Doing without

[reptile411]

Hi everyone, I am ne where. I am hoping for a little bit of advice. Do don't live above our means but we do spend more than I would like on things that really seem stupid. For example $150 internet plans for the cell phones. Realy dumb and a very unreliable service but I almost feel naked without it. I have tried canceling it before but I don't last a week until I add it back on the plan and that incurs even more charges on the bill. There is that and the DVR and the Porsche witch sits in the garage and rarely moves. I have only put a few hundred miles on it sence I purchased it and it seems stupid to pay for something that sits like that but we have become way to acustomed to our toys and have a hard time letting go. Can anyone give me some advice on living without such meaningless toys?

[maat55]

I look at it as a large chunk of money sitting and collecting dust. If sold and put into an investment, you could make a fortune on that asset.

Is it more important, to you, to look wealthy or actually be wealthy? I stopped carring what people think about me financially, I know that I will be wealthy in the end when they are just looking the part.

I don't know if this applies to you, but it is my reasoning for Doing Without.

[GREENBACK]

I'm ok doing without the "toys", although I have purchased a few. I look at it like this; if you use it and have a great time, it's a good thing. If it sits in the garage or driveway for months at a time, you should lose it and invest in something that will pay you back or that you'll enjoy. Buy the toys you want but don't let them de-rail you from immediate needs or goals. If this car and the other things you mentioned are a strain on the budget or are simply a waste to you, I'd get rid of them. Over time you'll learn to live w/o them.

[maat55]

My view on owning toys is based on what my investments are worth. If I had a million dollars, I would think buying a 30 to 40k car was ok, if I really wanted it.

Because of my low net worth, I'm highly immune to wasteful spending. Once I reach financial freedom, having some toys will follow. There are so many road blocks to financial freedom.

If you gave me a brand new Porsche, I would sell it and invest the money with a huge smile on my face. Everybody has their own commitment level to building wealth. I'm not going to build the roadblocks that get in my way.

[mrpaseo]

Good info posted above, a few events in my life helped me stop buying useless stuff (To me a vehicle that sits in a driveway/garage for month on end is a waste). The first was when we agreed that my wife no longer had to work. The cut in pay made me re-evaluate our portfolio/spending habits and monthly investments and I realized we were NOT saving enough to meet our goals. So what did I do? We took a 1000 dollar payt cut (Monthly) and doubled our investments at the same time... We learned to live on the income with both of these happening at the same time. It seemed we spent more freely when we had more money, it seems to me that you are in the same boat. You have it so why worry about pinching it (penny Pinch). I would suggest you play a game with your finances, what would you do if you had to take a 2000 pay cut per month (Adjust accordingly to your income), this will offer you a different perspective. You can even set up some sort of account and transfer that money into this account (Say ING Direct or something). Then your perspective will change as you will be forced to re-evaluate your priorities. When I did this it was real, but I now live 2000 dollars below my means and I have some great opportunities with that extra 2000 per month (Currently 2000 while I am deployed but only 1000 per month when I am not deployed).

The second incident that caused me to re-evaluate my toys was a fire. My second deployment to Iraq brought a catastrophic fire that burned everything I owned (That I was deployed with). The main items I lost was computers and hard drives with YEARS of data on them. Sure I had everything backed up... but the two external HD's that I had backed up also burned in the fire. Though it was not my whole house that burned, it was my world. When you are deployed you are given very little space (In this case I has about an 8X4 foot space that I called my own, within this space I had everything I owned for a year... It all burned in the fire. After the fire I lived on, without any distress. I thought that after such an event (Losing everything) I would be upset/distraught or something but I realized its only stuff. Now, post fire, the "Stuff" is just that... Stuff. Stuff will come and stuff will go. I will have it and eventually get rid of it one way or the other.

Living in a third world country also gave me the opportunity to see firsthand people living with nothing.... not even an air tight home to get out of the elements. Nothing to play with and clothes that you share with your family. I learned that you can live with very little stuff. Food, clothing, and shelter is all one really needs to stay alive, beyond that we build certain comfort zones, you built one that requires a 150 dollar phone service and a $40,000 vehicle that you do not use. It’s up to you to reconstruct your comfort zone, I suggest setting some financial goals, if you have 100,000 invested now, I suggest you set a goal of 250,000 and see what it takes to get there. This will help you refocus your assets/toys and the need for such items.

Alright I am rambling on, I hope this helps,
Ray

[reptile411]

Great advice, thanks a million. I canceled the extras on my cell phones and so far am ok, I miss it but Im ok with it and the Porsche is up for sale. I paid cash for the Porsche so its not a huge investment right now, just insurance is the only monthly thing I loose on it. Because of this I am not in a huge hurry to get it sold but it would be nice to have an empty garage again LOL I currently have a Savings and an Investment account with ING, Also a few months ago I opened an online savings with HSBC do to there generous interest rates. Maybe its time to start filling those accounts up. Also pretending to take a pay cut is an awesome idea. I am going to start pretending my wife is no longer working like you said. This will be a 50% reduction in our monthly income. Hopefully we can make it work out and have 50% extra cash flow each month.