And now you get why we agree you are being ridiculous. Just because the vast majority of people are unaware of their bad spending habits, and wasting money on maids which affects their retirement date, it simply doesn't apply to all cases no matter what without any reason or logic. The man himself doesn't want you to follow a strict list of rules. He wants you to do things that make sense within the criteria of your specific situation. If the man himself did his own taxes, he'd probably end up paying more in taxes. But when someone who works 9-5 pays someone to do his taxes, he pays the same amount of taxes, but loses $100+ for the unnecessary service. If someone runs a business and can close a deal by working an extra hour, and paying a maid to clean up while he's busy making mad cash helps him free up the time to make his business more successful, it's a GOD DAMN SMART CHOICE! Obviously I'm not saying it makes sense for most people here. There's a good chance that that majority a) makes less $100/hour, b) is not financially independent and c) can make time to clean their house without diminishing their qualify of life. Regardless, it's still not a universal rule of frugality.