Author Topic: Deleted  (Read 2247 times)

bender

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« on: April 06, 2017, 11:10:30 AM »
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« Last Edit: March 30, 2018, 07:33:59 AM by bender »

Vindicated

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Re: Smart, not cheap - right?
« Reply #1 on: April 06, 2017, 11:39:00 AM »
This is wonderful.  I think you're putting her on the right trajectory.  You should reprimand her for thinking there is an amount that is "too much" to save ;).  Show her how much the savings would grow by the time she reaches 18 if it grew at 7% interest.

Seriously though, this made me smile. 

Laura33

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Re: Smart, not cheap - right?
« Reply #2 on: April 06, 2017, 12:11:42 PM »
This is awesome!  I love it.

One of my pet peeves was DS' end-of-year project last year in school:  we will give you $1MM, and you need to spend it in a way that sets you up for your future.  I, of course, said "VSTAX.  Done."  But then DS explained, no, they're not allowed to actually *keep* any of the money -- they have to spend it *all* or it goes away.  !!!!!

Now, I get the idea that they don't want kids turning the whole project into a one-word report.  But I really would expect them to be a little more nuanced -- e.g., you need to figure out how much you want to put toward college, housing, transportation, charity, and savings -- so that they had to address a bunch of different things and do the research on the options, but still at least suggest that IF YOU GET A BIG HONKING WINDFALL YOU SHOULDN'T BLOW IT ALL. 

Your tax dollars at work.  I almost complained to the teacher, but I decided to take it in the "fun" spirit in which it was intended. 

AMandM

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Re: Smart, not cheap - right?
« Reply #3 on: April 06, 2017, 06:47:25 PM »
One of my pet peeves was DS' end-of-year project last year in school:  we will give you $1MM, and you need to spend it in a way that sets you up for your future.  I, of course, said "VSTAX.  Done."  But then DS explained, no, they're not allowed to actually *keep* any of the money -- they have to spend it *all* or it goes away.  !!!!!

Isn't spending it exactly what *doesn't* set you up for the future?
Or did they mean, buy a house, set up a business, etc.?

OP, your daughter is on the right track!  She didn't pick cheap things people didn't want, just for the sake of saving money; she used her allotted money thoughtfully, pleasing the recipients without waste.

gooki

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Re: Smart, not cheap - right?
« Reply #4 on: April 07, 2017, 03:17:03 AM »
Did she buy the three pack of t-shirts for $15?

Laura33

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Re: Smart, not cheap - right?
« Reply #5 on: April 07, 2017, 06:14:36 AM »
One of my pet peeves was DS' end-of-year project last year in school:  we will give you $1MM, and you need to spend it in a way that sets you up for your future.  I, of course, said "VSTAX.  Done."  But then DS explained, no, they're not allowed to actually *keep* any of the money -- they have to spend it *all* or it goes away.  !!!!!

Isn't spending it exactly what *doesn't* set you up for the future?
Or did they mean, buy a house, set up a business, etc.?

OP, your daughter is on the right track!  She didn't pick cheap things people didn't want, just for the sake of saving money; she used her allotted money thoughtfully, pleasing the recipients without waste.

Yeah, they meant the latter -- spend the money on things like college education, a place to live, a car to drive, a business to run, whatever.  The problem was that they really didn't distinguish between the kind of spending that actually does set you up for the future (education/business) vs. the kind of spending that is likely necessary but still be minimized (house, car) vs. flat-out toys -- and they forced the kids to keep "buying" stuff until it was all gone.  I mean, my kid did a great job looking for reasonable housing and such, but that meant that he had so much money left that he ended up "choosing" a Maserati for his vehicle!  (I did show him how much less you can spend on a used one, but at that point you're moving deck chairs on the Titanic).  I think they missed a real chance to have the kids grapple with the "spend vs save" choices that *really* set you up for the future.

AMandM

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Re: Smart, not cheap - right?
« Reply #6 on: April 11, 2017, 07:56:26 PM »
And we wonder where people get the idea that a new handbag is an investment.