WOW! How to save $250K over a lifetime!

Yikes(referring to previous posts about a dollar saved)! I just spent three dollars today on 3 beautiful hand blown and etched cordial glasses at an estate sale this morning. I have 3 equally beautiful antique cordial glasses(formerly a set of 4 given to my mother at her wedding in 1941 by her brother), but one was broken by my sister after imbibing a bit too much about several years ago. These three don't quite match the other three, but they are quite lovely. I haven't drunk a drop from a cordial glass in ever so long, but it does give one pause concerning small amounts leeched away by things one doesn't need. :blush: It all adds up, doesn't it? Tomorrow is another day, and thank goodness there are no estate sales...that I know of!
 
Urchina said:
Ziggy, I know this, but thanks for stating it so eloquently. I'm putting this on a notecard next to my financial goals 3x5 cards on my bureau, to remind me every day that what I don't spend is important! Thanks!
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I kept a little different reminder card on my bureau....... It reminded me that life is short and it's important to enjoy each day as it comes. A new car here and there, going to the Cubs game instead of watching on TV, raising a family without excessive austerity, taking vacations while you're still young enough to enjoy them, spending time with family and friends even if it involves spending a few bux.......

You're gona be dead a long time. Have a little fun now. :)
 
swampwiz said:
.... and only saving up enough for Little Johnny to go to State U rather than the best little private places that are recommended by the typical pompous high school counselor (like mine, who couldn't believe that with my perfect 36 on the Math ACT and 32 composite that I shouldn't be shooting for MIT or an Ivy League place), a couple could easily hit the critical mass target without giving up much other pleasures in life (relatively speaking.)
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I tend to see automobile transportation as a commodity. A 1992 Honda Accord can get you to the same place as a 2010 Lexus. Yes, the Lexus is nicer, might be safer based on some crash tests, but the two vehicles more or less provide the same service. In that regard, I think paying as little as possible for like commodities makes sense.

I don't think education is a commodity. I think there are differences in colleges that, depending upon the individual student, may make paying more for a private school a sensible choice. I am not really talking about the quality of the education--I think kids can get a good (and probably nearly equivalent) educations at schools as disparate as Harvard and Kansas State University. Kids are people thogh, and as such they learn differently-some may benefit more from a smaller more intimate class room setting, some may get "lost" in larger public institutions; some schools may be be known for be more social active and integrating that activism into thier coursework---for some kids this may be a better way to "reach them" educationally. Some kids may want to complete athletically in college but don't have the physcial skills to complete at the Divison I level--for them, being able to participate in sports at the Div III level may be the motivating factr that keeps them in school.

I am sure that you guys will be able to pcik apart each of these specific points--they are not meant to be an exhaustive list of reasons one might consider going to a more expensive private school. I think the general point is that there are differences in colleges, and some of those differences might actually have an impact on what a kid learns. And for that reason, I think comparing automobile purchases to college purchases is not an "apples-to-apples" comparison.
 
youbet said:
I kept a little different reminder card on my bureau....... It reminded me that life is short and it's important to enjoy each day as it comes. A new car here and there, going to the Cubs game instead of watching on TV, raising a family without excessive austerity, taking vacations while you're still young enough to enjoy them, spending time with family and friends even if it involves spending a few bux.......

You're gona be dead a long time. Have a little fun now. :)
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It doesn't have to be either-or, all-or-nothing. Too many people assume frugality means "excessive austerity" and there's no reason it has to be.

If something enhances your quality of life enough, fine -- spend the money today and have fun. But some people get wrapped up in "I can afford it" and don't really even think about whether or not the money spent is justified by the increased enjoyment of life it may provide. But at the end of the day, if all of your excess cash flow is going into "today" and not into "tomorrow," I hope such a person loves their j*b because they may not ever leave it.
 
We drive our cars until they fall apart. A big part of being successfully thrifty is becoming immune to ridicule. Which, of course, requires exposure. :)

I think we were born with natural immunity...
 
fancy free said:
We drive our cars until they fall apart. A big part of being successfully thrifty is becoming immune to ridicule. Which, of course, requires exposure. :)

I think we were born with natural immunity...
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So.....you're still driving the VW van then?
 
My brand of frugality consists in saving money on things that bring me little enjoyment (phone bill, utility bill, insurance, etc...) so that I have more money to spend on things that I enjoy very much (electronics, travel, good food, etc...).

Cars bring me little joy. The only thing I require of a car is that it takes me (and my stuff) from point A to point B, reliably, safely and in relative comfort. My Toyota Camry LE fits the bill perfectly. I considered getting a smaller car (even a Yaris) but cargo space was a problem. DW and I usually keep our cars until they are 10-12 years old. Some of our cars were bought used, some were bought new. But except for 1 car we have always paid cash.
 
How are we keeping score-- I can tally up the prices of the cars we've bought, but do we also get to deduct the prices for which we sold them?

