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Old 04-25-2016, 09:02 AM   #121
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Interesting thread/topic. I only skimmed it so far, will read more later.

2 things for me:

My mom grew up in public housing in a single parent household. Her father passed away when she was a toddler from an industrial accident. She discarded nothing, is 85 today and makes most of her own clothes. She instilled confidence in all of us to pursue our goals. I am the youngest of 3, will retire first at 54, but my siblings all will also retire early. We are all frugal and conservative spenders.

Someone else mentioned "work hard/deny myself things today, so I can FIRE and be 'lazy' later". Same here. I have cut my own hair since 1994 (getting easier to do since there is less of it now), have never had a car payment and in general never pay anyone to do anything that I can do myself. I fully manage our home, do landscaping, plumbing, electrical, and major home improvements. My DW doesn't quite espouse those ideals. She has a cleaning lady, but also works and probably brings in 53% of the income, and will retire 3-4 years after me. But she earns money too, and is entitled to spend money on things that she values. And she has always supported my hardcore savings and listened to me say that I was going to retire by 55 since I was in my 20s.

But we hardly live what anyone would call a "frugal" lifestyle. We own 7 cars (3 antiques), travel and dine out often, and have some expensive tastes in some things. We place a high value on some things and work to keep them in our lives... making sacrifices in other areas.

And to be honest, we have just been damn lucky too.....
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Old 04-25-2016, 10:12 AM   #122
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Quote:
I'm not frugal per se...

It's just that my money seems way better than anything it could buy ! ?

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Originally Posted by Danmar View Post
Really, how could that be? Can't eat it, drive it, wear it. Can certainly give it away. That must be your end game?
Danmar:

My little quip was a feeble attempt at humor.
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Old 04-25-2016, 10:51 AM   #123
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Danmar:

My little quip was a feeble attempt at humor.
Sorry, didn't see it.
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Old 04-25-2016, 11:17 AM   #124
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I don't know if it is hereditary or not.

We have one son who absolutely gets it. And we have a daughter who absolutely does not get it. Cannot figure that out.

In general when we look at our relatives and friends, the ones who 'get it' are retired or FIRED and comfortable.

Many of those who don't get it are still working and wondering how we were able to do it. Plus, when they do retire many will either have debt or will have the bare minimum of incomes.

This situation will get worse moving forward as the number of middle class employment opportunities continues to shrink. What we really notice when we travel is the increasing number of older folks working at Walmarts and in other service type jobs.
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Old 04-25-2016, 11:19 AM   #125
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My parents were children of the Great Depression and they were my greatest influence regarding frugality.
+1 Rejected it all as a teen. But the seeds had already been planted. As an adult, once I was earning my own money, I got the point.

I like to think I'm not quite as extreme. My mother used to take a box of Kleenex , cut every sheet in half, then put them all back in the box. Some day I'll probably find myself doing that too.
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Old 04-25-2016, 07:32 PM   #126
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My parents provided me with all necessities but could not give me what some of my childhood friends had (fish tank, camera, watch etc) so I started to save on my lunch money. By the time I was close to finish a HS, it was very clear to me that if I want something I need to work hard and save in order to get it. My frugal ways of life style had developed. My wife had similar conditions at her childhood as well. I think that it was because of this part of my character what allowed me to retire early when I could not continue with highly physically demanding, well compensated job.
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Old 04-25-2016, 09:08 PM   #127
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Wow, so at $200K a year, you'll be paying a huge amount of tax, compared to your $10K/year salary.

That's a lot of tax going to Uncle Sam, probably $40K-$50K going to taxes


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I fondly remember my mom saving each paycheck to buy a piece of Ethan Allen furniture (on layaway). Or packing lunch (extra for friends) when mom and dad went golfing. So many little stories, but adds up to dad retiring at 47.

I happily live on $10K/year, but soon at 4% SWR, it will be ~$200K. Thanks to parents for planting the seeds of frugality.
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Old 04-25-2016, 09:16 PM   #128
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A lot of times, I only order the appetizer as a meal, because it already gets me full. Like a plate of Calamari gets me full when I go to an Italian restaurant. And when I go to a Vietnamese restaurant, ordering 3 appetizers like Shrimp Roll, Fried Tofu, and Fresh Veggie roll already gets me full. And yeah, Dimsum in an authentic Chinese restaurant ... a few plate of those, and who needs a full course meal

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But now I have money coming in from several sources that is much more than I need, so not so frugal anymore (i.e. I actually order an appetizer now! LOL)
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Old 04-25-2016, 09:51 PM   #129
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"Money is much more exciting than anything that it buys" -- Mignon McLaughlin

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Originally Posted by MasterBlaster View Post
I'm not frugal per se...

