Adjusting to a Land of Excess

Moving to the USA was a hard decision. Coming from Manila where the lifestyle is laid-back and there is always a beach an hour away from where you are. Labor is cheap (and I say this with much fondness) and friendly in our hometown, too--there is always someone to help you out: to cook, to take care of the kids, to drive, to carry, to line-up, or to give you a massage(for about $6/hour)--and they are always smiling, like you were doing them a favor.

Coming to America is challenging because we brought in our hard-earned pesos that were converted to dollars. And at P52 pesos to a dollar, everything in the USA seemed very expensive, even in a SALE.

Here in America, they make it easy for you to want to buy. There are mark-downs almost every week and how can you not buy something that you don't need when the price is so low? I heard of a mother who bought 13 Easter outfits for her toddler because it was on sale --but never got to use them all next Easter. How many Easter outfits can you actually wear? Did she end up saving money on the mark-downs?

Did you see the Oprah episode on Debt Diet? There was a couple with 2 kids making $102,000/year but had a debt of $170,000, $80,000 on their student college loans. They live in a house they cannot afford, have 2 new flashy cars, their celfone bills are $394/month and they spend $100 a day on take-out food because the wife won't cook, and spends $7000/year on her hair!

The average American also has $8,000 in credit card debt.

It's not that I am judging them. It's just with so much, I am hoping to catch some of the money they throw around.

Well, for a family with 5 kids starting in the States, with an income of about $55,000/year, that's a lot to think about because our standards are way lower. I remain in a constant struggle to balance our budget by living frugally but comfortably and as debt-free as possible.

There are some standards that I won't concede, though, like a decent house (rental) and cars with good AC and will not conk out on me on the highway. I also will not allow my kids to look kawawa (unkempt) or go hungry. Other than that, I am willing to live beneath our means.

Kaya kaya? Count the ways of frugal living with me and who knows what we will find?