living within one's means.

Excellent article. It's not about what you earn, but what you spend.

Just because I have money in the bank doesn't mean I have to spend it all at once. Good for you for living within your means.

It is odd, while most Americans complain about the Federal government's debt, they carry a greater percentage of debt themselves.

Congratulations prudent consumer. I particularly enjoyed the part about "no kids" and a "dual income."

People make decisions in life, and if you are on minimum wage you have no business having a family. More people should live within their means.

Thank You for your interest fellow citizens.

You make a lot of sense Marty and that is how I try to live. We don't buy just to buy....and thankfully, living where I do, people don't feel obligated to keep up with the Joneses! As long as my car takes me where I need to go and is in decent condition, I don't need a fancy car....I live in a fantastic location in a small cottage. It is big enough for the two of us without tripping over each other.....I don't need a big fancy house.

As far as going on a cruise.......go for it. You worked for it. You earned it...Take advantage of being able to do so!
Enjoy your trip!

It is normal human nature to stretch the expenses to the limit. Comfortable income, living within one's means and, above all, contentment brings happiness.

"Dual income and no kids" is an envy of many an overstretched family.

An encouraging article, Marty.

jealous would be something I would say too, I don't have any money for vacations, wish I had, there are so many computer friends, I would love to meet.

if your using a credit card that is threw sears i suggest you look around for a card with a lower interest rate. sears usually have over 20%+ interest rate there are to many cards out there 9% and lower so look for those and trasnsfer balances a lot of times you can even get 0% interst on balance transfers. we never pay interest on credit cards. but also you dont want to get big balances on the like you said try to keep them paid off.

even with doing that we never have money for vacations that are far from home the economy sucks along with gas prices. this week it cost 30+ to just go on a 200 miles trip in gas. and that really stinks

This is so true. So many people live way beyond their means. Just because a person is driving an expensive car or living in a huge house does not mean that person is making a lot or even enough money. Many homes are foreclosed on. And many people file for bankruptcy as well. Many people are simply credit rich. By all appearances they seem to have it all. What we need to remember is that we cannot see beneath the surface. We don't see the credit card bills, or the huge payments for the car and mortgage. If a person makes $100,000 a year, but speads $120,000 a year...he is no better off than the person who makes $20,000 a year and spends $23,000 a year. Everything is relative.

There's another aspect to someone being "jealous" about your being able to take a trip. It's called priorities. Differences in priorities often cause people to make very misleading assumptions about someone else's financial situation and economic practices / choices.

Consider the woman who's wanted to take a cruise since she was three. By the time she's a certain age, perhaps she has worn the same three suits for ten years - or foregone something that another person would consider a necessity - just so that she can take that cruise.

Meanwhile, her neighbor drives an SUV -- or never misses a live football game -- or truly believes her children need certain extracurricular activities. The neighbor probably doesn't budget for that cruise.

This is a great article. I absolutely agree with you. My husband and I are alone now, also. And we have no desire to have "more". I would like to travel a bit, but I don't want to charge it. So we save a little, spend a little....

I also agree with Diana.... priorities. We sleep better at nite not having a lot of debt. So I guess that is our choice.

Priorities, priorities. In every family, they should pay themselves first. You need a cushion for emergencies and then savings for other things (retirement, vacation, etc.)

If you don't make a lot of money, then you will have to buy less than your neighbor that does. It's the reality of the situation that many folks have forgotten in the era of easy credit and being cool.

Nice article, Marty.

Well, we also take advantage of retirement plans offered through work. We've recently gone further and opened up two separate Roth IRAs. One of the Roth IRAs has been filled for the year (4k), the other one we are trying, but there are other competing wants. Both accounts got filled for last year (8k), and there's still time for this year, soon it will be time to contribute for next year.

Yes, much of it is about priorities. Knowing what to do with money, not trying to keep up with the joneses. It's nice to get positive feedback. My parents retired early, and they have been to many different parts of the world. It's nice to have aspirations, but for now, work doesn't provide alot of time off.

Travelling, if done right, can require alot of time.

Unfortunately, some people have gotten into trouble thinking that easy credit would go on forever.

Oh, and for the record, the charge card is not a sears card. It's a discover card. We pay our bill at sears. There is a sears near our house. It is convenient.

Jack,
Are you saying that only rich people deserve to have children and families?

Consolidate your debt. There are some excellent 0% balance transfer and first six months no interest, shop till you drop deals going around.