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Maladaptive Frugality

herbertlui.net

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Re: Maladaptive Frugality

#311

Post by komali2 »

yarekt wrote: post #307
cwillu wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“I hope it's obvious that this is a criticism.”

Honestly I struggled to get further than 2nd paragraph. Other commenters here also have similar spectrum of opinions, far down the "Enjoy later" mindset

I feel you but I hope we can treat this forum a bit differently than we treat Twitter hot takes. I come here for a deeper level of engagement than we can get elsewhere, and that takes more words to accomplish.

I understand I post big blocks but it is frustrating when someone misunderstands me because they read less than half of my post. There's always the option of "it's too long, I choose to not read it rather than engage with my misinterpretation of it."

Re: Maladaptive Frugality

#312

Post by bigfudge »

wallst07 wrote: post #258
bigfudge wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even in motorsports, presumably it’s still mostly showing off? Unless you are a pro, you’d still lose any seriously comepetitivr race and have plenty to learn and enjoy driving a not-quite-top of the line sports car? I don’t know motorsports, but in all the sports I do know it’s that way. Tennis, cycling… there are serious diminishing returns in all of those and most kit spending isn’t justified by performance as muc…

>Even in motorsports, presumably it’s still mostly showing off? What, you mean like F1 where the rules of the engineering / tech of the car and shaving a second can mean 1st place vs not placing?

The context was a comment about a “track weapon” and normies buying cars.

Re: Maladaptive Frugality

#313

Post by bigfudge »

jimbokun wrote: post #250
ubermonkey wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's definitely true, and I have a whole other rant how my cycling pals and I love to poke fun at dudes who show up to the group ride on a brand new $10,000 bike and get dropped before the midpoint. BUT! It's easier than you think to get a point in participatory motorsports where the difference between, say, a Cayman and a Miata is something you can actively use.

Curious what would you say is the sweet spot to pay for a bicycle before rapid diminishing returns? I still feel like if you go out for a long ride on a Huffy from Walmart you might hurt yourself.

In the Uk it’s about £3-4k I think. Beyond that the differences in function are very small and would make no differences at all in an amateur road race. For time trials it’s a bit different and there clothing does make a measurable difference, although still v small relative to training harder!

Re: Maladaptive Frugality

#314

Post by giardini »

Mezzie wrote: post #152
catlogbindiff wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Retiring early is a single guy internet myth. If you have a family, forget it. If you have a health condition, forget it. If you don’t have low risk investments, forget it. In the US health care can reset your bank account in the blink of an eye which is why so many many people in tech work until Medicare kicks in. Early retirement with a family is at least 10 mil in cash. Better enjoy your job because you’ll be doin…

If you're truly fortunate, you can end up with an expensive chronic but not deadly condition that penalizes you for saving and having assets. Your healthcare isn't an emergency, so if it isn't paid for, you don't get it. But if you have any money, no Medicaid for you. Instead, you get to drain your accounts until you're impoverished and then they'll help you.

Dear Mezzie,

(from your profile): "Live fast. Die young. Don't give HN an email."

I like the "Live fast", not so much the "Die young", but why not "give HN an email"?

Re: Maladaptive Frugality

#315

Post by giardini »

Mezzie wrote: post #149
engineer_22 wrote: post #124

I am a consulting engineer serving small communities in Central New York. Ostensibly my job is to design construction projects to fix a problem, but most of my job is actually helping the community figure out how to pay for the fix. My greatest frustration is Maladaptive Frugality. There are whole communities with this mindset, and it takes a lot of effort to communicate the reality to the town/village board that the…

That reminds me of the roads in my city. They're disgusting . The reason is because the city charter mandates they have to take the cheapest bid. Of course the quality is crap and none of the fixes last! Fortunately, we just changed that, so hopefully it will get better.

You might suggest they try taking the second (or 3rd, etc.) lowest bid instead of the lowest.

