Thank you all who gave me pointers on where to go and what to eat. I gravitated towards a food court since it's lower in price while being easy to fit enough people. Not trying to break anyone's bank here with a ritzy place. So Chinese food court it is! Location: New World Mall Food Court Date: 5/19/2018 Time: 5pm Btw, I would feel better if everyone that comes order at least one item, maybe a drink at minimum for the businesses there. So it will not be a group of people hanging out not buying anything. See you next week! If anything changes, I will update this pinned comment so feel free to recheck it right before to make sure its still happening.
yes. excellent thought process. I'll add, you must calculate money, and price of an item based on the time you spend at work. weeks or months. That means a $5 item is actually $10 because if you earn $20 a hour at work, BUT you ONLY get half 'money to spend' after paying taxes, rent, life-must expenses. So please view all prices doubled or tripled, based on the percentage (30-50) you can save per month.
Don't buy anything or be extremely CHEAP. My friend could NEVER open his wallet for ANYTHING! It got embarrassing bc he was such a tightwad. I went to Starbucks with him once and he b*tched about the prices. Cringe 😬
I have a law degree, I've worked with high profile VIPs and have owned several businesses, have been to 27 countries, etc, etc... I now live in my 1994 Camper Van, not because I can't find a job or don't have money, but because I lost people I love dearly and realized that all the material things they left behind aren't going to bring them back NOR fill the void they left...I'm the happiest I've ever been. Keep spreading the good news that is freedom from materialism.
CoolCat Carolena .... id love to just live in my truck and not pay rent or mortgage, however my wife refuses, and my son is only 4 so, can’t really do it.
I have a great quote I want to share..... Don't buy the $300 bag to have nothing in it. Buy that $10 bag and have $290 in it. Don't go broke trying to look rich
"When you buy something, its essentially a piece if your life that you are spending, once its gone, its gone forever, especially when it depreciates away." So true..this is so well put.
The media won't let you become popular. This consumerism is what drives our society. I've learned more in a few hours watching your channel than I've ever learned about the philosophy of frugality in school or from family.
Many fall victim to wanting to impress others with things they own. It's the norm these days. Just look facebook posts if you use that and you see people flaunting wealth all the time be it a nice dinner, vacation spots, etc.
Most people when they finally stop living with their parents, get a job, and are on their own, want to finally buy stuff with money they never had before. It takes a while to get out of that way of thinking for most people - some people never do. It really depends on how much people value their time versus having stuff and how willing they are to put off satisfying their desire for stuff in order to get their money working for them versus them working for money. There are extremes in putting off purchasing stuff, but if you limit yourself to only what is really important to you, and think of the utility value, as you pointed out, or if this thing is going to get me where I want to go, then buy it. Of course, if we really want something, we can almost always trick ourselves into thinking it has utility value, so you have to be careful. One way of thinking of this topic is that things can always be bought later or replaced, but time is the most precious thing we have that can't be bought or replaced.
My friend works at a disposal facility in the Silicon Valley. One day someone threw away a $4k bike. Only the tires were flat. I bought a 92 Camry for $500 in 2000 and am still driving it. Look around. It doesn't have to be pretty... only reliable.
Have you read any of these really informative financial books? The Millionaire Next Door, The Richest Man in Babylon, or Rich Dad/Poor Dad. Looking rich is overrated. Being financially independent is a real worthwhile ambition!
surprisingly yes. but i feel its not really towards my age group. not many people in my age group/social group know or talk about these books. it's what they would call it...boring books. i feel like im the only one trying to get 'woke'. thank goodness.
You can really see a disconnect between "show" and real wealth when you go to the country. Somebody may have a fancy house in the country but pretty much everybody wears similar working clothes there. And there isn't really that much difference between the kinds of trucks people drive. I find it really refreshing.
I know of a number of women who pressure their partners to buy them a $5k Gucci or LV bag, when they are at best middle class, defies logic and common sense. They get the bag, then they tell their friends, after that the bag stays in storage. Being 'rich' attracts these type of people. Good to look poor in a sense and avoid these shallow women.
My bf was like this. Even with a job, he was always broke and I had to pay for his basic needs like food. While he was buying new tech each month.🤦 Mygawd!! I was blind!
