People with HBO when I was little WERE rich!!!!

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Shaking in my boots (well, if I was wearing them in the middle of summer!), but glad to be back!

LOL...people with cable when I was little were rich! My parents stuck a big antenna on top of our house!

I recently visited a home the same...but the couple is ever-so-humble. They don't flaunt it and actually, the wife is somewhat embarrassed about living in such a huge house. I went over for a girls' night out...and when I got out and walked up the sidewalk to the huge, gorgeous front door, I felt like Dorothy when she was going to visit the Wizard!! LOL

I see those things...and think it would be nice to have them...but I like my payment on my home just fine, thanks!!!

and....Granted they probably have a cleaning service but the bigger the house, the more you have to keep clean!! No Thank you!

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Lots of good points made in this thread. This is one of the reasons why I like this board. People who 'get' not needing to buy stuff and have all new stuff. I often feel like we have too much when I see refugees living in tents or the folks that are still living in trailers after Katrina.

I also feel good about myself at night when I know I spent the day doing what I could for the environment and my family.

The Mom probably thought I was crazy when I told her about our local consignment shop

I've thought about having a larger house before, but it's hard enough to keep the one I have clean, let alone cleaning MORE. DH and I have not bought anything on credit for a long time, except for our car, and plan on keeping it that way. If we don't have the money, we can decide to either save or forgo. I would love to have a huge flat screen tv, but I'm not really willing to pay that much for one...yet.

The only time I can remember really being jealous of where someone lived was when I was a kid. We went to church with a pro-football player in MN. They had a horse corral that had a mini old-west type town around the corral. Seriously, they had a saloon, a hotel, a grocery, restaurant, etc. It was super cute and if I had the money, I would do it for my kids. They had sleep-outs in the hotel, too. I think I'm still jealous!

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My Blog ~ I am currently updating this with my favorite natural beauty routines (some are edible!) and more!


Frugal is being wise with your money and resources and cheap is forcing everyone else to.

We live in a house that used to be 2- 2 bedroom houses on top of each other. I have 2 living rooms (one is now a master bedroom) 4 bedrooms (not including the master) 2 full baths, 2 kitchens (we don't use one) and a dining room. I HATE IT! I was SO glad when Dh agreed with me that when our lease ends next month that we could DOWN SIZE. We rented a 3 bedroom/2 full bath apartment, and I'm SOOOOOOOOO excited.

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we didn't have a playdate with the Joneses but we did go to their house for a suprise 30th birthday party. It was beautiful. It didn't make me feel like a hillbilly but just not a very good decorator. I told her that when I move into my new house I am going to hire her to decorate my house. I just didn't get that decorating gene. I try to decorate but I am just no good.

I have found working at the bank that people that drive up in mercedes dont always have alot of money. Sometimes they just have alot of debt. Actually the people that dont appear to have money do I guess thats how they have it they live below their means.

If it makes you feel better, you are probably a Jones to me. I live in an almost 800 sq foot condo with my husband and 3 kids. I wonder too how people can afford such expensive stuff! My husband makes good money and even when I was working we did pretty well but I wouldn't consider spending extravagantly on things like a TV in every room. We buy mostly neccessities and some extra fun stuff but we're happy. Our retirement is taken care of, our kids savings are growing and we have some money in the bank without a lot of debt. Be happy with what you have They probably aren't.

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A day without laughter is a day wasted.