salary to engagement ring spending

Huck Finn,

Marry that young woman! Seriously! She's a keeper!

asian-lover wrote:

Flagpole Willy wrote:

5) I don't work to command respect in my community. If I want to do that, I just do yard work in the front yard with my shirt off.

I'm sorry, but this is pure gold. Pure gold. Bravo.

Hey thanks brother! Once in a while I slip in a little thing like that just to see if people are paying attention.

Glad you liked it.

LOL Flagpole. Post a pic of your bad self with that shirt off. I could use a good laugh.

I'm working on it man.

Still gotta put a bit more time in, but we'll get there.

Cheers!

Notatriathlete wrote:

LOL Flagpole. Post a pic of your bad self with that shirt off. I could use a good laugh.

Man, oddly enough I actually have one on my computer taken recently for a fitness contest I'm a part of. As I'm not finished with the contest yet, I won't share, but part of me wants to just for giggles.

I have a bad habit of getting into really good shape, ripped and all that, and then backing off and getting fat again. Right now I'm on my way back from fat to ripped -- kind of halfway in between. But, no photo for you.

Okay, so I have not responded to this thread b/c i bought my wife a diamond ring for Christmas, and i am just now getting back to work.

We have been married for 17 years, and when i proposed i had no ring. We each got gold bands, and i figured it was time for me to get her a diamond.

She has been a good wife for 17 years, and never once asked for one. I am making a good amount of money nowadays, and decided to just go get her a diamond at Tiffany's. I recognize the absurdity of the whole thing, but just wanted to make it easy. I knew what I was getting, and they made it easy on me.

I was surprised when my wife started crying, but realized she didn't care for the actual ring, she just liked the fact that I was getting her the diamond she was "owed."

She told me she wasn't going to wear it, and returned it.

I took her shopping, and we spent the rest on a week-long ski trip to Vail.

I got the best of both worlds though.

I like rings, and if my boyfriend thinks I deserve it, then why not get it for me.

You guys are always so cheap on here.

Rings wrote:

I like rings, and if my boyfriend thinks I deserve it, then why not get it for me.

You guys are always so cheap on here.

Prudent is different from cheap.

Please honey buck up and spend a little money. Why are you always so dang cheap? Your Saturn is junk, it is time to buy a new car. I might leave you for the repair man if you ever retire you cheapskate. Wow your 401K is big but some people make what you've spent a lifetime saving in a hours. Why don't you take some risks and live a little. It is no fun being a penny pincher. Wait til your 60 to retire and then you won't be able to enjoy your money because we will be so old. Anyway I'll see you when you get home. For now the repairman waits.

Love,

Mrs. Pole

Flagpole's Wife wrote:

Please honey buck up and spend a little money. Why are you always so dang cheap? Your Saturn is junk, it is time to buy a new car. I might leave you for the repair man if you ever retire you cheapskate. Wow your 401K is big but some people make what you've spent a lifetime saving in a hours. Why don't you take some risks and live a little. It is no fun being a penny pincher. Wait til your 60 to retire and then you won't be able to enjoy your money because we will be so old. Anyway I'll see you when you get home. For now the repairman waits.

Love,

Mrs. Pole

Nice try, but the Lovely Mrs. Flagpole Willy is even more money conscious than I am. Regarding my retirement age of 60 (actually 59 1/2), when I get to that age there are two possibilities -- 1) have enough money to retire (either completely or from full-time work or from decent-paying work), or 2) NOT have enough money so that I need to keep working. IF I die the day after retirement, then I just didn't get to enjoy retirement. If I'm still working at 59 1/2 and I die the next day, then I still didn't get to enjoy retirement. The thing is that some of you call me a penny pincher when nothing could be further from the truth. Put 10-20% of your salary away every paycheck right from being out of college until retirement age or even earlier, and you'll have a shit pile of money without much sacrifice. I can't buy huge luxury items with the 15% I currently put away each year. I could get a nicer car or maybe take a second trip each year, but neither is necessary for my happiness. Too many people are lulled into spending all their money by things they "want". Too many also don't appreciate the power of compound interest...or compounded returns if you'd rather. Time is what builds the wealth. I could stop investing in about 5 years and have enough at age 60 to retire comfortably. I'm going to make it more than comfortable though.

Why can't you just admit you are a penny pincher, a miser, and have raging jelousy issues. That is all the people want to hear, so please give them what they ask. We all know the truth hurts but admit your life sucks.

Glory Years wrote:

Why can't you just admit you are a penny pincher, a miser, and have raging jelousy issues. That is all the people want to hear, so please give them what they ask. We all know the truth hurts but admit your life sucks.

Well, I would if it were true. I give a lot of money and time to my church, so I can't be a miser based on that alone. Not sure what I should be jealous of...credit card debt? I have none. Car payments? I have none. Student loans to pay back still because I deferred and picked the slowest way to pay them back? I have none. A huge mortgage that sucks the life out of me? I have a reasonable mortgage. Both my cars work well and are even nice and shiny. On the way to financial freedom. That's super cool if you ask me.

ebay.com

Too bad you'll die at 58 1/2. My Dad saved, skimped, then got ALS and checked out right after he retired. Live now folks.

Bum wrote:

Too bad you'll die at 58 1/2. My Dad saved, skimped, then got ALS and checked out right after he retired. Live now folks.

Sorry about your dad, but how am I not living now? Putting away 10-15% of one's salary, especially if you're a professional, is no big deal. I take nice vacations every year, own a house in a nice neighborhood in one of the best school districts in the state of Ohio and so on. Assuming I make $100,000 (I don't make quite that much), then on an extra $15,000 (which again is not quite that much since I don't make $100,000 a year) what would you spend that on that would make my life so much more fulfilling? Come up with something that maybe I haven't considered and maybe I'll start spending like crazy.

Well, if you made $400k there would be some extra money for a ring. We've come full circle!

Fly in the Ointment wrote:

Well, if you made $400k there would be some extra money for a ring. We've come full circle!

Nope. My wife would NEVER wear a gaudy ring like that. She's thin, and a big ring would just look ridiculous on her hand. She's got a nice ring. Try again brother. What am I missing out on by investing my money? That's what wealthy people do.

Have him get you a $1000 ring (tops), then take the extra 20-25K and put it in the market (in your name) and forget about it. In 40 years you will have a ton of money. Just some advice from a practical person.

If you really think wearing a $25000 ring vs. a $1000 ring makes you a better person, then I feel sorry for you. And if you think that your future husband spending $25000 vs. $1000 on a ring for you means that he loves you more, then you are deluded.

Sean Nunn

Raytown South

Flagpole is right on about investing. To quote Warren Buffett:

"Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago."