Author Topic: How does it feel to buy a Lamborghini (or any dream car) from your own salary?  (Read 22753 times)

frances

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Maybe this has already circulated on this thread but it's pretty special

http://www.quora.com/How-does-it-feel-to-buy-a-Lamborghini-or-any-dream-car-from-your-own-salary

Highlights:

"Another piece of advice for anyone looking to get a super car, is to work your way up slowly so you get more and more comfortable with the higher car payments.  I went from an M3 to 911 now to V10 R8 in the last 2-3 years, and the 4 figure R8 payment isn't hard to swallow, since I have been use to making similar payments on the 911."

"As for the age thing...I am now 27 and have a 911 and V10 R8 that I purchased on my own (my parents would kill me before buying me $280k worth of cars)...The attention is something you sign up for when you buy the car, 99.999999% is good attention...You will get a ton of thumbs up, a ton of smiles, people will come up and ask for pictures, you will come back to the car after leaving a store and see finger prints all over the windows, people will stare...its all part of the fun.

Then you have the .1% of the clowns that will occassionaly ask you "did daddy get that for you" or "how long did you have to sell drugs to afford that" lol. You just learn to ignore the hate, and know that at the end of the day you will be driving an R8 and they will go back to leading their frustrated little lives."

MgoSam

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Another quora fan! I just discovered it about a month or two ago, and love it.

EricP

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Quote
You just learn to ignore the hate, and know that at the end of the day you will be driving an R8 and they will go back to leading their frustrated little lives.

I wouldn't be hating on him, it's his money, but $280k would go a long way to no longer having to live a "frustrated little life" as he put it.  And if I was going to get a Supercar, it would just be the Tesla P85D which is far cheaper than most supercars and faster than most of them

Getting back to the money piece, according to Edmunds insurance alone is $2400/yr which is probably more than a lot of us spend on total transportation costs.

MgoSam

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Yeah, I don't like the "frustrated little lives," line. But if someone has a dream and that dream is to own a car that anyone with income can own (it's not like a dream of going to the Olympics where you have to have qualifications that only a few in the world achieve), go for it. Live your life...I'm happy with my "frustrated little," one I currently live.

Chris22

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Pretty sure he was referring to the people criticizing him as having "frustrated little lives", not just anyone not driving a supercar.

gimp

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The P85D can accelerate very quickly, and it's a cool car, don't get me wrong, but a supercar it ain't.

If you want supercar territory for that money: GTR, Corvette (modified C6/C6Z06, modified/stock C6 ZR1, or the new modified/stock C7 Z06), or Viper are where it's at. They may not have the 0-60 but they're actually intended to run at high speed and make the turns that a tesla P85D can't.

Anyways, while I could hypothetically afford a supercar on my salary, it'd be an insane thing to buy. Same for most people. Also, a great way to end up dead.

EricP

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The P85D can accelerate very quickly, and it's a cool car, don't get me wrong, but a supercar it ain't.

If you want supercar territory for that money: GTR, Corvette (modified C6/C6Z06, modified/stock C6 ZR1, or the new modified/stock C7 Z06), or Viper are where it's at. They may not have the 0-60 but they're actually intended to run at high speed and make the turns that a tesla P85D can't.

So what you're telling me is that a P85D can do everything that's actually legal better than supercars but can't do the illegal stuff?  Then I think I'm okay with in not being a "supercar."  I mean, how many times do people actually take their supercars to the track?  I'm guessing it's closer to 0 then it is to "more often then they get to accelerate from a red light."

LiveLean

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Any remote thought I once had of purchasing a dream car ended a year ago when a woman flew through a stop sign and totaled my minivan. The hassle, time suck, and inconvenience of getting another minivan -- let alone dealing with ongoing injuries -- cured me of any lingering desire to one day have a dream car. I value the minivan -- it was my second after having the previous one nine years -- but I can't imagine adding the headache of insuring/replacing a dream car under similar circumstances. And had I not been driving a tank of a minivan and, say, a small sportscar instead, I'm probably not here writing this.

In the end, a car of any sort is just a fast depreciating "asset" that's designed for transportation, nothing more.

GuitarStv

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With a lambo you're really just paying for the name.  I think you can get a nicer bike for less.




For that reason, the dream seems kinda stupid to waste money on.