I learned a lot about this. I grew up wanting the newest Nintendo and my parents got it for me and if they didn't grandma did. I had to have the newest video games first. I had to get have the food I wanted in my teens and then in my 20's it was all about the best jeans and the fresh shirts with of course the best kicks. I then did my degree in economics and you are teaching a lot of basic on value and desires/wants coupled with an overwhelming amount of materialism (especially in The U.S.). I've found that it's not the big purchases for me that's like over $50.00 (others it's over $100.00 or even $500.00). What has the largest ripple effect is the small purchases. Innocent purchases like an energy drink for $1.79 or an $8 Chipotle visit. What's important is to keep an eye on the small purchases. The typical consumer really doesn't think twice about $7 to $14 purchases IMO. That's when the shock comes that they made so many of those purchases when looking at a credit card statement. Of course it's difficult in today's world but paying in cash can discipline you too.
I am materialistic, but not greedy. I love nice things. I love design. I love convenience. Still, I learned to "curate" over the years. At times, I get rid of something and realize I don't need to replace it. I no longer experience buyers remorse, because I make myself past the time test. I may want it now, but make myself wait to see how long the desire to have it lasts. More times than not, I end up saying, don't need it. I saved in 3 months more than I have saved in years. I have more than the average working person now. The future looks good if I keep saving. I can start a business (without debt, late this year or early next year).
I fell into some money a few years ago. I will say when you buy the things you "wanted" it loses novelty quite quickly. Now I'm happy with a beater constantly saving and thinking about long term investments. Having lots of stuff is fun but becomes more of stressful clutter.
One of my favorite lines from any movie: The things you own end up owning you. I came across this channel while trying to learn how to make milk tea so I can save money (so I don't buy it from the shops). At first I didn't even know frugality was a theme of your channel, but here I am.
Remember that when you die you can not take your money with you, and the older you get the less you can enjoy your money. I absolutely agree on saving and avoiding unnecessary expenses, but money exists to be spent. Sooner or later we have to spend for what we like. I like to spend on travel and savings to stop working as soon as possible, but there are many people who enjoy spending money in futile and expensive things, do not like to travel and maybe they love to work because otherwise they would get bored. Everyone has to spend their money on what makes us feel better, but in the end, earning, saving and investing money makes sense only if you eventually spend it.
gabriele Ingrassia Yes, there has to be a balance. You have to live a little. I have some luxury bags and jewelry and my family travels. We also have savings, investment and only a mortgage. We plan to pay our house off early and have funds set for retirement. I have some family members that just hoard money. They skim on everything. Food, life and experiences. Then they die.
Spending money for travel is waste of money. Just turn on your computer, drive a nice view not too far to your house, take your drink and food, eat them while watching all the countries, all the states, cities, towns in the world without moving your hip and foot. If you want to exercise, you can do it in your city; you don't need to go to other countries for exercise. And happiness and sadness is inside the person; wherever you go, they go with you. It is not the place that would make you happy or sad (unless you had a traumatic experience there), but it is who you are with that makes the whole difference.
This video is the anti-potion of all the consumerism tv and media bombard us with; a true outlier, and yes, a 'game changer'. I have been saving (investing) ~52% of my take home pay, and it took almost 5 years to get comfortable with this practice (still uncomfortable). My coworkers say I'm cheap, but majority are trapped in debt until death. Despite my savings rate, this particular video made me realize that I can save a few % points more and still live a good life. I'm going to watch this again and jot a few notes in my fiscal journal. Peace man.
Thank you for doing this video! I feel being a girl - it's financially stressful. Especially with all my friends around me spending lots of $$$. No one really talks about being frugal, saving, and not spending money. They are constantly buying the latest makeup palette, buying the latest clothing trends/shoes. Especially buying name brand handbags/makeup brands. There's so much advertisements on social media. tv. radio. I keep trying to evade those ads. Thank you again for the video!!! I love your channel ☺♥
There are great deals online for luxury makeup and sites to buy pre-loved, like new handbags. If you're interested in where to look let me know. I am the money-saving queen!
