sothereiwas Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 12 minutes ago, Ellener said: I read everything I could find on 'frugal living' a few years ago when the big recession happened 2008. I found an old copy of The Tightwad Gazette a few years before that in a library sale where Amy Dacyczyn said 'the time to learn about budgeting is before you have to..' and I'd been vaguely interested in the topic since then. Here's something: https://www.reddit.com/r/Frugal/
Author gaius Posted March 18, 2020 Author Posted March 18, 2020 I never looked down on or laughed at preppers, being prepared for a disaster is a good idea, but I think you're going a little overboard in this case @Azincourt. The incompetent response by both the US and Europe has a good chance of permanently damaging the economy. Assuming that a job will just be waiting for you in a year when you emerge from isolation is speculative at best. You're wasting away a year of making contacts and building your career and resources to avoid a very small risk to someone in your age group. That's not the bet I would make in your position. 3
littleblackheart Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 (edited) 49 minutes ago, Beendaredonedat said: Well, with far less driving, air planing, cruising, carbon emissions lowered, we are giving the earth a chance to breath cleaner air and perhaps reverse some of the abuse we all have been laying on her for far too long. That really is a positive, as well as the mind blowing scientific progress made in virology in the last few years. Besides, Mother Nature always has a way of reminding us who's boss. COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic has a natural origin https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200317175442.htm Edited March 18, 2020 by littleblackheart 2
Ruby Slippers Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 12 minutes ago, Ellener said: I read everything I could find on 'frugal living' a few years ago when the big recession happened 2008. I found an old copy of The Tightwad Gazette a few years before that in a library sale where Amy Dacyczyn said 'the time to learn about budgeting is before you have to..' and I'd been vaguely interested in the topic since then. I've been working Dave Ramsey's baby steps plan for over a year, and baby step 3 is to save up 3-6 months of living expenses that you do not touch unless there's a real emergency. People buying stuff they don't need on credit is completely out of control, and saving is an almost lost art. Most people are buying cars, vacations, $5 daily lattes, and all kinds of stuff on credit that they can't really afford. About 80% of people have a car in their driveway that they're making $300-600 payments on every month. Dave loves to do the math and show you that that $500 payment is costing you potentially $1,000,000 or more in an investment account, if you'd instead been saving and investing that money over time. I've always had less than almost all my peers, spent less and saved more, and I'm finally starting to reap the rewards - primarily, it's peace of mind. And my goal is that eventually I'll be in an even stronger position where I can really help people in need.
Ellener Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 1 hour ago, Ruby Slippers said: I've always had less than almost all my peers, spent less and saved more, and I'm finally starting to reap the rewards - primarily, it's peace of mind. And gratitude, appreciation. It's a quote from a Margaret Drabble novel talking about poverty in past times: 'we had so much less back then, but appreciated it so much more...' 1
Azincourt Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 (edited) 35 minutes ago, CautiouslyOptimistic said: You got yourself fired? Isn't that gonna look bad on your resume? lol I resigned. Quote The only thing I'm just about out of is dog food because Chewy is really backed up and I did not plan for that. May have to send one of the kids out today for some. Yeah, my uncle's in the same spot. He forgot to buy dog food and now he might have to have to the supermarket. Gonna tell him to just order it online. Quote I read everything I could find on 'frugal living' a few years ago when the big recession happened 2008. I found an old copy of The Tightwad Gazette a few years before that in a library sale where Amy Dacyczyn said 'the time to learn about budgeting is before you have to..' and I'd been vaguely interested in the topic since then. It's pretty good, ain't it. I'm a minimalist. I don't have any furniture other than my wardrobe, my computer chair, my computer table, and my bed. I eat on my kitchen's table, I don't have a couch. I watch movies laying on my bed. I haven't bought new clothes in what, 15 years now? My high school clothes still fit me perfectly, my grandfather worked for 50 years as a tailor and a shoemaker, so I know how to care about my clothes and how to mend them if it's necessary. I got 3 pairs of shoes. Ugly stuff, highly durable, pretty cheap each pair. I compare prices between supermarkets and stores before I buy anything. I'm always on the lookout for products that go on sale, making it that possible to stock the fridge and the pantry for much cheaper. I learned from my father how to haggle the price at the marketplace, learned from him how to save money. I love books and video games. While most guys will drop $70 for a brand new game, I'll wait 5 years and buy it for $5. I've bought book entire book collections for ten, twenty bucks because I search for cheap, second-hand bookstores. When I go on dates, I pay my share and my date pays her share, if we head out to a restaurant, but the dating spots are usually the local park, the beach, as it's 5 minutes away by walking, the mall, and the bookstore. Edited March 18, 2020 by Azincourt
CautiouslyOptimistic Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 2 minutes ago, Azincourt said: Gonna tell him to just order it online. It's taking too long, though. Chewy is usally next day or two days max. I ordered it 3 days ago and it has not shipped yet.
