In general, any time costs are removed from time of use or purchase, it will be easy to understimate them.
Driving a car is a good example of this, as is electricity usage and other things where you only get feedback maybe once a month, but you use it in smaller, more continuous amounts daily.
You can make up a sticker with the price per mile and put it on your dashboard and it will make you more conscious of how much it costs.
My commute is only 6 miles round trip, which comes to .80 USD per day at recent prices. (my car gets about 30mpg, and gas comes out to 16 cents per mile at $4/gal.)
I usually ride my bike, and over the year it saves me about $200-$250 in gas, depending on price fluctuations. That's a decent sum.
I usually pick up groceries at the supermarket on my way home from work, so that prevents some other car trips for shopping.
The car gets used for long distance trips or when I have to carry more stuff than my bike is set up to handle, or when I'm pressed for time. It's become a habit for me to calculate the cost of driving when deciding to go someplace, and the result is that I usually decide to pool my trips and reduce the amount of them. This planning ahead saves a lot of cash and time, and also reduces my exposure to stores and the temptation and opportunity to shop, which overall is a good thing for me.
Overall, I will agree that the costs of owning and operating a car are impressive, even while the freedom and flexibility cars provide are pretty incredible.
These blueberries are appalling. I hate even the square plastic package they normally come in. It says it's recyclable, but our recyclers won't take it.
Recently I saw hard-boiled eggs, peeled and packed in plastic, 6 for $2.99. I suppose they would be useful if you needed a quick snack and didn't have access to a stove, but really, eggs are already prepackaged, and boiling them takes very little brain.
Many more people in the U.S. would likely follow this path if we had a health care system that guaranteed coverage at a reasonable price. My husband and I both freelanced as journalists at the national level for many years, and even embraced frugality happily. But the hit from health insurance was too great. One of us needed a job that provided benefits.
About 3 weeks ago I went to Taco Bell and bought me a grilled stuffed burrito (not the combo). It as around $3.56. I don't remember the exact amount but it did not go over $3.60.
When I checked my credit card statement, I saw that I was charged even $9.00. I didn't do anything about it though and I do not have the receipt to prove it. Who keeps their taco bell reciepts?
Just remember most food is packaged to jump off the shelf. Nutrition is sadly not EVEN second in the marketing scheme. I think this could be a knee jerk reaction to the trend that people might not want give their children food from the junk food group of sugar, salt, fat and starch.
I have been giving buzzcuts to woman who desire to sell their hair. I have done 12 in the last 4 yeears, I pay very well, so If your interested please contact myself
Oh, thanks - I had already recycled the stupid tubes, so I didn't check the label carefully enough.
I don't think there's too much danger in choking - no more so then when you normally eat berries. The opening was large enough that I don't imagine it would get stuck.
My fuel milage varies from 22 miles per gallon if I drive like an idiot to near 27 if I keep it to 60-65 range. Yes, everyone passes me like I'm an overloaded semi; so what. I have a rather paid off car that is very reliable and reqiures litte maintanence. With a 40 mile round trip commute I come out only a litte higher than mass transit. Car selection and patience is a huge factor in operating expences. Learning not to be concerned about "keeping up with the Joneses" will save anyone a fortune. Choose your automobile wisely and yes park it as often as your feet can take.
I would be terrified of the "blueberry blasters" because I can just see the blueberries getting stuck, rather than blasting as planned, and then I tap the plastic thing on my tooth to loosen them and break a tooth. Or the blueberries THEN blast, en masse, to the back of my throat and choke me. Which, if I were driving, could create quite a road hazard.
And then there's the risk of depression from paying $1.75 for each tube of blueberries, and then throwing all that plastic away.
it's pretty sad to see that products are still over-packaged - i don't notice too much since i usually frequent the smaller grocery stores where packaging consists of someone in the back putting a plastic saran wrap over a pint of berries. i agree with some of the comments - it's all about making a profit for the stores and the manufacturers, but what's even worse is that consumers believe in the marketing gimmick and buy these products.
