Ontopic Money Thread

Christmas Gifts: A friend of mine has 3 kids and they were all whining about trying to keep their lists shorter. It was a 'dinner table' discussion. When they wouldn't stop whining, their dad looked at them and said Christmas is about the birth of Christ. He got 3 gifts. You get three gifts. Three. Their mom did a brilliant job biting her lip to avoid laughing. They only get three gifts each for xmas.

Pants & a sweater doesn't count as 'one outfit.'

I died laughing.
 
APRIL said:
How are you doing with it so far?
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Pretty good. I think everything i own now would fit into my car excluding bed. Still have 2 boxes of stuff that I can sell on ebay and if not then i would just drop it off at goodwill. Also have a box of misc stuff that I don't want to throw away just yet either for sentimental reasons or may use in the future but I come back to it every so often to take things out of it and throw away.
 
Mikeawesome said:
Pretty good. I think everything i own now would fit into my car excluding bed. Still have 2 boxes of stuff that I can sell on ebay and if not then i would just drop it off at goodwill. Also have a box of misc stuff that I don't want to throw away just yet either for sentimental or may use in the future but I come back to it every so often to take things out of it and throw away.
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Interested in backpacking across a country of your choice? You sound like a good candidate for it. I've always wanted to do that, but I worry about our cats. :fly:
 
Maureen said:
This thrad is awesome!
Post your financial choices and what works for you and your family so you can be judged for doing what makes you happy and be told how stupid it is!
Yay Guises! Didn't see this coming at all!!! :fly:
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Just bouncing ideas off people.
 
Amstel said:
Christmas Gifts: A friend of mine has 3 kids and they were all whining about trying to keep their lists shorter. It was a 'dinner table' discussion. When they wouldn't stop whining, their dad looked at them and said Christmas is about the birth of Christ. He got 3 gifts. You get three gifts. Three. Their mom did a brilliant job biting her lip to avoid laughing. They only get three gifts each for xmas.

Pants & a sweater doesn't count as 'one outfit.'

I died laughing.
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We told them they had to come up with non toy ideas and the youngest decided he wants orange juice. A jug he can drink all by himself. After I told him sure, he came back and decided he needed 3 of them.
 
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APRIL said:
There is so much more to life than spending money.

We aren't as good as other people at this lifestyle, but it sure is grounding to cut back on things that are unnecessary.

Mr. Money Mustache retired in his 30s. That's usually unheard of, but he has control of his life. Unlike most people who, for some odd reason, choose to work for 50+ years of their life... and for what? The latest and greatest cell phone? A hefty retirement plan that you may never use due to commonly dying early? Meh.
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For one, this all started simply because we mentioned getting a personal loan.
Getting a loan does not equal spending like shitheads and being totally irresponsible. Sure, there are many things that we could still cut back on, but again, getting a loan does equal complete extravagance & financial ruin, because we can manage just fine & comfortably.

Also, there is no way I could "retire" at my age, even if financially able to. I'd feel so useless. I don't even know how to imagine a life without financial reward on a regular basis. That being said, I know there is a way to continue earning, but not being a slave to your 60's. And that's just smart career choices, like real estate for example. It's such a vast industry that a person would have to be pretty inept not to capitalize on some part of it for the long run, eventually having the industry work for you, thus rendering your life pretty much your own schedule. That's my goal. And since I have a vast amount of knowledge in various areas, I'm not worried about not being successful here. It is my calling & I feel confident about our future financially because I'm confident about real estate.

See what I mean? Us starting out here in Oz with a personal loan seriously is not ruining us. We are turning over new leaves here, I feel confident, happy, loving & smart. I feel like it took a little bit to get to this feeling, but it's working now. To us, a healthy relationship, healthy mind & happy life far outweigh the worries of a danged personal loan.
Love you, purrfriend.
 
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kiwi said:
This year we are going to start a tradition where we pick a country and do things their way. If you come up with anything good let me know.

