Spending versus saving

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Been working at a part time minimum wage job for four years

Home Depot, lot attendant

Plenty of coworkers big spenders:
Cars
Vacation to other countries
One servant has six kids
Boxing lessons
Dogs

Things like that


I don't understand how they pay for them with minimum wage. Granted, some of them have second jobs, unearned income and spouses, but whatever

And constantly terrified of getting made redundant

So it sounds like I should save $$$

But I am 42 years old and if I get shot tomorrow, $$$ won't do anything for me so I might as well waste it all while I am still alive

I have always saved more than I spent. Being an autist who spends most of his time alone helps with that. That's one of the few benefits of the life for me, actually.

I don't know what problems and expenses "Future Me" will have so I try to make sure he will have enough money to handle them (that is, I save what I can).

I try not to concern myself with the future, but I work on my present.
The future: I perceive it as unpleasant, in all the aspects of life, even for wealthy people.
And I don't constantly think about the past: people tend to forget that it's their present that matters.
The now: they don't live it.

Personally, I only have my shares in the houses; I have nothing else and I can't use anything because in my small condominium there's a criminal who took possession of it. I filed a complaint, but I've been waiting for four years for someone to rule.
Obviously with evidence, otherwise a criminal case won't even be started.
So I don't actually have that either.

What can I say? I have a bank account that's ridiculous in Italy.

I could do something else where I am now, but I don't feel like it: even in managerial roles or in any case very well-paid jobs.
But social interactions devastate me in the long run.
And it doesn't matter how much you're potentially worth, only the objective reality of the facts.

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I've risked dying several times.
For various reasons: I've always survived.
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Regarding saving money in the future to end up in a nursing home (a sort of concentration camp for people with physical or mental disabilities), I honestly find it illogical.
If it has any: the logic is that of masochism.

You go in there and never come out alive.
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Your colleagues spend more money than they earn; some of the expenses you mention are huge: they'll do other things you don't know about, they'll have other indirect income.

Or they live off loans from financial institutions: even if those have to be guaranteed by something.

No bank or financial institution will lend you money unless they can make a significant profit over the long term.
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It seems to me that your financial situation is very limited.

Waste it all: but if you earn next to nothing, what can you waste?
If anything, you can use it.
To live decently.

There's no point in saving if you don't have a valid income.

You'd be depriving yourself of something satisfying just to stay in at the poverty line.
The reasoning behind saving isn't even that illogical.

At 42, you can only change jobs over time, acquiring a short degree (a bachelor's degree).
Or figure out what's working in the economic market and find a job in that exact context.

At 42, you're not old.

So, you can find something you like (?)

It makes sense to save even a little only if:

*You have children
*A wife/husband/partner

But given your prerogatives, I don't find the hypothesis sensible.

At least, in our country, with such a low salary, you wouldn't do anything.

For the rest, I always try to stay within my possible spending limits.

Repay loans and pay the installments, also because otherwise I'd end up on a blacklist that, at least in our country, you never get out of.

Trying to be honest, I think, is the first step. What.

Whoever does a job like yours is socially exploited and won't keep that job in the long run, because robots will do it.

We need to first understand what we can potentially change.

I don't live with regrets, also because I have so many to unearth.
But it's a "me" from the past.

Then, I think that in every person's life everything can change very quickly.
Even for the better.
But good requires commitment to change: and many don't want to, not only can't, change.

Because I don't even consider the fact that I can't change to be a burden on myself.

I could do it.

We need to work on this.
Which is what I've always done: work, and on myself too, always.

And I don't think other people are worth less; they can, but sometimes they don't want to, or they even settle into feeling bad or very bad.

In your case, you also do a very tiring job and stressful and repetitive.

I'm usually able to save money, but once I see something to do with Germany, I have to have it.

*Really make sure it's German.

Because they use the German brand, and it's often made in China.

We do it too.

Except we don't use it in automotive brands: a sector I know very little about, but open the hood first and look carefully to see if it says "made in Germany." They, like us, used Poland for small cars.

The famous German technology is now a flop.

I wonder what German products they produce in this economy, given that China is almost always used.

I'm writing about a country that was a source of pride for all production lines, and German brands, like ours, had an industrial yield of 3%.

For example: India has that yield in some sectors, like 27%.

