what can you "afford" to spend?

[voxsartoria]

Originally Posted by SkinnyGoomba

I visit NYC and philly alot, its expensive to live in this area.

Head out for a night out in Princeton and you'll see the same thing $6/beer, $10/cocktail. Dinner for 2 is $60-$100. Lunch for myself is $30 if i dont have a beer.

- B

 

[makewayhomer]

Assume bespoke is your goal...do you really need ten $1500.00 suits or 20 pair of $1k shoes?

lots of people end up deciding to go with quality over quantity. dedicating more money to stuff they love and less to...everything else. I wonder how many people truly achieve this, and how many just fudge the math in their heads to feel ok with spending more

 

[bigbris1]

I refuse to buy on credit. If I don't have the cash for it, I can't afford it.

 

[in fits of print]

Originally Posted by SkinnyGoomba

Thats exactly my point, even living on the cheap in NYC is expensive, if not impossible.

You'll never understand it until you've done it, you want to go out for a night at a good restaurant expect to spend $80 for a couple if you dont have any drinks. Rather chose a diner? Ok $50. Pay your car? $25 for a couple hours, $40 overnight. Dont have a card, then expect to shell out $6-$15 or more to be driven in a taxi. Want to go to a nightclub? Well thats $40 at the door, and $10 for a bottle of water that i pay $1.50 for at the grocery store.

Want to buy a house....no prob, just be prepared to put 10-20% down on the 800K brownstone thats in a decent area.
Cant afford it? No prob just spend $1500 on a studio, or if you want a single bedroom $2500.

75K doesnt look so great anymore does it?

Going to nightclubs that charge $40 at the door, something I assumed only commuters from New Jersey actually fell for, does not constitute "living on the cheap" in New York City. Neither do driving a car, taking taxis, paying $2,500 a month for an apartment, or buying a brownstone. Those aren't even living on the moderate.

Originally Posted by cheyrou

I think i spend $225 a month on apparel, which is the vast majority of my expendable income. I dont find myself looking that great or anything though. I wonder how do men who make an average amount of money manage to look so sharp. Is it because they devote a large portion of their free money to clothes? Or are there men who really do know how to dress well for a significantly less amount of money? I know I can't.

It's not much, but $225 a month, spent well, can get you pretty far over the course of 2 or three years. Hell, this guy manages to come up with amazing $5-$15 dollar finds on a weekly basis. But then, I have an image of Boston as some sort of thrifter's paradise.

 

[lasbar]

Originally Posted by bigbris1

I refuse to buy on credit. If I don't have the cash for it, I can't afford it.

You do have the right attitude...

I 'm unfortunately not that wise ...

I just cannot resist a beautiful fabric...

 

[Enforcicon]

Originally Posted by bigbris1

I refuse to buy on credit. If I don't have the cash for it, I can't afford it.

I agree with this in principle...it never works out for me in practice though.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

Originally Posted by makewayhomer

lots of people end up deciding to go with quality over quantity. dedicating more money to stuff they love and less to...everything else. I wonder how many people truly achieve this, and how many just fudge the math in their heads to feel ok with spending more

This is pretty much what I live by. It is all about priorities as well. I spend a lot more money on clothes than most people that I work with, however I am into clothes, not houses, cars, commuting, or other hobbies. I also live in New York City, whereas a lot of people I work with commute from Jersey, Westchester, Long Island... I have a realitivly smaller wardrobe than somebody who buys tons of things at H&M and Zara, but I look a billion times better and all of my stuff will probably outlast their boatloads of crappy clothing. It is about investing in quality and items that you love, not just a ton of things you just buy because it is a "deal" or get utility from, from having "more".

So all in all, it is truly about priorities, not income. Going back to the initial $1,000 shoes to $200k a year. It is not like your are consistently buying $1,000 shoes every month. I have a pair of $1,200 shoes, come to think of it my cheapest shoes are $500 and I don't make $200k.

I make way less than my boss, but guess what? I look like my boss's boss.

 

[Enforcicon]

Originally Posted by patrickBOOTH

I make way less than my boss, but guess what? I look like my boss's boss.

That is awesome.

 

[bigbris1]

Originally Posted by lasbar

You do have the right attitude...

I 'm unfortunately not that wise ...

I just cannot resist a beautiful fabric...

Originally Posted by Enforcicon

I agree with this in principle...it never works out for me in practice though.

Just destroy the cards. Sorted.

 

[Enforcicon]

Originally Posted by bigbris1

Just destroy the cards. Sorted.

I did this for one of my two cards...now the wife's card is a different story.

 

[Master Squirrel]

Originally Posted by bigbris1

Just destroy the cards. Sorted.

Until you go to buy that house and discover you have no credit rating. My mortgage agents said to me, "Your one of those boys! Paying cash for everything because paying interest is for suckers."

 

[patrickBOOTH]

Originally Posted by Enforcicon

That is awesome.

Thanks, brother.

 

[bigbris1]

Originally Posted by Master Squirrel

Until you go to buy that house and discover you have no credit rating. My mortgage agents said to me, "Your one of those boys! Paying cash for everything because paying interest is for suckers."
Isn't it?

 

[patrickBOOTH]

Originally Posted by bigbris1

Isn't it?

I've never paid a penny in interest in my life and I have a practically perfect credit rating. I just charge everything I possibly can and then pay it off when I get the bill. Builds credit sans interest. Simple.

 

[sho'nuff]

i have a couple of credit cards i use that charge no interest for a time frame. some cards i opened a couple of years back for an intro no interest for a whole year on purchases. i dont use those anymore but they still hang around in my wallet.