Gaeta Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 I tried to place an online grocery order, next available delivery date is in 8 days, lol.
BC1980 Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 I'm in the unique position of having a job where I can now work a lot of overtime. I'm a nurse, and I've already received pleas to work extra shifts. I've always saved as much as I can and lived frugally like y'all. The only thing I splurge on is one vacation a year. I am worried about my retirement account. I haven't even looked at it in the past few days because it was scary to watch the balance drop every day. 2
Ellener Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 52 minutes ago, BC1980 said: I'm in the unique position of having a job where I can now work a lot of overtime. I'm a nurse, Thanks to you and all the people who will work extra hard in the 'front line' over the next few weeks
carhill Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 13 minutes ago, Gaeta said: I tried to place an online grocery order, next available delivery date is in 8 days, lol. Even Schwan is overloaded.
Azincourt Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 (edited) 39 minutes ago, Ruby Slippers said: Quote I've been working Dave Ramsey's baby steps plan for over a year, and baby step 3 is to save up 3-6 months of living expenses that you do not touch unless there's a real emergency. My father's house was paid off 10 years ago. He has 20 years in life savings, plus his 401k and his pension and his index fund stuff and stocks. Quote People buying stuff they don't need on credit is completely out of control, and saving is an almost lost art. Most people are buying cars, vacations, $5 daily lattes, and all kinds of stuff on credit that they can't really afford. I have no credit card debt. I also have no college debt. Graduated from a top 15 worldwide University without debt. But that's because I was smart about it. After I graduated from high school, I looked around and I thought to myself, ''do I want to spend the next 20-30 years paying off money for greedy institutions that are richer than several Countries?'' No. Moved to Europe, paid about 600 dollars per year, for college, took public transportation to get there and back, my textbooks were either free, provided by the college, or they weren't necessary at all. My father taught me, like his father taught him, to always buy something in full. You either have the money to pay for it in it's entirety or you don't buy it. None of this nonense of taking something home and then taking 1 year to pay it off, paying more than double the product's original value because companies screw you over. My cellphone is 10 years old and still working fine. Spent 20 dollars on it. It's a prepaid card. I only put money on the sim card when I need to make a call. My beach house is well on it's way of being paid off, I'm in my 30s, and If I want I can get a Country house, but I don't think I'll do that. Got life-savings, got a few plots of land offered by an ex-girlfriend, working on my future pension, got stock bonds, and I'll probably inherit everything from my parents and grandparents as I'm the only man in the family. A wife and children are expensive. I'm single, have no intention in getting married or in co-habitating with anyone, and I don't want my kids or anyone else's kids. Had quite a few sperm samples frozen when I was 18, and if I do ever become a father, it will be in my 70s or 80s. Most of the money I spend(other than on my mortgage) is spent on high-quality food. I splurge on dental care and hairline care and skin care, but that's about it. I have friends who make 5-10 million euros a year after taxes, an they're always trying to get me to hook-up with their high-end escorts, and although I do feel tempted about it sometimes - they're offering to pay - I feel like such an amount of money(or any) is a waste, even though the money ain't mine. If something happens to my health, I'm not really that worried because I have free healthcare, amongst the best in the world. I don't have a car. I prefer to walk. It's great cardio and it's free. I always tell women I'm as broke as Greece was back in 2008 so they don't start getting any funny ideas Quote About 80% of people have a car in their driveway that they're making $300-600 payments on every month. Dave loves to do the math and show you that that $500 payment is costing you potentially $1,000,000 or more in an investment account, if you'd instead been saving and investing that money over time. I've always had less than almost all my peers, spent less and saved more, and I'm finally starting to reap the rewards - primarily, it's peace of mind. And my goal is that eventually I'll be in an even stronger position where I can really help people in need. So this guy, a 20-million a year soccer coach was saying that cars are a waste of money, as they lose value as soon as they are bought, but I see early 20s kids spending inane amounts of cash buying a car and maintaining it. It's not just the car that you have to spend a fortune to buy. You gotta buy the gasoline. Gotta replace the tires. Gotta send it to get checked-out. Gotta get parts replaced, plus cars are dangerous and I don't want any responsability. Edited March 18, 2020 by Azincourt
