My voice has been traveling through the airwaves lately. I was interviewed on a few podcast episodes that recently dropped (if you’re interested in listening: I have them all on my press page and update that regularly).
Anyway, overall I’m always surprised when people are impressed with my story of decreasing my spending and increasing my income while figuring out what I want out of life and striving to retire at 30. I think this is because they are getting the highlights and not the countless, dumbass things I’ve done throughout my life – some of which involved misguided attempts to save money.
So in the interest of full transparency, let’s go through some of the dumb shit I’ve done to save a few bucks:
High School Lunch Roulette
As I mentioned when detailing the different kinds of schools I attended that helped create the purple weirdo that types before you today, I went to a private all girls’ high school. That fancy school had daily catered lunches from local chains such as Chick-fil-a (shudder) and Kung Pao Chicken.
For some reason I decided to not sign up for this lunch program – I somehow got it into my brain that this would make a difference to our family’s bottom line despite the fact that it would be a teardrop in the bucket compared to this school’s high tuition. I also didn’t actually know how to cook at this time so my solution was to just…not eat? *facepalm*
Some days there would be extra meals when someone was out sick and they would give away the extra. I’d swoop one up if it was available, but some days that didn’t happen so I just didn’t eat lunch. It’s also possible that I was being influenced by the stereotypical cultural pressure to be infinitely skinnier than I was and that informed this decision as well. Even the thought makes me angry since my stomach was flatter then than it ever will be again – ughgh you dumb high schooler – appreciate what you have!
So I often didn’t eat lunch and that means that I would go 11+ hours without eating. My trek to high school involved leaving at 5:30am each morning to try and ‘beat traffic’ (Hint: It can’t be beat in Atlanta). Then I would fight my way through rush hour in the afternoon and arrive home at 4:30pm having not eaten all day. That couldn’t have been good for my developing brain…I wonder what my grades would have been if I had gotten the proper nutrients – Yikes!
This went on for years of high school. I really don’t know what my silly teen brain was thinking – I could do basic math and should have been able to easily figure out that this difference in cost wouldn’t be substantial. Or maybe it was a coping mechanism to deal with some type of guilt I felt for my Mom spending so much on my education? I honestly don’t know what was going through my silly high school brain, but this was DUMB. At the very least I should have taught myself to make and pack food and then brought that to school. Dumb dumb dumb.
Jesus Takes The Wheel In Manhattan
My time living in Manhattan was a little rough. I was trying to figure out what I wanted out of life and I was originally told that adult fulfillment came from being successful in your career (whatever that means) so I created the random goal to be an SVP at an ad agency by age 30. That was 5 promotions away from my entry level position.
I worked my ass off in New York and overall it paid off. I was able to job hop my way into a promotion after my first and my second year of work while increasing my salary about $20,000 each time. However, paying ridiculously high Manhattan rent always made it seem like I was still making a relatively small amount of money despite the salary increases.
When I moved to NYC I was making $35,000 while paying rent for my room and my partner’s room while he got on his feet. We were literally eating rice and beans because it’s all we could afford. My favorite cheap meal was actually rice with some butter and soy sauce – so fancy!
So I didn’t feel like I had money to spare, but I did have friends who would ask me to visit them in Philadelphia or DC. Enter the Chinatown Bus. The Chinatown Bus is a sketchy bus line that leaves from random streets within Chinatown and will deposit you in Philadelphia, DC or Boston for about $5-10 each way. That was low enough that I thought I could swing it on our beans and rice budget (for comparison a Greyhound Bus ticket to Boston costs $30-40).
Here’s the problem though: That bus line is a shit show with a notoriously low safety rating: “While Greyhound gets a safety-management rating of zero (out of 100, with lower numbers being better), the Chinatown bus companies range from 71 to 99.”
I am ashamed to admit that despite knowing this and reading about the various accidents these buses have been in, I used them to visit my friends. Trading my safety for a few dollars was dumb. I should have just been happy with a few video chat sessions until I was able to afford a ticket with a reputable transit company. Or I probably could have found a way to save those dollars from somewhere in my budget, but instead I knowingly took an unsafe transportation option. Dumb.
Wearing Holey Walking Shoes
To end on a lighter note, I love walking and I enjoy doing difficult things that might make me sweaty, such as hefting my groceries up our hill home. Feeding these interests involves one key component: great walking shoes. A few years ago I was visiting a friend in Phoenix. Her Mom was planning to donate a pair of shoes and shockingly they were my size (I have big feet for my height…apparently the doctor thought I was going to be 5’11” and play basketball, but I digress…).
