I Just Read The Worst Comments Ever About Saving Money
We can save money without depriving ourselves of the little yummy things
People who teach you how to save money are the worst human beings there are.
Just spend a few minutes on Reddit and Twitter and you will see the same money shit.
I filter out all online money content and focus only on scalable income.
People already know that they need to save.
People already know they need to invest.
What people want to hear is how to make more money. Teach them that and they will get down on their knees and pray before you.
Between being cheapskates I choose to enjoy the good moments in life
Cut down on coffee?
Some people think that saving on coffee is the secret to having that first million dollars, and some people don’t mind spending $200 a week buying gossip magazines about the Kardashians.
For some, clothes are only for covering the body, for others, it makes sense to buy a $1000 shoe.
Our challenge is to find our place between the extremes. And to do this, we need to understand what is important and what is there just to placate boredom, or just because at one time it made sense and has never been questioned since.
We never talk only about money when we talk about money.
Often, talking about money is talking about time, good times in life, mental health, choices, and countless other factors that we deal with every day.
Listening to money evangelists on Twitter and Reddit is a waste of time
In a discussion on Reddit, I found a thread listing ways to save money.
The participants in the conversation were talking about “what would be a good idea” and “my god, this is no life”.
For some, carrying a small bottle of water (instead of buying it on the street) is a great saving. For others it is absurd. It’s stupidity.
Some, who thought it was nonsense to carry a bottle of water, see it as a good thing to use apps to find the cheapest gas station, even if the saving is less than the bottle.
I will list some items that came up there.
#1 — Special gifts
Whenever there is a promotion on gifts (books, perfumes, wines) or if you are coming from abroad with the room, take the opportunity to buy something.
Free shop liquor is a great gift and those who drink end up using it, it’s worth stocking up. This goes for Christmas gifts, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, etc.
Assuming that a person spends $100 a week on drinks (e.g. 1 bottle of wine + a pack of beers) and $200 a month on gifts, and assuming that by buying in stock you save 20% of these amounts, the annual savings comes to $960.
Being very transparent, this one really bothers me.
I usually buy a few gifts, but I like the idea of choosing one for that occasion, and for that person.
I prefer to face the situation of arriving somewhere empty-handed, than to arrive with a gift that is good for Amanda, Samantha, and any other human being.
I am happy when I get a good wine or beer. I put it in the fridge and don’t care if it was bought with me in mind.
#2 — Personal care
If you don’t have much of a beard (like me), you don’t need to buy shaving cream. Just use conditioner.
(Thoughts that came up on Reddit: “don’t do that, my son”, “my god, how absurd”, and lastly, “don’t shave”).
Recently I discovered that the world of shampoos and conditioners is a complex one. There are precious little bottles that cost over $100, and there is junk that should not even be sold.
I have always oscillated between washing with soap or with $10 shampoo, not because I am hard-hearted, but out of ignorance. Currently, I have found a middle ground that has made me like my hair. That’s $25 well spent.
A common point, which always comes up among the girls, is the manicure.
The testimonials range from “it is easy for me to go every two weeks”, to “if I don’t do it, my week doesn’t start”. More than just the nail, there is a pleasant feeling of living a moment of care and attention to oneself.
I wrote this text while sitting in a coffee shop and asked three women how much they spent every time they went for a manicure. One said $20, another $50, and the other $100. The girl who pays $100 lives in the same area as the girl who pays $50. They exchanged contact information.
#3 — Patient driver
I drive about 300 km per month, so the tip I give is: try to know how fast your car becomes economical.
The one I drive is economical up to 300 km / h, which gives an average of 14 km/hr, if I push my foot and keep going at 120–130 it does 11 km/hr.
In my calculations with gasoline (driving my mom’s car), driving 300 km, I reduced my spending by $100 per month, which is almost $2000 per year, just for gasoline.
And, in the end, if I drive at 120–130, besides the risk is much higher, in practice, I save 15 to 20 minutes per trip, in a 230 km trip. In other words, it is better to be peaceful and love on the roads.
The last paragraph alone would already be a good reason to find the “economic speed”.
This is a very common movement: since we opt for the car, which is the expensive option, we stick our feet in the sand and despise all the ways to spend less. It is possible to benefit from the comfort of the car without spending so much.
The same happens with our food.
It is quite common to make fun of someone who orders a greasy snack and a juice.
Between ordering a greasy snack and a soft drink and a greasy snack and a juice, the second option does much less harm.
Still talking about cars, in their eagerness to save money, some people go even further:
You can buy one of those trackers with immobilizers that they sell online and install it in the car. Then you don’t need to pay insurance.
These trackers with blockers are very good, they have a fuel cutter, motion sensor, siren, and a lot of things, you don’t need to pay insurance for anything.
Too much risk and too much stupidity.
#4 — Spend money on communication
Nobody likes to call the cell phone company, the Internet service provider, or the company that offers cable TV.
It’s hours and hours of annoying music and advertisements, unprepared attendants, winding up, and confusing numeric menus. All prepared so that you keep paying for the most expensive plan, inadequate for your consumption pattern.
Below is the advice of the participant in the discussion. Every plan works more or less like this:
1-year contract;
6 to 12 months of promotional value;
At the end of this year, you will certainly be paying more than other plans (from the operator itself or from competitors). So, whenever you close a plan, mark it on your calendar a year later.
Do some research, ask to change and cancel, and they will offer you something much better. Values below my last renegotiation with the internet, besides paying less the internet was faster and they gave me more channels
Internet + TV + phone: $200.00
Renegotiated: $ 129.00
Annual difference $852.00
You will easily realize that playing over a one-year interval, it is common to reach a very expressive value, without giving up practically anything.
To make things more interesting, do the inverse math.
Assuming that you spent 3 hours to get everything in order and that you saved $1200 in the year because of this, roughly speaking, your hourly rate was $300. Not bad.