…for most of us, it would probably be easy to save for retirement if we
were willing to live like your parents did–or at least like my parents
did. One television, no stereo, no VCR, no cable, one (used) car, six
rooms for four people, no eating out, no cell phones, no vacations
other than visiting relatives, stretching meat out with egg and bread
and noodle rings, jello as a salad, turn the light off when you leave
the room and get off the phone–it’s long distance!
Jane Galt has more. Saving is less fun than it used to be, most of all in the United States. That is one reason why we save less, or save only in fun forms, such as capital gains on our homes. The better your society at marketing and retail, the harder it is for abstinence to compete.
That’s why you should “pay yourself first” and automatically! When presented with the marginal case to spend or save, we almost always choose that which is more immediate.
The miracle of compound interest doesn’t really sink in when you are looking at the latest cell or 3D game.
You don’t even realize you’re missing out on one extra of the latest toys if you never see the money. This is coming from a young home-owner with an IRA.
On the other hand, the only tax-advantaged defined-contribution retirement plan people had back then was the Payroll Savings Plan (i.e., Savings Bonds), which were a rotten investment with no employer matching or ability to diversify.
A neighbor who works as a financial advisor is often struck in comparing the net worth of some lawyers driving BMWs and taking overseas vacations with that of a Vietnamese or a Korean couple who started out penniless and now own restaurants. These lawyers come off looking poorly next to either the Vietnamese or the Koreans. He said, “You won’t believe how many of these [lawyers and doctors] have nearly negative net worth.”
What’s amazing is not that some people are poor, but that some people who should be rich, aren’t.
The easiest way to do it is to not increase your standard of living when you get a raise. Instead, pay yourself first with the extra money, like Ivan Kirigin mentioned. Preferably into your 401(k) or Roth IRA, of course, but don’t stop when you’re maxing out your retirement account contributions.
Better to start earlier and not wait at all, but this way is almost completely painless.
“The other thing is credit is much easier to come buy in 2005 than it was in 1955. I get 100+ credit card applications per week, some in Chinese and Spanish even, and only a small percentage of that has to do with my income.”
Note, however, that just because you get a “pre-approved” credit card offer is no guarantee that you’ll actually get the card if you apply. A rejection is entirely possible. While there’s no doubt that credit is easier to get today than it was in past decades, it’s not quite as easy to get as all these credit card offers would lead you to believe.
Haven’t this thread overlooked the fact that the real price of goods has fallen over time, and that a host of innovated goods we take for granted today didn’t exist back in Pleasantville? Scuse me, but I didn’t see Gram and Gramps on CMDA asking whether to bring home sushi or sashimi for take out. I think Michael Cox at the Dallas Fed has had a lot to say on this.
This will be true when electronics become more expensive and
housing becomes cheaper. It is not true at this time. Electronics costs
less as a percentage of middle class expenditures in 2005 compared to
middle class expenditures on housing in 1955, 1965, 1975, 1985, and 1995.
Last time I looked, average work hours were still declining slowly, although not for the professional classes. And I think that we’re consuming much more than our parents did, particularly in the form of housing, but also in restaurant meals and so forth. Nor do I buy the notion that our lives have become uniquely stressful; working in a factory full of big moving things that can kill you, or little chemical things that can poison you, or medium-sized sharp things that can cut a limb off, is way more stressful than my job.
I’m with Jane on the work stress issue. I work in cubeland as an entry-level analyst at a bank…the worst job-related injury I’m likely to suffer is a bit of ye olde carpal tunnel. The worst stress comes from other folks at the bank calling me with innane questions, but I’ll take that over the threat of being crushed by some sort of metal stamping machine.
I think life has simple pleasures, but the simpler they are, the less likely someone is to market them. I think there’s a magazine called “Real Simple” isn’t there? (maybe discussed before) If they write as story about a simple thing, which doesn’t require any purchases … who’s going to put an ad next to it?
Maybe this is “too simple” to even bring up, but in a mass production and mass consumption economy, the fast majority of the “messages flying” are about to buy something, and be happy. That becomes the societal expectation, and “voluntary simplicity” types end up as fringe weirdos, fed by a few low-volume outlets.
I mentioned that I hike and bike. I “gear up” a bit for that, but I’m a little stubborn. I don’t want to be one of those people I see coming the other way, clothed head-to-toe as the latest sport-fashion-victim. YMMV.
