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.
tsffrc t1_j5mcpqu wrote
Reply to comment by Dauoa_Static in LPT: A good financial habit to get into is treating money as hours of work. Ask yourself how many hours of work something would take if you buy it. The awareness of the amount of time you put into purchases helps reduce compulsive spending. by humvee911
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!