JoeFerguson Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Investing money instead of buying records over the course of 30 years? Listen to yourself. The argument is stupid. The $8 record I bought in 1985 is worth more to me personally than whether I'd put that $8 into some account for 45 years. Music, art, etc can't be compared to money. People buy things that add value to their everyday lives. Records, a pair of sneakers, a ticket to a ball game. You, and others, aren't even looking at quality of life. How many of you people spent money on stuff other than your retirement? I can guarantee that the majority, if not all but one or two of you, weren't saving for freaking retirement at age 20. I had a damn good time, went back to school when I was done, and am pretty comfortable with how I lived my life. I wouldn't change a thing. You might think having a minor retirement package at my age, while having a room full of LPs bought over almost 30 years is stupid. I disagree, and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in that aspect. I have a condo, a fabulous job, a smoking hot wife that I met because I was having fun playing in a band, and we save our fair share. And I bet I'll end up with more in the end than some moron who didn't buy anything and saved every penny instead of living a full life. I wasn't trying to be a smart ass. I really want you to calculate how much you've spent on your record collection. I have a sh------- record collection but somehow I still manage to enjoy my life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Coli Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Upper-middle class, white collar white guy in his 40's... who is an avid Democrat. Maybe that's your correlation. I'd be willing to bet that there is a correlation, for comparable income, between being a Republican and the personal savings rate. Really? If I made the post you just did with a sweeping generalization like yours the flaming would crash this message board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 I wasn't trying to be a smart ass. I really want you to calculate how much you've spent on your record collection. I have a sh------- record collection but somehow I still manage to enjoy my life. Over the course of my life I've spent about $60k on books. That would be a serious chunk of change if invested in an IRA over the same time period. Do I regret it? No...I like reading. But I'm aware of the tradeoffs I make, as well. And now that I'm in a financial bind myself (wife maxxed out her credit cards, didn't tell me until four months ago)...I buy a lot fewer books now. One prioritizes what one has to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeFerguson Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Over the course of my life I've spent about $60k on books. That would be a serious chunk of change if invested in an IRA over the same time period. Do I regret it? No...I like reading. But I'm aware of the tradeoffs I make, as well. And now that I'm in a financial bind myself (wife maxxed out her credit cards, didn't tell me until four months ago)...I buy a lot fewer books now. One prioritizes what one has to. Sell your books on ebay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Sell your books on ebay. Then what would I put in my library? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Coli Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 I wasn't trying to be a smart ass. I really want you to calculate how much you've spent on your record collection. I have a sh------- record collection but somehow I still manage to enjoy my life. In actuality, it's worth a lot more than what I paid for it. Records are probably a bad example because depending on the collection, the rarities and their condition they can be worth a ton of money to collectors. I'd bet mine is worth quite a bit. For every crappy platter that isn't worth a damn, there are others in there that well offset the crappy ones. I've also got two custom Les Paul guitars that are worth a lot now that I paid only 700 a piece for back in 89/90. Plus my Marshall amps, etc. I'd never sell any of it, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeFerguson Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 In actuality, it's worth a lot more than what I paid for it. Records are probably a bad example because depending on the collection, the rarities and their condition they can be worth a ton of money to collectors. I'd bet mine is worth quite a bit. For every crappy platter that isn't worth a damn, there are others in there that well offset the crappy ones. I've also got two custom Les Paul guitars that are worth a lot now that I paid only 700 a piece for back in 89/90. Plus my Marshall amps, etc. I'd never sell any of it, though. If you don't plan on selling, they're worthless. I'm not asking what they're worth, I'm asking what you spent. Also, I'm not claiming to be the king of penny pinchers (although I may be coming off as pompous). Over the years I have purchased my fair share of crap. These are the same questions I ask myself when I start reflecting on my own financial situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finknottle Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Really? If I made the post you just did with a sweeping generalization like yours the flaming would crash this message board. Really? I wondered if the savings rate is correlated to political beliefs - it seems a reasonable point of inquiry to me. Maybe I don't know what you mean by flame. Go ahead and make a reasonable hypothesis. I am willing to bet (if I may dare make another sweeping generalization) that the reaction of the right will be people people arguing your points, rather than (to make a sweeping comparison) the left's condemnation without debate of Larry Summers controversial question about education. For the record, is it your expectation that there is no correlation between politics and savings rate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finknottle Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Then what would I put in my library? Boxes, bubble wrap, and shipping labels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finknottle Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 If you don't plan on selling, they're worthless. I'm not asking what they're worth, I'm asking what you spent. Also, I'm not claiming to be the king of penny pinchers (although I may be coming off as pompous). Over the years I have purchased my fair share of crap. These are the same questions I ask myself when I start reflecting on my own financial situation. I pick and