J J sure but one could make the argument that you dress for success. If there are two job candidates with identical qualifications and one is dressed bummy while the other is dressed in nice looking garb, guess who’s getting the job? Sometimes you have to spend money to make money. Unfortunately that’s the society we live in.
it's definitely not fair. i feel like i still want to be connected to social media- but everyone seems to be hungry for likes and ads and purchasing stuff. keeping up with the joneses. ugghh. it's exhausting at times. it is what is i guess. i am on the money saving bandwagon. i want to save money and not buy too many things that i really don't need.
"Work on your own terms is a lofty goal and might even seem un-achievable." ... but it isn't. The crazy part is, he wants to do it naked without any material items involved. Even a monk cannot achieves this.
My husband is like that he buys books the house is full of them. Won't let me sell them, he's already read them, Nope I can't sell them. He has a huge box of Italian crystal still in the box, never used and is never going to be used. It's now headed to being stored in the garage. Nope, can't sell it either. It's going to get awful cold this winter, maybe he can curl up next to his crystal. I keep our bills down and have tried discussing paying off the house early, nothing I say does any good. I believe the difference between us comes from the fact I have been homeless and don't have family to rely on. He on the other hand has lots of poor relatives, getting the utilities cut off and having to pay for them getting back on isn't anything to them. He's always had them to rely on, and to live with when he messed up. He's 50 you would think he would want better for himself but, nope. I'm fighting a loosing battle, I now keep my money separate and never tell anyone I have anything. I play poor or else they'll ask to borrow it, family drama big time. Sometimes, it's better not to share your income with anyone.
Love this! But another thing.....have an attitude of not replacing things so fast, but ensure you buy quality. E.G I moved home from overseas with barely the clothes on my back (the rest were falling apart so I threw them out & started again when I got back). I saved up for when I loved out of a sharing situation about a year later. I had literally NO furniture whatsoever, and the joy I had purchasing my whitewoods and a whole apartment of quality furniture- all in cash- was awesome! I still obviously have the same furniture and haven't replaced anything & love it as much as when I first bought it all. People need to have this attitude & not think 'oh, it's out of fashion/ season now'. People always laugh at my idiot box whenever they come over. Why do I need a big fancy tv for? Just rubbish on it, I only turn it on to watch the news. I so definitely have honey badger mentality!
I love the life energy analogy...that is so true...I would never want to trade my life and all my efforts for something as frivolous as a brand name purse or phone. Recently I was contemplating buying a certified Lexus for 25k (because of the comfort and well, the status) but been having a difficult time thinking about how much I can turn that cash into if I invested it instead of buying the car. I think I'm going to settle for a used Hyundai and save at least 10k on that car purchase when my car is no longer drivable. Thomas J Stanley talks about the fake rich versus real rich...he calls the fake rich income statement rich and the real rich the balance sheet rich. The balance sheet rich have far more net worth than their annual income while the income statement rich are worth comparable to their annual income. The income statement rich have things and the balance sheet rich have money.
BeatTheBush Actually it was humorist Robert Quillen. He originally wrote it way back in 1928. Several people including Will Rogers and Will Smith have merely repeated it, albeit changing some of the wording.
People will try to show you their fancy things in order to impress you. When you don't care much about those things, you look more to who a person is rather than what they wear or have.
I learned this the hard way! I used to buy nice basketball shoes like jordans because i thought they looked cool and would make my outfits in high school appear more impressive. Boy am i glad i got out of that mindset! I find shopping on ebay or at stores like ross much better because i find great products at reasonably large discounts. Also, for any college student reading this, you must work and attend school at the same time. Do both part time. Yes, it might take an extra year or 2 to graduate but you'll gain more real world experience through working, and if you manage your money right, you have a little more leverage when it comes to looking for your first full time job.
This is the best of your videos my good friend and mentor! Love the concepts of money equal to working hours and respect from peers equal to personal achievements. Thank you!
Chris Vandernaald You don't get it...money isn't everything and when the dollar collapses you still won't be able to pay the"rent man". Better to make just enough for what you need and have the wealth invested in family n friends.
Tell that to your family members, as well as to your friends - the TRUE and SO-CALLED - and watch how invitations for company start drying up. That, or they will keep hounding you with questions like, "So, when are you going to start making more?" ... or ... "So, when are you going to buy your own _______?" ... or ... "Are you still working at THAT job?" ... Remember, "It is MONEY which attracts money; not friendship." Nobody wants to go around paying your way when something costly comes up. If they "do," it's only because they "have been." Sooner or later you will be asked one of the aforementioned questions, and you're NOT going to like it... Let-alone like the person who asks you.
