Thread: Don't piss your money away

There's a Starbucks in my local grocery store. I'm a coffee hater, so I had only rarely gone there. I think I did once and got tea because I needed access to wifi. So the other day, on a whim, I decided to try their so-called pink drink that someone online had raved about. It was $4.50. It wasn't gawd awful, but it wasn't worth anywhere near that amount of money. There are people who hit Starbucks every morning for their caffeine fix. If you are a coffee drinker, you can get it way cheaper with a coffee maker at home. I'm honestly glad that I hate coffee. You can make simple black tea for really cheap. Starbucks has been ultra successful selling way overpriced coffee and other drinks because they've built a sophisticated image. It's the same bullshit that gets people (harhum, women) to overspend on shit like clothes, jewelry, handbags, etc. No one really needs any of that shit. Well, you do need clothes, but not the ultra expensive so-called high-fashion shit. A woman who develops a wasteful ... I mean high-end ... lifestyle and then searches for a man to foot the bill for it is the ultimate arrogance.

To add on. Don't piss it away on booze and drugs. I figure I went through 80k on partying. All for what? To be sick right after

Another option if you qualify - go to Mickey Ds and ask for the senior coffee - less than a buck. Stir in some powdered chocolate and make it into a mocha with some sugar free sweetener. Some Mickeys still offer the special prices for seniors.

I take pride in getting extreme value for every dollar I spend. I am 100% aware of what it took to make that money. I am also 110% aware of how I am spending it.

An example of extreme value is when I purchased my new truck a few years back. I purchased the most basic model they make. Which still had plenty creature comforts. A/C, power windows/locks, tilt wheel and cruise control, and more. Everything I needed, but nothing more than that. The truck had to be ordered in because of its was so plain jane.

I could pay cash for it because all the while I drove my old paid off truck, I still made payments to myself. Not the bank. So if things got tight, I wasn't in a jam by missing bank payments. As a matter of fact if things got tough I had my new truck fund to tap into if the need arose. That's a vast difference from a person who is on the hook with the auto finance company. Who cares if my fund got set back a bit. Once things cleared up I could contribute to the fund again. Saving for my truck put me in a position of financial strength. Folks with payments were shitting bricks when covid hit and jobs folded up. Not me.

When I got my truck I guy I was talking to had a massive 4x4 top of the line diesel truck he was bragging about. At one point he was telling me how he deserves atop line truck. He works hard. Likes the luxury. Likes the status. Can afford the payments. He went on to say that he could not drive a truck like me. It looks like something his plumber would buy to use as a work truck. It just made me smile even more.

As we talked proud truck guy told me what he paid. I just got a big grin and told him we spent the same amount of money. He said on that truck you drive? I said yes. However I also built a new two car garage to put my new plumbers truck in. Along with a nice assortment of tools to work my hobbies with in my new garage with. For the same money you spent. Not counting interest he will pay on his 7 year loan of course. I wouldn't be paying any interest because I paid cash.

That's what I call extreme value for my money.
I hope he enjoyed his dual zone climate control, leather seats, and big wheels and tires on his way home after that conversation.

Live beneath your means. Know the difference in want's and needs. Never buy new if used will do. Save for things you will need in the future. Know how many hours you need to spend at work, to pay for the things you buy.

I am not cheap. Just bought a classic convertible for myself. Still have my so called plumbers truck. Both in my paid for garage.
You work hard for your money. Make it work harder for you when you spend it.

People just can’t help but get the latest $7000 gadget.

It’s actually not big purchases that kill you. It’s those tiny lifestyle things. As an above poster discussed, that Starbucks coffee. The large instead of the small. The name brand versus the generic.

Do you have to live as a miser? It’s certainly an option. You don’t have to. Simply living a lifestyle where expenses < income is the way to be.

I pay cash for everything. Meals. Market. Vehicles. Houses.

When I wanted a home I did this weird thing called getting several jobs and saving and investing. Sure my clothes are goodwill and Walmart, I don’t own a tuxedo and wear sandals like a stinky hippy. My loss.

Oh noes! I can’t get the super hot gold digging so called “high value” women looking homeless. That’s nice.

I don’t have debt. Student, mortgage, car payment, etc. debt is highly toxic, whether you’re a stinky atheist or a Christian. Debt means you worship the bank. And since most fools spend up to their income + massive debt, they’re always enslaved.

I’d much rather not pay for anything extra that grinds you down after years of accumulation, throw extra into investing, then coast through life NEET maxing.

Not pissing your money away is especially important in a hyperinflationary environment. Invest instead. However, I would recommend if people anticipate a necessary high-dollar purchase in the next 2 or 3 years, find a way to do it now, w/o borrowing, because in 2-3 years that item's going to cost anywhere from 25-50% more than it does today.

Yeah, Starbucks et al succeeded in turning cheap coffee into an experience, adding variety and aura to make coffee-drinking its own thing, its own status, a destination purchase, a socio-political statement as well. Somebody called it hot bean juice, which really strips away the glamour, doesn't it?

