lol this whole thread was worth reading just for that mspaint.

Agreed.

Also OP, you need to grow a beard to save on razor blade and shaving cream costs.

This!

Update: this may be my last post as I might be exiled from OOT on December 3rd, due to a contest I unfortunately found myself in

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/34...osters-928938/

It's been about 5 months since I first started this thread and I have become considerably more conscientious about spending and saving my money. My salary is still the same $65k, many of my colleagues and I agreed to a pay freeze in order to keep anyone from being fired. I am very grateful that I am still employed.

I now shop for groceries in Queens, mostly in Trader Joe's and Costco. The prices are much lower than in the city and the food is high quality. My gf and I still mostly cook our meals at home, and yes, olive oil is still a must but I now purchase $7 bottles of it at TJ's and they last a lot longer.

My gf joined a weight watchers group and a gym. To date she has lost almost 20 pounds, and is hoping to reach her goal weight of 120lbs by next spring.

I am still paying off my credit card debt, and have incurred no new debt. I actually saved about $5k in the last 6 months which I will be contributing to an IRA. Hopefully after all my debt is paid off in two years, I will be able to save more money which I can invest in for my future as well.

Not too much more to say other than for the first time I've set a limit on holiday spending, which I fully intend to stick to. While setting up and sticking to a strict budget has been tough, it also has given me more peace of mind knowing that I'll be alright, better than just the "poor" shmoe I thought I was. I now live beneath my means instead of above it, yet I feel a lot richer. Life is good.

Happy Holiday's to all who have read and posted in this thread, and the best of luck to all of you.

still fantastic

Grunching.

Dood. Get rid of cable and any landline. if you have a data plan, get rid of that too. Watch tv on hulu and espn.com. Should reduce your phone/cable/internet monthly bill.

Eat cheaper. Buy food at Walmart/Target/Costco. Sell your car and buy a cheaper crap car with lower insurance.

Grunching, default on everything, start from scratch. It's The American Way.

Sadly, only half-kidding.

I eliminated both cable and my landline. Don't pay extra for data, only $40/month for MetroPCS includes everything. I'm a film buff but no longer go out to the movies, watch everything through Netflix.

I do eat (and drink) cheaper now. I shop TJ's and Costco regularly, but no Walmart in NYC. I have a cheap car now/low insurance premium, just repairs get expensive but I try to do as much myself as possible now, including oil changes.

Problem with that is you're left with 6-7 years of bad credit and low FICO scores. I worked in the industry and know all too well.

THE CELLULAR MONGOOSE!

Somehow missed that Dr. Spaceman mspaint the first time around. Tremendous.

I lol'd so many times ITT

A+

the question itself is spoiled. poor. lol.

i don't know a whole lot about IRAs, but shouldn't you be putting that 5k towards your credit card debt? the interest rate on that is just killing you.

congrats on everything else, though.

edit: wait, i'm not going to read the thread again, but i vaguely remember something about working out a fixed schedule to pay the credit card debt? if that's true, and you're not incurring any new interest, then cool.

Yeah, if I'd had any sense, I would have declared bankruptcy 7 years ago when divorce screwed my finances. Instead, I tried to Do The Right Thing. A lot of good that did me...

does your lazy ass girlfriend have a job yet

Cut your spending and pay off that debt.

DLU will you be my life coach?

**** you. I saw him first.

Get outta here with your ******ed advice..wtf?

somewhat grunching, but this is the crux of the whole matter. you dont make $65k a year. calling your pretax amount of earnings your income is just silly unless an accountant asked you how much you make. otherwise, the only relevant # is how much of your income you have to spend.

you bring in roughly $44k a year. and yes, thats kinda poor for NY.

Pretty much every person I can think of refers to their gross income when talking about what wage they make.

Taken from Wiki;

It is kind of poor if you choose to live by middle class standards, otherwise 65K is plenty to get by.

This.

What's the median income of people living in Manhattan? NYC is huge and some boroughs are pretty poor. 65k is a wage you could live in reasonably well with 2 people in one of the poorer boroughs but for Manhattan you'd be struggling.