In what aspect of life are you best a cheapskate (aka summoning your inner Dave Ramsey thread)?
In what aspect of life are you best a cheapskate (aka summoning your inner Dave Ramsey thread)? 27 votes
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F.O. Row Peter Puffer, you left...Save thousands of dollars per year buying cheap vodka to get drunk instead of high end shit to impress my frens.
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Low monthly housing cost relative to net incomeWe do pretty well as family on a lot of these...
No car payments. Event before Covid we sucked at getting babysitting help, so restaurant tab was minimal. Mrs Snow had free college and my loans were nothing compared to what the kids these days to. But we are way, way below Dave's guidelines on montly housing cost being below 25% of net AND I don't event have to live in Texas!
But the Mrs kills our budget with travel lust and stupid misc crap.
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Low monthly housing cost relative to net income
We could file that under no bars. It's close enough.PurpleThrobber said:Save thousands of dollars per year buying cheap vodka to get drunk instead of high end shit to impress my frens.
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F.O. Row Peter Puffer, you left...No student loan debt (dropping out early helps there), no expensive vacations, dress like a bum, no season tickets to anything, truck is a jalopy, but there's no option to select multiple choices.
Where I save the most money is by doing things myself. I blow soooo much money on the things I want, but it chaps my ass to spend a lot of money on the things I need. I want a sweet bike that'll make my slow ass go fast around a track, I need a truck to haul it there: guess which one cost $3500 and which one cost $25K and counting? I buy new pants when the crotch and knees blow out of all of the ones I have. I buy new shirts when the ones I have no longer protect my nipples. I buy new shoes when the soles of the ones I have split in half. Clothes are "needs," so I can't be bothered. 300 hour house repair/upgrade? How much do the tools cost?... Car repair? How much do the tools cost?... Plumber wants $5600 for eight hours of work and $100 in fittings? Off to Google to make sure I do it right... Fuck spending money on no-fun bullshit like working plumbing. Ford dealer wants $700 per axle for fucking bake pads on the truck? $300 for even the premium pads and rotors at NAPA, three hours of swearing and bleeding knuckles. Whatever. I could go on and on. You could probably learn how to build a liquid booster rocket and orbital crew vehicle just buy reading some forums and watching some YouTube videos; there's nothing stopping anybody from learning how to do pretty much anything these days (I spent an hour this morning watching videos explaining how to set up for aluminum anodizing in your garage, for instance).
That being said, learning how to do stuff can be more expensive in the long run. Getting a $250K shop for $100K by building it yourself still costs $100K. Getting $250K in home repairs and upgrades for $150K by doing most of it yourself still costs $150K, which is more expensive than just selling the place and buying one that's not falling apart. When Apple releases in iPhone connection for your new car, but it costs $400 for what is essentially a cable, you can say, "You can fuck right off, Apple, I'll do it myself," but the math only works out if you don't then spend over $1000 building a full-blown PC with touchscreen controls into the dash/trunk. Being handy and obstinate has ended up being really fucking expensive, actually.
Having a huge tool collection and zero free time is cool, though, so I got that going for me. Which is nice. -
Low monthly housing cost relative to net income
Well, shit I forget the DIY option. Much money can be saved by doing shit one's self.1to392831weretaken said:No student loan debt (dropping out early helps there), no expensive vacations, dress like a bum, no season tickets to anything, truck is a jalopy, but there's no option to select multiple choices.
Where I save the most money is by doing things myself. I blow soooo much money on the things I want, but it chaps my ass to spend a lot of money on the things I need. I want a sweet bike that'll make my slow ass go fast around a track, I need a truck to haul it there: guess which one cost $3500 and which one cost $25K and counting? I buy new pants when the crotch and knees blow out of all of the ones I have. I buy new shirts when the ones I have no longer protect my nipples. I buy new shoes when the soles of the ones I have split in half. Clothes are "needs," so I can't be bothered. 300 hour house repair/upgrade? How much do the tools cost?... Car repair? How much do the tools cost?... Plumber wants $5600 for eight hours of work and $100 in fittings? Off to Google to make sure I do it right... Fuck spending money on no-fun bullshit like working plumbing. Ford dealer wants $700 per axle for fucking bake pads on the truck? $300 for even the premium pads and rotors at NAPA, three hours of swearing and bleeding knuckles. Whatever. I could go on and on. You could probably learn how to build a liquid booster rocket and orbital crew vehicle just buy reading some forums and watching some YouTube videos; there's nothing stopping anybody from learning how to do pretty much anything these days (I spent an hour this morning watching videos explaining how to set up for aluminum anodizing in your garage, for instance).