carhill Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 https://www.thehour.com/news/article/White-House-coronavirus-plan-aims-to-send-2-000-15140061.php
Beendaredonedat Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 55 minutes ago, Redhead14 said: 1 hour ago, 2BGoodAgain said: it might actually improve the economy with a large portion of the elder population or the sick to die off and lowering the financial burden of gov'ts with social programs or individual families taking care of their elderly... You'd be surprised at how "the elderly" are self sufficient and have been fiscally responsible for far longer than any of those who are younger. When you are a Baby Boomer, you know how to frugal, how to save, how to be resourceful with left overs in food and products. We fuel the economy in most part, not put a burden on it. Now... as far as health care, that is a different story. 1
Ruby Slippers Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 15 minutes ago, BC1980 said: I am worried about my retirement account. I haven't even looked at it in the past few days because it was scary to watch the balance drop every day. A lot of investment people say just don't even look at it right now. It will bounce back. I haven't begun to seriously invest in my retirement account yet, just a token amount every paycheck as a start. But I am planning to begin investing seriously once I start my new job soon. My initial hesitation around investing was that I don't want to participate in and reinforce this unjust system. The reason it's so hard to change things and make the world a more equitable place is that the people with money and power are heavily invested in the system as it is, so always fight any change that would unsettle their position. Then I realized that unless you want to suffer as a poor, struggling martyr, the only way to affect meaningful change is to participate in the system, then take your money/power and do something good with it. It's far from ideal, but that's the world we live in. My other hesitation is that in a way, the markets are a lot of hocus pocus. I always had this feeling that something exactly like this could happen and people's investments could be decimated. The conservatives like Dave Ramsey insist the market always recovers eventually, has been moving in the upward direction for almost 100 years, as long as you play the long game. And then of course, if your employer matches, that percentage is automatically doubled, so free money, as long as the market doesn't fall by more than half. In short, the prevailing message from the powers that be is - this system will not be upended, we're all too invested for that, so buy in or else. 1 1
Azincourt Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 (edited) 34 minutes ago, Gaeta said: I am worried about my retirement account. I haven't even looked at it in the past few days because it was scary to watch the balance drop every day. No idea. Boomer's retirement pensions are probably fine. Generation-X, the middle-aged workers might also be able to retire and have a pension, if they stop wasting money on going out for dinner, movie tickets, entertainment in general and shoes. Millennials and zoomers will probably have to work until their death. ''If you think the standard recommendation of putting 15% of your paycheck toward retirement is impossible to achieve, get ready for an even bigger hurdle. At least one retirement expert thinks that number should be much higher. Millennials should aim to set aside nearly half of their income for the future, according to Olivia S. Mitchell, professor of insurance/risk management and business economics & public policy, and executive director of Wharton’s Pension Research Council at the University of Pennsylvania. If you want to live off even half of your final salary in retirement, you need to save 40% of your income over the next 30 years, she says.'' ''That calculation, which is based on academic research from an MIT economist, takes into account a few assumptions. The biggest is that you want to retire at 65. That’s not much of a stretch: About a third of millennials say they expect to retire between the ages of 65 and 69, according to a recent T. Rowe Price survey. However, 43% of millennials say they actually expect to retire earlier.'' Edited March 18, 2020 by Azincourt