MgoSam

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The thing that got me about this is that when the guy was buying his car, the dealership flew him out there and put him up in a fancy hotel. Clearly they made a good chunk of money in this transaction.

EricP

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The thing that got me about this is that when the guy was buying his car, the dealership flew him out there and put him up in a fancy hotel. Clearly they made a good chunk of money in this transaction.

Yeah, he bragged about haggling the salesman down, but then he just comps him a room at a fancy hotel without even thinking about it.  Now I'm thinking that selling this car the day they put it up is probably not the norm and that they were stoked about moving such an expensive car so fast and not having the $200k+ of capital hung up in a single car that sits on the showroom floor for 6 months.

zephyr911

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"Another piece of advice for anyone looking to shove incredibly large objects up your ass, is to work your way up slowly so you can expand your capacity without catastrophic tearing. I went from fingers to a series of successively larger dildos, and now I can easily fit a mailbox in there with minimal discomfort"
FTFY ;)

I do have a thing for cars, and I might go somewhat anti-Mustachian with one someday when I've sorted out this FIRE thing. But the idea of voluntarily having ever-higher car payments just to get used to the pain is laughably awful when you could (instead) get rich and then buy one with so much less sacrificed in the process. Buy something cheap but fast (used Miata or S2000) if you really have to have sporty cars all along the way, invest like a mofo and then buy that Ferrari if you still have the bug. Even better, drive a shitty-ass beater, invest even more, and pay cash for that supercar just a few years from now.

I gave up "sporty" entirely and I do miss it, but flooring the FIRE accelerator turns out to be pretty damn exhilarating too.

Travis

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He's a consulting firm CEO so he's got some money to spend.  I want to smack him for the "frustrated little lives" comment since he's probably making a hell of a lot more money than most people, but at least he says this:

Quote
Now if you are having to overextend yourself to the point where you have to give up other parts of your life (you have no business buying any type of expensive toy to begin with).

zephyr911

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He's a consulting firm CEO so he's got some money to spend.  I want to smack him for the "frustrated little lives" comment since he's probably making a hell of a lot more money than most people, but at least he says this:

Quote
Now if you are having to overextend yourself to the point where you have to give up other parts of your life (you have no business buying any type of expensive toy to begin with).
Unless he's simultaneously saving 50% of his income, and/or really loves his job and wants to do it till he dies, I'd argue that he is giving up other parts of his life: all those years he could spend doing whatever the fuck he wants AND driving a supercar, if he'd just wait a little while.

Gone Fishing

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I think the "frustrated little lives" comment is probably pretty accurate.  The haters are probably the same people who ridicule ER (just read the comments on MMM article that hits mainstream media).  The man wanted something so he went out and did what he needed to get it, not that much different than MMM or anyone else on the ER path.  We are separating ourselves from the norm and will undoubtedly catch some grief for it at some point from someone with a "frustrated little life", most likely someone with the same or even greater opportunities to make their lives what they wanted, but simply failed to focus on what they really wanted.       

EricP

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He's a consulting firm CEO so he's got some money to spend.  I want to smack him for the "frustrated little lives" comment since he's probably making a hell of a lot more money than most people, but at least he says this:

Quote
Now if you are having to overextend yourself to the point where you have to give up other parts of your life (you have no business buying any type of expensive toy to begin with).
Unless he's simultaneously saving 50% of his income, and/or really loves his job and wants to do it till he dies, I'd argue that he is giving up other parts of his life: all those years he could spend doing whatever the fuck he wants AND driving a supercar, if he'd just wait a little while.

You would be correct that he is giving up other parts of his life, but getting him to realize that is another question.

MgoSam

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That's one thing I love about this site, is the realization that time is money for most of us. Let's say that all of us were saving 50% of our income and still had the ability to buy a car such as this. The difference is that for me, and I presume many of us, I would instead up my savings more so that I could hit FIRE sooner.

Tjat

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At least he got a "reasonable" 60 month loan...

I don't know about anyone else but I feel great and like I'm beating the system every time I climb in my long-paid off 8 year old soon to be beater. On the flipside, my brother has a 6 year old fully loaded Accord and has been talking about getting a new car already...

 

gimp

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The P85D can accelerate very quickly, and it's a cool car, don't get me wrong, but a supercar it ain't.

