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Anything involving the stock market is far from simple. And "don't spend money on stupid things" is more class signaling than financial advice. Who decides what
by tboyd47 9y ago
Anything involving the stock market is far from simple. And "don't spend money on stupid things" is more class signaling than financial advice. Who decides what is "stupid?" If it's important to you, why not estimate how much of an impact the purchase will have on your budget, and decide based on that? That requires math.
I dunno, I do arithmetic in my head just about every day. I can't imagine engaging in any sort of business transaction without that skill. Even just going to the grocery store, not being able to round, add, and multiply, means you're always going to be surprised at the cash register. I'd much rather know how much I'm going to spend before I get to the cash register so I don't look silly asking them to put things back for me.
- hitekker 9y ago> "don't spend money on stupid things" is more class signaling than financial advance. If it weren’t for the sneering tone of the GP, the advice could have been meant as “don’t buy transient things that are beyond your means”
- tboyd47 9y agoThat proves my point even further. The "beyond your means" part is where math starts being needed again.
- skybrian 9y agoI think what we're seeing here is a class difference? For some people, if the grocery bill is higher than expected, you just shrug and try to do better next time.
- sangnoir 9y ago> For some people, if the grocery bill is higher than expected, you just shrug and try to do better next time. I knew I had crossed some class boundary when I found myself not paying close attention to the running total at checkout. There is a difference in mindset for people whose budgets are rounded to the nearest $1, $10 or $100 respectively.