A different way to view money

[Mister Sin]

i lost my job a while back and while struggling to find a new one I had to think cheap. So instead of looking how much something cost in dollars, I started looking at what it cost in time. For even number sake, say you make $10/hour. And you want to buy a new Blu-Ray. Is that movie worth 2 hours of your time? It worked for me to help save a lot of money and prioritize.

 

[fearsomefour]

I started using this same sort of thing as a motivation to get out of debt. By paying off such and such and this other thing that frees up however much $ per month, divided by 4 weeks, divided by 40 hours....the same as getting a raise for that much. Whatever it takes to stay motivated.

 

[Ramhusker]

I know you've heard the saying, "Time is Money" but don't believe it. Time is 10x more valuable than money. Good strategy to be on guys. Getting closer to retirement, I find myself thinking this way a lot because I want to retire sooner than later.

 

[RamzFanz]

i lost my job a while back and while struggling to find a new one I had to think cheap. So instead of looking how much something cost in dollars, I started looking at what it cost in time. For even number sake, say you make $10/hour. And you want to buy a new Blu-Ray. Is that movie worth 2 hours of your time? It worked for me to help save a lot of money and prioritize.

My nephew had a lot of problems as a young man so I moved him in with me, gave him a job, and took him under my wing. Your strategy was the first thing I taught him. I let him do his thing spending money as normal and then I started calling him on the job:

Me: Hey, Nephew, you remember that coke, sandwich, chips and gum you bought at the convenience store today instead of the grocery store in quantity and making your own?

Him: Yeah.

Me: Your work so far today was enough to pay it off.

Click.

Me: Hey, Nephew, you remember how you went out to a bar last Friday instead of cooking your girl dinner and buying a bottle of wine and some beer?

Him: Yeah.

Me: Your work so far this week was enough to pay it off.

Click.


It didn't take long for him to start asking ahead how to save money on things he wanted.

My best pro tip for getting great things for next to nothing is to combine great patience with LOCAL auctions. I clean up. I have bought $500 brand new in box patio sets for $50. I got the largest motorized electric Razor scooter they make for $47.

Even my wife can't bitch. Half of our belongings were auction, craigslist, or goodwill. Nothing brings me more joy financially then people oooohing and aaaahing over something I paid next to nothing for. She now hands me lists of what to be on the look out for and has stopped buying retail except clothes.

 

[Ramhusker]

My nephew had a lot of problems as a young man so I moved him in with me, gave him a job, and took him under my wing. Your strategy was the first thing I taught him. I let him do his thing spending money as normal and then I started calling him on the job:

Me: Hey, Nephew, you remember that coke, sandwich, chips and gum you bought at the convenience store today instead of the grocery store in quantity and making your own?

Him: Yeah.

Me: Your work so far today was enough to pay it off.

Click.

Me: Hey, Nephew, you remember how you went out to a bar last Friday instead of cooking your girl dinner and buying a bottle of wine and some beer?

Him: Yeah.

Me: Your work so far this week was enough to pay it off.

Click.


It didn't take long for him to start asking ahead how to save money on things he wanted.

My best pro tip for getting great things for next to nothing is to combine great patience with LOCAL auctions. I clean up. I have bought $500 brand new in box patio sets for $50. I got the largest motorized electric Razor scooter they make for $47.

Even my wife can't bitch. Half of our belongings were auction, craigslist, or goodwill. Nothing brings me more joy financially then people oooohing and aaaahing over something I paid next to nothing for. She now hands me lists of what to be on the look out for and has stopped buying retail except clothes.

True, you can save tons of money being patient and seeking out auctions, yard sales, resale shops, coupons, etc. But don't forget a couple of key facts. One, it takes time to find many values. And two, it is easy to let belongings bog down your life. Always ask yourself if you actually need an item or just want it. You really haven't saved any money if you buy an item for $50 that is worth $500 if that item is taking up space in your environment and is rarely used or not used at all. It can be a fine line. Saving money can be addictive and breds hoarders. I'm semi-guilty of this at times. Hey, could anybody use a good used bread maker? :snicker:

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I hate the monetary system. It causes people to value money more than all else and people with real skills can barely eke by while others with skills such as smoozing get rich.

 

[LazyWinker]

I hate the monetary system. It causes people to value money more than all else and people with real skills can barely eke by while others with skills such as smoozing get rich.

Someone's not a smoozer.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Someone's not a smoozer.

The famous quote, mistakenly credited to P.T. Barnum, 'There's a sucker born every minute', is a lot of what is wrong with our world. For some reason it is acceptable to 'talk' or trick people out of their money.

 

[jrry32]

The famous quote, mistakenly credited to P.T. Barnum, 'There's a sucker born every minute', is a lot of what is wrong with our world. For some reason it is acceptable to 'talk' or trick people out of their money.

It's just what the world is and people don't want to change. Problem is that so many people just can't see both sides of the coin.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

It's just what the world is and people don't want to change. Problem is that so many people just can't see both sides of the coin.

I believe that our system was created by people that had no real marketable skills. If we were still using the barter system then a person would have to be industrious or actually have a trade that other people valued. They couldn't get by just by talking or conning. At least not so easily.

We had this guy come to town a few years ago from near Philly. One of my crewmembers got a job with him and his attitude was that he was going to fleece this town of country bumpkins. I know the guy personally and I can see his thinking in the way he does things. For a few years you would have thought that he was the next Einstien. Everyone bought into everything he had to say. I saw right through him from the first day I met him and he took me out to lunch to get a feel for the community. The guy is a shister through and through and he lives on the hill with the all the big expensive houses and he continues to con people into spending money on services that they don't need and he doesn't deliver on.

 

[fearsomefour]

I believe that our system was created by people that had no real marketable skills. If we were still using the barter system then a person would have to be industrious or actually have a trade that other people valued. They couldn't get by just by talking or conning. At least not so easily.

We had this guy come to town a few years ago from near Philly. One of my crewmembers got a job with him and his attitude was that he was going to fleece this town of country bumpkins. I know the guy personally and I can see his thinking in the way he does things. For a few years you would have thought that he was the next Einstien. Everyone bought into everything he had to say. I saw right through him from the first day I met him and he took me out to lunch to get a feel for the community. The guy is a shister through and through and he lives on the hill with the all the big expensive houses and he continues to con people into spending money on services that they don't need and he doesn't deliver on.

Everyone I know that is highly successful has worked hard for it. There is some luck involved of course. But, mostly smarts and hard work.
There are scumbags and things of course. But lumping people together is class warfare and pointless to me.
But, that's just me.

 

[Ramhusker]

I believe that our system was created by people that had no real marketable skills. If we were still using the barter system then a person would have to be industrious or actually have a trade that other people valued. They couldn't get by just by talking or conning. At least not so easily.

We had this guy come to town a few years ago from near Philly. One of my crewmembers got a job with him and his attitude was that he was going to fleece this town of country bumpkins. I know the guy personally and I can see his thinking in the way he does things. For a few years you would have thought that he was the next Einstien. Everyone bought into everything he had to say. I saw right through him from the first day I met him and he took me out to lunch to get a feel for the community. The guy is a shister through and through and he lives on the hill with the all the big expensive houses and he continues to con people into spending money on services that they don't need and he doesn't deliver on.

That's what you call a carpetbagger. Back in the day, communities used to take care of people like that in their very own special way.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Everyone I know that is highly successful has worked hard for it. There is some luck involved of course. But, mostly smarts and hard work.
There are scumbags and things of course. But lumping people together is class warfare and pointless to me.
But, that's just me.

I know a few of those too but even Moreso around here nepotism and who you know gets you further, easier.