[Spirrwell]

I saw a thread starting to go off topic so I figured I'd start this up. How do you spend your money? How do you manage it? Rich or poor?

As for me I have no money. I need a job. But I'm a simpleton, if I had a furnished cardboard box, electricity, a computer, WiFi, food, and water, I'd be perfect. And to clarify about water, I don't mean running water, I just mean if I had a stream nearby that'd be perfect. Money is not important to me, it's just something to use to obtain other things. It's a stupid concept. Other than the value it's all just a useless piece of paper or coin. What do you think?

[Master Fibbles]

Rent, bills, food, booze.


Needing WiFi makes you, by definition, NOT a "simpleton." If you had no phone, no television, and no computer, then you would be a simpleton.

[Jeff]

Spirrwell, on 18 April 2013 - 08:46 PM, said:

I saw a thread starting to go off topic so I figured I'd start this up. How do you spend your money? How do you manage it? Rich or poor?

As for me I have no money. I need a job. But I'm a simpleton, if I had a furnished cardboard box, electricity, a computer, WiFi, food, and water, I'd be perfect. And to clarify about water, I don't mean running water, I just mean if I had a stream nearby that'd be perfect. Money is not important to me, it's just something to use to obtain other things. It's a stupid concept. Other than the value it's all just a useless piece of paper or coin. What do you think?

I'm kind of in the same boat. Make enough money to live off of, but I don't need to have an $80,000+ salary to be happy. To me, there's more to life than making a bunch of cash. Am I rich or poor? Compare me to someone like Mark Zuckerberg and I'm dirt poor. However, compared to your average person my age, I might be average in terms of the amount of money I have around.

I live within my means. Do not "live on credit" or buy stuff I can't afford.

[OpenMaw]

You cant drink water straight out of a stream I hope you know.

The answer to the threads question for me is "wisely."

It's all about knowing when to spend, and when to save.

[Spirrwell]

Mr.Flibble, on 18 April 2013 - 09:27 PM, said:

Rent, bills, food, booze.


Needing WiFi makes you, by definition, NOT a "simpleton." If you had no phone, no television, and no computer, then you would be a simpleton.

I meant simpleton in terms of I don't require much, I mean I still need something to connect me to the rest of the world.

Commando Nukem, on 18 April 2013 - 10:02 PM, said:

You cant drink water straight out of a stream I hope you know.

Boil it?

[OpenMaw]

Spirrwell, on 18 April 2013 - 11:14 PM, said:

Boil it?

Yeahhh.

[Lunick]

I usually spend money to make others happy.

[Mikko]

I'm a bit of a Jew with respect to money. I buy little things that make me happy like comics, books, movies and candy but that stuff is cheap. After paying the rent I can easily survive on 200-300€ a month. I haven't had to touch my savings in many years so they just keep growing. I just put most of the money I make directly into a savings account and never touch it again.

[OpenMaw]

I really wish I had the wiggle room for that kind of a setup, Mikko. My diabetes, combined with groceries and other bills basically makes it impossible to put money away.

[blackharted3]

Mikko_Sandt, on 19 April 2013 - 03:10 AM, said:

I'm a bit of a Jew with respect to money. I buy little things that make me happy like comics, books, movies and candy but that stuff is cheap. After paying the rent I can easily survive on 200-300€ a month. I haven't had to touch my savings in many years so they just keep growing. I just put most of the money I make directly into a savings account and never touch it again.

I'm the same, my savings are my favorite part, but in my house bills come first. No matter what, my bills are the first part of my expenditure. Basically I split it three ways: Money for bills, money for essentials and finally any left over for me.

Due to rehab however, I now feel as though I should give something back, so I've started donating bits here and there, to people who need it. I'm not kidding.

So I'm not rich, but not poor. I'd say comfortable.

[Hank]

deleted

[Kathy]

I spend them on myself. Books, music, movies, video games. And bills/food of course.

[Forge]

Similar to the Mikko plan, but on a much smaller scale since my paychecks are probably much smaller so there's little room at the end of the month for left over cash.
I don't spend money on anything outside of essentials (mortgage, living expenses). My only frivolity is cable for tv & network. I have a small parcel of land to play around with so i don't need anything else for entertainment
eventually the money that's put away will go towards my child's education

[Person of Color]

I try to save as much as I can but I don't have much income at the moment. Mustangs tend to need a shitload of maintenance between 50,000 and 60,000 miles. Thankfully parts are REALLY cheap for this thing.

