Poor Tony!!! He's so sad!

L

LabBreeder

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#1
Tony is more depressed about the cell not working that I am. He's in Ruston, LA with a load that delivers in Fort Smith, AR tomorrow. He's missing the South.
I know some people here don't believe in "souther congeniality" but he is the epitome of a true Southern Gentleman. He was born in Georgia, adopted and brought to S.C. He holds doors open for women/elderly/children, is quiet and shy around strangers, warms up pretty quickly and has a good sense of humor. He's very sweet and very respectful to strangers/family/elderly.
He loves the south and misses his family alot. :( It's been especially hard on him since his dad passed away in January. He didn't get to say good bye (cause we moved to MO). With Father's Day coming up I'm worried about how he'll take it. His mom is going to be in a house all by herself now (his sister got married on the 10th) and I know he's worried about her as well. We both wish we'd never moved here, but it's so hard to save the money to move back.
I told him we could have alot of stuff shut off, save the money, buy a trailer (for furniture) and move to S.C. and stay with Mrs. Eugenia (the lady that kept Tira for us for 8 months and said if we ever needed a place to stay we were welcome). I hate hearing him so depressed and homesick. With the cell being off, he only gets to call once or twice a day. Not being able to talk to me when he wants/needs to is taking a toll on his "home sickness" as well.

Does anyone know of a quick way to save money? Things that could be cut out/off? Any ideas at all?
I'm all about his happiness. Mainly because he was so UNhappy with his previous relationships and family life was kind of rough sometimes (being adopted makes you wonder if you're loved as much, good enough, etc sometimes). I'll do anything and everything in my power to make him not so homesick.

*sad daddy tony :( *
 

Ash47

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#2
You could cut your internet off. Buy generic foods from the grocery store. Cable could go. Cut off all cell phones. Move down to the most basic home telephone service you can get. Have a yard sale. Don't do anything extra like getting hair or nails done, going out to eat. There are lots of ways.
 

Ash47

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#5
fila...
Excellent point. I don't know why I didn't bring that up. D'oh! That is the best way to get money. A job! Even a part time job can do lots of good.
 

Saje

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#6
lol yeah that too!

There are lots of little things you guys can do as well. Like I refuse to buy canned beans when I can get 6-months worth in dry for much, much, much less. Same as rice. no instant packages in my house. We buy bread on sale and freeze it. Compare prices sometimes frozen veggies are cheaper than fresh and sometimes the other way around. Got grocery shopping on days when everything in the store is 10 15 or 20 % off if you buy more than $50 $100 $150 ... or whatever your store offers. We get those deals here really stock up. Saved $15 last week. Walk instead of drive when you can. buy energy saving light bulbs. put water savers in the toilet and shower if you haven't already... lots of stuff
 
L

LabBreeder

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#7
I always shop cheap when it comes to groceries! :) Just last week I saved $10 on hamburger and got 1 lb. extra (used to get 5 lb rolls for $8.80 at WalMart, there was a sale somewhere else though). We do pretty good on groceries.

I have been looking for a job for almost 3 months now. We both agreed it was best to leave the last job because gas prices were steadily going up, the truck was getting worse and it was a 30 mile drive to work for $7/hr. After figuring in gas, we were actually in the red! We both thought it would be easier to find a job closer to home. Talk about wrong! I've applied at just about every place there is, that says they are hiring (and some that aren't), about 2/3 times. I either get a call back and an interview or just a call saying they'll let me know. I've got plenty of qualifications and education. The only thing I can figure is my job history is crap (due to so much moving).
I just took a test for a state security position last weekend. I should hear from them in another week or two.

We already have the basic, lowest phone service you can get. No caller I.D., no call waiting, no long distance, nothing but a local phone number. :)
Internet getting cut off would save $20 a month. Cable cut off would save $70 a month. Can't save any more on gas than we already do. Cell is cut off now, lol (ok, it's not funny). Electricity bill was only $73 (cheap compared to others around here). Gas and water were only $20 and $6 (still paying deposit on gas so it was actually $45, 2 more payments left). I haven't gotten my nails done in 3 1/2 years, lol. My hair was last cut/styled about 2 months ago. The only new clothes we've gotten were 2 pair of pants and a tank top for Tony (some of his pants are almost 8 yrs. old :eek: ), a pack of socks and boxers for him and a pair of shorts and a t-shirt for me (summer wear). All together that was $75. It could have been saved, but he HAD to have new clothes. There were holes in places you really don't want holes in!

