Comments
humvee911 OP t1_j5hstnu wrote
If I remember correctly the book touches on this subject as well by essentially encouraging people to be frugal and not let the "lifestyle creep" happen. The extra money should be saved for retirement, a much better prospect than an hour at a restaurant every day.
CoolInvestigator t1_j5jfotu wrote
Struggling with loneliness I'd rather spend money eating at a restaurant even with strangers than alone. I am guilty of the lifestyle creep. I got ski lessons this year for the first time in my life. I can barely afford them but I justify it that I will be able to socialize doing something exciting.
Tavron t1_j5jii25 wrote
While I think what OP posted is sound advice, it can also go too far.
You never know how life will pan out and saving all of your money at expense of living your life is bad too.
bellYllub t1_j5luiey wrote
Yep, my husband and I both have medical issues that almost guarantee that we won’t make “old bones”.
We save for our future and are sensible with our money but we don’t do it at the expense of enjoying our lives right now.
We still buy the odd take-away meal and get it delivered. We treat ourselves to a new pair of boots when needed. We balance it so that we have plenty for emergencies and our future but also enjoy our lives right now!
A lot of people can’t do what we do. They have no savings, no pension etc and there are no guarantees we won’t end up that way. So we’re careful but we still enjoy life when we can.
ramad84 t1_j5k2gt6 wrote
congratz on gettin out there - i relate to this post.
essentially youre paying for an experience - not a physical object. you will be more fullfilled by experiences than objects in the long run.
texansfan t1_j5k9qct wrote
You absolutely have to find a balance between living a fun, healthy life and not overspending. Hope you enjoy the lessons!
frenchpressfan t1_j5kbs9o wrote
Tangential thought from a different post from a few days ago: Get yourself a massage 2-3 times a month, if you can afford it. The physical touch will really help
killerpretzel t1_j5lqqt6 wrote
Retirement age is 65 and median age of death is 72 for males, time is not guaranteed.
BlackWindBears t1_j5lphh7 wrote
This is actually good though!
The point is to be conscious of what you're trading.
If trading X hours of your time is worth getting a ski lesson then you've made a "good" decision.
If imagining trading that much time for the ski lesson feels like a bad deal, then you've made a "bad" decision
It's not about minimizing spending, it's about making sure you trade the hours of your life for things you actually value as much as you do those hours.
Exciting_Fee_370 t1_j5n7hc4 wrote
Right there with ya man. I spent $1200 on a ski pass this year and after doing doing that for the last 8 years, turns out I’m still poor. Been fun though.
Applejuiceinthehall t1_j5idk8o wrote
After you are done, make sure to read "I will teach you to be rich." Vicky Robin is great, but usually it's not the coffee that's keeping you from being rich
abitdaft1776 t1_j5j1s63 wrote
It’s the avocado toast, isn’t it
RODAMI t1_j5jyy1o wrote
The eggs
Robert__O t1_j5k4o06 wrote
The new avacado toast is an egg salad sandwich.
MetallicGray t1_j5kg32z wrote
If only we’d skipped the Avocado toast all those years ago.. we could’ve been billionaires too.
Chris_ssj2 t1_j5iuq94 wrote
What's a lifestyle creep?
nonametrans t1_j5j0g6y wrote
That 70 series nvidia card that's keeping you going for ages is fine, but you upgrade to a 80 or 90 series card. Then you justify that purchase by upgrading your perfectly good 1440p monitor with a 4k one.
Or you've always been getting a Toyota Corolla for years. It's done you and your family good, average fuel costs, low maintenance costs. But then all of a sudden you wanna get an Audi A8 cuz you think your higher paycheck can support it.
The argument is, why get all these purchases and upgrades if you've been okay with what you had previously? Sure, buy some luxuries to treat yourself once in a while. But most people can't stop themselves. That Audi A8 then becomes a Mercedes S class. That average coffee machine becomes a $2500 barista machine...you eventually outspend your means and have little savings for retirement.
Chris_ssj2 t1_j5j1aw5 wrote
I see, so the basic idea being that if something that you own has kept you going and will continue to do so, there is no point in upgrading it, just like that saying, the cheaper your pleasures are, the richer you will be
Thank you so much for taking the time to explain :)
RODAMI t1_j5jz43i wrote
Drive your car until it dies. Any maintenance is still cheaper than a new car payment.
Chris_ssj2 t1_j5k0zre wrote
But the more we delay the maintenance, the more fuel it will keep on guzzling though...
Dreshna t1_j5k8afy wrote
Yes and no. For most people that is the case. Sometimes the reliability is the more important thing. If you routinely have to make flights or drive through the areas that are inhospitable to life, a roadside breakdown can cost you more than a car.
imthatguydavid t1_j5k1n1s wrote
Fuck. That literally summed up my 20s
Prometheus188 t1_j5jbm36 wrote
Basically as your income increases, so do your expenses. As you get more salary; you also eat out at, buy a more expensive car, a bigger house, more expensive drinks, more expensive restaurants, etc...
