not a hillbilly Posted December 10, 2023 Author Share Posted December 10, 2023 20 hours ago, BendigoBoy said: We're of a similar mind, my friend. I have a cheap little Android phone, my development machine is seven years old (and still a powerhouse), and I write software for a living. People walk around with veritable super computers from 20 years ago in their pockets and use them for looking at cat videos and porn. We are marching into an era where people will be living in tents on the ruins of great buildings because me, me, me, now, now, now has done sod all except make rigour, hard work and saving look like a dirty, wasteful way of being. What's wrong with looking at cat videos and porn ?? Two days a week I ride a 93 year old tram - still works well but at max speed (23 mph) it rattles a bit now. Wish that someone other than me would wash it tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InnerVoice Posted December 10, 2023 Share Posted December 10, 2023 23 hours ago, not a hillbilly said: True, but don't expect it to happen. Paid cash for my last & current house, screw the banks ! Putting my money in house upgrades as rising prices are ensuring better returns. The trick is to live simply within your needs & income - something most people nowadays don't do. Far too many Techno-wankers wasting money on the latest gadget which is no better than the last one at doing things like making phone calls. My flip-phone is 25 yrs old & still does what I need. Fair play to you if you can afford a home without a mortgage, and I don't doubt for a moment that you haven't earnt it. I owned my UK home outright after paying a mortgage for 25 years, although for half that time it was tenanted so technically it was an investment property. I enjoyed being mortgage-free for a whole year before selling the place and buying here when I returned to Australia, which once again required a mortgage due to the difference in houses prices. I wouldn't say that I live frugally but I certainly don't squander money. I've never owned a new mobile phone and always purchased them second hand, which is true of many other things I buy. I could probably find other ways to economise, but I'm certain that even if I'd eaten nothing else but baked beans for the last 30 years and never taken a single holiday, I still wouldn't have been in a position to buy a house for cash. I agree that some people seem to waste a lot of money on stuff they don't really need, but the amount of money you're talking about isn't going to make the difference between them being a property cash buyer or not. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted December 11, 2023 Share Posted December 11, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, InnerVoice said: I'm certain that even if I'd eaten nothing else but baked beans for the last 30 years and never taken a single holiday, I still wouldn't have been in a position to buy a house for cash. I agree that some people seem to waste a lot of money on stuff they don't really need, but the amount of money you're talking about isn't going to make the difference between them being a property cash buyer or not. Haven't you heard the saying, "Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves"? You probably remember the fuss there was when some 'boomers' suggested millenials should stop eating avocado brunches, but it was missing the point. When I was working, I never made breakfast but bought it when I got to work. Likewise I never made a packed lunch, I bought food and drink at a food court. It was only when I retired and started thinking about budgets, that I realised that added up to more than $5,000 a year. No idea what it would be now, but since avocado on toast now costs at least $18 and usually $25 in Melbourne, it could easily be double. And that's not counting takeaway coffees during the day. Then there's the technology -- the trendiest mobile phones are almost $2,000 now and most younger people get them on a plan, which means they pay far more than that -- and often they upgrade before the plan expires, which means they're then paying over the odds for the next one. Then of course you can't live without the latest fitness watch and several streaming services. In the last few years I've met several younger people -- by which I mean 40s, mainly -- who never cook. They either buy ready meals or (more usually) order Uber Eats or similar, or go out for dinner. I agree, being more frugal might not ever let you buy a house for cash, but it pains me to see young people saying they've no hope of getting a deposit together when they shell out thousands of dollars for things which they regard as "essential to their lifestyle" but which, at their age, I'd have considered indulgences. It's not their fault either, it's marketing. Edited December 11, 2023 by Marisawright 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BendigoBoy Posted December 11, 2023 Share Posted December 11, 2023 21 minutes ago, Marisawright said: Then of course you can't live without the latest fitness watch and several streaming services. You can. They choose not to. Frankly, I think people who have fitness watches ought to be sectioned for the good of society... