A great post that will be misread by most people. Adam Carolla has a similar rant in his book about why your bed should be one of the nicest things you own.
Being Frugal Makes You A Loser
111–120 of 211 posts
Re: Being Frugal Makes You A Loser
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
I use the Fun Factor rationalization too, but I find it can be problematic in many cases. Mainly with bigger purchases. When you amortize that $2000 bike out per use, the difference between it and the $1500 bike can seem rather insignificant. "$1.5 v. $2 per use? Hell, I might as well get the better one." But, it's still $500. That's real money that could be used to earn more money somewhere else. Ratchet that up if…
I just bought a 260 lb. high quality anvil. It will be an excellent anvil for at least 200 years (if not 300 or 400 years). How's that for longevity?
Only if it is taken care of. I have seen anvils with broken horns, chipped edges, and deep rust pits that were no more than a hundred years old. I even saw one anvil (don't know its age) that had been broken almost in half AND was seriously rust damaged.
Re: Being Frugal Makes You A Loser
#113I disagree. I find this ode to consumerism quite distasteful. Sure, buy quality items if you can afford them, they'll often be worth the investment - but choosing to be frugal because of difficult financial circumstances is a good thing . Most people don't need half of what they buy. As for 'being fugal makes you a loser'; I think if the choice is being seen as a loser by the author of the article, and being broke an…
I agree, but for a different reason. I really broke from his thesis when he said, "It also reinforces the mindset that you’re cheap. “Stuff is cheap, so I don’t need a lot of money.” “I’m happy with mediocrity.”" Really? "Buy more expensive stuff, so you'll require a higher salary"? This is ridiculous.
I think he's (doing a bad job of) saying that you should buy quality items to improve your day to day living and not fall into the trap of buying cheap items and then artificially limiting your earning power accordingly.
Re: Being Frugal Makes You A Loser
#114I tend to buy in two strategies. Either so cheap but functional I don't mind throwing it out later (as eco bad as that might be), or buying good quality wares. I believe that if you can afford good quality wares, that that will both make you happier and leave you with something of substantial resale value. So it may be a better financial strategy. Compare cheap Target cabinet with "Handmade Amish Furniture." That sai…
> and makes no effort to understand that many people cannot afford the quality goods the author can A study done years ago found that the reason poor people stay poor is because they always buy the cheapest option so any money they save up ends up getting used right away to replace something. A never ending cycle of buy cheap/replace broken cheap stuff. >For example, I use to drive sports cars and convertibles, but n…
Which study was that? I've heard the same thing mentioned several times but never seen the actual source.
Re: Being Frugal Makes You A Loser
#115Earlier 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…
Yep, UK customer service is pretty mixed. At it's best it's pretty good but at it's worst it's absolutely shocking. Sadly good customer service is still enough of a rarity that it's genuinely noteworthy when you do come across it.
Re: Being Frugal Makes You A Loser
#116Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is something I've never understood. Considering that a new car loses a huge chunk of its "value" the second you drive it out of the car dealer's, if you're buying new the only sensible strategy is to drive it nearly into the ground. If you have to pay a wrecker to take it away, I agree, you may have taken it too far. But unless there are obscure tax reasons, I can't see any benefit to flipping cars regularly.
You're probably right, if you're buying new. I once read about a strategy that made a great deal of sense to me, and that was to buy a 2-3 year old used car from a new car dealer, and sell it after 2-3 years to a private party. There were all sorts of good reasons for that, some of which may no longer be valid, but some of the reasons were that a 2-3 year old car still had a lot of value but was at the end of it's st…
the new car dealer didn't actually know how much the car was worth
This statement confuses me. When I talk to car dealers, I notice that they always refer to the NADA guide to determine the worth -- even if you think that the blue book is too high, the sales guy certainly knows exactly what the car is worth, and would rather lose the sale than drop significantly below that price. I conclude that insurance and lot space must not be major costs per car.
Re: Being Frugal Makes You A Loser
#117I agree. Personally, I'm more sick of the culture of bargaining and haggling over increasingly small, pedestrian items that has gained a lot of fashion in the recession, even among people for whom it is not a financial imperative. It was a movement with a lot of momentum even before the recession, though, so there must be some other more enduring dynamics at play, too, not just cyclical stuff. There's a social cost t…
There's so much I find wrong here I don't know where to begin. I'm not the type to line-by-line somebodies post, but I'm tempted here.
Remember what Einstein called "The most powerful force in the universe" -- compound interest.
Small savings, done consistently, can grow into fortunes. Haggling; Couponing; Finding the best cash-back credit offers (and changing regularly to the currently-best credit card), the best APYs, the best coupon codes for websites;
Three general things I listed. In my own personal experience, you can very easily save $1000 a year from each of those 3, so in total, $3000 a year. (In fact, we save that from couponing alone.)
At a fair, 5% APY, when I retire in 40 years, that has grown to nearly $400,000. And if you can approach a historically-avergae 8%... wow: That's now $840,000.
There's no "social cost" to that. There's certainly pressure to conform: Pay the asking price, don't waste the time using coupons to full-effectiveness which often requires doing more than one transaction when you checkout, don't have the audacity to use the best deals possible from every bank you can find. But "cost"? No. There's no cost. Having strangers like you upset at us doesn't cost me a thing.
I've noticed that others with your POV dismiss the potential, they think they have it figured out. That coupons waste hours to save pennies and even then only on things you may not want or need anyway. That there's no way to "win" when you game the banking systems rewards. That haggling just doesn't work unless you're buying a car or a house.
But an additional $840k at retirement should illustrate to anybody that discounts the potential that they're just wrong on this one.
Re: Being Frugal Makes You A Loser
#118On one hand I kind of agree with this, there certainly is something to be said for buying nice stuff now and then, especially when it is stuff you love doing. For play, I use a ratio I call the Fun Factor. Essentially, that's the $/hr of fun I get out of something. So if you go see a movie and it is $10, and it is the rare money that is actually fun to watch, then the fun factor is roughly $5. So then you apply it to…
In the kitchen alone: A good set of stainless pans (even the best nonstick will need replaceed eventually), A couple cast-iron skillets, enameled cast-iron (le cruset). Good knives, like yourself. Good steak knives as well.
In the garage: Any cars you're committed to taking care of. For me, my passion, is Mercedes. I see somebody slse mention Vette's. But there's all the tools I have. Spend a little more and they'll truly last.
High quality hi-fi equipment.
High quality hardwood furniture.
Aeron Chairs.
Probably more, but that's what came to mine :)
Re: Being Frugal Makes You A Loser
#119The strange hate for people who are "cheap" is one of the more bizarre about Americans. I don't think I've ever heard of frugality used as a pejorative anywhere else in the English-speaking world.
Only when I have to split a $10.55 bar tab with them and we're doing math.
Re: Being Frugal Makes You A Loser
#120A high quality mattress and king size bed, quality (and ALWAYS fresh) bed linen, good duvets etc is the best investment you can make no matter what your income bracket is, everyone needs this. Totally agree.
I can sleep on anything and be comfortable. A mattress salesman even told me that someone who has my body type doesn't need to spend big on a mattress if they're comfortable with a cheaper one. But there are things I put good money into that others wouldn't. Bloviating about what "everyone" needs or should do is pointless and shows a lack of understanding that people have different values.