Compromised Credit Card

[sleepyjamie]

And maybe Europe tour in oct

[GuingesRock]

Haha touché. And cancun in nov. and Miami again in the spring.

I really think you might be on to something. I think people spend mindlessly because they are not having enough fun. If you actively budget for fun and focus on that, then money you spend is less likely to be wasted.

We’ve tried budgeting before and did it all wrong by working out what was “essential” and saying we have to stop going out for meals, stop spending so much on booze…that kind of budgeting is doomed to failure.

Also fun doesn’t have to be expensive; it just needs to be focused on. If you go camping for the weekend, you are less inclined to troupe around the Malls or feel the need to treat yourself to a little something, like a new car.

Unlike Chris, we have absolutely no respect for money, and always spend more than we have, and we need to not be that way. So I’m finding this thread quite interesting.

[Cheesehead]

I'm definitely with Chris when it comes to credit card points and being cheap. I typically use < $100 in cash in a month. I have a Scotiabank AMEX card that gives me 4 pts / $ spent on groceries and gas (and 1pt for every other transaction) so the points can run up in a hurry (the only PITA is that Superstore doesn't take AMEX). As AMEX isn't taken everywhere I also have a no annual fee Visa I use in those cases which still gives me 1 pt for every $2 spent.

I pay off credit card balance on pay day every two weeks so never have interest to pay. This is a good practice as well to make sure you don't let your expenses get out of control plus I track all expenses on a monthly budget spreadsheet to see how I'm doing relative to my budget and yes, you definitely need to plan to spend on beer supplies, beer and the other pleasures in life.

[sleepyjamie]

Yeah that's a good idea and one which I may take a look at. What cc do u guys recommend?

[benwedge]

Haha touché. And cancun in nov. and Miami again in the spring.

I really think you might be on to something. I think people spend mindlessly because they are not having enough fun. If you actively budget for fun and focus on that, then money you spend is less likely to be wasted.

I've seen a pile of research that backs this up. We spend to occupy our minds and feel like we're enjoying ourselves, because we get short-term pleasure from having spent money, essentially. There are lots of cheap, fun things that we can do instead of going out to bars or restaurants all the time, but that's an easy solution to boredom.

[GuingesRock]

Ben, How does neediness and greed factor in, and where does that come from?

The happiest people I have ever seen were "poor" Mexicans, living in simple huts in the jungle. The entire families were grinning from ear to ear, from the oldest to the youngest. Tibetan monks are supposed to be among the happiest people in the world, and they have nothing (no material things) also.

[dexter]

Ben, How does neediness and greed factor in, and where does that come from?

The happiest people I have ever seen were "poor" Mexicans, living in simple huts in the jungle. The entire families were grinning from ear to ear, from the oldest to the youngest. Tibetan monks are supposed to be among the happiest people in the world, and they have nothing also.

its not that they have nothing they simply have all that they need, huge difference.

[chalmers]

Yeah that's a good idea and one which I may take a look at. What cc do u guys recommend?

It depends on your spending/payment habits. I use a "CaptialOne Aspire Travel World MasterCard", as I travel enough to redeem my points towards trips/hotels, etc. There is an annual fee, but you also get bonus points for renewing.

I'd suggest checking out this site: http://creditcards.redflagdeals.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and take the short survey there (or compare them all). Free or paid, cash back or points (towards reducing your balance or cashing in for items/rewards), travel insurance or no, etc, lots of choices.

[dexter]

if you want to make points really quickly, do what we did mortgage, utilities car payments ,every bill possible comes out of our cc, we might pay 125$ a year to get 4X the points, but for every dollar we spend we get 4 back in points. So between wife and I we spend 120$/ month on cell phones we get 480$ worth of points, now take a normal mortgage and other bills it adds up quickly and for TD its super easy to redeem the point for any number of things from $$$ to air miles type , golf clubs, mac books, ipads ect...

[chalmers]

Don't think I can pay my mortgage on CC, or heck yes I'd be doing that! I should ask TD...

[dexter]

We have it arranged to come out of an account that is paid by the cc so we get the points through a back door/ channel

[GuingesRock]

We spend to occupy our minds and feel like we're enjoying ourselves, because we get short-term pleasure from having spent money, essentially. There are lots of cheap, fun things that we can do instead of going out to bars or restaurants all the time, but that's an easy solution to boredom.

I agree with what you say.

Can we go back 100 years or so and watch this 40 second video. The guy is working all the hours that God sends down the coal mine and what does he do when he gets out of the mine? He goes to the pub and drinks eight pints of Newcastle Brown ale. I think it was 8 pints, because that was the norm in England when I was growing up, and you were just not a man if it wasn’t 8 pints. His wife never sees him. She’s at home doing the housework, cooking meals and looking after the kids.

Now can we go to the present day? Both parents work a long hard day. They get home from work completely exhausted, picking up the child/children from daycare on the way home and both start on chores and supper. There are children clamoring for much needed attention. The dishwasher and laundry need to be done yet another time, and they already reached the end of their rope at 5.00 pm. They start getting up even earlier in the morning, 5 am, so she can go to early morning Yoga classes before work, and he can have some time on his hobby too (brewing).

What do they do for fun when Friday night comes around? OK so it has to be cheap, but it also has to be easy! There’s nothing left in them to pack up the car make sandwiches and go camping.

Socialising is fun, but if you have people around it involves cooking a meal. So we go to the pub for a meal on Fridays and sometimes bring people back for beer. The weekends are just slightly less crazy, so that’s easier.

Cheap and easy options please? If not getting bored is the key to financial security I need to sort this one out. Until then I’m off to the pub for a pint (or two), food that’s been made for us, a laugh with friends, and maybe music from some local artists (there are some excellent ones up here)....just like the miners in the old days.