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Being frugal is for the rich

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41–50 of 305 posts

Re: Being frugal is for the rich

#41
Whoa, I just realized I've been retired for four years now! Words used to mean something. If retired is a full time job and self employment, no one told me. It's not bad but it's way overrated and certainly not happiness. My mom is retired. She can literally do nothing all day every day. These people are not retired, they're lying.

And referencing Warren Buffett's shit breakfast advise without considering the money needed to budget for the inevitable health disaster of eating a sugary breakfast at McDonald's every day is frankly ridiculous.

Re: Being frugal is for the rich

#42
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t think there’s a way to place them in the larger context that makes them less useful though. It’s tough out there, try to be frugal, seems like great advice. I like that it’s not political as well. Once you move the discussion to policy, people get territorial. The “American dream” of the 20th century was never sustainable. We’re just now realizing that en masse. Being frugal is just a natural realignment of c…

I agree on the first point, but I think part of the point of this article is that there no such thing as "not political" since everything you say in public has a place in the public consciousness which is the engine of democracy. Regarding the American dream, maybe it's sustainable or maybe it's not, but it's clear that it would be a lot more sustainable if people where willing to create a world with fewer obstacles…

This is my point. We agree that being frugal is good. Great!

As for universal healthcare, good luck getting everyone to agree on that...

I disagree that every word spoken in public is political. “Don’t touch the hot stove” is great advice. Let’s be free to have those kinds of conversations without dragging them into the political mud.

Re: Being frugal is for the rich

#43
I'm glad the wouldn't let something as Patently Right Wing as "being thrifty" to escape their journalistic gaze.

it's super important to make sure that no stone goes unturned in the constant battle to find out who's keeping them down over there on "The Great Left".

/s

Re: Being frugal is for the rich

#44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People want what they can't have which I don't think will ever dissolve. Therefore, the idea that advertising has any bearing on this is flawed. Keeping up with the joneses is less about having the same thing and more about having the joneses quality of life. They aren't the same if you look at them. Having a fancy car for example is a status symbol, what is the status? The status is that this car has nicer features,…

There are so many things you cannot tell by looking at how other people appear to be living their lives. Or whether the car is valued for utility, features or perceived status. First, you can't tell from looking at their car how well-suited their finances are to paying for it. They could have a 12.99% 72-month loan that doubles the actual cost (plus higher insurance premiums, premium fuel, etc). Or they bought it cas…

> There are so many things you cannot tell by looking at how other people appear to be living their lives. Or whether the car is valued for utility, features or perceived status.

This is the perspective people need to have to stop comparing themselves against others. When I learned this I stopped comparing myself and try to buy based on the value add a product gives to me in my use case.

Re: Being frugal is for the rich

#45
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess this is the real motive behind the article: But here’s the thing. Regardless of intent, these Millennials are telling an older generation of elite Americans — the very people whose policies and financial decisions kneecapped the economy — what they want to hear: that everything is more or less okay, and young people just need to be more thoughtful about their money. And that’s a shitty idea to perpetuate. Bec…

> continuing to build a world where they are more and more necessary My grandmother can still, to this day, recount living in an apartment with no furniture except a mattress, with my grandfather who was employed as an engineer in New York. It took, by her estimate, about two years to have enough furniture before she was willing to invite over any sorts of company. Today you can furnish an apartment reasonably with a…

So, your proof that decline is a myth is that you can buy cheap, moderate quality, mass-manufactured furniture that didn't exist in your grandparents age? Something seems awry there.

Re: Being frugal is for the rich

#46
post #7

The title here seems very inflammatory. The article questions whether some actions (e.g. painting your own home instead of hiring someone to do it) are truly frugal. It goes on to say that the philosophy of frugality is a handmaiden for wealthy. Maybe so, but why would we discourage good spending habits? For example, choosing to eat one or more meals out each day versus bulk cooking is an option available to most peo…

I guess this is the real motive behind the article: But here’s the thing. Regardless of intent, these Millennials are telling an older generation of elite Americans — the very people whose policies and financial decisions kneecapped the economy — what they want to hear: that everything is more or less okay, and young people just need to be more thoughtful about their money. And that’s a shitty idea to perpetuate. Bec…

> Regardless of intent, these Millennials are telling an older generation of elite Americans — the very people whose policies and financial decisions kneecapped the economy — what they want to hear: that everything is more or less okay, and young people just need to be more thoughtful about their money.