If you want supercar territory for that money: GTR, Corvette (modified C6/C6Z06, modified/stock C6 ZR1, or the new modified/stock C7 Z06), or Viper are where it's at. They may not have the 0-60 but they're actually intended to run at high speed and make the turns that a tesla P85D can't.

So what you're telling me is that a P85D can do everything that's actually legal better than supercars but can't do the illegal stuff?  Then I think I'm okay with in not being a "supercar."  I mean, how many times do people actually take their supercars to the track?  I'm guessing it's closer to 0 then it is to "more often then they get to accelerate from a red light."

I live in the bay area. I don't know anyone who has a supercar and who does not track it at least occasionally. And I know a hell of a lot of people with ridiculous cars.

In fact, a great many of my coworkers take their relatively normal cars to the track.



Something being illegal doesn't mean it's impossible. Did you know that in general, it's illegal to accelerate too quickly? A 0-60 of 2.8 seconds or whatever is going to be illegal if you do it on a normal road.

Even the shittiest of shitboxes in the past 15 years can keep up with traffic on any road in the US if you press the gas hard enough, assuming it's in good repair. Okay, with a few exceptions, that's true. Which of course means that anyone buying more than a fairly basic car is buying it for luxury; and it will have a top speed that is generally illegal to achieve on any normal road in the US. This is a great argument for buying a used econobox. This is not a great argument for buying a tesla over a GTR or whatever; if you're paying $100k for a car, you will never experience the performance it fully offers unless you take it to a track or break some laws.



As much as I like teslas, I would not say that they do everything legal better than other cars of the same caliber. They do a lot of stuff way better. They do some stuff worse, some much worse. For some jobs, they are simply 100% unsuitable, even compared to something like my old, non-fancy car. If I was buying a $100k-ish car, no, I would not pick the P85D, because the things it cannot do actually matter to me on a regular basis. I love teslas and I love that tesla exists, there's no fanboyism against them in saying that.

EricP

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The P85D can accelerate very quickly, and it's a cool car, don't get me wrong, but a supercar it ain't.

If you want supercar territory for that money: GTR, Corvette (modified C6/C6Z06, modified/stock C6 ZR1, or the new modified/stock C7 Z06), or Viper are where it's at. They may not have the 0-60 but they're actually intended to run at high speed and make the turns that a tesla P85D can't.

So what you're telling me is that a P85D can do everything that's actually legal better than supercars but can't do the illegal stuff?  Then I think I'm okay with in not being a "supercar."  I mean, how many times do people actually take their supercars to the track?  I'm guessing it's closer to 0 then it is to "more often then they get to accelerate from a red light."

I live in the bay area. I don't know anyone who has a supercar and who does not track it at least occasionally. And I know a hell of a lot of people with ridiculous cars.

I too also don't know anyone who has a supercar and who does not track it at least occasionally...

Chris22

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That's one thing I love about this site, is the realization that time is money for most of us.

What's interesting to me is the understanding of that from a macro perspective, but the tendency to completely miss it in the micro perspective.  I was thinking about that this weekend while I mowed my lawn with my noisy gas-powered mower ($300 Honda-powered Craftsman, 8 years old and going strong!)  I was thinking about how MMM would tell me I was stupid for doing it with my fast gas powered mower, and should instead be using a reel mower, and then pulling weeds by hand and sweeping the driveway/patio with a broom instead of firing up my 2cycle weedwacker with blower attachment and weedeating/blowing off the concrete.  My life would not be richer if I turned that 45 minute ritual into 2 hours or more doing it with hand tools.  And I was looking at my huge ash tree with its leaves thinking about how I'll be blowing and mulching them with power tools (and then burning them!) instead of raking them by hand and shoving them in bags or whatever. 

sol

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I too also don't know anyone who has a supercar and who does not track it at least occasionally...

As a counter example that might illustrate the logical fallacy in this argument, I don't know anyone with a supercar that DOES take it to a track.  I also don't know anyone with a supercar who doesn't.  Okay I don't know anyone with a supercar.

MgoSam

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I too also don't know anyone who has a supercar and who does not track it at least occasionally...

As a counter example that might illustrate the logical fallacy in this argument, I don't know anyone with a supercar that DOES take it to a track.  I also don't know anyone with a supercar who doesn't.  Okay I don't know anyone with a supercar.