I currently need: Clutch cable, front shocks, convertible roof trim, front windows need to be put on track, fresh transmission fluid, new drivers side seat bottom padding, maybe a tie rod. Plus I bent the trunk latch catch and damaged one of the roof latches

Just replaced: Rear shocks, battery, rack and pinion bushings.

[TerminX]

I need a bunch of stuff for my car as well... like, enough of an engine overhaul that I've considered just selling it and getting another car. But, I think if I do all the work myself and replace enough components that I should be able to get another 100k or so miles out of this car easily, which is a lot more than I can say for anything else I buy (unless they were super anal and have proper maintenance records). So, it's probably better for me in the long run if I just do the work on this car now since I would otherwise have no plan to sell it.

[Sangman]

Because I still live at home and my parents don't ask for rent (which is an uncommon luxury I know) almost everything I make goes directly to my savings account. I do keep about 500 euros a month for myself, I don't necessarily spend it all but it's nice to have direct access to it at least if required.

I also have a lot of money saved up from before I started working, it's why even now after less than a year of being employed I'm starting to feel confident enough to try to move away from home. My family might be annoying dickshits (which is why I want to get away)... at least they deserve a fucking medal for the financial support.

[Mikko]

Sangman, on 19 April 2013 - 12:06 PM, said:

Because I still live at home and my parents don't ask for rent (which is an uncommon luxury I know) almost everything I make goes directly to my savings account. I do keep about 500 euros a month for myself, I don't necessarily spend it all but it's nice to have direct access to it at least if required.

That's a lot if you don't even have to buy/make your own food.

[Jblade]

I never used to save money, it all ended up spent by the end of the month but now I've moved jobs I had to leave the social life behind and I'm starting to get wary of spending money now. I still get public transport and walk as much as I can, but sadly certain buses only run to a point at night so I have to get a taxi back home. I don't eat great or healthy food which is one of the worst things about modern life - you can feed poor people shit food that is slowly killing them and technically they're not starving so nobody really cares. I don't buy games anymore apart from the latest Bioshock (and Blood dragon, when it comes out)

[Mikko]

James, on 19 April 2013 - 01:18 PM, said:

I don't eat great or healthy food which is one of the worst things about modern life - you can feed poor people shit food that is slowly killing them and technically they're not starving so nobody really cares.

I never understood this. At least here in Finland fast food is pretty expensive. If you want some Muslim invader to make a pizza for you, it's gonna be 10€. The same with burgers. With that money I can make good food for myself, by myself, that lasts several days. You don't need to stuff yourself full of vegetables each day to be healthy.

[Forge]

true. i hate fast food and can make several meals at home for what it costs to buy just one combo entree or pizza

fresh vegetables and fruit are expensive, but there are cheaper alternatives like canned, frozen, or concentrate

i prefer fresh though that's why it's nice to have the luxury of living on a chunk of land. i have a huge garden and an apple tree. future plans include more varieties of fruit trees that are compatible with the local climate (cherry, plum, pear, etc)

everything not consumed immediately gets canned or dehydrated to use during the post harvest seasons

[Kathy]

It's always way cheaper to make your own food. And given that I'm lazy I'd rather make lots of it. Which reminds me... I haven't made a soup for a long time.

[Mark]

I listened to dad at an early age when he talked about the importance of saving money. And of being a do-it-yourself kind of guy for home and car repairs, fixing appliances etc... Although, not as many car repairs these days because of how complex they have become and some days I'm feeling too old to crawl under it. Modest investment with decades of compounding interest adds up. I live comfortably, not paycheck to paycheck. My friends still tease me for being cheap because I insist on fixing something instead of just throwing it away and buy a new one. I still allow myself to spend a lot on hobbies and toys. But my hobbies include re-selling a lot of the stuff I make or repair so it more than pays for itself most of the time. Two of the things I really should cut back on are fast food lunches during the work week ( about 90 USD a month ) and going to the movie theatre almost every weekend ( also about 90 USD a month ) I've been blessed with very good health so for many years I went without having health insurance premiums and even now I save a lot by having the highest deductible " cheapest" insurance I can get since I never use it. I donate to a number of charities but do so anonymously to avoid all the junk mail and telemarketing phone calls that go with it. And I don't declare it on taxes because I feel that cheapens the giving feeling a little.

