Frugal thread: Post good tips only

Get a load of this fatcat.

Sorry buddy this is a frugal thread not a millionaire living thread.

What exactly makes me a "fatcat"

>Each blade costs like 10¢ and is good for a minimum of 4 shaves

You're overspending as fuck.

Why even get a gym membership? Find heavy rocks and carry them back to your house. And run on sidewalks or low traffic streets.

2.5¢ a shave is a lot better than disposables.

I do this with pigeons and young tropical parrots

buy the share. phone them up and ask for the discount. they might ask for proof so email them the transaction. simple as that.

Shaving at all is retarded.

Grow as much as facial hair as you can to save on clothes to stay warm in the winter.

That isn't the position I'm in. I do power lifting in my free time. Comparatively speaking, being able to control $10,000+ of equipment for $50/month is a basement bargain.

I don't really care what you all think of my spending habits. The lesson I came here to teach you all is this: ownership is not always the most ideal option. My point about buying a home is another example of this. For the things that matter most to you (for me, power lifting happens to be important; I have been at it for years now and picking up heavy rocks isn't going to do it for me) consider it can be cheaper to rent than to buy. That is all. Take this concept and apply it to whatever you want.

>geese
>trust

>$10,000 worth of equipment

You're fucked in the head if you think you need that much to lift.

>Powerlifting

So you spend your MONEY on the gym and lots of food to keep up your caloric demands?

Shut get the fuck out of here richfuck. Stop terrorizing us and kicking us while we're down.

I work in banking. Untrimmed facial hair is not an option in that environment. Again, saving a few pennies on shaving is a lot more expensive than lost professional opportunity.

Power lifting is my hobby. It's something I'm willing to spend money on. I achieve that ends in the cheapest way possible.

What are your hobbies? What do you like to do?

It's like I'm talking to a brickwall here.

CLIMB DOWN FROM YOUR GOLDEN TOWER AND SPEAK TO US NORMALLY.

HELLO? CAN YOU READ THIS? AM I GETTING THROUGH? HOW IS THE SIGNAL?

I'm frugal in other parts of life so that when it comes to things that I really enjoy and care about, I can afford to do them (while also doing them in the cheapest way I can).

I don't know why you have such a boner for this. What exactly is your purpose for being frugal? Are you deferring consumption now in favor of greater consumption later? Or are you just trying to make sure you have the most expensive tombstone in the graveyard?

I'm just not getting through, am I?

Just fuck off fatcat, go spend on frivolous goods while being ignorant of how most of society lives.

> "Go spend on frivolous goods"
> Typed from internet-connected device that is not necessary for living

I use a $100 smartphone I got from a pawnshop.

I'm typing from McDonald's right now, I tested the connection at 4 of my nearest mcdonald's locations and this had the best internet.

>lifting weights like a retard is my ''''''hobby''''''''
>he pays a lot of money to lift shit
Go back to Veeky Forums you stupid gymrat, you aren't allowed here.

I don't hate you, you know. Even if you're being a prick to me.

Lower your heart rate. Read what I've written, and take it at more than face value. My purpose here wasn't to come and teach you how to work out for the cheapest. I wrote what I wrote because it's a mindset. People (especially Americans), have a predisposition towards ownership. I came here to dispel the notion that ownership is always cheapest and ideal. That was all. I'm trying to help you, not attack you.

I don't want you to continue an existence where you're on McDonald's internet on a $100 pawshop cellphone.

>have a predisposition towards ownership. I came here to dispel the notion that ownership is always cheapest and ideal. That was all. I'm trying to help you, not attack you.

That's because renting is throwing money away.

I feel like you're purposely giving us bad advice to keep us poor. The shit about the gym was just the icing on the cake. We're here, trying, working hard, to make something of ourselves.

And you just come here and start flaunting your wealth. You're basically spitting in our faces and telling us to like it, and that you have our "best interests" in mind.

Seriously. If you're just going to act like this maybe this isn't the place for you, we tried to reason with you but you just love putting down people you see as inferior to yourself.

Gee wow thanks for the love and support big guy.

>Do not buy a fucking house. Residential property is one of the worst "investments" you can make.

t. retard

I look at buying a home as less an investment and more an opt-out of paying rent.

Do I expect to make any money buy owning this house outright in 10-15 years? No, but eventually I won't have a mortgage or a rent payment and will have that money for my own use and not someone else's.

You are mistaken. I swear on my life that renting is a better option.

