I am DONE with spending money

[Anonymous]

You can't deny everything is more and more expensive. Seems like each week the food bill only goes up despite buying the same general basket of food each week, and, no, we are not buying processed prepared food either. Health care costs keep going up. I went to a podiatrist to look at a small callous on my sole that I thought might be a plantar's wart. 10 minute visit and a slight scraping of the callous resulted in $150 charge even with health insurance because ot was $65 for the office visit plus $85 for the "treatment." Only to find out I didn't have a plantar's wart and just a small callous.

Everyone is nickel and diming everything. Everything. There is no escape.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You go OP!!!
I wish I had the discipline.

I wish I could join this movement!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can't deny everything is more and more expensive. Seems like each week the food bill only goes up despite buying the same general basket of food each week, and, no, we are not buying processed prepared food either. Health care costs keep going up. I went to a podiatrist to look at a small callous on my sole that I thought might be a plantar's wart. 10 minute visit and a slight scraping of the callous resulted in $150 charge even with health insurance because ot was $65 for the office visit plus $85 for the "treatment." Only to find out I didn't have a plantar's wart and just a small callous.

Everyone is nickel and diming everything. Everything. There is no escape.

The nickel and diming is key. It is everywhere. I am so sick of seeing convenience fees, technology fees, admin fees, welcome fees, experience fees and myriad other bs reasons to tack on 2% here and 1% there. Plus hotels not making up rooms unless asked, extra for this and that. F it. I’ll stay home and finally read the entire the Years of Lyndon Johnson series.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did a no spend January in 2023 that taught me good habits that I kept up through the rest of the year. I plan to do one every January. I am interesting in spending my money - but good luck to you and your goals.

I enjoy doing this for a month here or there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
By the time the election comes around Trump is going to look like Jesus.

+100000
I mean how can you forget the $2.17 gas a gallon and my investments doubling in 4 years. I can't forget that and won't.

No. Free. Lunch.

It was a free lunch.

No we are paying for it now with inflation which is basically a tax on everything and everyone. Only free lunch was people who bought houses before 2021 and refied to ridiculously low rates.

[Anonymous]

I seldom eat out anymore it’s just too pricy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can't deny everything is more and more expensive. Seems like each week the food bill only goes up despite buying the same general basket of food each week, and, no, we are not buying processed prepared food either. Health care costs keep going up. I went to a podiatrist to look at a small callous on my sole that I thought might be a plantar's wart. 10 minute visit and a slight scraping of the callous resulted in $150 charge even with health insurance because ot was $65 for the office visit plus $85 for the "treatment." Only to find out I didn't have a plantar's wart and just a small callous.

Everyone is nickel and diming everything. Everything. There is no escape.

The nickel and diming is key. It is everywhere. I am so sick of seeing convenience fees, technology fees, admin fees, welcome fees, experience fees and myriad other bs reasons to tack on 2% here and 1% there. Plus hotels not making up rooms unless asked, extra for this and that. F it. I’ll stay home and finally read the entire the Years of Lyndon Johnson series.

I agree with the fees. Can someone please explain what a convenience fee is when you are paying a bill? I was paying an HOA bill recently and there was a $30 charge if you use a credit card or a $3 charge if you pay with cash. Who gets this money and what exactly is the justification for it if the payments are all electronic?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Me too! Just for fun I'm cutting back to just food and energy. No restaurants, No products, No services. Plus I'm going to CostCo and wallmart for everything.

It only hurts China. We need to rebuild our industrial base and start producing an actual economy. The era of comfortable cubicle workers drinking their starbucks is coming to an end. That work isn't worth a house or an automobile in trade. The money printing economy is done. We are going to learn to work again in factories and smell pollution.

+1

The dollar is going to fall due to sending our production overseas and crappy politicians using it as a gambit in crappy foreign policy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
By the time the election comes around Trump is going to look like Jesus.

+100000
I mean how can you forget the $2.17 gas a gallon and my investments doubling in 4 years. I can't forget that and won't.

I went from struggling to survive to having almost $1M in assets on my meager salary. When he announced not to sell your stocks, because he of course didn’t have control of his portfolio at the time so he had to signal to his portfolio management somehow so he made a broad public announcement (haha), I moved what little cash I had into stocks and it all did really well. Not mad at him

[Anonymous]

Balance people, balance. You don’t have to be profligate or stingy. An occasional splurge is affordable and enjoyable for most of us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can't deny everything is more and more expensive. Seems like each week the food bill only goes up despite buying the same general basket of food each week, and, no, we are not buying processed prepared food either. Health care costs keep going up. I went to a podiatrist to look at a small callous on my sole that I thought might be a plantar's wart. 10 minute visit and a slight scraping of the callous resulted in $150 charge even with health insurance because ot was $65 for the office visit plus $85 for the "treatment." Only to find out I didn't have a plantar's wart and just a small callous.

Everyone is nickel and diming everything. Everything. There is no escape.

The nickel and diming is key. It is everywhere. I am so sick of seeing convenience fees, technology fees, admin fees, welcome fees, experience fees and myriad other bs reasons to tack on 2% here and 1% there. Plus hotels not making up rooms unless asked, extra for this and that. F it. I’ll stay home and finally read the entire the Years of Lyndon Johnson series.

Yes! It’s the paying more for less and little added on fees at every corner that are driving me insane. It’s not that we can’t afford these thing, it’s that the value doesn’t feel like it’s there and businesses have made their greed so apparent that it’s a turn off. Travel is booming, but I couldn’t get my room cleaned and had to beg 3x for more clean towels at the beach this summer (at a big named hotel chain). Every restaurant bill has some random fee I’ve never heard of. And I’ve priced compared household items I bought just 12-18 months ago and they’re 30% higher (sometimes coming in smaller packaging). Just ugh!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
By the time the election comes around Trump is going to look like Jesus.

+100000
I mean how can you forget the $2.17 gas a gallon and my investments doubling in 4 years. I can't forget that and won't.

I went from struggling to survive to having almost $1M in assets on my meager salary. When he announced not to sell your stocks, because he of course didn’t have control of his portfolio at the time so he had to signal to his portfolio management somehow so he made a broad public announcement (haha), I moved what little cash I had into stocks and it all did really well. Not mad at him

My net worth doubled in 4 years with Trump president. I can't be mad. Now I'm watching the same investments dwindle. Now I'm mad.

[Anonymous]

It's just getting old to have everything more expensive and for so long. In recent years we've had temporary spikes when oil prices skyrocketed, but nothing long-term like this. I used to spend without thinking twice on most things. Now, I do. And am making a lot more returns after I get home and realize I didn't really need the thing.

All of these extra costs across every product and service we buy ends up shutting the consumer down. We are getting to that point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's just getting old to have everything more expensive and for so long. In recent years we've had temporary spikes when oil prices skyrocketed, but nothing long-term like this. I used to spend without thinking twice on most things. Now, I do. And am making a lot more returns after I get home and realize I didn't really need the thing.

All of these extra costs across every product and service we buy ends up shutting the consumer down. We are getting to that point.

What have you returned. I'm looking at some stuff I'd like to take back myself...but don't want to be given a hard time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If nobody's spending money, the economy will go down.

Well, everyone has to spend to survive, there is no way around it. Its just about not spending where you don't have to.

Lots of people are blowing large sums of money on travel and every new iPhone, eating out and Starbucks.

You have to eat, have a roof over your head, healthcare and pay utilities.

That's pretty much all I'm paying for these days.