Yeah, nobody uses thermoses anymore, except maybe construction workers out on a job site.

 

Seriously? I use thermos everyday, since the coffée shop takes $2.50 a pop. Not that I couldn't afford it, but why waste good money on something you can get many times cheaper by bringing? I'll rather spend my money on necessities, like headphones. :)

Well, at least that is what I am seeing here in the USA. 

well not that but my point is, a large part of the current issue in the west (particularly the US) is that we westereners like buying stuff from china, lots of stuff.  the problem is china isnt buying much in return, trade is what makes the world go round, if you buy something from me then i have money to buy something from you and so forth.

 

its only imbalanced trade thats a problem if total in is vastly more than total out or vice versa.  it doesnt matter who the trade is with so long as they then also trade with others.

I'm a college student, so "budgeting" for me is more like "debt minimization", since overall I'm spending >10x what I make working on my education/living expenses.

As far as day-to-day living:

 

Sharing all my textbooks, I live with 2 other people who are in all the same classes as me, we each bought 1 textbook this semester. Since I purchased an international edition I spent $20 on textbooks instead of the standard $400

Food: I live on rice/beans, pasta with homemade sauce (not only cheaper, but a LOT tastier), peanutbutter sandwitches, etc.

Drink: I drink a lot of tea and coffee now, and I got an espresso maker so I can have my caffeine fix without being tempted by the starbucks on campus. As a side note, I've also finally realized just how bad starbucks espresso really is.

Clothes: I do tend to spend a lot on clothes, because I'm an awkward size that's hard to find used clothes for (30x34 pants and medium-long t-shirts), and I tend to kill clothes fairly quickly because I'm a clutz. But I'm trying to work on a solution to that

Hygene: I switched to using a double edged razor. The Merkur 23C cost me around $30 bucks, and blades are dirt cheap. The handle paid for itself within a single pack of blades vs. a gillete mach 3.

 

As far as hobbies:

My personal rule isn't so much on budgeting my hobby purchases, but on never buying something unless I can break even when I sell it. That's why my audio purchases tend to be DIY or vintage. The only real net "loss" from my hobbies is music purchases, but I can live with that. The music is lifesaving.

oh on text books americans get utterly bum raped, i never know why you put up with it.

 

 

and starbucks do not make coffee, the make coffee flavoured desserts :-)

No more expensive watches for me.  

Yesterday's technology is sufficient, so it's i5 computer rather than i7 for my next upgrade.

I keep reminding myself that most things do not add positive value to my life.  

That's only because you aren't buying their plain triple espresso. That's good stuff.

Also, used textbooks at 3rd party stores, I saved hundreds of $ that way.

We don't really do much in the way of budgeting, but we do recycle everything we can.
Edited by Magick Man - 9/19/12 at 2:14am

 

How about power consumption? Electricity = money. I suppose a small netbook might be best in terms of that.

 

I'm using an energy-efficient AMD 5050e CPU which is rated for a reasonable 45 W TDP. I've got a program that automatically underclocks (multiplier 13x -> 5x; 2.6 GHz -> 1 GHz) and undervolts (1.125 V -> 0.8 V) the processor when idle or using very little processing power, like right now typing this message.

 

For a video card I'm using the Radeon HD 5770 which has an 18 W TDP when idle and a somewhat reasonable 108 W TDP when at full load. A better option would be to use an integrated video chip, but I occasionally like to play games (bought on sale of course).

 

My hard drive is a 2.5-inch model meant for laptops, connected via an adapter - it uses very little power and is quite silent as well.

 

Also using a 15" LCD which I suppose uses less energy than a bigger screen, though that's not a given.

"Also using a 15" LCD which I suppose uses less energy than a bigger screen, though that's not a given."

 

LED monitors(LED backlight LCD ones) use only around half the power of a flourescent baclight LCD one(around 22 watts vs 45 watts for a 22" one). Old CRT monitors are really power hogs at around 150 watts for a 19" one.

 

The power savings in going from an older LCD monitor to an LED one may not be enough to justify buying an LED monitor if your LCD one works fine(unless your electricity rate is very high, and you use your monitor many hours a day) , however you should keep  in mind the power savings when you are thinking about buying a new one.

I just rape and pillage as needed.

"13 Ways Americans Throw Away Money"

 

Very interesting.

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/13-ways-americans-throw-away-money.html

1. Keep the refrigerator at least two feet away from the wall which helps to keep it cooler. This reduced my electric bill by twenty dollars a month.

2. Unplug all appliances that arent being used at the moment.

3. Use an Energy Star air conditioner. Use the fan mode on it which brings in fresh air and cost the same as using a regular fan which would only move old air around.

4. Cook my own food which always taste better then eat out.

5. Buy my music, movies, clothes etc at Thrift shops when possible. I'll still take a trip to the big stores a few times though out of wanting to support them being in the neighborhood. I'll look for the discounts though.

6. Make a list of what i want to buy before going shopping so i dont get caught up in advertising tricks to make one buy more.

7. Lead a healthy life. Being sick is a pain in the neck financially and quality of life wise.

8. I dont have cable or regular television since 2004. When it comes to news and entertainment its the radio or the internet or discount dvd movies i can watch whenever i want.

9. I live alone so i rent from a studio apartment which is cheaper.

10. I dont drink or smoke thanks to a great school upbringing and positive rolemodels. Definitely helps with the money compared to some of my friends constantly struggling due to a smoking habit.

11. I trim my hair to hold off on a haircut for as long as possible.

12. If possible i walk to wherever i need to go.