SouLoveReal Well if it's money that attracts money in your world I feel sorry for you. You obviously know nothing about life and love. When shtf you'll be all alone!!
I have to say that that is one of your most inspiring videos. A lot of just good common sense and helping people to not associate themselves with what they own!
I really enjoy your contents, it's so relateable and has so much common sense behind it. It reminds me of this quote by Will Smith, “Too many people are buying things they can't afford, with money that they don't have... to impress people that they don't like." I'm glad I'm not into these things, I splurge sometimes just to treat myself to something nice but that's like once in a blue moon, haha.
Good one. You're funny. I'm an introvert. So, I kinda like my things, more than I like people, but l lean minimal, though I am not a purist by any means. It helps that I love to save money, as in accumulate cash. I look at my bank balance and smile these days. No more debt. This channel helped my resolve, which had started to wane.
VV VB - Are you me incognito? Damn. My meds . . . where are they? No, actually, I just want rentals, nothing long term. (How far can we run this joke?)
Man, I love your videos and enjoy your general optimistic attitude towards life. You seem like a genuinely awesome person and I hope you never stop making videos!
Top two rules to become financially secure.......1) Purchase and speedily pay off a home....2) Do not accumulate debt.....All financial wellness can catapult from these top two rules.....
I have been thinking about this lately as I declutter. My views are a lot less black and white than the opinions you express in your video. As I reduce what is in my surroundings, I find i really like nice things in my environment (just less of those things). The considerations of aesthetics are for me, for my experience, not as a display for others. I pay attention to what I have in my environment not as a show or status, but to make my day-to-day experience more enjoyable. Can't wealth be built without the aim to look homeless? I don't think having taste and a consideration of aesthetics is a deal-breaker for handling one's finances. I get the point of what you are trying to say (you stay really on-message across your videos, which is consistent and awesome), but this subject is perhaps more nuanced that how you lay it out. Just offering an alternative view. Keep up the great videos.
This is true. It's all about that balance between choosing a lifestyle boarding on ascetic and a life of materialistic pursuits. Not everything we acquire has to fit in a rigid box of value and utility all the time, every time.
Thanks BTB. I want to show my husband some of your videos. Every month $800 of our money goes to paying for a BMW my husband bought while I was out of town with the kids even the last year that he was unemployed/underemployed and we had to sell our home and move to another city. Despite all of this my husband continues to buy electronics. I feel like our life savings is going to slowly vanish and we will have nothing to show but the broken down materialistic relics of our past. I hope we can make some changes!
Not that I know much about marriage but perhaps a set amount needs to be for the family. And then you each have your own desires that is more for yourself. One might think the BMW is shared because maybe you drive it also. Maybe its 60/40 split or 70/30, I don't know the real situation. But perhaps you also spend on things which he thinks is a waste, or maybe not. I only know of this BMW from this comment so I cant say much other than I probably wouldn't want to pay $800/month, that REALLY HURTS.
I used to work full time as a paraprofessional. Loved the job just didn't feel value with the company. I no longer work for this company. I now only work part-time and extremely happy. Bought my house cash. Just paid off my car. Working on paying off 2 credit cards. I'm working on being debt free and stop relying on my job to be happy.
I really needed this. Thank you. I've come to this realization after spending a sh*t ton of money to feel content, and all it did is stick my face deeper into debt, unhappiness, and sheer misery. Then someone said, "Oh, don't worry, your life is supposed to be this way. You'll always be in debt; that's normal." That was the first time I said the word f*ck. As in "F*ck no."
NICE INTRO! I agree with everything you said, very unique topic because most other channels talk about how to get a Ferrari/ ride private jets, etc. I like this sort of mentality keeps me focused Im sure everyone ones these things but if you have patience and focus on building wealth. In the future you can reward your self. I invest every single penny I earn, keeps me from spending my money on stupid things.
Your insights are so clever. I'll add to your last words that one will attract other people, more focused on what one can than what one owns. Therefore one will be surrounded by people with better values.
