[jlspeed29]

Open discussion here

To those of you that have read this book, what do you think?
Is it worth it to "penny pinch" all your life so you can have lots of moolah when you are old?

To those of you who have not read it...the book basically studies common millionaire households and picks apart their habits ,,,,,its a decent read


I was thinking this the other day when I saw this old guy pull up next to me in a turbo porsche and I cant say that I felt all that envious


I was talking to my g/f about this and we thought, i dont see why someone would want to sacrifice and suffer (in our opinion) their entire lives, living on as little as possible only to enjoy it when they are older and in worse health?????

If all of your bills are paid and you have savings, why not go out and live a little? travel a little more?
Personally, i'd rather travel NOW when we are young and can enjoy it as opposed to when we are older and cant really enjoy it as much

[JayKay335i]

You dont have to live like your poor your whole life. Anybody can do it, as long as you properly plan and dont spend your money like a moron.

[Freakazoid]

Originally Posted by JayKay335i

You dont have to live like your poor your whole life. Anybody can do it, as long as you properly plan and dont spend your money like a moron.

this

[bolinp78]

I would think that going out and blowing $2,000.00 at a casino every so often might not be such a bad idea either (as long as you can get it back).

[double_j]

It's about balance. Splurge on some, save on others.

Some of the tips in that book are a little extreme but I do appreciate the direction. So yes, I will sacrifice a bit now to make sure that I'm comfortable later but I will not subject myself (or my family) to any kind of unnecessary hardship in the name of saving money.

Keep in mind that for a lot of the people in the book, saving is a goal in and of itself. This is very different from making sure that you have enough stored away to take care of you later in life or to help out on a rainy day.

[JayKay335i]

Originally Posted by bolinp78

I would think that going out and blowing $2,000.00 at a casino every so often might not be such a bad idea either (as long as you can get it back).

And thats a prime example of what not to do

[Feyd]

This day and age... I'd spend the money on things you want. Not condoning overspending, but if you want a Porsche and can afford it.. go for it.


Perhaps it's a bit extreme, but I think this entire country is due for a rude awakening. Between inflation and the still failing housing market/economy, etc.. having a million dollars in the "bank" as a liquid asset is downright stupid.

You might as well go out and enjoy it while it still has some value. In 10 years it most likely won't be worth shit IMO.


Pay off the mortgage and rat-hole some of it. Maybe invest in some durable goods/land/real-estate, etc. where the value might have some hope of keeping in tune with the rate of inflation.

But a large sum of "cash" isn't going to amount to any kind of a windfall down the road assuming you are saving it for the next generation (or even yourself).

[jlspeed29]

^^ thats true. and I mostly agree...I even agree, to some extent on "blowing 2000 in vegas" IF you have it..are the key words

also found this

WTF happend in the 80's??
since then, the US savings Rate has been dropping, not until recently did it look like it was starting to creep up

[Dr. G]

Originally Posted by Feyd

This day and age... I'd spend the money on things you want. Not condoning overspending, but if you want a Porsche and can afford it.. go for it.


Perhaps it's a bit extreme, but I think this entire country is due for a rude awakening. Between inflation and the still failing housing market/economy, etc.. having a million dollars in the "bank" as a liquid asset is downright stupid.

You might as well go out and enjoy it while it still has some value. In 10 years it most likely won't be worth shit IMO.


Pay off the mortgage and rat-hole some of it. Maybe invest in some durable goods/land/real-estate, etc. where the value might have some hope of keeping in tune with the rate of inflation.

But a large sum of "cash" isn't going to amount to any kind of a windfall down the road assuming you are saving it for the next generation (or even yourself).

Smart man

[bolinp78]

Originally Posted by JayKay335i

And thats a prime example of what not to do

But what if you can claim that it wasn't withdrawn by you? This sounds like a genius idea I wonder if anyone has tried it.

[coh4777]

Originally Posted by bolinp78

But what if you can claim that it wasn't withdrawn by you? This sounds like a genius idea I wonder if anyone has tried it.