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InnerVoice Posted December 11, 2023 Share Posted December 11, 2023 1 hour ago, Marisawright said: Haven't you heard the saying, "Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves"? You probably remember the fuss there was when some 'boomers' suggested millenials should stop eating avocado brunches, but it was missing the point. When I was working, I never made breakfast but bought it when I got to work. Likewise I never made a packed lunch, I bought food and drink at a food court. It was only when I retired and started thinking about budgets, that I realised that added up to more than $5,000 a year. No idea what it would be now, but since avocado on toast now costs at least $18 and usually $25 in Melbourne, it could easily be double. And that's not counting takeaway coffees during the day. Then there's the technology -- the trendiest mobile phones are almost $2,000 now and most younger people get them on a plan, which means they pay far more than that -- and often they upgrade before the plan expires, which means they're then paying over the odds for the next one. Then of course you can't live without the latest fitness watch and several streaming services. In the last few years I've met several younger people -- by which I mean 40s, mainly -- who never cook. They either buy ready meals or (more usually) order Uber Eats or similar, or go out for dinner. I agree, being more frugal might not ever let you buy a house for cash, but it pains me to see young people saying they've no hope of getting a deposit together when they shell out thousands of dollars for things which they regard as "essential to their lifestyle" but which, at their age, I'd have considered indulgences. It's not their fault either, it's marketing. I totally agree. My daughter fell firmly and squarely into this category and was broke throughout her 20s, despite earning a pretty decent salary. I had to bail her out a couple of times. Fortunately she married a sensible chap and they've now started a café together, so at least she isn't spending money on eating out and takeaway coffees any more. They're doing rather well actually, which is great to see. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InnerVoice Posted December 11, 2023 Share Posted December 11, 2023 51 minutes ago, BendigoBoy said: You can. They choose not to. Frankly, I think people who have fitness watches ought to be sectioned for the good of society... You are funny! Have you noticed how people with fitness watches never seem to be that fit? Just like those who wore shell suits back in the 80s and 90s. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BendigoBoy Posted December 11, 2023 Share Posted December 11, 2023 6 minutes ago, InnerVoice said: You are funny! Have you noticed how people with fitness watches never seem to be that fit? Just like those who wore shell suits back in the 80s and 90s. I haven't actually. I'm too fat and lazy to get off the sofa and give a damn to look. It's one of the absolute god sends about working from home. I can't stand the woke, vegan masses of the tech community in Melbourne. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InnerVoice Posted December 11, 2023 Share Posted December 11, 2023 31 minutes ago, BendigoBoy said: I haven't actually. I'm too fat and lazy to get off the sofa and give a damn to look. It's one of the absolute god sends about working from home. I can't stand the woke, vegan masses of the tech community in Melbourne. Oh, we would get on famously! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramot Posted December 11, 2023 Share Posted December 11, 2023 (edited) I have a smart watch, cost me $39 from Aldi 2 years ago. Bought it as a bit of a joke, thinking this won’t last 6 weeks. Obviously it doesn’t do as much as an Apple Watch, but I haven’t regretted buying it, and the functions are pretty accurate and linked to my iPhone. My heart has been misbehaving for several years, so it has been useful to keep a heartbeat and blood pressure record, I have a certain number of daily steps programmed in as a goal, and most days I try to make sure I reach it. Was useful and encouraging after I had a pacemaker fitted a few month ago to see the number of my steps start to improve. Yes it does tell the time as well. So it’s not just young and trendies that make use of modern technology, I only use an iPhone and have a new iPad as well , perhaps it’s good for our brain to keep up to date as we get older. Edited December 11, 2023 by ramot 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Flu Posted December 11, 2023 Share Posted December 11, 2023 On 10/12/2023 at 19:21, BendigoBoy said: Not trying to be ahead of anyone mate. Just trying to be autonomous and a Good Australian. A good Australian? You mean in contrast to a bad Australian? An indifferent Australian? Begs the obvious question your criteria on this point.? . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
not a hillbilly Posted December 11, 2023 Author Share Posted December 11, 2023 (edited) Even as an ex-electronics Tech I was gutted when I had to dump my perfectly working 30-yr old tv for a crappy digital when they switched the analog system off. It had a rotary channel selector & even my VCR couldn't receive set-top boxes. And now they've changed the channels around for "HD", still no better picture than my old analog tv & the sound quality is worse. It's harder to switch channel too, I had the 3 best channels (3,6 & 8 ) next to each other- used to be ch.6 now ch.61, used to be ch.39 now ch.306, so more buttons to push. Don't even mention the quality of programming Edited December 11, 2023 by not a hillbilly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon the Hat Posted December 12, 2023 Share Posted December 12, 2023 2 hours ago, not a hillbilly said: Even as an ex-electronics Tech I was gutted when I had to dump my perfectly working 30-yr old tv for a crappy digital when they switched the analog system off. It had a rotary channel selector & even my VCR couldn't receive set-top boxes. And now they've changed the channels around for "HD", still no better picture than my old analog tv & the sound quality is worse. It's harder to switch channel too, I had the 3 best channels (3,6 & 8 ) next to each other- used to be ch.6 now ch.61, used to be ch.39 now ch.306, so more buttons to push. Don't even mention the quality of programming If you are not getting a better picture you are doing something wrong, or your eyes are going 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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