Why do you care? You should be stress free in comparison. You can't controll what other people buy. For all you know he had a windfall, which still I agree is not the smartest way to spend an inheiritance, but if you let stuff like that eat you up you're going to be angry all the time.Originally Posted by KaeJS
How in the hell does this make any sense?
This is the most frustrating and stressful thing in my entire life. I will probably die prematurely due to stuff like this.
I like lots of vintage things... that includes the wines too... I was being serious that I didn't think that my TV was that old. I went to my parents house the other day, and they still had the tv from the 70's. I thought that was old.I see you like other kinds of old "vintage".
You are lucky so far, the reliability of these $10 MIC (made in Chia) dvd players is directly proportional to the amount used. If you only use them occassionally as in summer months, they will last 2x as long.
We have an expensive dvd player that was given to us as a gift (I think they paid $600+ at the time, it's from 98/99 also. However, to be honest we don't really watch dvds very often at all. Right now, it's only for the kids on occasion, and we usually PVR all our shows to get through the commercials. For me, the PVR was the best thing and well worth the price, as its replaced our dvd player pretty much.
My theory is people tend to hang out with people that are similar. Those that don't save, usually don't talk about it very much, or they lie. The other reason is that different people have different ideas of what 'saving' means. We know someone who 'saves' by going only on trips that cost them under $1500/person (sometimes up to 4/5 times a year). They consider themselves really frugal. They have a government pension for the future.
I know other people who are 'saving' for their next big whatever. I think savings is all in the eye of the beholder from their reference point. I know a few multimillionaires who are spenders and don't really believe in savings, because they just have investments always coming in, but they don't put any more aside for retirement, they just spend less than what comes in.
I used to see things similarily to you too. I just assumed that if I had no debt that everyone else was like me too. I assumed that everyone else just had more money than me. I often wonder how so many people appear to be doing so much better than us, and I just assumed that people made more than me all the time. The truth is, that many of the people that appear to be better off may have more things, but are much less secure. They don't worry about all the other things that you mentioned, as they will just charge it or deal with it when it happens. Then something bad happens and they are the victim because how can they be dealt such a lousy handWhat I don't understand is that I save, save, save.
I have always been frugal -- and yet, I look around and people have way more stuff/more expensive crap than I do!
I think because my parents were poor, I'm automatically going to be poor. That's the only conclusion I can draw.
I work with a 25 year old guy who drives a $47,000 car. He just bought it brand new a couple months ago. But I also know his salary is only $33,000.
So, after tax, he bought a car that will cost him 2 years of his salary?
What about gas and insurance? What about maintenance? A home? Retirement? Investing? A new car after that one gets old? When he crashes it and gets screwed? Children? What about living?
How in the hell does this make any sense?
This is the most frustrating and stressful thing in my entire life. I will probably die prematurely due to stuff like this.and can't get ahead. It is frustrating to watch this, so I just ignore it, and set my own goals, and decided to live the life I want to have, and make it happen.
There really is no reason to get stressed over something you can't control. You don't know the whole story, and how does someone over spending really impact you.
BTW... my parents came here with nothing, and would be considered 'poor' by our standards, but they had a great work ethic, some smarts, and would no longer be considered poor. Nor are any of my siblings and I.
The PVR is one of the greatest inventions of all time.
Mike Holman
Money Smarts Blog Investing and Personal Finance
While in school I worked evenings and weekends to pay for tuition and had a co-worker in a similar situation. He works his ass off all summer and throughout the school year to put himself through school. The big difference between us is that he has an iPhone 4, iPad 2, $200 headphones, $200 sunglasses, expensive clothes and any other toy you can imagine.What I don't understand is that I save, save, save.
I have always been frugal -- and yet, I look around and people have way more stuff/more expensive crap than I do!
I think because my parents were poor, I'm automatically going to be poor. That's the only conclusion I can draw.
I work with a 25 year old guy who drives a $47,000 car. He just bought it brand new a couple months ago. But I also know his salary is only $33,000.
Both of us have immigrant parents who worked their asses off to get to where they are, but there is a huge difference in our attitudes towards money. My parents saved up in the 70s, living on one income while saving the other, and were able to buy a house with cash in 1981. To a large extent I have adopted their attitude towards money. I have a phone that was out of style 8 years ago and none of these fancy gadgets, but I have an investment portfolio approaching 40K and steadily growing.
It's a tradeoff, and down the line you'll be much better off than the guy blowing two year's salary on a car. I don't need the newest gadget because in 3 months it will be replaced and cost a fraction of what it first did. My co-worker however, will never have money because the more he makes, the more he spends.
You got to remember,the "guy" thats working for a car for the next 2 yrs,doesnt "see what you see" nor does he care to,your thoughts on money and his thoughts on money are different-you see,and can foresee what kind of problems he is setting him self up for,your viewing his decisions from your perspective,he doesnt have your view point.(your thoughts are not his thoughts and vice versa)
Plus,id bet you have high standards for yourself,and have high self confidence and self worth-hence your investments ect,your stragies on how your going to build them ect,thats kind of how i think about it....im not a whole lot older than you but we are on the right path,i like your chances over his for growing your assets,nest egg ect.20 yrs from now that guy will prob be telling his kids what an idiot he was when he was 25 and bought a car for a 2 yr salary.Like everybody says the only person you can control is you,its actualy a weakness in you if your jelous,because you know better not to be,but you are if that makes sense...i struggle with comparing myself to others to and it one thing im working on,self improvment is hard.
Dmoney, you could be my younger Brother, when He dies his Daughter will inherit several millions of dollars.
Good for her, as long as it doesn't destroy her will to make it on her own. I think my favourite philosophy and quote about inheriting money is from Warren Buffett... "Leave your kids enough to do anything, but not enough to do nothing"
I used to think I'd love to inherit millions, or win a huge lottery, but I now feel that being gifted huge sums of money is not nearly as fulfilling as earning it yourself.
Although at the same time, I wouldn't say no to either...
I think alot of the time it is a conscious decision about how you want to live your life. My wife and I choose to save 4 -5k per month instead of "living it up". Part of me yearns to buy a 60k Audi (I am a car guy), a big house with a pool and a hot tub, and honestly we COULD... but we have chosen not to pursue that lifestyle. Simple as that. It is either live like "millionaires" with all the trappings and work until 65 or beyond to pay for it all, or live a good (but not flashy) life and retire in our forties with actual "millions" in the bank. Needless to say we are shooting for the latter.
Seems like a simple rationale to me.
Not enough income = no savings + increasing debt loads.
If the economy is to continue growing, wages have to keep up with inflation.
On an inflation adjusted basis, people can buy less goods with their money today than they could 20 years ago.
Take away the opportunity to borrow against future earnings, which is all that debt is, and the economy would have collapsed a long time ago.
The government knew this, and that is exactly why they lowered barriers to credit.
Unless wages go up dramatically, there are only two ways it can go.
Personal debt will continue to rise, or spending will stop and the economy will slow down.
Last edited by sags; 2011-05-12 at 09:42 PM.
I agree with a lot of what has been said in this thread.
In general, I believe that people need to take responsibility for themselves and not complain when they are "broke" or in debt, yet continue to eat at restaurants everyday, buy the Ipad2, buy a car instead of taking the bus, etc.
The people with the mentality I have suggested are the most financially secure.
"ohhhh but everyone else is getting the Ipad2".
lol
Last edited by bmckay; 2011-05-14 at 04:11 PM.
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