A Penny Saved...
Yes, there are a lot of old sayings that people have tried to live by, but they do not mean that one should buy the cheapest thing available. Many times cheap dish soap is just less concentrated. By the same token, buying concentrated soap and then using it in large quantities is a waste worse than the first.
Cheap appliances will mean replacing them sooner than the more quality ones.
Cheap kitchen utensils and cookware will also need to be replaced much sooner than necessary with something from a reputable company. But also check to make sure your favorite brand has not outsourced to China. Raw materials from there are less durable than what companies used to use.
Thinking logically is what we are after.
Satisfied
I talked about being satisfied with what you have in my first post. I buy sensible quality so that I can take care of the things that I buy. I am most satisfied when I am able to use something for years without replacing it.
This post is about creating daily habits to make the most of the items you buy so that nothing is thrown away until it is truly garbage. I developed a lot of these habits when I was a kid. We were not well off. We had to make things last because there was no buying more if something did not last.
Lacking
As soon as I was able to, I started earning my own money doing odd jobs for neighbors, cutting lawns, babysitting, and delivering newspapers. I did not do any of that out of greed. I did it so that I could help buy things that I needed and to take some of the weight off of my mother's shoulders. I knew by the look in her eyes when I asked for candy; She wanted to get it for me but something else would not be purchased if I got it.
There were many times when we did get things that other kids had. Whenever there was extra, she was the first to fill those wants without us asking.
Income > Expenditures
There are many ways to get to the goal but the above must always be true.
If making things last and buying less gets tiresome, there is always the option to work harder. I did that on my first rendezvous with millions. I bought quality and avoided waste but I also got what I wanted. I like to work and many times, I signed for something and then put in extra hours to pay for it.
I always said, "If I ever win the lottery, I will continue to work!"
I never played the lottery much because that is like tossing cash into the garbage but when I got my first windfall, I did keep working. I currently have no boss, but here I am voting and writing posts. I trade for profit, successfully I might add. I look for opportunities like a niche that will need to be filled as something else fails. I hire someone or do the leg work myself.
Your road to wealth is like a set of balances. You must keep the income above the expenses.
You either scrimp and waste not -
... or*
You earn more to cover what you need.
Or better yet. Both!
In the end, it is your road to wealth. Controlling your own destiny is key. Sacrifice is rewarded later with higher percentages that can be spent as your wealth increases until you find it hard to spend the limits you put on yourself. I spoke of that in my last post. That state is called abundance.
Hedging Losses
In our current boat - runaway inflation - buying assets is actually smart. I call it "spending the money while it still has value." There is an old saying, "Like money in the bank!" But what if money in the bank just gets less valuable?
When saving money unavoidably incurs losses
I use gold and silver as a hedge. It is nothing like crypto but it holds its value like cash used to. The increase is as good as the interest that used to be paid by banks. Any asset can be used in order to keep your wealth from being stolen by the money printing politicians. If you have some extra room, you could buy air conditioners, refrigerators, a flat screen TV or two, or anything that could be sold as new on eBay later on.
Avoid computers and phones because new models come out so fast they are hard to sell if they get too old.
Since it does not matter what you buy - look for sales and buy with coupon codes - that increases your bottom line at the time of sale.
The trick to assets is that they should be new and in the box. Do not open them unless selling them becomes difficult - then only when your current TV is sold, you open the one in the box.
Many of the most wealthy today are investing in land, art, jewelry, classic cars, or anything that is not made of paper. When your cash starts to build, put some of it into an asset that has limited liquidity, like some of the things mentioned in this section, and it will help you keep from scooping up all of your cash in a moment of weakness.
Gratitude
You can call it Karma, What comes around goes around, or the good-old God loves a cheerful giver. Sharing is necessary - it eliminates greed and makes others happy.
You will notice that you feel happier, less stressed, in a better mood, less worried as your wealth builds. It is important to give. My higher power is the God of the Bible and there is a part I read where God says...
"Bring one-tenth of your income into the storehouse so that there may be food in my house. Test me in this way," says the LORD of hosts. "See if I won't open the windows of heaven for you and flood you with blessings."
If I am right about God, and he cannot lie, then this is a sure fire way to succeed in your efforts.
The first few times I worked my way up to wealth, there was something that held me back from being truly unstoppable. Think of this final piece of advise as the one that will put staying power into your goal of being independently wealthy. I am not much of a church goer, but I look for the an organization that is doing the most good and give to it anonymously. That is the only part of my religion that I do religiously.
