Building wealth.

[Captain Chaos]

Today I went to get an oil change and almost came home with a new car.

How do you guys resist the temptation to spend all that money you've worked so hard for? Let's say I have saved over 10k in just one year. I don't need a new car but one one....

Don't suggest getting another bass. But I have this fear that I won't have money for my retirement. I feel bad just for buying shoes!

 

[ChrisB2]

I don't know, I have the exact opposite feeling. How do people spend so much?? My wife and I joke all the time that we can't spend money. We go out to buy ourselves something, and then, nah.... don't really need it, don't really want it, nevermind.

It really is weird. I'm not tempted to spend money at all. I really just don't care. It's almost a sickness.

I do buy things. I buy lots of stuff. But it's usually when I just can't put it off any longer. And that's not because I can't afford it. I'm just that into buying stuff.

I almost bought a pair of shoes the other night. Need some new shoes. Found some I liked. Really liked. My wife liked them. Tried to get me to buy them. Nope, not on sale. All the other styles were on sale, but not this one. Cost too much. She said, you can afford it. I said, I know. Ain't paying that much. She said, take them up front and see if maybe they are on sale. Ok. Took them up front, got them scanned. Nope, not on sale. I said, can I just leave them with you? Yes. Ok, goodbye. Went home without new shoes I need and want.

 

[jmverdugo]

I'm a cheap bastard that worries to much about the future so that is not a problem for me.

 

[Captain Chaos]

I don't know, I have the exact opposite feeling. How do people spend so much?? My wife and I joke all the time that we can't spend money. We go out to buy ourselves something, and then, nah.... don't really need it, don't really want it, nevermind.

It really is weird. I'm not tempted to spend money at all. I really just don't care. It's almost a sickness.

I do buy things. I buy lots of stuff. But it's usually when I just can't put it off any longer. And that's not because I can't afford it. I'm just that into buying stuff.

I almost bought a pair of shoes the other night. Need some new shoes. Found some I liked. Really liked. My wife liked them. Tried to get me to buy them. Nope, not on sale. All the other styles were on sale, but not this one. Cost too much. She said, you can afford it. I said, I know. Ain't paying that much. She said, take them up front and see if maybe they are on sale. Ok. Took them up front, got them scanned. Nope, not on sale. I said, can I just leave them with you? Yes. Ok, goodbye. Went home without new shoes I need and want.

Sounds like me....

 

[bolophonic]

I invest my time and money into tractor mods and mulch nowadays. I rarely buy anything that I don't need.

 

[MrLenny1]

If planning for retirement put some money in every week/month .
Same amount to start and then increase it as pay gets bigger.
Never touch that money until retirement.

 

[repoman]

How to build wealth in two easy steps:
1. Use credit sparingly....I mean, like never.
2. Save your arse off...I mean, like 'till it hurts.

 

[line6man]

Some people are spenders, while others are savers. In my book, the best way to live is to punctuate long periods of frugality with the occasional indulgence.

 

[Pentatonic]

Everything one needs to know about saving money and sensible investing for retirement can be found on this site: Video:Bogleheads® investment philosophy - Bogleheads

I've always been a saver, but the helpful Bogleheads site helped me dump an unscrupulous financial "advisor" and helped me learn how to manage my own investments for a fraction of the cost.

 

[PortlandBass77]

I used to think I spend a lot of money, but then I started paying attention to all the crappe my friends are buying.....

 

[Stewie26]

One needs to have a balance in life. Set yourself up with a budget plan for saving money/investing money and also set aside money for rewarding yourself too. Who knows, you might get hit by a truck and never get to enjoy that retirement savings. Enjoy.

 

[Gaolee]

No car payments. No revolving debt except for stuff I had to charge for business purposes and haven't been reimbursed for yet. Buy used when possible. Drink a reasonable amount and don't smoke. Tobacco is spectacularly expensive. Pay down the mortgage when possible. Feel guilty (a bit) when blowing money on the bass. My wife and I go out to dinner every couple weeks, and that's an indulgence. We don't run up a huge bill. I commute by motorcycle. It's cheaper than taking the bus and far cheaper than driving a car or the van. We are slowly renovating our house, but we do it a little at a time and make sure we recover from each step before going on to the next one. No giant TV, no cable TV bill, not many fancy electronic gadgets. No new phone when the new ones come out so long as the old one still works.

All that and I'm still not convinced I'll ever be able to retire completely. Cut back someday, perhaps. The idea of retirement is a fairly recent one anyway.

 

[S-Bigbottom]

Today I went to get an oil change and almost came home with a new car.

Change your own oil. Then you will not be at a dealership looking around while you wait.

 

[pbagley]

Today I went to get an oil change and almost came home with a new car.

Is there something about your current car that you do not like?

I've found that if something is working well for me then I tend to keep it for a very long time. My current car was new in October 2002 and I'm still driving it 226,000 miles later.

Same goes for instruments, and other things too.

 

[Captain Chaos]

Change your own oil. Then you will not be at a dealership looking around while you wait.

It was leaking coolant very slowly and while I waited I was just wondering around. I guess it's good to look 17, they won't approach you until you start asking questions.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

What were you wondering about?

 

[Ironbar]

Today I went to get an oil change and almost came home with a new car.

How do you guys resist the temptation to spend all that money you've worked so hard for? Let's say I have saved over 10k in just one year. I don't need a new car but one one....

Don't suggest getting another bass. But I have this fear that I won't have money for my retirement. I feel bad just for buying shoes!

I save money now so that after I stop working I can still enjoy my life and not live in poverty.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I went abroad, made a decent wage, for North American standards, in Southeast Asia. There, the cost of living is pretty low, so I was able to save a bundle.

 

[Eilif]

Today I went to get an oil change and almost came home with a new car.

How do you guys resist the temptation to spend all that money you've worked so hard for? Let's say I have saved over 10k in just one year. I don't need a new car but one one....
... But I have this fear that I won't have money for my retirement. I feel bad just for buying shoes!

I'm an at-home dad, but my wife and I make decisions about what to do with the money she makes together. We've found it most useful to simply have her job take care of this before it hits our wallets. She doesn't want to retire, but in case it becomes necessary, we contribute enough to our 401k that retirement would not be an issue. Additionally we have another chunk of $ dropped into a savings account that doesn't have a debit card associated with it (you have to manually go to an ATM to extract cash). Things are still tight, and we sometimes have to dip into savings, but it's nice to know that the future is being planned for and the house will be paid off early.

 

[Captain Chaos]

Damn it!!! I was there again...I want it but no!!payments will only be an extra $80 from current payments.

Currently I have 2 jobs and worked 10 hours OT in one and 10 at the other....so 60 a week.

I blame my father for making me think I'm not gonna have any retirement money.