Author Topic: Give Me Gratitude or Give Me Debt  (Read 6710 times)

dcheesi

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Give Me Gratitude or Give Me Debt
« on: August 11, 2014, 12:49:54 PM »
Found this on Reddit; seems very Mustachian:

http://momastery.com/blog/2014/08/11/give-liberty-give-debt/

My own kitchen has elements that I wouldn't have picked if I'd been building it, yet I feel no need to change them. Meanwhile, one of my friends just took out a loan to cover a kitchen remodel, and another spent a month redoing all his cabinets just so his new backsplash would line up perfectly (at least he DIYed it). I'm kind of glad to be content with what I have.
« Last Edit: August 11, 2014, 12:53:38 PM by dcheesi »

slugline

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Re: Give Me Gratitude or Give Me Debt
« Reply #1 on: August 11, 2014, 01:15:07 PM »
That one gave me a smile. Yup, as long as I can create decent meals in a safe manner, I'm not motivated to "update" my kitchen either. And I also have a functional pink-tiled bathroom  I have dubbed as "vintage" and already set to be retro-cool!

Neustache

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Re: Give Me Gratitude or Give Me Debt
« Reply #2 on: August 11, 2014, 01:28:09 PM »
You beat me to it!  LOL. Great article, was coming here to post it. 

sheepstache

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Re: Give Me Gratitude or Give Me Debt
« Reply #3 on: August 11, 2014, 02:16:20 PM »
Ha ha, thanks, that's hilarious.

Quote
warm diet coke.  Sweet Jesus.

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When this food runs out, I’ll just jump in my car to get more.  It’s ludicrous, really. It’s like my family hits the lottery every freaking morning.

Eric

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Re: Give Me Gratitude or Give Me Debt
« Reply #4 on: August 11, 2014, 02:38:37 PM »
Nice find.  I love the term "perspectacles".

Mississippi Mudstache

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Re: Give Me Gratitude or Give Me Debt
« Reply #5 on: August 11, 2014, 03:40:21 PM »
Great post. I just shared it on Facebook, because I wish more of my friends would share stuff like this on Facebook. Instead of "I thought this was just an ordinary lemur-giraffe hybrid. But my mind was blown when I found out that..."

Beric01

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Re: Give Me Gratitude or Give Me Debt
« Reply #6 on: August 11, 2014, 04:24:23 PM »
Wow, what an awesome post - IMO very Mustachian. I 100% agree with the sentiment, though I have to say that kitchen is awfully nice already. It has a dishwasher? I have to hand-wash. ;-)

kendallf

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Re: Give Me Gratitude or Give Me Debt
« Reply #7 on: August 11, 2014, 07:57:23 PM »
Add me to the "just checked in to post this link" crowd.  :-) 

I went on to read a bit more of her blog, thinking initially that I was unlikely to enjoy what I thought might be another "Mom sharing her blessings" blog.  I was wrong.  She's made me tear up on another post or two already.

MsRichLife

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Re: Give Me Gratitude or Give Me Debt
« Reply #8 on: August 11, 2014, 08:06:04 PM »
My friend just posted this on her facebook. So lovely to see her share this sentiment as I'd assumed she didn't view the world this way.

Mississippi Mudstache

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Re: Give Me Gratitude or Give Me Debt
« Reply #9 on: August 11, 2014, 09:47:10 PM »
Apparently this strikes a chord with more people that one might assume. The post that I shared has been re-shared 5 more times by my friends. That never happens when I link to an article on Facebook. The author is clearly able to articulate a basic tenet of mustachianism (ie, happiness comes from wanting what you have, not getting what you want) in a way that many people can relate to. I was already familiar with her blog through my wife, but this was by far my favorite post from her that I have read.

Daisy

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Re: Give Me Gratitude or Give Me Debt
« Reply #10 on: August 11, 2014, 09:54:33 PM »
I can relate to the author of that post.

I recently put my house on the market. It has a "regular" kitchen and bathroom. All in very good condition and clean, but not the fancy schmancy stainless steel and granite counter tops variety at all.

My realtor huffed and puffed and said it might be hard to sell it compared to others in the neighborhood. But I was happy with my bright and airy white kitchen and bathrooms, nicely accented with a few colors.

So this one woman comes to see the house and my agent said she blurted out that she would have to spend $100,000 to upgrade the kitchen and bathrooms. My agent wanted me to further reduce the price. I ignored my agent, and also secretly wondered what it was this woman wanted to upgrade with that would cost $100,000. I can see, possibly, if the kitchen and bathrooms were not kept well and falling apart. But they were clean and sparkly and freshly regrouted.

I held my own and eventually a buyer came in with a decent offer close to the appraised value. When I finally met him, he was so happy with the house. He exclaimed "once I saw the house I loved it because it was in great condition and I don't have to change or fix anything!". Of course, I quickly told my agent just to prove my point (in a subtle way).

There will always be somebody on your same wavelength that appreciates your taste. Not everyone wants to spend the big bucks on remodelling a perfectly good kitchen or bathroom. There are better things to spend your money on - such as your freedom!
« Last Edit: August 11, 2014, 09:56:56 PM by Daisy »

Freedom2016

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Re: Give Me Gratitude or Give Me Debt
« Reply #11 on: August 12, 2014, 12:08:34 AM »
Ha! I was also going to post this article here. I thought it was great! (though I admit to being wooed by kitchen design...)