Please share ideas you have for making products last longer or other suggestions you may have. I have many but they are small and seemingly insignificant. Every bit gets you there faster.
1 How to Have Money
2 Debt and Percentages
3 Waste not, Want Not
4 A Practical Example
5 Cost Averaging for Investing
6 Overnight Successes
I like buying multiples... like buying 2 pair of shoes and wearing one pair one day and the other the next.. they last 4X as long which is essentially doubling my money..
That's crazy talk! I a m glad you are the one who presented such an idea. I am a closet multiples kind of guy. I thought about using that in my post but I did not want to appear that frugal.
Your appearance and reputation are intact.
Love the edition with this one! I admire you and your determination to be successful but not arrogant or posh. Reminds me of a friend of my dads, untold millions but you’d never know it looking at him. Because of those principles, he’s got the money he has.
I agree with buying the better brand appliance and other stuff. We’ve learned that ourselves, though with cheaper things thankfully. A printer is a prime example of that. You can buy the 75 or 100$ printer that goes on clearance deals for a limited time only!!!! (Or so the poster would have you believe) but in the end, that cheap ass printer will last you 6 months maybe. Then you are out looking for another cheap ass printer. It’s a vicious cycle that we ended up saying screw that, let’s buy the multipurpose 500$ printer instead and see how that goes. Had the printer 3 years and runs perfect! We’ve taken small lessons like that and applied them to other areas of life. We won’t buy food at the cheapest grocery stores, instead we opt to buy them from farms directly by visiting them even though they cost more it’s far more important to keep local farmers and businesses alive. Our money is their paycheck after all!
I would add that another good thing to try and do is if something breaks or doesn’t work as well as it used to, it can’t hurt to try and fix it. That mid-range TV that’s kind of working but not as good? Could just need a bulb replaced for 50$ instead of buying a brand new TV. Killer savings right there!
Thanks for these series, I’m glad to read them but also see some things we do in our lives that make sense but that you do them as well.
My wife and I agreed early on in our marriage on one major thing-buy what you need at the moment, but save up for the best. The need will get you through the moment and by the time it destroys itself, it should give enough time to cover the saving for the best item. We did that with a video camera early on. In 2003, we bought a $100 camera. Two years later, we bought one of the first HD cameras with an internal hard drive that would sell now for $300 brand new, but we bought it for $1,800. Our hope was to have HD video of our children growing up. We do :) Many were recording in standard definition at that time, but I'm happy to be able to show my kids really good video of their childhood throughout their childhood. This applied in many areas of our life.
That's definitely a good point and perhaps what I may have alluded to just not in the correct way. We've all bought that cheap 100$ printer/item to get us what we needed it to do but when it breaks, I think it's important to not keep buying the cheap things but opt for the one that's a good quality.
I'm glad that you and your wife have done this! It's important for sure and doesn't lose importance as time goes on it seems.
Would you believe that mine is over ten years old. I use it more to make a photo copy than to print anything. It still does the trick.
Thank you for sharing your strategy and way of thinking with the community. I wish everyone would read it as many could use a good shift in mentally. Unfortunately credits have changed people a lot and showing off means way more than being financially secured. Some will never understand the difference between the two.
While reading your post I recognized myself in it even though I don't do all the things you mentioned here.
Building wealth is not easy and keeping it is again something you need to learn. Life is constant learning and I'm really grateful for having the opportunity to learn and use the knowledge to secure my future and make my life and others better.
Thanks again for this post, we all need it.
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I was wondering when you would turn up. Good to see you.
Funny how you can just sign your name a couple of times and people point and marvel how rich you are. Get laid off and it all evaporates.
Good to see you too, always. However, I'm not sure I understand what you mean. English is not my first language.
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Restated: Strange how some people just sign their name a couple of times and other people point at them saying how rich they are. If those people lose their job, all the apparent wealth just disappears.
That is very true. Thanks for clarifying it and have a good weekend!
P.S. Keep these episodes coming. I really enjoy them and I truly believe we can all learn from them. I still remember your post about how you sold BTC to buy HIVE at $0.12 or so if memory serves me right. Looking at the charts now, your investment was made at the right time 🙂
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Did the exact same as you and earned what I could to give to my mother growing up. She is taken care of now as the hours she spent working supporting us was inhumane. I appreciate stuff others don't and why I am careful in everything I do. Not a scrooge by any means but always think what is the best option. I used to buy the cheapest appliance until they only last 2 years and have to be replaced. Same with a cell phone as it is used to contact people and doesn't have to be the top of the range. I keep my phone until it is no longer working as it should due to being outdated. The last phone was 10 years old and reluctantly replaced it as it wasn't compliant with many of the new apps. I also give back even though I am no means wealthy yet but on track. Small things can be big things to others who have nothing and it is those things I look out for.
