On Dec 3, 4:19*pm, Vic Smith wrote:
On Sat, 3 Dec 2011 14:58:16 -0500, "Robert Green"









wrote:
"DerbyDad03" wrote in message
news:bb9888c0-e5c5-4d21-837c-

stuff snipped

Show me where I *gained* or *acquired* anything more than I started
with by doing it myself.

OK (-:

One year when I proudly raked seventeen 39G bags of leaves in one afternoon
I *acquired* a ruptured disc that's been with me ever since. *The $35 I now
spend to have my lawn mowed or raked and my snow shoveled comes with a very
clear understanding of how much I really didn't *gain* by once doing the
work
myself.

I was about to try to explain what you just did in excruciating detail about
how even though my mother could save better than anyone else I ever knew,
without dad's weekly paycheck to save from, she would have eventually run
completely out of money. *That demonstrates clearly that saving does NOT
generate income. *Mowing your own lawn produces no new income and COSTS in
time, risks and materials. *But it's not worth the effort to patiently
explain Econ 101 since BobR used the magic word "idiot" which, as Oren so
memorably said: (paraphrasing) "means we aren't going to be friends."

Maybe once he learns to pull his horns in . . .

It's sad that someone not only has no clue as to what you are talking about
(saving money does not equal earning it) but that he's so incredibly
aggressive and insulting about being wrong.

BobR owes you an apology for calling you an idiot, Derby, but to understand
that, he would need to understand basic accounting and bookkeeping
principles. *He would also need a personality transplant to turn into a
person that understands when he's wrong and when he's been rude. *He's made
it clear, unfortunately, that he does not understand either.

BobR also appears to have missed the humor behind Mr. Austerity's
"business plan" comment. *(BobR, he was funnin' ya by showing that your
concept of earning money fails when expanded to its illogical end.) *BobR
does not understand by mowing his own lawn he makes no money. *If he did,
then mowing it ten times a day should net him $700.

If saving were earning, people who lost their jobs should be able to avoid
having their houses repossessed but of course, they can't, because you can't
"save" enough to meet the mortgage payment. *That takes an income stream. *A
*real* income stream, not just the "feeling" that you've earned money by
saving it.

You're confusing income and earnings.
Earnings = (income - expense)
And it has nothing to do "savings" unless increased earnings go there.
BobR had an established lawn work expense.
By using his own labor he cut out much of that expense.
And so increased his earnings.
You and Derby just can't understand that because....don't know why.
It's as clear as the nose on your face.
The "business plan" suggestion is likewise a red herring.
There is a limit to expense cutting, and available time/work.
Might as well say to a plumber making $1000 a week working 8 hour
days, "Gee, why don't you work 32 hour days and bring home $4000.

Technically, even foregoing cable TV/internet expenses shows up as
earnings.
Replacing somebody else's labor with yours to cut an expense should
draw no argument about earnings.
It's really kind of crazy that anyone should take issue with that.
Might show how people value labor.
Might be they don't look at personal finances in a business like
manner.
I know when I spend some hours cutting out an $1000 auto repair
expense by doing the labor myself I earned every penny of the
difference in cost.
Adds to my net worth also.
Where did the earnings come from?
Right out of a auto mechanic's pocket.

--Vic

"Adds to my net worth also.
Where did the earnings come from?
Right out of a auto mechanic's pocket. "

I know I should stay away like I said I would, but I've got to give it
one last try.

Vic,

Please give me the name of the auto mechanic who didn't fix your car.

I want to ask him if he noticed that the pocket money he was carrying
(i.e. his net worth) was decreased by $1000 after you fixed your own
car. I mean, the money came "right out of his pocket" didn't it? He
must be $1000 poorer now than he was before you fixed your car, right?

Wait...maybe you didn't have a specific auto mechanic that you would
have used. So how does it work then? Did 1000 mechanics have their
pocket cash decreased by $1 each? or 500 by $2? or 2000 by 50 cents?
or is there just 1 random auto mechanic out there someplace who is
$1000 poorer? Gosh, I hope not. Doesn't seem fair, does it? I mean,
why *him*?

Just whose pocket(s) are lighter by $1000 now that your car is fixed?