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Young, Dumb, and Broke: Why Outdoorsy Types Suck at Money

outsideonline.com

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Re: Young, Dumb, and Broke: Why Outdoorsy Types Suck at Money

#31

Post by monoideism »

allenu wrote: post #9

I'm not a particularly outdoorsy person, but being a frugal person, I have noticed that a lot of outdoors activities really do "require" an investment. Equipment can be expensive, as can ski passes or trips. Once you hang out in those circles (as the article states), you don't want to have cheap gear. It's as with anything, I suppose, but with gear, there's always more and better things, which never interested me. I…

Back in my 20s, having spent HS and part of college running track and cross-country, I’d pass guys all the time in their bikes that cost more than my car in my $200 used bike that didn’t even have clipless pedals.

Those days are long gone now, but it was highly satisfying to see the look of panic on athletic, rich banker’s face when some punk kid in a t-shirt, shorts, and cheap bike passed him going up a hill.

Re: Young, Dumb, and Broke: Why Outdoorsy Types Suck at Money

#32

Post by lhorie »

Swizec wrote: post #10
WarOnPrivacy wrote: post #4

I am bad with money. I’m also not abnormal. A 2017 survey by CareerBuilder found that 78 percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, while a 2019 survey by Bankrate found that 60 percent of us couldn’t cover a $1,000 emergency. For most in this predicament, it has nothing to do with being bad with money. It has everything to do with their income being 80% of their essential bills.

> but I can tell you that there were $60 rounds of drinks purchased without a second thought and $25 cab rides to the bars. There were $1,500 ski-season cabin shares in Lake Tahoe and a $150-a-month membership at Equinox. There were multiple Starbucks lattes per day and $18 organic steak salads eaten at my desk. I don't think this is someone who can't cover essential bills with their salary. This is the trap kids fal…

It's interesting hearing others' experiences on this. Among my circles, my friends would sometimes comment on how weird it was to come to terms with the fact they were no longer dirt poor college students and how now they had disposable income and how guilty they'd feel spending money due to the frugal student mentality.

To this day, I still don't feel the urge to buy things on impulse, or because peers have them or do trendy things.

Re: Young, Dumb, and Broke: Why Outdoorsy Types Suck at Money

#33

Post by munk-a »

vondur wrote: post #28
allenu wrote: post #9

I'm not a particularly outdoorsy person, but being a frugal person, I have noticed that a lot of outdoors activities really do "require" an investment. Equipment can be expensive, as can ski passes or trips. Once you hang out in those circles (as the article states), you don't want to have cheap gear. It's as with anything, I suppose, but with gear, there's always more and better things, which never interested me. I…

Yes, I'm a Mountain Biker and have been for quite sometime now. I've had people ask me about getting into Mountain Biking on the cheap, say sub $500. I've told them to try hiking, it's far cheaper.

Snowshoeing is also quite an affordable thing to get into if your climate allows!

Re: Young, Dumb, and Broke: Why Outdoorsy Types Suck at Money

#35

Post by neither_color »

After years of living for the moment and YOLOing, author felt bad because she was in her 30s and didnt have wealth, then her parents gave her a large lump sum of money and she was able to apply things she learned from financial management books. The end.

Re: Young, Dumb, and Broke: Why Outdoorsy Types Suck at Money

#36

Post by laurent92 »

Swizec wrote: post #10
WarOnPrivacy wrote: post #4

I am bad with money. I’m also not abnormal. A 2017 survey by CareerBuilder found that 78 percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, while a 2019 survey by Bankrate found that 60 percent of us couldn’t cover a $1,000 emergency. For most in this predicament, it has nothing to do with being bad with money. It has everything to do with their income being 80% of their essential bills.

> but I can tell you that there were $60 rounds of drinks purchased without a second thought and $25 cab rides to the bars. There were $1,500 ski-season cabin shares in Lake Tahoe and a $150-a-month membership at Equinox. There were multiple Starbucks lattes per day and $18 organic steak salads eaten at my desk. I don't think this is someone who can't cover essential bills with their salary. This is the trap kids fal…

As a reasonably frugal person, it is very annoying that outdoorsy people set the standard for spending, and they make me look stingy.

