As far as peer pressure goes it IS tough: my dearest friends are always bugging me to buy the latest electronic equipment. i have 1 celphone, paid for by work, and a landline-ONLY because reception at home is bad. I avoid monthly $$ commitments like the plague. Unlike them I am single, no kids, family in another country-why would I need multiple devices, tivo, DVR, this that and the other? I read-they watch tv. They also have lots of $$ and MUCH stabler careers AND both work-they can afford to throw money away but have no savings. When I HAVE money, I buy art-my artwork has appreciated 10-15 times in value since I bought it-their gadgets are worth zip. I love buying designer silk saris-I go to a lot of charity galas so I need a lot of evening wear-even those are a deal compared to western clothes, last a lifetime, flatter everyone, can be bequeathed, and frankly, are a more fun and interesting way to spend MY hard earned $$ than going to the Mac store. Do I really WANT Steve Jobs to get richer on my nickel? No.

“Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work, driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for, in order to get to the job you need in order to pay for the clothes, the car, and the house that you leave empty all day in order to afford to live in it.”

Re: Roxanne,

Didn’t mean to imply that that was what you had meant, because sometimes I get unnecessarily defensive about it.

Trying to fix that, I’m just tired of feeling torn between wanting things/materialism and trying to be simple, not accumulate a lot of stuff, etc. I suppose I have many years to learn yet, though, and a pending move ought to help me part with some stuff… I hope!

I told myself I have 1.no debt, 2. a fully funded emergency fund, 3. fully funded Roth IRA and some other pluses going for me that he doesn’t see. Oh well he’s not impressed.

I joined the outfit I’m with as a high school dropout 19 years ago and am leaving with a B.S. in business, and another in electronics. I could hold an informed conversation on why the droid is or isn’t directly competing against the iphone but not why someone is going to be leaving the island, or not, because I don’t need to befriend my coworker and emulate his values.

So last night I just paid my $30.32 or whatever it is after tax for another 3 months of tracfone pay as I go service, less than my FFEF dividends btw and wondered if his bill was under $100/mo and how he’s doing.

To SMG the more TV you watch the more stuff you end up buying. Kind of hard to beat books from a library if you don’t live in Oregon ;). I hope to move back to Oregon in 4 months, but I can afford used books all day long if transplant voters get the local library closed.

Its a healthy balance of your time spent on watching TV, Reading books, playing outside, etc that would be an optimal way of spending time.

For TV watchers how awesome is Sons of Anarchy? You know you watch it!!

I love the responses about how people are different and prioritize differently. I think it is very true. For me I wouldn’t necessarily call myself frugal. I bought a 600 DSLR camera from Canon, but to be fair I did it all with bank sign up bonuses. Still I could have used that money to pay for monthly metro passes, or my mobile bill. Bought a coat today marked down from 100 to 50, so I am happy off that..first peacoat in 5 years, so even though the other is still fine, I now have two….so I don’t know what to tell you. I am one of the only 25 year olds I’ve known or met who has a Roth IRA as well as what I call family contribution plan. The latter being a high yielding stock I picked with a DSPP that I have my folks, cousins, grand parents whomever throw money into for the holidays or my birthday, rather then give me stuff.

So I guess my opinion for you….Live within your means and do what makes you happy. Be apathetic to your co-workers. Being indifferent answers all….haha.

A guy asked me once how I could always turn down joints from people etc…I simply replied, because I don’t care, I’m indifferent. It’s not that I have never smoked weed, I just don’t like it…makes me unsocial and sleepy, so I drink. My college buddies more as a running joke still try to casually pass it to like I’m part of the circle…lol…and I love the one “oh it just makes you feel that way now, but the more you smoke, it’ll stop doing that….ah that ones good for a laugh.

But yea…just apply my college weed story to your co-worker tv debacle…the truth is I just really could care less and that’s how you have to be with your co-workers…f*ck’ it.

It can be frustrating when you are trying to avoid impulse buying, “pop” buying. I told my kids that any video game system will be popular for a while and then just sit around, unused or obsolete.

(And I hear converts to the Wii saying…but NOT the Wii)! I’m glad other people are happy with it, but I know my family. It is more fun if it is in someone else’s house. I told them if THEY owned it, it wouldn’t be so special.

And I can tell you…I sure don’t regret it!

Second, the program gave the automotive industry a boost when it really needed it most. This allowed Americans to work. By trade I am a Bankruptcy attorney in Michigan. I know many families were called back to work because of Cash for Clunkers.

Third, the Cash for Clunkers program was a good way to bring to light the problem of Global warming and our reliance on oil.

Fourth, what other government program do you know where people get tangible results? My tax dollars go to tons of programs I see no benefit. In fact, I can’t think of on government program where I benefited from. I pay taxes. As such, I hardly think other’s are subsidizing my trade in.

Fifth, I think more programs of this sort should be tried. The focus should be encouraging the purchase of American made goods. The reality is our tax dollars have benefited Corporations moving operations overseas to Countries that have essentially a slave work force. This probably is one of the main reasons our economy is in the tank. Americans can’t compete with an enslaved labor force and we should not be forced to try. Henry Ford a long time ago understood your customers need to be employed to be able to buy your product.