I’m not sure saving was ever “fun,” but neither is lying awake at night worrying about debt. Being skeptical of marketing and retail can take one a long way. I wouldn’t like to think that a manufacturer or an ad agency could push me into buying crap I don’t need. I don’t do recreational shopping, don’t impulse-buy, I pay in cash whenever possible, don’t carry credit card debt, do drive cars until they die of old age, etc. I don’t feel I’m giving up much, and I don’t feel stressed by either debt or too many “toys” to which I must attend.
My wife and I share one car. It’s been easy to adapt to the lifestyle. It is a lifestyle. Occasionally my parents leave their car with us when they travel, and then we get out of sync for a while.
Admittedly we do live in a city with good public transportation and many shops in walking and biking distance. When we lived in rural New York, one car was not an option. But then, everything else was a lot cheaper.
<>
The Japanese don’t find it hard.
google排å
wow power leveling
wow power leveling
wow powerleveling
wow powerleveling
wow power level
wow power level
hongkong hotel
hongkong hotel
beijing tour
beijing tour
翻译公å¸
翻译公å¸
上海翻译公å¸
上海翻译公å¸
北京翻译公å¸
北京翻译公å¸
é—¨ç¦
wow gold
wow gold
powerleveling
powerleveling
wow powerleveling
wow powerleveling
wow power leveling
wow power leveling
power leveling
power leveling
wow power level
wow power level
china tour
china tour
猎头
猎头
货架
货架
货架
google排å
google排å
wow gold
wow gold
翻译公å¸
翻译公å¸
上海翻译公å¸
上海翻译公å¸
北京翻译公å¸
北京翻译公å¸
仓库
仓库
仓库出租
仓库出租
物æµå›åŒº
物æµå›åŒº
监控
监控
æ¿€å…‰æ‰“æ ‡æœº
软件工程硕士
工程地毯
工程地毯
集团电è¯
集团电è¯
æ¿€å…‰æ‰“æ ‡æœº
æ¿€å…‰æ‰“æ ‡æœº
打包机
打包机
拓展è®ç»ƒ
拓展
拓展培è®
wanyamin 07年7月11日
wow gold
wow gold
powerleveling
powerleveling
wow power leveling
wow power leveling
wow powerleveling
wow powerleveling
world of warcraft powerleveling
world of warcraft powerleveling
world of warcraft power leveling
world of warcraft power leveling
cheap wow powerleveling
cheap wow powerleveling
cheap wow power leveling
cheap wow power leveling
hongkong hotel
hongkong hotel
beijing tour
beijing tour
é—¨ç¦
集团电è¯
集团电è¯
光盘制作
光盘å°åˆ·
光盘å°åˆ·
红外测温仪
红外测温仪
超声波测厚仪
超声波测厚仪
超声波探伤仪
超声波探伤仪
频闪仪
频闪仪
涂层测厚仪
涂层测厚仪
电ç«èŠ±æ£€æµ‹ä»ª
电ç«èŠ±æ£€æµ‹ä»ª
æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
北京æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
网站设计
网站设计
多媒体
google排å
wow gold
翻译公å¸
翻译公å¸
上海翻译公å¸
上海翻译公å¸
北京翻译公å¸
北京翻译公å¸
货架
货架
货架
猎头
猎头
软件测试工程师
软件测试工程师
软件测试
软件测试
软件测试培è®
软件测试培è®
仓库
仓库
仓库出租
仓库出租
物æµå›åŒº
物æµå›åŒº
摆闸
痤疮
痤疮
色斑
色斑
黄è¤æ–‘
黄è¤æ–‘
é’春痘
é’春痘
å£è…”医生
å£è…”医生
å£è…”
å£è…”
å£è…”医院
å£è…”医院
å£è…”科
å£è…”科
三星集团电è¯æœº
呼å«ä¸å¿ƒ
电è¯äº¤æ¢æœº
交æ¢æœº
呼å«ä¸å¿ƒ
测厚仪
测温仪
åœè½¦åœº
é“é—¸
cheap Silkroad gold
cheap Silkroad gold
Silkroad gold
Silkroad gold
Silkroad Online gold
Silkroad Online gold
sro gold
sro gold
Archlord gold
Archlord gold
cheap Archlord gold
cheap Archlord gold
Archlord Online gold
Archlord Online gold
