On 5/6/2016 1:44 PM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
On Friday, May 6, 2016 at 4:09:29 PM UTC-4, Don Y wrote:

Income is only one side of the equation. Do you know where your
money is *going*? Or, do you just feel pleased when your bank balance
is ever increasing (regardless of whether or not it is increasing
as fast as it COULD?)

I do feel pleased about the ever-increasing bank balance.

Of course it could increase faster. We could shut off the hot tub
and not have the outrageous electric bills. We could cancel our
cable service.

We don't have cable (more interesting things to do than watch TV).

OTOH, we spend a fair amount on electricity for my various computers
(there are 5 running, as I type this). And, a sh*tload on water/sewer
to keep the citrus growing.

But, we don't eat out, drink, take vacations, etc. How you spend your
money is YOUR choice -- and your problem/responsibility. We like
knowing how ours is spent so we can reevaluate the choices that
we've (often silently!) made -- instead of just repeating "learned
behavior".

We're not going to do any of that, and no amount of data entry
would change what we're doing. We buy what we want, when we
want it, and we have enough money to cover our purchases and
save for the future. Happily, "what we want" isn't very much
or very big.

Your net worth is almost certainly higher than mine. I'm
very happy for you.

It has nothing to do with "net worth". We have friends who live in
million dollar homes, have maids, landscapers, pool boys, are
always traveling, etc. Cell phones with pricey data plans ("Oooh!
Somebody texted me!"). Fancy clothes (I wear jeans and a t-shirt
every day -- and *shoes* when we go out!). Coiffed hair/nails.

We elect to have none of those things as they aren't in line with our
priorities.

We like being able to do what we want, when we want, without having to
worry about living beyond our means -- and have some confidence in the
QUALITY of all those things.

Of course, much of that means we have to do a lot for ourselves.

We've neighbors who would never think of dirtying their hands
under the hood of a car -- who DELIGHT in the "service" their
dealership provides ("And they give us a FREE loaner!" Do you
REALLY think that loaner is "free"? : ). OTOH, their vehicles
are always in the shop; ours, never.

I spend a few hours every week baking -- to offset the cost/inconvenience
of finding suitable baked goods. And, lately, a few hours "making
chocolates" for similar reasons (I'm sure if "money were no object"
we could locate similar items -- and pay to have them shipped here).

I spend a day each month/6 wks babysitting a large pot of tomato
sauce -- instead of buying "bottled". We prepare our own meals every
day -- instead of paying someone else to do the same (taking just as
much TIME).

There's no free lunch; you "pay" in some way or another. We just
find ways to pay that give us more control over our lives and less
reliance on others.

We don't buy on time. INCLUDING the house, the car, etc. A large part
of how we can do that is by knowing where our money is going. And, doing
for ourselves.

If we didn't have a mortgage, we'd still be paying rent.

It costs $75 to have a tree (5G) planted, here. Not counting the cost
of the tree! I've planted 10 in the past few years. And that doesn't
count the 60+ other shrubs, etc.

The neighbor had a trivial one-zone irrigation system installed for his
small garden -- for $1200. I've buried 1500 ft of 1/2" line -- for the
cost of the pipe (and the 19 valves to control it).

I've got dirty fingernails; neighbor "lost" his house.

Sadly, my husband's joints are breaking down, so we're going to have
to start hiring some things done for us. Up until now, we've
pretty much done everything ourselves, too. Someplace we've
got a picture of me pushing a wheelbarrow of concrete around.

I suspect you will find the difference to be alarming! Not just
in terms of cost but, also, in terms of the quality of work.

"If you want it done RIGHT..."

I've been aggressively trying to get ahead of things that WILL present
problems in the future. E.g., I felled all the tall trees on the property
so I don't have to worry about hiring someone to do that later. And, no
need to rake leaves. I'll paint the house exterior, soon -- knowing
that the NEXT time I'll probably have to hire someone (but push that
out 15-20 years hence). SWMBO's new car will probably be the last car
she *drives* (assuming she gets 15+ years out of it -- 70K miles). I'll
replace the roof in a few years (still researching that) and that
should be the last time THAT will need to be done.