How Do You Afford That? (2)

Yesterday I wrote that a few people (who have some idea of how much we make) have asked us how we can afford to do some things we do (usually referring to going on a decent vacation each year). And I said that the answer is strategic spending. That if you want to spend money on something you have to find something else (less important) to not spend money on. For us (and I’d encourage you to do the same) it’s convenience spending.

What I mean is: (1) Buying coffee at Starbucks when you could have made it at home, and (2) Buying a soda at a gas station when you could have brought one from home, and (3) Eating lunch out when you could have brought lunch to work, and (4) Going out to eat for dinner just because you don’t have anything at home to make, or don’t feel like cooking, and (5) Going through a drive-thru on your way to or from church or the kid’s soccer game – when you could have eaten at home.

We don’t do those things. (Well, just about never.) We eat at restaurants, but only when it’s planned and it’s something special. For us that’s most Friday nights. We eat out once a week, and during the week we talk about where we’re gonna eat and it’s kind of an event.

Tomorrow we’ll run the numbers on this and see the overall impact.