I have no credit card debt.  I don't charge credit cards and pay them off at the end of the month either.  I don't spend more than I have in my checking account.  I usually put whatever I have left over into my savings account each pay period.  I have a couple of thousand every two weeks to spend on whatever I want.  Usually I end up with a surplus.  

I pay more than my minimum car payments each month.   I put the max into my 401k.  But if I see something I want to buy I buy it.  Is this some sort of contest?

I could I guess save up five years for a car but as interest payments are next to nothing on new cars it really doesn't make any sense.  Also you will earn next to nothing putting your money in the bank.  What can you invest in now that will guarantee you a ROI of any substance? 

Did you pay cash for your house?

James wrote:
I didn't pay cash for my house, but we made as large of a down payment as we could, and pay it off more aggressively than necessary. Which may not be the most financially prudent thing, but getting rid of all debt would make me a happier man.

atomic wrote:

James wrote:
Why do you have car payments? Wouldn't it be better to pay cash for the car and invest the money you pay on the payments in something with a return on investment? I'm asking, not accusing.

atomic wrote:

James wrote:

Do you carry any credit card debt from month to month? If you do, that makes you stupid.

I have no credit card debt.  I don't charge credit cards and pay them off at the end of the month either.  I don't spend more than I have in my checking account.  I usually put whatever I have left over into my savings account each pay period.  I have a couple of thousand every two weeks to spend on whatever I want.  Usually I end up with a surplus.  

I pay more than my minimum car payments each month.   I put the max into my 401k.  But if I see something I want to buy I buy it.  Is this some sort of contest?

I could I guess save up five years for a car but as interest payments are next to nothing on new cars it really doesn't make any sense.  Also you will earn next to nothing putting your money in the bank.  What can you invest in now that will guarantee you a ROI of any substance? 

Did you pay cash for your house?

So you can retire early?  Well if you use those two egg mcmuffins for 3 bucks every day you could save quite a bit of money. 

atomic wrote:

James wrote:
I didn't pay cash for my house, but we made as large of a down payment as we could, and pay it off more aggressively than necessary. Which may not be the most financially prudent thing, but getting rid of all debt would make me a happier man.

atomic wrote:

James wrote:
Why do you have car payments? Wouldn't it be better to pay cash for the car and invest the money you pay on the payments in something with a return on investment? I'm asking, not accusing.

atomic wrote:

James wrote:

Do you carry any credit card debt from month to month? If you do, that makes you stupid.

I have no credit card debt.  I don't charge credit cards and pay them off at the end of the month either.  I don't spend more than I have in my checking account.  I usually put whatever I have left over into my savings account each pay period.  I have a couple of thousand every two weeks to spend on whatever I want.  Usually I end up with a surplus.  

I pay more than my minimum car payments each month.   I put the max into my 401k.  But if I see something I want to buy I buy it.  Is this some sort of contest?

I could I guess save up five years for a car but as interest payments are next to nothing on new cars it really doesn't make any sense.  Also you will earn next to nothing putting your money in the bank.  What can you invest in now that will guarantee you a ROI of any substance? 

Did you pay cash for your house?

So you can retire early?  Well if you use those two egg mcmuffins for 3 bucks every day you could save quite a bit of money. 

It's hard to win against Jimmy… You say you eat a McD's to save money and then it would turn into a conversation about how bad McD's is and not about it being a fiscally smart move.

What do you consider "retiring early"?

My brother just "retired" from his government job at age 44. He's a happy man. I also think he will run out of money if he's not thrifty.

I myself enjoy what I do and never want to retire. I suppose if I had all my debt paid off and had money left over after helping out my daughter and maybe my mom financially, maybe I'd give more to charity.

atomic wrote:

James wrote:
I didn't pay cash for my house, but we made as large of a down payment as we could, and pay it off more aggressively than necessary. Which may not be the most financially prudent thing, but getting rid of all debt would make me a happier man.

atomic wrote:

James wrote:
Why do you have car payments? Wouldn't it be better to pay cash for the car and invest the money you pay on the payments in something with a return on investment? I'm asking, not accusing.

atomic wrote:

James wrote:

Do you carry any credit card debt from month to month? If you do, that makes you stupid.

