Does anyone here live on a Shoestring?

Quackers said:
But bah humbug - my 15yr old tin box with low emissions that needed no road tax, has changed from this year. Our government has decided low emission cars must now pay road tax.
Ok this year it's only either £10 or £20 (forget which), but from the following year ie 2026, it will be £195! Bet by that time it'll be more than £195.
So 15yrs after it was rammed down our throats to buy low emission cars - t'was just another con?
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Senior moment in bold above. :rolleyes:
My little red tin box isn't a teenager yet (15).
Tis coming up to it's 11th birthday in the summer (duh) 🤓
 
I just came across this topic, which seems to have migrated pretty far from the original question (so what else is new?) 😁

But to return to that question, I find it very hard to answer because I have no idea what a "shoestring" is. Here in America, there are huge differences in the cost of living from one location to another, sometimes even within the same state.

If I lived in, say, Silicon Valley, CA, or Hawaii, I'd probably be one of the "poor folks." In parts of the midwest and the deep south, I'd probably be considered wealthy. But I live in a very definitely middle-class community, where I feel comfortable and secure financially, not likely to go broke any time soon unless I go crazy with my spending habits. I don't have to watch every penny, but I sort of instinctively know it would be foolish to spend money recklessly, so I don't do it.

So, what does "shoestring" actually mean? Does it mean having just enough for basic necessities, constantly watching every penny, with nothing left over for charity giving, or occasional fun? My sympathies go to anyone who has to live that way.
 
Sunny said:
So, what does "shoestring" actually mean? Does it mean having just enough for basic necessities, constantly watching every penny, with nothing left over for charity giving, or occasional fun? My sympathies go to anyone who has to live that way.
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I think it means not having enough funds for what you need and therefore having, not only to make do without, but having to set stringent priorities ie FIRST we pay the electric bill, THEN we eat.

EDIT:
"Another theory that the American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms offers up, places the origin of shoestring budget in British prisons. Prisoners were thought to have used their laces to dangle their shoes out of cell windows, in the hopes that passerby would toss in their spare change." --BootsnAll Travel
 
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Della said:
Same situation here. My son's mental illness responds wonderfully to his medication and no one he works with would ever guess he had one, but there's always a chance that could all change if his meds quit working or he develops an intolerance for them. Nothing is more frightening than the thought of us dead and gone and my son in a state institution.

So we have savings and lots of it. It helps that hubs and I are both natural tightwads. We don't have cell phones, we wouldn't think of paying for Amazon Prime or any streaming service when Tubi, YouTube and library books are free.

Our house is paid for and nicely furnished, but our closets are more than half empty because we don't keep things we don't need.
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Because our son also has some mental problems, nothing that would put him in an institution, but there are people who would try to fight for whatever we have. So when we needed a different car DH was too old for car payments, but they gave son credit. I put any money left over at the end of the month in our savings, so we had enough to pay the car off, but the savings were gone. The car is in his name, which gave us an idea, we made him a co-owner of our mobile home. We paid it off before we made him a co-owner , so let them try! He is the sole owner as soon as we die.
 
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After my divorce four years ago, my budget was pretty tight. However, I did use some of my savings to take a couple trips that I had wanted to, and I was determined to live my monthly income and not spend my savings on daily living.

Then three years ago, I started consulting on a part-time basis and so that increased my income. Now my Social Security has increased so I am actually saving money every month. Once I decide I no longer want to consult I’ll be fine living on my pension and Social Security without having an extraordinarily tight budget.

One of my biggest expenses is my two little dogs. Veterinary care is very expensive on the West Coast. One of the things I did after my divorce was to sell my house and buy a small condo and that has been great for my budget. Our public transportation is terrible so cars are a necessity. Plus I couldn’t even take the dogs to the vet without a car because services like Ubers and taxis don’t allow pets in the car.
 
Teacher Terry said:
After my divorce four years ago, my budget was pretty tight. However, I did use some of my savings to take a couple trips that I had wanted to, and I was determined to live my monthly income and not spend my savings on daily living.

Then three years ago, I started consulting on a part-time basis and so that increased my income. Now my Social Security has increased so I am actually saving money every month. Once I decide I no longer want to consult I’ll be fine living on my pension and Social Security without having an extraordinarily tight budget.

One of my biggest expenses is my two little dogs. Veterinary care is very expensive on the West Coast. One of the things I did after my divorce was to sell my house and buy a small condo and that has been great for my budget. Our public transportation is terrible so cars are a necessity. Plus I couldn’t even take the dogs to the vet without a car because services like Ubers and taxis don’t allow pets in the car.
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Dog care costs are indeed high. I have friends who impoverish themselves paying for their dogs' medical bills. I understand completely but it's something people should think about before taking on the responsibility of pet ownership.
 
Irishdude said:
Dog care costs are indeed high. I have friends who impoverish themselves paying for their dogs' medical bills. I understand completely but it's something people should think about before taking on the responsibility of pet ownership.
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For years when I was married and we had our house we rescued dogs so usually always had four dogs. At one point all four dogs were old and we were spending a fortune on vet bills and monthly medication. As they died, I decided that we were only going to have two in the future because of the cost.

I also think it’s wise to decide on what you will and will not treat in advance of needing to make the decision. It’s easier when you are clear headed. For instance, I won’t treat cancer in a dog. My dogs bring me much pleasure and I would cut everything else out of my budget before I would cut them.
 
gruntlabor said:
My old house will put me in the poorhouse. Sewer, plumbing, well problems, recently a new roof. Now it needs painting! And new wiring which so far I'm maneuvering around because I dislike strangers in the house. Earthquakes have taken their toll too, with collapsed ceilings and fallen cupboards. Flooded basements. Mold. Radon from the granite fireplace? Or bubbling up from the basement? Dangerous cottonwoods that want to crash the roof.

