When I was 18 I put money into car extras that lost value, things like cosmetic upgrades and a nicer stereo. If I had sent that cash to savings or a simple index fund, I would be better off today. My takeaway is to avoid sinking money into depreciating assets unless it improves safety or reliability. I’m trying to get better about spotting the little choices that really add up over time.
Looking back, I wish I had saved instead of upgrading my car. What change paid off most for you over time?
byu/GameGlitcher_999 inFrugal
Posted by GameGlitcher_999
15 Comments
Setting financial goals and sticking to them. Buying what I need rather than want.
I find that I have spent a lot of money on low quality products which ended up breaking or not working. I should have shelled out the money for the higher quality product and it would have been a one-time purchase.
I have also spent money on gadgets and doo-dads to organize my house which ended up being gimmicky. For example, I have several organizing bins with lids that I bought for my pantry which I now never use. So dumb.
You’re going to be dead one day and you can’t take your money with you. So it’s ok to spend things on comfort sometimes too.
Cars are such a stupidly expensive hobby. Having a cheaper one helps a ton.
I’m 30 now but I had a similar situation as you growing up (teenage years). I spent too much money on cars, games and whatever I wanted. Thankfully I grew out of that fairly quickly when I started an internship that had a long commute in college. I started listening to podcasts to pass the time on the commute and got into Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE). So when I started working full time and started making a lot more money I was already prepared with what I needed to do.
Basically I’ve stopped buying things that still work. As an example, I bought a pixel 2 XL and kept it for years. Normally I would upgrade it but I kept it. I only upgraded it after I fell down the stairs and the screen shattered. I kept using it for a little bit until I cut my ear on a phone call since it was shattered. I probably should have just upgraded it after I fell and before I cut myself, live and learn lol.
Every time I got a raise, I would increase my 401k contribution. My salary would increase but my paycheck stayed the same for years until I started maxing it out. It helped me not have a lifestyle creep.
I was almost always better off with older cars and working on them. I went to the bank recently and the banker liked my car. I told him it was $200 years ago and I put an engine in it. I told him I shouldn’t mess around so much, but if I die tomorrow I had fun. He said he agreed
Tattoos.
They’re cool and addicting. But they’re only cool if you’re not poor😂
When paying your bills, pay your savings account first. When you have enough invest. Buy only things that are useful and needed. Treat yourself only occasionally.
tools and training to fix your car. you can save a lot if you know how to do some basic mechanic work.
making a commitment to cook at home more, I also feel much healthier
it’s cliche but spending money on experiences instead of stuff. I hate dusting so remind myself of this anytime I want to buy something that will just sit there. then I only get the few things I really love.
When I was 18 I wished that I followed my gut instead of giving in to my mother. She forced me to buy a car from my brother instead of letting me invest into Microsoft. I had $2000 saved up and was going to put half of it into their stock then use the other half to get a junker. Instead all of it went to my brother for a car he rebuilt aka a junker.
Sorry about that vent.
Changes I made over the years would be realizing that I do not need to have the latest and greatest of things so buying used but perfectly fine items is fine. Getting into the mindset of do I truly need it or is it just something cool and fun to have is the most important part of living frugal.
I bought a speaker adapter for my car 2 years ago. It is an older car and this makes my car have bluetooth capability! It was about $500 and I would do it again in a heartbeat! Eating out less is something that I am currently working on!
In terms of money – going after jobs that paid well instead of jobs I wanted to do. Of course helping people is fulfilling but in this day and age, it’s not valued. Only when I started having “real jobs” (I work in accounting/finance now) did the change pay off. It’s very hard to budget out of poverty if you don’t have money.
Was that fulfilling? No, and now I’m back to a part time job with a side hustle. But that’s the change that paid off most over time.
You over improved your car so now you know that can happen with a home, your wardrobe, your yard. Look at expenditures as investments until you have FU money.