Tips on being a cheap piece of shit

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A lot of life decisions are made based on the community we belong or think we belong to. Most people have a hard time imagining themselves simply alone, or more to the point, of actually leaving behind perfectly satisfactory friends or family.

That creates a problem for this thread. I have a friend who lives on Long Island, NY, north shore, about a 15 minute walk from the sound. Everyone he knows is there. He just can't imagine leaving. "Living cheaply in Long Island" is around 50k a year or thereabouts. That might be too low, certainly too low for the North Shore of LI, and that's assuming you own your stuff and house free and clear.

Lots of people want to live cheaply while not drastically changing their lives, location, and friends -- which tend to be all connected.

So this thread probably is not going to work. Some people spend a lot of time cruising for boys, that's their circle, their community, their people, and an old dart ain't gonna cut it -- I get that.

Some people think big changes that save $$$ especially as the final decades unwind. Some people want small changes that save $ over time. Two different questions.
 
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Big Phoenix

Pronouns: zie/zhem/zer
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Seems like an appropriate thread but how the hell does Honey make enough money to hand out gift cards? What back end shenanigans are they doing that is generating money for them?
 

Arbitrary

Tranny Chaser
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ironicowl.gif


You can get some sweet shirts at your local thrift store.
 

Flobee

Vyemm Raider
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Got a 2012 Civic for under 10k. ~50k miles and average around 38-40 mpg because I drive like an old woman. It is less relevant post-COVID but changing the way I drive really saved me a lot of money. Turns out if you go 2-4 MPH lower than the speedlimit on cruise control, you have a much better driving experience and you use significantly less gas.

Cash back credit cards for all of my spending has been helpful as well. Save that bit of money and have a very clear view of what we spend each month.

100% home cooked meals is pretty big for us too. Although food prices have been going up a ton I'm not entirely sure if restaurant prices are going up at the same rate?

Next step is leaving the city. Time to get some land, grow some food, and hope daddy Elon gets me good rural internet.
 
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Breakdown

Gunnar Durden
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My wife’s last two cars
2008 Prius Brand new 26k drive for 10 years
2018 Subaru Forrester 28k brand new making her keep 10 years. Needed the room for kids.

my last two cars
2003 Oldsmobile Alero 11k brand new drive for 10 years.
2013 Dodge Avenger Brand new 13k currently in year 7, it’s been paid off for a long time and I’m gonna drive it till it’s dead then buy something new.

why did I buy Avenger? Cheap. New. Reliable. Haven’t spent a dollar on repairs since i bought it since I keep up on maintenance. Looks good for what it is. Is one of the heaviest sedans you can buy which is good for Buffalo winter. Thing outweighs most smaller suvs.

I don’t think I’ll ever go the older car route because I just don’t have the time or inclination to worry about repairs or it hitting a wall. But I see no need to ever buy something expensive or flashy even though I can afford it.
I buy my wife slightly more expensive cars but still on the low end of price. She had to have a Prius then had to have a suv. So went Subaru because they drive forever. I should probably upgrade on size now with a 4 year old and 2 year old but fuck it. Cars are a waste of money. My wife wants me to buy a large suv like an expedition or something and I don’t want a giant monstrosity in my garage and I refuse to buy anything old or used and refuse to pay over 30k for any car. We will see how that works out.

cars should always be based on

price
Reliability
Condition
Storage
Seat comfort

If speed or looks comes into the equation you probably have a small dick and play tummy sticks with old men at the porn shop
 
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Flobee

Vyemm Raider
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My wife’s last two cars
2008 Prius Brand new 26k drive for 10 years
2018 Subaru Forrester 28k brand new making her keep 10 years. Needed the room for kids.

my last two cars
2003 Oldsmobile Alero 11k brand new drive for 10 years.
2013 Dodge Avenger Brand new 13k currently in year 7, it’s been paid off for a long time and I’m gonna drive it till it’s dead then buy something new.
Impressive longevity. CNY eats cars alive in my experience. All that salt rusts them out quick
 
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Breakdown

Gunnar Durden
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Impressive longevity. CNY eats cars alive in my experience. All that salt rusts them out quick

The key? Be lazy on the snow at the end of the driveway. I bottom out eveyr time I pull in and it cleans the bottom of the car

JK.