Chris_ssj2 t1_j5jfdla wrote
I see, thanks for the clarification :)
RODAMI t1_j5jz8du wrote
Yup. I got a 20% pay bump? Now I can buy a. At that costs 20% more and eat a restaurant that costs more. People are weird.
FTeachMeYourWays t1_j5k1imx wrote
Is it? hold on, an hour lunch every day in an enjoyable manner seems to out weigh having a some spare capital once retired? Some people may save there whole life and never get to experience retiremen....
BlackWindBears t1_j5lqkq2 wrote
Well that's the point of the book! You can never replace the hours you spend. If you'd rather trade an hour of work for an hour of "enjoyable lunch" as compared to one hour less of work for a less enjoyable lunch then you've made a good decision!
The issue is that folks think that their income is really something they just automatically spend, rather than something they traded away the hours of their lives for.
If you don't spend that money, you can either negotiate reduced hours, or bring forward retirement by that many hours (well, far more when including investment growth, but you have to factor in your risk of dying before you get to enjoy it), or use the accumulated savings to take a break from work of that many hours when between jobs.
Locke_and_Lloyd t1_j5k9kpl wrote
Why would I want to accept the additional stress of a promotion if the extra money won't benefit me for 30 years? Some needs to be spent on lifestyle inflation now.
enGaming_YT t1_j5jlgid wrote
I would rather suggest Rich dad Poor dad. 👐🏻
ABena2t t1_j5hsi15 wrote
ok. but food isn't free. if you went to the store and made it yourself you would have spent some money. Sure, it's cheaper but it still may have cost you $300. And then how much time did you save not going to the store. not cooking. not cleaning. There's only so many hours in the day. It's expensive but your not $500 in the hole. It might have cost you $200 for the convenience and the time you saved.
[deleted] t1_j5ile95 wrote
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AnimaLepton t1_j5hzpm6 wrote
Your Money or Your Life also brings up the life and retirement investment aspect of it. It's the book that popularized the term financial independence, i.e. r/financialindependence, which is about having enough income from your investments to cover all of your expenses.
Like with everything else, personal finance is personal, and you want to strike a balance that makes sense for you. There's a bunch of dated stuff in there since the book was first published in '92 (even if it's been revised since then and has a 2018 release), but there's some solid advice there too. The advice can just get lost in the 'you can't afford a house because you spend money on avocado toast!' reproaches some people/news outlets take online.
You don't need to deprive yourself, just be deliberate in your spending. If you can reduce your expenses by $10 a week, that's ~$520 a year. Invest that for 10 years at 7% growth (after removing inflation), and that's a solid $7000 dollars. (Your expenses in retirement are also $500 less per year than they would be otherwise, but maybe that doesn't matter for your eating out decision). If you decide 'hey, that's still worth it to me,' then make that financial decision and spend the money guilt-free with the knowledge that it's a conscious choice rather than something that ran away from you.
shekurika t1_j5j19fj wrote
thats why I think a better way to go about this is calculating your hourly wage with all fixed costs taken out; Take your wage, subtract all fixed costs (insurance, food, (necessary) subscriptions, rent, taxes) and calculate your income per hour worked on that.
macarena_twerking t1_j5k02y1 wrote
That’s what I came here to say too. All of a sudden, that lunch cost half of your workday!
[deleted] t1_j5jt849 wrote
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Robert__O t1_j5k4l6k wrote
That is the flaw to this logic. It also doesn’t take into account cost of living..
hanuuman t1_j5k8io3 wrote
The trick is you have to pretend the amount of money you make in 8 hr is equal to 24 hr. Now $30 an hour becomes $10.
[deleted] t1_j5jtjho wrote
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RiverRoll t1_j5jxsux wrote
Specially when at some point the time you need to spend on some tasks is more than the time you'd need to work to earn enough to get it done. It really encouraged me spending more. Why clean for an hour when I can work for an hour and pay two hours of cleaning.
WhittlingDan t1_j5k4x8c wrote
Now if only you made just $10 an hour then maybe you wouldn't have this concern about your lack of concern? A great Prophet once said "mo money, mo problems." I think I can help you with this difficult burden you carry... Just place it in these here pockets of mine and yes yes let me help...
[deleted] t1_j5k7kbc wrote
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julbull73 t1_j5kb7fa wrote
YEP!
As a starting earner high school to ~30. I didn't spend money on SHIT exactly because of this.
As a now seasoned cog....ahhh that new PC is only 2 days work....cue angry wife....
feintplus1 t1_j5kh48a wrote
Easy, just don't progress and keep earning $10 an hour. That's what I do and never spend $500 on food!
Penis_Bees t1_j5l9r6s wrote
I feel like that's a big portion of the reason it's often worth seeking additional income. You get leverage you can turn into convenience, entertainment, etc.
SwagarTheHorrible t1_j5ltxsy wrote
Yeah, right. I could justify giving a whole day of work away because I’ll work tomorrow. It doesn’t work out too well.