I have no credit card debt.  I don't charge credit cards and pay them off at the end of the month either.  I don't spend more than I have in my checking account.  I usually put whatever I have left over into my savings account each pay period.  I have a couple of thousand every two weeks to spend on whatever I want.  Usually I end up with a surplus.  

I pay more than my minimum car payments each month.   I put the max into my 401k.  But if I see something I want to buy I buy it.  Is this some sort of contest?

I could I guess save up five years for a car but as interest payments are next to nothing on new cars it really doesn't make any sense.  Also you will earn next to nothing putting your money in the bank.  What can you invest in now that will guarantee you a ROI of any substance? 

Did you pay cash for your house?

So you can retire early?  Well if you use those two egg mcmuffins for 3 bucks every day you could save quite a bit of money. 

It's really weird that none of you seem to be factoring in your trust funds or accrued interests on your family's charitable trust foundations in this discussion.

It would actually cost you more to eat at McDonalds than to cook healthier versions of the same food yourself. And the medical bills…

Sidehatch would tell you that. Or Morgan Spurlock. True story.


Don't any of you read and enjoy Michelle Singletary's columns in the Post?

Yada wrote:

atomic wrote:

James wrote:
I didn't pay cash for my house, but we made as large of a down payment as we could, and pay it off more aggressively than necessary. Which may not be the most financially prudent thing, but getting rid of all debt would make me a happier man.

atomic wrote:

James wrote:
Why do you have car payments? Wouldn't it be better to pay cash for the car and invest the money you pay on the payments in something with a return on investment? I'm asking, not accusing.

atomic wrote:

James wrote:

Do you carry any credit card debt from month to month? If you do, that makes you stupid.

I have no credit card debt.  I don't charge credit cards and pay them off at the end of the month either.  I don't spend more than I have in my checking account.  I usually put whatever I have left over into my savings account each pay period.  I have a couple of thousand every two weeks to spend on whatever I want.  Usually I end up with a surplus.  

I pay more than my minimum car payments each month.   I put the max into my 401k.  But if I see something I want to buy I buy it.  Is this some sort of contest?

I could I guess save up five years for a car but as interest payments are next to nothing on new cars it really doesn't make any sense.  Also you will earn next to nothing putting your money in the bank.  What can you invest in now that will guarantee you a ROI of any substance? 

Did you pay cash for your house?

So you can retire early?  Well if you use those two egg mcmuffins for 3 bucks every day you could save quite a bit of money. 

It's hard to win against Jimmy… You say you eat a McD's to save money and then it would turn into a conversation about how bad McD's is and not about it being a fiscally smart move.

My dad died 18 years ago and my mom lives from one social security check to the next.

Julian, wrote:
It's really weird that none of you seem to be factoring in your trust funds or accrued interests on your family's charitable trust foundations in this discussion.

James wrote:
My dad died 18 years ago and my mom lives from one social security check to the next.

And meanwhile you hoard craft beer and go on multiple international vacations.  What a dick.

James wrote:
My dad died 18 years ago and my mom lives from one social security check to the next.

Julian, wrote:
It's really weird that none of you seem to be factoring in your trust funds or accrued interests on your family's charitable trust foundations in this discussion.

My goodness, sorry to hear that. Why are none of your family's socialite friends holding annual fundraiser balls for your benefit?

I also took her and paid her way on two international vacations (she had never been out of the country prior to that), and pay 100% of her bill when we go out anywhere. I'd help her out more if I could, but my wife would never allow it. Yes, what a dick I am.

ggw wrote:

James wrote:
My dad died 18 years ago and my mom lives from one social security check to the next.

And meanwhile you hoard craft beer and go on multiple international vacations.  What a dick.