tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150161980638649962.post262553189979966529..comments2023-07-26T06:12:26.459-07:00Comments on Thankful & Thrifty: The annual February BUDGET--Hong Kong style!my frugal lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11240578900377705656noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150161980638649962.post-27309023556216786002013-03-03T16:49:01.450-08:002013-03-03T16:49:01.450-08:00@ Ann....the phones for the boys really isn't ...@ Ann....the phones for the boys really isn't about the money. In the states, we were giving them a tracfone to use when they started driving. Here, they use Mike's if they are going somewhere, so we do have the peace of mind thing. Believe me, they badger us for them, but we see so many teens absoulutley glued to their phones and we wanted to avoid that as long as possible. Our daughter also pestered us and we told her when she was off on her own she could pay for whatever phone she wanted. It's been nearly two years and she still hasn't purchased one!<br /><br />@ Shawn...living off Mike's salary was our goal here also, and we are actually able to live on less than that, but that doesn't include plane tickets to come home in the summer:). I'm such a number geek...budgeting is FUN for me...I'm that weird!! Congrats on NOT getting laid off!my frugal lifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11240578900377705656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150161980638649962.post-14388440645028902482013-03-03T07:15:09.338-08:002013-03-03T07:15:09.338-08:00Nice. Thanks for sharing those numbers. With layo...Nice. Thanks for sharing those numbers. With layoffs recently looming, we decided to try and live off Jess' salary in Feb. On paper it worked, but we over-shot.. mostly by not trying hard enough (my check was still there to fall back on). Our meals were $3.51 ea. ..we were shooting for $2.57 - which is probably still quite generous.<br /><br />271 people were laid off last week.. PTL I was not one of them.. will we hit $2.57 in March and save my check? We'll have to see.<br /><br />(BTW, groceries and eating out are our biggest budget hurdles)Shawn Waitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13726569834623902729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150161980638649962.post-72900206048194912842013-03-03T03:49:18.286-08:002013-03-03T03:49:18.286-08:00We have gotten cell phones for each of our girls (...We have gotten cell phones for each of our girls (age 9 and 11). Our cost is $88 HKD or about $11 USD per month. The $22 USD/month is worth the peace of mind I have when we are out and about and the thought of them getting separated from us. I also put an app called 360Life on their phones that tracks all family members GPS and has a panic button. Your kids are older, but I don't really know what mine would do if they got separated from us here in HK. We actually role-play so they think about it. My other fear is if one is hiking or biking with Steve or myself and the parent is injured. Would they be able to call for help? <br />They also have sleep over with friends (where some of the parent only speak broken English), so I can sleep easier knowing that they have a phone and can reach me at any moment.<br />Otherwise, I think our budget is pretty similar. We pay for a helper. She is a necessity, esp when Steve and I both have meetings like we do this week. We probably eat out more than you (at least once every Sunday), and we have 6 people we are buying groceries for, but otherwise, pretty much the same. Transportation is def cheaper than in USA.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02055523588708449601noreply@blogger.com