A better way to save is to have your paychecks split so part automatically goes into a separate savings account. The rest is yours to fuck around with as you please. Just make sure to pay attention to major bills coming up.
jerkITwithRIGHTYnewb t1_j5lvmtn wrote
Yeah your ability to spend more increases 1:1 with how much you make. I’m approaching 40 and I’ve been working in the oilfield for 15 years. I have no education but in my field experience is more important anyway, so I’ve worked my way up and make a pretty nice salary. Well what I’ve learned along the way is that your spending will naturally track with your income unless you make an effort to be aware of it and do something about it. My most recent misstep was about six months ago I traded in my pickup and bought a Mercedes with an $900 a month price tag. Sure I can afford it but I certainly didn’t need it. It’s $400 more a month than my pickup was and purely a vanity purchase. I’m not upset with myself, I love it but I’m aware that I didn’t need to spend that much on something that will one day go away without making my life any better in the long run. All I did was make retirement that much harder. And this translates into everything. Like you said it’s easy to spend $500 on food you could have spent half that. Same with entertainment. Same with silly travel upgrades like first class or the suite hotel room instead of the regular hotel room. Or the second vacation of the year. Or the new cell phone. Whatever it is. It’s very easy to spend $3k (or whatever) a month that you didn’t need to spend when your next paycheck is just a week away. Mercedes aside I caught myself in those habits years ago and curtailed them to the point that I am putting 15% of my salary into retirement and 5% into savings (just for vacations or whatever we might want to buy) I went from a 30 year to a 15 year mortgage, things like that. It’s just so easy to let it slip through your fingers especially as your salary starts to get what many people would call large. But the same thing applies to someone making $40k a year as it does to someone making $160k a year. It’s the biggest mistake younger folks make, it’s simply not realizing how much more you are spending on little things. It’s only $5! But it’s the aggregate that kills you.
tsffrc t1_j5mcpqu wrote
I did this too. The way I combat this mindset is to 'pay' myself an hourly wage. I'm 49 and my hourly wage is $20/hr (my work wage is $75/h). Here's an example:
I drink straight up black coffee costs $0.15 to make at home or $1 at McDonald's (using the app and a daily deal; $2 without the deal), my favorite Starbucks order costs around $5. You can be damn sure that I think about the $5 coffee when I'm only making $20/hr, but when I figured it at my $75/h work rate, I would buy a round for the whole team at least once /week - I mean was only $40 -- I made that in my morning meeting.
It works the other way, too. Let's say there's a repair around the house -- a leaky pipe, say. I know how to fix it, but I have to get the tools out, watch a few YouTube videos to remind me, make a trip to the hardware store (then a second trip to buy all the sh*t I forgot), fix the thing, then clean up. My estimated total time is 7h or $140. If the plumber estimate is less than that, hire him. If it's not fix it yourself.
The whole mindset really works a trick!
divepilot t1_j5isaaf wrote
Take off fixed costs first to calculate your "hourly income". You still need to pay taxes and stuff anyways.
(Income - Taxes - Housing - Interest - Insurance)/(hours worked)
It may be less than you think.
Loko8765 t1_j5ispqh wrote
Came here to say this. It should be disposable income per hour of work. Does the book mention this?
slbaaron t1_j5jj4g1 wrote
Yup not trying to flex but will come out that way: my spending was horrible because of EXACTLY that mindset of this post when I came out of college and made 6 figures. Everything is cheap in hours, especially for younger me where hours worth little anyways.
Remove taxes, COL then divided by hours made more sense.
Ultimately the best way is to think of any money as capital and have a wholistic view with coherent strategy about the opportunity cost. It’s never a decision about PS5 vs Gaming PC. It’s a decision about PS5 vs investment portfolio that will compound vs self-investment (courses) vs vacation savings vs down payment savings vs etc etc.
LukeMedia t1_j5kdbva wrote
I would add, please don't get into the habit of saving and investing every single extra penny. You will make yourself miserable. It's important to treat yourself to things sometimes, but the key is finding a healthy balance and not overdoing it.
slbaaron t1_j5lppxa wrote
Of course, the point is to make a wholistic decision about how you balance your capital assets, liabilities, and investments (cost & risks vs returns). Those are meaningful terms much beyond monetary definitions, but you have to be able to draw meaningful monetary decisions based on them.
Mental and physical health is one of the most important and valuable asset we have, so it's a no brainer to invest in it, but the how and the what is quite subjective. There's no marketing book that can teach you this, you'd have to come up with your own evaluation system.
For entertainment, I used to rely on value of $ / hr spent entertained as my decision metrics, that's when gaming was by far at the top. I couldn't understand people who paid hundreds if not thousands to go watch some concerts and shit. As I grew older, the equation faltered because time is a currency in itself, and I value unforgettable memories above all. Gaming still has those moments but taking too long is now a problem, not a benefit. I also have much more disposable income. Thus I went from averaging $0 / year in travel to about $30k / year in travel in my very late 20s. Yeah, I practically didn't travel before then outside of family trips I pay $0 for.
Everyone's gotta come up with their systems and continue to evolve too, but it should be a cohesive piece, not a ton of individual decisions that end up resulting in places where they didn't expect financially.
