Do you feel deprived on your budget or income and if so, are you able to compensate for these feelings? I usually don't feel deprived as I've found alternative/ creative ways to acquire most things I need or want. I also make sure I pamper myself frugally on a regular basis. I bake gourmet desserts from scratch and have afternoon tea, I make sugar and salt bath scrubs from scratch, I make milk baths from powdered milk and take bubble baths with scented candles. I do my own hair,manicures, pedicures and facials. I'm becoming quite adept and proud of making a lot of my own groceries and products. I am an avid reader and now swap books, buy online or use the library. I also enjoy books on tape from the library. I sometimes will browse the local bookstore and sit and have coffee and dessert. I rarely buy from there anymore though. I use frequent flyer points and hotel points to travel and sometimes will travel with dh long distance as he makes his mall deliveries.

Good for you Staceyy, you've got lots of good things going on.:)
When I do feel a bit down, doing something for myself or others does pick me up.:)

I have to say that I think it is quite exciting to take control of my finances and life. I don't feel deprived because I'm living like no one else now so later I will live like no one else. I feel more powerful and happy on this journey!!
I sure wouldn't want to go back to my old ways.

Not feeling deprived at all. I allow myself a little extra spending money each month to go out and do the things I like or buy the things I want otherwise I would have a terrible time motivating myself to stick to the program I have outlined. I also give myself little rewards for milestones, like paying off a debt. They're just little treats but I find they mean so much more than all the junk that I've bought before now.

I also have found new hobbies, like actually cooking dinner for myself which cost less than the entertainment I used to indulge in which helps a lot. And it's a lot of fun to try and figure out how to go without buying something or another. It's like a game to me, how long can I go without buying this that or the other. Sometimes, I've found that I can go completely without and others I've found I can only go a few days but it's fun.

I read a Smart Women Finish Rich not too long ago and I really identified with the idea that you should spend your money where your values lie and my values are pretty simple. Spending time with family and friends, having quiet time to myself, giving back to the community all these things are free and give me a sense of satisifaction that I had been missing.

this week i do, because hubby mixed up my pay off the c.c. system and the the frugal ways i spend on myself im spending on bday gifts and groceries for next week. But next month hopefully it will be better, and i can do more frugal crafting, thats what gets me through, my crafting!!!

I'm pretty new at being frugal. We started being frugal in April after we found out that we're pregnant. I'm still in the roller-coaster. I still feel deprive every now and then.

One thing that works for me when I feel deprived is to go over my "stuff" that I have. ( I have a room just for my stuff, I'm planning on getting rid of 75% of the "stuff" by Christmas) When I feel the urge to go shopping, I go into my room, and sort through my stuff, then realize that I don't need any more "stuff" or JUNKS. I guess it gives me a reality check. It gets easier, and easier, I'm getting into the habbit of not going shopping although I do still feel deprive about 25% of the time.

Hopefully, soon I will be able to be frugal without making myself be frugal. I'm still learning and changing. Thanks to everyone in here for all the helps/supports.

I think I've found a balance in trying to do enough things that are "treats" but don't break my budget.

No I actually feel more secure and happy because I know we have the funds to survive when others around me are going under again. I also like the look of my retirement account. I've got other friends who have nothing socked away for their retirement. Now that would scare me to death. I'd rather do without a few things now to have food and shelter in my later years.

Laurie in Bradenton

I do NOT feel deprived!

Look at all I have: A home with heat, AC, phone, internet, cable, electricity and running hot water. A vehicle that is reliable and comfortable (also with AC) - plus dh's vehicle. A wonderful variety of healthy foods to eat. And enjoyable ways to spend my time.

I think that's all I need (besides family - but you can't buy family). :)

I don't feel deprived. I look at this like this: DH and I can indulge in whatever we like, as long as it's paid for upfront 100%. We carry no debt other than our mortgage. If we can't afford it now, we don't buy it. Period.

