The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: EA_Mann on September 22, 2014, 05:41:14 AM
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Hey all - I recently wrote a freelance piece about the ROI of using condoms in your early twenties to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Using rudimentary math, I came up with something insane like 100,000%. The piece itself was pretty tongue in cheek, but it got me wondering: what are some of the highest ROIs we can achieve through simple changes in our daily lives? I've love to hear other people's stories.
If you're interested in reading the piece it's here: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-best-investment-you-make-in-your-20s-might-be-birth-control-2014-9
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The outsourcing of getting around like public transit, bicycle, car rentals, and car sharing to avoid owning a car. At times, one has to drop some significant coin (like renting a car to go to a funeral), but the big picture shows a sweet return.
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Skills learned, particularly manual skills, though mental ones pay off, too. Fixing cars (and tractors), building things, growing and cooking food, sewing, managing the flow of water in a landscape, appliance repair, plumbing, wiring, etc.
The latest on my list to get good at: chopping wood. It was brought home to me recently that I lack this skill and need it.
Calculating ROI is hard for the ones that cost only time, but the value is immense.
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Agreed, and the benefit of passing this skill to your SO/GF or kids... even greater value.
On top of that there is a sustainability/survival aspect to learning these skills. Obviously I find it silly that people volunteer themselves to be put in those situations (some cost them their life), but it's great knowledge to know.
Skills learned, particularly manual skills, though mental ones pay off, too. Fixing cars (and tractors), building things, growing and cooking food, sewing, managing the flow of water in a landscape, appliance repair, plumbing, wiring, etc.
The latest on my list to get good at: chopping wood. It was brought home to me recently that I lack this skill and need it.
Calculating ROI is hard for the ones that cost only time, but the value is immense.
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I bought a bunch of bitcoin at $32 each.
For other people it might be a lottery ticket.
That's why we don't just look at ROI in a vacuum to decide logical investments.
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Hey all - I recently wrote a freelance piece about the ROI of using condoms in your early twenties to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Using rudimentary math, I came up with something insane like 100,000%. The piece itself was pretty tongue in cheek, but it got me wondering: what are some of the highest ROIs we can achieve through simple changes in our daily lives? I've love to hear other people's stories.
If you're interested in reading the piece it's here: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-best-investment-you-make-in-your-20s-might-be-birth-control-2014-9
Hah, that was a fun article. Thanks for sharing.
Welcome to the forums!
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As far as skills go, reading, writing, and arithmetic have pretty high proven ROI for me.
I may get faced punched for saying it, but the ability to drive (efficiently) has as well.
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I have seen a truly ridiculous amount of money spent attempting to attract members of the opposite sex by some of my peers. Finding and stalking a woman until she agreed to marry me has turned out to be a phenomenal return on investment.
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Love it - I can see the MMM headline now: "Get Rich with Stalking!" :)
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I have seen a truly ridiculous amount of money spent attempting to attract members of the opposite sex by some of my peers. Finding and stalking a woman until she agreed to marry me has turned out to be a phenomenal return on investment.
Not dating at all/feeling the need to buy things just to attract the opposite sex has saved me even more. Though I do feel I'm missing some of the economies of scale... Oh, and birth control? Not sure how much it costs, as I've never had any use for it. :-)
I would say my highest ROI has been biking everywhere and selling the car. It's saving me almost $4K/year. I already had a bike, and it just takes slightly longer to get some places, but with the added benefit of exercise.
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I have seen a truly ridiculous amount of money spent attempting to attract members of the opposite sex by some of my peers. Finding and stalking a woman until she agreed to marry me has turned out to be a phenomenal return on investment.
Not dating at all/feeling the need to buy things just to attract the opposite sex has saved me even more.
That might be a false economy. The initial investment is time intensive, but ballooning costs were kept in check by developing the relationship in university when expectations are lower. A (properly selected) wife can potentially contribute 50% or more to your yearly earnings while only nominally increasing living expenses.
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I have seen a truly ridiculous amount of money spent attempting to attract members of the opposite sex by some of my peers. Finding and stalking a woman until she agreed to marry me has turned out to be a phenomenal return on investment.
Not dating at all/feeling the need to buy things just to attract the opposite sex has saved me even more.
That might be a false economy. The initial investment is time intensive, but ballooning costs were kept in check by developing the relationship in university when expectations are lower. A (properly selected) wife can potentially contribute 50% or more to your yearly earnings while only nominally increasing living expenses.
As a recent college graduate, that ship has already sailed. I doubt any potential wife would save as much as I'm trying to save (my new goal is to move from currently saving 2/3 of my after-tax income up to 80%, while living in one of the most expensive places in the world). I've become convinced that relationships/marriage will increase my difficulties in retiring early, let alone the time investment required. My current plans are to look into marriage after I retire (around age 31-33). Men get more attractive as they age, right?
IMO friends are a much better investment than dating/relationships. You see too many people on here complaining about their anti-Mustachian partner who refuses to change. There's too much risk of getting stuck with that kind of person.
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Not caring too much about my appearance has probably saved me thousands in various areas. Thrift store clothes, fugly old cars, same eyeglasses since middle school, a functional inexpensive watch (that was a gift), no cologne or other bullshit ever, nothing-special haircuts at home, just dealing with my receding hairline (at 23) and not buying Rogaine or anything like that, wearing socks years past their first developed holes, I could go on...
Not caring about my health saved me a lot on food in college. I fed myself on about $200/semester eating cheap nutrient-sparse food.
Not enjoying coffee/fast food/alcohol/cigarettes has saved me a lot of money.
I avoided the "wine and dine"/impress-by-pissing-away-money stage when acquiring my girlfriend by being best friends for years first.