LukeMedia t1_j5m6w5y wrote
Extremely well said, and I absolutely agree. I've seen both ends of the spectrum, and both sides are miserable. A healthy financial life involves a healthy life, as far as I'm concerned. To get there however requires balance, which as you said is different for every individual person.
HaikuBotStalksMe t1_j5k1lrx wrote
I just look at my check and divide by number of hours.
Allegedly I make $67,000ish. My first trick is that if you work 40 hours, you divide by two to get your pay per hour. So $33ish. But that's the fake number to compare a salary to hourly pay.
To get the real number, I take my biweekly check and divide by 80. It's been a while since I looked, but I think I make $1800 every two weeks after taxes, 401k, and insurance. So $1800/80 = 22.50
Ok, so let's go ahead and double that:
My real yearly salary (i.e. cash I can use) is $45,000.
So if I marry someone and mooch off them 100% (and don't get a tax status change), if I want a $250,000 house in cash, I would do $250/$45 = 5.55 years. So five and a half years to get a house.
Thortsen t1_j5ktnvw wrote
Did exactly that. 5.5 years later, that house was 500k :(
HaikuBotStalksMe t1_j5kwolz wrote
Oh damn, I forgot about that technicality haha
WiseChoices t1_j5hvx1x wrote
This is a good tip. I used it in parenting.
I taught the children how many hours of work it would take to pay for things. They learned that well.
All are responsible adults and not in debt.
Excellent LPT 👍
DiamondHandsDarrell t1_j5hzkf4 wrote
I do the same, but use minimum wage and it blows their minds.
chiagod t1_j5k132p wrote
A corollary to this is to do a budget, figure out your weekly/monthly free spending money and figure out how many weeks/months of spending money you're blowing on said purchase.
WiseChoices t1_j5ka3mr wrote
Oh, that sounds like a good plan. 👍
Lengurathmir t1_j5icmo6 wrote
This might be good but… current car repair = 3 full time weeks for me. Sad knowing this.
RoastedRhino t1_j5ivepc wrote
I have heard this advice multiple times but I don’t think it works well. I think this way you severely overestimate your budget.
If something costs 1 hour or work, it seems like one eight of a day. In your brain, you could think that you can make 8 of those expenses a day.
In reality, you are probably working from 9 to lunch break to pay rent. Then another couple of hours to pay taxes. And one hour to pay insurances. You are left with one or two hours of time when you are working to earn money you can dispose of freely. And part of it should go to savings for your old age.
So effectively the LPT is ok if you think of an expense in terms of time and then you ALSO know how many minutes you are working for fun money per day, but at that point why don’t you just learn how to do your budget in dollars and get an estimate of your weekly budget for shopping/ dining out/ entertainment, etc.?
Maybe it takes some effort, but it seems to a good investment of your time.
skyderper13 t1_j5natjn wrote
> but at that point why don’t you just learn how to do your budget in dollars and get an estimate of your weekly budget for shopping/ dining out/ entertainment, etc.?
I dont think this lpt is saying this is a replacement for budgeting
[deleted] t1_j5hvafz wrote
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ackermann t1_j5ill8d wrote
Only if you had your money sitting in a checking account, instead of invested somewhere like the stock market. Oh wait… the stock market didn’t do too great last year, that might’ve been worse!
Real estate might’ve been the only investment that did decent.
AnimaLepton t1_j5iq582 wrote
VGSLX (a REIT) also dropped like 25% last year. Individual areas of real estate may have done well, but plenty did poorly with the continued influx of remote work, RTO failures, and higher monetary concerns due to layoffs and fears of a looming recession. By the end of 2022, quite a few residential properties in my area (suburb of a large city) listed at initial sky-high valuations, didn't find any takers, and have been seeing a continuous slow decline while bleeding money in utilities, listing prices, and property taxes.
ackermann t1_j5iqd6j wrote
Hmm, so even with inflation, there weren’t too many places you could park your money, and do better than just leaving it in your checking account? Precious metals maybe? Gold and silver?
At least we bought the maximum of I-bonds. Lol, those were probably our best investment last year, haha
LFH1990 t1_j5j8l73 wrote
The money is always going to exist in someone’s account. So on a societal level we can’t avoid inflation by investments
Triasmus t1_j5icwq5 wrote
This worked for me, right up until I got a full-time software development job...
pzzia02 t1_j5iha2y wrote
My phones 1000 so that means it was 112 hours at 9 an hour or 6 days
myrevenge_IS_urkarma t1_j5ijr9q wrote
All the phones I've ever owned added together does not equal $1000. But it's about what is important to each person and what they want to splurge on.
pzzia02 t1_j5k0dqm wrote
Your phone must be a bit older this isthe most expensive phone ive ever owned will likely have it for a good coiple of years at least
myrevenge_IS_urkarma t1_j5kta3u wrote
Older and not Apple or Samsung. It finally dawned on me one day that there are other brands that aren't bad out there. With all the planned obsolescence, they all die after a few years anyway, so I don't choose to invest a lot.
pzzia02 t1_j5kxo50 wrote
Thats completely fair ive had a windows phone before but didnt like it nothing on their app store i have an s21 currently
tacticalpotatopeeler t1_j5ixyfr wrote
Is that your regular hourly or adjusted after taxes and fixed expenses?