I’m not stingy. I’m sane. They’re the ones going bankrupt ;)

20 years later: They’re married with kids and I’m single. Perhaps I really looked stingy ;)

Moral of the story: People in average are de facto pushed to consume all their margin.

Re: Young, Dumb, and Broke: Why Outdoorsy Types Suck at Money

#37

Post by war1025 »

WarOnPrivacy wrote: post #4

I am bad with money. I’m also not abnormal. A 2017 survey by CareerBuilder found that 78 percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, while a 2019 survey by Bankrate found that 60 percent of us couldn’t cover a $1,000 emergency. For most in this predicament, it has nothing to do with being bad with money. It has everything to do with their income being 80% of their essential bills.

> It has everything to do with their income being 80% of their essential bills.

There is some truth to that, but there is also a fair amount of truth to the fact that a lot of people list things as "essential" that really aren't.

For many it's a trade off of being poor or looking poor, and they would much rather be poor than look poor.

Money isn't that different than dieting. It's a pretty simple equation.

Money in >= money out => Broke.

Money in Not broke.

With dieting, yes exercise more, but for the love of God, stop eating so damn much.

With money, yes get a better paying job, but for the love of God stop buying so much stupid shit.

Re: Young, Dumb, and Broke: Why Outdoorsy Types Suck at Money

#38

Post by thechao »

allenu wrote: post #9

I'm not a particularly outdoorsy person, but being a frugal person, I have noticed that a lot of outdoors activities really do "require" an investment. Equipment can be expensive, as can ski passes or trips. Once you hang out in those circles (as the article states), you don't want to have cheap gear. It's as with anything, I suppose, but with gear, there's always more and better things, which never interested me. I…

Biking expenditures are nuts. I feel like I'm splurging if I don't let the soles wear off my sneakers before getting a new pair. I've only just begun regularly swapping them out — every year whether or not they need to be — because my feet feel fucking old if I don't.

Re: Young, Dumb, and Broke: Why Outdoorsy Types Suck at Money

#39

Post by 0xB31B1B »

cletus wrote: post #12

I'm a firm believer that everyone should have a skill they can use to support themselves. It doesn't really matter what that is as long as you can't be replaced easily by unskilled labour. So take the author. She wants to be a ski bum while she's young. I respect that, actually. So the question such people should be asking is: what skill could I gain that is compatible with that? Example: being a qualified paramedic/…

>> So the question such people should be asking is: what skill could I gain that is compatible with that?

Having seen people go through this thought process, SOO many get it wrong. If you want to ski all the time, you shouldn't be an EMT because money season for those gigs in ski town is the winter. You should find a seasonal job where money season is opposite of ski season. Carpentry/home building is a natural fit, money season is summer not winter, and can pay well enough to work half the year and ski half the year. Another popular gig for ski bums is professional fishing. You can make enough money in a few months fishing in the spring/summer to spend the rest of the time skiing.

Re: Young, Dumb, and Broke: Why Outdoorsy Types Suck at Money

#40

Post by monoideism »

kuhzaam wrote: post #30
monoideism wrote: post #19

> How was I ever going to afford a kid’s college fund? How was I ever going to afford a kid’s college fund? Uh, lady, you’re 37 years old. If you seriously want a kid, you need to approach finding a spouse with the same seriousness and intention you (admirably) now approach finances. Otherwise, it ain’t gonna happen. But I guess that’s another article.

Plenty of people adopt

I had my first kid at age 34, and part of my deeply regrets not going sooner (wife is much younger). I had some serious health issues by 45, which impeded by ability to raise my kids the way I wanted.

Adopting in 40s? Will the parent even still be alive when the kid graduates college? With good luck, genes, and good diet/exercise, yes. Otherwise, likely not.

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