Keep up with the Jones's

[noharleyyet]

I dare someone to try to figure out how days of their life are spent mowing the lawn, or snowblowing, or fixing irrigation, etc. Those are hours you could have spent scouting or hiking or fishing.

You gotta eat, bathe, stay warm (or cool) & all that other stuff. You might as well do it in something you own and are proud of. I figure I get a good service from my taxes...the trash is picked up on schedule and the water flows...my street is paved & curbed nicely. It's appraisal has increased and I've no doubt I could sell it for much more than I paid for it. A comparable CD would be embarrassed in comparison. Yea, the lawn has to be kept but I'm proud of the way it looks. Occasional repairs...annoying?...you bet, it's part of the deal.

Hunting, fishing, shooting...all big fun but damn, I'm always glad to get home. Did I mention my wife is happy?

 

[LuketheDog]

I have multiple shotguns, but I don't have an autoloader yet, and that could increase my success pheasant hunting.

Definitely buy the autoloader, a nice pretty one, then go back to ignoring the Joneses...

 

[tim629]

for me i'm often tempted to keep up but then have realistic discussions with my wife and then with my father.

i'm a business minded individual, I trim cow hooves so smaller things I look at as "I have to trim XX cows to pay for that, is it worth it" I'm also focused on growing our net worth so when I want something bigger I get together all of our accounts look at where we were Jan 1 vs today, also sit down with those accounts and lay out XX for house XX for horse barn when we buy/build XX for wife's next vehicle XX for my next truck as that keeps me in line of what WE can afford and off of what the jones' have or what I want at the time.

if it fits in the loose budget and I still want it in a few months then it's game on

 

[Stay Sharp]

I dont know the Jones's. I dont then have a desire to keep up with them. I get what I need when I need it. I dont have stuff I dont need. Ive not bought anything that would be used as a status symbol to impress others.

 

[Hilljackoutlaw]

I’ve never understood how some people have so much stuff and can still eat.

I wonder the same thing. I'm 36 married with no kids. We do just fine, but I have friends and kno people with 3 or 5 kids paying over a $1000/month in daycare. But somehow have every new gadget under the sun and carrying a $1500 bow and wearing $700 in sitka gear. I cant imagine what there credit card statements look like.
Meanwhile I'm over here bitching cause I misplaced my balaclava and had to spend $14.99 on a new one last week.

Being content is a very good thing when it comes to having and not having.

 

[HSi-ESi]

If you have to go into Debt to pay for something, you should really think about whether you need it or not. Interest really kills.

Some things I see as needed for possible Debt options. Housing or land purchases. Vehicles are a grey area- there's a ton of good, used vehicles that you can save up for - or finance for way less than new vehicles. Plus added costs, insurance, licensing, etc are way lower.

If you have to go into debt for food, clothes, etc - then you need to evaluate where the money is going.

It hunting is putting you in debt - that's even worse. You can go down to the pawn shop, buy a military surplus '06, some core-lokt's and then buy a tag.

 

[geetar]

I’ve never understood how some people have so much stuff and can still eat. I feel far from well off, but I am definitely not complaining either. We have friends that make much less than us that have bigger, more expensive houses in expensive neighborhoods, brand new vehicles, 5th wheels, side by sides etc. They must be drowning in debt.
I guess I feel like less of a jackass buying a $500 tent to hunt out of when everybody else thinks they need a $60k RV, which would also require a bigger more expensive pickup to pull it.
The backpack, tent or swaros seem like less of an unnecessary splurge than the newest RZR to road hunt from. That said, I drove a RZR 1000 once... if they were about 15k cheaper I’d go get a couple.

Swaros and other high end camping and hunting gear also have way better resale value than brand new vehicles or a RZR. I work in the automotive industry so I see how fast some of those vehicles deteriorate. You lose more than a pair of Swaro binos when you drive that new vehicle off the lot the first time.

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

Definitely buy the autoloader, a nice pretty one, then go back to ignoring the Joneses...

Hahah! You're not helping any! I keep thinking if I get a good bonus this year....... But I also think I'm going to be picky enough that finding a perfect autoloader may keep me grounded!

 

[LCH]

I'm a believer in living as simple a life as possible. Family of 4, firmly in the "middle class". Only payment is mortgage.

