Kickin' it old school...

With the purchase of a new dining room table in the very near future (bowchicabowwow), I'd like to take a minute to talk money. I know it's a personal subject, but we're all friends here. I've been pining (hehe) over my Pottery Barn beauty for nearly a year and, and now that I've sold our old table (thanks Craigslist), we're ready to welcome our new addition. What's more, I'm thrilled to share that we're handling this purchase a little bit differently than how we usually operate when it comes to big ticket items. Here's a hint:

No, we didn't steal much money from kids. We've saved our pennies.

Growing up, if I wanted something, my parents would always tell me to "save up for it."  I would do just that and save my allowance until I had enough money to buy whatever it was that I wanted (let's not even go there). I'm going to take a gander and say that most of you were told the same thing. 

As we got older, the tides changed. Instead of "saving up," for something we've switched to "paying off."  Why wait for something I want right now, when I can just put it on a credit card and pay it off in smaller increments when I'm ready? Admittedly, this is something Paul and I did often.

Not anymore! Now, we're kickin' it old school and doing it the old fashioned way; by saving. 

We're forgoing credit cards for patience and budgeting. So far, we've done this for our California Trip and now our new table. I gotta tell ya- it's satisfying. Not much compares to making a huge purchase and knowing it's ours, in full, with no interest or impending payments hanging over our heads. I'm loving this new (old) way of thinking.

So, how 'bout you? Do you like kick it old school and "save up," or play it new age "pay off?" What works best for you family? Any good budgeting tips to share?