Buy Yourself a Latte • Hacker News Board

Re: Buy Yourself a Latte

#291

Post by Ayesh » Sat, Apr 06, 2019, 5:52 AM UTC

csomar wrote: post #261

Sure. How about saving up that $5 coffee until you die. Then you can enjoy your millions in your grave-yard. I'm close to turning 30 and one thing I learned: There are certain experiences you only enjoy when you are at a particular age. You can't go hiking when you are 75. You'll probably be sitting on a chair. You can't also go drinking and dancing in some cities around the world and coming back to your hotel room w…

I'm a full-time freelancer, and I spend quite a lot on traveling now that I can work from anywhere. It certainly costs a lot of money, but for the past 8 years I've been doing this, I never felt it as a waste of money.

Those $5 coffees not only have helped me relax, recharge my gadgets and use their wifi, but also to get my work done. Not working at all vs paying for a coffee to earn some money is an easy decision to make.

On hindsight, though, money I've spent on cloths and jewelery, or super fine wine and alcohol, or high end restaurants feel like a massive waste of money.

Re: Buy Yourself a Latte

#292

Post by Zenbit_UX » Sat, Apr 06, 2019, 5:52 AM UTC

jimbokun wrote: post #227

DoreenMichele wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

that $5 a day adds up The article isn't advocating that you buy a coffee every single day. It's saying a. focus on larger issues and b. it's okay to do a little self care and a little self indulgence. I sometimes bought myself a fucking coffee of some sort at Starbuck's back when I was homeless. I needed the caffeine to help treat health issues. It let me plug in for an hour and get some electricity for my tablet, pl…

"The article isn't advocating that you buy a coffee every single day." That is EXACTLY what the article is advocating, very explicitly. Your case sounds very different than the "$5 latte a day habit", which is probably just someone standing in line in the morning, grabbing their coffee and absent-mindedly sipping it as they walk to the office. You got an hour of shelter and a comfortable place to sit in a nice enviro…

On the point of the beater vs the new car... I find the best is often a middle ground. The new car is not worth the debt and the depreciation... assuming it's even an option.

The beater is often just as poor an investment due to the money you'll have to throw into it like a black hole whenever it fails. There's also the stress and instability it creates knowing it may not start the next morning.

Re: Buy Yourself a Latte

#293

Post by Zenbit_UX » Sat, Apr 06, 2019, 6:02 AM UTC

DoreenMichele wrote: post #259

isoskeles wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's saying focus on issues mostly out of your control ( inflation ). I'd prefer to focus on the things that are in my control. I agree that some level of indulgence is okay, obviously this is a balance. Everyone has to figure out what they're comfortable with here, but some people we know may have become way too comfortable and complacent yet still want to complain about their financial situation. These are the peop…

When I was homeless and going to Starbucks, I used to watch people get $60 worth of takeout coffee on a Saturday morning. Family was coming over. Everyone needed a cup. But no one tells well-off people to cut back on buying $5 cups of coffee by the dozen. No one suggests that if they saved that money, they could have two or three million more and, clearly, that's the morally correct thing to do. No one is saying coff…

Agreed on all counts.

What I find the most distasful is when people make it to the top of the pyramid, look down, and scream advice at those below.

Some do it to assuage their guilt, some to raise themselves further above the rabble, and others - whom I despise the most - decide to profit from their status by selling their "wisdom".

Re: Buy Yourself a Latte

#294

Post by Zenbit_UX » Sat, Apr 06, 2019, 6:30 AM UTC

Can someone explain this Starbucks obsession to me?

Both their raw espresso and the filtered coffee taste like absolute dogshit to me. (I can stomach the milk based drinks as it masks the actual coffee though.)

I'm not a coffee elitist either, I can drink Canadian swill (timmies) and just about any corner store brew, instant packets... Whatever. Just not Starbucks.

The absolute best I've found at a chain by a mile is McCafe but I've never heard an American mention it. Is McDonald's trash in the states? Is Canadian Starbucks different?

Re: Buy Yourself a Latte

#295

Post by topmonk » Sat, Apr 06, 2019, 6:37 AM UTC

csomar wrote: post #261

Sure. How about saving up that $5 coffee until you die. Then you can enjoy your millions in your grave-yard. I'm close to turning 30 and one thing I learned: There are certain experiences you only enjoy when you are at a particular age. You can't go hiking when you are 75. You'll probably be sitting on a chair. You can't also go drinking and dancing in some cities around the world and coming back to your hotel room w…

This point was really driven home to me when I lived in Las Vegas for a stretch.

Watching senior citizens shuffle around the casino spending their wealth they saved over their lifetimes because there was nothing else they could do that could give them a comparable thrill at their age, really makes you see what still having youth is worth.