I watch the people I work with and they would easily spend $20-30 per shift on coffee and food even more when you factor in parking. I get the train in. I bring my own lunch, have breakfast at home before work (I don't like having to bring too much crap in my bag). I stopped buying coffee's a few years ago $5 a pop down here usually and the quality was never great. I am quite fussy which is a God send. When I started thinking about what people buy lunch/dinner wise I realized it mostly came down to really simple fare you can make yourself. I would get it if it were more complex, but buying a salad sandwich? Really?

I only updated my phone a few months back my old one was an I4S so I had it for 10 plus years. I still drive an old beat up Ford Focus but it is fully paid for and as a bonus the insurance is dirt cheap because it is so old.

Am I miserable? Hell no. I have guitars which I love, I will spend money when I want but I would prefer to buy things that really do make me happy rather than just stupid shit. I have no issues buying an awesome cut of steak from the butcher or a spare ribs etc Good quality stuff.

The last time I walked into a bar and bought a beer I nearly fell over. $8 for what we call a "Pot of beer" which is just a large glass. $8 fucking dollars?! I don't even want to know what it is now.

I live debt free, I save, I have some investments. I don't chase overtime like some of my colleagues do. To me that is happiness and peace.

Oh and the other incredibly stupid way of wasting your money would have to be smoking. Smokes cost big money down here and it really is a case of burning your money!

Originally Posted by TigPlaze

There's a Starbucks in my local grocery store. I'm a coffee hater, so I had only rarely gone there. I think I did once and got tea because I needed access to wifi.

I used to be extremely cheap. Starbucks has some nice policies. They give free hot water. So, if you carry some tea on you then you can use Starbucks to make your drink. I think you don't have to buy anything to use the WiFi or use the bathrooms after there were some incidents in Philadelphia. It might only be in corporate stores because franchisees might be more territorial. I like corporate stores better, generally, because my experiences are more consistent and when it's a faceless corporation I don't have to feel guilty about being cheap with someone who might be struggling to get ahead and support his family.

With regard to coffee, I do think Starbucks makes better coffee, probably due to their roasting method.

However, this does not mean go into their stores.

For double (eh maybe triple) the price you spent on that single cup of coffee, you can get a huge (18 oz) bag of Starbucks coffee from Walmart that you can make in your own $16 coffee maker at home. And get many, many more cups of coffee for a fraction of the price.

I used to like going into Starbucks stores, 15 years ago or so. They had a lot of other interesting items for sale, the ambiance was interesting, the smell of coffee...... and then Starbucks became overrun with customers.

And it would *always happen* that some customer would order something weird that took forever to make; or for whatever reason there would be some problem with a customer in the line ahead of me. Probably a stupid customer and a stupid Starbucks clerk combining to make some problem.

A couple of years ago, my boss gave me a Starbucks card, and when I tried to use it, I ran into the above scenario. Ultimately, I gave up on my attempted purchase, and just walked out. That's pretty much when I peaced-out of going into Starbucks stores.
That card probably still has credit on it....

The American Dream, in reality, is the American Nightmare. It's a false cultural myth, like "happily ever after", "happy wife, happy life" and "till death do us part". The American Dream is countless millions drowning in debt, with no hope of escape, living desperate lives as wage and tax slaves, socially conditioned to drop dead without ever discovering the truth.

Luckily for me, I learned those lessons in time to save myself. Many never learn or learn too late, which is incredibly sad, but exactly as intended. The marxi/commi oligarchy, who own the corporations, who own the media, spend a lot of money through their white hating, man hating, America hating, self-defense hating, Constitution hating, open borders loving, corrupt marxism promoting academic, scientific and government propaganda outlets, to ensure you check out any time you like, but never leave.

The whole point of 'the system' is to keep you dumb enough to step on each of their carefully camouflaged landmines, with women being their state violence proxy's most valuable and dangerous landmine. Women silently collude with their state pimps to destroy men, and silence...is violence.

Originally Posted by MannSplainer

white hating, man hating, America hating, self-defense hating, Constitution hating, open borders loving, corrupt marxism promoting academic, scientific and government propaganda outlets

I've wondered about all the sociological trends. I've come to view the changes as these top-down things driven by people within the advertising industry, Hollywood and other media. Technology has been a big driver in the past 20 years, I think. Everyone's experiences became customizable and people ended up making their own safe space giving rise to the echo chambers. I've tried to divorce myself from all of it emotionally because it's not something I can do much about.

With regard to purchasing things and being careful with your money, here's something that I have found useful.....

I do indulge myself with purchases of various things from time to time.

But, here's the thing. If it's just "I gotta have it...." -- but not really a necessity -- make yourself wait a few days. Maybe more. Maybe even the "fever" might pass.

I will feel pretty good about not bending my plastic for days at a time -- "plastic free days."

Even better is to set a budget, and just have an allocation for "fun purchases" for each month, and don't go over it.

And yes, it is best to pay off your credit cards on time, or even ahead of time.

WRT paying with cash....using cash isn't always practical. If you're in a good financial situation, you can bend your plastic at the store, and then go home and pay the credit card from your bank on the computer.