+1, I was thinking the same thing.

Syonyk

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All the people with performance cars I know track them fairly regularly. Including a P85D.

Tjat

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I know people that have destroyed their car on a track too...

In my mind, if I want the thrill of massive acceleration and cornering there is no way I would pay 100k+ to achieve it. Taking up skydiving and going to 6 flags for some coasters may not be mustachian, but a hell of a lot cheaper that a supercar.

Papa Mustache

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At least he got a "reasonable" 60 month loan...

I don't know about anyone else but I feel great and like I'm beating the system every time I climb in my long-paid off 8 year old soon to be beater. On the flipside, my brother has a 6 year old fully loaded Accord and has been talking about getting a new car already...

You might want to upgrade the daily driver to the brother's Accord. Bet they won't give jack for trade-in.

Papa Mustache

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100 mph in a sporty economy car on a track is just as exciting as 150 mph in a supercar. You might not be passing many. Might not have a car that is brag worthy among the rich guys in the pits.

A cheap car can still be fun. Here comes the cliche: a cheap car driven fast can be more fun than a fast car driven slow. 

Nobody I know around here tracks "super cars".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuVmPsg8iwc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7rRPrQBy8c

I know people that have destroyed their car on a track too...

In my mind, if I want the thrill of massive acceleration and cornering there is no way I would pay 100k+ to achieve it. Taking up skydiving and going to 6 flags for some coasters may not be mustachian, but a hell of a lot cheaper that a supercar.
« Last Edit: August 26, 2015, 08:23:50 AM by Joe Average »

EricP

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I too also don't know anyone who has a supercar and who does not track it at least occasionally...

As a counter example that might illustrate the logical fallacy in this argument, I don't know anyone with a supercar that DOES take it to a track.  I also don't know anyone with a supercar who doesn't.  Okay I don't know anyone with a supercar.

That's what I was getting at.  I was pointing out that MgoSam's statement doesn't actually state that he knows people with supercars that take them to the track.  Sure, he follows it up with "And I know lot's of people with ridiculous cars," but ridiculous cars are not necessarily the same as supercars.  I imagine he does know some people with supercars that take them to the track, but he could just be being clever with me.

EricP

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That's one thing I love about this site, is the realization that time is money for most of us.

What's interesting to me is the understanding of that from a macro perspective, but the tendency to completely miss it in the micro perspective.  I was thinking about that this weekend while I mowed my lawn with my noisy gas-powered mower ($300 Honda-powered Craftsman, 8 years old and going strong!)  I was thinking about how MMM would tell me I was stupid for doing it with my fast gas powered mower, and should instead be using a reel mower, and then pulling weeds by hand and sweeping the driveway/patio with a broom instead of firing up my 2cycle weedwacker with blower attachment and weedeating/blowing off the concrete.  My life would not be richer if I turned that 45 minute ritual into 2 hours or more doing it with hand tools.  And I was looking at my huge ash tree with its leaves thinking about how I'll be blowing and mulching them with power tools (and then burning them!) instead of raking them by hand and shoving them in bags or whatever.

Well, yes it takes twice as long, but you forget to account for the health benefits of reel mowing that will increase your lifespan and thus you're spending more time by using your power tools. /s

Chris22

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That's one thing I love about this site, is the realization that time is money for most of us.

What's interesting to me is the understanding of that from a macro perspective, but the tendency to completely miss it in the micro perspective.  I was thinking about that this weekend while I mowed my lawn with my noisy gas-powered mower ($300 Honda-powered Craftsman, 8 years old and going strong!)  I was thinking about how MMM would tell me I was stupid for doing it with my fast gas powered mower, and should instead be using a reel mower, and then pulling weeds by hand and sweeping the driveway/patio with a broom instead of firing up my 2cycle weedwacker with blower attachment and weedeating/blowing off the concrete.  My life would not be richer if I turned that 45 minute ritual into 2 hours or more doing it with hand tools.  And I was looking at my huge ash tree with its leaves thinking about how I'll be blowing and mulching them with power tools (and then burning them!) instead of raking them by hand and shoving them in bags or whatever.

Well, yes it takes twice as long, but you forget to account for the health benefits of reel mowing that will increase your lifespan and thus you're spending more time by using your power tools. /s

Yes, I forgot to include the made up part that makes the specious argument work.