In that case my 1988 Yugo counts for zero-- bought for $995 and sold for $995.

Texas Proud said:
(the wife might have something to say about that... but by then the kids will start to drive and she might see things differently)....
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Now that our kid has a couple years' driving experience, we've persuaded her to restart learning how to drive a manual transmission. Since she's an engineering geek, we started with the clutch animations on the "How Stuff Works" website. But I'm glad that she has a couple years' driving experience, and I'm glad that she's driving a '97 Altima with 106K miles...
 
OK, if you like the Porsche better, you can not buy it. But remember, i am saving a lot more money by not buying the Aston. :LOL:
 
We're driving 2001 and 2002 vehicles ... both bought used. DW hates hearing that these things are only "puppies" and good for at LEAST 5 more years. Trick is not to defer maintenance (oil changes every 3k ...)
 
i bought my car in 2005, with like 32k miles on it. for about $11k out-the-door. It now has 108k on it. hoping it lasts another...10 years. i could care less. the wife and i take road trips in it, that's where all the miles come from. i have owned my trusty commuter since I was 14. she takes no gas and keeps my spare tire around the belt line a little smaller. and teaches me to deal with stress - houston is not a cycling-commuter friendly town.

bought DW's car last year. 2006 lexus with 32K miles on it. $20k out-the-door. i put the greenbacks under their nose and let them smell a sale. i hope to drive that car until i retire. we put 6k miles on it last year. probably less this year, as my wife is the "old lady" you hear about who truly only drives her car to church and the grocery store. and i'm fixing up another bike with a basket so she can ride to the grocery store less than a mile from our house. hopefully it limits what she buys while she is there...
 
For most of my life I drove cheap or older cars. Finally in my 50's I could afford the cars I wanted. Went a little crazy I guess. Fell in love with BMW's and bought M5/M6/X5/X3 all new in a 2 year period. Total about $450k. Will gradually replace these over time and some replacements may be a year or 2 old. These were not financially wise decisions but I sure enjoy driving them.
 
Danmar said:
For most of my life I drove cheap or older cars. Finally in my 50's I could afford the cars I wanted. Went a little crazy I guess. Fell in love with BMW's and bought M5/M6/X5/X3 all new in a 2 year period. Total about $450k. Will gradually replace these over time and some replacements may be a year or 2 old. These were not financially wise decisions but I sure enjoy driving them.
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You Crazy Canuck......but you seem to be in the minority! :LOL:

Drive Poll - Bugatti - The Globe and Mail
 
I finally collected the numbers. Interesting exercise.

1981: 1981 Mazda GLC hatchback. Cost $6200 (full retail!), sold for in 1993 for $600. Our first and last new car.
1982: 1980 Plymouth Champ hatchback. Cost $3000, sold in 1993 for $600.
1989: 1988 Yugo during a temporary assignment. Paid $995, sold it five months later for... $995.
1993: 1990 Honda Civic. Cost $6700, poured $3000 into repairs in 2002, gave up & sold in 2002 for $2500. Also bought a 1990 Suzuki Swift for $4800, sold in 2001 for $1295.
1999: 1994 Ford Taurus station wagon. Bought for $8100, sold in 2006 for $600 (charitable donation).
2002: 1997 Nissan Altima. Bought for $7000.
2008: 2006 Toyota Prius. Bought for $21,500.

Total spent on cars before the Prius: $36,795.

Total spent on cars including the Prius: $58,295. (Part of the Prius' costs should be allocated to entertainment, not transportation...)

Net spent on cars: $54,705.

Looks like we tend to hold on to cars until they're about 12 years old, and we're the owners for 9-10 years of that. (It's become a lot easier to do over the last 25 years.) The Altima is about to exceed all those averages, but it's on deathwatch. If it survives another 69 days then we'll be empty-nesters and able to downsize to one car with few problems. If it dies then we're not going to bother fixing it.

We could be one-car owners indefinitely. In another 4-5 years, though, the EVs should be coming onto the used-car market, and with a photovoltaic array we could cut our gas bills by ~$1000/year...
 
We've taken a slightly different tack - we save up to buy a vehicle we REALLY like, maintain it carefully, then drive it until the wheels fall off..........
Which explains the 2001 Suburban (loaded) with 225k miles - still in great shape, a 1997 BMW Z3 w/ 45K miles (wife's pride and joy), 2005 F 150 w/ 70K miles (which I use to commute 700 miles each week), and a 2006 corvette w/ 70k miles (which I used to use to commute - great gas mileage, but a bit:whistle:high for maintenance)( Actually considered gettig a license plate that said "yesim50", but realized it was obvious). I'm on the road enough that I prefer to be comfortable
Our previous vehicles lasted between 150K and 250K before we gave up on them.
Only downside is that by the time we're through with a vehicle, there's not much residual value...
 
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