I want to start by saying that I honestly do not know the law in any detail, but I am an associate at my local WalMart and I can tell you that we honestly try to keep the signage in-store/out-store ads matching our computers at all times. Any pricing error can be quickly fixed right at the register and the cashier should be able to easily do it, though they may need to acquire a supervisor's permission or a price check first.
The 6x or 10x law I am not aware of, or at least I don't think Utah has this in effect. Firstly, people make errors. Most of the floor staff has access to change the prices of items in the store, and adding a law where such losses would be acquired for an error would mean the store would need to crack down on these errors much more aggressively in order to maintain profit. This would entail a much higher rate of job loss. Also, if you understand how the WalMart system works, you would know that the losses due to such a law (and any fraud situation or price changes that are not correct) are taken from the employee bonus. A 6x or 10x law would not affect the corporate WalMart, but would eat at the cashiers, and floor associates bonus money.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, any extra money WalMart has that it should not, and is not claimed by the customer, policy requires that it be donated to charity. We cant keep it in way for any reason. Extra, goes to charity outside of WalMart, period.
And finally, like cigarette advertising laws, there is a difference between public ads and marketing, and private. If a price is printed in our weekly ads that are mailed to your home, or in a newspaper, on radio, or visible from the street, the law requires we honor these prices. However, in our store, the prices are not displayed publicly. All store properties are private, and major pricing errors will not be honored. I have personally fought with a woman about the pricing on a laptop computer which rang up for $1398.97 but the sign in the store stated $599. We ended up watching security camera tapes and found that the woman herself was changing our signs, and then threatening us with lawsuits for breaking the law about marked prices.
Don't get me wrong, were talking about huge pricing errors and fraud that would seriously hurt us. Small errors happen constantly and I cannot say that I am above them. I did it to some sale items just last week, fixed about half of them, but each style has a different UPC code, so I missed some of the flavors and they continued to ring at the non-sale price.
I don't represent the entire company but at WalMart, we correct our own errors and just ask you to be patient while we fix the problem. We all have our own budget to follow and we honestly don't want you to be hurt by pricing errors anymore than we do.
You make an interesting point. I will have to check out the book. I would also like to clarify that some people have insisted that the store HAS to give you the product for free. They don't. They only have to give you the difference and a bonus of ten times the "difference" in what they charged and what it really cost. So for some people, getting a free item would actually be worth more than the legal remedy of 10 x the difference. (plus there is a cap in some states of a bonus of no more than $5.) I believe that Walmart used to get you the item for free, but many stores are not doing this due to fraud. Thanks for the comments!
I've always donated to locks of love as well. just recently found out that they make millions on peoples hair,and throw it away at times.so...times are tuff here at home and i would like to sale my hair now.but it seems that i can't find ayone one to answer my posts.can anyone tell me where to go???? thanks for all the insite nytimes> tara
Great article other than the crazy conversion error. I like Dwight and Rob's thoughts. I once divided the price tag of my car by the number of miles I had used it. The number scared me. I've owned the car 8 years, (it is a Celica, bought new), and that number is 34 cents per mile. That number is not even including maintenance, new tires, car washes, sound system improvements, GAS, insurance, interest on the loan, tolls, parking, etc.
A big problem with our car-centered culture is that we are pretty removed from the actual costs of driving. A second big problem is that once you've bought the car, you can't lower its initial price tag by driving less. Considering it is probably your most significant expense when calculated per mile, it seems logical to most people to keep driving it more miles to get more use out of that expenditure.
I'm going to have to think about Dwight's comment on miles per hour a little more. It's a very interesting way to think about car efficiency.
Borrow "Gotcha Capitalism" by Bob Sullivan from your library for an excellent expose on overcharges (and other hidden ripoffs ranging from cell phone fees to bank fees) and what you can do to avoid them (or get your money back). Also visit your state Attorney General's website and familiarize yourself with your states consumer protection statute.
According to our county weights and measures guy, gas stations and other stores subject to "weighing and measuring" (such as the scale in your stores deli department) tend to err on the side of slightly undercharging consumers in our area (i.e., you make out a tenth of a penny or so). However, he says the only reason they do this (err on the side of the customer) is because his department vigorously tests and prosecutes cheats. He said the moment they relax enforcement, it's open season on the customers.