Google "amortization schedule calculator." I just ran one on a $100,000 loan over 30 years at a 5% rate. After 5 years of payments, you would only have like $8000 in equity. Thats a sliver. Almost all of your payment is interest at this point. You don't start really gaining equity until much later.

Instead of getting an equity sliver that barely appreciates at all in inflation-adjusted terms, I'm proposing that you rent (you can rent an equivalent home for a lot less than a mortgage payment), and then invest the savings you made with that lower payment. Stocks have appreciated 7-8% per year on a long term, inflation-adjusted basis. That's a lot better than what you'll get on a residential property.

Okay then how do i find a good place to rent so I don't get scammed?

I live with my parents to save money and I've been meaning to move out

nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/buy-rent-calculator.html?_r=0

This is worth your time.

More specifically how do I find a good place to live and not pay all my income on rent?

That's really up to you. You'll have to look up listings in the area where you intend to move to.

Just to be clear, what you are saying is highly location dependent. The hidden factor here is maintenance and upkeep. In some places rent is cheaper than combined morgage/tax/insurance/upkeep, in others its not. Older houses are more expensive to upkeep than new.

The argument here is that your down payment will earn more in equities than in principle growth in a single family home. This is typically true except in the following circumstances: low or no down payment USDA mortgages (talking US here), multifamily homes where you can rent out a portion to cover part or all of your mortgage payments.

>, you would only have like $8000 in equity.
assuming your house doesn't increase in value
assuming you chose the 30 year not the 15 or 10

but even then $8k is more than you'd get back renting for 5 years. And your interest is tax-deductible, rent isn't.

>you can rent an equivalent home for a lot less than a mortgage payment
oh, I get it. You've never rented OR bought a home.

This is also an important consideration that I hadn't mentioned. No property tax, repairs are the responsibility of the landlord, no homeowners associations dues, etc.

You can easily burn $8000 on property tax and maintenance over 5 years. Not even considering the volatility cost of being unable to predict ongoing ownership costs.

>You can easily burn $8000 on property tax and maintenance over 5 years
so what?
you think you're not paying those costs when you rent?

you're paying all that plus a profit for your landlord. If you guys were even close to right nobody would rent out property because it's a losing proposition.

fuckin 12 year olds pissing me off

I posted a link earlier to a calculator on the New York Times. Look over it. The numbers do not lie.

The claim is that if you own a $100k house, take a $100k mortgage, and spend more than $8000 on tax and maintenance, then you're below zero, vs renting for the same amount as your mortgage payment, in which case you're right at zero.

This is ignoring the investment return on your down payment, which will be 1-2% on a house, vs putting it into stocks and getting 8-10%, and also ignoring the transaction costs of buying and selling a house, and ignoring how much harder it is to move.

thanks user i like biz, it is like the raw unfiltered place to get info no matter how crazy or ridiculous

yes, that was fun.

it says if I can rent my house for $208/month I'd be better off.

My house will easily rent for $1200/month so there's no way I'm losing money buying.

I suspect that's true in almost all of the US unless you plan on moving every 3 years. Which you guys might, you're young. But that doesn't make buying a losing proposition for people that aren't vagabonds.

>throwing away multiple opportunities for career advancement because of MUH HOME

>This is ignoring the investment return on your down payment
you didn't specify a down payment, if you had your equity in the house would be larger.

you can buy a $100k house in the US with almost nothing down. My bank advertises a $500 down payment.

and houses are increasing in value in most markets, the trend is almost as good as stocks.

First /frugal/ thread huh?

I own a business in my town, I'm not going anywhere.

how are those career opportunities treating you? Good I hope.

It is, actually lol. I only began browsing here a few days ago. It's been enjoyable.

You seem nice so here's a tip. /frugal/ threads are just for laughs. People try to outdo each other by posting ridiculously extreme examples of miserly behaviour, see the op image for examples.

be careful, geese will fuck you up

Yes I'm sure that that one spot that your business is located is in is absolutely the best spot in the entire country to generate the most profits.

Well this is just embarrassing. Ha.

too late to move it now.

>Evaporate ocean water to save money on salt

> you didn't specify a down payment, if you had your equity in the house would be larger
Yes, it would be 1-2% per year larger than the downpayment itself, on average, which is what I said.

The rest of your claims about home values matching stock returns in the US is simply untrue.

NIGHTMARE MODE

You can save the most money by not paying rent or a mortage at all and still working full time.

Get a membership at Planet Fitness or some other low-cost gym. This is where you shower and do personal hygiene. $10-30/mo.

