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NuclearNed

NuclearNed

Raconteur
May 18, 2001
7,860
352
126
Last night my wife was discussing our 2008 vacation plans with one of her good friends. Soon it became obvious to my wife that her friend was very jealous of the lifestyle that we lead, and she started throwing around statements about how rich we are, how her life sucks, how she would be able to do so much more if she didn't have kids, etc. etc. blah blah blah.

Her friend is wrong in one large way: we aren't anywhere near rich. As a matter of fact, I know how much my wife's friend and her husband make (even though our income is a mystery to them). Basically, their family's income is on a par with ours.

Here is the difference: they chose to have a kid; they chose to have massive credit card debt; they chose to have every pay movie channel known to man; they both chose to drop out of college; they chose to practice undisciplined spending in every aspect of their lives. Basically, their paychecks are spent before they get them.

On the other hand, my wife and I don't have kids; we have only monthly revolving credit card debt; we don't buy superfluous crap we don't need; we pushed our ways through college into good jobs, and we are very very careful with our spending.

It drives me crazy when people gripe about their condition when they chose to be there. Kids are expensive? I guess you should have thought about that before you decided to have one. Don't have enough cash to ever go on vacation? I guess you shouldn't have bought every DVD ever made then. You don't have any retirement saved up? Maybe you should have gotten the tv you could afford, instead of buying the 107" Ubertron with 25.9 THX sound.

Don't gripe at me because you've made your life suck.
 
A

AndrewR

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
11,157
0
0
A big expense that I see people making without really thinking about it is with vehicles. You don't NEED two new vehicles, and yet I see people forking over hundreds and hundreds each month for car payments and insurance. My truck is a 1999, and my wife has a 2005 Liberty -- both are paid off.

I just told my wife yesterday that if we could just find a solution to the cost of eating (ie., stopping), we would be rich. ;)
 
TallBill

TallBill

Lifer
Apr 29, 2001
46,017
62
91
Originally posted by: AndrewR
A big expense that I see people making without really thinking about it is with vehicles. You don't NEED two new vehicles, and yet I see people forking over hundreds and hundreds each month for car payments and insurance. My truck is a 1999, and my wife has a 2005 Liberty -- both are paid off.

I just told my wife yesterday that if we could just find a solution to the cost of eating (ie., stopping), we would be rich. ;)
Click to expand...

Yes, but if other people don't buy the new vehicles then you cant get them used a few years later :D
 
B

BKLounger

Golden Member
Mar 29, 2006
1,098
0
0
nice rant ned. my fiancee's sister is the same way. She bitches about how we have so much money and she has nothing. Well if she didn't eat out for every meal and go to the bar 4 nights a week, and instead started bring pb&j for lunch like me then she might have some extra cash.

3 Steps to making your life financially easier.
1. Pay off your current debt (why keep forking over interest every month and spending money on money you don't have)
2. Save money (personally i put a good chunk of my paycheck into my 401k pretax, in 25 years i'll be smiling when i retire at 50)
3. Track all your spending (if you write down every single cent you spend and where you spend it it will help deter your random spending).
 
Demon-Xanth

Demon-Xanth

Lifer
Feb 15, 2000
20,551
2
81
Originally posted by: AndrewR
A big expense that I see people making without really thinking about it is with vehicles. You don't NEED two new vehicles, and yet I see people forking over hundreds and hundreds each month for car payments and insurance. My truck is a 1999, and my wife has a 2005 Liberty -- both are paid off.

I just told my wife yesterday that if we could just find a solution to the cost of eating (ie., stopping), we would be rich. ;)
Click to expand...

I'm going to be getting a house soon, and I've concluded that when it comes time to get a new car, I'm not going to get rid of my current one ('02 Dakota), I'm just going to get a small commuter car and use my truck only when I need to haul stuff. By the time that time comes it's going to be worth $5k tops.

The mortgage guy I'm working with said that he wishes more people were like me, because I'm actually aiming to live within my means. to get a house that I'd be significantly happier with I'd need to drop about 50-75% more. Which puts me in the "living on credit" range vs. the "I'm hoping to have this thing paid off in 20 years" range.". My parents definitely aren't the best when it comes to finances, so I looked at them, and saw what they did wrong and what they did right. I have a healthy amount in my 401k, I'm putting a good chunk of change as a down payment, I'm keeping some cash in my savings and checking in case of something going wrong, and I use credit cards as nothing more than a way of paying things, not as a place to get free money. I just wish I could convince one of them to quit bumping the limit up. :/
 
MmmSkyscraper

MmmSkyscraper

Diamond Member
Jul 6, 2004
9,472
1
76
Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
I just wish I could convince one of them to quit bumping the limit up. :/
Click to expand...

Tell them to reduce your limit to whatever you're comfortable with. If they keep increasing it, tell them you'll close the account if they don't stop fucking about, then follow through.
 
D

djheater

Lifer
Mar 19, 2001
14,637
2
0
Perhaps she was voicing the tension and stress that she has about her family's tenuous economic position. It's likely she knows they're responsible for the mess they're in, that doesn't make it any more comfortable.

Looks like you need friends with a similar lifestyle since these bother you.
 
kranky

kranky

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
21,019
156
106
You're exactly right WRT how those people end up that way.

They figure that if you can spend $2,000 on a vacation and they don't have $2,000, then you must be rich. They never make the connection between the $500 a month they waste on crap $10 or $20 or $30 (or more!) at a time, and the fact they have no money in the bank.

It's not having a kid that made the difference. People who make themselves feel better by shopping never look back at what they already bought... they will always look at what they still want that they don't have yet. That's why she's mad about your vacation.
 
child of wonder

child of wonder

Diamond Member
Aug 31, 2006
8,307
176
106
Originally posted by: AndrewR
A big expense that I see people making without really thinking about it is with vehicles. You don't NEED two new vehicles, and yet I see people forking over hundreds and hundreds each month for car payments and insurance. My truck is a 1999, and my wife has a 2005 Liberty -- both are paid off.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

My wife and I drive a 1997 and 2000 Ford Taurus with 135,000 and 65,000 miles on them, respectively.

They both run well and I have an uncle who is a Ford Master Mechanic only 45 minutes away. Sure, we need to drop $300 once every 3-6 months for repairs but even $300 four times a month is WAY cheaper than car payments, not to mention that our cars have already lost most of their value so we're not leaking money that way either.
 
E

Exterous

Super Moderator
Jun 20, 2006
20,553
3,714
126
Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
So, did you say this to your wife's friend?
Click to expand...

Hopefully she is on ATOT so she will get the point without a direct confrontation
 
W

Wheezer

Diamond Member
Nov 2, 1999
6,731
1
81
It is this type of mentality that has lead to the fvcked up housing situation we are in now, and IF that ever gets resolved the next issue will be credit cards because these people do not have the cash up front to pay for things and they are crediting themselves into the poor house and are going to expect the responsible taxpayers to bail their asses out.

fvck'em.
 
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