> Not to mention, your life is going to be pretty miserable if you're working two jobs and spending a lot of effort on living frugal.
Agreed. A few follow-up points:
1. Frugality isn't a binary state. There's a balance to be struck. Some people really do waste money on frivolous things that don't actually bring them much real satisfaction, and in that sense being more frugal is definitely worth it. But once you've eliminated most of the excessive spending habits, the payoff of frugality really starts to drop aggressively as you cut out more and more (diminishing returns). Skipping your $4 latte isn't really gonna change the game for you if you're trying to become Bill Gates.
2. Frugality to me is kind of the "lowest common denomitator" of financial strategies, which is why so many "experts"/"gurus" tend to preach it. "Spend less than you earn" is a dead-simple concept and worthy advice to a certain extent. But trying to increase wealth more and more by cutting out less and less is not really a great long-term strategy, especially if you're interested in achieving significant gains in wealth. It's arguably much more effective to invest time and energy into things that will increase your earning potential over time rather than fretting about small guilty pleasures or trying to squeeze a couple more basis points of return out of your portfolio of mutual funds. Things like: gaining a valuable skill that's in-demand; honing and improving those skills over time; taking on leadership/management responsibilities; starting a business; meeting and forming relationships with people who are smart & successful or at least aspiring to be; etc.
The reason frugality is so fundamental is because everyone needs at least a little of it, no matter how much they make. Just as with the diet saying "You can't outrun your fork", lifestyle inflation will perpetually dog your every increase in income, until you learn some form of frugality.
Also, after being a small time landlord for a while, I've decided the true magic of interest is, over those ten years you didn't have to lift a finger. If you've got money to park while the rest of your life is chaos, interest is the totally-hands-free option, and I am coming to see that as magical.
Recently my wife and I were discussing one of the big benefits of rural living being far less easy access to impulse $4 lattes, In-N-Out drive thrus and the like. A trip to a major suburb becomes a planned event (and more meaningful), just like those $100 steak dinners.
My wife and I lived in a small town about 20-30 minutes from the nearest major city. This was enough, for us, to significantly change our eating habits. There was a nearby small-town grocery/post office/liquor store where you could grab small things, but if you needed anything beyond the basics, you had to make a trip into the city. When it's a 1hr round trip, you're not just going to go grab McDonalds, especially when there was shitty weather. It was great, and I'm going to be trying to re-adopt that soon when I start working from home again. (She had to commute to town for work when we were out there, I didn't... which is why she was way more interested in moving into the city than I was :))
If your just slamming it down thoughtlessly, then yeah it's probably worthless.
Your mileage will vary. Personally, I love a good latte: it gives me a great deal of pleasure, especially when I can hang out at an inspiring 3rd place, read a good book or get some work done.
Agreed. A few follow-up points:
1. Frugality isn't a binary state. There's a balance to be struck. Some people really do waste money on frivolous things that don't actually bring them much real satisfaction, and in that sense being more frugal is definitely worth it. But once you've eliminated most of the excessive spending habits, the payoff of frugality really starts to drop aggressively as you cut out more and more (diminishing returns). Skipping your $4 latte isn't really gonna change the game for you if you're trying to become Bill Gates.
2. Frugality to me is kind of the "lowest common denomitator" of financial strategies, which is why so many "experts"/"gurus" tend to preach it. "Spend less than you earn" is a dead-simple concept and worthy advice to a certain extent. But trying to increase wealth more and more by cutting out less and less is not really a great long-term strategy, especially if you're interested in achieving significant gains in wealth. It's arguably much more effective to invest time and energy into things that will increase your earning potential over time rather than fretting about small guilty pleasures or trying to squeeze a couple more basis points of return out of your portfolio of mutual funds. Things like: gaining a valuable skill that's in-demand; honing and improving those skills over time; taking on leadership/management responsibilities; starting a business; meeting and forming relationships with people who are smart & successful or at least aspiring to be; etc.
See also: https://xkcd.com/947/