Get a PO box at the Fed Ex store. This is your address you put on everything. PRO-TIP put your box number as 'APT' so your employer, ect doesn't realize it's a PO box. Your mail will still get delivered like normal.

The most important part. Buy a nondescript work van. This is your new home. Park it somewhere different every night. 24 hour wal-marts, truck stops and the sort are the best places, but truck stops are noiser.. PROTIP: Just because you drive a work van doesn't mean people won't notice you parked at their warehouse or whatever. Avoid residential neighborhoods entirely. Highway rest stops seem tempting but they are monitored and you'll eventually be noticed if you stay too long.

There are still laundromats in town. Don't be a stinky homeless person.

I lived like that 4 years in an old Citroen C15 while i was at college so i can afford tuittion fees. Good advice.

>it would be 1-2% per year larger than the downpayment itself,
No, I mean your hypothetical $8k in equity would be increased by the full amount of your down payment.

you're comparing interest on one choice to principle on the other, and you're subtracting out the majority of the principle.

this is a meaningless comparison and (as I pointed out) a lie since you subtracted out the value of the principle to negate returns.

I don't really care, I'm just curious if you see what you're doing or if you're actually a retard.

The $8k is the equity you gain from paying the mortgage. The downpayment is basically a separate investment that will appreciate 1-2% per year.

The mortgage payments could have gone to rent for a higher return (as the mortgage puts you below zero after tax and maintenance, while rent returns zero). The downpayments could have done to stocks for a directly higher return.

>The rest of your claims about home values matching stock returns in the US is simply untrue.

Citing the Bay Area throughout the dotcom boom does not refute my general claim.

If you want to make bets on specific areas in specific times you're welcome to, and this may be a reasonable way to speculate if you understand the market, but you can't just buy a random house in the US and expect these returns.

What did you do about girls? Ask them if they want to come back to your shag wagon?

>the mortgage puts you below zero after tax and maintenance,
only for the first five years and then it exponentially rises.

and ignoring the tax breaks for your mortgage you can't get from renting.

and further ignoring the rate of appreciation you quote isn't accurate in any part of the us unless you only count since 2008 or something.

>Citing the Bay Area throughout the dotcom boom does not refute my general claim.
citation for your claim then.

homes have appreciated far more than 1-2% per year since 1935, and I assume you're cherry-picking to get that figure.

either looking at 2008-2012 or maybe counting only Alabama or something.

>5 times lever on the house
>No lever on the stocks
>More ROI on the house

Fuckin' really now?

> Eat less meat, not no meat, just less
> Never buy a new car
> Never finance a car
> Never finance anything other than a mortgage
> Never mortgage for more than 1,5 you annual pre-tax income
> Always pay as much upfront as possible on your mortgage
> Alcohol is cheap, but just as expensive as weed if you drink everyday
> Weed is cheap, but expensive once you have a daily habit
> Don't go clubbing, not worth the expenses or the hangovers
> Never lend to a friend what you cannot afford to loose
> Don't settle and have kids until you are in your 30's, preferably with a woman who is 10 years your junior for reduced autism
> Never trust your bankman
> Never trust your bankman
> Never trust your real-estate-salesman
> Never trust your real-estate-salesman
> Never trust your car salesman
> Never trust your car salesman
> Run and do pushups, situps and all the other bodyweight excersizes instead of wasting thousands of dollars over a lifetime on a gym you never visit because the autism is too strong in you.
> Never get into a relationship with a foreigner from a less developed country (Eastern Europe, Africa, ME, Asia, etc.

I have a power rack with cable attachment, heavy duty adjustable bench, 250kg of weights olympic weights (and barbell).

Shit cost me $500. Just buy secondhand and save that gym money scrub nub

>Never get into a relationship with a foreigner from a less developed country (Eastern Europe, Africa, ME, Asia, etc.
What if it's a second generation immigrant?
Like the daughter of the people who came here from the less developed country, but was actually born and raised here.

That's different, obviously

Yeah, but how different?
Are they equivalent to "completely local" girls, or they retain a bit of the sort of dating culture from their country (if it's one where a lot of girls marry foreigners for money)?

These always turn into shit posts but here's some actual financial advice.

Don't settle for your rising auto insurance rates. Always shop for better deals once a year or so.

Buy a cheap limited data phone plan. I'm connected to Wi-Fi at home and at work. I don't need a 5 or 10Gb plan for the occasional facebook messenger texts when I'm out. I pay for a 1Gb plan.