Scanner pricing at stores is a different story. 4 times out of 10 the scanners don't work, and 1 out of every 30 items you purchase is mis-priced, usually in the stores favor. Most scanners are far away and usually the label printers don't work. Worse, items are often placed in a confusing manner on the shelves so you have no idea which item costs what. Although they're supposed refund you 10x the price, most won't (or have a posted policy such as "you get it free" which is only 1x the price for those rare occasions a sharp-eyed shopper catches the error -AND- can prove it was mislabelled). Very few customers follow through with prosecution, so it's in the stores interest to mislabel. Sullivan estimates pricing errors costs consumers billions of dollars per year. When shopping, caveat emptor!!!
And RuneScape is pretty cool cause there's so much to do. And it looks fine now too. Recently RuneScape earned a place in the Guinness book of world records for having the largest free MMORPG. That says something. It says that RuneScape rules.
Also, I have played WoW for a while and found it on overall very amususing to play, but RuneScape's economy totally overrules WoW's economy. RuneScape has that undescribable realism in his markets and I love it. I learned a lot from it through the years. Before or after the Grand Exchange update.
RS rules. Just don't waste too much time on it. Rather use it as a way to fill up your boring moments. Don't play it instead of things.
I'm looking forward to be a freelancer too. Just like you, I found 9-6 schedule too restricting and limits my freedom. As of now, I have that sched while on the sideline doing freelance too. If ever my freelance work get more clients and hopefully if it even equals my working salary, ill go full-time.
I submit to the author's view that anybody can survive on less money. Maybe we need to shut ourselves to the world's materialistic point of view to free ourselves to have more money to buy more stuffs.
I agree with others that the Gogurt packaging is meant for kids - they have really funky sweet flavors targeted at kids(so they taste less like yogurt). We give them to our son in his lunch. They contain less, but it's a good amount for him and he doesn't have to worry if he forgets a spoon. We have gotten the PB&J sandwiches from the freezer section - they don't really taste that great, but have been lifesavers when we realize on a school morning that we have run out of bread! The advertisers are tapping into the laziness of consumers and their feelings of not having enough time-to split up large packages of food into single servings... The majority of the people who buy these items regularly don't even realize that they are being charged double for the convenience(they are also the ones who don't use coupons either, or buy stuff on sale).
I'd even include the opportunity cost of capital to driving. This can range from 3% to 30%, depending on your financial condition (i.e. are you deferring earning interest on time deposits or paying high credit card rates you could otherwise pay off if you sold or didn't buy your car?).
For those in the less "fortunate" category, who have high interest credit cards, the total cost of driving - including fuel, insurance, maintenance, and cost of capital - can easily reach $500/month.
This is hilarious. I believe I have made a similar rant on any number of ridiculous packaged products. An even more disturbing thought is where does all the packaging go when empty? No one will recycle it. It's just going to be added to the mountains of trash....
There's nothing better than living the life you want.
By the way, the Economist article that I link to above is part of a whole special section on digital nomads--eight or nine articles, all worth reading. Look in the side bar under "In this special report."
I loved your article! I became a freelancer and I also live the dream with much less money. After getting my MA degree and working full-time for just 2 years, I discovered that working at an office and doing the 9 to 5 thing wasn't for me. I slowly started getting clients and working during my spare time. In the beginning I was making enough extra cash to perhaps pay my Internet connection -- even so, it was a great feeling to know that with a little hard work I could enjoy more of my time the way I wanted to. It took me about five years to be able to live off my freelancing. Like you said, you have to learn to live with less money, and being frugal is the key to this. But working in my PJs if I want to, from my deck, or just being able to tell my client that I'm taking days off, instead of asking for that time, is priceless.
In general, any time costs are removed from time of use or purchase, it will be easy to understimate them.
Driving a car is a good example of this, as is electricity usage and other things where you only get feedback maybe once a month, but you use it in smaller, more continuous amounts daily.
You can make up a sticker with the price per mile and put it on your dashboard and it will make you more conscious of how much it costs.
