1 pack of cigarettes per day in New York State or the UK at $14 per pack. $5110.00
Two parents who smoke 20 cigarettes per day each, spend more than the total luxuries budget above on smoking alone.
It is not uncommon to see Traditionalists who smoke cigarettes.
As some of you have pointed out, it is very important for a family to eat meals together. Mealtimes are critical family time, where ideas get shared and personalities get shaped and communication happens. One way of ensuring that family members show up at the table, and enjoy being there even during those rebellious teen years is to have something attractive on their plate and in their cup.
Growing up my family were by no means rich. We ate out as a family only once per decade; I can remember both occasions and the state of the tablecloth afterwards. But we did spend money on nice food at home. That was a smart choice, because those delicious meals, those Sunday roasts made a huge difference and are the thing I remember with the most joy about my childhood and upbringing, which compared to my peers was happy in all sorts of other ways.
It's great to not waste money but a wise life is a balanced life. For what it is, and for the effort you would have to go to produce it yourself, nice food on the family dinner table represents incredibly good value for money and alongside modern medicine and antibiotics, flushing toilets and electricity make modern life so comfortable and pleasant. Our ancestors would marvel at our lives today. Instead of saving a few hundred dollars per year on cheap cuts of meat (or way less meat and fish) most families would be better off purchasing their non food items online and shopping smart, buying in bulk and clipping coupons. Hunting for meat makes sense, if you live close to game, inasmuch as deer or elk has a great deal of meat on it and on the few occasions I have eaten it can testify that it does taste very nice and rivals all but the best cuts of farmed meat.
When I go to the supermarket or cash & carry I max out on the heavily discounted items and multibuy deals then keep a stock of them. I know the cost price of everything so know how much profit they are making from me.
In California last week I wondered around Walmart, Safeway and Costco comparing prices to the UK and each other. A family could reduce its grocery bill by thousands of dollars per year by shopping smarter. On many products the US supermarket customer is being financially raped.
It also might make more sense to put your energy and thought into how to earn more money and/or give less to the tax man and the banker, rather than trying to save your way to prosperity.
How much income are people missing out on by convincing themselves that they are not capable or that the modern workplace is so ungodly that their soul would be lost if they got a job or sort a promotion? Moving from 50,000 per year to 65,000 is within the reach of many people if they think and act smart. Not everyone, for sure, but many.
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Americans spend about $34 billion annually on alternative medicine, according to the first national estimate of such out-of-pocket spending in more than a decade.
That is over $100 per year per man woman and child on stuff that shows no objective evidence of working in double blind clinical tests.
And more is spent every year on cosmetics than on education. Great teeth, glowing skin, but thick as two short planks.
Finally, if you think married life is expensive, try getting divorced.