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Post by Pinetree on Sept 4, 2020 16:41:59 GMT -5
Why is it that some people can think of buying a new toy, (say a used motorcycle that costs $15K) and think, "No problem, I'll just go to the bank and get a cashier's check"...
But when you go to the drive-through and you gotta pull $12 out of your wallet it feels like highway robbery?
Is it the actual act of handling cash as opposed to the process of transferring it from your bank account to a piece of paper?
I've heard too many stories of my coworkers that needed new tires or something relatively inexpensive repaired on their car that end up going to a car lot just to look around and then saying "I didn't even know I was looking for a car but I bought one."
Some of you guys here will go years without changing a $5 pack of strings, but buy a brand new guitar on a whim.
I really want to know.
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Post by rok-a-bill-e on Sept 4, 2020 16:50:38 GMT -5
We have an emotional connection to actual cash that is not present with cards or finance. I went to school with a guy who wound up very rich and he was good with money even back then. He told me when buying a used car to not "negotiate" but to always have *your* predetermined price in cash ready to go. After the test drive, lay down the car keys on one side of a table and then slowly count out loud the dollars that you were prepared to spend and stack them next to the keys. Then tell the seller "pick up the one that you want to go home with today". He said that he almost always got his price, and that it was seeing the pile of cash right there on the table that won over the seller.
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Post by Mikeyguitar on Sept 4, 2020 17:03:19 GMT -5
I get it. There are a lot of factors: Actual cash in hand vs "far away" money like credit cards; The thought that you KNOW how much something small (like a burger) should cost, but with more expensive items you sort of tend to think, "yeah, it's worth about what they're asking". Or if there's something you REALLY want that's expensive it's easier to justify with yourself...vs "they want $12 for a burger???...hmmm - I'll opt for the $2 hotdog at the gas station - it's good enough for now".
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Post by Auf Kiltre on Sept 4, 2020 17:20:07 GMT -5
My "wallet" is virtual. I keep a running spreadsheet of our finances. At any given time I can open it and update it, and/or see how much money there is in there. It has my checking account balance, savings account balance, amount due to the credit card company (which gets paid off multiple times each month). It is compared to the previous end of month balance, beginning of the year balance and one year ago. If I wish I can scroll down to where my IRA and my wife's 403B currently stand. On a separate page I have every month's transaction imported with a category (utility, groceries, etc.).
I am as emotionally attached to that bottom line figure as I would be to opening my wallet. I like seeing my income vs spending ratio in the black.
I update this spreadsheet virtually every day and import transactions monthly.
I likey spreadsheet.
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Post by modbus on Sept 4, 2020 17:21:59 GMT -5
Penny wise and pound foolish, I suppose.
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Post by Taildragger on Sept 4, 2020 17:42:02 GMT -5
Some of you guys here will go years without changing a $5 pack of strings, but buy a brand new guitar on a whim. When it comes to buying gear, any excuse will do. Actual necessity or even minimal logic often don't even enter the picture.
As I get older/more ancient, I also find myself asking, "if not now, when?"
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Post by theprofessor on Sept 4, 2020 17:45:36 GMT -5
I’m with Mikeyguitar.
In my mind a set of strings is $x.xx whereas a first tine for a big ticket purchase doesn’t have that baggage.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Sept 4, 2020 17:50:49 GMT -5
It's the money falling through the fingers.
Back when I was married my wife would drive out of her way to save three cents per gallon for gasoline, and at the same time she had no qualms abou keeping several credit cards maxed out.
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MJB
Wholenote
Who's we sucka? Smith, Wesson and me.
Posts: 634
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Post by MJB on Sept 4, 2020 18:29:57 GMT -5
If you have a need for cash you can always sell a car/bike/geetar.
The cheeseburger is gone forever.
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Post by windmill on Sept 4, 2020 18:48:34 GMT -5
We have an emotional connection to actual cash that is not present with cards or finance. I went to school with a guy who wound up very rich and he was good with money even back then. He told me when buying a used car to not "negotiate" but to always have *your* predetermined price in cash ready to go. After the test drive, lay down the car keys on one side of a table and then slowly count out loud the dollars that you were prepared to spend and stack them next to the keys. Then tell the seller "pick up the one that you want to go home with today". He said that he almost always got his price, and that it was seeing the pile of cash right there on the table that won over the seller. There is the old english saying "penny wise, pound foolish" so this trait has been observed through history.
Perhaps they have trouble with abstract notions, that is money that is "out of sight" and is not thought of as really theirs but relate to what is in their physical possession in a different way.