Membership t Delta sonic. I wash my cars on the way home from work 3 times a week in the winter. I think that helps clean out the salt. Or im lucky
 
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Mudcrush Durtfeet

Hungry Ogre
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no, you are thinking Chryslers hehe. I had a friend who fancied those. He was a raging alcoholic and drove drunk and was convinced a big early - mid 70's land boat gave him the best odds of surviving anything. And yeah, that's the gas mileage for those tanks. The back seat was like a room, not a seat.

But power steering and brakes was standard in the mid 70's. The dart btw gets an easy 35 mpg highway.

But it's clear we are tackling things inefficiently here. And if this ragtag group of idealistic kids who just might make it is good at anything, it is efficiency.

The OP began (at least) with the following overture, which has beckoned forth all the sprites and spirits of the forest:


SO: older I get + more liquid assets I acquire = how can I live cheaply? Let's summarize this as A(age) + L(liquid assets) ---> C(cheap life).

A + L ---> C.

The value of both A and L are increasing -- the OP is not getting any younger, and he is happily not getting poorer. And, he wishes to live cheaply moving forward.

But even given these stipulations, why C? If I grant A and L, I do not see why C is implied. I'm sorry. It does not necessarily follow.

Unfortunately, the OP is of little help here. He tells us


Yeah, that does not really help some of us.

I've been mad as hell since cellphones. That was my "ejection button" moment. Beam me up Scottie. Fuck cellphones, your brains are all controlled now and you do not even realize it, and the thing is, not only are you fucked by a cellphone, there is a high likelihood your mother was fucked by a cellphone and you smiled as you watched your daughter get fucked by a cellphone for the first time.

But that stuff helps no one.

We need to define our respective objectives. The OP tires of working for the social marxists corporatists (who are clearly inside his head at this point) and I weary of cellphone world. Maybe other people have positive reasons! Stamp collecting is an amazing hobby if you can be disciplined enough to really get a nice collection going. Cheap living is a deft move if one wants to really pursue philately.

So, we got A and L and C, and the reason for C is highly variable, the value of L is variable, and the location one is in the A spectrum is playing a role here.

A few questions would help us all.

Why do you want to live cheaply?
a) planet
b) social marxism
c) cellphones
d) other

How is your L doing?
a) most excellent. I had a very nice inheritance.
b) a decent return on much hard work, quite pleased.
c) are you kidding me? My entire industry turned into Chernobyl this year.
d) other

Where are you in the aging process?
a) This is it, you only get one chance at it buddy, and I for one intend to have zero regrets in life.
b) I work out, I watch what I eat, I'm not stupid, the divorce sucked but I am ready to fuck again.
c) Regrets, I've had a few, but then again, too few to mention.
d) other


Great wall of text can be seen from space!
 

Chukzombi

Millie's Staff Member
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My wife’s last two cars
2008 Prius Brand new 26k drive for 10 years
2018 Subaru Forrester 28k brand new making her keep 10 years. Needed the room for kids.

my last two cars
2003 Oldsmobile Alero 11k brand new drive for 10 years.
2013 Dodge Avenger Brand new 13k currently in year 7, it’s been paid off for a long time and I’m gonna drive it till it’s dead then buy something new.

why did I buy Avenger? Cheap. New. Reliable. Haven’t spent a dollar on repairs since i bought it since I keep up on maintenance. Looks good for what it is. Is one of the heaviest sedans you can buy which is good for Buffalo winter. Thing outweighs most smaller suvs.

