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| General Discussion Please read our Forum Rules before posting Feel free to talk about anything and everything about money. |
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I like that evil streak, Poundwise! It would be a hoot!
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[quote=sweeps;169497]Playing the lottery: "You gotta play to win!" QUOTE]
Grrr....my husband uses this one everytime I start telling him that the little bit that he does win doesn't even cover what he has spent!! |
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I vacillate back and forth on this type of reasoning. I guess it depends on the overall financial health of the person in question. Generally speaking though, I can actually stomach this. Assuming that you aren't putting your family in a huge financial hole, there is some credence to living for today, and enjoying youself a bit while you are younger and have a family. Remember, anything to the extreme is typically bad. I think we all too often see the extreme of overspending here, but I sometimes (not pointing fingers at the OP here) see it on the opposite end as well, and that is oversaving, worrying too much about the future, and not enjoying the present as much as you could while still being very prudent financially, because none of us know if we will still be here tomorrow. |
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The couple in my example are totally "live for today" kinds of people. I'm willing to bet they have little if anything saved for the future.
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Steve * Despite the high cost of living, it remains very popular. * Why should I pay for my daughter's education when she already knows everything? * There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going. |
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On a side note, I tend to think sometimes that these types of posts are subtle jabs at the masses, and meant to put ourselves (those with money and savings) above the rest of the fray. I am not accusing anyone of doing this on purpose, just that it might be out there. I know I have to check myself sometimes, keeping myself from sitting a top my financial mountain and summarily passing judgement on all the dumb peasants out there frittering all their money away. I am the smart one, they are just stupid, just look at how they spend their money. I am not saying anyone in this thread has said that or implied it, but I will definitely raise my hand and tell you that those thoughts creep into my head a lot when I run into many of the cases that posters have outlines in this thread. I have to remind myself that my way isn't the absolute right way all of the time and for every person, and that I am not a "better" person just on the grounds that I am financially responsible, whereas they may not be. I think we too often ignore how people are brought up. Many of you on this thread are die hard savers and proud to be so, also claim that you got many of those traits from how your parents raised you. I think we often tend to ignore that the flip side is probably also true for many of these people. It doesn't necessarily justify their actions or rationale by any means, but it does lend some perspective. Last edited by brig2221 : 06-12-2008 at 12:23 PM. |
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My example was about my sister-in-law. That is my wife's sister. My wife is a dedicated saver (long before she married me), very careful with her money and a frugal shopper. Her sister, a couple of years older, is anything but. When she was a teen, she wanted to buy a car. Their father said that if she saved money every month for 6 months, showing that she could consistently make payments, he would match her savings after 6 months and she'd be able to get a much better car. She had a fit and refused to do that and went out and bought some piece of junk on her own. So even at a fairly young age, her mindset was clear. She's had money problems ever since and married a guy who was even worse than her. There is one other sister who is also very good with money and married a guy who is the same. Same house, same parents, same lessons. Totally different outcomes.
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Steve * Despite the high cost of living, it remains very popular. * Why should I pay for my daughter's education when she already knows everything? * There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going. |
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My parents are spendthrifts. My mom even says so. They just so happened to out earn stupid. Again my mom's words.
They changed cars ever 2-3 years, they leased cars every year. My parents travelled a lot and never cared for their home. So the value of their home is very low compared to if it had been properly maintained. In retirement they bought another condo with a mortgage. Is that wise? HELL NO! But they have to learn that they can't keep out earning stupid. And it's finally starting to sink in at 56 and 77. Fortunately my dad worked for a long time! But otherwise they'd be sunk. NO ONE SPEND $10k on a trip to Japan for 3 days. People don't blow money like that. So I'm not exactly sure my parents taught me much. They taught me CC debt is bad. But otherwise even NOW my mom whines "Why can't you afford a lexus, mercedes, BMW?" Why can't you just travel? Because they spent everything. Only now are they realizing you can't blow through money when you are on a fixed income. So any bad habits I have I learned myself. The one thing my mom did was give me a CC at age 13 to learn how to use one properly. I never charged more than I could afford.
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LivingAlmostLarge Blog |
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I think if you are raised to be a saver you might be more likely to be one, but not all savers were raised to be one. My family wasn't a saving family-my father barely made enough to keep the family afloat, let alone plan for the future. So I wasn't a saver when I was younger--it is only now that I am older that I see the value of it.
For me it was the light bulb of finally understanding compounding interest and paying myself first. Something that most people aren't taught, nor ever learn. My wife and I have vowed our daughter won't graduate high school without understanding these simple concepts. |
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"But I've been good lately...." And that is an echo from my own head...
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Doesn't that just erase the good??? |
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My friend who has 2 repos on her credit and has never paid another friend back the $2500 loan says 'You only live once...I am going to get what I want" while buying $400 watch....
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On another note, I think it was either implied or said, "I deserve to buy ______ because I work so hard." |
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I grew up watching my folks buy a new cars every few years, or when the next years model came out that was better. Buy what they wanted whenever they wanted. I always thought my Dad's business was a money machine, and for the most part it was. But what I didn't realize is what they were NOT doing. And that was to NOT save anything. I only found out within the last couple of months that the only savings or retirement money they have is my Mom's USPS pension and Dad's SS check. I finally got my eye opening about 6 years ago when I went to work for my current employer. I had never saved anything, or had a retirement account. I had no clue what I was doing when I signed up for our SIMPLE IRA plan. Back on track here..... My main reasoning was simply because I wanted it. Whenever my folks wanted something, they bought it. So that was right in my mind. I'm not blaming my folks, that's just what I thought (learned) was right. I am excited to see the way my kids deal with their allowances and birthday money. They both have online savings accounts. When they get $100, they buy a Savings Bond. My son just bought his first in his name only this Saturday (I had been buying them for him with both our names on them). I was a very proud father to watch him go to the counter (while I stood back and watched) and hand over his mostly completed form and tell the clerk "I need to buy a savings bond please." The clerk really played it up too, he was awesome! Watching my son (7, be 8 in September) signing the form was the best part! I put that copy in my safe, that one's a keeper! |
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