Roommates. That's a small fortune saved right there.
Insourcing in general; hand tools. Fixed our shower this weekend with about $29 in parts, using pliers and a screwdriver, both of which were purchased combined for about probably something like $7, and have already been used for dozens of other tasks. No idea what hiring a plumber would have cost, probably at least $100 just to get him in the door.
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A (properly selected) wife can potentially contribute 50% or more to your yearly earnings while only nominally increasing living expenses.
You big romantic... you probably say that to all the girls :)
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Filling- $200
Crown-$1700
Implant- $3000
Floss- $1
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A return of time rather than money, but grade nine typing and first-year journalism writing courses have together saved me thousands of hours of drudgery or stress.
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A (properly selected) wife can potentially contribute 50% or more to your yearly earnings while only nominally increasing living expenses.
You big romantic... you probably say that to all the girls :)
I did a cost/benefit analysis and brought it to her as part of the proposal. We're both engineers . . .
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I have seen a truly ridiculous amount of money spent attempting to attract members of the opposite sex by some of my peers. Finding and stalking a woman until she agreed to marry me has turned out to be a phenomenal return on investment.
Not dating at all/feeling the need to buy things just to attract the opposite sex has saved me even more.
That might be a false economy. The initial investment is time intensive, but ballooning costs were kept in check by developing the relationship in university when expectations are lower. A (properly selected) wife can potentially contribute 50% or more to your yearly earnings while only nominally increasing living expenses.
As a recent college graduate, that ship has already sailed. I doubt any potential wife would save as much as I'm trying to save (my new goal is to move from currently saving 2/3 of my after-tax income up to 80%, while living in one of the most expensive places in the world). I've become convinced that relationships/marriage will increase my difficulties in retiring early, let alone the time investment required. My current plans are to look into marriage after I retire (around age 31-33). Men get more attractive as they age, right?
IMO friends are a much better investment than dating/relationships. You see too many people on here complaining about their anti-Mustachian partner who refuses to change. There's too much risk of getting stuck with that kind of person.
Are you a real person expressing actual beliefs (completely writing off dating in your 20s)? I'm genuinely curious. Most people here are about eschewing luxuries, but unless you are asexual (which your post implies you are not) your view on dating reminds me of this: http://www.reddit.com/r/Frugal_Jerk/comments/1aqbcc/what_if_i_were_to_tell_you_that_with_one_simple/
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Are you a real person expressing actual beliefs (completely writing off dating in your 20s)? I'm genuinely curious. Most people here are about eschewing luxuries, but unless you are asexual (which your post implies you are not) your view on dating reminds me of this: http://www.reddit.com/r/Frugal_Jerk/comments/1aqbcc/what_if_i_were_to_tell_you_that_with_one_simple/
I really don't want to get into this again, but yes, at this point I've genuinely decided to not pursue dating in my 20's. It's too expensive, too time-consuming, risky, and too much effort required to have to seek out the opposite sex (particularly for men). I also live in an area where there are almost 50% more men than women. Enjoy finding a date at all, let alone one who has decent values on spending (particularly in such a spendy area). Not dating is giving me incredible ROI.
If you really want to go deeper into this, feel free to PM me.
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I bought a pair of barber scissors for 2 bucks and in the last 6 months have cut my girls' hair each once and mine once, saving about $60. With three more haircuts coming up in the next half year, that puts me at a 6000% ROI (assuming my math's correct).
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Box fans, which we bought for $16, save us $65 a month in electricity charges. Also, moving closer to work, biking and walking instead of driving lowered our gas spending from $180 a month to about $30, and definitely saves on maintenance.
Reading over the above posts, I guess literacy has had a pretty big ROI for me as well. :)
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jar of Vaseline back in my single days for er uh chapped lips.
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I used to flip cars before cash for clunkers killed the clunker market. Two of my more memorable ones...
Paid $200 for an '87 Nissan Pulsar when I was 17, put a $100 set of tires on it, drove it for a month, and sold it for $2200.
Had another one a few years later, 95 Nissan Altima, paid $700, spent $20 on a crank seal, drove it for a couple months, sold it for $1800, bought it back 3 months later for $1200, and sold it the next week for $1800 all over again.
My dad used to routinely buy Hyundai's off customers at work for under $100, fix them (he was a Hyundai tech), and sell them for $1200.
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Are you a real person expressing actual beliefs (completely writing off dating in your 20s)? I'm genuinely curious. Most people here are about eschewing luxuries, but unless you are asexual (which your post implies you are not) your view on dating reminds me of this: http://www.reddit.com/r/Frugal_Jerk/comments/1aqbcc/what_if_i_were_to_tell_you_that_with_one_simple/
I really don't want to get into this again, but yes, at this point I've genuinely decided to not pursue dating in my 20's. It's too expensive, too time-consuming, risky, and too much effort required to have to seek out the opposite sex (particularly for men). I also live in an area where there are almost 50% more men than women. Enjoy finding a date at all, let alone one who has decent values on spending (particularly in such a spendy area). Not dating is giving me incredible ROI.
If you really want to go deeper into this, feel free to PM me.
I live in the bay area, a fairly expensive place. I'm not particularly good looking, nor do I ever flash cash to attract girls. I do all right without a huge amount of effort. You know, you can just date for fun, move on when it's time to move on, right? Casual is a thing... you and the hypothetical lady both want to hang out, have fun, have a bunch of sex, go hiking or to the beach or whatever, without it being a money sink.
Except the aforementioned condoms.
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On a serious note, my answer would be school. The difference between what I could be earning, and what I'm earning with school, after taxes, pays for all of that education in like two years.