I’d recommend figuring that number out, and use 8 hour days (or whatever your usual shift is) to determine how long it would actually take for you to earn that money, after paying your other obligations (rent, utilities, food, transportation, etc)
Unless you’re living at home and don’t have bills to pay, my guess is that it would take at least 2-3 months to earn enough extra to pay for $1,000 phone if your non-adjusted hourly wage is $9.
pzzia02 t1_j5k0iix wrote
9 an hour 5 hour days before taxes it would take 22.5 days after taxed id say double it i domt have many expenses atm so we can say that
Realworld t1_j5j10dw wrote
I used Discretionary income:
Discretionary income = gross income – taxes – all compelled payments (bills)
It's total personal income after subtracting taxes and minimal survival expenses (such as food, medicine, rent or mortgage, utilities, insurance, transportation, property maintenance, child support, etc.) to maintain a certain standard of living. It is the amount of an individual's income available for spending after the essentials have been taken care of.
If you only have $160 left over after paying all your monthly bills & living expenses then you're working for $1/hour discretionary income.
This motivated me to ruthlessly beat down my recurring expenses.
Risto_08 t1_j5j6jl0 wrote
It's a good financial habit, but it's also a terribly depressing paradigm.
from_the_dark_side- t1_j5ka9xi wrote
I've been doing this for almost over a year. While it might be depressing in the first months, you do get to choose better the things/experiences/services that you are willing to spend money on.
lschultz625 t1_j5kcy80 wrote
Thats just life 😂
moogly2 t1_j5lodw0 wrote
> terribly depressing paradigm
time is money? Money buys? Either way timmy will realize it's not good to spend $20 on takeout every day. This tv is xx% monthly income. It's the same anyway you handle it. Though Yes, it equates your value to society to consumerism/material
random_shitter t1_j5izyhp wrote
Only if you have a fairly low wage. I make about €100/hour but only work few hours; this system would make me broke in no time.
musicmous3 t1_j5km2hj wrote
Yeah, then it's better to calculate per day or per week, and subtract taxes and living expenses like many comments have detailed
keepthetips t1_j5hondt wrote
Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips!
Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by up or downvoting this comment.
If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.
Jellyblush t1_j5j5wx2 wrote
Which governments give you credit and debit cards? Don’t banks do that?
userrnam t1_j5jabr7 wrote
This tip gets posted weekly.
Mazziezor t1_j5kj67y wrote
Pretty sure some of the top comments are exactly the same when it gets reposted too. But that could be my mind playing tricks on me.
Im_Negan t1_j5jmcch wrote
Remember kids, mommy worked 10 hours today so you can have eggs for breakfast
PasswordisP4ssword t1_j5jmqds wrote
Be careful with this, this is why people with high incomes work instead of being with their family. When you're a lawyer and you bill $1000/hr, you start looking at the opportunity cost of your kid's recital.
Beowulf33232 t1_j5it5lg wrote
First time I mentioned this to the new kid at work you could see his brain making new connections.
bolteon593 t1_j5ivwhc wrote
A better tip would be to just make more money.
TheMarsian t1_j5iwgg2 wrote
This cost a whole day at work.
Me at work the whole day: 🙄😁🤣😴😎🥂🍜🍔🍟💑🙄🤗😎🤔😴😀
Childofglass t1_j5j3koh wrote
This is also how I decide to buy tools/appliances. Will it save me time or money, and how many uses will it take to save me the money that it cost in either time or dollars.
Dwindling_Odds t1_j5jexw7 wrote
And use your after-tax income to do the calculation. You might earn $30/hr, but after Social Security, State, and Federal taxes you really only get to spend around $20.
Dapaaads t1_j5jo20p wrote
This is bad for people who make a high dollar per hour, you end up spending more
TheLittleNorsk t1_j5inwrm wrote
laughs and cries at the same time in Salaried
AllNighty t1_j5is1dg wrote
Cries in Nintendo games here on Brazil's close to 300$ BRL so like, 3 days of my worktime. :(
brothertuck t1_j5j3x0i wrote
That way of thinking never worked for me only because I worked in a business where a lot of our pay was tips. One week coffee was minutes the next it was almost an hour. And most of the stories about late parties and sleeping all day are true, so money spent at the bar afterwards was therapy and on the worst nights you didn't care as long as you had cash.
from_the_dark_side- t1_j5kbbfu wrote
Hey! Don't be discouraged by the way you earn money. Even if you don't relay on tips anymore it's important to also know that it is possible to measure your hourly income + plus tips by averaging your weekly income.
brothertuck t1_j5lpwet wrote
I am not discouraged, just commenting that it was not in my way of thinking as my tips were day to day and my purchases from them were day to day. I enjoyed my work just couldn't use it like a normal 9to5 employee for budgeting.
Cryptic_Hunter t1_j5j9c0i wrote
I’ve recently started doing this and it really makes you think haha 😂 I’m a cheapie
_________FU_________ t1_j5jd67s wrote
Unless you’re well paid with a lot of bills.
