“It doesn’t matter how much someone makes - if you just throw it around, you’ll be broke.”: I like to tell that to people whenever they tell me “you make too much anyway” when I mention I want something but that it’s too expensive. I make $120K/year but live like I make $50K.
“Don’t buy something because you can afford it now - ask if you can afford it in 2 years.”: I came up with this after my dad did something really stupid. He had a car loan, and he ended up getting another loan on a truck because he got a second job. I got mad at him because a few months later he lost his 2nd job and was falling behind on payments and asking me for help. And I asked him why the hell he would get a 2nd car loan and he says “I could afford both payments before.” That’s a stupid way of looking at things for big purchases. They can take years to pay off - don’t assume you’ll have that 2nd income for years.
“I’m not cheap, I’m frugal.”: A lot of my friends and family tell me I’m cheap and I always correct them that I’m frugal and there’s a difference. Cheap is not wanting to spend money, frugal is getting the most out of your money.
“Don’t assume your job is secured.”: Despite being an engineer and having had a very important position in the company, I never ever assume I am immune from being laid off or fired. So I save like crazy to cover a year+ if I become unemployed.
“I don’t have enough money because it’s in my savings”: I might get a check for $3000 and refuse to buy something I really want because I already moved anything extra to my savings. My principle is to never touch savings unless it’s needed to live.
“Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.”: Yeah, I could go but X, but doesn’t mean I should. And it also doesn’t mean I can’t just simply wait more.
April 13, 2021 at 01:07AM