I don't know about China, which wants to compete in Europe with their cars, and those who choose them can't find spare parts and are left with cars sitting idle, some for over 6 months.

Made in Italy confectionery and more is truly Made in Italy.

But several months ago, tasting Italian desserts for the French market, I realized that we export superior quality desserts abroad compared to the exact same Italian products.

I understand these obsessions because a friend of mine adores Japan and everything Japanese. Even Italians, on average, adore Japan; some learn Japanese because they love it so much.
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Spending and saving: back to the thread.

You can save on various bills.

Changing your provider in Europe would be worthwhile, say, every 11 months, or sticking with it and simply changing your plan. Cancellation within the appropriate timeframe is free.

You also need to change your eating and clothing habits.

Where there are discounts and the food is safe and preservable, it's worth taking advantage of them.

Clothing: Here, you can find top-quality products in Church-run centers.

For 1
or 2 euros, you can bring home items used in high-fashion shows, or donated by wealthy people who don't want to throw them away, but donate them.
The proceeds trigger virtuous cycles and help those in need.
Even those who go there: I take the clothes and objects I don't use to those markets that accept them only if they're in excellent condition.
Do good, buy very cheaply, give gifts at no cost, and obviously don't pay taxes because they're donations.
I won't write the rest because many people suffer from gambling addictions, and by playing with, say, precise mathematical criteria at specific times, you can win money.
Relying on the principle of "enough" and not "breaking the bank" in absolute winnings.
Once, a Chinese girl had to refuse me a bet because it was only in my favor.
The numerical probability system decided that.
I asked why, and she smiled and replied: "Maybe your bet isn't worth it to them!"

In extreme circumstances, I will spend a lot of money.

In 2017, my mother passed away. She had an 11 year old cat named Sammy. I adopted that cat.

Fast forward a year or so later. Sammy became ill, began losing weight and deteriorating, and was diagnosed with diabetes.

I signed up for overtime shifts at my job, in order to make sure that I could afford to take Sammy to frequent appointments and purchase insulin.

Sammy made a full recovery, living to be 19 years old.

Towards the end of his life, he started losing weight again. The appointments began to be scheduled more frequently, up to every month. Sammy did really well at his last appointment. Therefore, another appointment was scheduled and the topic of euthanasia was not brought up. Sammy ended up passing away peacefully in his sleep at home, with no anxiety or stress whatsoever and with me being there with him, not making it to his next appointment.

Sammy was very reclusive and shy, and would spend most of the time in his side of the house, away from the other cats. He would also need a couple days to warn up to a new human. Once you earned his trust though, he would basically be the sweetest cat ever. Bedtime was always his favorite thing in life. When you were ready to sleep, Sammy would immediately come running over and snuggle up next to you and quietly purr.

Other than emotional attachments to pets, I lean towards being frugal. While I do have a computer and play video games, the computer and most of the games were on sale.

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Hi, welcome here. I read the post, and I remember the friendly avatar.
I'll answer you about the site's popularity: let's just say you wouldn't find many like it.
It's not my country, so I don't know if there are others like it.
Not here: one was this one's twin, but now it's lost its connotations and has allowed anyone on board.
*I noticed that, at least here, and even here, among autistic people there can be one or many misunderstandings, mutual likes and dislikes, or not (so far, I haven't found anyone here to be disliked).
The popularity isn't as high as you wrote in the other thread, but maybe that's not a bad thing.
It certainly was several years ago.

I recently discovered (I've been here for a while now, except for long pauses)
that some users have a mental level that they clearly surpass only in certain posts and threads, where they write very well.

Contentiousness: It bothers me, I wouldn't write about it.
It's one thing to express your ideas or present incontrovertible facts, but it's another thing to disrespect others, or, if you make a mistake, not apologize.

I'd say that, being human, we can always make mistakes.

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The cat: I understand, you were good.

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You reminded me of when my mother died.
And I almost wiped out my bank account without even realizing it; I went down to like 37 euros!
The funny thing is that I had recently enforced two laws, one regarding account overdrafts...
which I immediately changed, also because you never know what might happen.
If you go into the red by, I think, 100 euros, you end up on a blacklist and you can't get out, not even if you bring it back to a significant profit.
And they don't tell you that.
But then I wouldn't have had access to other banks even with a million dollars in assets.

