Living Beyond Their Means...

[thekunk07]

^most 18-25 year olds i meet are worthless pussies.

 

[Fuuma]

Originally Posted by thekunk07

^most 18-25 year olds i meet are worthless pussies.

To be fair young idiots tend to grow up and become old idiots.

 

[whiteslashasian]

Originally Posted by thekunk07

^most 18-25 year olds i meet are worthless pussies.

You need to stop hiring hipsters.

 

[thekunk07]

^it's everyone. hired the laziest conservative jew ever a few years back. has to be an age thing.

 

[whiteslashasian]

Originally Posted by thekunk07

^it's everyone. hired the laziest conservative jew ever a few years back. has to be an age thing.
I suppose that my generation is full of more lazy schmucks who expect more than they deserve than I thought....

To spin this the other way, maybe it's a parenting thing from our parent's generation: to baby their kids to the point that they have no realistic expectations of life and the ***** that it is.

 

[Flambeur]

This is a good thread after all. Interestingly enough, after being around seriously rich people, I don't really have the desire to buy stupid **** just to keep up with the Joneses. What an average person sees as a luxury and a status symbol usually is not. I used to drive expensive cars and think rolex and cartier watches were the ****. Now I'm kind of over that. Don't need any of that to be truly happy. Don't get me wrong, I still like nice cars, but it doesn't define me anymore the way it used to - and I can spend the rest of my life driving something that costs under $10K, although it will still be something I enjoy and not a plastic microcar. Which brings me to this:

Originally Posted by Fuuma

I don't think I have any debts. Sometimes I am broke, sometimes I have money but I am not anguished about it either way. I like to have books, artbooks, nice clothes and cool furniture. In the end I guess I don't have that expensive a taste as I don't like boats, planes, cars, houses, luxury spas etc So If I want a $600 bottle of Champagne for breakfast while traveling or a nice leather jacket I just buy it. If I have no money, no biggie as I got plenty of books and clothes and don't really need more.
This is pretty much how I think now. I never really deny myself, and I don't worry about the money that much. Life is short, you have to enjoy it, and at the same time if I survive for a bit longer, I'll make more money. It doesn't really stress me out. If I am unable to buy a new toy tomorrow, I'll be totally fine. Exactly there on clothes and books. As long as I can afford some booze and some good food and curl up on the couch with a good book or a cute chick, it's all good. I honestly try to extract as much enjoyment out of life as possible without killing myself in one way or another.

Originally Posted by odoreater

what's so good about living below your means anyway?
seriously

Originally Posted by odoreater

In my experience, people who tend to be worriers will always find something new to worry about.
absolutely

Originally Posted by Fuuma

This thread reeks of saving-worship. This isn't some magical thing that you have to do. Basically you look at the money you get and possibly will have, assess risk and decide if you'd rather spend money now or it's "worth" more to you to save and have it fructify for later enjoyment. There is no good/bad answer about that.
absolutely

 

[TyCooN]

Fuuma and Flambeur are you saying the trick is to blow all the money that you actually have instead of using credit to go into debt over some bullshit?

 

[Fuuma]

Originally Posted by TyCooN

Fuuma and Flambeur are you saying the trick is to blow all the money that you actually have instead of using credit to go into debt over some bullshit?

We're saying having a certain detachment as it pertain to monetary pursuits is important. We're also saying to know what you like, treat saving as an option and not some dogmatic thing and not fret it when you can't afford something because, chances are, you already have a pile of stuff you enjoy.

 

[hypersonic]

Originally Posted by longskate88

To put a personal spin on it, I'm 22 and inherited a small amount of money a few years ago. Spent it all slowly on random luxury goods and fancy dinners. I THOUGHT that was what you were supposed to do when you had money, was buy expensive stuff, I mean that must make you happy, right? (sarcasm)

Now I've come to believe the only thing money is good for is buying freedom. Freedom from working, freedom from a commute or a boss, freedom from bills, etc. The opposite of this freedom would be "golden handcuffs."

I hope I never forget what I learned, that having nice stuff only makes you want nicer stuff, and you'll never be satisfied if you chase material possessions. I'd rather simply save my money, live frugally, and sit there with a smile on my face when everyone else is stressing over which new pair of golden handcuffs to buy.

My friend is ignorant about money, and sees guys with nice cars and says "he must be rich!". I instead say "he was richer BEFORE he bought the nice car."

Sure I buy stuff, but I buy less than most people, and I plan to use those fewer things much longer than other people would. I go for high quality at reasonable prices, and avoid areas where obsolescence is common, like electronics and fashion trends.

If only people displayed their account balances as readily as they displayed their purchases.
At 22, you are wise beyond your years -- great post.

 

[Hombre Secreto]

Originally Posted by hypersonic

At 22, you are wise beyond your years -- great post.

Real talk ^^^^^^^^^

Most people don't get that kind of wisdom until they are like in their mid forties, or later.

 

[rjmaiorano]

Originally Posted by hypersonic

At 22, you are wise beyond your years -- great post.
I think Longskate hit it. Ultimately freedom is an excellent goal, yet one that is far down the road and it can be a struggle to work towards. Young people fall into the trap of easy luxuries too quickly, there is nothing wrong with 'some' but too many young people live short-sighted in my opinion. My spin: In 8th grade my dad gave me 2.5k plus 1k of my own savings to invest. He gave me the reigns but vetoed any investment he didn't think was prudent. So I ended up with basic diversification with mutual funds, stalwart companies and a couple of calculated risk stocks just for the fun of it. That was in 99' and by the end of 2000 I had been pummeled to the tune of an 85% loss. All my dad said was "See what can happen so quickly. Be smart with your money, there are no sure things." It was an excellent lesson. At 18 I got a job in Mens Clothing at a local Nordstrom; I preferred real world to classroom stuff and thought dealing with 'discerning' customers would be great experience. 4 years ago that job was excellent for a college kid. I was making waaaay too much money, my first two Christmas seasons I made 60/hr the last quarter of the year... I saved some and had a 401k, but by and large I have NO IDEA where that money went, some expensive clothes, nice food/alcohol etc. etc. As the market tanked I remembered what my dad had told me and flipped a switch. Business became dreadful, staffing was cut in half and commissions were hard to come by. I buckled down and managed to save more my last two years than my first two. I thank my lucky stars I learned those lessons early. Now fresh out of college at 22 I have enough saved to get into a house if I choose, something I'm proud of living in the San Diego market. Perhaps my case was unique, I had all the right advice in front of me to begin with, I just had to listen. If young people just took the advice of those who have 'been there, done that' they would be much better for it. But it is easier said than done.

 

[JayJay]

Originally Posted by rjmaiorano

Perhaps my case was unique, I had all the right advice in front of me to begin with, I just had to listen. If young people just took the advice of those who have 'been there, done that' they would be much better for it. But it is easier said than done.
Seems as though too few get good advice. Schools are not good at instilling this either, unfortunately.

 

[rjmaiorano]

Originally Posted by JayJay

Seems as though too few get good advice. Schools are not good at instilling this either, unfortunately.

Very true. No were in my college career were we offered financial planning seminars or the like. All the while the economy and housing market was crumbling around us.

 

[EagleFisher]

A lot of people in western culture nowadays think that they just "deserve" everything without working for it. You can see ads exploit this on tv and it works. "Get that 6K a month that you deserve without working hard", or "you deserve to be free of your credit card debt, call one of our lawyers and we can make you debt free just like all those responsible people". I know so many people who just think they deserve so much and are complete moochers of tax payer dollars, milking the system any way they can. My neighbor lives a way better lifestyle than I do with a better car, a 52 inch plasma tv as opposed to my tiny CRT, has better clothes, and is buying expensive marijuana all the time. He does not work at all. He is on unemployment, food stamps, some weird grocery voucher thing, welfare, gets aid for the third baby he has had (me and my wife are still saving up to have one baby) and many other goverment aid benefits. I think a lot of the incentive to work hard has been lost in this country (United States). People don't think they have to work to deserve something, they think it is their right.

 

[longskate88]

Originally Posted by rjmaiorano

I think Longskate hit it. Ultimately freedom is an excellent goal, yet one that is far down the road and it can be a struggle to work towards. Young people fall into the trap of easy luxuries too quickly, there is nothing wrong with 'some' but too many young people live short-sighted in my opinion.

My spin: In 8th grade my dad gave me 2.5k plus 1k of my own savings to invest. He gave me the reigns but vetoed any investment he didn't think was prudent. So I ended up with basic diversification with mutual funds, stalwart companies and a couple of calculated risk stocks just for the fun of it. That was in 99' and by the end of 2000 I had been pummeled to the tune of an 85% loss.

All my dad said was "See what can happen so quickly. Be smart with your money, there are no sure things." It was an excellent lesson.

At 18 I got a job in Mens Clothing at a local Nordstrom; I preferred real world to classroom stuff and thought dealing with 'discerning' customers would be great experience. 4 years ago that job was excellent for a college kid. I was making waaaay too much money, my first two Christmas seasons I made 60/hr the last quarter of the year... I saved some and had a 401k, but by and large I have NO IDEA where that money went, some expensive clothes, nice food/alcohol etc. etc. As the market tanked I remembered what my dad had told me and flipped a switch. Business became dreadful, staffing was cut in half and commissions were hard to come by. I buckled down and managed to save more my last two years than my first two.

I thank my lucky stars I learned those lessons early. Now fresh out of college at 22 I have enough saved to get into a house if I choose, something I'm proud of living in the San Diego market.

Perhaps my case was unique, I had all the right advice in front of me to begin with, I just had to listen. If young people just took the advice of those who have 'been there, done that' they would be much better for it. But it is easier said than done.

That's cool man, good for you!

It's tough here in SD, I'm living at home as long as possible. On one hand I like having no debt, but on the other I still feel behind people like you who had high incomes at a young age.

I need to make money before I can not spend it, LOL

Someone else mentioned entitlement and a lack of education, and I agree with both. One simple high school class on personal finance would probably help a lot of people.

People are so quick to compare themselves to their peers, and want whatever they see other people with. Of course, they only look at the outward displays of wealth and don't think about that person's possible debt and financing that allows them to have those possessions.