Money saving tips from a 75-year old curmudgeon

[PanthersATL]

Here's a list of things that people waste money on:

• Tattoos
• Vacations
• College (look for affordability, not prestige)
• Restaurants / $4 coffee (ie skip the daily coffee, and after 30 years you'll have an extra $121k)
• Lost opportunities (ie foregoing the 401k employer match)
• Transportation
• Credit cards
• Lottery tix
• Clothing
• Shoes (ie average woman owns more than 25 pairs of shoes)
• Tchotchkes and "stuff"
• Failing to plan for retirement at all
• No backup plan
• Holiday spending
• Toys (ie average family spends $6500 on toys during a child's upbringing)
• Haircuts

(There was a followup post, where the writer said that he received feedback saying he was out of touch. His defense is that the crux of the article wasn't the specific bullets, but that it's important to live within one's means, and here are some examples to consider vs putting money to use elsewhere. Take a vacation, but don't go into debt to do it, etc etc)

Source: https://humbledollar.com/2019/05/farewell-money/

 

[GEM]

Well done! From a 61 year old.

[thefuzz]

I saw restaurants...but food is going to be a BIG one with inflation where it is, and gas killing folks' budget.

Learn to cook good "cheap" food.

Instead of buying boneless skinless chicken breast, buy the whole chicken and break it down...1/4 of the price.  Learn to cook with rice, dried pasta, lots of cheaper veggies...shop at Food Lion or Wal Mart vs. Publix or The Teet...there is a Piggly Wiggly near me, I get all my meat from them...half price many times.

Leftovers are key...roast a whole chicken, I get the dark meat, wife get's the white.  She eats a breast, I eat a thigh leg combo....we both have lunch for the next day.  Total cost for the chicken...$6.00  Get 4 total meals out of it.

Buy an entire pork loin and cut it up and freeze it, you can have roasts, thick chops for grilling, or thin chops for frying, roasting or baking. 

Get a vacuum sealer if you don't have one.

[hepcat]

don't have kids

/thread

[thefuzz]

19 hours ago, hepcat said:

don't have kids

/thread

I used to think this way, not any longer.  If I can't afford to have a child, I'm doing something wrong.

Rarely ever hear parents as they age regretting having children...maybe shitty ones do, but I don't keep people like that in my life.

[Happy Panther]

The author strikes me as someone who has a lot to say at town council meetings. The article needs a different title but those are areas people can save money. "stuff" is a category.

In any case I will always spend for food and travel. Always fly business/first. Never skimp on wine. But I have no debt so this article isn't for me. And I like fancy coffee.

 

[PanthersATL]

1 hour ago, Happy Panther said:

I will always spend for food and travel. Always fly business/first. Never skimp on wine. 

 

Agreed.
"Better ingredients, Better pizza" applies to so many things.

 

 

[onmyown]

I actually agree with every single thing on there but if you notice this list is based on physical well-being.

I dated a hospice nurse for a couple years. I was curious about people’s last thoughts and feelings on life. We talked about it quite a bit over two years.

There was consensus on 3 things in order.

1. Worrying too much. Of course some may say on your death bed everything is irrelevant, but things are also much more clear looking back. Almost everyone wished they live life more relaxed.

2. Regret not taking more chances and risks, afraid of failure or rejections.

3. And finally my point - working too much, focusing too much on money. Not enjoying life.

Point being, I find it’s either about balance of specializing. This list takes a more balance approach. 

For me, I specialize. I wear cheap clothes and drive a crap car. My meals are cheap. I don’t buy anything on that list and have 401.

But I do spend on travel. It’s what makes me happy. It’s not something I want to regret dying. Imo, that’s the key. I’ll be perfectly fine driving a beater and crap apartment but I won’t be ok not traveling. Everyone is different. For some people it’s family, traveling to visit them, buying them things, holidays.

The hardest part is finding what you won’t regret on your death bed, and focusing on that to your best extent. You have to enjoy life too, for all we know it’s all we got.

On a side note I literally know a late 30 years old living with his parents with decent job and about 2 million in the bank as he has lived with them all his life, he is the most frugal person I have met. His dinner comes in a can and his car is a true POS. He says he will never change until he retires on a tropical island at 65. That’s not living to me. Hopefully he doesn’t die before then.

Edited March 11, 2022 by onmyown

[cookinbrak]

Whole roasted chicken at Sams for 5 bucks.

Food Lion puts Boston Butt on sale for .99 a lb. Make your own BBQ and sausage.

Aldis frozen pizza is $2.79, and are as good as Freschetta.

[thefuzz]

On 3/11/2022 at 6:50 AM, cookinbrak said:

Whole roasted chicken at Sams for 5 bucks.

Food Lion puts Boston Butt on sale for .99 a lb. Make your own BBQ and sausage.

Aldis frozen pizza is $2.79, and are as good as Freschetta.

Somewhat agree...I just am not going to make a trip to Sams to buy a roast chicken that I can make at home for the same amount of money and not have to get in the car....plus, mine is better.

Boston butts....yup...100% agree.  Then pull it put in individual baggies and freeze it...make it in two or four sammich quantities....great BBQ after a few in the oven or microwave.  You do NOT need an expensive smoker to make good pulled pork.

[CRA]

On 3/10/2022 at 10:19 PM, onmyown said:

On a side note I literally know a late 30 years old living with his parents with decent job and about 2 million in the bank as he has lived with them all his life, he is the most frugal person I have met. His dinner comes in a can and his car is a true POS. He says he will never change until he retires on a tropical island at 65. That’s not living to me. Hopefully he doesn’t die before then.

Most things in life are about balance.  

 

[Paa Langfart]

On 3/9/2022 at 2:57 PM, thefuzz said:

Learn to cook good "cheap" food.

Beans and rice are still damn cheap and they provide all the protein you need.

[thefuzz]

1 hour ago, Paa Langfart said:

Beans and rice are still damn cheap and they provide all the protein you need.

Yup.  I actually thought to myself the other day it was time to start breaking that out again....I do think that things are going to get pretty bad over the next 2 years....people are going to need to learn to cut back.

If you are spending almost all you have every week/month/year....that's NOT good.