Comments on: How to Lose a Million Dollars

By: J. Money

J. Money — Tue, 15 Oct 2019 09:33:30 +0000

In reply to Paul @ SideGains. This is true! Haha...

By: Paul @ SideGains

Paul @ SideGains — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 17:27:49 +0000

The idea of applying the “gory detail” of the opportunity cost spreadsheet to my own situation has shocked me… I haven’t done it yet and I’m not sure I want to!

I was reading another blog post earlier today about cars and what a cash sinkhole they are (specifically new cars).

It’s so easy to get caught up in the trap of keeping up with the Joneses. My wife often tells me that so-and-so got a new car and that “they must be stinking rich”.

As I always tell her, never judge a book by the cover… people love credit and just because someone has a new fancy car, it doesn’t mean they aren’t on the verge of losing their home!

By: Cube

Cube — Wed, 13 Sep 2017 15:21:28 +0000

In reply to Financial Panther. I can attest after meeting you in person that your (now wife) does a fine job with those haircuts! Course, hard to go wrong with the close crop. ;-)

By: Cube

Cube — Wed, 13 Sep 2017 15:19:43 +0000

In reply to EL. In all honesty, I'm not sure I would've survived being single for many of those years where happy hours and dinners with friends keeps you "plugged in" to the social scene. Opportunity costs sure do stink! The key is to recognize them early on and try to find reasonable substitutes for costly pastimes.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Mon, 19 Dec 2016 12:16:10 +0000

In reply to EL. There's def. a fine balance for sure, as you're liable to drive yourself crazy if you think about the opportunity costs with every expense! I haven't bought a pair of new shoes in at least 3 years so will also be going that route as you here shortly :)

By: EL

EL — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 20:39:27 +0000

Yeah opportunity costs stinks, and we all are guilty of this. I am eyeing a pair of sneakers that I want to buy soon as well, instead of investing the 100 bucks. I guess we all have the things that we enjoy shelling money for. As long as you invest or save more than that thing you cant live without, you should be headed in the right direction.

By: abandoned cubicle

abandoned cubicle — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 19:23:54 +0000

In reply to JP at TheMoneyHabit.Org. Thanks, JP! Life is full of choices. Some have long term consequences we don't recognize until down the road. The beauty of cutting back is that you learn and adapt to a life that's less focused on things and more focused on people and experiences.

By: J. Money

J. Money — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 23:36:33 +0000

In reply to JP at TheMoneyHabit.Org. Glad you enjoyed, JP! Always like seeing juicy guest posts come by my desk like this :) Especially relating to spreadsheets! Haha...

By: JP at TheMoneyHabit.Org

JP at TheMoneyHabit.Org — Mon, 31 Oct 2016 20:28:48 +0000

This is probably the best post I’ve read all week. Opportunity cost is so incredibly sneaky. The most interesting thing to me about the list you put up there is that the top 5 account for more than half of the Money That Could Have Been. To me, that’s an inspiring thought because it means getting a few bigger things right moves the needle in a huge way and might allow for smaller indulgences.

The other interesting way to sort it is by level of discomfort. Too many subscriptions and unnecessary life insurance wouldn’t cause much pain to remove.

When I look at my own opportunity cost list, I’ve done pretty well with biting the bullet on big things, but I have a lot of low-discomfort smaller items that could easily be gotten rid of without having a material impact on my happiness.

By: Abandoned Cubicle

Abandoned Cubicle — Thu, 27 Oct 2016 15:58:02 +0000

In reply to Mr Defined Sight. Thanks, Mr. Defined! I agree with that thought. I still look at our "budget" and wonder where we could do better. We sure put a lot into dining out and vacations (even with this year's haul of 250,000 bonus points.)