NearbyCamera69 t1_j5jl4bc wrote
Money is what we trade our life for.
kalleron t1_j5jnt13 wrote
This only works until you earn enough money to not think about money. After you need to start comparing products and services that are similar price range and think if it's worth the same personal value.
Once you don't really care about $1k-$2k expense at any given time, these questions start to lose meaning.
jamesmcnabb t1_j5jov0n wrote
This is a great tactic until you look at your grocery bill and realize you’ve spent twenty hours on a week’s worth of groceries and that there was nothing you could do to lower that cost because you still have to feed your children, not to mention that your 80-hour rent payment is due at the end of the week and you’re only offered 36 hours of work a week so that your company doesn’t have to offer you benefits.
I understand where the advice is coming from but with inflation how it is I don’t understand how contextualizing all money as hours worked is going to do anything but start a revolution.
Cheeser- t1_j5ijow4 wrote
Great advice! Now all I need is money…
THEzwerver t1_j5irchg wrote
I like to divide my spendings in 12 and see how much a product would 'cost' over a year.
[deleted] t1_j5iy7fa wrote
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JR-90 t1_j5jdzgb wrote
I like to break down the price on usage. Let's say I spend 1000 euros in a good quality bed made to my liking and is expected for it to last ~10 years, so price is ~0.27€/day. Can I afford that to sleep comfortable and get a good rest every day? Yes.
On the other hand, let's say I spend 600 euros in a waterproof jacket but I live in a place where it only rains heavy enough to use it twice per year. Even if it lasts me 10 years, why pay 25 euros per usage?
Callec254 t1_j5jeqst wrote
Another good tip from Dave Ramsey: Pay cash for things. You're far less likely to hand over a physical 10$ bill at a restaurant for some worthless appetizer than you would be to just put it on the card.
fractured_fiefdom t1_j5jkggy wrote
Important step here is to know how many hours of work it takes you to get that much "disposable income". Not gross.
superkuper t1_j5jltzp wrote
I have never even bothered to work out my effective hourly rate.
i8noodles t1_j5jov0c wrote
Funny. I have taken some form of this approach my entire life. Of course today I have a more complex version safety stored in my head but as a kid I used the tic tac scale. The price of something compared to a packet of tic tacs.
In my head now driving to work is more efficient becuase traveling to work in public transportation takes like an hour. Cost me like 10$ give or take. Driving to work and I can park cost me 10$ for parking and a few dollars for fuel each day and 30 mins. I save an hour of my time, back and forth, and I work for 30$ and hour. The savings for public transport is not worth the money.
It is not always raw dollar amount saved that matter but time as well. My mom is obsessed with saving cans and bottles and stuff to recycle for the 10c they give. I did the math and it is more costly for me, and time consuming, to physically haul it all to the place and dump it in the machine one at a time. It is more efficient to acutally work an extra hour. I still give her cans and stuff but and she does it with my brother every few months
Feine_b t1_j5jq6zh wrote
Me putting more gas into the car on my way to work than actually getting there on this day
fldsld t1_j5jrs07 wrote
Hours of work = hours of your life. Life is not a dress rehearsal and how much of your life do you trade for money and the things you think you want? Most people seem to live their lives mortgaging the future, and it seems many of our hardships are of our own doing. Try to think of it as doing little things today because you owe it to your future self.
Kali_404 t1_j5jtp9e wrote
Male sure you note the hours it takes to pay bills and rent. My husband would do this, but forget about how something that only cost 1/2 an hr or 1hrs wage can add up when you only have so many hours of work to spend and over half is life necessities.
Samcolgow t1_j5juy3u wrote
I did this when I worked and it made me quit my job. Cause I’d want a drink and I’d think “This is a whole hour of work 🙂”. Only recommend if you have a mid range salary.
AlreadyOlder t1_j5jv51m wrote
I’ve always done this and it really works.
chodthewacko t1_j5jvw3o wrote
What is better than "how many hours of work something would take if you buy it". Is "how many hours of work would it take you to save enough money to buy it.
Because even with a high salary, your ability to buy stuff drops as your debt load rises. (i. E. Being house poor)
snealinator t1_j5jwqm3 wrote
If this works for you then that's great but it doesn't work for me. The biggest thing that's worked for me, that would hopefully help someone else too, is to not be so emotional over your money but instead look at it as numbers. Each dollar needs a job and a place to be (basically a budget) and the key to sticking with this is to not tie emotions with your money.
Zakluor t1_j5jy0dh wrote
My friend added a little to this. If your a DIY kind of person and you have an ability to work overtime at your job, consider this, too:
Could I work a few days overtime doing something I'm already trained to do and am comfortable doing to pay someone else who knows what they're doing to do this properly for me?
It doesn't stand well for all circumstances (maybe you're also good at what you're looking into doing, maybe you want to learn something new, maybe you just want the satisfaction of doing it yourself, whatever), but it is a way of looking at it.