My truck isn't as nice as some, we camp in a tent rather than an RV, we stay in hotels when we go to the ocean rather than a fancy beach-house. The difference is it seems like we get to live 10x the experiences that most of our families and friends do.

When our kids are grown and gone, the time we spent and things we did, places we went together are going to be a lot more important to us than the things we had along the way.

 

[BigHornRam]

I'm a fan of Luckenbach, Texas, and have a frugal wife that keeps me honest.

 

[tzone]

Mortgage interest tax deduction

That's really a non issue.

 

[NR_Hunter]

I miss being a poor without a lot of stuff to worry about, maintain, and keep track of.

Im still a poor now but with more shit to worry about.

 

[rjthehunter]

I wonder the same thing. I'm 36 married with no kids. We do just fine, but I have friends and kno people with 3 or 5 kids paying over a $1000/month in daycare. But somehow have every new gadget under the sun and carrying a $1500 bow and wearing $700 in sitka gear. I cant imagine what there credit card statements look like.
Meanwhile I'm over here bitching cause I misplaced my balaclava and had to spend $14.99 on a new one last week.

Being content is a very good thing when it comes to having and not having.

$700? So they were wearing the jacket? LOL That stuff is stupid expensive. I've been looking at the Skre gear for about 1/3 the cost

 

[VikingsGuy]

This thread seems to mix two topics - “keeping up with the Jones” which is about doing things to match others due to envy or fear of being on the outside rather than for your own reasons, and a general discussion about savings vs spending. Both are fair topics, but muddling them misses the point in my view.

“Keeping up with the Jones” can just as easily be about being more frugle than the next guy as it can be about having a bigger truck than the next guy. In fact with some of the flat hat crowd, “tiny houses” and living with less as a form of “virtue signaling” is just as common as the more traditional materialistic version of the phrase. Whether a race for more or a race for less, buying (or not buying) things primarily to be viewed as worthy in the eyes of others is a BAD thing. Better that we each, “you do you” consistent with our own goals and values. For some it may be important to have ample savings for old age, for others they may embrace, a “you run out of time before you run out of money” sentiment. Neither are right or wrong, better or worse, as long as you choose what is right for you and your family (and don’t expect others to pay for your choices).

 

[VikingsGuy]

I dont know the Jones's. I dont then have a desire to keep up with them. I get what I need when I need it. I dont have stuff I dont need. Ive not bought anything that would be used as a status symbol to impress others.

In this crowd, those homemade beaver “choppers” and fancy butchering room ARE status symbols that impress others.

 

[VikingsGuy]

$700? So they were wearing the jacket? LOL That stuff is stupid expensive. I've been looking at the Skre gear for about 1/3 the cost

I’ve been underwhelmed with my SKRE outer coat. It retains sweat worse than any coat I can recall. I have found myself routinely delighted by First Lite items I have bought (a premium choice) and Duluth Trading (a more modest choice) for outfitting my self and my son. Never tried Sitka cuz they purposely avoid making product for us “big boned” guys.

 

[Stay Sharp]

In this crowd, those homemade beaver “choppers” and fancy butchering room ARE status symbols that impress others.

Ive been blessed. Ive made a pretty good living for myself so money is not an issue. I could buy what I like but would rather make it myself even if it costs more in time and money to make it myself. The joy is in the doing.

 

[rjthehunter]

I’ve been underwhelmed with my SKRE outer coat. It retains sweat worse than any coat I can recall. I have found myself routinely delighted by First Lite items I have bought (a premium choice) and Duluth Trading (a more modest choice) for outfitting my self and my son. Never tried Sitka cuz they purposely avoid making product for us “big boned” guys.

That's the first negative thing I've heard someone say about them! I'm gonna have to find some more people who have their gear and see what they think. Kuiu would be another option for something costing less than Sitka!

 

[rjthehunter]

Ive been blessed. Ive made a pretty good living for myself so money is not an issue. I could buy what I like but would rather make it myself even if it costs more in time and money to make it myself. The joy is in the doing.

Can I ask what you do/did for a living?

 

[JTHOMP]

Buy a boat they said. It’ll be fun they said.

I should’ve listened to others that said Break Out Another Thousand. Going to drop a few thousand on a new set up this weekend. I don’t care if I never fish again. If this rig needs an upgrade or repair, the only Jones I’m keeping up with is the one driving his drunk self on a lawnmower.