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I worked for a company called Primark. Big name in Europe and is hitting the states at the moment. The boss man by the named of Arthur Ryan used an old Nokia 3310. The brick one. We purchased 10 of these in case. they broke. He wouldn't use anything else. Anyway I agree with most of your post except for the bit about still working after you win the lotto. I'd have to admit, I would be on a beach in barbados with a cocktail.
We always have to thank, just for the fact that God gives us the breath of life for free every day... Your text is a beautiful reflection"
Hey man..this is a great post 😀
Yeah we are living in a crazy disposable world where all the electrical goods have built in obsolescence! They are very good at it now! Nothing lasts more than a year anymore, sometimes 6 months!
Building your own computer with quality parts is a great way to ensure longevity and it is much easier than most people would think. You can save hundreds of dollars compared to shop prices!
We live off grid now with very little income so we don't let anything go to waste... literally! We have a Bar made out of rubbish 😁
!BEER
!ALIVE
☮️ Graham
@ezrider! You Are Alive so I just staked 0.1 $ALIVE to your account on behalf of @elricmoonslayer. (2/10)
The tip has been paid for by the We Are Alive Tribe through the earnings on @alive.chat, feel free to swing by our daily chat any time you want.
And Linux will run on any old contraption. One free download and you will be up and running fast and easy. Way more secure for private keys and no virus threats.
I appreciate you spending time writing this, it makes so much sense. Already read it a few times so I can absorb the useful information. Have some gold coins just small ones and one ounce silver coins, definitely good hedge !
That's great! Glad you've got some metals, that stuff is excellent to have as alternative currencies.
I totally agree with your opinion, we should be more grateful for what we achieved and it is more healthy for the soul.
This reminds me of the fact that the way we often channel Money when we have it can sometimes prove instrumental when we no longer have money. I wasn't born rich, infact I am not rich, but just trying to stay minimal making sure I buy what I truly need and spend on comfort rather than luxury. I do not own a lot of properly too, but then I figured out that owning one's wealth in tangibles that can be trails is is often beneficial. eBay is not really a thing in the country where i'm from, but we sure use to have a market where second handed goods had a huge industry.
I totally agree with you @ezrider . We should be grateful for all what we have achieved so far and that will surely calm our souls. Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful day.
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BEER.Great read, by the way. My dad taught me how to bargain buy. He bartered even at the grocery stores where I thought all the prices were fixed...because they were printed on little papers right under the product-it couldn't be any more obvious! However, my dad would talk down the price of many products. He'd call for the manager every time and eventually would get on a first name basis with him/her. It was an art. He was thrifty.
My wife's family buys food based on lists. My dad bought food based on pricing. My wife's family ate well throughout the year and ate whatever they were in the mood for. My family meal planned based on what was on sale at the moment. Both are fine, but I learned a valuable lesson-variety.
I see your assertion about buying TV's, refrigerators, etc. While those are great purchases for reselling, maybe, I'd say there are probably better assets for resale...like shoes and blue jeans...the kind that aren't dependent on a 1 year fashion fad. For instance, I told my girls I would pay them $0.02 per page that they read in their books the whole summer. Instead of paying them in cash, I took them to the local Marshall's (in the United States it's a store where other stores send their stuff that didn't sell, but it's still new stuff, or they just bought it in bulk at a discount and are selling it-my words, not theirs). We saw on YouTube where cleats are the best shoes to resell on eBay, so we opened our eBay apps and hunted for cleats that were selling on eBay for 2x what they were selling for in the store. When we got home, we took pics and posted them. One of the 5 pairs sold. It was a $16 pair that sold for $28 plus shipping. My kids learned a lesson that day.
My wife is very much into brand names...I am not. My dad used to buy cans of food in the generic brand and cans that were name branded and would put the contents into bowls and have the ladies of our church taste test to see which was which. No one could successfully tell the difference. Lessons like this stand out to me and make a great point in wealth accumulation. He also taught me about compound interest which has helped me to this day. It takes a long time to earn on your own, but when you finally get a pile of cash that starts the compounding effect, life gets better at an accelerated pace. That's enough of my comment for now...I feel like I need to just post on the same thing LOL