buy cheap Archlord gold
buy cheap Archlord gold
Dofus kamas
Dofus kamas
cheap Dofus kamas
cheap Dofus kamas
Dofus gold
Dofus gold
Dofus money
Dofus money
Rappelz Rupees
Rappelz Rupees
Rappelz gold
Rappelz gold
cheap Rappelz Rupees
cheap Rappelz Rupees
houyuping 07年7月12日
google排å
google排å
wow gold
wow gold
powerleveling
powerleveling
wow powerleveling
wow powerleveling
wow power leveling
wow power leveling
power leveling
power leveling
wow power level
wow power level
Ddo plat
Ddo plat
FFXI Gil
FFXI Gil
GW Gold
GW Gold
GW Power Leveling
GW Power Leveling
RS Gold
RS Gold
RS Power Leveling
RS Power Leveling
Lotro Gold
Lotro Gold
Lotro Power leveling
Lotro Power leveling
翻译公å¸
翻译公å¸
上海翻译公å¸
上海翻译公å¸
北京翻译公å¸
北京翻译公å¸
监控
货架
货架
货架
涂层测厚仪
涂层测厚仪
翻译公å¸
仓库
仓库
仓库出租
仓库出租
物æµå›åŒº
物æµå›åŒº
红外测温仪
红外测温仪
超声波测厚仪
超声波测厚仪
超声波探伤仪
超声波探伤仪
频闪仪
频闪仪
涂层测厚仪
涂层测厚仪
电ç«èŠ±æ£€æµ‹ä»ª
电ç«èŠ±æ£€æµ‹ä»ª
google排å
é—¨ç¦
é—¨ç¦
é—¨ç¦ç³»ç»Ÿ
é—¨ç¦ç³»ç»Ÿ
æ¬å®¶
æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
北京æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
光盘制作
光盘å°åˆ·
光盘å°åˆ·
æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
æ¿€å…‰æ‰“æ ‡æœº
æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
北京æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
hongkong hotel
hongkong hotel
beijing tour
beijing tour
集团电è¯
集团电è¯
wow power leveling
wow power leveling
wow powerleveling
wow powerleveling
wow power level
wow power level
china tour
china tour
é’春痘
é’春痘
摆闸
痤疮
痤疮
色斑
色斑
黄è¤æ–‘
黄è¤æ–‘
é’春痘
é’春痘
å£è…”医生
å£è…”医生
å£è…”
å£è…”
å£è…”医院
å£è…”医院
å£è…”科
å£è…”科
三星集团电è¯æœº
呼å«ä¸å¿ƒ
电è¯äº¤æ¢æœº
交æ¢æœº
呼å«ä¸å¿ƒ
测厚仪
测温仪
åœè½¦åœº
é“é—¸
liying 07年7月12日
google排å
google排å
wow gold
wow gold
wow gold
wow gold
powerleveling
powerleveling
wow power leveling
wow power leveling
wow powerleveling
wow powerleveling
world of warcraft powerleveling
world of warcraft powerleveling
world of warcraft power leveling
world of warcraft power leveling
hongkong hotel
hongkong hotel
beijing tour
beijing tour
翻译公å¸
翻译公å¸
上海翻译公å¸
上海翻译公å¸
é—¨ç¦
北京翻译公å¸
北京翻译公å¸
google排å
集团电è¯
集团电è¯
仓库
仓库
仓库出租
仓库出租
物æµå›åŒº
物æµå›åŒº
æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
北京æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
æ¬å®¶
æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
北京æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
北京æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
china tour
china tour
多媒体
货架
货架
货架
光盘刻录
光盘刻录
光盘制作
光盘制作
光盘å°åˆ·
光盘å°åˆ·
摆闸
痤疮
痤疮
色斑
色斑
黄è¤æ–‘
黄è¤æ–‘
é’春痘
é’春痘
å£è…”医生
å£è…”医生
å£è…”
å£è…”
å£è…”医院
å£è…”医院
å£è…”科
å£è…”科
三星集团电è¯æœº
呼å«ä¸å¿ƒ
电è¯äº¤æ¢æœº
交æ¢æœº
呼å«ä¸å¿ƒ
测厚仪
测温仪
åœè½¦åœº
é“é—¸
liying 07年7月19日
google排å
google排å
wow gold
wow gold
wow gold
wow gold
powerleveling
powerleveling
wow power leveling
wow power leveling
wow powerleveling
wow powerleveling
world of warcraft powerleveling
world of warcraft powerleveling
world of warcraft power leveling
