Comments on: Why Only Thinking About Affordability Makes You Poor

By: Diana

Diana — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 23:02:51 +0000

I buy 90% of my stuff used (clothes,furniture,dishes,etc) and make extremely frugal purchases for new things. People are shocked by this – “you have college degrees and a good full-time job! You don’t HAVE to do that! You could afford better.” My question is why wouldn’t I buy used? It’s cheaper, greener (reduce, reuse, recycle my friends), provides me with a wider variety of product, gives me access to better-made retro versions of products and leaves me $$$ to do other things I enjoy. Because of this I have no credit card debt, aside from an interest free for 12 months payment on my washer, which is also an example of not getting “what I can afford” -i.e. making a higher payment just because I can squeeze it in. I got a super high rated energy efficient GE washer for $500. It wasn’t a fancy color or cool looking, and most people aren’t going for top loading models now. However, the closest priced front-loader with equally good ratings was $800; the really fancy ones, with metallic colored finishes and 1000 settings, were even more! The fact is I don’t NEED my washer to be pretty. I just need it to get the job done and be very cheap to run. Great article.

By: Cynnie

Cynnie — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 05:04:39 +0000

Consumer spending is what drives the economy. Here is also another perspective/inspiration to be frugal: the less we buy/consume, market demand falls — which will send a signal to decrease the supply (or price) of hyper-inflated goods. This is as environmentally friendly a consumer can go because resources are getting scarcer. When we spend unnecessarily, we spend at our future generations’ expense.

The problem is that retail therapy and the idea of buying prestige is gloriously addicting and fun… minus the credit card bill and compound interest that comes later. Product placement is getting much cleverer — with all the new TV shows, combined with social media. Being happy is learning to live within our means and put away 33% of our annual salary away in emergency funds. If we can’t strive towards putting a desired % target of our earnings, then we’d need to re-evaluate our spending habits.

DIY: If we can’t afford the expensive small items, maybe we can learn to make it ourselves, as long as it is cost-effective — i.e. learn to sew, garden, cook; etc. It is much more fun and fulfilling.. to develop various personal skills! After investing time & experience, everyone would be bugging you for samples.. and you could potentially start a side business or barter system.

Rentals? I’m not sure how the public libraries work in the USA, but Canadian public libraries have a massive collection of CDs, books, X-Box games, movies; etc. It only costs us $1.50 each month for two people and we can borrow up to 40 items each time.

By: Linda

Linda — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 05:43:14 +0000

When it comes to major expenses, I ask myself “What do you actually need?” For example: Do you need a car? No, I need the use of a car. So, I joined a local car share cooperative in my city. My total cost, for my level of useage, comes in at under $1000 a year. And one of the local perks is a discount on monthly bus passes. My current challenge is impulse purchases of under $10. It’s the minor purchases that put me off track!

By: Cleo

Cleo — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 00:07:55 +0000

I’ve never been to a bar, I’ve never actually been an imprudent singleton so I’ve never had a chance to develop that spending mentality. I don’t feel that I am missing out on anything by being frugal.

By: N Wayne

N Wayne — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 07:59:42 +0000

For any purchase over $50.00 I write it down and let it sit for awhile. This year in my house my wife and I purchased a new 42 inch flat screen TV. I could always have afforded this but we waited over a year to purchase it. Our old TV cost only $100, it was small and we had no way to play any media in H.D.

When we finally decided to buy the new T.V. we set a cash budget for $500. After visiting over 4 stores and asking for discounts we got exactly what we wanted for $400.

I believe that it has provided actual value to us because the picture is big enough that my daughter enjoys watching educational T.V. Also for myself I can now watch HD (which I download many good documentaries for free). This keeps me in the house more and paying no money for outside entertainment. Also I have no cable T.V. as we download so much material and I can hook my laptop into the T.V. and watch youtube.

So all in all we waited a year and now some 8 months later we have had quite alot of added value to our lives and I believe that having the TV actually saves us money compared to other entertainment options. And we payed in cash so no debt.

By: Maureen

Maureen — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 17:40:58 +0000

I agree, I`m trying to put that way of thinking in my kids mind, over and over… I always have a rough way when it comes to Christmas … My kids ask :’oh, but the neighbors have the brand new ( Wii, PSP, whatever the videogame is), why can`t we have one?’ or ‘Mom, you CAN AFFORD an Ipad, why don`t you buy one?`’ And the answer is ALWAYS the same: ‘Kids, there are needs and wants… what do you REALLY need? and what do you JUST want?’ then we all together make priorities and surprise! (well, not for me haha) the videogames and Ipads, brand new generation Ipods and all that stuff go to the last of the list.

By: TH

TH — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 18:17:00 +0000

I do what a previous poster seems to do as well, I multiply monthly fees by 12 to find the annual cost. My friend’s $19.99 Blockbuster subscription, which is $240 a year. I wouldn’t feel comfortable paying that amount upfront, so I’m not going to throw away that much monthly either.

Sometimes I catch myself doing it on the little things too. I was thinking about mailing a bill in rather than paying online, and I multiplied the stamp cost by 12 to discover it would cost $4.50 over a year. Haha, okay, I can afford that, but I’m glad that I’m focused on cost-savings to the point that it’s funny, rather than carelessly paying $20 a month on useless junk. That’s no laughing matter.

By: Lindsay from clothingloop.com

Lindsay from clothingloop.com — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 20:28:37 +0000

If only so many people could have taken this advice to heart before so many poor decisions were made about how much house one can “afford”! We have a rule in our house that in addition to discussing any purchase over $100, we have to sleep on it. Amazing what a night of sleep can do to your perspective on what you really need.

By: CS

CS — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 19:01:33 +0000

Jewelsmom,
In my area there is a basic $10/month gym, large with pretty good equipment and with a Curves-style workout room. Exercise is good for you and you could save money without giving it up.

By: Samantha

Samantha — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 09:06:43 +0000

I like what you wrote, I have the same problem and trying to rid the need to spend instead of save. I am learning how to put things into action and not just saying it. It is hard but I have to break the cycle of trying to impress or make people feel that I have it, because I do not. My children future is more important than the quick fix.