I fit into frugal too, Bridget. And sometimes it's really fun getting a GREAT deal. :chili::chili: I think part of it came from my mom living through the depression in '29 and telling me that someone jumped off a building in front of her and she could never erase it, or the struggles people went through then, out of her mind. Also my dad died when I was 6, and he was quite young, so our income was tight. My mom always pushed us to make sure we put money away in savings and we've been good about that. And now my DH and I are both freelance so we never know when there will be work AND we have to pay for our own health insurance. So we try to be careful. But of course the one place where we used to splurge more was for our son when we could. He's now grown, so not so much at this point. I spoil Tyler but not that much. He sleeps on a $5 cat bed, I make his treats, buy occasional clothes and a toy here or there but he's been more spoiled by his fabulous Aunties than by us. :blush::thumbsup:
Let's see...I never really splurge on clothes, shoes, bags, etc. They just aren't that important to me as far as dressing to impress. I'd rather give that money to charity than use it for that. JMO. I think of clothes more as utility...have to wear something. I have a lot of shoes but not outrageously expensive ones. I try to buy good things at a good price, so hit outlets (my town in VT is full of them), Loehmanns, Century 21, sample sales, etc.
Since I also love great vacations, I did a home exchange where we stayed in a great 2BR apartment in Paris in exchange for our apt. We aways get e-mails about traveling to locations all over the world. I love it. I found another great vacation and some good deals on things at Bidding for Good, a website where non-profits all over the country have their auctions. I got the great vacay house in Virgin Gorda there for a fraction of the normal cost.
I cook much of the time which saves a lot of money so we can go out for nice meals. I shop at Costco and BJ's, I do look at grocery circular specials. For drugstores I love CVS - as a frequent shopper I get frequent e-mails for a 25% off whole purchase. that can go to my card. My husband was shocked how much he saved the other day with my card.
We don't make many spur of the moment big purchases. Think long and hard about them and whether we really need them. Did that with my Canon DSLR - waited until it was a really good deal.
I guess where I think it's most important to spend money: we bought our co-op years ago in a good neighborhood and it's a great apt. The best investment we ever made back then since it's value has quintupled, though I never want to leave here. And we built our ski home in the 80's for a song. I think most important is to feel like we have a real, loving home and that you and your family don't really feel like you're needing for anything. I never really buy anything to impress others. Not that important to me.