I don’t think I’ll ever go the older car route because I just don’t have the time or inclination to worry about repairs or it hitting a wall. But I see no need to ever buy something expensive or flashy even though I can afford it.
I buy my wife slightly more expensive cars but still on the low end of price. She had to have a Prius then had to have a suv. So went Subaru because they drive forever. I should probably upgrade on size now with a 4 year old and 2 year old but fuck it. Cars are a waste of money. My wife wants me to buy a large suv like an expedition or something and I don’t want a giant monstrosity in my garage and I refuse to buy anything old or used and refuse to pay over 30k for any car. We will see how that works out.

cars should always be based on

price
Reliability
Condition
Storage
Seat comfort

If speed or looks comes into the equation you probably have a small dick and play tummy sticks with old men at the porn shop
does it make me a boomer if i simply hate the way new cars look? like they all look the same, i dont know how people even find their cars in large parking lots because everything is either a giant truck or a silver crossover. my car looks like nothing on the road anymore. i can spot that fucker from space. i mean its famous. i think it was actually in this tom green movie.
looks exactly like mine.
 
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Lanx

Oye Ve
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My wife’s last two cars
2008 Prius Brand new 26k drive for 10 years
2018 Subaru Forrester 28k brand new making her keep 10 years. Needed the room for kids.

my last two cars
2003 Oldsmobile Alero 11k brand new drive for 10 years.
2013 Dodge Avenger Brand new 13k currently in year 7, it’s been paid off for a long time and I’m gonna drive it till it’s dead then buy something new.

why did I buy Avenger? Cheap. New. Reliable. Haven’t spent a dollar on repairs since i bought it since I keep up on maintenance. Looks good for what it is. Is one of the heaviest sedans you can buy which is good for Buffalo winter. Thing outweighs most smaller suvs.

I don’t think I’ll ever go the older car route because I just don’t have the time or inclination to worry about repairs or it hitting a wall. But I see no need to ever buy something expensive or flashy even though I can afford it.
I buy my wife slightly more expensive cars but still on the low end of price. She had to have a Prius then had to have a suv. So went Subaru because they drive forever. I should probably upgrade on size now with a 4 year old and 2 year old but fuck it. Cars are a waste of money. My wife wants me to buy a large suv like an expedition or something and I don’t want a giant monstrosity in my garage and I refuse to buy anything old or used and refuse to pay over 30k for any car. We will see how that works out.

cars should always be based on

price
Reliability
Condition
Storage
Seat comfort

If speed or looks comes into the equation you probably have a small dick and play tummy sticks with old men at the porn shop
is your wife asian? are you that much of a car racist?
 
4,107
4,043
Parent's house for dinner yesterday. 3 people:

2 small roasts
mashed potatoes
gravy
salad
vegetables
iced tea

It was very tasty. Enough roast beef for 3 hearty sandwiches today. Most expensive thing is of course the roasts. Total was 20 dollars. Rest of ingredients are staples always around. Tea is just homemade. Dressing just a vinaigrette. I'd say that's 25 bucks probably total.

And that's nice roast beef my friends. I happen to be a big fan of meatloaf.

A meatloaf version probably knocks 5-10 bucks off. That's for 3 people, and with plenty for leftovers.

I am just comparing this with my food expenses last year. I always ate out or did delivery.

So, this cooking thing. Might be worth looking into.
 
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kegkilla

The Big Mod
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Parent's house for dinner yesterday. 3 people:

2 small roasts
mashed potatoes
gravy
salad
vegetables
iced tea

It was very tasty. Enough roast beef for 3 hearty sandwiches today. Most expensive thing is of course the roasts. Total was 20 dollars. Rest of ingredients are staples always around. Tea is just homemade. Dressing just a vinaigrette. I'd say that's 25 bucks probably total.

And that's nice roast beef my friends. I happen to be a big fan of meatloaf.

A meatloaf version probably knocks 5-10 bucks off. That's for 3 people, and with plenty for leftovers.

I am just comparing this with my food expenses last year. I always ate out or did delivery.

So, this cooking thing. Might be worth looking into.
There's no such thing as "nice" roast beef
 
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