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How does money affect your judgment on things?

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by Alexander69, Jul 1, 2013.

  1. Alexander69

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    How does it affect your judgment on things like, cars, clothes, accessories, homes, trips. By judgment I mean how do you decide to spend it. Are you Smart with money ( a person who looks for the best deal) or YOLO with money? How can I specify, say..... Would you rather buy a Ferrari or a house? But didn't have enough money for both what would be your choice.

    I always thought "if a person really wanted something nothing can stop them from getting it" it shows what a distorted idea on financials I had growing up and it shows how badly I was raised. I never worried about money Jesus sometimes I still don't and I know I should..... With all honesty if I was not gay I wouldn't want to change the way I live but becuase I'm gay I will be disowned and my life will have a reality check I will be left with no money no houses nothing.

    Anyways how are you with money?
     
  2. Hexagon

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    I would buy the house. There is such a thing as public transport, and I would value a place to live much more that a flashy car. In general, I don't care much about money. I need a steady income in order to move out and support myself, but it isn't my goal in life to accumulate more of it. There is more to life than that.

    I'm usually quite responsible with money. Never really had much of it though.
     
  3. Chip

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    The choices I make are thoughtful ones. In cases where it matters (the objective quality of a product, not the brand name), I'll spend whatever it takes to get good quality, provided it is also a good value. In cases where it doesn't matter, I'll buy the least expensive whatever-it-is that I can find.

    I also consider not just purchase but ongoing cost. An enormous house, for example, is nice to have, but costs a lot more to heat, cool, and operate than a smaller house. And, of course, taxes and insurance are a lot more. So when I'm making a purchase decision, I think about what that purchase will cost in the long run as well as the up-front cost.

    I can't imagine ever wasting money on a Ferrari, no matter how much money I have. It's a ridiculous piece of pretense I don't need and would feel stupid driving. I'd instead get something nice and practical and fun but not overpriced. And (assuming funds were limited) buy a nice house that isn't too much trouble to take care of.
     
  4. Alexander69

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    Land tax is crazy that all I can say I didn't know how much it was till I snooped my dads things and saw. I had a bit if an idea when my dads business went under when I was younger and we weren't "broke" or poor my dads family still has millions but we did sell every house except one because of the taxes.

    And as for heating yes it is more but to be honest with you, it's so minuscule the more money you have the less hundreds mean and the less thousands mean. I know that sounds stupid but it's true. People talk about up keep and things but usually if you have the money to purchase what ever it is in the first place up keep is nothing. But with money you have to invest it, I know someone asked me at my work why we own so many houses, easy It's a way to Invest your money, rather than putting it in a car or clothes or shares you are at least guaranteed the same or more or slightly less back. (Hope for more) that's why you invest.

    For me weening myself off of designer is so hard and I get to someone who is reading this it sounds pretentious but it's hard for me I feel only comfortable in designer clothing. I trust it more. It's hard for me to even walk in to a store that sells things for under 100$ for clothing. I think I bought one Tommy Hilfiger sweater from tommy and it was on sale and it ripped and the colour was fading the first wash it was awful terrible I was fuming same as polo Ralph Lauren color was fading, I expected more from them disappointed. Same as Armani exchange I know amen air exchange isn't "high" end it's like 70$ for a t shirt but I still expect more from Armani in general I don't except the clothes to rip because it's such thin cotton.
     
  5. Hexagon

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    I could never buy anything for $100. (I converted that to about £60 if I'm right). Most of my t-shirts cost about $15, my jeans perhaps $30. I dunno where you're getting the idea from but $100 does not constitute cheap clothing.
     
  6. Alexander69

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    It's cheaper than 900$ for a sweater :O
     
  7. Maddy

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    I try to be thrifty with small purchases (food and clothes and stuff) so I can put as much as possible aside for a house deposit. My nice collared shirts are $10 (I wait until my favourite shop has a sale and stock up), my jeans and pants are usually $20, and my mother works at a second-hand shop, and often brings home near-new clothes in my size. That's how I got my winter jacket. I do wear Vans, but never buy them at full price, and none of my other clothes are any label. They still last me long enough.
     