[deleted] t1_j5jyi84 wrote
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RODAMI t1_j5jytr8 wrote
Seriously. The harder you work for it the harder you should save it. Now if only people would do this with calories.
scarlettliadan t1_j5jz8jk wrote
This also worked for calories in and calories out, a candy bar was less appealing when I knew it would take me at least an hour on the treadmill to work it off.
ttgx1000 t1_j5k21mk wrote
Wow this would help with my disposable income… IF I HAD ANY.
PM_ME_WHITE_GIRLS_ t1_j5k27c4 wrote
This puts the beef jerky companies out of business
Reese_misee t1_j5k2c0a wrote
If I did this I would be fucking miserable
ackillesBAC t1_j5k3i3h wrote
Absolutely and all those X$ worth of groceries in Y city should X number of work hours worth of groceries instead
ManholeCanon t1_j5k3vkp wrote
The problem is I can very easily convince myself that I can do 150 hours of work for that thing that I want to buy for my PC
TheSmolBean t1_j5k4sxk wrote
i have been doing this my whole working life without knowing it was an actual concept someone thought of
nucumber t1_j5k68hd wrote
here's another LPT in the same vein...
delay your purchase.
you might see a thingy and think "wow, it ain't cheap but i just gotta buy that thingy!"
hold up. wait a few days and cool down. think about whether you really need it and whether you can really afford it, and, like this LPT says, how many hours of work it will cost.
i've avoided the purchase of many thingies by delaying a few days, and it's surprising how i soon forget about the thingy
eGzg0t t1_j5k73gb wrote
This outdated tip gets posted every month now.
assignment2 t1_j5k88l0 wrote
Yep you’re not trading money for stuff you’re trading your time via money
busjockey t1_j5k95g1 wrote
This works. In my retirement I drove a school bus. Started wondering if that that thing I was going to buy was worth getting up at 4 am to crawl into a frozen school bus or not.
fuxx90 t1_j5karvu wrote
as a student, I used to measure things in "units of meals at the cantina".
platinum_toilet t1_j5kazaz wrote
Or you know what you want to buy and if you can buy it. This is easier than "that vacation costs me 40 hours of work". This LPT isn't good unless you want to convert money into hours all the time.
linmar22 t1_j5kb9m9 wrote
It's also incredibly depressing. Especially if you start looking at real estate and generally expensive things, like a car or electronics.
didsomebodysaymyname t1_j5kbghl wrote
Another good trick in the same vein is to look at things in cost per minute/use.
A nice bottle of liquor or a nice shower head might both cost $80, but you'll use the shower head every day while the bottle might last you a few occasions, depending on how much you drink and if you're sharing.
They cost the same in terms of hours worked, but the per use cost of the shower head is pennies while the liquor is dollars.
abzurdleezane t1_j5kcosz wrote
So equating cost with effort/$... Also may I add, adding on additional expense by paying with credit to satisfy need for immediate gratification to consume is a double (or more) whammy!
Reasonable-Estate-93 t1_j5kd1dg wrote
Also the other way around for services: repairing a flat tire might be expensive, but it saves me two hours of work and being angry and frustrated
sayracer t1_j5kdypk wrote
I first started using this when I was debating on buying a video game. Tried it out with a friend and decided $60 isn't so bad if I'm going to get 20-40 hours of time out of it
oakteaphone t1_j5kei03 wrote
I came here to say that no, this is a bad bit of financial advice.
I'm also surprised to see your source. The book itself has a LOT more detail going into it.
For example, it's easy to justify eating a $20 lunch because that's just 1 hour of work. So you can justify it every day because you're working 7.5 or 10 hours a day or whatever.
That's not how it works.
That $20, you pay taxes on it.
Then you have your mandatory expenses -- rent, utilities, food. Childcare. Healthcare and medications. There might be lots of mandatory things.
After removing all of that, you might be making $5 an hour from that $20/h that was in your contract.
THAT is the figure that you need to be using for these "This $X is worth Y of my time". Not your gross income!
Using your gross income really only works for a PT job in high school when you have no expenses. A lot of people hear or come up with this when they're in that position, but it doesn't hold water when you're an adult with living expenses.
clichesaurus t1_j5keluu wrote
For most men this logic will leave you broke as soon as you enter a strip club
chosen2nd t1_j5kf2e8 wrote
What I try to do is take it as a whole week pay, so if I make 1,000 for 40 hours and something costs $10 that would be 5.9 hours of my life since there are 168 hours in a week
workplacetimesuck t1_j5kfdwv wrote
Combine with the opportunity cost way of thinking for maximum effectiveness.
MayorJeb t1_j5kflxn wrote
Imagine if Americans applied this concept to calories.
Valiant4Funk t1_j5kfqi6 wrote
Oh good, only two hours of work for this stupid expensive hunting vest that I'll use maybe 5 times a year.
mari_gaby t1_j5khwe5 wrote
Make sure to adjust the hourly amount you make to take out for your cost of living situation
rahsoft t1_j5kicud wrote
Your Money or Your Life.
alvin hall?
brainwater314 t1_j5kj362 wrote
Also remember that 1 hour of work also has the extra time you need to feed yourself (so 1 hour lunch for 8 hours work), and you need to add the sleep time (you sleep about 1-1 so 8 hours sleep for 8 hours of work) and the down time. A better approximation is just taking the time and multiplying it by 3 or 4, since we work 1/3 of the time, and you can look at the other time in your day as simply supporting and recovering for your work time. Unless you have flexible hours, then you can literally pick up another hour of work to pay for a meal out.