[Person of Color]

TerminX, on 19 April 2013 - 10:47 AM, said:

I need a bunch of stuff for my car as well... like, enough of an engine overhaul that I've considered just selling it and getting another car. But, I think if I do all the work myself and replace enough components that I should be able to get another 100k or so miles out of this car easily, which is a lot more than I can say for anything else I buy (unless they were super anal and have proper maintenance records). So, it's probably better for me in the long run if I just do the work on this car now since I would otherwise have no plan to sell it.

What happened to your Beamer's engine?

Mark., on 19 April 2013 - 03:28 PM, said:

I listened to dad at an early age when he talked about the importance of saving money. And of being a do-it-yourself kind of guy for home and car repairs, fixing appliances etc... Although, not as many car repairs these days because of how complex they have become and some days I'm feeling too old to crawl under it.

Get a Mustang. There's a computer for the engine, the anti lock brakes, and a DSP in the stereo. That's it. I hate high tech cars, with a few exceptions (Lexus LF-A).

Do your friends really give you shit about being cheap for repairing stuff? Pardon my french, but that's pretty retarded.

[Person of Color]

edit: doubles

[Mark]

Its more along the lines of teasing than actually giving me crap about it. A recent example. My garden hose nozzle was leaking. Most people run to the hardware store and buy a new one for 3 or 5 dollars. My solution was to take a piece of rubber from a drawer out in the garage, a pipe and a hammer, and stamp out a new rubber washer. I take after my dad who also was a do-it-yourselfer and teased about being cheap.

[Sangman]

Mikko_Sandt, on 19 April 2013 - 01:02 PM, said:

That's a lot if you don't even have to buy/make your own food.

It is. Like I said, I don't spend most of it, but occasionally I'll want to buy something expensive that peaked my interest so then I have the option to do that. My job pays well enough that I can save up lots and still have enough left to buy something expensive - occasionally that is.

Cathy, on 19 April 2013 - 02:25 PM, said:

It's always way cheaper to make your own food. And given that I'm lazy I'd rather make lots of it. Which reminds me... I haven't made a soup for a long time.

Yeah that's how it is I reckon... Cook food at once for several days

[Forge]

Mark., on 20 April 2013 - 04:50 PM, said:

Its more along the lines of teasing than actually giving me crap about it. A recent example. My garden hose nozzle was leaking. Most people run to the hardware store and buy a new one for 3 or 5 dollars. My solution was to take a piece of rubber from a drawer out in the garage, a pipe and a hammer, and stamp out a new rubber washer. I take after my dad who also was a do-it-yourselfer and teased about being cheap.

i do the same thing. it's faster and easier when i can take care of it myself on the spot rather than going through the hassle to drive down to the hardware store just to get some cheap little piece.

[Jimmy]

Mikko_Sandt, on 19 April 2013 - 03:10 AM, said:

I'm a bit of a Jew with respect to money.

Mikko_Sandt, on 19 April 2013 - 01:28 PM, said:

If you want some Muslim invader to make a pizza for you, it's gonna be 10€.

I'm lol'ing so hard, but inb4 JIDF.




Anyway, I rarely ever have any money to spend. When I do pick up an oddjob, I usually just spend it on things I need or the occasional day out or special event. I am part of the NEET Master-Race.

[Alan]

I spend it on bills, and on supporting my family (who's falling on hard times) and my minimum wage girlfriend. I constantly have to juggle some bills ("what am I going to pay this month? my medical bills, my cell phone bills, or my car insurance bills?") because every time I manage to come into a little bit extra, like tax refunds or the odd programming tutoring job, something comes up where I need to spend all of that money. I am perpetually broke.

[Person of Color]

Alan, on 22 April 2013 - 04:34 PM, said:

I spend it on bills, and on supporting my family (who's falling on hard times) and my minimum wage girlfriend. I constantly have to juggle some bills ("what am I going to pay this month? my medical bills, my cell phone bills, or my car insurance bills?") because every time I manage to come into a little bit extra, like tax refunds or the odd programming tutoring job, something comes up where I need to spend all of that money. I am perpetually broke.

JoJo the Idiot Circus Boy, on 21 April 2013 - 06:55 PM, said:

Welcome to the Baby Boomers' America.