  8. DanD

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    I'm very good with money, but I never have any. :frowning2: I work, but my wage is less than my rent, and I do get royalties from book and DVD sales/downloads, which makes it up.

    I never have trips away, and it's been months, years even, since I bought clothes.

    I'd love to earn more, as I did the right thing and trained in London. But the music industry is in a terrible state, and for me to get back into it I'd need a drum kit, a car and somewhere to teach - which, when you're poor, is impossible.

    But, in answer to your question Alex, I'm very good with money.
     
  9. King

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    I'm amazing with my money. I buy inexpensive clothes, and CDs whenever a new one comes out.

    The rest of my money goes into savings, where it grows in a ridiculous manner so that I now have enough moulah for a down-payment on a house.
     
  10. That is ridiculous. I don't care how much money someone has. No sweater is worth $900.
     
  11. greatwhale

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    The whole purpose of a brand is to short-circuit thinking.The brand simply let's you off the hook when it comes to assessing the objective criteria that Chip described above.

    This applies only as far as being objective helps with something you really desire; if you really want something (damn the cost), you can easily pick the "right" objective criteria and ignore others...it's called rationalization.
     
  12. Hexagon

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    *dies with shock*

    You realise thats about two months rent?
     
  13. justinf

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    It depends, really. I spend quite a lot of money on things I really like or enjoy. But that also means I have less money to spend on other things I find less important.

    I love going out on the weekends and having a good time. It costs me a lot of money, but in return I get to really enjoy myself. As a consequence, I can't afford to go out to fancy dinners during weekdays, for example. That's a choice I make. It goes like that with all things I wanna do or buy; I have a certain amount of money to spend, and if I really want one thing, I may have to give up the other.

    Like with clothes.. occassionally I'll like a t shirt or a pair of jeans or whatever so much that I'll consider buying it even if it's expensive (expensive in my mind being an $80 shirt or $100 jeans), but if I buy them, that means I can't get to buy another piece of clothing. Sometimes that one shirt or pair of jeanes seems totally worth it, sometimes I'll come to the conclusion I better buy two slightly less nice shirts.

    As for the house/car dilemma.. I'd choose the nice house over the ferrari. It's a practical decision: a ferrari gets me nowhere (no pun intended), a house I can keep forever. Would I like to drive a ferrari? Yes, of course, isn't that every guy's dream. But it's a very superficial wish I wouldn't spend money on that I can spend on more important and useful stuff. And, to be honest, there are (less expensive) cars I'd prefer over a ferrari, both for practical and superficial reasons.

    ---------- Post added 1st Jul 2013 at 05:07 PM ----------

    Or one months costs if you count food, clothes, insurance, etc.
     
    #13 justinf, Jul 1, 2013
    Last edited: Jul 1, 2013
  14. PrinceOfAvalon

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    Well... currently jobless teenager without a license. I just have an insane amount of allowance + future inheritance kind of situation going on. In that sense, I spend most, if not all of my money on Music. (whether it be like songs by artists...or sheet music/music equipment/instruments/etc.etc.) Through debit/credit cards lol

    I'm not sure how responsible that is, but i am literally in a position where I don't need a job (although im applying for one, I need work experience for the future) Even if i get a job, it will be for the experience. I'll still be in the same way of saving money and using the rest on personal things.

    I'd like to think when (if...) I end up living alone in massachusetts (future plans lol) I'll need to be at least partially integrated into adult life when it comes to financials. I need to learn to be more fiscally responsible in that sense. I spend literally ALL my money on music stuff (except part of my allowance stuff automatically goes into savings + inheritance in some years, so its just stacking) I'll have 200$ and spend that in a week on music related things.

    I really only buy "music" from Japanese artists that I fancy extremely. That's because theres a point to physical music sales in japan that the U.S. has lost track of. Things like raffles to free tickets for concerts, Posters, Photobooks, signed autographs, plushies, key chains, Nendroids, Bookmarks, individualized flash-drives, etc etc. Buying the album has material purpose that an MP3 file off of itunes doesnt so I do buy japanese music.