My commute is only 6 miles round trip, which comes to .80 USD per day at recent prices. (my car gets about 30mpg, and gas comes out to 16 cents per mile at $4/gal.)
I usually ride my bike, and over the year it saves me about $200-$250 in gas, depending on price fluctuations. That's a decent sum.
I usually pick up groceries at the supermarket on my way home from work, so that prevents some other car trips for shopping.
The car gets used for long distance trips or when I have to carry more stuff than my bike is set up to handle, or when I'm pressed for time. It's become a habit for me to calculate the cost of driving when deciding to go someplace, and the result is that I usually decide to pool my trips and reduce the amount of them. This planning ahead saves a lot of cash and time, and also reduces my exposure to stores and the temptation and opportunity to shop, which overall is a good thing for me.
Overall, I will agree that the costs of owning and operating a car are impressive, even while the freedom and flexibility cars provide are pretty incredible.
These blueberries are appalling. I hate even the square plastic package they normally come in. It says it's recyclable, but our recyclers won't take it.
Recently I saw hard-boiled eggs, peeled and packed in plastic, 6 for $2.99. I suppose they would be useful if you needed a quick snack and didn't have access to a stove, but really, eggs are already prepackaged, and boiling them takes very little brain.
Many more people in the U.S. would likely follow this path if we had a health care system that guaranteed coverage at a reasonable price. My husband and I both freelanced as journalists at the national level for many years, and even embraced frugality happily. But the hit from health insurance was too great. One of us needed a job that provided benefits.
About 3 weeks ago I went to Taco Bell and bought me a grilled stuffed burrito (not the combo). It as around $3.56. I don't remember the exact amount but it did not go over $3.60.
When I checked my credit card statement, I saw that I was charged even $9.00. I didn't do anything about it though and I do not have the receipt to prove it. Who keeps their taco bell reciepts?
I sometimes feel that finding a legitimate work at home job is a bit like trying to find the Loch Ness Monster - impossible!
Just remember most food is packaged to jump off the shelf. Nutrition is sadly not EVEN second in the marketing scheme. I think this could be a knee jerk reaction to the trend that people might not want give their children food from the junk food group of sugar, salt, fat and starch.
I have been giving buzzcuts to woman who desire to sell their hair. I have done 12 in the last 4 yeears, I pay very well, so If your interested please contact myself
Oh, thanks - I had already recycled the stupid tubes, so I didn't check the label carefully enough.
I don't think there's too much danger in choking - no more so then when you normally eat berries. The opening was large enough that I don't imagine it would get stuck.
My fuel milage varies from 22 miles per gallon if I drive like an idiot to near 27 if I keep it to 60-65 range. Yes, everyone passes me like I'm an overloaded semi; so what. I have a rather paid off car that is very reliable and reqiures litte maintanence. With a 40 mile round trip commute I come out only a litte higher than mass transit. Car selection and patience is a huge factor in operating expences. Learning not to be concerned about "keeping up with the Joneses" will save anyone a fortune. Choose your automobile wisely and yes park it as often as your feet can take.
I would be terrified of the "blueberry blasters" because I can just see the blueberries getting stuck, rather than blasting as planned, and then I tap the plastic thing on my tooth to loosen them and break a tooth. Or the blueberries THEN blast, en masse, to the back of my throat and choke me. Which, if I were driving, could create quite a road hazard.
And then there's the risk of depression from paying $1.75 for each tube of blueberries, and then throwing all that plastic away.
The maker appears to be Nature's Partner - http://www.naturespartner.com/TheProduce/Blueberries/. But they don't own up to the "blasters" on their verdant-looking Web site.
It's good to hear Walmart's side of things (or at least yours.)
:) Linsey Knerl
it's pretty sad to see that products are still over-packaged - i don't notice too much since i usually frequent the smaller grocery stores where packaging consists of someone in the back putting a plastic saran wrap over a pint of berries. i agree with some of the comments - it's all about making a profit for the stores and the manufacturers, but what's even worse is that consumers believe in the marketing gimmick and buy these products.
thanks for the great post.