It's just that my money seems way better than anything it could buy !
Quote:
Originally Posted by Danmar View Post
Really, how could that be? Can't eat it, drive it, wear it. Can certainly give it away. That must be your end game?
You can count it, admire it, the number on your laptop screen. If you invest it right, you can watch it grow.
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Old 04-25-2016, 11:12 PM   #130
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My parents lived in the great depression. We grew up with no excess money and our parents talked about money to us. Some of my earliest memories are about money. At 7 my dad was injured at work so we went to work picking green beans by the pound so I was earning pennies a day to me a dime was a lot of money. Soda was a dime in the fields but I couldn't let go of an hour or two income for a soda. My parents talked about shopping telling us we could have bananas if we found them for 10 cents a pound or mom saying she wasn't paying 10 cents a pound for potatoes. I heard mom complain about not being able to afford a dress because one of the kids always needed shoes. Then I learned about interest income, free money for having money in the bank. That is when I dreamed of fat bank account supporting me without work I was still a preteen. Now I have about a million invested and don't want to spend it because I love getting free money. I can spend on things I value and try to spend a little more but still look at the prices on everything I buy and decide to not spend when I don't get value.
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Old 04-26-2016, 06:07 AM   #131
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You are just like my sister. My candy would be gone within a day or two. Then I would hope that she'd feel sorry for me and hand over some of hers. It didn't work.
HAHA, this sounds like my kids now, but the sister does feel sorry sometimes and gives her brother, but it must be a trade or he must do something in return.
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Old 04-26-2016, 07:47 AM   #132
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We buy Great Value brand, rather than Name Brand, if the quality has been proven similar. Is that frugal, or just common since? On the other hand, a friend, buys Name Brand always as he believes quality is always better. Here again, is paying for over quality, non-frugal? i.e. name brand razors that give 10% longer life, at 20% more cost and same shaving experience.
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Old 04-26-2016, 07:58 AM   #133
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I'm not nearly as frugal as my parents and grandparents were. I'm somewhat impulsive and occasionally go crazy and buy something stupid.
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Old 04-26-2016, 10:22 AM   #134
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I don't know how I became frugal, I just know that I don't like to waste money. I don't mind spending money as long as it is an efficient use of money. Also, I don't mind buying more expensive items (car, furnishings, home upgrades, etc.) as long as I really really want them and I get satisfaction from owning them. I don't like to spend money on things that have very little value to me and almost no effect on my life or happiness. Frugal not cheap!
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Old 04-26-2016, 10:28 AM   #135
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My old grand pappy used to say " I would rather spend a dollar on something I enjoy, than 25˘ on something I don't care for". He was referring to cigars, but I think his point is well said. Being frugal means getting a good deal on something one truly wants, needs, enjoys, etc. It does not mean buying a 25˘ cigar that is unpleasant to smoke.
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Old 04-27-2016, 11:39 AM   #136
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I was a spending maniac/would-be rock star until I hit age 30. Then I got a day job; my father finally took me aside and twisted my arm in no uncertain terms to save at least 15% of my paycheck into the 401k. It became a habit (now 20%) and I learned to "get by" on the remainder. No cable, no Internet, no fancy restaurants, no Porsche ... vacations are maybe once every 2-3 years at a friends' condo in Mexico (i.e., free excepting food & airfare) ... but sometime after I'm 66 or so (hey, I started saving late) I shall have "early" retirement; in a sort of genteel poverty. But I will say good-bye to the minimum-wage job in (hopefully) about three years ...
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Why are you frugal?
Old 05-05-2020, 06:56 AM   #137
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Why are you frugal?

Elbata resurrected this 2016 post on a different string today, and I re-read the whole thing, uncovering the sources of others’ frugality habits that were either deeply ingrained from childhood or learned along the way in pursuit of appealing goals, like ER.

I’m in the latter.

Lately, with DW now semi-retired and my j*b in doubt and abundant free time sheltering at home, I’ve been doing some spring cleaning on the budget. I’ve found and cleaned enough accumulated dirt that semi-retirement seems in reach for me, too.

So, for me, it is entirely a learned behavior: “Nurture” through books and observation of others vs. “Nature”. In these times, at age 54, I thank my younger self for developing my frugality Spidey Sense.

How is your own Frugality Super Power helping you weather the choppy seas of Covid19?
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Old 05-05-2020, 07:14 AM   #138
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I am a product of growing up in a blue collar household, with parents that lived through WWI, great depression, WW2, etc. I was the first in our family to be college educated and would generally say I have been frugal and conservative with my money for my entire life, except when it came to cars and putting the kids through college
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Old 05-05-2020, 07:33 AM   #139
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Delivering the morning paper as a kid. I got a morning paper route was I was 10. Before then, I simply bugged my parents for whatever I wanted and had no idea where money came from (other than parents).

Delivering papers taught me the value of money and made me think in terms of the amount of time it took to earn... so I managed spending carefully. I delivered for 4 years: the lessons have lasted a life time.
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Old 05-05-2020, 07:46 AM   #140
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I’m no longer frugal. Retired long time, older.
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