My 5 Budget Busters

April 17, 2008 · Filed Under · 11 Comments 

budgetbust.jpgI got hit upside the head by a rotten tomato from my blogging buddy LJ at Mommy Gets PAID on a new meme that has been floating around called The Budget Busters Challenge. This one looks like a lot of fun! Works like this, I list the 5 things that can keep me from staying on budget and then I tag 3 bloggers to do the same. Simple enough, here goes nothing.

  1. My Chevy Silverado Truck. I have a fairly new Chevy Silverado that would just not run without the chrome license plate cover, the upgraded exhaust system, and the fancy Nebraska Cornhuskers hitch cover. The truck needs new tires soon and I am going to have to figure out how to keep myself from buying the big ol’ mud tires. Although, the real budget buster is my gas bill on this fuel guzzler!
  2. The Kiddos. This one is a Catch 22 because money spent on the kids is often for experiences that my wife and I think helps mold their character. Ballet, gymnastics, planetarium tickets, little league, etc. But one silly move that sticks out in my mind was when they opened a new Sports Authority store in our town. I couldn’t resist taking my son down for the grand opening and buying a couple baseball gloves for 5x what I would typically pay for sporting goods. The great San Francisco 49er, Roger Craig, was there signing autographs, which was cool! I’m so weak.
  3. Bright and Shiny Gadgets and Electronics. I have documented this one on my blog before. If I get a coupon on my site for like 15% off Apple iPod accessories I have to post it real quick and try and forget about it. Otherwise, I will go and look and drool over all the cool gadgets and add-on’s that are available. Then if I stick around too long I will end up with noise-cancelling earphones or a new iPod car adaptor. Best for me to not even look!
  4. Power Tools, Hand Tools, any Tool. Similar to #3, I can’t linger in the hardware store to long or I end up with a tool that I didn’t plan on buying. I have a Sawz-All that I have used once, a Makita hand sander that is still in the box, and a Skil saw that is collecting dust. I have big plans to use them at some point in the future. Although it probably won’t be until I am 65 years old and building bird houses with the grandkids!
  5. iTunes Store Purchases. I am a HUGE music lover and at only .99 cents a song, what a deal!! That was my mindset anyways. But I have realized that it is safer to go hunting with Dick Cheney than it is for me to enter the iTunes store! A couple reasons why: it is so easy to buy a song “here and there” since your credit card is on file, plus it is so easy to justify since it is under a dollar a song. But it adds up quickly. Then when I got my credit card statement I scratched my head and said “dang, I bought 23 songs last month?” Now I pay closer attention and buy only 5 songs a month.

Now for the fun part, I have three overly ripe Maters here by my desk and I am throwing them at these fine blogs:

Anyone else who would like to join the challenge is welcome!

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Comments

11 Responses to “My 5 Budget Busters”

  1. Mrs. Micah on April 17th, 2008 1:31 pm

    I can see how the iTunes store could suck me in. That’s why I do my best not to buy from them at all…

  2. Kyle on April 17th, 2008 1:56 pm

    I gotta have a few new ‘tunes’ every once in a while. Makes life a little bit sweeter!!

  3. LJ on April 17th, 2008 2:20 pm

    Thanks for playing along!

    Itunes, that can be tough…99cents a song, such a deal, but then you have 100 songs you want to buy :)

    Same here with the kids, I can’t help buying them shiny new things here and there, it’s fun for me.

  4. CindyS on April 17th, 2008 4:13 pm

    Kids should probably be my top budget buster. You want them to have the best of everything. I don’t buy them a lot but it’s awfully hard to say no when they want to buy a book or do something semi educational.

  5. Shanti @ Antishay on April 17th, 2008 8:34 pm

    Ack!

  6. Carlie on April 17th, 2008 10:47 pm

    Thanks Kyle – it was fun!!

  7. Andrew on April 18th, 2008 8:04 am

    I can totally relate, Kyle. Power tools, I’m the same way. I love ‘em but never use ‘em. Probably have no clue what half of them are for anyways. It’s just neat to have. But the iTunes store… oy. I’ve sooo been there where I’ll add dozens of songs and then an album or too (hey, at just $11.99 for 20 songs, that’s a steal! How could I NOT get it?). So I try not to go into the store more than once a week now. Heh. That seems to help. A little.

  8. Katie Gregg on April 20th, 2008 8:03 pm

    I love designer handbags. I only buy one every few years, but the temptation to buy more is STRONG!

    Also books, dinner at The Cheesecake Factory, imported cheese, and Philadelphia Eagles merchandise.

  9. Aaron Stroud on April 22nd, 2008 3:09 pm

    Wow Kyle, I’m sure glad we went with a Japanese Toyota 4Runner. They run just fine with their stand license plate holder and they get good gas milage for a mid-size SUV too!

    Have you considered buying your mp3s from Amazon? Their ten cents cheaper and they are DRM-free to boot!

  10. Kyle on April 22nd, 2008 3:30 pm

    Aaron, nice tip, I need to check out Amazon for mp3’s at 89 cents. How is the selection?

  11. Aaron Stroud on April 22nd, 2008 4:42 pm

    Probably not as good as Apple’s, but they do have some of the metal bands I listen to. So they’re making an effort to include the popular entertainers as well as little known musicians.

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