Just need to wear a hat and you're all set!

[Feyd]

Originally Posted by Dr. G

Smart man

I see S. Illinois in your info..

where abouts?


I'm originally from Salem. My mom (and one set of grandparents) are from Carbondale.

[Dr. G]

Carbondale as well!

[persian54]

Originally Posted by bolinp78

But what if you can claim that it wasn't withdrawn by you? This sounds like a genius idea I wonder if anyone has tried it.

if it's a pin transaction, it's hard to prove it's not you/authorized by you


however, if you have someone else take the money out in a different state/country, you're set

don't ask why i know

[bolinp78]

Originally Posted by persian54

if it's a pin transaction, it's hard to prove it's not you/authorized by you


however, if you have someone else take the money out in a different state/country, you're set

don't ask why i know

why so srs?

[Feyd]

Originally Posted by Dr. G

Carbondale as well!

[Maestro]

Originally Posted by jlspeed29

^^ thats true. and I mostly agree...I even agree, to some extent on "blowing 2000 in vegas" IF you have it..are the key words

also found this

WTF happend in the 80's??
since then, the US savings Rate has been dropping, not until recently did it look like it was starting to creep up

That is the issue most people in the country do not have any sort of savings what so ever. The down ward trend was people spending their savings keeping up with the Jones

To make it all worse is most people used the home as the saving account, figured once they retired they would sell or pull the money out of the home to live on. Well these idiot refinanced their homes and are now loosing them. I could not understand how someone lived in their home for 30 or 40 years and are loosing it to foreclosures. They took out all the equity and went and live high and now they are paying for it.

When we bought our last home, I went to the closing thinking this older couple who was going to retire in a few years was going to have all this money from the sell of the house and they were moving to AZ to buy a smaller house and live cheaply. I knew how much they paid for the house new and I knew what I was paying and they should have walked away with a few hundred thousand in their pocket. Well the the check they left with barely covered the down payment on the new home they were buying in AZ and the home was only a $140K, they had to get a mortgage for that home. I could not believe what they owned on the home and they lived in it for 12 yrs, they owed far more than what they originally bought it for. Which also explains the 2 Mercedes in the garage.

My wife and I are saving like crazy, we only buy what we need and want, and when we do buy we look for the best deal or buy something we know that will last. Most people who can not afford things and buy everything usually buy junk and replace it many times over, verse saving and buying something that is better quality.

I do not plan to work later in life to support myself, if I do work and I am thinking about working home depot or Lowes for fun and keeping busy, but our plan is to live off the savings so we will have well over million in the bank to make they happen

[jlspeed29]

lol @ tags

[schoy]

They call it retirement for a reason.

You can either:
(a) Have your p-car now, but work 5 days a week for the rest of your life (say 80 years old); or
(b) Drive a used honda civic now, work 5 days a week until you're 60, retire, not work at all for 20 straight years and buy a p-car and an M3 with the car savings that you invested somewhat wisely.

[Extreme examples, I know, but just trying to make a basic point.]

The answer, I suppose, is how long do you think you'll live?

[AngelinIsRich08]

If the guy has a family and is living a frugal life now so he can buy expensive homes and cars when he's old, then he is extremely selfish.

[schoy]

Originally Posted by AngelinIsRich08

If the guy has a family and is living a frugal life now so he can buy expensive homes and cars when he's old, then he is extremely selfish.

Disagree. If I assume correctly from your fact scenario that
(a) If he has kids, he's paid all of their living/welfare expenses, as well as college educations (therefore, he's not selfish to his kids because he's equipped them with what they've needed to survive and be independent), and
(b) He shares his "expensive homes and cars" with his wife,

then how is he being "extremely selfish"?

[nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn]

Originally Posted by jlspeed29

^^ thats true. and I mostly agree...I even agree, to some extent on "blowing 2000 in vegas" IF you have it..are the key words

also found this

WTF happend in the 80's??
since then, the US savings Rate has been dropping, not until recently did it look like it was starting to creep up

you want the academic reason or the watered down version?