Her name is Patience and I love her very much. Like RadishRose I am content and thankful.
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I feel we have similar challenges, I have an older house and in some aspects poorly built (there are not any building codes here) and requiring frequent repairs. I am able to take care of many of the needs for now because I am handy and still up to it, but boy does it keep me busy.
 
jhummel73 said:
I feel we have similar challenges, I have an older house and in some aspects poorly built (there are not any building codes here) and requiring frequent repairs. I am able to take care of many of the needs for now because I am handy and still up to it, but boy does it keep me busy.
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Same for me, some days I feel all I'm doing is working on my house and property just to keep things habitable. Like you I'm currently able to keep up with things but I'm not very enthusiastic about takeling some of the work.
 
Dave03 said:
I kinda live on a shoestring budget, but it's by choice. I'm a firm believer in the 'pay yourself first' philosophy.

I know what my expenses are every month, and every paycheck, the first thing I do is transfer X amount to savings, leaving the bare minimum in checking.

Keeps me from wasteful spending.
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Good for you Dave. I got hipped to "pay yourself first" when I was in my 20s and have done it with every paycheck since. Now with pension and SS direct deposits, of course I'm always paid first, before bills get paid. :)
 
Dave03 said:
I kinda live on a shoestring budget, but it's by choice. I'm a firm believer in the 'pay yourself first' philosophy.

I know what my expenses are every month, and every paycheck, the first thing I do is transfer X amount to savings, leaving the bare minimum in checking.

Keeps me from wasteful spending.
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just a thought..surely people on a shoestring can't afford to pay themselves first...

I know I certainly couldn't when I lived on probably what would have amounted to ''less '' than a shoestring... desperately poor, bills had to be paid first or my baby would have suffered from the lack of heat ..or lack of cooked food...or no water.... if I'd paid myself before paying the utilities.. Her food came first... the bills next... my food which was a desperately poor diet .. eggs and potatoes were all I could afford for myself for months on end ( I can cook potatoes and eggs 50 different ways).. husband was at sea in the Royal Bavy... he was eating well.. he sent home all the money he could...desperately low wages in the RN... back in the 70's...

There was no money over for me to pay myself... none whatsoever... ..If I'd done that the baby would have been the one who suffered the most ...
 
I too have lived on a shoestring by choice. Lately Ive been loosening those strings.
Ive been spending money on hiring out things I used to do myself. I dont have anyone to leave it to so I might as well spend it. :D

Im 75 so Im no spring chicken. Im begrudgingly facing the fact that Im getting older and need to cool it a little bit before I sprain a fetlock. Right now Im out commission cause I have bursitis in one of my knuckles. Never had any problems before.
I guess old age is letting me know not to be so cocky. My yardwork is 95 percent done but Im probably going to have to hire some young gigolo to cut my grass.
 
Veronica said:
I too have lived on a shoestring by choice. Lately Ive been loosening those strings.
Ive been spending money on hiring out things I used to do myself. I dont have anyone to leave it to so I might as well spend it. :D

Im 75 so Im no spring chicken. Im begrudgingly facing the fact that Im getting older and need to cool it a little bit before I sprain a fetlock. Right now Im out commission cause I have bursitis in one of my knuckles. Never had any problems before.
I guess old age is letting me know not to be so cocky. My yardwork is 95 percent done but Im probably going to have to hire some young gigolo to cut my grass.
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well I've always done my own gardening.. and lawn work... but my hedges and trees and shrubs, altho' always kept neat by me started to grow just too high for me to control... so last summer I got a local gardening ''gigolo'' lol... age 28 to come and do a whole load of heavy work for me.... and he's been pretty good.. he's a qualified tree surgeon
I'm only kidding about the Gigolo bit, he's the male equivelent of a traditional Beauty queen, great looks fabulous body... but if he didn't have fingers he couldn't count to 10...:sneaky::D

So now I still mow the lawns, and cut back shrubs wherever I can and every couple of months or whenever I need him .. he will come and trim all the hedges and when he's here he also mows the lawns..


Now I'm 70 I'm pleased for the help
 
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hollydolly said:
well I've always done my own gardening.. and lawn work... but my headges and trees and shrubs, altho' always kept neat by me started to grow just too high for me to control... so last summer I got a local gardening ''gigolo'' lol... age 28 to come and do a whole load of heavy work for me.... and he's been pretty good.. he's a qualified tree surgeon
I'm only kidding about the Gigolo bit, he's the male equivelent of a traditional Beauty queen, great looks fabulous body... but if he didn't have fingers he couldn't count to 10...:sneaky::D

So now I still mow the lawns, and cut back shrubs wherever I can and every couple of months or whenever I need him .. he will come and trim all the hedges and when he's here he also mows the lawns..


Now I'm 70 I'm pleased for the help
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The gigolo I hired is in his 50's. Its nice that you found one that does decent work. Ive had good luck so far hiring people recommended on Nextdoor.

I still plan on doing most of my own yard work for a while. This is just temporary till my hand is back. Its my right hand so theres that.
My five year plan is to slowly phase out anything that requires a lot of maintenance. I dug up all the mature firebushes
across the front and transplanted them in the fencerow. Probably one of the contributing factors. But I was constantly trimming them back and now they can be wild and free and grow as tall as they please. :D
 
I have tried a budget and it never works. First of all He does not know squat about budgeting. I handle the finances or try to. We are fine but all it will take is the death of one of us, or a major illness to do us in.. I fear
 

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