julianorts OP t1_j6frg0b wrote on January 30, 2023 at 12:41 AM

Reply to comment by Jwing01 in I want to pay off my car. Should I stop adding to savings? by julianorts

I’m not sure I get your shovel metaphor!

NickatinaGold t1_j6fvgf2 wrote on January 30, 2023 at 1:09 AM

Let's say you want to dig a hole. A small shovel will dig it in 100 scoops. A big shovel can move more dirt so it will dig it in 50 scoops, so it will take half as long.

Let's say you want to pay off your $10,000 car loan. If you pay $100 a month, it will take 100 months. If you pay $200 a month, it will take 50 months, so it will take half as long.

Bigger shovel = more money towards your car loan

julianorts OP t1_j6fyp6v wrote on January 30, 2023 at 1:32 AM

thanks for explaining!!

Maximus15637 t1_j6ib1rh wrote on January 30, 2023 at 3:17 PM

As an archaeologist with a lot of real shovel time this one bugs me. There are diminishing returns for shovel size, at least for shovels operated by hand. If your shovel gets much larger than a regular shovel then it becomes too heavy and unwieldy. I can’t just show up to site dragging a 50 pound 8 foot wide shovel monstrosity and expect to dig any faster! Unless of course it’s attached mechanical excavator, but now the metaphor is really dying.