BeatTheBush he probably wasn’t. Just making a jab and commenting on the irony of u saying not to buy unnecessary things or be materialistic or whatever and then saying buy my merch and linking it right afterwards😂 love your vids♥️😍
I don't know. Some nice things work better. Like headphones. Spending $200 on headphones is worth it because they'll be durable, sound better, last longer, etc.
There not as good as Sennheiser. I agree with beatthebush concept but some things I think you should splurge on. He did mention usage rate. I use headphones about 8 hours a day. I bought a pair for $250 a decade ago. No regrets.
for regular headsets I just get whatever now but when I travel I need good noise cancelling headphones and have a few hundred invested in them. I can see that sennheiser would be worth it for reg headphones and thats one place money is well spent if music is important to you.
The key is in buying good quality products that last for years. Some of these are pricy but that's different from luxury goods. Beats are luxury, sennheisers are not.
I’ve used cheap handbags for 20 yrs, when the wear & tear was too noticeable, I discarded them one by one until I had none, and treated myself to a Chanel handbag. I didn’t buy to show off, I bought it because I always wished about one day owning one. I’m happy I bought it, but prior to this purchase my house & university loans was paid off.
What you did is the ultimate way to switch to being less materialistic even though you bought the expensive one at the end. It's hard to keep on using the old stuff.
Having made many of the same changes as you, one exception that I have found is shoes. SOME shoes...not all. When I considered cheaper dress shoes, for example, compared to quality leather shoes, there was a significant difference. I could continue to buy $30-50 dress shoes that might last 1 year....or I could buy a quality pair of dress shoes for around $200 that I can easily get 4-5 years. After 4-5 years that pair of shoes can also be reconstructed for around $100....then another 4-5 years. The shoes I purchased are equal in quality to Allen Edmonds ($400), but are direct sold by the company (no middle man to make up the cost) for $200. This was one of the few exceptions I have found for paying the additional dollars up front
But why would one want the respect, friendship and possibly even date someone who judges others based on how expensive the brands they buy are? If someone doesn't want to be around me because I don't use an iPhone then they really shouldn't waste any time on me because they seem to be in desperate need for some time to work on themselves. And who on this planet is going to be impressed by a fan. No matter how expensive it is, it is a fan. If I know someone's owning a 500$ fan, I might question that persons intelligence a little but that's about it.
H aha ha... a lot of people have those fans. But then if you exclude all materialistic people, you will have so few left. In my opinion, many may be materialistic themselves but may not judge others on their materialism.
Oh maybe it's because I'm not from a very hot country, but I didn't even know bougie fans were a thing. And I too would hope that many people are too kind to judge others over stupid stuff like that.
Great video, love the comment about spending tens of thousands of dollars is the equivalent of losing a few months of time today, but the equivalent of a year or more in the future. It really helps put things into perspective. I also thought the comment on the end about working on yourself is the best way to change how you are seen or valued. This is probably one of my fav videos from you.
When a person dies and no one wants all the cheap crap they've accumulated over the years it's a shame. When someone dies and the things they've accumulated can be passed down, donated, inherited and used and loved by others, it's wonderful.
I learned this the hard way! I used to buy nice basketball shoes like jordans because i thought they looked cool and would make my outfits in high school appear more impressive. Boy am i glad i got out of that mindset! I find shopping on ebay or at stores like ross much better because i find great products at reasonably large discounts. Also, for any college student reading this, you must work and attend school at the same time. Do both part time. Yes, it might take an extra year or 2 to graduate but you'll gain more real world experience through working, and if you manage your money right, you have a little more leverage when it comes to looking for your first full time job.
Summer internships are great to boost your employ-ability. However, working part time as a waitress while going to school will likely make it hard for you to get good grades at school.
BeatTheBush I would disagree! Most servers cant work more than 30 hours (depending on the restaurant) because employers dont want to pay health insurance for their entire staff. You can still find part time internships/jobs related to your field year round, but instead of taking 4-6 classes, you would only take 2 maybe 3. This works the best for community college students where you can also take courses online. Keep up the AMAZING videos!
Thanks Francis. This was a really good way to look at money. There is a bit of a misconception that time outweighs money significantly in value. I accepted this point of view for granted. You gave me the realization with this video that this might not actually be the case.
