Young and Frugal » Charity

The End of Stuff

Daniel — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 05:56:25 +0000

In my last post I wrote about a few of my fears, mostly irrational (like my fear of having to walk up a non-moving escalator), but I didn’t touch on one of my greatest fears…the accumulation of stuff.

While stuff may be the most vague word in the English language, I think everyone knows what I’m talking about. Stuff is usually accumulated over time, we get stuff in the form of event t-shirts, “stocking stuffer” gifts, good deals we can’t say no to, hand-me-downs, or my favorite “stuff we hold onto in case we might need it again someday.” In many instances this “stuff” triggers a memory which makes us feel attached to it.

I tell you this because I accumulated a lot of stuff in my life. In fact my mother encourages it, she calls them “memories,” and she refuses to throw anything of my “Memories” away. Regardless, I never really thought I had a problem until I got rid of it all. This magical day came when I packed up my stuff after College graduation. There was no way I could get it all in my truck so after much debate (and the fact that I was broke) I sold all my furniture, donated all of my “stuff” to charity, and packed everything else into my truck. At that point in time I had never felt more free in my life. I didn’t feel like anything was tying me down, I could drive anywhere I wanted to and start anew. I got a rush from that feeling, and so I’ve chased that feeling.

Now that Mary and I own a house, this is a much harder feeling to chase, because, as a matter of fact, I am tied down. But as a result of my moving experience, I’ve made a conscious decision not to accumulate stuff we don’t need. I don’t want to become one of those guys who can’t even park his car in his garage because the garage is used for storage of stuff.

Here are some basic steps that I’ve found helpful in getting rid of stuff, making a few bucks in the process, and avoiding the accumulation of stuff:

Say No to SWAG. I was at a financial conference a couple of weeks ago, and on the exhibit floor there were hundreds of booths where everyone was handing out SWAG (Stuff We All Get), the conference even provided everyone with a backpack to hold it all. As I walked around without the bag people were amazed that I wasn’t carrying it, after all where would I put my SWAG? When people would question me, I turned with a smile and said “I travel light.”

If you won’t use it, don’t get it. This goes for everything. I used to not be able to turn down a good deal, even if I didn’t need it, in fact much of the stuff I gave away when I left College was stuff I got a great deal on and never used. This also goes for FREE stuff. My parents were shocked this weekend when Mary and I got a nice hand-me-down chair from them, brought it to our house, couldn’t decide where to put it, decided we really didn’t need it, and took it back to them.

Be Realistic. If you haven’t used something in a long time, you probably won’t be using it any time soon, sell it! If you don’t know what is in “that” box, you don’t need it, sell it! Also, if you need something for a project, and you’ll only be using it once, rent it or borrow it, don’t buy it.

Stuff is NOT a memory. Your memory will be there even after you’ve sold your stuff. If you are really worried, take some photos, then sell the stuff.

Don’t rent a storage locker. If you get to the point where you have that much stuff, have a massive garage sale, because the storage locker is just not worth it. If you have one right now, when was the last time you were there? Do you even remember what is in it? Would you REALLY miss it if it were gone? Storage Locker companies suck you in with the cheap first month, then they gradually raise the price because it is such a pain to move all of your stuff. My parents had a storage locker for 10 years, they did it out of the goodness of their own heart, because my brothers and I got a lot of free furniture as a result, but in reality, we would have been much better off selling the furniture, investing the money, and not spending the $10,000 + on a storage locker.

Stuff won’t make you happy. Lets face it, it really doesn’t, at the end of the day it’s just stuff. Stuff doesn’t love you, and you shouldn’t love it.

Gas Prices Down!? Why I’m Not Celebrating

Daniel — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 23:51:55 +0000

Gas prices have tumbled in the past few weeks as peak travel season has passed, and while it feels great to pay $.70 less than we were a month ago, we all need to keep conserving gas. It was almost 4 months ago when I wrote Ten Tips for Saving Money on Gas, at that time gas was around the same price it is now, and everyone was starting to hurt. Now, with gas back to where it was in May, people are celebrating and I must ask why?