I can't go on the road with him because we have 2 Labs. Tira does great in a big truck, but Gunner gets car sick. His company doesn't allow pets in the truck anyways. It was cramped enough with 2 people, 1 Lab and 1 JRT/Chi mix (when we moved to MO)...could you imagine how it would be with 2 Labs? I've mentioned it to him already, but he doesn't want the company to find out and fire him. If it ever came down to it, we probably would end up in the truck, but only if we absolutely had to.

I'm going to have to talk to him about all of this again later. If it means staying with a friend in S.C. for a little while, until jobs/money/home was established, we could do it. He just has to be willing to "up and go" again with very little money. He's almost to that point, IMO.
 
L

LabBreeder

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#8
Oh yeah, to explain the meat thing.

4 5lb rolls at walmart = 8.80 each vs. 6 3.5lb packages at 1.29/lb
$35.20 vs $27.09 (well, it ended up being 25 cause they weren't all 3.5, some were bigger some smaller) you get the idea.

I get .49/loaf bread and 12 packs of soda (pop?) for 1.88 (saving .12 buying 2 12 pks vs 1 24pk @ 3.88
 

zoe08

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#9
I would at least cut off the cable, and put that $70 into a savings account each month

We don't have cable here so my sis can save that money to pay for her wedding and honeymoon, so I have had to live without for a year....its not toooo bad
 
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#10
LabBreeder said:
Does anyone know of a quick way to save money?
I try not to "save money" the interest rates banks give on savings accounts doesnt keep up with inflation. I would prefer to invest money and do as I please with the money made from the investments.

My suggestion is insanely simple but it is one that many of the brightest folks that I know dont do.

Figure out all of the things that make you money, those are your assets.
Figure out the things that cost you money, yes, even your house if it isnt for sale, those are your liabilities. Have more assets than liabilities and you are on the road to financial independence. You can increase assets and decrease liabilities in a very short time.
 
L

LabBreeder

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#11
It would be easier if we had more assests vs liabilities, lol.
Everything costs us money except his job. (Sometimes I wonder whether it's an asset, ;) )
 

bubbatd

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#12
I've never had cable... sure, there are programs I'd like to see, but not worth $360 a year !
 
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#14
You have to want to. If you dont really want to have surplus cash you wont. You cant have 5000 dollars of monthy debt and only earn 4999 dollars a month and get ahead. You have to cut out the stuff that you really dont have to have. A 700 dollar phone bill comes to mind from a previous post. If you took that 700 dollars every month and put it into paying off old debts, or added to your mortgage, you would be debt free before you know it. Time that you spend off of the phone could be considered a second income lol
 
L

LabBreeder

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#15
The phone bill is not normally $700 either. It's normally $70. That's why it was shut off in the first place; abnormally high bill due to way to much usage (because of him going back to truck driving). So there wouldn't be $700 a month "set aside" for anything. It would only be $70 if the phone were not turned back on. Also, he needs the phone for work purposes, not just calling home.
It's not a matter of being "debt free". It's a matter of cutting things out or off and getting moved back down south because he's homesick...not because we're in debt.
 

zoe08

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#16
If you need cell phones because he is a truck driver, I suggest getting 2 lines, then when you talk to each other it is free. It is more than just having one, but it wont cost as much in the end cuz talking to each other and anyone on that network for free.

And you probably wont even need a house phone also, you can just use the cell phone.
 
L

LabBreeder

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#17
See, that's what we were planning on doing this month. We were going to get the 2nd phone when we paid the bill and got the bigger plan. If we'd had any idea he'd have to call so many shippers and receivers we'd have gotten the bigger plan sooner. He usually calls home after 9pm when it's free. Since the company brokers alot of their loads Tony has to call the broker, the shipper, receiver and his company to get instructions, directions, delivery times, etc. We had roll over minutes the first month so we were hoping we'd be ok for this past month as well. No luck there!
If the cell gets turned back on soon (only $400 due to upgrading) we'll need to get a second cell for the house (only another $150 deposit and I'd be able to call my parents during the week after 9) so when he calls during the day it won't use up the minutes.
If he was home every night with a regular job we wouldn't need a cell phone at all. But, that's not the case.
 

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