[deleted] t1_j5kls9u wrote
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timeistheenemy_ t1_j5kmv3b wrote
I read this book in high school, and it actually helped me learn that sometimes it's ok to spend money instead of doing everything the hard way. My family was insanely frugal (hence why this book was on our shelf) and it gave me a whole complex around spending money. Like as a teenager in 2012 I was making shirts out of pillowcases from goodwill kind of a complex.
Equating money with time helped me actually break through the guilt I felt and allow myself to spend.
Thortsen t1_j5kt05t wrote
Also, deduct your fix cost like rent, mortgage, utilities, debt payments etc. So if you make 5k / month, but have fix cost of 4k / month, you need to divide your hourly pay by 5.
oscillating_ocelot_9 t1_j5ky4fp wrote
I have the opposite problem of this now that I make more money. I spent like 1.5 hours making a shelf yesterday in my free time when I could have probably bought one off of Amazon for like half an hour of work.
aakaakaak t1_j5l6ml6 wrote
Its also helpful to realize that "hours of work" are really "hours of you're life you're selling to someone else".
Penis_Bees t1_j5l9gj9 wrote
Eating out for lunch is just 20 minutes of being on my phone.
gamerdudeNYC t1_j5llhza wrote
I do the same thing with calories… “did I really run 6 miles so I can throw it away with two IPAs ?”
ProperPressure4164 t1_j5lmj7e wrote
Only problem is when you make substantial amount of money 20$ anything is nun the less a hour,look up at my receipts door dash 4-5 times filled up the tank oz and some clothes business the rest the month I find myself excessively spending on this idealogy I reckon 40 dollars a day keep the demons away life's to short in my opinion out of a 5 day week. Treat yourself without pulling the credit card out.
united_7_devil t1_j5lnhas wrote
Take your monthly take home pay. Subtract your expenses like rent/mortgage/, car payment and insurance, utilities, 401k, etc. Then divide by the number of hours you work monthly.
This will help you make much wiser decisions.
Summener99 t1_j5loayz wrote
That just makes life fucking depressing. It's har, for example, to understand the true value of a cup of coffee or a jug of milk.
You're work may also be overvalued or undervalued
[deleted] t1_j5lqh5a wrote
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coruptedtwnklsprkl t1_j5lsv6w wrote
This is a great tip. But honestly I just fucking wing it.
broadmindedman t1_j5lxerm wrote
I give equivalent of one MacBook Pro each month to my landlord. So an upgrade of my MacBook is not that important.
ScarySherry510 t1_j5ly8z2 wrote
I clean for a living & my whole adult life I’ve always been like how many toilets 🚽 do I have to clean 🧼 to buy this ???it really does help 🥰
James_Scotch t1_j5m6pjg wrote
Hmm I look at it a bit different and think avout how much money I'd need to invest in order to gain that back (:
bluecrowned t1_j5m8dle wrote
I'm in a lot of credit card debt right now and will probably just cry if I think about this too hard.
i3ong t1_j5mfld8 wrote
I think about this every time I feel the urge to speed or run a yellow/red light when late for work etc. 5 minutes late or 3 days pay… I’m always late!!
trogloherb t1_j5mlza2 wrote
This LPT works well when using Cocaine. Ive heard.
[deleted] t1_j5mzu26 wrote
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4BigHoffy t1_j5prylm wrote
So my last bottle of whiskey was 14 hours of work.
And it's still in the box!
Funandgeeky t1_j5r35v4 wrote
I often use this when I'm contemplating spending money, from going out to eat to something bigger. As I've gotten older, the hours required are fewer. Sometimes the purchase is only a few minutes of work. So then I weigh that time versus the time I would enjoy the expense. If it seems like a good deal, I'll often take it.
You only live once, and as long as I can afford it, I'd rather enjoy my life. That doesn't mean I'm irresponsible with money. But I'm not just living for the future. I don't want to get there and regret not enjoying this time now.
Flair_Helper t1_j5shqrq wrote
Hello humvee911, thank you for your submission! Unfortunately, it has been removed for the following reason:
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myrevenge_IS_urkarma t1_j5ijeiq wrote
Better strategy, get a job working so much that you don't have time to spend it. You save even more and often forget to stop and think about how poor you really are. Win-win!
DaMailmann t1_j5ixz7q wrote
This only works if you make a low hourly.
stayh1gh361 t1_j5kaclw wrote
You can earn your living with 1 finger. For the Nature and humanity, it is much better to consume less material goods and invest more time into evolving as human. The earth needs some regeneration.
Dauoa_Static t1_j5hqnpd wrote
This is a pretty good life pro tip, but I feel like the further I progress in my career, the more I justify spending money lol. "Oh, $10 for lunch? No problem, that's just 15 minutes of work". Then I look at my credit card statement and spent like $500 on food