With more disposable income and easy credit, one must remember supply and demand. Easy credit allows people to shop more then they would have if they didn't have it. So there is more demand, so the supply is smaller making things more expensive, things in general are also becoming more expensive.
I work with a lady that says in her teens she made 1.50(min wage) and eggs cost 10 cents a dozen. So at that time she could buy 15 dozen eggs. My grocer sells them at 2.50 a dozen and our min wage is 8.50, meaning that I at min wage ( what she had in the 60s) can by shy of 3.5 dozen eggs now.
Conclusion, my coworker could buy 4 times the amount of eggs I can now. ( creative off the hand calculations going on here)
I also agree with the standard of living. My husband I are still rock our 1970s bucket chairs ( yes the most comfortable things ever created, and no I will NEVER sell them) that are far more durable ( made it through my husband and multiple male cousins as they grew up) as well as an As-Is leather couch we bought for $300. All in all our home was furnished with less than $1000 and thats includes everything. Our condo is shy of 700 squ. Needless to say, we get made fun of.
What most of our friends and family do not realized is we make about 150,000 combined. Of that we live off of less then 2000 a month. We invest the rest. By the time we're 40 (15 years) we will have more then enough to live off of for the next 50 years.
One more note, at our income, when we walk into the mall, I still can't understand how so many young women can own designer clothes and bags as they do. I know I can't. ( okay I do, but it makes me sad). It's now come to the point where our malls are choked so with Coach, Armani and so forth, that we pretty much abstain from them.
One more point, Garage sales rock. I bought my Lagostina org price $400, for $20. Bargain hunting is MUCH funner
When it comes to working out, I have heard that jumping in place or with a jump rope does a lot more than just wake you up. Your blood cells are at rest when sleeping but still are dying by the count of 50,000 every 3 seconds while a new 50,000 are being reproduced. But when you get up and jump for 5 minutes, you are jump starting that process by increased blood flow which gives you more energy. 50,000 dying and creating? No wonder we get tired throughout the day, our body is doing so much!
The more you have, the more you want. The more you want, the more you spend. The more you spend, the more you need. The more you need, the more you have to have.
I am extremely grateful for everything that I have. I don't purchase much and couldn't be happier.
It's pretty simple, I'm motivated to save because I've never had substantial savings before (I've saved a few thousand a few different times but knew I was going to spend it within a year). I just read about having "go to hell" money (so you can walk away from a bad job, situation, etc). Any savings is "go to hell" money!
We love our food saver!! We buy grass fed meats, so whatever is on sale for the week we buy extra and vacuum seal. We also fish. The food saver keeps walleye and salmon good for a year+.
There are definitely poorly designed small houses out there. Plus, these days, people want kitchens connected to eating areas and family rooms. In many small older houses, the kitchen is tucked away.
What motivates me to save is this: I'm young in the work world and sometimes I find myself wishing for more flexibility with my time (and if that's how I feel in my early 20s then I can only imagine how I'll feel after another 40 some years.) The only thing that holds me back from that I work a regular 40 or more hour per week job and while I love my work, I also HAVE to work. Financial freedom for me, equals time, flexibility and peace of mind, for me and for my parents who are helping me out with some of my student loans. I want THEM to retire!
It's scary to know that, right now, consumers into their 50's and even 60's are still paying back student loan debt. That's what we found looking at our latest Credit Karma debt numbers. And now that student loan debt is higher than ever, who knows how old we'll be when we finally pay it off? Thanks for these great tips, though. It's nice to be reminded to save, even if it's only a little to start.
I'm motivated to save by the goal of someday owning a home. I can't wait to be able to get my down payment saved up so that I can start making a beautiful DIY-ed abode.
I agree. The world has changed, making this a very complicated issue. I could definitely write a lot more about this, so thanks for the food for thought!
I love witch hazel! I used to use Clinique's skin toner and loved it for many years. I noticed two of the main ingredients were witch hazel and rosewater. So I buy a bottle of witch hazel at my local drug store and a bottle of rosewater at the local herb store or natural food place (about 15 dollars for 4 ounces). Then, I pour half the witch hazel into another bottle and add half the bottle of rosewater to each bottle. TA-DA!!!! My own toner/astringent. I use it twice a day and it's marvelous - even got my husband using it! Since I have combo skin, it keeps the oil down in my T-zone and keeps the rest of the skin moisturized. Been doing this for about 4 years and love it!!!
I disagree with the bench grinder. I don't have one and haven't missed it. A dremel tool with a grinding bit will do most of the same work and a whole lot more. A dremel with the right bit can also often sub in for a hack saw (although I still those are useful) and hand saw.
I do agree with corded power tools. Besides the reasons you mentioned, they also tend to be lighter, which is helpful for people without a lot of arm strength, especially when not working on the ground. They're also cheaper.
