Hacker News Reader

Comment by SoftTalker | Hacker News Reader

I have plenty of money (relatively speaking, I don't make FAANG money but I don't worry about paying the rent or saving for a rainy day). I have real trouble spending it though. It almost causes me physical pain to spend money on something I don't regard as essential. I don't like to travel, or eat expensive meals, or go to movies, concerts, shows, etc because I hate to spend the money on it. Don't know what the root of that is, but it bothers other people more than it bothers me.

The hobbies I have are similarly frugal: fixing stuff, repairing old cars, where I feel I've gained some value for the time spent.

View on HN

This is awesome! Your attitude and values are only recently "out of date"; previous to the current generation of zero percent financed lifestyles many people achieved success through slow growth savings. I think it's great that you reject the value derived from common consumption because it's less than the cost. I wish more people felt this way

Thank you so much for those words, they are wise and re-fill my confidence level so much for today. Everybody should find it’s own way of “wining in life” as peer said, but probably not by listen and follow “typical advices” as a sole trueness.

It isn’t tho. You don’t win in life by having the biggest number in your investment account when they put you in the ground. Typical advice here is to spend money on experiences and not “stuff” but it sounds like gp cant even do that

I think feeling it painful to spend when you have lots of money is not a good thing.

I save money by not buying much stuff in general. So when I do have to spend it’s not a big deal. It’s not like saving $80 by not going to a concert would have some profound impact on my future financial situation. Same with vacations or buying clothes. I don’t do that stuff often, so when I do, whatever. Why ruminate so much on it.

I used to be more of your mindset but realized it was stupid. And you end up missing out on opportunities if you’re too frugal just for the sake of it (rather than necessity). People I’ve met on trips, random books I’ve bought, etc have changed my life in lots of positive ways.

> Don't know what the root of that is, [...]

Let me guess: Could it be coming from a poor family?

Set aside a fun budget, and then spend it frugally. Just don't carry over from one year to the next. Developing non-monetizable skills is the best kind of fun there is ;)

I think a lot of people are like you described (say 5 per cent), but not many dare to admit, fearing of coming across too boring or greedy or whatever.

I think being content with what you have and what you buy, the fulfillment of fixing things has much more value than fancy stuff that is fancy today but gets outdated quickly.

Also "experiencing things" seems overrated these days. As if scratching things off a bucket list has lots of value.

I'm similar, but it has probably cost me more in happiness then the money is worth. I am trying to counter it by framing more things as investments into myself (happiness as its own goal, but also the ability to more easily make that money back).

I know some people with similar tendencies. One also has trouble getting rid of things.

I wonder if this makes it harder to find a partner?

Also, is it easier to spend money with a credit card than in cash?

There's a saying in my language that goes like "he'll be the richest person in the graveyard". Spend that surplus money, have fun, enjoy it. What else are you going to do with it anyway?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com