One of my favourites along the same lines is people I have worked for, buying an old piece of machinery because "its a bargain", it always broke down, needed constant maintenance and rarely worked when required or at the rate that was needed.
If they had bought a new piece of equipment they would have ended up saving money because it worked when it was needed and required little maintenance.
But as you have observed it is hard for people to pull their money out of their pocket, but for some reason they willingly continue to pay down the track to support their decisions.
As for Rok-e-bill-e's friend, the old saying of the "colour of your money" applies. My version is to always take the money with me and at some point during the conversation, perhaps "accidently", show the other party that I have the money with me to buy the item.
Times have changed though, so does anyone know of the present day "cashless/digital" version of "showing the colour of your money".
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Post by Mfitz804 on Sept 4, 2020 18:56:17 GMT -5
I’m completely the opposite, “ it’s only $10” can add up.
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Post by roly on Sept 4, 2020 19:07:24 GMT -5
Good topic, thanks.
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Post by Larry Madsen on Sept 4, 2020 19:36:09 GMT -5
When I first arrived at the FDP I was fresh from building and restoring classic cars. I was shocked at times when I realized folks were sweating out the cost of a new bridge or a set of tuners. Seemed pretty whiney to me. I was accustom to portions of one aspect of a project costing as much as $3,000.00. Just the color (and associated reducer and hardener) for a paint job might cost $1,800.00. A nice set of aluminum heads for an engine build anywhere for $2,000.00 to 3,000.00. I can't take it with me. As long as I am putting away for the future all the rest can go. Either I can afford something or I can't ... no grumbling involved. This from a guy carrying zero debt, not even a small balance on a credit card. I will admit though, it has not always been that way.
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Post by Mfitz804 on Sept 4, 2020 19:40:43 GMT -5
When I first arrived at the FDP I was fresh from building and restoring classic cars. I was shocked at times when I realized folks were sweating out the cost of a new bridge or a set of tuners. Seemed pretty whiney to me. I was accustom to portions of one aspect of a project costing as much as $3,000.00. Just the color (and associated reducer and hardener) for a paint job might cost $1,800.00. A nice set of aluminum heads for an engine build anywhere for $2,000.00 to 3,000.00. I can't take it with me. As long as I am putting away for the future all the rest can go. Either I can afford something or I can't ... no grumbling involved. I also buy what I want as long as everything else is covered, but I also have it in my mind that I need everything I buy to be as cheap as possible. If it’s $100, I have to first try to get it for $80. I’ll look for coupons, wait for sales, check 20 stores, etc. Ultimately, if I don’t find a deal, I’ll still buy it. But finding the best deal is something I feel compelled to do. I sort of enjoy the process and the payoff, so that’s what I do.
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Post by Larry Madsen on Sept 4, 2020 19:46:21 GMT -5
Ultimately, if I don’t find a deal, I’ll still buy it. But finding the best deal is something I feel compelled to do. I sort of enjoy the process and the payoff, so that’s what I do. Yes indeed. I know what I want and I agree on these high dollar items I'll search around to find the best deal I can. In the end though even if I have to save and scrape, I'll do it to end up with what I want. I did it recently for my Yamaha HS8 studio monitors. I waited and saved and eventually found them on eBay in an open box deal saving be about $300.00 on a seven to eight hundred dollar purchase. The monitors are pristine perfect. I will add: the *Gas Watch* thread seems silly to me. I could not care less what gas costs today. Worrying about it and trying to save a few cents a gallon is just not anything that enters my mind.
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Post by Mfitz804 on Sept 4, 2020 19:49:18 GMT -5
Ultimately, if I don’t find a deal, I’ll still buy it. But finding the best deal is something I feel compelled to do. I sort of enjoy the process and the payoff, so that’s what I do. Yes indeed. I know what I want and I agree on these high dollar items I'll search around to find the best deal I can. In the end though even if I have to save and scrape, I'll do it to end up with what I want. I did it recently for my Yamaha HS8 studio monitors. I waited and saved and eventually found them on eBay in an open box deal saving be about $300.00 on a seven to eight hundred dollar purchase. The monitors are pristine perfect. Yup, same here. I just have to exhaust all options first, once I do, I’ll go ahead and make the purchase!!
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Post by Leftee on Sept 4, 2020 20:09:24 GMT -5
This thread got me thinking.
I’ve had some $20s in my wallet for a long time now. It finally dawned on me that I had them because I hired a couple guys to help us move. Thus, the cash.
I’m cashless, for the most part. Even when I was traveling every week I rarely had cash with me.
I prefer cashless. It creates its own accounting. Like Klinkhammer - I run a spreadsheet. And there is never cash on it.