I want to start by saying that I honestly do not know the law in any detail, but I am an associate at my local WalMart and I can tell you that we honestly try to keep the signage in-store/out-store ads matching our computers at all times. Any pricing error can be quickly fixed right at the register and the cashier should be able to easily do it, though they may need to acquire a supervisor's permission or a price check first.
The 6x or 10x law I am not aware of, or at least I don't think Utah has this in effect. Firstly, people make errors. Most of the floor staff has access to change the prices of items in the store, and adding a law where such losses would be acquired for an error would mean the store would need to crack down on these errors much more aggressively in order to maintain profit. This would entail a much higher rate of job loss. Also, if you understand how the WalMart system works, you would know that the losses due to such a law (and any fraud situation or price changes that are not correct) are taken from the employee bonus. A 6x or 10x law would not affect the corporate WalMart, but would eat at the cashiers, and floor associates bonus money.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, any extra money WalMart has that it should not, and is not claimed by the customer, policy requires that it be donated to charity. We cant keep it in way for any reason. Extra, goes to charity outside of WalMart, period.
And finally, like cigarette advertising laws, there is a difference between public ads and marketing, and private. If a price is printed in our weekly ads that are mailed to your home, or in a newspaper, on radio, or visible from the street, the law requires we honor these prices. However, in our store, the prices are not displayed publicly. All store properties are private, and major pricing errors will not be honored. I have personally fought with a woman about the pricing on a laptop computer which rang up for $1398.97 but the sign in the store stated $599. We ended up watching security camera tapes and found that the woman herself was changing our signs, and then threatening us with lawsuits for breaking the law about marked prices.
Don't get me wrong, were talking about huge pricing errors and fraud that would seriously hurt us. Small errors happen constantly and I cannot say that I am above them. I did it to some sale items just last week, fixed about half of them, but each style has a different UPC code, so I missed some of the flavors and they continued to ring at the non-sale price.
I don't represent the entire company but at WalMart, we correct our own errors and just ask you to be patient while we fix the problem. We all have our own budget to follow and we honestly don't want you to be hurt by pricing errors anymore than we do.
Anna,
You make an interesting point. I will have to check out the book. I would also like to clarify that some people have insisted that the store HAS to give you the product for free. They don't. They only have to give you the difference and a bonus of ten times the "difference" in what they charged and what it really cost. So for some people, getting a free item would actually be worth more than the legal remedy of 10 x the difference. (plus there is a cap in some states of a bonus of no more than $5.) I believe that Walmart used to get you the item for free, but many stores are not doing this due to fraud. Thanks for the comments!
Linsey Knerl
I've always donated to locks of love as well. just recently found out that they make millions on peoples hair,and throw it away at times.so...times are tuff here at home and i would like to sale my hair now.but it seems that i can't find ayone one to answer my posts.can anyone tell me where to go???? thanks for all the insite nytimes> tara
Public transportation is approximately the same cost per passenger per mile, it just happens to be heavily subsidized.
Great article other than the crazy conversion error. I like Dwight and Rob's thoughts. I once divided the price tag of my car by the number of miles I had used it. The number scared me. I've owned the car 8 years, (it is a Celica, bought new), and that number is 34 cents per mile. That number is not even including maintenance, new tires, car washes, sound system improvements, GAS, insurance, interest on the loan, tolls, parking, etc.
A big problem with our car-centered culture is that we are pretty removed from the actual costs of driving. A second big problem is that once you've bought the car, you can't lower its initial price tag by driving less. Considering it is probably your most significant expense when calculated per mile, it seems logical to most people to keep driving it more miles to get more use out of that expenditure.
I'm going to have to think about Dwight's comment on miles per hour a little more. It's a very interesting way to think about car efficiency.
Borrow "Gotcha Capitalism" by Bob Sullivan from your library for an excellent expose on overcharges (and other hidden ripoffs ranging from cell phone fees to bank fees) and what you can do to avoid them (or get your money back). Also visit your state Attorney General's website and familiarize yourself with your states consumer protection statute.