BlueMR2

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I see quite a few supercars at the track.  Never a Tesla though.

100 mph in a sporty economy car on a track is just as exciting as 150 mph in a supercar. You might not be passing many. Might not have a car that is brag worthy among the rich guys in the pits.

There's a lot of truth there.  I can have more fun in my 130 hp car at the track than my 400 hp car.  The 130 hp car is also more pure fun with skinny street tires than with the wide sticky race tires.

sw1tch

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100 mph in a sporty economy car on a track is just as exciting as 150 mph in a supercar. You might not be passing many. Might not have a car that is brag worthy among the rich guys in the pits.

A cheap car can still be fun. Here comes the cliche: a cheap car driven fast can be more fun than a fast car driven slow. 

Nobody I know around here tracks "super cars".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuVmPsg8iwc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7rRPrQBy8c

I know people that have destroyed their car on a track too...

In my mind, if I want the thrill of massive acceleration and cornering there is no way I would pay 100k+ to achieve it. Taking up skydiving and going to 6 flags for some coasters may not be mustachian, but a hell of a lot cheaper that a supercar.

So true.  I went to a couple open track days a few years back and this thread reminds me of the Ford GT driver that spun out right after entering the track.  He very obviously couldn't drive that car as he was in the weeds multiple times that day while I was putting along in a civic hatchback the whole time having a blast.

zephyr911

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That's one thing I love about this site, is the realization that time is money for most of us.

What's interesting to me is the understanding of that from a macro perspective, but the tendency to completely miss it in the micro perspective.  I was thinking about that this weekend while I mowed my lawn with my noisy gas-powered mower ($300 Honda-powered Craftsman, 8 years old and going strong!)  I was thinking about how MMM would tell me I was stupid for doing it with my fast gas powered mower, and should instead be using a reel mower, and then pulling weeds by hand and sweeping the driveway/patio with a broom instead of firing up my 2cycle weedwacker with blower attachment and weedeating/blowing off the concrete.  My life would not be richer if I turned that 45 minute ritual into 2 hours or more doing it with hand tools.  And I was looking at my huge ash tree with its leaves thinking about how I'll be blowing and mulching them with power tools (and then burning them!) instead of raking them by hand and shoving them in bags or whatever.
MMM doesn't categorically reject tools. He doesn't do carpentry by hand. The muscle-over-motor argument applies to many situations because the health thing, and the inherent value of hard physical work, do apply; however, if it's going to save you time that you can use to make money, or if there's some other rationale that you can apply, more power to ya.

HairyUpperLip

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At least he got a "reasonable" 60 month loan...

I don't know about anyone else but I feel great and like I'm beating the system every time I climb in my long-paid off 8 year old soon to be beater. On the flipside, my brother has a 6 year old fully loaded Accord and has been talking about getting a new car already...

You might want to upgrade the daily driver to the brother's Accord. Bet they won't give jack for trade-in.

only, touche. Get the Accord. :P

HairyUpperLip

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That's one thing I love about this site, is the realization that time is money for most of us.

What's interesting to me is the understanding of that from a macro perspective, but the tendency to completely miss it in the micro perspective.  I was thinking about that this weekend while I mowed my lawn with my noisy gas-powered mower ($300 Honda-powered Craftsman, 8 years old and going strong!)  I was thinking about how MMM would tell me I was stupid for doing it with my fast gas powered mower, and should instead be using a reel mower, and then pulling weeds by hand and sweeping the driveway/patio with a broom instead of firing up my 2cycle weedwacker with blower attachment and weedeating/blowing off the concrete.  My life would not be richer if I turned that 45 minute ritual into 2 hours or more doing it with hand tools.  And I was looking at my huge ash tree with its leaves thinking about how I'll be blowing and mulching them with power tools (and then burning them!) instead of raking them by hand and shoving them in bags or whatever.
MMM doesn't categorically reject tools. He doesn't do carpentry by hand. The muscle-over-motor argument applies to many situations because the health thing, and the inherent value of hard physical work, do apply; however, if it's going to save you time that you can use to make money, or if there's some other rationale that you can apply, more power to ya.

