ADD A ZERO.

Whatever you are buying, spending, saving, investing, etc, add a zero to the end of the amount, and that is a “rough” estimate of it’s actual opportunity cost approximately 35 years from today in a retirement/investment account.

It is an easy way to mentally compare/contrast choices and reasoning.

$50…that will be $500 in 30 years
$10,000 car now is $100,000 in 30 years.

It opens up your eyes.

I love gaming. I don’t drink much and gaming relaxes me much more then a beer does, less calories too. No matter how much I am into a game I eventually fall asleep (I play lying on my couch under a comforter in flannel pj’s). Video games are my release from the stress of work.

I’ve been pretty thrifty when it comes to shopping for video games. I wait till games are at least at or under $20. I dig through the bargain bin at walmart, much to the dismay of the employees (you’d be surprised what hard to find pieces of gold you can find at the bottom). Or if it’s a game I really want I buy it used.

I max out my roth ira, I’m building a nest egg, and I’m saving more on top of that. I don’t plan on buying a fancy car so I figure it’s ok to have some fun even if it means spending some money. I’ve got to live too.

If a man is poor today for poverty’s sake, or to give to those even poorer, or for the sake of his children, or to obey his god, he does not gamble. The money cannot be lost because he did not live for the money. It is a sure bet and a happy story.

Keep up the good work on the blog.

Saving for retirement has to be balanced against enjoying the future. One may die tomorrow, but probably will not. So they had better save.

Another factor not generally discussed is, will the economic structures in place as you save survive as long as you do?

Just look at the decline of the dollar in the last few years. What if you never ate out, etc. only to see a currency crisis a few years before you retired that wiped out all of your savings or rendered them worth a fraction of what you had planned.

Can’t happen here. Think again. History is full of examples

The excitment you get from newest video game, pair of shoes, 357 lattes is almost as rewarding as the feeling of security and success we get from watching our net worth reach its monthly goal. Its very much about making a commitment to ourselves and our family…and following through.

I find food and money have many parallels, and its often you find both on many a pf blogger web site. The principles to lose weight are similar to losing debt. Eat (spend) less than you intake (make). I don’t think you’d go to someone attempting to lose weight as say “You know, you are doing it all wrong. This piece of cake is going to have little if any impact on your weight loss goal. Its just a bag of potato chips, just when there is a football game on.” The satisfaction that person will feel when he or she reaches his or her weight loss goal is immeasurable by food standards. He or She will look back and realize that that piece of cake or bag of chips really wasn’t worth it, if they can even remember being tempted by them at all.

Or do you still look back and say “Wow, my DVD collection af several hundred dollars has really served its purpose and has left me fulfilled? That was well worth the investment? I sure benefitted more from that than, say, the $200 per DVD my future self could have enjoyed?”

Thanks for that.

I think (or hope) that Trent will understand my perspective a bit better than you did, because he’s seen all of my other comments on this blog.

I speak “from the perspective of a saver” too. I’m ridiculously frugal; actually, I’m cheap. But even I can admit that Trent’s position here is a bit extreme. To say “Every time you spend money unnecessarily, you’re making an active decision to sacrifice a piece of your bigger dream” is excessive.

What’s the old saying–If you have 2 yen, use one for bread and the other for a flower. Many of the things that brighten our lives cost money (oh look, it’s capitalism), and I don’t think we should agonize over what we might be losing in the future every time we want to brighten the present.

Moreover, life is ironic. Someone can scrimp and save for retirement for 30 years, and then die the day before they retire. Yes, as you say, Trent will most likely live until retirement. And the bigger issue in this country certainly is people being under-prepared for old age, rather than over-prepared. But for someone like Trent, who already is securing himself financially, and rejecting a spendthrift lifestyle, it saddens me to see him forsaking all present joys that cost money.

At what age does he tell himself it’s alright to spend money? At what age does he stop living for a far-off goal? By the time he reaches that age, will the habit of self-denial be so ingrained that he can’t change?

I do agree with the spirit of Trent’s article, and philosophy. From one tightwad to another, his advice about frugality and resisting commercialism resonates with me. But reading an article like this, as I said, makes me worry that he’s taking it too far, to a point where he is makng needless sacrifices.

And btw, Hibryd, I also agree with your statement “Missing out on sodas at lunch or a game every now and then is worth it.” I think my disagreement stems from the impression that this article encourages us to miss *every* game, and to *never* drink anything but water.

Speaking from the perspective of a saver, yes, I *could* die tomorrow, but I most likely won’t. I will most likely live into retirement age. And in the life I’ve lived so far I’ve seen *many* people – friends, bosses, relatives – who are totally unprepared when they get to that age because they spent too much and saved too little. For me, missing out on sodas at lunch or a game every now and then is worth it if I can sleep better at night knowing I have a nest egg to take care of me later.

Dong has it right (and I think he’s echoing you on this, Trent). Some joys should happen here and now…like the Wii you bought. And some things are not as high priorities…like having a dozen Wii games.

We easily forget what REALLY makes us happy or fulfilled, and spend our money as a way of introducing novelty or killing time. It works for a while, but not as well as learning to enjoy and really use what you have.