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Being Frugal Makes You A Loser

ajkesslerblog.com

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Re: Being Frugal Makes You A Loser

#161

Post by mironathetin »

mironathetin wrote: post #102
copenja wrote: post #20

Wow, I disagree. Starting with expensive shoes. I wear flip-flops, shorts, and a t-shirt to work everyday. I'm pretty comfortable. I don't see the correlation between expensive footwear and comfort. Beds. Yes, you spend 1/3 your life in bed. And you spend it unconscious. You spend about 0.03% of your conscious life in bed while falling asleep (30 mins a day). But more importantly: Relax. Just because you make a certa…

>I don't see the correlation between expensive footwear and comfort. There is a close correlation, but only if you buy genuine leather shoes. Good leather gets into shape while you wear it. If the leather is really tough, it takes a while, but afterwards these shoes will fit as if they were made for you. There is nothing that can be as comfortable, IMHO. The feet are always dry, warm and comfortable. The price is hig…

The interesting question would be (to come back to what the original article is about): Do I feel better because I wear expensive shoes?

The answer is: no!

I feel good, because I want to wear nice shoes (sometimes, for reasons I have to discuss with Mr. Freud sometimes) and what makes me feel good is that I can fulfill my wish. Definitely not the fact that some of my shows are expensive.

Re: Being Frugal Makes You A Loser

#162

Post by omouse »

stashdot wrote: post #52

A friend's uncle gave some very abrupt advice which has stuck with me. "There are people who figure out ways to save money and there are people who figure out ways to make more money."

Saving money = oppressing yourself. Making more money = oppressing others.

Re: Being Frugal Makes You A Loser

#163

Post by Luc »

ido wrote: post #97
jasonkester wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed, and I think that's what the author was saying too. One example: Craftsman Hand Tools. They have a lifetime guarantee, so provided you don't lose them, you're done buying screwdrivers and wrenches for life. True story. I walked into Sears with a broken socket wrench. Sears guy: "Wow. What happened to that ?" Me: "Well, I had a bolt that really didn't want to come loose, so I had a six foot cheater bar and I wa…

I've had that same conversation on 3 different occasions, each with ludicrously mis-used tools broken entirely through my foolishness. All replaced for free with a smile. Let me guess - you live in the US. Good luck getting the same result in Europe ;)

There's many European tool makers that offer _real_ lifetime warranty on their tools. Gedore in Germany is an example.

Re: Being Frugal Makes You A Loser

#164

Post by JoeAltmaier »

dkarl wrote: post #144
JoeAltmaier wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not quite; the point was, better stuff will last longer, you never have to replace it. It was a utilitarian argument.

No, he did point out some false economies, but the main thrust was the psychological effect of feeling that you've bought nice things for yourself. Buy yourself nice things, then you feel like a princess, and that feeling of self-worth rubs off on the rest of your life. The problem with it is that there's an ugly logic that you can't avoid. If getting what I want makes me worthy, what does it mean when I don't get wh…

Come on, every time I Don't get a piece of candy, I don't think "I must be a bad person". That logic is flawed. It is definitely NOT a zero-sum game. We're talking emotional logic here. Having something nice, for once, can make you feel good. And Not having nice things most of the time, for emotionally well-adjusted people, does not destroy our selfimage. Maybe just the opposite for some.

There's even the spite angle - I buy a crappy screwdriver, it breaks, I swear at it, I feel better. That's a payoff too. So its complicated.

Re: Being Frugal Makes You A Loser

#165

Post by triviatise »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #16

I have learned over the years that not spending 'enough' on tools is always a bad choice. Like mgarfias I buy Craftsman hand tools from Sears because they really do replace them no questions asked. I know a guy that would buy beat up, nicked and dingy craftsman screw drivers or socket wrenches at garage sales for a dollar and then go to Sears and get a replacement that they would put in their toolbox. My experience o…

The one thing you can do is replace the soles. My shoes are about $150 and replacing the soles costs about $30. The uppers pretty much last forever.

Re: Being Frugal Makes You A Loser

#166

Post by bluekeybox »

bradleyland wrote: post #142
kerryfalk wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I couldn't read past "I'm not worth it" . Based on that and your reply here it just seems as though the author is materialistic. They're defining their worth by the quantity and quality of the goods they possess. I don't see how that's a healthy attitude. I'm probably on an extreme end of the spectrum as I'm pretty minimalistic and don't have many possessions but those I do have are typically of higher quality. I don…

I read the piece through to the end, and while I don't really like the way he presented it -- there's no need to call anyone a loser -- there is an important message to be shared. That is: care about the experience you give yourself. You clearly get this. Sometimes having fewer possessions results in the experience that we value more. Your views might share more with the author than it appears on the surface. Where t…

> That is: care about the experience you give yourself.