WHAT WOULD WARREN BUFFET DO?

Buffet is worth $40 billion dollars, and is pretty darn frugal… he lives in the same house he bought in 1957, drives and old car, and wears old suits.

Tell them that you’re goal is to be more like Warren Buffet… and the only way there is wise saving, and wise investments. Neither of which involve TV or video games.

For everyone ahead of me and bringing up the rear, and to JD great post …..

IT’s Not About You! Stand strong, giggle a little, and Have a Happy Day

If it’s the latter, Rob should get back to understanding that “normal” may not be good for his finances. That “normal” could rob his family of the freedom to make other, more important financial decisions. And that he should gain more comfort, especially from everyone’s comments here, that not being “normal” is working well for him. How should he respond? He shouldn’t try to evangelize. Jokes to defuse the situation are good, “Yeah, heh, too rich for a cheapskate like me…” If his co-workers are trumpeting their latest Consumer Trophy, he shouldn’t rain on their parade.

As for TV, which has become pretty contentious here, he’s already put the cards out on the table that he doesn’t watch. That should preclude asking him if he’s watched some show. However, if he just cuts off the conversation with “I don’t have a TV”, that doesn’t help his relationship with his peers. If he simply says, “No, but what happened?” or something similar, the conversation continues.

While the TV isn’t going the way of the typewriter any time in the next decade, it’s certainly the reality that the TV audience is extremely fragmented, so the old model of everyone watching The One Big Show each night has been long gone. I’ve certainly encountered the “you are a weirdo for not having a TV” in the past, mainly for shutting down the conversation with “I don’t have a TV”. These days, we have a TV, but now I can simply say that my TV is primarily on for kids’ programming. That usually gets an understanding response.

If it’s the former, that he feels regret over the sacrifices made in his efforts at frugality, Rob really needs to sit down and go over the realities of his particular financial situation, what he and his family finds truly rewarding and memorable, the goals they have in mind and ensure that what he’s doing now matches up with that.

I flipped over from this article on Google reader just to peruse the comments. It amazes me how the one extreme of the co-workers’ teasing about no TV can be met with the other extreme, suggesting TV watchers are just pawns of… the man, giant corporations, etc. To me, this isn’t any better than the co-workers teasing Rob about his lack of owning a TV.

I own a TV and subscribe to cable. Sometimes I watch it, sometimes I don’t, but it’s a luxury I’m willing to pay for at this stage in my life. I like coming home, grabbing a beer, and watching Monday night football. I like watching Tony Bourdain travel the world and picking up tips I could incorporate into my own cooking. I love that my husband and I came home from dinner the other night, popped in Season 1 of the Simpsons, and watched Bart in France while enjoying a bottle of sub-par French wine (very apropos, we thought), and laughed our butts off. I’m pretty sure I’ll remember that, just as I remember when I watched the original episode with my Dad, in the floor of the apartment he lived in after he and my mom divorced, and he taped it on VHS so we could watch it over and over again. I also remember curling up on the porch one night with my husband to watch Casablanca on his laptop. Those are all wonderful memories for me that revolved around some form of TV.

On the other hand, I do love to read. Fictional fluff, non-fiction, cookbooks, whatever. Not all books are intellectually stimulating. Some are more brain candy than the TV shows I watch. My husband and I have, on occasion, read a book together, taking turns reading to each other. Other than that, it’s a pretty solitary activity. And a costly activity if you aren’t utilizing the library, which I rarely do. It’s a bad habit, I know.

This is my long-winded way of saying I can understand both sides, keeping the TV out, or plopping down to enjoy an episode or three. What I don’t understand is the need for people to vilify someone or vilify an activity because it’s not what he/she does for enjoyment. I’m not sure when that became okay, though it seems to be the norm.

I’m lucky that my co-workers are extremely varied in their interests and backgrounds, so no one really teases each other about these kinds of things. My friends sometimes look at me like I’m crazy when I explain something I’ve done over the weekend, but they don’t make snide comments. My family has teased me about my bookworm-ish tendencies, but they tease me about *everything*. That’s how I grew up.

If your co-workers are being bullies, then it’s really not worth wasting thought and effort over. Maybe you make a snide comment if that shuts them up, maybe you just don’t react and that shuts them up. Pick up a copy of “Working with Difficult People” and see how it suggests you deal with the type of people you’re dealing with. If it’s good-natured ribbing, joke with them, or tell them this one has gotten a little old, can’t they come up with a new routine.

If all else fails, just be secure in the fact that you know why you’re doing what you’re doing, and you know it works for you and your family. Like Kristin (#7) said above, she’s going to be debt free, and she’ll get a new car in 2015. That means no knot in the pit of her stomach while she tries to figure out how to pay that extra car payment and no sky high insurance right now, not to mention closing in on paying off student loans. Knowing those facts makes her happy, no matter what someone said to her about her current car.