Re: Buy Yourself a Latte

#296

Post by MRD85 » Sat, Apr 06, 2019, 7:00 AM UTC

neogodless wrote: post #287

MRD85 wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does the US not have a compulsory savings scheme? In Australia, we have superannuation which employers must pay and it goes into a fund that is invested. My scheme gives me approximately 17% and after around 12 years of my working life, I have a couple hundred thousand dollars in my account. By the time I retire, it's likely to be worth around 1.5 million in today's dollars. I also invest some of my own money.

We do. It's called social security. Technically, it should be enough to pay the bare minimum of your needs upon retirement, if you're in a low cost-of-living area. It does not ensure a comfortable retirement, and we have enough problems in our government to erode our trust in getting the full payout from the system. It's also "100%" paid out if you wait until 67, or 75% at 62. Also, I note you said "employers must pa…

I just researched social security, it appears more like a pension plan. Our superannuation is entirely our money. When I reach retirement age then every cent I've paid (plus interest) is returned to me. If I run out of money I'm still eligible for the pension. I'm not entirely sure but I think my superannuation is more similar to a compulsory 401k.

Re: Buy Yourself a Latte

#297

Post by csomar » Sat, Apr 06, 2019, 7:04 AM UTC

Ayesh wrote: post #291

csomar wrote: post #261

Sure. How about saving up that $5 coffee until you die. Then you can enjoy your millions in your grave-yard. I'm close to turning 30 and one thing I learned: There are certain experiences you only enjoy when you are at a particular age. You can't go hiking when you are 75. You'll probably be sitting on a chair. You can't also go drinking and dancing in some cities around the world and coming back to your hotel room w…

I'm a full-time freelancer, and I spend quite a lot on traveling now that I can work from anywhere. It certainly costs a lot of money, but for the past 8 years I've been doing this, I never felt it as a waste of money. Those $5 coffees not only have helped me relax, recharge my gadgets and use their wifi, but also to get my work done. Not working at all vs paying for a coffee to earn some money is an easy decision to…

> On hindsight, though, money I've spent on cloths and jewelery, or super fine wine and alcohol, or high end restaurants feel like a massive waste of money.

You can get designer brand clothes from department stores like TGMaxx pretty cheap. And if you look around enough you can find new stuff that fits you very well. Super fine wine and alcohol is pretty much the same as cheap wine and alcohol. High end restaurants are a connection mechanism for rich people. So unless you are networking there, there is no reason to go to one.

Re: Buy Yourself a Latte

#298

Post by k4ch0w » Sat, Apr 06, 2019, 7:14 AM UTC

I have thought about this quite a lot. I read a lot on FIRE and on personal finance. I think the thing no one mentions in this thread is the possibility of you not making it to 25 years? What if you get a disease or a car accident? You saved all that money for nothing.

I think it's important to enjoy the here and now, but also plan for a future. You never know what could happen. I think it's silly not to just enjoy the moment while you have it. Yes, be fiscally responsible but don't forget the purpose of money is to barter for things you enjoy.

Re: Buy Yourself a Latte

#299

Post by jnurmine » Sat, Apr 06, 2019, 7:46 AM UTC

geodel wrote: post #268

esotericn wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right. $5 a day is a significant amount of money to a huge number of people. In the UK, if you're on minimum wage, a 3 quid coffee represents approximately 5% of your daily income. If such an individual (someone who earned minwage for a lifetime) were to end up with even "merely" 100K in today's money at age 60 that would actually be an enormous amount relative to their cohort.

> 3 quid coffee represents approximately 5% of your daily income. So 60 pounds a day is minimum wage in UK? It seems to be very decent middle class income rather than minimum wage. Or maybe you meant 50%?

Minimum wage in the UK seems to be around 1260 GBP/month, that is 60 GBP a day for an 8 h workday.

This is pre tax.

If it were 6 GBP/day you'd get 120 GBP a month (pre-tax). That is extremely low. Living with so little anywhere in Western Europe would be very challenging, if not impossible.

I mean, stingy food shopping at Tesco for basic stuff four times a month would land at (guesstimating) around 10..15 * 4 = 40..60 GBP. This means eggs, bread, butter, vegetables, chicken, yoghurt etc. and no tobacco or beer. This estimate is probably too low as I did not count in soap, toilet paper, toothbrush/paste etc.

Likewise, the minimum of 1260 GBP/month in UK or Western Europe is not a lot, but I guess enough to get by somehow.

I am curious, what do you think is a high income in the UK (or Western Europe in general)?

Re: Buy Yourself a Latte

#300

Post by rland » Sat, Apr 06, 2019, 8:16 AM UTC

I agree with this a lot.

1 ambulance ride = 2 years of daily coffee. 1 minor knee surgery = 5 years of daily coffee. 1 major knee surgery = 10 years of daily coffee. 1 diabetes diagnosis = 3 cups of coffee/day, lifetime. 1 cancer diagnosis = 1 daily coffee for every one of your children, and their children.

It really is insulting.