There are two tools that I would argue need to be added to the list:
1. A good socket set. It's almost impossible to do anything on a vehicle and can be hard to take apart appliances without one. Mine is both standard and metric as I drive a Japanese car, which uses exclusively metric nuts.
2. Vice grip/locking pliers. I use mine so often that I keep a "mini" pair and a smallish pair in the drawer in my kitchen. They're great for being able to really get a grip on things, opening jars, removing stripped screws or nails without heads and many other things.
I definitely do not purchase apps. The free camera and game apps are enough to keep me entertained. If I hear there is an app that I feel may be beneficial to me in the long run I would consider buying it.
Not feeling the overwhelming weight of debt motivates me to save. One day when I have a huge savings cushion I will be able to take risks in my job and work for pleasure!
My motivation to save is watching my debts go down. It is amazing how liberating it feels to see the "money owed" column in my spreadsheet getting smaller and smaller. Packing my lunch and leftovers every day feels like gourmet meals when I can mark off hundred of dollars of debt.
My husband and I just celebrated our six month wedding anniversary. We chose to live soley off of his income and put mine towards the extras, which we broke down into four categories: retirement, downpayment on a future home, student loans (less than two years to go :), and a trip to Italy before we have children. By choosing to save as much as possible now, we are quickly on our way to becoming debt free.
In my 20s, I became debt free, bought a place, started saving for retirement and college for my kids, and investing. Money is a huge stress in people's lives, and I'm glad that I am ahead of the game.
I have ridiculously bad reflux and I still wont give up my Coke, even after facing possible cancer diagnoses, liver failure ect. Why? you ask, because everyone has to have one bad habit, look around everyone in the world does. I don't drink, smoke, drive, do drugs or anything else like that but I do drink Coke and I love it and I'll continue to do so until I die. I do at least make sure to recycle every single can/bottle that I ever buy.
Right now we're saving to go visit my husband's family in Ecuador. The plane tickets aren't cheap but we try to go every 2 years. It's important to us that our two daughters know this side of their family and heritage too.
Here's some food for thought.
With more disposable income and easy credit, one must remember supply and demand. Easy credit allows people to shop more then they would have if they didn't have it. So there is more demand, so the supply is smaller making things more expensive, things in general are also becoming more expensive.
I work with a lady that says in her teens she made 1.50(min wage) and eggs cost 10 cents a dozen. So at that time she could buy 15 dozen eggs. My grocer sells them at 2.50 a dozen and our min wage is 8.50, meaning that I at min wage ( what she had in the 60s) can by shy of 3.5 dozen eggs now.
Conclusion, my coworker could buy 4 times the amount of eggs I can now. ( creative off the hand calculations going on here)
I also agree with the standard of living. My husband I are still rock our 1970s bucket chairs ( yes the most comfortable things ever created, and no I will NEVER sell them) that are far more durable ( made it through my husband and multiple male cousins as they grew up) as well as an As-Is leather couch we bought for $300. All in all our home was furnished with less than $1000 and thats includes everything. Our condo is shy of 700 squ. Needless to say, we get made fun of.
What most of our friends and family do not realized is we make about 150,000 combined. Of that we live off of less then 2000 a month. We invest the rest. By the time we're 40 (15 years) we will have more then enough to live off of for the next 50 years.
One more note, at our income, when we walk into the mall, I still can't understand how so many young women can own designer clothes and bags as they do. I know I can't. ( okay I do, but it makes me sad). It's now come to the point where our malls are choked so with Coach, Armani and so forth, that we pretty much abstain from them.
One more point, Garage sales rock. I bought my Lagostina org price $400, for $20. Bargain hunting is MUCH funner
When it comes to working out, I have heard that jumping in place or with a jump rope does a lot more than just wake you up. Your blood cells are at rest when sleeping but still are dying by the count of 50,000 every 3 seconds while a new 50,000 are being reproduced. But when you get up and jump for 5 minutes, you are jump starting that process by increased blood flow which gives you more energy. 50,000 dying and creating? No wonder we get tired throughout the day, our body is doing so much!
The more you have, the more you want. The more you want, the more you spend. The more you spend, the more you need. The more you need, the more you have to have.
I am extremely grateful for everything that I have. I don't purchase much and couldn't be happier.
It's pretty simple, I'm motivated to save because I've never had substantial savings before (I've saved a few thousand a few different times but knew I was going to spend it within a year). I just read about having "go to hell" money (so you can walk away from a bad job, situation, etc). Any savings is "go to hell" money!
We love our food saver!! We buy grass fed meats, so whatever is on sale for the week we buy extra and vacuum seal. We also fish. The food saver keeps walleye and salmon good for a year+.