Perhaps the article got that wrong though.

It could be just as likely that the Millennials are saying that they are shunning the crass consumerism that the 'older generation of elite Americans' are steeped* in.

* Boomers, "You're soaking in it." ;)

Re: Being frugal is for the rich

#47

Here's the takeaway: the frugals/similar bloggers are bad because they, "are telling an older generation of elite Americans — the very people whose policies and financial decisions kneecapped the economy — what they want to hear: that everything is more or less okay, and young people just need to be more thoughtful about their money." While it's debatable whether everything is "more or less okay", and -- to some degr…

I've know a woman who's worked at University of Phoenix for a significant part of my adulthood. In that time, I've heard some terrible stories about who University of Phoenix targets for recruiting into their gov't borrowing scam.

The folks who were targeted are largely unable to pay, and desperately wanted the airdrop of money they got from Financial Aid to attend.

Re: Being frugal is for the rich

#48

The title here seems very inflammatory. The article questions whether some actions (e.g. painting your own home instead of hiring someone to do it) are truly frugal. It goes on to say that the philosophy of frugality is a handmaiden for wealthy. Maybe so, but why would we discourage good spending habits? For example, choosing to eat one or more meals out each day versus bulk cooking is an option available to most peo…

You're missing the point. The 'frugal culture' is selling the idea that this is the road to economic self-sufficiency while omitting or glossing over other significant information, like having a very healthy income stream to begin with. If you're poor, being frugal is very unlikely to lift you out of poverty. That doesn't mean frugality is bad, but that marketing is as the key to financial stability is deceptive.

> If you're poor, being frugal is very unlikely to lift you out of poverty.

It's infinitely more likely to do so than being financially irresponsible.

Re: Being frugal is for the rich

#49
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess this is the real motive behind the article: But here’s the thing. Regardless of intent, these Millennials are telling an older generation of elite Americans — the very people whose policies and financial decisions kneecapped the economy — what they want to hear: that everything is more or less okay, and young people just need to be more thoughtful about their money. And that’s a shitty idea to perpetuate. Bec…

Most young people do need to be more thoughtful about their money, though. And the economy as a whole is, by multiple different metrics, the best it’s ever been. It’s just that this greatness needs to be spread a bit wider. In the capitalist system with a labor market as tight as we’ve ever seen it this is addressed by getting another job for more money. Now is a good time to do it. You are responsible for your own s…

The economy is the best its ever been, but wealth inequality is the worst its ever been. The cost of living has gone up far, far faster than income has, while wages have stagnated or dropped, meaning people these days are earning less money and have more expenses than before.

To hear someone who was making $10/hour out of college and bought a home for $40,000 say that the reason millennials can't buy a home today is because they're buying avocado toast and not because equivalent homes cost $1.6 million today is infuriating. Relatively speaking, millennials are doing better, frugally, than baby boomers were (saving more, spending less, etc), but the cost of the things that people are complaining about has grown exponentially.

Meanwhile, almost all of the growth of the economy has gone towards the top 1% of people. If you look at, for example, Canada, the average CEO makes as much by January 2nd as the average worker does by December 31st.

CEO pay growth over the last few decades has skyrocketed (compared to inflation, worker wages, or even corporate profits), while worker wages basically track inflation. In other words, people are making the same amount of money as people 50 years ago, even though a lot of things cost more (e.g. housing).

Blaming the economy inequality on the fact that people aren't willing to take on second jobs ignores the fact that wealth and power is all being concentrated in a small number of people and the rest of us are forced to fight over what they're willing to leave behind for everyone else.

Re: Being frugal is for the rich

#50
post #7

The title here seems very inflammatory. The article questions whether some actions (e.g. painting your own home instead of hiring someone to do it) are truly frugal. It goes on to say that the philosophy of frugality is a handmaiden for wealthy. Maybe so, but why would we discourage good spending habits? For example, choosing to eat one or more meals out each day versus bulk cooking is an option available to most peo…

I guess this is the real motive behind the article: But here’s the thing. Regardless of intent, these Millennials are telling an older generation of elite Americans — the very people whose policies and financial decisions kneecapped the economy — what they want to hear: that everything is more or less okay, and young people just need to be more thoughtful about their money. And that’s a shitty idea to perpetuate. Bec…

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