    In those terms, Japan is soon going to over-take the U.S. music industry in terms of productivity/sales from an article I heard... simply better marketing strategies than "Album" -release single to get someone to buy full album! iTunes! That and streaming is wrecking lol...

    Wow, i got WAY off topic... *facepalm* so yeah :grin: It sort of affects me, but not much because im spoiled... *head down in fear*
     
  15. The username

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    Buying a house will build equity. Cars value diminish. I would rather have a house than a fancy car, especially when I am in the house more than the car...

    I never buy cloths for full price - they must be on sale. I rarely eat out on my dime either. On that note, I rarely spend money.
     
  16. AKTodd

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    A basic principle I learned long ago is that the more you make (or have) the more you spend. What seemed like a very expensive purchase when I was in college now requires barely a thought or can even be an impulse buy. There are things that still require more serious thought, but they are much more expensive.

    The best thing you can do is look at quality and utility over brand name or flash. You actually already touched on this a little when you talked about houses as investments. It sounds like you may already know a little of the basic principles but not actually realize you know them.

    As far as clothes, cars, and houses: it sounds like you've had a lesson that designer labels don't automatically mean quality. I'd suggest a game or experiment. Go to a store like Sears or Target and buy retail, or even store brand clothes. No designer label. The rule is you can't spend more than $50 on any single item of clothing and you have only $300 to spend total. The goal is to get enough clothing for 5 days of wearing only the stuff you bought before you have to do laundry. Shirts, pants, socks, underwear, etc.

    I think you'll find that you can do this and that the clothes will hold up just as well or better than the designer stuff. Jeans are jeans are jeans for example. And if you're working at McDonalds do you really need to be wearing designer labels for that?

    Unless you really do need the tax shelter, there is no reason to buy a house that is bigger than what you need. Anything over 3000 sq feet is probably way more than one person needs. You're probably fine with much less unless you can point to a specific reason why you need the space.

    A car is a way of getting from place to place. Buy a copy of the Consumer Reports car issue (or subscribe, they give great advice on buying practically everything) and see what cars they like best in terms of quality, reliability, etc. ask yourself what you actually will be needing to do with the vehicle. Don't worry about impressing anybody, worry about getting good value for your money.

    You've basically stated that you anticipate being cut off financially if and when your parents find out you're gay. So maybe you should prep for that. If your parents want to throw money at you, try to get them to throw cash and then either bank it (in account that only you control) or invest it. Your family must have a financial planner or money manager around,maybe try to talk to them, again setting things up such that the money is yours and under your control. If you can do college and get a degree and job in something you like, this can also make you independent of your family money, even if you don't have as much.

    Hope this helps,

    Todd
     
  17. Jared

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    I tend to be a very thrifty spender, I always try to pay as little as possibly for what I want. I rarely buy clothes that aren't on sale and I tend not to spend too much money in general. I'll admit I tend to like nicer/more expensive clothes but I never let myself pay full price for them, it's ridiculous. My one exception to being thrifty is food, I love good food and I'm willing to pay for it.

    I personally rather have the house than the Ferrari, it's much more practically and won't diminish in value. I would really love to have a Ferrari someday, but I can't ever see myself spending that kind of money on a car. I don't even see myself buying a new car ever, I rather find a lightly used car that's a few years old and get more car for my money.
     
  18. justjade

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    I'm going to admit, I'm pretty bad with money. Of course, I haven't had a lot recently since my job hasn't been giving me any hours. But I start back at my old job tonight. They hired me on full time, which is evidently 28 hours (what a joke), and I should be able to make enough from that to start building up some savings again. I'm a little more disciplined that I used to be. I make sure my bills are paid and that I put $50 a paycheck into savings before I go shopping. Just a way to make sure I don't spend it all.
     
  19. sugarcubeigloo

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    Value has been a huge deal for me. "What does it do and is this necessary?" has become a frequently asked question of mine. I'm usually squirreling money away and I try to keep my spending significantly less than my income. I feel like I can't go wrong that way. When I do earn tenure, I'll probably feel more open to spending.
     
  20. Alexander69

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    I have to admit I'm terrified about not getting my inheritance :O but if I keep my sexuality away from my parents ill be fine :/ I don't want to but.....