We enjoy traveling and will, God willing, be up in NYC this time next year on a week long vacation. But we’re saved up for it.

We also try to be frugal around the house. I think its the best of both worlds. I think frugality as an attitude is better simply because it develops that habit.

Wife and I are also different, but complimentary. Neither of us would be considered frugal by the standards of the PF community, but we try to focus our dollars only on the things that make a difference to us. Wife focuses on our everyday blocking and tackling (paying bills, tracking expenses), while I wrangle the big strategic issues (investing, estate planning, insurance, etc.).

What we have in common is:

1) We’re also both committed to not being pennywise and pound foolish, something we’ve often observed in some of our more frugal friends & family. For example, most people would be shocked at how much we spend on insurance (life, disability, liability, home, etc.). But, we’re confident that most of those same people are grossly under-insured. They can afford it, but they think its a waste (or they are practicing avoidance). We are the types that would rather do without the new flatscreen TV and know that we are covered in the event of a catastrophe.

and

2) We both search for lasting value in anything we purchase. We both hate the idea of spending money on depreciating assets. We both love the idea of putting money to work where it will grow.

3) We’re both willign to spend for luxury experiences – travel, vacations, relaxation, etc., as long as we feel we’re getting value.

We’re fortunate to have a great deal of flexibility in how we conduct our finances. We can take the long view.

Strangely I have found that delayed gratification is much easier when you know you have choices – that the delay is a CHOICE not a NECESSITY.

I never buy the most expensive item when I purchase big ticket items but I don’t scrimp either. Before we bought our flat screen TV I did a lot of research and decided on a Samsung LCD, which was far from the cheapest but it also wasn’t the most expensive.

I’m pretty much like that in all big ticket purchases. If I think the “best” is too expensive, I’ll go for something less expensive.

I do tend to blow money on little things. I do a lot of the grocery shopping and I’m notorious for bringing home junk. I’ve been trying to do better but you know how that goes.

I like making big purchases, but I’ll get them for the least amoung of money I can (for instance, when I bought brand new living room furniture a couple years ago I got it through a friend of mine in the furniture manufacturing biz for a fraction of the cost I would have paid in a store).

I only recently became better about my daily spending and always think “do I REALLY need this?” before I plunk down my hard-earned dollars.

As for vacations, we have a timeshare that was gifted to us by my parents many years ago, and use that exclusively for vacations. The yearly dues are $400, and the week rental is $190. So for $590 we can house our entire family of four for seven days almost anywhere in the world.

And in the past few months I’ve reduced our grocery bill by 50% by subscribing to Grocery Game and other coupon websites. I now feed our family of for for about $200 a month as opposed to the $400/month we were spending before I started paying more attention.

All my co workers have a car note and I find them skimpping on lunch sometimes. (they claim they are saving money)

I rather eat lunch as I wish and have an average car

On the other hand, when buying a big-ticket item, I will do my research and only purchase what is going to give me the best bang for my buck.

I wish I could save more on little things, though… Those savings do add up!