choose. I basically penny-pinch, except for a few activities where I open up (within limits). Save all your money, except lunch lavishly, or buy books, or whatever. The point is that I think compartmentalizing by hobby seems to lead to good financial discipline, without the psychological baggage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taterhill Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Then what would I put in my library? Porn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Coli Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Really? I wondered if the savings rate is correlated to political beliefs - it seems a reasonable point of inquiry to me. Maybe I don't know what you mean by flame. Go ahead and make a reasonable hypothesis. I am willing to bet (if I may dare make another sweeping generalization) that the reaction of the right will be people people arguing your points, rather than (to make a sweeping comparison) the left's condemnation without debate of Larry Summers controversial question about education. For the record, is it your expectation that there is no correlation between politics and savings rate? I'd say that personal politics has no correlation on whether two people of the same economic status and living in the same region save money at the same rate. There are wealthy Dems and there are Republicans living in poverty. Politics has nothing to do with it. Your hypothesis says more about what you think of the people who lean towards the Democratic ticket than it does about the fiscal proclivities of those same people. Are you suggesting that Democrats are lay-a-bouts looking for a government handout when they retire? That couldn't be further from the truth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 And now that I'm in a financial bind myself (wife maxxed out her credit cards, didn't tell me until four months ago)...I buy a lot fewer books now. One prioritizes what one has to. Crap. That sucks. Absolutely sucks. Sorry to hear that. Public library...here comes Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Coli Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 If you don't plan on selling, they're worthless. I doubt many would consider a music collection worthless. That's clearly where you and others, and I disagree. Whether I plan on selling any of my record collection or any of my musical gear isn't relevent to the value I put them at. To me they're priceless and have a historical value that no monetary figure could ever come close to. I'm not asking what they're worth, I'm asking what you spent. Records and gear spread out over 25+ years, probably approaching 100k. Hard to say, and like I said above, not really relevent as the value of that "investment" has paid for itself a million times over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X. Benedict Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Many of you may find this interesting if you have the time. "America's Four Middle Classes" http://pewsocialtrends.org/pubs/707/four-middle-classes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finknottle Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 I'd say that personal politics has no correlation on whether two people of the same economic status and living in the same region save money at the same rate. There are wealthy Dems and there are Republicans living in poverty. Politics has nothing to do with it. Your hypothesis says more about what you think of the people who lean towards the Democratic ticket than it does about the fiscal proclivities of those same people. Are you suggesting that Democrats are lay-a-bouts looking for a government handout when they retire? That couldn't be further from the truth. Yes, that's what I'm thinking. It is a politically incorrect fact of science that when you have a large set of samples, divide them into two sets, and make a measurement, there will be a correlation. It may be statistically insignificant, it may be significant but random, or it may be significant and meaningfull. But one set will always score higher than the other. So as far as savings go, the first step is to ask what the actual correlation is before asserting that there is none, or explaining it away in terms of external factors. Why are you so sure there is no correlation? Let's tweak the question a bit. Instead of savings rate, are you so sure that there is no correlation between latitude and party? I'm pretty sure that there is. How about income and party? Or support for increasing welfare and party? Why are these plausible while a meaningfull correlation between savings and party is not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeFerguson Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 I doubt many would consider a music collection worthless. That's clearly where you and others, and I disagree. Whether I plan on selling any of my record collection or any of my musical gear isn't relevent to the value I put them at. To me they're priceless and have a historical value that no monetary figure could ever come close to. Records and gear spread out over 25+ years, probably approaching 100k. Hard to say, and like I said above, not really relevent as the value of that "investment" has paid for itself a million times over. Do you think you would have been content if you only spent 50k on records? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 This entire "out of touch" discussion is stupidity at its highest level. So anyone who makes a decent living is out of touch with the common man and therefore unfit to lead? We really don't want a President who is more successful than the average Joe? Whatever. Remember when people who were successful were respected for it instead of despised for it out of jealousy? Just another example of the dumbing down of our nation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erynthered Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Many of you may find this interesting if you have the time. "America's Four Middle Classes" http://pewsocialtrends.org/pubs/707/four-middle-classes Thanks for that. Pretty interesting read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finknottle Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Many of you may find this interesting if you have the time. "America's Four Middle Classes" http://pewsocialtrends.org/pubs/707/four-middle-classes Good find. I think it puts the finger on the fissure between the largest class, the upper earners, and the rest with respect to savings and government intervention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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