Stock up on groceries and household items when they are on sale. Don't spend $3 on X as you need it. Buy a bunch of X when they are 2 for $3.

Don't use cash. People lose hundreds each year losing or throwing away loose change.

Put money back each check for your bills. Don't wait until you get paid and spend 80% of your check on rent and grind until your next check. If your rent is $800 a month and you get paid every 2 weeks, put $400 each check on hold for rent payment. Every few months you will get a bonus check. Use that to pay off debts and get ahead of payments, build a savings fund, or invest.

Don't waste your income tax check buying stupid shit. Use it to pay off principle on loans or invest it. Investing isn't just stocks. Invest in your career by furthering your education or training. Invest in your home equity by doing some home renovations. Etc.

...

> don't use cash

You mean don't use credit, or to use change as much as possible?

You forget one detail:

bussiness = maintenance is tax deductable, same with modernization measures

private home = no tax deduction

Because of this the cost of renting the same property can be much lower compared to living in it yourself. Which is why renting can be cheaper despite a profit margin.

I like you

It's s good calculator, but there's a lot it fails to consider.

It doesn't take into account what happens after the mortgage is paid off and the renter still has inflation driving up his total housing cost, while the owner has to pay only property taxes and maintenance.

It also assumes that you can find a rental property equivalent to the purchase in quality of home, quality of neighborhood, and size. By and large, that's not true.

that's a good point, but the landlord still has to charge you for expenses before he can write them off. So at best you break even. (he charges for repairs and then makes his profit out of the tax write off.)

more likely he charges you for repairs and profit, there's no real incentive to lower rents in most markets.

>he's probably serious

>I don't want you to continue an existence where you're on McDonald's internet on a $100 pawshop cellphone.

$100 chinkphones are the way to go. Just as good as $800 "flagship" phones from big name brands. ISPs ruined it all. these aren't from shitty companies, they're from billion dollar companies and are much better than anything you can find in any retail store in the USA

This

$50 chink keyboards btfo huge peripheral companies on the regular too.

I agree. I rent too and get a great deal on my apt.

just depends on how you play the game. Owning can be better but you need to play everything just right.

> Never get into a relationship with a foreigner from a less developed country (Eastern Europe, Africa, ME, Asia, etc.

but why?

>shop for insurance

This is really true. Insurance companies will keep raising your rates as a sort of 'loyalty tax'. They think you'll never change companies so keep optimizing their pricing. Some companies do this some don't. Shop around.

You are thinking small. Think more like being able to expense a $10,000 roof replacement or $8,000 masonry repointing. You know, the stuff residential buyers never price into their cost of ownership.

>the stuff residential buyers never price into their cost of ownership.
we price it in, it's just not a significant expense.

I put a $7k roof on my $250k house. A fairly meaningless number in the grand scheme of things. My house goes up in value more than $20k every 2 years so that 'major' expense is pretty insignificant.

and if you think landlords don't budget for that kind of thing you should ask a few.

it's coming out of your rent, AND they're writing it off on their taxes. Or at least that's what I did when I rented houses out. You just don't know it because we calculate it into the cost and we don't itemize what we charge you.

TO DISCUSS MONEY MANAGEMENT AND INVESTING CHAT HERE: discord.gg/MwxZ4

Why live?

I've got a shitty alcatel one touch I got with a month's unlimited for 60$ together on sale; from Walmart.

It's not about using a shitty phone it's about buying one from the pawn shop and then bragging about it.

And also using wifi when cards are like 50$ and having a phone is much more professional.

You mean your landvalue increases. Houses lose value longterm.

You want an investment? Plant trees - wood literally grows money unlike a house

What do you not understand about cheap fixed rate leverage and avoidance of sunk cost?

Here is the truth - home ownership is better than renting if it is a good location/structure and is bought with cheap fixed rate leverage.

Also, if you think (((SPY))) looks good over the next 5 years, you are in for one rude fucking awakening.

Fuck a cream alternative. Arko soap sticks are like a dollar. Williams mug soap is the same. Barbasol like $1.20 a can.

>You mean your landvalue increases. Houses lose value longterm
nah
25 years ago my 3 city lots were assessed at $3k total.
This year they're assessed at $30k.

meaning the structure was valued at $7k 25 years ago and is now worth $220k.

land went up 10x and the house itself went up 30x.

mostly because the cost of replacing a custom home has gone up a hell of a lot faster than the value of land.

I own mine freehold, average rent around here is $350 a week, so not too shabby. Means I take take dead head jobs and still save money.