Further thread derail  warning -

Been in my house almost 2 months. Borrowed a friends mower 3 times and paid $40 for "professional" one time lawn service so far. So torn on buying a cheap gas mower, electric one, or reel mower. :(

powersuitrecall

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...
Then you have the .1% of the clowns that will  ...

I once took a ride in a co-worker's 911.  We were stopped at a light and 2 kids walking by yelled "YOU"RE BALD" to us.  My companion looked a bit hurt but I thought it was funny as hell (and yes we are balding).

Chris22

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That's one thing I love about this site, is the realization that time is money for most of us.

What's interesting to me is the understanding of that from a macro perspective, but the tendency to completely miss it in the micro perspective.  I was thinking about that this weekend while I mowed my lawn with my noisy gas-powered mower ($300 Honda-powered Craftsman, 8 years old and going strong!)  I was thinking about how MMM would tell me I was stupid for doing it with my fast gas powered mower, and should instead be using a reel mower, and then pulling weeds by hand and sweeping the driveway/patio with a broom instead of firing up my 2cycle weedwacker with blower attachment and weedeating/blowing off the concrete.  My life would not be richer if I turned that 45 minute ritual into 2 hours or more doing it with hand tools.  And I was looking at my huge ash tree with its leaves thinking about how I'll be blowing and mulching them with power tools (and then burning them!) instead of raking them by hand and shoving them in bags or whatever.
MMM doesn't categorically reject tools. He doesn't do carpentry by hand. The muscle-over-motor argument applies to many situations because the health thing, and the inherent value of hard physical work, do apply; however, if it's going to save you time that you can use to make money, or if there's some other rationale that you can apply, more power to ya.

"I don't want to spend much more time than I have to on yardwork."

gimp

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I too also don't know anyone who has a supercar and who does not track it at least occasionally...

As a counter example that might illustrate the logical fallacy in this argument, I don't know anyone with a supercar that DOES take it to a track.  I also don't know anyone with a supercar who doesn't.  Okay I don't know anyone with a supercar.

That's what I was getting at.  I was pointing out that MgoSam's statement doesn't actually state that he knows people with supercars that take them to the track.  Sure, he follows it up with "And I know lot's of people with ridiculous cars," but ridiculous cars are not necessarily the same as supercars.  I imagine he does know some people with supercars that take them to the track, but he could just be being clever with me.

Not MgoSam, gimp :)

Dude, bay area, man. There are a lot of supercars in the parking lot (relatively speaking.) People track them incessantly. I wasn't playing with words, I am saying: 1) I have talked to quite a few folk with supercars, or at least supercar-level performance, and 2) all of them [whom I've talked to] take their cars to the track.

Yeah, it's probably a lot more fun to drive a miata at 120 mph than a ferrari at 120 mph, which is why miatas are also super popular here :)

Supercars aren't my style, but it's good to see that people who buy cars capable of insane performance actually go out and use that performance regularly. Nothing worse than a beast in a cage, eh?

zephyr911

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"I don't want to spend much more time than I have to on yardwork."
That's not really a rationale.

Please explain how the time savings improve your income or quality of life. If you're using the spare time to watch more TV, it's facepunch time.

Chris22

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"I don't want to spend much more time than I have to on yardwork."
That's not really a rationale.

Please explain how the time savings improve your income or quality of life. If you're using the spare time to watch more TV, it's facepunch time.

How the fuck is spending less time on something I don't really want to do not an improvement in my quality of life?  Even if I'm sitting there watching TV, which I'm not unless a good football game is on, it's still spending time on something I WANT to do rather than something I HAVE to do.  Facepalm.

Syonyk

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It builds character.  Duh.  And the greatest glory is doing something with muscles you could do with a motor.  Duh.

MgoSam

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It builds character.

Thanks Calvin's father.

HairyUpperLip

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zephyr911

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How the fuck is spending less time on something I don't really want to do not an improvement in my quality of life?  Even if I'm sitting there watching TV, which I'm not unless a good football game is on, it's still spending time on something I WANT to do rather than something I HAVE to do.  Facepalm.
Oh right, you're new. Truisms most people here accept include the idea that spending money to enable laziness is generally not an improvement in quality of life, even if it feels like it at the time. Exceptions exist but the assumption should be examined.

