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How to Afford Anything

kenrockwell.com

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Re: How to Afford Anything

#81

Post by rationalbeaver »

jasonlotito wrote: post #16
jsiarto wrote: post #8

Not to nitpik this, but I don't consider eating off the dollar menu at McDonalds anyway to save money. In the long haul--that's probably what will end up killing you or at least racking up some medical bills. I'd rather spend 10x the dollar menu at a local lunch spot with real food that won't send me to an early grave. All around, good advice--but don't use fast food as a way to slim down the budget.

He doesn't suggest eating off the dollar menu as the way to save money. Rather, if you do eat at McDonalds, eat off the dollar menu. Subtle, but distinct difference.

Also, the food at the local lunch spot may be higher quality, but it is very likely to have tons of added salt, fat, oil, sugar and other deliciousness that is just as likely to land you in the hospital later in life.

His best advice is probably to avoid eating out in general.

Re: How to Afford Anything

#82

Post by icefox »

billybob wrote: post #61
henrikschroder wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agree, I would much rather rent my apartment if I could, but the way the market looks here it's not an option. Renting is just like insurance, you pay a premium so that others take the greater financial risk: You're not tied down, you can move anytime, and you don't have to care about the housing market or interest rates. For some people this is worth it, for some it's not. Your mileage may wary. The only other probl…

Agreed. Better advice would be "stay behind the curve." Right now, if you want a Wii, it's expensive. If you're happy playing Playstation 2, it's cheap. A Wii will be cheap 5 years from now when something cooler is out. Same kind of thing applies to computers.

I got a SNES for my birthday last year from my wife. It is awesome!

More seriously I have a PS2 and a printout of the top 25 games for the PS2. Whenever I think of a new game system I can just look at that list, buy any one of those games for extremely cheap and have a ton of fun. (The good SNES games on ebay are a more expensive, but still $10-$20, Chrono Trigger was a bit more...)

Re: How to Afford Anything

#83

Post by [deleted] »

greyman wrote: post #25
sailormoon wrote: post #23

All this pain to drop $2.5k per year on a Nikon camera? Dude, seriously, just take a few months and learn some skills at something, then get a decent job using them. You'll be able to buy a new camera every freaking month . I mean I'm all for living within your means and planning and frugality but seriously, don't eat out except for the cheapest fast food around? That's the wrong way to go about it. Upgrade your cash…

> You'll be able to buy a new camera every freaking month. Yes, but on the other side, that "decent job" would (probably) significantly reduce the free time he can commit to photography. As one famous writer (or was it a philosopher?) once said that he don't have time to make money. ;-)

[deleted]

Re: How to Afford Anything

#84

Post by pigbucket »

afterburner wrote: post #68
ahoyhere wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, they're not. You start as a self-employed person with the basis of 30% - because employees are subsidized by their employers, you have to pay both shares. That 30% is Federal, FICA, and SS, doesn't include practically any services you can use or that will protect you as a young person. Then there's state tax. And oh yes, if you move overseas, you have to be very careful in arranging your affairs if you no longer…

So what I'm getting from this is that US taxes are lower than Austrian taxes (you say it right there). Which doesn't exactly disprove my statement that US taxes are low. It doesn't matter that you claim Americans are getting a bad deal on their taxes.

I think the point was that (a) in absolute terms US taxes are not low and (b) in relative terms they can appear low, but the appearance is misleading. You can disagree with (a) by defining "low" differently, and you can disagree with (b) by valuing highly what you do get in return for your US taxes (roads, police, military, and so on).

Re: How to Afford Anything

#85

Post by harpastum »

sailormoon wrote: post #23

All this pain to drop $2.5k per year on a Nikon camera? Dude, seriously, just take a few months and learn some skills at something, then get a decent job using them. You'll be able to buy a new camera every freaking month . I mean I'm all for living within your means and planning and frugality but seriously, don't eat out except for the cheapest fast food around? That's the wrong way to go about it. Upgrade your cash…

Reminds me of Sun on the Moon by James Taylor:

  I’ve been talking to a friend of mine
  He says making money’s just a waste of time
  He’s a lazy gent, he don’t pay no rent
  He’s all bent out of shape from living in a tent
  ...

  One for a nickel and two for a dime
  Time may be money but your money won’t buy time

Re: How to Afford Anything

#86

Post by dkarl »

anamax wrote: post #49
garply wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not really fair. My parents and my gf's parents both have houses with empty space that we could live in that's not being used. Essentially the space is being wasted. I bet many people's parents have similar available space (probably left over from when you were a child and living with your parents already). My gf, who is Chinese, would love to live with her parents (thankfully she is even cheaper than I am). S…

> Essentially the space is being wasted. Would you say that an undeveloped greenbelt around a city is wasted? Empty space in a house is both an option and space. The latter is quite valuable. Also, some people value the privacy.

I'm 33 and my old room at home is still half-full of my stuff. Guests sleep there once or twice a year, but other than that, it's wasted. The only thing that would bother my parents is competition for the TV, and that could easily be fixed by another TV.

Actually, my parents would probably love me to move home because I cook sometimes and because I buy better beer and coffee than they can bring themselves to pay for.

Re: How to Afford Anything

#87

Post by rdouble »

ahoyhere wrote: post #59
afterburner wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

US taxes are low.

No, they're not. You start as a self-employed person with the basis of 30% - because employees are subsidized by their employers, you have to pay both shares. That 30% is Federal, FICA, and SS, doesn't include practically any services you can use or that will protect you as a young person. Then there's state tax. And oh yes, if you move overseas, you have to be very careful in arranging your affairs if you no longer…

US taxes are about as low as it gets for the 1st world. Taxes in the US are bracketed. If you are poor in the USA you pay essentially no taxes (if you do pay, you get it all back in a refund). Welfare benefits in the USA are also for the poor, whereas in western europe there are more benefits available to the middle class. On the other side, if you are rich in the USA your taxes are much lower than if you are rich somewhere else.

The taxation pain point in the USA occurs when you make about $85-$100K (the same salary range as most nerd jobs). You get taxed the same as someone who makes $170K but definitely do not feel like you have the same spending power. It's also a bracket that is not a much lower tax rate than someone who makes $370K. There aren't that many visibly obvious social services available to someone who makes $85K so the taxes can seem like a rip-off.

Re: How to Afford Anything

#89

Post by afterburner »

rdouble wrote: post #87
ahoyhere wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, they're not. You start as a self-employed person with the basis of 30% - because employees are subsidized by their employers, you have to pay both shares. That 30% is Federal, FICA, and SS, doesn't include practically any services you can use or that will protect you as a young person. Then there's state tax. And oh yes, if you move overseas, you have to be very careful in arranging your affairs if you no longer…

US taxes are about as low as it gets for the 1st world. Taxes in the US are bracketed. If you are poor in the USA you pay essentially no taxes (if you do pay, you get it all back in a refund). Welfare benefits in the USA are also for the poor, whereas in western europe there are more benefits available to the middle class. On the other side, if you are rich in the USA your taxes are much lower than if you are rich so…

And that's not even getting into the low low capital gains tax, which is great if your income comes mostly from investments.
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