And thus keep the actual cash in your pocket, for actual emergencies.

Didn't know about the free hot water. Good post. Far as I'm concerned, all these big corporations that financed Wokists, feminists and BLM deserve what happened when the police got defunded through their wokism. If Starbucks, Walmart, Target, Dick's Sports, Footlocker, Popeye's Chicken . . . get ripped off by flash mobs, I think they are getting what they paid for with their BLM donations. Get Woke, You deserve to go Broke!

Originally Posted by dsf978e

I used to be extremely cheap. Starbucks has some nice policies. They give free hot water. So, if you carry some tea on you then you can use Starbucks to make your drink. I think you don't have to buy anything to use the WiFi or use the bathrooms after there were some incidents in Philadelphia. It might only be in corporate stores because franchisees might be more territorial. I like corporate stores better, generally, because my experiences are more consistent and when it's a faceless corporation I don't have to feel guilty about being cheap with someone who might be struggling to get ahead and support his family.

I have a $5K computer to run my combat flight sim. It's what I do. It's my passion. It's what I love. It's truly magical. But, I drive an 18 year old pickup that I bought @ 0% interest, don't have a bed, sleep in a recliner, exercise on a $200 stationary bike, live in a cheap apartment, cook all my own meals, eat out 1nce every 2 years or so and make my own lattes, which cost .30 cents in my budget Walmart espresso machine with my budget Walmart brand espresso. Breakfast probably costs me less than $1 per day. Dinner is probably $2. I learned how to make great meals at super low prices. My weekly grocery bill is $40 - $50, which includes cleaning supplies. I have everything I need or want, which is very little, but I'm much happier now than when I had a lot of things that I didn't need and/or rarely used. I learned to prioritize and minimize, which is likely now my most valuable skill.

I got no problem dropping 5 large on a good PC, but I'll be damned if I'm going to pay $4 for a glass of anything. Fu*k Starbucks.

Originally Posted by dsf978e

I've wondered about all the sociological trends. I've come to view the changes as these top-down things driven by people within the advertising industry, Hollywood and other media. Technology has been a big driver in the past 20 years, I think. Everyone's experiences became customizable and people ended up making their own safe space giving rise to the echo chambers. I've tried to divorce myself from all of it emotionally because it's not something I can do much about.

Ironically this site is an echo chamber. We may be in the right, but it is what it is. Same for the acoustic guitar forum I use. We circle jerk each other and offer support but it's no different than any other forum doing the same thing, just different topic.

Originally Posted by MannSplainer

I have a $5K computer to run my combat flight sim. It's what I do. It's my passion. It's what I love. It's truly magical. But, I drive an 18 year old pickup that I bought @ 0% interest, don't have a bed, sleep in a recliner, exercise on a $200 stationary bike, live in a cheap apartment, cook all my own meals, eat out 1nce every 2 years or so and make my own lattes, which cost .30 cents in my budget Walmart espresso machine with my budget Walmart brand espresso. Breakfast probably costs me less than $1 per day. Dinner is probably $2. I learned how to make great meals at super low prices. My weekly grocery bill is $40 - $50, which includes cleaning supplies. I have everything I need or want, which is very little, but I'm much happier now than when I had a lot of things that I didn't need and/or rarely used. I learned to prioritize and minimize, which is likely now my most valuable skill.

I got no problem dropping 5 large on a good PC, but I'll be damned if I'm going to pay $4 for a glass of anything. Fu*k Starbucks.

I live in a room at my parents but have an $18,000 guitar. We all need something in life we love.

Originally Posted by BedroomBully

I live in a room at my parents but have an $18,000 guitar. We all need something in life we love.

Aint it the truth. We're fortunate to be able to afford to do what we love most.

Originally Posted by dsf978e

I've wondered about all the sociological trends. I've come to view the changes as these top-down things driven by people within the advertising industry, Hollywood and other media. Technology has been a big driver in the past 20 years, I think. Everyone's experiences became customizable and people ended up making their own safe space giving rise to the echo chambers. I've tried to divorce myself from all of it emotionally because it's not something I can do much about.

I think it is interesting that in their quest to homogenize everyone and control us that what they have really achieved is to create the current situation where people with different opinions are finding each other online. And we are finding out that we are not as alone as they would have us believe.

Originally Posted by BedroomBully

Ironically this site is an echo chamber. We may be in the right, but it is what it is. Same for the acoustic guitar forum I use. We circle jerk each other and offer support but it's no different than any other forum doing the same thing, just different topic.

The problem with leaving the echo chamber is that you end up getting banned on reddit or a facsimile. You're not allowed to speak against the orthodoxy. Your not allowed to have a dissenting opinion. Marxism is now the de facto religion of reddit. Speak against it and you'll not only be shamed, you'll be cancelled. Same goes for the other social media controlled by the marxist oligarchy. It's OK for feminists to demand movies that promote violence by women against men, but god forbid an INCEL expresses anger at society, because then MGTOW has to be banned too.