Don't get mad. Look at what I'm saying and think about it.
« Last Edit: August 28, 2015, 12:23:53 PM by zephyr911 »

EricP

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How the fuck is spending less time on something I don't really want to do not an improvement in my quality of life?  Even if I'm sitting there watching TV, which I'm not unless a good football game is on, it's still spending time on something I WANT to do rather than something I HAVE to do.  Facepalm.
Oh right, you're new. Truisms most people here accept include the idea that spending money to enable laziness is generally not an improvement in quality of life, even if it feels like it at the time. Exceptions exist but the assumption should be examined.

Don't get mad. Look at what I'm saying and think about it.

So a person can't assess for themselves that they'd rather be spending an hour doing something else other than raking their clippings?  That person is just wrong by default because "reasons"? Isn't this spare time that they are creating "worth" more than $25 an hour?  So if they can create an hour for less than $25 they should be doing it?

Maybe if someone isn't getting good exercise than that may have merit, but if one is already getting their biking in and/or working out on company time at the gym (which the DoD does let me do) then the "Look at the health benefits" argument doesn't work.

Vorpal

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I go one step further and just pay to have people mow, edge, and blow my yard. It's a small price to pay in order to free up extra time to spend with family, building stuff in the garage, etc. Also, Houston weather sucks in the summer, and doing manual labor outside can literally be hazardous to your health. I've had early-stage heat stroke before, and am now extra-sensitive to the heat.

sol

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So a person can't assess for themselves that they'd rather be spending an hour doing something else other than raking their clippings?  That person is just wrong by default because "reasons"?

I think this person hasn't read much of the blog yet, Eric.  Of course he's free to choose, he's just contradicting the message that has brought us all together here with this particular choice.

Here's a tip Chris, the things that you think will make you happy and the things that really make you happy are probably not the same.  Humans derive pleasure from overcoming challenges and accomplishing difficult tasks, not sitting on their assess all day being entertained.  Despite this, we all seem to naturally avoid difficult tasks and seek out entertaining ass-sitting options instead, to our own detriment. 

NoraLenderbee

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So a person can't assess for themselves that they'd rather be spending an hour doing something else other than raking their clippings?  That person is just wrong by default because "reasons"?

I think this person hasn't read much of the blog yet, Eric.  Of course he's free to choose, he's just contradicting the message that has brought us all together here with this particular choice.

Here's a tip Chris, the things that you think will make you happy and the things that really make you happy are probably not the same.  Humans derive pleasure from overcoming challenges and accomplishing difficult tasks, not sitting on their assess all day being entertained.  Despite this, we all seem to naturally avoid difficult tasks and seek out entertaining ass-sitting options instead, to our own detriment.


True, but that doesn't mean all unpleasant tasks are satisfying challenges or bring happiness. Some things are just tedious, boring, and tiresome. Minimizing the life-detracting crapola is one part of creating your own happiness (though it's not sufficient by itself). Otherwise, wouldn't we all keep working full-time forever because it's character-building?

Chris22

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So a person can't assess for themselves that they'd rather be spending an hour doing something else other than raking their clippings?  That person is just wrong by default because "reasons"?

I think this person hasn't read much of the blog yet, Eric.  Of course he's free to choose, he's just contradicting the message that has brought us all together here with this particular choice.

Here's a tip Chris, the things that you think will make you happy and the things that really make you happy are probably not the same.  Humans derive pleasure from overcoming challenges and accomplishing difficult tasks, not sitting on their assess all day being entertained.  Despite this, we all seem to naturally avoid difficult tasks and seek out entertaining ass-sitting options instead, to our own detriment.

Here's a tip for you:  I work long hours. When I rush through chores on the weekend, it's to spend more time with my wife and young daughter, and our dog.

Chris22

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How the fuck is spending less time on something I don't really want to do not an improvement in my quality of life?  Even if I'm sitting there watching TV, which I'm not unless a good football game is on, it's still spending time on something I WANT to do rather than something I HAVE to do.  Facepalm.
Oh right, you're new. Truisms most people here accept include the idea that spending money to enable laziness is generally not an improvement in quality of life, even if it feels like it at the time. Exceptions exist but the assumption should be examined.

Don't get mad. Look at what I'm saying and think about it.

Spending money?  The tools are all nearly 10 years old and long since paid for at time of purchase. Aside from a couple gallons of gas a summer, they're free, and have a total resale of maybe $100.