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twangmeister
Wholenote
Posts: 349
Formerly Known As: Twangmeister
Age: 72 and fading fast.....
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Post by twangmeister on Sept 4, 2020 21:54:23 GMT -5
My home Secretary of the Treasury, Mrs Twang can write out big checks for remodeling and car repairs but gets choked up when I go out to buy a few sets of strings for my babies or purchase a printer cartridge.
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Post by Mfitz804 on Sept 4, 2020 21:56:13 GMT -5
Well we are definitely not going to talk about the difference between wives spending money and husbands spending money, because as a majority of us are husbands and not wives, we’re obviously wrong no matter what we say.
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Post by Pinetree on Sept 4, 2020 22:18:00 GMT -5
I don't have that issue.
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Post by jazzguy on Sept 4, 2020 22:44:47 GMT -5
It's the money falling through the fingers. Back when I was married my wife would drive out of her way to save three cents per gallon for gasoline, and at the same time she had no qualms abou keeping several credit cards maxed out. I remember spending the summer @ my uncle's when I was a teenager and him pulling up to a pump and driving away because he knew somewhere across town where it was 3 cents cheaper......so off we went in his Rolls Royce. He probably burned the 3 cents per gallon on the way there.
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Post by orrk01 on Sept 5, 2020 5:02:02 GMT -5
Of course, it's a long-known money saving technique to cut up your credit cards and only pay cash for everything. It's much easier to pull out the ol' plastic than it is to reach into the wallet for cash.
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Post by gato on Sept 5, 2020 7:42:33 GMT -5
If you have a need for cash you can always sell a car/bike/geetar. The cheeseburger is gone forever. Not a McDonald's cheeseburger. It's even respected by roaches.
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Post by HenryJ on Sept 5, 2020 7:43:12 GMT -5
Of course, it's a long-known money saving technique to cut up your credit cards and only pay cash for everything. It's much easier to pull out the ol' plastic than it is to reach into the wallet for cash. We use credit cards, not to replace cash, but to replace holding up the line writing a check.
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Post by FlyonNylon on Sept 5, 2020 8:08:17 GMT -5
I have never really understood the behavior in the original post either. I was brought up with a clear understanding the importance of financial responsibility. While in school in my 20s typically spent about $15 on groceries for the week, when school got so intense that I couldn't work and had to live off student loans, I had about $12k/yr for all living expenses. Drove a 30 yr old car with ~400k miles until I was 33.
Now I don't pay any attention to the bill at the gas station and typically don't look at restaurant bills either. I never haggle for anything that seems reasonably fair and never worry about money. We go out and get whatever we want, within reason. I try to be reasonably frugal; rather than having a $120k wakesurfing boat like some I know, our wakeboard boat was $10k and I maintain it myself, 5 years on and no serious problems.. etc.
My current philosophy: as long as we're meeting our retirement goals I don't really care where the rest of the money goes.. lets you be financially responsible while still enjoying life.
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Post by LTB on Sept 5, 2020 8:53:11 GMT -5
And some are "so tight on money they squeak when they walk" but then would drop a few hundred on game stuff. I guess we all have our weaknesses.
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Post by jhawkr on Sept 5, 2020 9:02:02 GMT -5
$10 is $10 whether it is paper/coin or plastic. If you have a problem with discipline, cash may be a better choice but I like the convenience of plastic. I am just as careful pulling out a CC as I am cash. $10 is $10.
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Post by Leftee on Sept 5, 2020 9:12:21 GMT -5
My budget is quite fixed. It might not seem like it, but it is. I am in a blessed place in life.
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Post by 6l6 on Sept 5, 2020 11:09:17 GMT -5
I've sold a lot of guitars and gear over the years and have always dealt "Local sale only/cash only".
There's no question in my mind that it took longer to sell items because I would only deal in cash. Something about seeing a few thousand in cash that makes it seem a little more frightening than writing a check or putting it on plastic.
BTW, I do my acoustic deals in the parking lot of our local Police Station. People always like that idea when you're dealing in cash.
6
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Post by Leftee on Sept 5, 2020 12:43:28 GMT -5
I've sold a lot of guitars and gear over the years and have always dealt "Local sale only/cash only". There's no question in my mind that it took longer to sell items because I would only deal in cash. Something about seeing a few thousand in cash that makes it seem a little more frightening than writing a check or putting it on plastic. BTW, I do my acoustic deals in the parking lot of our local Police Station. People always like that idea when you're dealing in cash. 6 I can’t imagine what that’s Iike. I’d bet there are 3 lefties in this area. I see one in the mirror and I met one in a local shop once.
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