Fundamentalists of all types spread an exaggerated message that has little nuance. Dave Ramsey is one of them. So is YMORL. There is some truth to be found - but little nuance.
I learn from them but I think for myself.
Fundamentalists of all types spread an exaggerated message that has little nuance. Dave Ramsey is one of them. So is YMORL. There is some truth to be found - but little nuance.
I learn from them but I think for myself.
If we used just CC’s we would spend too much money. Especially DH. I think you just need to know yourself.
We've gone to an all plastic lifestyle over time. I use a debit card for small local purchases and groceries and use a credit card for all other purchases. I haven't carried cash in years other than the $100 bill which has been stashed in my wallet for the past 3 years or so, just in case of a natural disaster of some sort which may disrupt electronic transactions. We also keep a small stash of $20 bills in the kitchen for those times a neighborhood child shows up at the door selling cookies.
I don't believe for a moment that we spend more just because we're using credit cards. We also don't pay interest on those transactions.
Years ago I was a master at using a several day float on my checking account as the checks were processed. Now I unconsciously use a 30 day float by using the credit cards and paying off the balance each month. The longer money stays in my account, the more control I feel I have over the process.
"Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein
Hey Gardner, didn't mean to dis you or credit cards at all! I use credit cards all the time, but there are times that paying cash makes sense and also reins me in. If I'm buying a phone charger on Amazon or sheets at Target, I use CC for sure, and our 1% cash back each year is substantial.
Each has its benefits.
I don't live on 35% of my income (ha when I have an income). There is a certain point when one's frugality is more than good enough and there is no point in optimizing it anymore.
Like the analogy, even though it's not a great one, might be to diet. Unconscious factors like size of one's plate may influence how much one eats, so maybe it's better to eat off smaller plates (I actually suspect the research for credit card use and spending is stronger than that for plate size*) but if one counts calories in every meal plate size isn't going to make any difference anyway. And there's a certain point where one's weight is fine already (or maybe with weight too low already) and one doesn't need to worry about big or small plates. So even if it's actually true that one might generally eat less if they use small plates... it's nothing personal.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/b...d-credit-cards
https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/cred...ou-spend-more/
*ok yes I really do use smaller plates
Trees don't grow on money
The biggest impact for me was attempting to do an inventory. If anyone wants to realize their true abundance, try counting your possessions. Ok, those, 100 items only folks, that is kinda of where this started. I, personally, have never made it through just the bathroom, which I started when I was reading the book back in the 90's, even though it is/was the smallest room in the house.
Bad spellers of the world, UNTIE!
formerly known as Paula P
Voluntary simplicity...whenever hubby and I make big decisions I think about if it makes our lives more simple or more complex. After readin YMOYL I wanted to search out more about the idea of voluntary simplicity.
I loved that book so much Gardnr. I need to reread it. Twenty years later, I still think about the stories in the book, the people like the woman who said if folks spend 25 percent of their income on housing, then I need to get four rental houses to replace my income, or the people who moved into their basement and rented out the upstairs of the house and paid for their housing that way.
Need to reread that book, it's here somewhere.
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