Re: Maladaptive Frugality

#316

Post by ubermonkey »

wing-_-nuts wrote: post #268
bigfudge wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even in motorsports, presumably it’s still mostly showing off? Unless you are a pro, you’d still lose any seriously comepetitivr race and have plenty to learn and enjoy driving a not-quite-top of the line sports car? I don’t know motorsports, but in all the sports I do know it’s that way. Tennis, cycling… there are serious diminishing returns in all of those and most kit spending isn’t justified by performance as muc…

>Even in motorsports, presumably it’s still mostly showing off? Unless you are a pro, you’d still lose any seriously comepetitivr race and have plenty to learn and enjoy driving a not-quite-top of the line sports car? I was at a track day once, and you'd see guys rolling up with very expensive cars, and they were often clocked as noobs before anyone even spoke to them. The guy rolling up with a beat up 1st gen miata…

Absolutely true that few folks who show up at track days or autocross sessions in high-end cars know what they're doing.

But the ones that do? Ho-leee shit.

Re: Maladaptive Frugality

#317

Post by littlexsparkee »

square_usual wrote: post #137
anticorporate wrote: post #118

I struggle with this. I feel so guilty for replacing my four year old phone this week, even though my old phone has had hardware issues for more than a year. There wasn't really a puritanical element for me, it seems to be just from growing below the poverty line. The flip side of it is I've accidentally joined the FIRE movement. Making a moderate tech salary for most of my time since graduating college but feeling g…

> After my last job in tech I took about a half a year off before realizing I also felt guilty about not working, and took a job I wanted Well, yeah, that's kind of the problem. If you're the kind of person who can FIRE, you're not the kind of person who'll be happy on permanent vacation at the age of 40. It's nice to have that option, but many people who get into FIRE commit themselves to a lifetime of slight misery…

re: misery due to some assumed inherent drive - some people work hard so that they can slack off later, work on something else entirely different that doesn't pay as well, or worry their field or the planet doesn't have that long. there are many motivations and getting there doesn't require privation but minimal need or rational consideration of tradeoffs.

Re: Maladaptive Frugality

#318

Post by ThrowawayR2 »

square_usual wrote: post #182
mbrameld wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'd rather enjoy my life in my 20s than save money to do nothing in my 40s. I think this is a lie that people who are bad with money tell themselves, that the only two options available are to spend without restraint or live miserably frugal.

> that the only two options available are to spend without restraint or live miserably frugal When did I say that? I have a 35% savings rate and still am able to spend happily. The point is that you don't need to aim to retire early . Set a target savings rate, spend the rest - enjoy your life instead of trying to maximize savings so you can retire early.

There's a hidden assumption there that software industry pay will remain as high as it has and that the economy will be as good as it has in the past. I'm not sure I would be comfortable making that assumption in 2026 given that we seem to be entering an era of global instability and AI driven transformation.

Re: Maladaptive Frugality

#319

Post by Mezzie »

giardini wrote: post #314
Mezzie wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're truly fortunate, you can end up with an expensive chronic but not deadly condition that penalizes you for saving and having assets. Your healthcare isn't an emergency, so if it isn't paid for, you don't get it. But if you have any money, no Medicaid for you. Instead, you get to drain your accounts until you're impoverished and then they'll help you.

Dear Mezzie, (from your profile): "Live fast. Die young. Don't give HN an email." I like the "Live fast", not so much the "Die young", but why not "give HN an email"?

Without an email, the account can't be retrieved if I forget the login information.

It's a reminder not to grow too attached to the account and that all things are ephemeral.

Re: Maladaptive Frugality

#320

Post by basch »

lxgr wrote: post #228
basch wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

3% at restaurants is offset by 3% fee to use cards at restaurants. this benefit is evaporating. not an argument for or against cards, but they are becoming closer to neutral than a discount.

Of course somebody is paying your 3%; there's no free lunch. To a large extent it's yourself (via interchange paid as part of the merchant's fees); part of it is however also other people paying cash and often not receiving a discount for doing so. Regardless of all that, at the individual level, not using a credit card is still irrational. Not quite the tragedy of the commons, but it's pretty close. The only way out…

It’s just a 3% surcharge at restaurants now. Maybe you haven’t experienced it in your area but most non chain restaurants have it by me.
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