It’s driving 1-2 miles. Would you do that for me .70/gallon ($7 savings for 10 gallons)? |
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I think mindfulness spenders are generally aware of the cost of things so they can evaluate the expense. Otherwise, they look it up (which hotel is cheaper where I will be staying)?
My husband would have zero idea what things cost, he just buys them at a grocery store. I am the opposite. |
It sounds like you do want things (mangoes, coffee out) based on your experience. I'm not saying you want them frequently or at any price (the Starbucks example is of a non-mindful spender as proposed by the PP). I'm saying that if mangoes were $$$, you'd probably never have had one so you wouldn't know you liked them and wouldn't ever want one now. |
What have you projected on to them? |
I could have had them at a restaurant, wedding, friend’s house, etc. |
I’m sure that I have given them all sorts of sh!t to deal with, but I’m not going to consciously add another one. They don’t have to stress about the cost of queso. |
That's an interesting point about private schools. We had our kids go to DC public schools, but allowed them to apply to private colleges. One went public and the other is currently at a private school. The private college is over $8k per month and it boggles my mind that we are spending that much. The only way to unboggle is to consider that we avoided private schools for early education (and fancy vacations and new cars and home renovations) just so we'd have the $ to put into 529 for private college. RE guac and queso-- if we made that much $ then I would hope that I would be so generous to not fuss over that. We don't even make half that. However, I recognize that I personally carry a "near poverty" mindset from childhood and it is tough to let go of that. Maybe OP also has that background. If so, no matter how rich you become, it can be tough to shed that mindset. |
Ok. Let's say $$$ is $5k. |
This really isn't that difficult to explain. The kid needs lunch. They don't need extra guac. |
I don’t understand what you are trying to say. |
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Seems like some of this boils down to scarcity mindset type thinking. People are talking about whether you can afford guac and at what income the savings of not paying for guac are meaningful.
At my HHI, the savings for guac alone are not meaningful. Frankly, we've chosen fixed costs that would make it really hard for us to go into debt unless our income changed substantially. But I think there is still value in thinking about whether something is "worth it". That could be because of value-for-dollar. It could be because of value-for-time. It could even be because of value-for-enjoyment. We have the luxury of choosing sometimes to evaluate value on the the second two criteria. By the time I was in HS, my parents were well-off enough that most of the things I could want were affordable. But I was raised not to think about spending in terms of whether I can afford it, and that's how I live today. I don't spend money on things just because I can. I would say that I'm raising my kids this way, but in reality they are just observing that this is how we live. |
Same. I “can” afford almost anything but I evaluate much of what I spend. Somethings- I don’t look at savings money at all, but that’s infrequent. |
I'm trying to say that we want is based on our life experiences and those are based in part, on money. So you want mangoes because you've had them and liked them and you've had them because you could afford them. If you could never afford them, you wouldn't know you liked them so you may not want them. Maybe you'd want an apple instead. |
DP. I don't think it's always tied into price. There are a lot of immigrants in the US from countries where mangoes are cheap and plentiful. They may be willing to pay a lot more than any American, and it's not because they are rich. It's because their enjoyment is much more than just the taste...it might also provide a sense of home. My parents paid absurd amounts for mangoes that, honestly, weren't even that good when we were kids (mangoes are more easily available in US now), just because it meant so much to them to have a mango. |
And I said that’s not true. I could attend a wedding, xmas party, or work meeting where caviar is served. I could be on vacation where something is offered. I could have read about ostrich eggs or sushi and want to try it. The point is that just bc I like it or want to try it, doesn’t mean the cost justifies the purchase/satisfying the desire. Likely, mindful spenders are more flexible (I’m okay w/no appetizer/guac/mango and am just as happy with tap water/the basic order/the matinee/whatever). Gratification is more flexibly delayed with no feeling of depravation. |