That being said, learning how to do stuff can be more expensive in the long run. Getting a $250K shop for $100K by building it yourself still costs $100K. Getting $250K in home repairs and upgrades for $150K by doing most of it yourself still costs $150K, which is more expensive than just selling the place and buying one that's not falling apart. When Apple releases in iPhone connection for your new car, but it costs $400 for what is essentially a cable, you can say, "You can fuck right off, Apple, I'll do it myself," but the math only works out if you don't then spend over $1000 building a full-blown PC with touchscreen controls into the dash/trunk. Being handy and obstinate has ended up being really fucking expensive, actually.
Having a huge tool collection and zero free time is cool, though, so I got that going for me. Which is nice.
Unlike Charmin soft @creepycoug I refuse to hire out the lawn mowing. A man can't be a real man, unless you mow your own lawn. I've done my own brakes and my own oil once, but I don't enjoy it so will probably continue to pay a professional there.
My wife's up my ass to get our interior painted; I'm like Michelangelo with a paint brush but it would have taken too much time vs paying a crew of painters and keeping my marriage intact. -
Daughter says I look like I'm homeless.
That is the very look I'm hoping to convey. -
Low monthly housing cost relative to net incomeCashing in on the Seattle equity has done wonders for our lifestyle. No longer feeling house poor.
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F.O. Row Peter Puffer, you left...Great pole. All of the above minus one offspring, and that's a big one. Three girls. Very $$$$.
And in reality, while I like to drink, I've spent far less on booze in my lifetim than most of my contemporaries because of seeing alcoholism up close. It ain't pretty, and there are few things more annoying than a drunk. Even more annoying than liberals who lie, and who love to be lied to.
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Low monthly housing cost relative to net income
Thinking about what you've spent on academis gives me heartburn. Fortunately, my kids won't be elite, NE liberal arts college material.creepycoug said:Great pole. All of the above minus one offspring, and that's a big one. Three girls. Very $$$$.
And in reality, while I like to drink, I've spent far less on booze in my lifetim than most of my contemporaries because of seeing alcoholism up close. It ain't pretty, and there are few things more annoying than a drunk. Even more annoying than liberals who lie, and who love to be lied to.
It's gonna be Boov BA/BS and pumping gas next to @IPukeOregonGrellow for my spawn. -
F.O. Row Peter Puffer, you left...
I actually stopped paying for yard maintenance. They were getting lazy about weeding and shit and were raising prices. Basically they were here too long and became Americans. Once I saw the new 1/2 ton pickup, I knew it was only a matter of tim.YellowSnow said:
Well, shit I forget the DIY option. Much money can be saved by doing shit one's self.1to392831weretaken said:No student loan debt (dropping out early helps there), no expensive vacations, dress like a bum, no season tickets to anything, truck is a jalopy, but there's no option to select multiple choices.
Where I save the most money is by doing things myself. I blow soooo much money on the things I want, but it chaps my ass to spend a lot of money on the things I need. I want a sweet bike that'll make my slow ass go fast around a track, I need a truck to haul it there: guess which one cost $3500 and which one cost $25K and counting? I buy new pants when the crotch and knees blow out of all of the ones I have. I buy new shirts when the ones I have no longer protect my nipples. I buy new shoes when the soles of the ones I have split in half. Clothes are "needs," so I can't be bothered. 300 hour house repair/upgrade? How much do the tools cost?... Car repair? How much do the tools cost?... Plumber wants $5600 for eight hours of work and $100 in fittings? Off to Google to make sure I do it right... Fuck spending money on no-fun bullshit like working plumbing. Ford dealer wants $700 per axle for fucking bake pads on the truck? $300 for even the premium pads and rotors at NAPA, three hours of swearing and bleeding knuckles. Whatever. I could go on and on. You could probably learn how to build a liquid booster rocket and orbital crew vehicle just buy reading some forums and watching some YouTube videos; there's nothing stopping anybody from learning how to do pretty much anything these days (I spent an hour this morning watching videos explaining how to set up for aluminum anodizing in your garage, for instance).
That being said, learning how to do stuff can be more expensive in the long run. Getting a $250K shop for $100K by building it yourself still costs $100K. Getting $250K in home repairs and upgrades for $150K by doing most of it yourself still costs $150K, which is more expensive than just selling the place and buying one that's not falling apart. When Apple releases in iPhone connection for your new car, but it costs $400 for what is essentially a cable, you can say, "You can fuck right off, Apple, I'll do it myself," but the math only works out if you don't then spend over $1000 building a full-blown PC with touchscreen controls into the dash/trunk. Being handy and obstinate has ended up being really fucking expensive, actually.
Having a huge tool collection and zero free time is cool, though, so I got that going for me. Which is nice.
Unlike Charmin soft @creepycoug I refuse to hire out the lawn mowing. A man can't be a real man, unless you mow your own lawn. I've done my own brakes and my own oil once, but I don't enjoy it so will probably continue to pay a professional there.
My wife's up my ass to get our interior painted; I'm like Michelangelo with a paint brush but it would have taken too much time vs paying a crew of painters and keeping my marriage intact.