According to our county weights and measures guy, gas stations and other stores subject to "weighing and measuring" (such as the scale in your stores deli department) tend to err on the side of slightly undercharging consumers in our area (i.e., you make out a tenth of a penny or so). However, he says the only reason they do this (err on the side of the customer) is because his department vigorously tests and prosecutes cheats. He said the moment they relax enforcement, it's open season on the customers.
Scanner pricing at stores is a different story. 4 times out of 10 the scanners don't work, and 1 out of every 30 items you purchase is mis-priced, usually in the stores favor. Most scanners are far away and usually the label printers don't work. Worse, items are often placed in a confusing manner on the shelves so you have no idea which item costs what. Although they're supposed refund you 10x the price, most won't (or have a posted policy such as "you get it free" which is only 1x the price for those rare occasions a sharp-eyed shopper catches the error -AND- can prove it was mislabelled). Very few customers follow through with prosecution, so it's in the stores interest to mislabel. Sullivan estimates pricing errors costs consumers billions of dollars per year. When shopping, caveat emptor!!!
And RuneScape is pretty cool cause there's so much to do. And it looks fine now too. Recently RuneScape earned a place in the Guinness book of world records for having the largest free MMORPG. That says something. It says that RuneScape rules.
Also, I have played WoW for a while and found it on overall very amususing to play, but RuneScape's economy totally overrules WoW's economy. RuneScape has that undescribable realism in his markets and I love it. I learned a lot from it through the years. Before or after the Grand Exchange update.
RS rules. Just don't waste too much time on it. Rather use it as a way to fill up your boring moments. Don't play it instead of things.
Laters,
Only Kiotte (cb lvl 129)
I'm looking forward to be a freelancer too. Just like you, I found 9-6 schedule too restricting and limits my freedom. As of now, I have that sched while on the sideline doing freelance too. If ever my freelance work get more clients and hopefully if it even equals my working salary, ill go full-time.
I submit to the author's view that anybody can survive on less money. Maybe we need to shut ourselves to the world's materialistic point of view to free ourselves to have more money to buy more stuffs.
Sam
Fix My Personal Finance
http://fixmypersonalfinance.com/
I agree with others that the Gogurt packaging is meant for kids - they have really funky sweet flavors targeted at kids(so they taste less like yogurt). We give them to our son in his lunch. They contain less, but it's a good amount for him and he doesn't have to worry if he forgets a spoon. We have gotten the PB&J sandwiches from the freezer section - they don't really taste that great, but have been lifesavers when we realize on a school morning that we have run out of bread! The advertisers are tapping into the laziness of consumers and their feelings of not having enough time-to split up large packages of food into single servings... The majority of the people who buy these items regularly don't even realize that they are being charged double for the convenience(they are also the ones who don't use coupons either, or buy stuff on sale).
I'd even include the opportunity cost of capital to driving. This can range from 3% to 30%, depending on your financial condition (i.e. are you deferring earning interest on time deposits or paying high credit card rates you could otherwise pay off if you sold or didn't buy your car?).
For those in the less "fortunate" category, who have high interest credit cards, the total cost of driving - including fuel, insurance, maintenance, and cost of capital - can easily reach $500/month.
This is hilarious. I believe I have made a similar rant on any number of ridiculous packaged products. An even more disturbing thought is where does all the packaging go when empty? No one will recycle it. It's just going to be added to the mountains of trash....
There's nothing better than living the life you want.
By the way, the Economist article that I link to above is part of a whole special section on digital nomads--eight or nine articles, all worth reading. Look in the side bar under "In this special report."
I loved your article! I became a freelancer and I also live the dream with much less money. After getting my MA degree and working full-time for just 2 years, I discovered that working at an office and doing the 9 to 5 thing wasn't for me. I slowly started getting clients and working during my spare time. In the beginning I was making enough extra cash to perhaps pay my Internet connection -- even so, it was a great feeling to know that with a little hard work I could enjoy more of my time the way I wanted to. It took me about five years to be able to live off my freelancing. Like you said, you have to learn to live with less money, and being frugal is the key to this. But working in my PJs if I want to, from my deck, or just being able to tell my client that I'm taking days off, instead of asking for that time, is priceless.