We don't go overboard for Christmas. I set a reasonable budget and stick to it but they just don't need anything. They are still playing happily with toys they got 4-5 years ago so why throw them out just to buy new. Most of the boys life is based on Legos Anyway and they have about 10000. It's hard to justify buying more. Haylee likes monster high dolls (think Barbie monsters) but has tons and is starting to outgrow toys anyway. There is just no more room or need for more toys/clothes/etc. Might as we'll create memories. Unfortunately hiking macchu picchu is out of the budget this year.

Being in a smaller home helps cause we only have so much room. We've talked about upgrading but I don't want to add too much space cause I don't want excuses to buy more things to fill it with.
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That's great stuff. I agree, experiences are perfect presents. Kids, as they get older grasp the concept of these experiences much more than a million presents. ;)
 
fly said:
The point isn't to not live life, its to not spend frivolously. It's not to accumulate useless stuff that lightens our wallets and destroy the Earth for no good reason. I feel that @APRIL and I enjoy life to the fullest without the need for a brand new card every couple of years, top shelf vodka, and whatever the newest phone is. I'd much rather get up when I want in the morning and do what I feel like doing. And FWIW, every dollar that you can trim now is 25 dollars less that you'll need later for financial independence, or fuck you money as its called. I'd think that would appeal to you, but do whatever you think makes you happy.
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Totally agree. We're not as extravagant as you think. At least by the examples you've showcased here.
 
APRIL said:
Interested in backpacking across a country of your choice? You sound like a good candidate for it. I've always wanted to do that, but I worry about our cats. :fly:
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I probably won't enjoy backpacking but i would like to live in a different city every few months here in the U.S and overseas. Having less would make it easy to move around.
 
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APRIL said:
On the flip side, you are spending a third of your life chained to a desk.
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Right. But, this isn't a forever life, either. It's also got its perks. He has an amazingly gorgeous drive to and from work. He works on an island & he gets to see & tours all the Navy ships.

It's not *too* bad for now.
And again, we're focusing on happiness outside of what we need to do as humans & our future. If we chain ourselves to one thing and are so horribly miserable that it becomes debilitating, then that's a huge problem not to do anything to change it.
 
fly said:
The point isn't to not live life, its to not spend frivolously. It's not to accumulate useless stuff that lightens our wallets and destroy the Earth for no good reason. I feel that @APRIL and I enjoy life to the fullest without the need for a brand new card every couple of years, top shelf vodka, and whatever the newest phone is. I'd much rather get up when I want in the morning and do what I feel like doing. And FWIW, every dollar that you can trim now is 25 dollars less that you'll need later for financial independence, or fuck you money as its called. I'd think that would appeal to you, but do whatever you think makes you happy.
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I feel I already live like this due to growing up poor. I do however spend big money on things I deem to be worth it for good reasons. Like my phone. I use my phone all the time. I'm constantly on it. So it made sense to get one with good quality and spend. Same with the laptop. I don't even think about buying brand new cars because they are not worth it. Plenty of good second hand cars available for a good deal. Yeah I already live this life.
 
It seems this is all just a pissing match. Person A thinks their way of life in the better way, and so does person B. They argue back and forth about which life is better, and in the end there are no more wiser or removed from their original stance.

If anything we do learn more about each other.
 
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123 said:
It seems this is all just a pissing match. Person A thinks their way of life in the better way, and so does person B. They argue back and forth about which life is better, and in the end there are no more wiser or removed from their original stance.

If anything we do learn more about each other.
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It's def a pissing match...
 
123 said:
I feel I already live like this due to growing up poor. I do however spend big money on things I deem to be worth it for good reasons. Like my phone. I use my phone all the time. I'm constantly on it. So it made sense to get one with good quality and spend. Same with the laptop. I don't even think about buying brand new cars because they are not worth it. Plenty of good second hand cars available for a good deal. Yeah I already live this life.
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I think that now you realize that you didn't not grow up poor. Maybe when he first started Navy. Your father was just extremely frugal. You certainly wouldn't know that now, but yea...
 
APRIL said:
We don't have car payments, we don't owe money anywhere except mortgage and student loans.
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I'm going to get a car loan soon to buy an off road SUV. We want to go camping and seeing my of this country. We will need to get a loan to afford that kind of car.
 
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