For the rest, I've learned over the years to pay in installments for something that can't or shouldn't be paid upfront.

And it's the best choice you can make.
In my family, we thought it was a sort of disgrace to pay installments.
But times change, and so do conditions.

As a true Asperger, I've always paid all the installments, even though when they get too many, it becomes stressful.

I think it's a strange hypothesis, but even if you can pay for expensive things upfront, it's always better to try to pay everything in installments.
Look for the institution with the lowest guaranteed effective annual interest rate available: they're not all the same.
A bank lends money to financial institutions and you already pay for this step.
Obviously, they'll want to make up for that difference by raising the monthly payment.

If the bank is a good one, it's best never to do anything different.

I was thinking about the thread: there are ethical banks, at least in our area, so you can access loans that you can repay.
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Another thing is to pay all kinds of bills in installments and write everything down in a diary/calendar.
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Don't buy until you've compared several companies, and brands versus quality, essential products.

In Italy, clothing can sometimes be very expensive.

The cost of this it goes down if you go to charity markets. You'll usually find something valuable that others paid 50 or 100 times what you'll pay there.
And everything is super sanitized.
Something that just can't happen in a regular store.
Sometimes, you don't save money online.

I always look at the minimum star ratings, those with one or two stars, and calculate the percentage of those who left negative reviews, and sometimes I read them carefully first.

The cost of consumer goods doesn't depend on quality but on the brand.
An iPhone costs significantly more than an Android, for example, and you need to understand how some brands develop over the years.

Apple also makes smartphones, but for example, it has been investing in metareality since 2022, and it's clear that it's a predominant sector for them, no longer smartphones.
If the Chinese or Koreans have a planned growth trend, it's more sensible to buy them before they have one.
We depend on them anyway, so we might as well buy it (if essential) from them directly.

Buy online with reputable carriers: you get a refund, and you never waste your money.
On the other hand, in stores, you do because you have to buy them and you have no chance.

You can save money by changing your habits; if you don't live in a condominium, then you're screwed.

A personal computer isn't an expense you can avoid.
So unless you live like a hermit on a Neverland, then you buy one.

Remember that every object, including new cars, has a planned death. So, be sure to inquire carefully about those things that have as little electronics as possible and non-European and Chinese engines, because we don't invest in these things.

Not even in yours, because what is thought to be made in the USA generally isn't made in the USA anymore, but many of the components are not good; yours were very good.
Ours was perfect, now the French have issued a diktat on their engines, and they're a bit rubbish.
With ours, you could go 10 times further while using half the fuel.
The bodies look
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They look like aluminum and have no paintwork.
For example, the Ford from a while back had the best paintwork, and these perhaps have a thin layer of colored paint.

Same thing with appliances. Read carefully what you're buying and the low-star reviews. Add up the percentages up to three stars and choose those that are even three stars lower than the worst.
Don't trust the 5-star reviews, because they almost never match the truth. First, check YouTube tutorials about the item you're buying, for its pros and cons, and don't buy anything that hasn't been tested by someone else for at least a year.

Insurance can be paid in installments, and it's convenient for second cars.
For first cars, it's best to pay in installments using valid online options.

They carry a lot of risks.

Many people take out insurance without thinking about how they'll use the car and where they'll use it.

It changes a lot.
Using online promotions and any other useful promotions before choosing requires time, because there's always something we don't know about.

Eat without added sugars and salt, avoiding milk and foods that have a long shelf life in a modified atmosphere.

Eat less because it's food that affects your long-term health.
Drink mineral water, but don't exceed several liters a day.

Avoid sweetened, sugary, and carbonated beverages because they devastate human organs.

I don't buy organic foods because organic food is booming here, and the fields, even miles away, and even strictly monitored by inspectors, have two factors that impact them: the aquifers can be wonderful in that area but mixed with other terrible ones far away.
Going directly to the producer, if you buy from them, saves a lot.
In a large city, this is impossible.
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Solutions are always found, even when there are huge differences in where you live.

The rest is science fiction. In a big city, you go where you can, but you have no options.

For people who previously had an average purchasing power of 6-7 thousand euros, I see many of them queuing up at charity shops. They can't afford the expenses in big cities.

So making careful choices helps a lot.

Including leaving where you live.
First, choosing cities with job opportunities.

