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If you've come across my posts in the past, you might have noticed that I'm selectively frugal. I don't follow the traditional penny savings as many on this board.
This is an interesting article that I came across about why frugality might not be the best method to maximize your funds.
forget-frugality-focus-on-earning-more: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/112633/forget-frugality-focus-on-earning-more?mod=bb-budgeting - broken link)
I'm not saying that frugality is bad, but this is just a different outlook.
This "outlook" is not only poppycock written to fool the weak minds of many lazy people it is a harmful lie that will cause many to take on debt that will haunt them forever.
There is just so much of everything to go around so with the planets population growing everyday there will be less for all. Get to know the "Concept of Enough" to find a life in better balance rather than the drivel this linked site is trying to sell you.
This "outlook" is not only poppycock written to fool the weak minds of many lazy people it is a harmful lie that will cause many to take on debt that will haunt them forever.
There is just so much of everything to go around so with the planets population growing everyday there will be less for all. Get to know the "Concept of Enough" to find a life in better balance rather than the drivel this linked site is trying to sell you.
Your logic of increased population leading to decreased employment opportunities defies the fundamental laws of economics. As population increases, so will the demand.
This article is very realistic and can be applied to many (but not all) people.
Why am I frugal? Simple. I don't want to work much.
Spending lots of time trying to save that last $1 or 100 is work.
Getting a higher paying job that requires more hours is work.
Figuring out bus schedules, walking ,and waiting for the bus because you're too cheap to own a car (and don't live in nyc, chicago, boston, san francisco, etc) is work.
Eliminating more expenses you don't need is frugality.
Knowing you can live several years on your savings and investments if u were fired tomorrow is frugality (and freedom)
The people with the least experience (read: youngest) are most likely to subscribe to this theory. More mature people (read: older) realize that saving money for a rainy day is a wise move.
My mom used to say that millionaires don't get rich by spending all their money. That might not be true in all cases, but it is in some.
Te truth is that what is referred to as millionaires foten are the highest risk takes and committ much of their money to risk taking adventures and foten fail several times before succeeding.
Your logic of increased population leading to decreased employment opportunities defies the fundamental laws of economics.
The point being made here is a pet peeve of mine...
and something I disagree with you on regarding established countries like the US.
Quote:
As population increases, so will the demand.
For developing countries that need the infrastructure and industrial base to be developed from nothing... that demand is nearly endless.
It used to be that way in the US and the west in general...
but now we're just not creating more "new" real jobs (real= well paying industrial and labor positions with benefits).
Plenty of McJobs get created... but not the well paying with benefits real ones.
And there is a fair bit of churn of other jobs as work shifts around the country too.
But that really isn't new additional man hours.
It's just a change in location where they're being worked (at lower wage rates usually).
Absent that industrial base we've since exported
and absent that infrastructure growth that we really don't need more of...
those jobs don't need to be created (or re-created).
---
This is the larger truth behind the stagnant un and under employment we have.
The balance of the US economy is getting along just fine with out those other 20-40 Million people being fully employed.
Work in the US used to be based on one adult per household "putting in his 40" and earning enough from that 2080hr commitment to house and clothe and feed their dependents including reasonably adequate medial/dental care and enough paid vacation time for a couple weeks a year at the beach or the mountains too. If the other adult in the family worked too in most instances it was done for "extra" money not as being required to pay for the basic life they have.
The raw number of annual work hours has decreased deeply...
at the same time that the raw number of people has increased deeply.
Do the math.
Last edited by MrRational; 04-30-2011 at 12:08 PM..
I'm not saying that frugality is bad, but this is just a different outlook.
The two hand in hand ROCK! In 1997 my husband was laid off, and I went back to work full time. We made maybe 35K that year, the year before we made about 48K. We made it by being frugal. (We live in a high cost of living area) In June 1998, after having no luck in finding a job, he started his own business. I quit work and joined him in October That year we earned about the same.... with in 2 years we were in the 80's, and now we easily earn 120K a year. This is all pre-tax and we have to pay estimated taxes.
We still live frugally, but we have some extravagances.... because our work is hard and physical, and we are in our fifties. I expect we won't be able to do it much past 55 -- or at least we will have to cut back. My goal at 55 is to have enough to retire to last the rest of our lives, and to be able to move where we want, and to be able to either build the dream house or buy a wreck that we can rehab to our liking. (Our dreams are not big....my big dream is to have 2 bathrooms, and a dishwasher)..
So our main goal is to save save save... and we do... I save around 2500 a month.
Why am I frugal? Simple. I don't want to work much.
Spending lots of time trying to save that last $1 or 100 is work.
Getting a higher paying job that requires more hours is work.
Figuring out bus schedules, walking ,and waiting for the bus because you're too cheap to own a car (and don't live in nyc, chicago, boston, san francisco, etc) is work.
Eliminating more expenses you don't need is frugality.
Knowing you can live several years on your savings and investments if u were fired tomorrow is frugality (and freedom)
I see your point of not wanting to work hard or much as a reason for being frugal. I suppose if not working is high priority, then frugality seems like a good fit.
Your owning a car point goes against frugality, albeit for a good reason. In reality, most of the US lacks sufficient public transportation.
Finally, you don't have to be frugal to save and invest money. The article isn't saying to spend all your money. All it is saying is that you can earn more money rather than reducing expenses and you will have the same result.
The people with the least experience (read: youngest) are most likely to subscribe to this theory. More mature people (read: older) realize that saving money for a rainy day is a wise move.
My mom used to say that millionaires don't get rich by spending all their money. That might not be true in all cases, but it is in some.
Okay. But you didn't address the article at all. The article doesn't say to spend all your money. All it says is that an alternative to frugality is to bump up your income. The net cash flow result is the same either way. Just that for one, you reduce expenses, while the other you work a little more.
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