Frugal

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Discuss how to save money.

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RarePepeCollector@lemmy.world

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What "frugal" tricks have you found to just not be worth it, either in time or money? (lemmy.world)

submitted 2 years ago by IonAddis@lemmy.world to c/frugal@lemmy.world

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I've noticed sometimes that there's some half-baked videos or blogs or whatever that purport this or that frugal trick, but if you look at the time or math, it's not actually frugal for you.

What are some examples of that you've come across? The things that "aren't worth it"?

For me it's couponing. (Although I haven't heard people talk about it recently--has it fallen out of "style", or have businesses caught up to the loopholes folks used to exploit?)

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[–] betz24@lemmynsfw.com -4 points 2 years ago (17 children)

The people who tell you that you are poor because you get coffee at a coffee shop every day. At best you would save ~$2000/year if you bought $5 cup everyday. $2000 saved would not be a significant amount of money to make in an investment either. Personal happiness isn't worth trying to cut out things you like.

[–] Salamendacious@lemmy.world 16 points 2 years ago (4 children)

$2000 extra a year into a 401k over a lifetime of work is a substantial amount of money when you retire. This 401k calculator estimates it as $150k after 45 years. That sounds high to me but regardless $2k extra a year is a lot when you consider compound interest over decades.

[–] KDE@monyet.cc 1 points 2 years ago (2 children)

you have to count inflation as well (although i believe us $ deprecates at a very less inflation rate) , but still the calculator you showed shows it can make 22% of total retirement fund

Plus I believe coffee is just a legal drug which is why its so prominent , and as such i shouldn't use it

But who knows maybe i will drink coffee as well?

[–] Salamendacious@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

Every model simplifies reality in some way. Inflation, fees, stock/bond mix, tax rates, risk tolerance, and the biggest one of all market performance are all variables that the calculator doesn't seem to take into account to some degree.

[–] Trainguyrom@reddthat.com 1 points 2 years ago

Plus I believe coffee is just a legal drug which is why its so prominent , and as such i shouldn’t use it

This is a good philosophy. I gained a caffeine addiction because I wasn't aware that was a thing and now I don't wake up in the morning until I've had something with a bit of caffeine. It's not too bad, I just get a bad headache if I don't get any caffeine, but I'd prefer if I'd known that caffeine addiction was a thing so I could make an informed decision when I started drinking coffee

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