I'm sorry, but those arriving from abroad cause the loss of jobs for those who were born in the United States and Italy, and not only there, have always paid taxes, and respect the laws.

We are not increasing trade tariffs in Italy against anyone.
We defend the US, but in the long term, we will unfortunately have to impose trade tariffs on each other.

We are perhaps the only nation that defends the US from retaliation.
I was just reading about tariffs on our products, some of which have enormous percentages.

It doesn't make any sense.

Nor does it make any sense that there are European retaliations.
Then we and you will pay the price, with crises invented by politicians at the top.
They need to be removed.
Politicians who don't understand a thing about economics, even because they haven't studied it.
If I increase a product and then apply tariffs, it's hara-kiri for the nation itself.

Besides causing unemployment, businesses will close down with irrational policies.
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A trivial example: we buy some things, but they're not essential.
The US raises trade tariffs.
Quality declines.
Domestic prices rise.
Companies close: you're not China, which can afford a huge domestic market and sell to anyone, and there are 6 billion allied consumers (nations) for us, and it's not convenient for you.

They import raw materials from neighboring countries, but they own them like that.

Where do we buy them from?

This applies to everyone.
Considering that currently in Europe the economic trend is exceeding 2,5% per year, and in some nations it's much higher over 4%.

They'll have to ally with them: or use colonies.
I ask myself: as an Italian, I prefer to ally with the US and the UK, not with China, which is not exactly a friendly nation.

At least your president should maintain political alliances with the ones they are.

And if anything, take production away from China.

The funny thing is that they're being invested in.
Nothing to say, because they're people who work 24/7.
And now they have levels in big cities and in armaments that we Westerners don't have.
Unless someone actually reads the statistics.

Or at least doesn't know the current world at all.

Once we paid off the mortgage and owned the house we had plenty of money for spending.
Now that it just me l have plenty of money to donate to charity.

What you write is very beautiful.

I recommend saving up for insurance for yourself because unexpected things happen in life, and even if you're not alone, you can't avoid it without money.

I still tend to think about others; some are truly poor and on the street.

Sometimes I stop to talk, and maybe they need something warm, and no one stops me.

I see sideways that while I'm doing it, they look at me as if to say, "Why are you doing this?"
"Don't care."

I always think that even the smallest thing that doesn't go right can be a gift to them.

Then, you know, on the street with cardboard boxes to sleep in, or in the cold of winter.

Maybe if we stopped for a moment instead of running and skipping over it...

Judging: While we were in the hospital, I was sick, but while waiting, I noticed a girl who looked like a drug addict with mental problems.

She asked for a euro or two for the food and hot drink vending machines.

My brother told me not to do anything.
I gave her what I had, but I didn't have any change. A boy stood up with me and made up for the missing amount.

The girl actually bought some food and ate it right next to us.

Those coins didn't change anything for me. They allowed her to eat something hot.

The strange thing is that while he was returning home from the Navy, a boy asked him for money because he had lost his wallet.

Afterwards, he would have been left there at the port alone.

He helped.
You know what: the boy told him he was the only person who helped him.
He also thanked him upon arrival, asking how to get the money back.

Something my brother didn't even consider.
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I generally donate to organizations whose use I know exactly because I've seen it firsthand.
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Donating to charity is a noble gesture.
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An Italian climber of 8,000-meter peaks chose to make a sort of living will to his family.

He said there was harmony in his family and he could do it.

They excluded him from everything.
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Now he has rebuilt his life, thanks in part to his family.
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Beautiful people exist. Some take advantage of them.

According to some doctors, Reinhold Messner should have died in 1978 while climbing Everest, reaching the summit at 8,848 meters without oxygen. Messner, however, became the first mountaineer to achieve that feat, and despite the less than optimistic predictions and skepticism of the time, he can still recount it today: on his eightieth birthday. In his forty-plus-year career, Messner climbed all fourteen mountains above eight-thousand meters, lost a brother in the Himalayas, crossed Antarctica, Greenland, and several deserts, wrote dozens of books, and appeared in numerous advertisements.

He has impressive mental strength.

Many of our regions have allowed the languages ​​or dialects of his birthplace to be preserved.