Ellener Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 58 minutes ago, Azincourt said: I always tell women I'm as broke as Greece was back in 2008 so they don't start getting any funny ideas
Ellener Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 57 minutes ago, Beendaredonedat said: Now... as far as health care, that is a different story. Not in the US- the elderly pay billions for care and health care. It's a massive industry. 1
Azincourt Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 Which is why healthcare in the States will never be free, and it will never be half as good as it is in say, Sweden. Money, Money, Money. That's the American dream. One that I dropped out from as soon as I was able to. 1
Beendaredonedat Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 Just now, Ellener said: Not in the US- the elderly pay billions for care and health care. It's a massive industry. Unless you add thousands of beds and more resperators to that health care system that the elderly pay billions for, then those "billions" aren't going to do any of them much good. Lets hope the "elderly" are smart enough to not be on a beach (or elsewhere) with the yahoos that were on that beach in Clearwater yesterday. There isn't enough resources for any country right now and that's why there are the closures that there are, in order to slow down cases and the health systems in each country to keep up.
Ellener Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 41 minutes ago, Beendaredonedat said: Lets hope the "elderly" are smart enough to not be on a beach (or elsewhere) with the yahoos that were on that beach in Clearwater yesterday. I'm sure they were! Smart enough I mean.
thefooloftheyear Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 Giving citizens a check is a bad idea....Katrina proved that already... They should consider working on establishing the basic needs... Convene a meeting with all major mortgage lenders to freeze mortgages for a set period of time....lets say 3-4 months...The customer will still be responsible for the note, but will not have to deal with it now,and not get negatively dinged if they cant pay, and the ensuing months just get added on the back end of the loan... Same for utilities...Have the utilities suspend all charges and no shutoffs....Once things come back on line, then the "lost" revenue can be recouped by incremental additions to customers bills over time, so its not a big hit all at once... I also think we may be nearing a point where there should be a temporary freeze on the equity markets....Its gone completely off the rails and is unhealthy.... Just these seemingly little things can make people breathe a bit easier through all of this...I'd love to be on a team that figures all of this out....Its very challenging and interesting on many levels ...It's time to get resourceful as a nation, instead of just losing our minds. over this... TFY
Azincourt Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 They're freezing the mortgages payments and extending the IRS deadlines in Europe, for at least 3 months, from what I'm seeing.
Beendaredonedat Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 1 minute ago, Azincourt said: They're freezing the mortgages payments and extending the IRS deadlines in Europe, for at least 3 months, from what I'm seeing. They are doing that here in Canada as well, I don't recall for how long though. 1
2BGoodAgain Posted March 18, 2020 Posted March 18, 2020 1 hour ago, littleblackheart said: Herd immunity only makes logical sense if you know what you're dealing with in terms of numbers. The only way to do that is to test people; completely pointless if you don't, if only for data collection. Plenty of people are losing their jobs and any security they have, or missing days of work on sick leave potentially for something other than the virus and nobody will ever know whether they contracted it or not. How is that helpful? Luckily, the UK has woken up to this now - schools are finally closing down tomorrow and testings will be rolled out to a wider population. oh, the above statement was taken out of context... i meant going along as usual if you want to reduce the elderly and sick populations.
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