Great tips on saving money on clothing. I would like to suggest also when shopping for clothes shop for quality and rather than for quality.
There are definitely poorly designed small houses out there. Plus, these days, people want kitchens connected to eating areas and family rooms. In many small older houses, the kitchen is tucked away.
What motivates me to save is this: I'm young in the work world and sometimes I find myself wishing for more flexibility with my time (and if that's how I feel in my early 20s then I can only imagine how I'll feel after another 40 some years.) The only thing that holds me back from that I work a regular 40 or more hour per week job and while I love my work, I also HAVE to work. Financial freedom for me, equals time, flexibility and peace of mind, for me and for my parents who are helping me out with some of my student loans. I want THEM to retire!
i do buy apps. only the ones i need they save me money.
It's scary to know that, right now, consumers into their 50's and even 60's are still paying back student loan debt. That's what we found looking at our latest Credit Karma debt numbers. And now that student loan debt is higher than ever, who knows how old we'll be when we finally pay it off? Thanks for these great tips, though. It's nice to be reminded to save, even if it's only a little to start.
I'm motivated to save by the goal of someday owning a home. I can't wait to be able to get my down payment saved up so that I can start making a beautiful DIY-ed abode.
I agree. The world has changed, making this a very complicated issue. I could definitely write a lot more about this, so thanks for the food for thought!
You are welcome!
I see how miserable people are who owe a lot of money and can't seem to get out from under their debt. That is what motivates me to save.
I love witch hazel! I used to use Clinique's skin toner and loved it for many years. I noticed two of the main ingredients were witch hazel and rosewater. So I buy a bottle of witch hazel at my local drug store and a bottle of rosewater at the local herb store or natural food place (about 15 dollars for 4 ounces). Then, I pour half the witch hazel into another bottle and add half the bottle of rosewater to each bottle. TA-DA!!!! My own toner/astringent. I use it twice a day and it's marvelous - even got my husband using it! Since I have combo skin, it keeps the oil down in my T-zone and keeps the rest of the skin moisturized. Been doing this for about 4 years and love it!!!
I disagree with the bench grinder. I don't have one and haven't missed it. A dremel tool with a grinding bit will do most of the same work and a whole lot more. A dremel with the right bit can also often sub in for a hack saw (although I still those are useful) and hand saw.
I do agree with corded power tools. Besides the reasons you mentioned, they also tend to be lighter, which is helpful for people without a lot of arm strength, especially when not working on the ground. They're also cheaper.
There are two tools that I would argue need to be added to the list:
1. A good socket set. It's almost impossible to do anything on a vehicle and can be hard to take apart appliances without one. Mine is both standard and metric as I drive a Japanese car, which uses exclusively metric nuts.
2. Vice grip/locking pliers. I use mine so often that I keep a "mini" pair and a smallish pair in the drawer in my kitchen. They're great for being able to really get a grip on things, opening jars, removing stripped screws or nails without heads and many other things.
I definitely do not purchase apps. The free camera and game apps are enough to keep me entertained. If I hear there is an app that I feel may be beneficial to me in the long run I would consider buying it.
Not feeling the overwhelming weight of debt motivates me to save. One day when I have a huge savings cushion I will be able to take risks in my job and work for pleasure!
My motivation to save is watching my debts go down. It is amazing how liberating it feels to see the "money owed" column in my spreadsheet getting smaller and smaller. Packing my lunch and leftovers every day feels like gourmet meals when I can mark off hundred of dollars of debt.
My husband and I just celebrated our six month wedding anniversary. We chose to live soley off of his income and put mine towards the extras, which we broke down into four categories: retirement, downpayment on a future home, student loans (less than two years to go :), and a trip to Italy before we have children. By choosing to save as much as possible now, we are quickly on our way to becoming debt free.
What motivates me save is it always good to have a "buffer" just in case things you can't perdict happen ( ex: car repair, medical bill, etc).
In my 20s, I became debt free, bought a place, started saving for retirement and college for my kids, and investing. Money is a huge stress in people's lives, and I'm glad that I am ahead of the game.
I have ridiculously bad reflux and I still wont give up my Coke, even after facing possible cancer diagnoses, liver failure ect. Why? you ask, because everyone has to have one bad habit, look around everyone in the world does. I don't drink, smoke, drive, do drugs or anything else like that but I do drink Coke and I love it and I'll continue to do so until I die. I do at least make sure to recycle every single can/bottle that I ever buy.
Right now we're saving to go visit my husband's family in Ecuador. The plane tickets aren't cheap but we try to go every 2 years. It's important to us that our two daughters know this side of their family and heritage too.
The future motivates me to save! I can't predict what will come down the road, but I can make sure I'm financially prepared to handle it.