German is widely spoken in Italy. Including French (which was our language; my parents', who also spoke other languages, now in Italy English prevails as a third language in regions like mine, where Italian is only a second language, the others if we exclude the dialects, of which there are 20. Including others that are accepted , and there are many).
My region was separatist; we didn't feel Italian; they are different from us. Before, our character was steely; now, I don't know.
A great-grandfather was sent to the front lines in the world war.
The people he faced called them Demons. Structurally, he was very strong, also very generous and kind. He was the last of my grandparents and great-grandparents I saw before they all disappeared: I was 8 years old.
Messner has always impressed me, but he wasn't the only person.
https://www.britannica.com/sports/mountaineering

Thank you for your kind words, Huckleberry Finn and Red82.

Sammy was upbeat, cheerful, and happy even in his final hours, enjoying every moment of life and always ready to receive attention and bump your hand with his head and lean in for a purr and cuddle session.

He never lost the will to live, despite any physical pain that he must have been experiencing towards the end of his life. He even accepted me when mom was still alive, even though he was usually a timid "one person" type of cat.

Sammy also suddenly became very calm, polite, and well-behaved at the veterinarian clinic, once he started receiving diabetes care. He would even stay still at home and let me give him his insulin shots on the first try. Based on that behavior, I do believe that some cats are actually quite intelligent, and that Sammy had some level of awareness that all of these appointments and needles had something to do with him feeling better. Either way, he trusted me. And so I committed myself to doing everything I could to help him stay alive, since that was his wish, and I even started signing up for overtime shifts until I felt secure enough in regards to money and to how expensive insulin is here in the U.S.

As for money and payments, it seems like many people in my country use multiple credit cards. As for me though, I can be quite stubborn about wanting to save up money, and then pay the full price for something up front.

Yes though, there can be times in life when having enough money for a situation isn't possible. Yes, having a good plan and making payments on time can be important.

I also like the comment that mentioned charity. And at 41 years old and with gray facial hair (though the gray has not spread to the top of my head yet), I am almost as old as the original poster.

I saved a lot when I was employed despite earning just over federal minimum-wage. I worked LOTS of overtime when allowed(like 9+ hours not counting hour lunch break for 6 days a week) & I was still living with my parents.

However I quickly ran up a lot of credit card debt once I stopped working. I was on SSI so I still had some money coming in & I quit giving my parents any money to cover some of my household expenses like I did when I was working. The problem was that I had my health insurance through work because it was cheaper while I was working. When I stopped working I had to start paying the full cost for my health insurance which was almost half of my full SSI check being spent just on health insurance. I could not get private health insurance due to having preexisting conditions. I had Louisiana Medicaid since I was on SSI but no docs in my area accepted it so Medicaid only helped for my meds. My work insurance did not cover mental so I always had to pay the full cost to see my psychiatrist & my insurance had co-pays & deductibles. Plus I was paying for my own cellphone & the home cable & internet bill on top of paying for my personal expenses.

I payed off my debt after I moved to Vermont to be with my girlfriend. I was on Social Security Disability by then & had Medicare & I qualified for Medicaid Extra Help. Also all the docs I seen in Vermont actually accept Medicare & Medicaid.

Next problem was that adjusting to more independent living was stressful & my girlfriend has various issues she's dealing with. I started spending more money on snacks & various things for her because it cheered her up for a little bit. I also started buying more snacks for me in addition to buying supplements for us & meds that are not prescribed. Cass started having problems with buying things with her credit cards as well because her mental health got worse for various reasons.

I ended up defaulting on my credit cards. I'm paying a small amount a month so the debt collectors will leave me alone. Cass defaulted on her credit cards as well.

These days my spending is just threading water. There are various things that I kind of need to replace but I've mostly been avoiding buying things that are not food, supplements, or medication related; of coarse I'm still paying for cable, internet, cellphone, & bus passes. I would like to get a part-time job where I could earn a tad but stay under a certain amount so I could still keep my benefits. Problem is that I'm not sure how to go about finding a job I could do that would be willing to let me just work a little; the three jobs I worked at required part-timers to work between 30 & 33 hours & Vermont's minimum-wage is about double the federal so working 30 hours a week would cause me to lose my SSDI. Plus I have some health issues that I've been trying to get addressed & I might end up having to pay myself to see a different doc or a monthly membership fee.

Most people these days have debt to finance their lifestyles. I am willing to bet thats the case with your co-workers at Home Depot. I save all the money I can. I prolly save at least 50 percent or more of my income every month.