And if you still have the desire for shopping, buy some useful things like better food, or cookware, maybe tools for fixing things around the house, or a book to learn something or just enjoy a story. Think about what will make life easier, and you happier and healthier for decades, not just fleeting excitement. A good rule ive heard is if its over $30, wait three days to buy it. Unless you wont survive those three days without it, obviously.
I've learned that products always have a hard quality limit at one price range A 20$ fan is probably MUCH worse than a 50$ fan and will cause you less trouble and last longer at the same time, but going to the extreme and getting a 500$ one won't improve as much as going from a very cheap one to a decently priced one
@@BeatTheBush probably same as always haha. Some will be idiots, some smart, some smart but lazy, some content with where they are and some will strive to achieve success in whatever success means to them. I think in todays world it is just easier and quicker to be an idiot or otherwise, you can just as easily waste your time watching unfunny cartoons as you can watching useful stuff like this. Thats just my opinion though, could well be wrong!
Beat the Bush, we really appreciate for your valuable advice. keep it up the good work. and tell them the key to financial freedom is "Buy if you can afford it".
Yeah.. trouble is... I feel simple phrases sound great but hard to apply. For that phrase for example... I have $100... item is $100, then I can afford it! See what I mean?
My iPhone is 3 years old. 3 and a half actually. I’m planning to replace it with the 2020 iPhone SE2, predicted to be $499. 4 years apart. My phone has paid for itself long ago. Even if I get a $1k phone, over 4 years that’s only $250 a year. I spend that much on gas PER MONTH (long commute). Less than $1/day. It makes me happy, so it’s a good deal.
You didn’t talk about any particular feature in the new phone that you needed. Instead you talked about how it’s not that much and how it will make you happy? Why will it make you happy? Shiny and new? Envy of friends? Will it let you email faster? Go on the internet faster?
I already mastered this one as a kid. I looked around my room and saw the toys I had bought with my pocket money. I realized it was all a load of crap that I didn't need or want any more and then I thought about all the money I would have if I hadn't spent it on useless junk. From that moment on I became frugal, and I love it. I'm still not rich though, because my job doesn't pay more than average and rent is really high in London.
We were looking at buying a vacation home... Well, we basically concluded that a vacation home is a total luxury item that we simply would not use enough... We could travel a lot more by simply using Airbnb or a regular hotel.... We are saving a lot of money and I feel pretty good about our financial security.
This is one of the reasons why I started following you last year man. I agree and understand a lot of these things. Plus I wanted to start a channel for simple things and your presentation while simple, is effective. In my case as a computer enthusiast, I like to emphasize to clients that you can get a lot and spend less. Don’t submit to branding unless its either functional for your work or if it’s cheap! Oh yeah and it’s pretty cool to find out you’re an engineer.
=D Some brands are worth it for the added reliability. But some are obviously not worth the money. Then you have a bunch of brands in between that is hard to tell.
BeatTheBush - Love the way you think! I completely agree and try to live my life as you described. I live well and have loads of fun, but I've always lived somewhat beneath my means and that's served me very well. Are there any exceptions to this rule for you? For me it's my car... I definitely bought more car than I needed.
I have beenn saving my entire salary for 6 months now.....and it reminded me of when i once went on a no sugar diet after 1 month i no longer craved sugar and sweet things, the same has happened with my spending now since i started saving almost all my pay, when im in the mall i dont really have a burning desire to spend and spend anymore
I used to adore designer purses, I had a whole bunch I bought used or on clearance. I probably couldn't really afford them and there were definitely better things I could be doing with my money. Now I can afford them and I have NO interest. I donated or sold many of the ones I had before and now just have some that are classics, plain designs. I am certain part of our continuing financial success is the mind shift away from putting our energy into more and more 'stuff', or caring if it's a popular or known item. I also love jewelry- but would rather buy a few cheap costume jewelry items and bank the rest over a really nice, real bauble that will sit in our safe most of the time.
I am good in constraining myself from buying stuff. Most people just do not have the power to control themselves. It needs a strong will to stop buying stuff.
of course there is a limit to living well and living in poverty. $600 per month income is rather impossible today to live and survive and have what is necessary to exist no matter where you live.