The key thing is, if you care about the experience you give yourself, it will be easier for you to give the same level of experience to others -- and they more likely than not will appreciate it.

Re: Being Frugal Makes You A Loser

#167

Post by lsc »

gaius wrote: post #151
lsc wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

not always. For instance, I buy "disposable" cars. My personal rule is "Don't spend more than a month's salary" which means I buy used.

I am thinking more of cheap consumer electronics, gadgets, etc, even clothes, that only last a year. In the case of the car, you've saved it from being disposed of by someone else, at least for a while.

My experience has been that cheaper clothing, on average, actually lasts longer than the more expensive stuff. The cheap stuff is designed for people who do physical work. even if you don't, the more durable fabric and stitching will stand up to more runs through the washing machine.

The jeans I'm wearing right now are the costco store brand; I bought a bunch during the first .com boom for $12 a pair and used them for quite some time.

My experience has been that more expensive jeans are usually made of thinner, weaker material. I bought a bunch of fairly nice calvin klein brand jeans which cost 3x as much as these jeans and they all suffered catastrophic failures within the first year or so of use. (nearly all of them, I'd go to lift something fairly heavy, I'd hear a tearing noise and feel a draft. Irritating, as I'd have to interrupt the work day to change pants. The costco brand jeans? when they fail it's usually that the knees or the seat would wear through.)

I'm just saying, expense does not correlate very well with durability. Have you ever owned a 10 year old BMW? I can tell you from experience that a 10 year old toyota is going to be more reliable.

I'm sure you can find many counterexamples; I mean, certainly a nice pair of vibram-soled leather boots is going to last longer than any athletic shoe; probably longer enough to make them cheaper over the long-term. Hell, if you want to look "professional" there are specialized work-slacks and button-down shirts made by companies like Dickies that are very durable but also fairly expensive.

But my point is that more expensive is usually not a very good heuristic for more durable, especially when dealing with fashion items.

Re: Being Frugal Makes You A Loser

#168

Post by afterburner »

jasonkester wrote: post #101
ido wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had that same conversation on 3 different occasions, each with ludicrously mis-used tools broken entirely through my foolishness. All replaced for free with a smile. Let me guess - you live in the US. Good luck getting the same result in Europe ;)

Uh, sure. You're right. Sears are thin on the ground over here. In case I wasn't clear, all the abovementioned conversations happened at Sears department store, the sole distributor of Craftsman hand tools. They have an explicit policy of replacing any broken tool, regardless of how you broke it. So if you rock up with the snapped-off handle of one of those tiny little flathead screwdrivers (complete with a little cl…

Spending a month in France made me realize just how great customer service is in North America. (Luckily France has other features.)

The one HUGE exception was the French national rail service. They must get great compensation, or have good hiring policies, because everyone I dealt with was spontaneously helpful and didn't mind spending extra time with me, even to the point of extending their work hours.

Re: Being Frugal Makes You A Loser

#169

Post by Evgeny »

DanielStraight wrote: post #129
jasonkester wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed, and I think that's what the author was saying too. One example: Craftsman Hand Tools. They have a lifetime guarantee, so provided you don't lose them, you're done buying screwdrivers and wrenches for life. True story. I walked into Sears with a broken socket wrench. Sears guy: "Wow. What happened to that ?" Me: "Well, I had a bolt that really didn't want to come loose, so I had a six foot cheater bar and I wa…

Yes, but when the original author said it he was rude and condescending. Rude because there is simply no polite way to call someone a loser. Condescending because he assumed that ignorance was the only reason someone would buy something of low quality and that everyone reading the article would have money to buy high quality things. Almost everyone in the U.S. has access to an internet connection. If not in their hom…

Rude because there is simply no polite way to call someone a loser.

"You will certainly do great next time!"

Re: Being Frugal Makes You A Loser

#170

Post by mncolinlee »

Wow, this guy is a loser.

I don't disagree with his suggestion that the primary tools you use in life and your trade should be high-quality. He's right about that specific statement. If I must eat a Ramen-equivalent to buy the tools I need, I will. However, most of us cannot afford his tastes in every area of life after paying for crappy health insurance, a mortgage, and children. He reads like a child who has never been forced to live on less and to value the tools we have.

Most normal people are aware that every purchasing decision we make involves trade-offs. We perform a cost-benefit analysis with many purchases. We think, if I cut back on buying fancy coffee over the course of a year, I will save up enough to afford a better laptop or a lower health insurance deductible.

The author has issues that need to be addressed. The whole article reads like someone rationalizing bad choices on luxury-branded products and criticizing in advance anyone who may one day point them out.

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