One thing that helped me coming from a background of poverty is realizing that all unspent money is charity, because if you die, it is going to someone else. If you are not comfortable with where it is going when you die, change your will.
The art and science of spending money
101–110 of 140 posts
Re: The art and science of spending money
#102Re: The art and science of spending money
#103Earlier quoted context omitted.
Nope. I've got everything I want. It's not a lot. I'm collecting a ton of money now that I don't know what to do with. Promoting wants is the foundation of economics however.
> I'm collecting a ton of money now that I don't know what to do with. Why not increase your desires.
Time is limited. Doing too much detracts from what I do want to do.
Re: The art and science of spending money
#104I agree with the point that there is a difference between a savings mindset and investment/growth mindset. One should invest in physical and mental health.
But a lot of the advice seems like narrative fallacies
Re: The art and science of spending money
#105I agree with the point that there is a difference between a savings mindset and investment/growth mindset. One should invest in physical and mental health.
But a lot of the advice seems like narrative fallacies.
Re: The art and science of spending money
#106Loved this article, very spot on. > Frugality inertia: a lifetime of good savings habits can’t be transitioned to a spending phase. This is my first thought when faced with the FIRE community, and even when such a thing didn't exist yet, there were always people like that. A personal example: my uncles. They lived a very humble life, no kids, had a total of 2 small cars in the 30 years I knew them, went 15 days on ho…
Yes, money in the bank means you don't worry, that is by far the most impactful part of money. Spending more doesn't make you happier but having money so you don't have to worry is huge. Ads try to tell you that you will be happier if you spend money, but if you learn to ignore those signals you can be perfectly happy on very little.
That and the not-fun part where you really don't have a clue if you are going to die when 60 or 65 or maybe 90. Then you also don't have a clue if you become a burden on your family for years - where that money would be used to take care for you - or you just don't wake up one day without means to use any of the savings.
Re: The art and science of spending money
#107Earlier quoted context omitted.
So it isn't so reliable after all, according to your own testimony.
There are many reasons to start a business. I like doing so because the most honorable path IMO is serving others - I make more money the more I provide people what they want. They voluntarily give my businesses money. That’s far superior to being paid by taxes, stealing, inheriting it, and so on. Voluntarily receiving money from people who desire the services of my businesses is the best thing I can provide humanity…
From this I derive that you believe you are compensated for the good you do humanity. I, too, hope this is true. Thanks for answering my question and defending your position.
Re: The art and science of spending money
#108Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s possible it’s not a problem, I’d be inclined to give yourself a break. A lot of the “essentials” we’re supposed to splurge on (big house, cars, expensive food, etc) are often overrated when you look at it from a “does this make my life better” lens. Investing in yourself - be that skills or life experiences - is worthwhile but you can do even that with a frugal slant.
You made an unconvincing point by reducing money to stereotypical 'expensive cars' . What about going on ski trip while your kids are still young and having a magical and memorable moments in life.
> What about going on ski trip while your kids are still young and having a magical and memorable moments in life.
For trips, talk to friends from any background about their cherished memorable trips from their childhood and try to repeat what worked. Figure out what caused those childhood trips to be memorable. It is rarely expense from what I can tell.
Expensive trips are often social status signalling. Kids don’t need expensive trips, they won’t appreciate the sacrifices which could be frustrating, and you really need to be able to afford follow-on trips if it turns out your kids love it too much!
For one of my close friends, the family went camping, which was about the cheapest way to go away when I was young. She still loves it and she just bought a new tent (she is mostly careful with money, so even buying a tent is a notable purchase). She took her kids camping, so the good experiences were shared across generations.
Disclaimer: skier. But my childhood skiing was cheap club fields, with cheap gear. Working bee days at the club to work on the club field for a few days each summer. Social. Affordable for a working class family. New Zealand had more of an egalitarian frontier mentality to fun.
Re: The art and science of spending money
#109> Frugality inertia: a lifetime of good savings habits can’t be transitioned to a spending phase. Coming from a poor family and knowing the hard way the issues of not having money I've been obsessed with saving money since I got my first paycheck 8 years ago and I always thought "at the point I would earn current salary + x I will start enjoying life more and stop worrying about money" but that never happened. 8 year…
My parents are similar.
They had a cash/coin business and would count everything by hand. My mom developed shoulder/neck problems. I repeatedly asked them if I could buy them a bill and coin counter. Eventually I just bought them.
They thanked me and wished I had done it 5 years sooner.
One problem is that my parents treat all spending the same - whereas I think spending to invest in their health or quality of life is a no brainer.
Re: The art and science of spending money
#110> Frugality inertia: a lifetime of good savings habits can’t be transitioned to a spending phase. Coming from a poor family and knowing the hard way the issues of not having money I've been obsessed with saving money since I got my first paycheck 8 years ago and I always thought "at the point I would earn current salary + x I will start enjoying life more and stop worrying about money" but that never happened. 8 year…
I don't know that I have a problem spending money. I just don't want things. Take cars, for instance. I can afford to buy a new car. My current car is old enough to have its own driver's license. But, why? It runs all right. It's solid. It has literally never let me down. I don't worry about it getting a dent. I don't worry about taking it on decent unpaved roads. Sure, it will die eventually, but until then, why wou…
Yeah, similar here. It seems to make some people angry, it's like if I have money, it is my moral duty to spend it all immediately. But the things I want are surprisingly cheap. Even computers, were crazy expensive 30 years ago, but now they cost almost as little as books.
The expensive food, I think is not about the taste, but about getting dozen tiny pieces of food, each of them has a French name, and you always wait 10 minutes until they bring you the next bite. You pay for the feeling that many people have spent a lot of time and work preparing your food, even if the result is not really better. Probably other people enjoy that feeling; I don't.