Recent comments in /f/LifeProTips

keepthetips t1_j5n1qyf wrote

Reply to LPT: Everyone is weird. Embrace your weirdness that brings you joy. Those that judge you for being weird have their own weird thing going on. by [deleted]

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Emeleigh_Rose t1_j5n10o7 wrote

Reply to LPT: If you are looking at your phone while stopped at a red light, hold the phone up in front of you rather than looking down at it. You will notice when the light changes and traffic starts moving. by no_username_for_me

Safety tip...don't look at your phones while driving. Nothing is that important to risk the safety of others. If it is that important, do other drivers a favor and pull off the road and take your call.

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theultimateusername t1_j5mj3mp wrote

Reply to LPT: whenever you buy online or offline in a different currency than your standard one, make sure you don't allow the website or POS machine to charge you in your "home" currency. You want to be charged in the foreign currency. Same with ATMs abroad. by my_n3w_account

This is accurate. The fee your bank charges you at home is always less than the exchange fee by the POS.

Even if your bank charges a 2-3% on foreign currency, I've found this is still higher.

They're not giving you the option to make it easier for you, they're just doing it to make a profit on the fx exchange as well as your initial payment.

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tsffrc t1_j5mcpqu wrote

Reply to comment by Dauoa_Static in LPT: A good financial habit to get into is treating money as hours of work. Ask yourself how many hours of work something would take if you buy it. The awareness of the amount of time you put into purchases helps reduce compulsive spending. by humvee911

I did this too. The way I combat this mindset is to 'pay' myself an hourly wage. I'm 49 and my hourly wage is $20/hr (my work wage is $75/h). Here's an example:

I drink straight up black coffee costs $0.15 to make at home or $1 at McDonald's (using the app and a daily deal; $2 without the deal), my favorite Starbucks order costs around $5. You can be damn sure that I think about the $5 coffee when I'm only making $20/hr, but when I figured it at my $75/h work rate, I would buy a round for the whole team at least once /week - I mean was only $40 -- I made that in my morning meeting.

It works the other way, too. Let's say there's a repair around the house -- a leaky pipe, say. I know how to fix it, but I have to get the tools out, watch a few YouTube videos to remind me, make a trip to the hardware store (then a second trip to buy all the sh*t I forgot), fix the thing, then clean up. My estimated total time is 7h or $140. If the plumber estimate is less than that, hire him. If it's not fix it yourself.

The whole mindset really works a trick!

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Donnovan63 t1_j5m7srz wrote

Reply to comment by daddys_little_fcktoy in LPT Request: turning 16 this year, what is something i should/shouldn’t do? by yelloroadintheusa

YES ALL.of.this!! I would only add to spend time learning who you are and what you want. Like go to a park and spend time just with your own thoughts once in a while. Few things will serve you better later in life than knowing who you are and how to communicate what you want or need.

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LukeMedia t1_j5m6w5y wrote

Reply to comment by slbaaron in LPT: A good financial habit to get into is treating money as hours of work. Ask yourself how many hours of work something would take if you buy it. The awareness of the amount of time you put into purchases helps reduce compulsive spending. by humvee911

Extremely well said, and I absolutely agree. I've seen both ends of the spectrum, and both sides are miserable. A healthy financial life involves a healthy life, as far as I'm concerned. To get there however requires balance, which as you said is different for every individual person.

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PrisonerV t1_j5m4tmh wrote

Reply to LPT: If you are looking at your phone while stopped at a red light, hold the phone up in front of you rather than looking down at it. You will notice when the light changes and traffic starts moving. by no_username_for_me

I was just beside a woman in interstate traffic.

I started calling her Ms. Swervy. She was all over the damn road. Almost side-swiped several vehicles.

Just a matter of time before she's in a bad accident.

GET OFF YOUR DAMN PHONE!

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JacktheShark1 t1_j5m3al6 wrote

Reply to LPT Request: turning 16 this year, what is something i should/shouldn’t do? by yelloroadintheusa

When driving, don’t worry about the asshole on your ass, or the asshole who cut you off, etc. because they don’t give a fuck about you and you’ll never see them again.

Oh and it’s ok if you don’t want what your friends want in life or what your family wants for you.

I couldn’t figure out WHY I couldn’t work a 9-5 job when we all graduated college. I despised it. Part ADHD, part the same routine makes me want to die of boredom. I work for myself now with a varied schedule. My grandma still tells me to get a real job even tho my “fake job” bought me a house I love haha. Smile and nod when people give you stupid advice then go do whatever the hell YOU want

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jerkITwithRIGHTYnewb t1_j5lvmtn wrote

Reply to comment by Dauoa_Static in LPT: A good financial habit to get into is treating money as hours of work. Ask yourself how many hours of work something would take if you buy it. The awareness of the amount of time you put into purchases helps reduce compulsive spending. by humvee911

Yeah your ability to spend more increases 1:1 with how much you make. I’m approaching 40 and I’ve been working in the oilfield for 15 years. I have no education but in my field experience is more important anyway, so I’ve worked my way up and make a pretty nice salary. Well what I’ve learned along the way is that your spending will naturally track with your income unless you make an effort to be aware of it and do something about it. My most recent misstep was about six months ago I traded in my pickup and bought a Mercedes with an $900 a month price tag. Sure I can afford it but I certainly didn’t need it. It’s $400 more a month than my pickup was and purely a vanity purchase. I’m not upset with myself, I love it but I’m aware that I didn’t need to spend that much on something that will one day go away without making my life any better in the long run. All I did was make retirement that much harder. And this translates into everything. Like you said it’s easy to spend $500 on food you could have spent half that. Same with entertainment. Same with silly travel upgrades like first class or the suite hotel room instead of the regular hotel room. Or the second vacation of the year. Or the new cell phone. Whatever it is. It’s very easy to spend $3k (or whatever) a month that you didn’t need to spend when your next paycheck is just a week away. Mercedes aside I caught myself in those habits years ago and curtailed them to the point that I am putting 15% of my salary into retirement and 5% into savings (just for vacations or whatever we might want to buy) I went from a 30 year to a 15 year mortgage, things like that. It’s just so easy to let it slip through your fingers especially as your salary starts to get what many people would call large. But the same thing applies to someone making $40k a year as it does to someone making $160k a year. It’s the biggest mistake younger folks make, it’s simply not realizing how much more you are spending on little things. It’s only $5! But it’s the aggregate that kills you.

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