Example, we take a Christmas trip each year. Last year it was Hawaii. Not frugal by any stretch of the imagination, but worth every penny. DH is a big WWII buff...he got to realize one of his life dreams by visiting Pearl Harbor. Seeing him so happy and excited was worth more to me than spun gold.

As I always do, I researched every part of the trip--air, hotel, excursions, etc.--and made sure we got the most bang for our buck.

That's the kind of "return on investment" we get by living frugally in our everyday lives. It works for us. :)

We really don't feel deprived at all. . we try to make our budget and frugality a game, or an adventure. . we all realize that life is about choices, and how we spend our money is a choice. . . we could choose to eat out 3 or more times a week, but then we'd have less money to spend elsewhere. . . and so forth.

I do not feel deprived either, for the most part. I am pretty new at this but I have seen the amazing difference something as small as "no spend" days can make to my finances. I also feel really good about teaching my children valuable life lessons -- they are learning about money at such an early age I can only hope that they do not run into the same financial problems that I have.

Sometimes I do feel deprived, like when there is no money to get DH a haircut, and we have no emergency fund at all. DH missed one day of work last week because he was sick, and that means no pay for that day. That is at least a week's worth of groceries. We really do the best we can with our limited income, and DH has been going to school, and looking for a better paying job.

I was feeling kind of sorry for myself today, because I am sick, too. I had to make it to work, no choice about that at all. As long as I could still walk, I was going. Our standard of living is the lowest it has ever been. The price of gas has made me a prisoner in my own home. We can't even find free events to attend, because the cost of gas to go anywhere makes it impossible.

For the most part, I don't. I know that even if we could afford "it," that it probably wouldn't be worth it!

Of course, it has taken a while to re-train myself to be free (ok, at least scaled back) from "wants." Not having a TV set has certainly helped. And yes, the "Sports Car Fund" in my siggy is really going for a S2000 convertible ;-)

Im going to freely admit that YES I FEEL DEPRIVED but Im proud to feel this way - I CHOOSE to feel this way. I know if I can stick to this very tight budget I WILL BE OUT OF DEBT by the end of Sept/06.

I've learned to reuse what I have, find alternatives for things I 'want' to buy and tried to see how long I can make things last out of the things that I do have. I've also learned to live without and have tried to make the bf understand why I am living the way I am.

Im so tight with the money that every penny is accounted for and its been driving my entire family, bf and friends nuts. "Sorry I didnt budget for that. Cant do that this wk - maybe in 3 more weeks I can?" And they all get upset and end up paying for me b/c I wont pay to go anywhere or do anything. (Ive explained to them my situation and choice. Its not something I NEED to go see or do.)

But this is my choice, suffer now for a future w/o debt - and since this goal is SOOOO totally doable - Im going to do it!

NB - I have all the things I need in life....roof over my head, food, hydro, water, and a car that runs very well. Now, its just up to me to make the right choices.

At times I do, but I know in the long run I will feel much better when I have no car payment and will have extra money when this monkey is off my back.

Funny you should ask this just now. Before, when it was throw every penny on the mortgage, I would have said 'yes', I feel deprived. But it was short term, from January till mid-June. Now we just wait for the bank to pay it down for us on regular payments. That means we have $350 extra in our bank account this month and, starting next month, $900 extra. I don't feel deprived at all at the moment. I feel a great lifting of weight. The mortgage is basically gone. The only debt we have.

Dh and I have been celebrating, perhaps a bit too much, with a lunch out and buying books. But you know, our attitude is a little different now. We eat half orders of salads for lunch and share a dessert. We're plenty full. I buy only books I know I'll use a lot...a grilling book for a summer's entertainment in the backyard, a smoothie cookbook to get those extra fruits and vegies I need to lose weight. There's more thought behind our purchases. Things have to be useful in the long term.

If I really feel deprived I give my feet a hot wax treatment and settle down with a favourite book or magazine. Or have afternoon tea and read. I spend a lot of time doing my hobbies. This year I've focused on finding cheap ways to do them with considerable success. I do a crossword puzzle every day.

In fact being frugal allows me to lead a life of leisure. So to me it's worth being frugal if it means I can have this much fun!

Jean

No, I can honestly say I do not feel deprived at all. I like to save and watch my savings grow, and I am finding that my priorities with my spending have shifted dramatically.

I have a roof over my head, food on the table, warm clothes and some money put aside for a rainy day....

I'm not trying to keep up with the Jones', and I'm not deprived :)

Oddly, I don't feel deprived financially, but I sometimes I do when I see 'stuff' I don't have. I don't have a large new television with cable, so sometimes I drool. But I do have a timeshare and I when I get there the first thing I do is sit in front of "the box", a little later I accept that I don't really care about television and do something else. (LOL) Plus I hardly ever watch it at home.

Usually I'm to busy to feel deprived but yes, I do have times when it gets me down. We're on a 10 year plan and sometime it seems so long and hard. I try to go take a walk on the property and remind myself why we're doing it, we want the land paid off and to be as self sufficient as possible.

When I have a day I feel deprived I call that a "condo day" thats a day I want to take my best friends and run away to a condo on the beach somewhere complete with a maid and a cabana boy to bring us those drinks with the little umbrellas, lol!

kj

Most of the time I dont, these last 6 months have been very hard and yes at times I have felt deprived - mainly for my kids - just simple things like there is no extra money to buy them an ice cream on a hot day, or to be able to go out and buy myself a book, hopefully the next 6 months will be better!

My dh and I have always been pretty frugal but since being a SAHM for the last 2 years and then being in Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University (currently) it seems like our frugality has totally intensified. I like it but at the same time it is hard b/c I feel like we are already frugal. Like we've never carried a credit card debt. 99% of our home improvements/repairs have been done by us (ok, mainly dh). We both went to private colleges - by the time that I finished with my masters I think I owed somewhere around $40,000. Private colleges are fabulous and, unfortunately expensive. However, the only debt we have now is our house.

So when we go as a family to our town's Fourth of July Festival and I want to get an Elephant Ear and we see that it costs $5 (I mean $5 for a piece of fried dough? COME ON!!!) we chose not to get one. That is when I feel deprived. Yes we had the cash but knowing it was early in the month - I would rather use it for a date later or whatever. I don't regret not getting a $5 elephant ear, I just wish I could have found one for 2.50 :) Anyone got a good recipe???:lip:

Really, I don't feel all that deprived. I've changed how I view certain expenditures and I know that sacrifice now means more later on and more for my kids and their needs. I think my dh feels deprived though. He still thinks he can and should have whatever he wants when he wants it.

I do sometimes feel deprived because since I left my spouse I'm making minimum wage, adn paying off some acrued debt that I didn't make but that will affect me negatively. This pay period I have 1.78 a day to spend on anything like gas in a car that I can borrow when it's not in use and I have to get to work...getting my things shipped down from the islands (everything I own, including my clothes) really exciting things like that. I do count my blessings, and I'm working very hard to get stablized, but it means that nothing is a treat and won't be for some time. Sometimes it feels like I'm working without any breaks just to make it to the next pay period. It's a grind.

That's not to say that I feel like that every day or anything, but it can feel oppressive sometimes.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHH YYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!
Yes I DEFINITELY feel deprived sometimes!!! Mostly on Friday afternoons when our friends roll by our ranch pulling their big fancy campers with their fancy new trucks. Yep days like that are rough.....of course they usually pull in and say hi and chat a bit......makes me want to latch on to the bumper and go with them. My kids get sad too but they know we only have so much money and none of it is budgeted for a new camper, our old clunker will have to do. Of course the worst is pulling our old clunker in next to the shiney new ones. UGH!!!!! Other than that we try to look at the bright side most of the time......if that doesn't work I throw open the cupboard doors to my fabric stash and drool.......what was the question again?