world of warcraft power leveling
hongkong hotel
hongkong hotel
beijing tour
beijing tour
翻译公å¸
翻译公å¸
上海翻译公å¸
上海翻译公å¸
é—¨ç¦
北京翻译公å¸
北京翻译公å¸
google排å
超声波探伤仪
超声波探伤仪
物æµå›åŒº
物æµå›åŒº
æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
北京æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
æ¬å®¶
æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
北京æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
北京æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
beijing
beijing
china tour
china tour
great wall
beijing travel
beijing travel
china tour
china tour
网站设计
多媒体
货架
货架
货架
光盘刻录
光盘刻录
光盘制作
光盘制作
光盘å°åˆ·
光盘å°åˆ·
摆闸
痤疮
痤疮
色斑
色斑
黄è¤æ–‘
黄è¤æ–‘
é’春痘
é’春痘
å£è…”医生
å£è…”医生
å£è…”
å£è…”
å£è…”医院
å£è…”医院
å£è…”科
å£è…”科
三星集团电è¯æœº
呼å«ä¸å¿ƒ
电è¯äº¤æ¢æœº
交æ¢æœº
呼å«ä¸å¿ƒ
测厚仪
测温仪
åœè½¦åœº
é“é—¸
houyuping 07年8月15日
wow gold
wow gold
wow power leveling
wow power leveling
wow powerleveling
wow powerleveling
world of warcraft powerleveling
world of warcraft powerleveling
world of warcraft power leveling
world of warcraft power leveling
powerleveling
powerleveling
wow powerleveling
wow powerleveling
wow power leveling
wow power leveling
power leveling
power leveling
wow power level
wow power level
china tour
china tour
翻译公å¸
翻译公å¸
上海翻译公å¸
上海翻译公å¸
北京翻译公å¸
北京翻译公å¸
监控
货架
鼓风机
风机
风机
涂层测厚仪
涂层测厚仪
红外测温仪
红外测温仪
超声波测厚仪
超声波测厚仪
超声波探伤仪
超声波探伤仪
频闪仪
频闪仪
涂层测厚仪
涂层测厚仪
电ç«èŠ±æ£€æµ‹ä»ª
电ç«èŠ±æ£€æµ‹ä»ª
google排å
é—¨ç¦
é—¨ç¦
é—¨ç¦ç³»ç»Ÿ
é—¨ç¦ç³»ç»Ÿ
æ¬å®¶
æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
北京æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
光盘制作
光盘å°åˆ·
光盘å°åˆ·
æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
æ¿€å…‰æ‰“æ ‡æœº
æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
北京æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
hongkong hotel
hongkong hotel
beijing tour
beijing tour
集团电è¯
集团电è¯
china tour
china tour
é’春痘
é’春痘
houyuping 07年8月16日
wow gold
wow gold
wow power leveling
wow power leveling
wow powerleveling
wow powerleveling
world of warcraft powerleveling
world of warcraft powerleveling
world of warcraft power leveling
world of warcraft power leveling
powerleveling
powerleveling
wow powerleveling
wow powerleveling
wow power leveling
wow power leveling
power leveling
power leveling
wow power level
wow power level
china tour
china tour
翻译公å¸
翻译公å¸
上海翻译公å¸
上海翻译公å¸
北京翻译公å¸
北京翻译公å¸
监控
货架
鼓风机
风机
风机
涂层测厚仪
涂层测厚仪
红外测温仪
红外测温仪
超声波测厚仪
超声波测厚仪
超声波探伤仪
超声波探伤仪
频闪仪
频闪仪
涂层测厚仪
涂层测厚仪
电ç«èŠ±æ£€æµ‹ä»ª
电ç«èŠ±æ£€æµ‹ä»ª
google排å
é—¨ç¦
é—¨ç¦
é—¨ç¦ç³»ç»Ÿ
é—¨ç¦ç³»ç»Ÿ
æ¬å®¶
æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
北京æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
光盘制作
光盘å°åˆ·
光盘å°åˆ·
æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
æ¿€å…‰æ‰“æ ‡æœº
æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
北京æ¬å®¶å…¬å¸
hongkong hotel
hongkong hotel
beijing tour
beijing tour
集团电è¯
集团电è¯
china tour
china tour
é’春痘
é’春痘
Comments on this entry are closed.