I wonder how much frugality you would advocate or practise when you get a lot rich, i mean, stinking rich. Like many times over of your current income. Many people who keep it frugal during their buildup years, unwind and go full throttle on lifestyle expenditure once they begin to more-than-afford it ? What are your thoughts ? Do the same personal finance rules apply when we’ve grown up financially ?

Have you ever ran into an identity theft issue or wanted more privacy?

I’m having a problem about sites removing my posts and accounts. As a child back then, I used the same username on every website and now it’s came back to haunt me. I’ve asked one site to remove (for a very valid reason) my postings and they rudely told me it was not their problem. One of their mods then insulted me and called me names. I did reviews for another website and everyone left me nasty comments and it’s extremely humiliating because it can be found with a simple Google search and everyone can see me get humiliated! It’s so embarrassing!

What would you do? Would you leave it alone?

@Steve: Absolutely right, two years ago when I opened my checking account my bank had two choices and the only difference was earning interest (0.10% whoo!) vs. not earning interest. I guess they wised up though because they stopped offering either account and now offer only one that doesn’t pay interest.

Not yet mentioned: the interest will partially offset the effect of inflation, even if only a little.

Taking that into modern terms, a liberal education *would* be the only purpose of the university *if* the only students at university came from families who had enough revenue from investments not to need to work. If we accepted that, then the education given at universities probably would be a lot more ‘pure’–but 99% of the people who attend university now would not be there at all. If higher education is going to be provided to a broader class of people, it’s natural that it take on a broader scope as well.

What you don’t learn in school, can be a great hobby. How about reading a book instead of hitting the malls in your spare time? Maybe reading a history book too? Art history? Music? How about watching some of the Great Performances on PBS, listening to CDs or going to the philarmonic? Taking private piano or voice lesson as a kid or, if you don’t have money, after you earned some money as a hobby? There is no need to spend 150K to learn “leisurely arts”. All you really need is the desire to learn in your spare time. You can even take extra classes in college or make something you like your minor or even earn a double major.

But when you spend a lot of money not to mention 4 years of your life while your memory and your ability to learn is at its best, you should at least have some idea of what you want to do with your degree. A six-digit debt for leisurly activities? Sounds a bit expensive to me.

BTW – I am not saying everyone should go into CS or other engineering. For one, these degrees require a certain aptitude for math and logical thinking that not everyone has. But you have to at least have an idea to what you plan to do – e.g. are you majoring in English to be an English teacher, a writer or a journalist; go to law school, are you going to happy if it doesn’t work out as you think: i.e. if you cannot make it as a writer, will you be happy teaching or doing technical writing? If you are majoring in music – are you dreaming about stardom? If so, do you have what it takes i.e. not just talent but this special something that distinguishes you from thousands others with the same talent? If not, do you plan to teach music? Perform in an orchestra?
What is your goal?

I am not saying that you shouldn’t study liberal arts. But I do believe that you have to have an idea of what you want to do and how to achieve it.

is it possible you spend money living w/ a roommate that you wouldn’t be spending if you had your own place?

like, do you feel the need to get away to find some space, and then end up spending money going out that you might not spend at home?

or do you get a lot of take out together, instead of cooking at home?

or would you keep the thermostat down more in the winter, or up higher in the summer, but you honor your roommate’s preferences?

or do you split a cable bill that’s higher than what you’d have on your own?

when i was younger, my roommates used to help themselves to my cigarettes, beer, food, clothes, shoes, hair products, etc.

does a roommate leave everything on and waste electricity? and you’re good at turning things off, but you don’t see a benefit from your good habits?

what i mean is that you might end up saving more than $300. a lot of little things here and there add up.

i don’t know if you’ve been sharing other expenses besides rent, but if you have been, and you can be more frugal in a studio because you’re the decision maker, it might work out better than you think.

If I were in your shoes I would put things in these piles:

1) Things I love. This includes things that are not worth a lot of money (my quirky coffee mug collection) and more expensive things (like a nice set of flatware I own). Family pictures, the quilt from my bedroom, certain gifts people have given me over the years. My iPod would go in this pile too.

2) Things with quality/rarity that would be expensive to replace, i.e., my KitchenAid mixer, my food processor, my stainless steel pans. I also have a few books that fall into this category.

3) Things that have some value that you can sell online. As much as I enjoy my books and DVDs, I would liquidate my collection online to get some money. I would also sell my DVD player and 13″ TV, since I can watch movies on my computer and I don’t watch TV. You can also use the library to rent DVDs and books until you’re able to build your collection again.

4) Things with little to no value that can easily be purchased at garage sales. Plates, utensils, silverware, etc.

I would pack up pile #1, see what my space looked like and then pack up pile #2. Hopefully both piles will fit just fine in your car. You have a couple of months to sell pile #3. Pile #4 can just go to Goodwill right before you leave.

I would also recommend mailing lighter stuff to your sister’s so there’s more room in your car. If you sell some things under #3, you should have some funds to do this. You can mail bedding, clothes, towels, etc. really reasonably. These things also tend to take up a lot of space, so it’s win-win if you mail them.

Dan,

Kudos to you for turning your life around. If you’ve truly changed your behavior (and from the remorse in your writing it sounds like you have), you do deserve the nice, new girlfriend. Your family will need some time to realize this change is permanent. Just be solid and they’ll come around.

But I’d advise you to be VERY careful about the numbers you’re crunching. Rent is one thing, but all of the other little expenses can really add up. For instance, I now pay full for phone, internet etc. where I used to pay half or a third. I don’t have anyone to split the cost of cleaning supplies with, or a load of laundry. I’ve had to alter my eating habits too because I can no longer split items I don’t use often.

In addition, rent fees go up but your salary might not. My apartment is currently costing me $25 more per month than when I moved in three years ago. Energy costs, laundry, etc, all go up, and those costs are easier to bear when there’s two of you.

My question is this: what is “worth it” to take with me, and which items would best to sell and buy again once I get a new job and a new place?

My sister’s home can store whatever I can bring with me.

An example of items on the list:

Old computer monitor
13 inch tv
VCD
DVD Player
Books
Pots/pans
Utensils
Dishes/cups/mugs
Silverware
Spices/non-perishable

Thanks, Trent!

If you did understand, then I agree with your point – colleges have let the liberal arts decay into something merely useful. That doesn’t mean we should accept those lowered standards. We should work to improve education by reading better books, teaching our children better and sending our children (and our money) to better colleges.