Steve and Pamela Cromity possess all the trappings of upper-middle-class comfort. They own a home in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania; a time-share in Kissimmee, Florida; and employ a nanny to care for their son and daughter, Steve III, 12, and Christina, 10.
For the Cromitys, the key to the good life isn't the couple's annual $150,000 income, although it certainly helps. The entire family avoids impulse purchases, they say. And when they do buy something, they bargain shop. What separates Steve, Pamela, and their children from most Americans of any economic level is a strict adherence to proper money management.
The Cromitys make every effort to never pay full price for anything. Last October, for instance, Steve paid $100 for a refurbished iPhone, when the retail price was $399. For Pamela's birthday in September, he bought her a pre-owned iPhone from AT&T for only $50. And when the couple wanted to upgrade from a 32-inch to a 50-inch flat-screen television, they decided not to pay full price or use credit to buy it. It took a year and a half before they found a TV they wanted at a price they were willing to pay. In the end, they spent $750 for an $1,100 television.
"I believe in delayed gratification. You don't get things that you want automatically, you wait until the time is right," says Steve, 43, a staff architect and business development manager who earns $72,000 a year plus bonuses. "Everything that we get seems sweeter because we get it at a discount."
Source: Black Enterprise | Marcia Wade Talbert.
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