We need to remember that the current price for gas STILL hurts, yes it has gotten better, and we are all somewhat breathing as sigh of relief, but remember it can get much better. Just because gas prices have gone down does not mean you can stop carpooling. It does not mean you can drive all over town without taking into consideration the cost of gas. It does not mean you can now buy an SUV when you don’t need one, and it definitely does not mean you can have gasoline fights (I had to). The bottom line is that if we continue on our road of less oil demand, simple economics tells us that the price will fall further.

America crossed it’s threshold of inelastic demand months ago, and we kept paying because we felt we didn’t have a choice, but by choosing to cut down on demand, the world has seen that Gas is somewhat elastic. The message has been sent and received, but the message needs to become like those annoying calls from your mother, we need to send it way to often, and as we watch gas go down more, we need to remember, that the extra gas money we have can be put directly into savings and/or investments.

As a side note, I would like to thank Tropical Storm Fay for not turning into a Hurricane and heading into the Gulf to raise gas prices. It did however cause some severe damage to Florida, please donate to the Red Cross to help cleanup efforts.

Setting An Example

Daniel — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 03:50:47 +0000

Everyone has a different meaning of wealth. Some people would cite having friends and a loving family in their definition, and while most people do want this side of wealth, everyone would still love to have tons of money. Some people publicly acknowledge it and others secretly dream about what they would do if money weren’t an issue.

Imagine this: you own a multi-billion dollar international corporation. There really are no limits to what you can do.

You don’t need to worry about retirement like the average person, you’ve set up a trust for college educations for your whole family, many generations down the line. You’ve bought your beach house in California, your ski lodge in Aspen, your loft in New York City, your mansion in the Hamptons, all with matching cars of your choice, and the necessary Gulfstream to fly you to all of your residences. Now what? Jewelry?…eh, you’re over it. More cars?…you can really only drive one at a time.

When does having tons of money become a burden? When does it become a disease? You’ve done all the cool stuff that everyone dreams about, although I would really love to swim in a pile of gold like Scrooge McDuck in Duck Tails (a whoo-ooo!).

At this point you can really only do two things with your money. 1. Make more of it or 2. Be generous. Most people (I hope) would turn to charitable causes. I know I would probably start a foundation a la the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Yes, it’s shameless and self-promoting to name a foundation after yourself, but you’ve done well, I don’t think anyone would mind if you tooted your own horn a little bit, especially if you’ll be giving away billions of dollars.

Oh, by the way, have I mentioned that no one knows who you are?

But I have billions, I own an international company! How can no one know who I am? I’m getting ready to start a foundation, how am I supposed to name a foundation after myself if no one knows who I am?

Because you’re smart. You are Chuck Feeney. You founded Duty Free Shoppers and you placed all bank accounts in your foreign wife’s name so you would avoid paying taxes. As a result, no one knows who you are.

Fortunately for Mr. Feeney, his wife didn’t take him to the cleaners when they got divorced. She only got $100 Million…and a few houses…and a plane.

What did he decide to do with the rest? He gave it away, anonymously. He founded Atlantic Philanthropies in Bermuda so he could avoid U.S. disclosure laws. His foundation has donated to many schools and to many causes. Upon the sale of his company, he had all of the proceeds ($8 Billion) put into Atlantic Philanthropies with orders that it all be spent by 2016.

He is now worth (personally) about a million dollars. He takes public transportation, wears a watch with a rubber band, and lives a frugal working class lifestyle. According to his friends he never really let the wealth get to him.

So, if he’s so anonymous, how do I know about Mr. Feeney? Because he is allowing a friend to publish a book on him, and there is a great article on him in the Los Angeles Times. Read it, it’s a great read.

I wanted to post this because I think many people think the goal of frugality is “live like no one now, and you can live like no one later.” While this is true to an extent you have to remember to stay grounded when you get wealthy. There is a point where money can’t buy you more happiness. Chuck Feeney has found this, Bill and Melinda Gates have found it out and Warren Buffet is the best example of this (more on him in a later post). Maybe being frugal is not just a phase in life but a way of looking at life.