She asked if I wanted to try them on before she donated them. I said sure, slipped them on and felt like fucking Cinderella because they were AMAZING – the best shoes I’d ever had on my feet. They were easy to slip on, flexible enough to feel like I wasn’t being weighed down and breathable enough that my feet never even thought of sweating despite the sweltering Arizona heat. I was HOOKED. These were Privo shoes (later rebranded to Tequinis) and since that fateful day almost a decade ago, I’ve bought 4 pairs of them because I’ve literally walked holes into them I’ve worn them so much.
However, before I decided that $70 was an acceptable price for me to pay for walking shoes, I did something dumb. That first pair of shoes? I literally walked holes in them AND DIDN’T REPLACE THEM! And the silly thing is – I had the money to do so – I just thought that $70 was too much to pay for shoes (despite how much I walk) and kept looking for a similar, but cheaper option. Well I didn’t find something comparable, but cheaper (it’s almost like you have to pay for quality or something 😉 ).
It finally hit me how dumb I was being when I was walking to work one day. A rainstorm was coming through Seattle and while I was walking I felt a wet, uncomfortable sensation. My feet were getting wet BECAUSE OF THE HOLES IN MY SHOES. What a dumbass. This drove home how stupid I was being and when I got home after work (and dried off my feet) I immediately bought more Privos online. Glad something drove the point through my thick skull. What a dumb dumb.
Conclusion
So, basically, don’t be a dumbass like me. Don’t skip meals to save money, don’t risk your life to keep a few bucks in your pocket and definitely don’t delay going to the doctor because you’re afraid of the cost. Luckily I think I’ve learned my lesson from all of the above, including the last one. About 6 months ago I had a strange cough come out of nowhere and (unlike last time) I went straight to the doctor.
They weren’t sure what my cough was and recommended trying a few different treatments. I left the office with a $80 asthma medicine and contraption that it turns out I didn’t need, but I wasn’t upset about it. Better safe than sorry. I’m done doing dumb things to save money. Be smart out there kids.
What’s the dumbest thing you’ve done to save money? Do you regret it?
I think we have all been through these phases haha. I literally remember myself pinching pennies on clothing, food, health just to realize very quickly that it’s not worth it.
FIRE shouldn’t look like this.
Cut expenses and fees on things that don’t matter but spend money on yourself and things you love.
Cheers!
Good to know I’m not alone in my silliness 🙂 . I’m glad you realized it wasn’t worth it quickly. I seem to have flare ups of irrationality, but luckily the most recent incident was 4 years ago so maybe I’m free of it! Agreed FIRE shouldn’t look like this – great advice.
You need health to enjoy
Your retirement! Whether it’s early or not. Eating is important and eating the right food is even more important, and it doesn’t have to costly.
Oops I meant doesn’t have to
be costly
No worries – I knew what you meant 😉 .
Agreed! Food is fuel and it definitely doesn’t have to be costly in a lot of areas.
Oh man, your post about not eating lunch at school reminded me of a post on reddit I came across recently about a guy who was asking advice because he had trouble buying groceries for himself because he couldn’t bring himself to spend the money. To me, that’s not frugal, that’s miserly. After all, what are we all trying to save money for? Generally put, life. So not being willing to spending on food, which helps us sustain life, confuses delivery with medicine. We pursue FIRE generally speaking because we want to be able to provide for our lives without being stuck in a 9-5 job. Part of that providing, of course, is providing for our sustenance. So the whole thing at that point becomes self-defeating.
I wish I could think of more dumb things I’ve done to save money – the only thing that comes to mind is my pants experiment. I had been buying pants from Goodwill (the one downside to bike commuting a lot is you wear out a lot of pants) but experimented recently with expensive climbing pants on reports that people beat the hell out of them and they still looked brand new. I tried Pranas recently, they developed the crotch hole in about 5 weeks, and attempted to return them proved futile. I also tried Patagonias, which lasted longer than the Pranas but still failed in about the same time as pants from Goodwill. I guess it gave me something to write about in my blog so it wasn’t a total loss, but the great pants experiment was a dismal failure.
Uh oh! Yeah that’s not good at all. If you can’t spend money on something you’ll literally die without that might be a red flag (I’m also looking at myself when saying this RE: medicine and food). “After all, what are we all trying to save money for? Generally put, life. So not being willing to spending on food, which helps us sustain life, confuses delivery with medicine” – well that’s the best retort I’ve ever heard. Can you go back in time and tell this to my high school self please?
Oh wow Pranas didn’t hold up?? And they didn’t let you return them? I would think they’d hold up better than that and that they’d have better customer service in that situation. Hmm. Pranas are all my partner wears now and I was literally looking to buy my own pair yesterday. I didn’t know biking took such a toll on clothes, but it totally makes sense when I think about it. Anyway, I’m sorry the great pants experiment was a failure, but thank you for going through it and sharing your experience so we can all learn from it 🙂 .
I’ll fire up the Delorean! haha
Yeah I was really surprised after all the reviews I’d heard. Customers service told me they would totally take it back, they sent me a thing to print out, I sent it all back, and nothing. Nada. Maybe I should have pushed it more but eventually I just gave up. They ripped surprisingly fast. At least the patagonia’s were relatively inexpensive because I got them from the wornwear program, which I support a lot since they’re allowing people to not cause new clothing to be produced.
Yeah, biking takes a big of wear, and it’s always on the old crotch area. But the good news is I finished my single speed and it’s a smooth, gold blinged-out machine! (Seriously, I even got a gold chain for it. It’s the Mr. T of bicycles haha)
Sweet – thanks! And you’ve gotta follow up bro – persistence is key lol. Oooh I haven’t heard of the wornwear program and I like Patagonia’s stuff…adding that to my research list! OMG please tell me your bike’s official name is “Mr. T.”
I think with the gold bike chain, it kind of has to be : )
I always tell myself and my boys that there is a huge difference between being frugal and being cheap. We all have been guilty of being cheap at times and, for the most, it is not worthed; but im makes for some crazy stories!
Definitely! Agree that it’s not worth it, but that is a silver lining I guess: I get to share these silly stories with y’all 🙂 .
As someone who currently walks around with holes in her boots (sat in my office with soaked socks all day on Monday), you’ve officially inspired me to get new boots. 🙂
Woohoo!!! You deserve better than holey boots and wet feet!
I bought 3 years’ worth of facial masks from Taiwan because it is incredibly cheap. I am struggling to finish it and it is expiring soon :X
Uh oh! Sounds like it’s time for a FACIAL MASK PARTY!!
Heh heh, we learn best from experience. It’s good to do a few dumb things while you’re young, as long as you learn from it.
When I was in high school, I’d occasionally sell my lunch ticket for $1 or $2. Fortunately, I was a horrible salesperson so I usually get to eat my free lunch.
IMO, it’s okay to be cheap when you’re young and poor. 🙂
Haha you make good points. And I did definitely learn from these examples – and a few others now that I think about it.
And $1 or $2? Seems low to me 🙂 . I’m sorry you weren’t the best salesperson, but am happy that meant you go to eat lunch! Why were you selling it in the first place/what did you want the money for? I’m curious 🙂 .
That was in the 80s so $1 was okay. 🙂 I didn’t get an allowance then so I was just looking to get some cash to spend at the arcade and such.
So arcade games>food – got it 😉
Unless the things we do to save money impact our health or safety, I think everything is fair game. My obsession with cutting apart toothpaste tubes and shampoo bottles to get the last drop of product probably seems strange and miserly to some people. However to me it’s the sweet nectar of living frugally. To them I say, you don’t have to do it yourself if you don’t want to. Don’t be hard on yourself. Aside from the bus ticket story, I don’t think anything you have done to save money is dumb.
That’s a good line to draw. And thanks for the reminder – I need to cut open my product tubes. I’ve never done that, but have been meaning to. Thank you for telling me not to be too hard on myself 🙂 . That is a constant struggle.
I am going to date myself here but for a short time in college, I drank ice beer. More alcohol for your $. It not only tasted horrible but also gave you a wicked headache. It didn’t take long to figure out that it wasn’t worth it but for a glorious 2-3 months, I thought I was being tricky.
Along that line, all these spiked seltzers – White Claw, Truly, etc. They made that stuff in the 1990s and it was called Zima. The few times I tasted a white claw, I can’t get past that Zima aftertaste. 🙂
I’ve never heard of “ice beer” before! And oh no – why did it give headaches?! That’s no good. I did something semi-similar by asking my cousin to buy me Everclear in New Jersey (it’s banned in NYC) and bring it to me. More ABV for my buck, but that was dumb of me. It tasted horrible lol.
And yes it’s totally re-branded Zima. Everything comes back!
I was that non-lunch eater, too! Dare I mention that I was just thinking of going to the kitchen to make some rice with soy sauce…? And I do the butter and soy sauce thing, but with ramen noodles! In Hawai’i, we had a lot of reasons to eat cheap so SPAM, ramen, and rice are some usual go to’s. 🙂
Oh wow – What made you want to skip lunch? I mean I didn’t say rice with soy sauce wasn’t delicious 😉 , but generally I was just eating carbs cause they were cheap and my body (sadly) doesn’t like them. Butter in RAMEN?!? Gamechanger – I’m trying that! I’ve never gotten into SPAM – maybe I should try it again. Thank you for stopping by!