The Borgs

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Re: Give Me Gratitude or Give Me Debt
« Reply #12 on: August 12, 2014, 05:42:03 AM »
Loved that blog. Recently we'd been thinking of redoing the kitchen. This idea of renovating it isn't new to us, we moved in 8 years ago and at that point the kitchen was old and sucked (really tiny, bad layout, it only had 2 hobs, only room for a bar fridge). When we moved in we said we'd pay off the mortgage on the unit and do it then.

Subsequently, 1 hob died. It's not repairable, so we've been down to 1 hob for cooking. For 5 years. I've gotten used to it.

Then the oven died. I was ready to get used to that, but my husband (who loves my baking) said enough is enough and we should plan to renovate. Whilst planning a neighbour in our block with the same fittings decided to renovate their identical kitchen.... we were given their oven to replace ours, another neighbour electrician fitted it (for beer), so we were back in business.

During these years this kitchen hasn't been lightly used. I bake bread, make pasta... you name it, I've made it from scratch. On less than a square metre of bench space.

And now we've paid off the mortgage. So I said... "Maybe in 6 months.... or so?"

If it ain't (entirely) broke, why fix it?

Leisured

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Re: Give Me Gratitude or Give Me Debt
« Reply #13 on: August 12, 2014, 06:21:51 AM »
Good article, dcheesi.

pachnik

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Re: Give Me Gratitude or Give Me Debt
« Reply #14 on: August 12, 2014, 08:02:41 AM »
Good article!  Thanks very much.

I will soon be moving into an older home - built in the late 70's/early 80's?  Original kitchen and bathroom with 70's tile around the tub.  But it is in good condition and I don't see any need to change it.  The flooring is in amazing shape too in the kitchen and bathroom.   No need for updates as far as I am concerned.  :)

Rebecca Stapler

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Re: Give Me Gratitude or Give Me Debt
« Reply #15 on: August 12, 2014, 08:20:41 AM »
I loved this blog post! She is so right ON!

Trudie

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Re: Give Me Gratitude or Give Me Debt
« Reply #16 on: August 12, 2014, 11:36:07 AM »
I appreciated this one.  We recently had to repair our gas range -- something we've had to do about 3 times in the ten years we've owned it.  Not a great track record, but everytime we do it I weigh the cost against our whole appliance package and think, "Big deal...."  Our appliances are bisque, and not much is made in that color anymore, so I feel the need to keep them working until something breaks and can't be fixed or switched out with another bisque appliance.

This is annoying, for sure.

I've heard all the stuff about how we SHOULD have stainless steel -- but that's on its way out now I hear for things like this new color called "slate."  Also, I'm told we should have granite countertops.  Pain in the ass to maintain for us, and expensive.  The bottom line is that I still love my ten-year-old kitchen.  I'm going to keep it this way, and if someone else has issues when they buy the house they can knock themselves out.  I live in an area where there is a shortage of houses on the market and ours is in a prime location, so doing these "fixes" is not a must do to get the house sold either.

I've built two homes so understand the whole industry that's grown up around DIY/HGTV/Home Depot/etc.  It really is a consumer creation and gets kind of out of hand.

NoraLenderbee

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Re: Give Me Gratitude or Give Me Debt
« Reply #17 on: August 12, 2014, 12:42:50 PM »
I would be grateful if my kitchen looked as good as hers.

Chranstronaut

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Re: Give Me Gratitude or Give Me Debt
« Reply #18 on: August 18, 2014, 09:20:50 AM »
I'm a fan of this article; she had me at Thoreau.

I've only recently started looking around to buy a house, and I'm finding that the perspective you have when you go looking determines a lot of what you will find. It's easy to get swept up in the hunt for more, especially when you have friends or realtors egging you on.  But then you start needing more and more and what you really need stops looking attractive, because for only $xxx more, we get can get all this other junk!  I'm glad my SO and I have similar simple tastes, but it's still easy to get sidetracked. 

It's
I held my own and eventually a buyer came in with a decent offer close to the appraised value. When I finally met him, he was so happy with the house. He exclaimed "once I saw the house I loved it because it was in great condition and I don't have to change or fix anything!". Of course, I quickly told my agent just to prove my point (in a subtle way).

Thank you! It's incredibly frustrating to see an older, but wonderful house that's had a bit of lipstick slapped on.  It's obvious that they're trying to compete in a higher cost bracket by updating a few useless things that look "nicer."  I'd much rather have a clean and simple space, rather than paying more for someone else's idea of nice.  Too many poorly updated areas and not enough tinkering room for me.

Lis

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Re: Give Me Gratitude or Give Me Debt
« Reply #19 on: August 18, 2014, 03:05:52 PM »
LOVED THIS! Her bit on the coffee maker had me in hysterics. And I'm not figuring out the best way to copy that "Carpe Kairos" sign (the Classicist in me is dying for it!).

Funny stuff aside, this really does put into perspective how lucky we are with the little things. I'll bring that up next time I "need" an upgrade on something.