3 ms·

I read somewhere that it's typical to spend about 5% more than you earn if you don't track your finances / budget. Having lived both a budget focused and YOLO l

I read somewhere that it's typical to spend about 5% more than you earn if you don't track your finances / budget. Having lived both a budget focused and YOLO lifestyle, I'd agree. It just kind of happens - restaurants, vacations, other luxuries that ultimately end up having a pretty minor impact on one's perception of quality of life. As software developers, we have pretty analytical minds. It's kind of absurd if we don't place some occasional focus on simple things like personal finance and retirement planning.

ben_jones 7y ago
Personally I value my time working so highly that everything else became secondary. I don't even work on anything particularly important or wide-reaching, I've just clicked something in my brain that puts grocery shopping, budgeting, and other activities second such that I spend an egregious amount of money on take out and other lifestyle creeps. I think its because there is such a gully between middle class and upper class in the bay area. I make low six figures and the next bracket is so far away that I just feel kind of meh about it. I think this behavior is hugely detrimental and I'm actively trying to change it, but its what I notice as status quo for my peers and I.
vincent-toups 7y ago
I don't buy the trope that software people have analytic minds. I've seen a lot of source code.
- kingo55 7y ago
  Compare them to the general population.
tempsy 7y ago
Funnily enough, it is because I have an analytical mind that I actually think I over optimized on my spend. I, like many I know in this industry, have been playing the credit card reward game since 2012. I live a very minimalistic lifestyle as far as buying things goes, but then plan out rounds of credit card applications and "manufactured spend" to rack up hundreds of thousands of points at minimal cost every year, and have used those points to fund nearly free travel for the past 6 years (mostly one summer vacation and holiday travel + weekend trips). I can't remember the last time I paid for a flight or hotel unless it was a really good deal and made more sense to use cash vs points. Have been fortunate to fly international business/first/suite class + stay in some really nice hotels.
giancarlostoro 7y ago
I agree. One thing that is helping me not be so careless and I read someone on HN mention and went further with it is so simple: enable email and push notitications of your bank account. Any time you spend over 100 dollars you should be aware of what your balance looks like. It reminds you to step back and not be careless if you just literally got paid and you are already eating well into your funds. I also setup weekly balance notifications for every Friday. Another simple hack was opening up an American Express savings account. I put at least 10% of all paychecks straight into that account. This ensures I save and the APR is like 2% or something way more than any other savings account I have. Taking money out is a slow process and there is no debit card. Keeps me from being careless as my savings builds up. Lastly my company had a stock program I would buy shares and sell them once they went longterm and invest into dividend yielding ETFs stock. This has allowed me to build up side income. Took me a few years to stop and think about these things and form a strategy for myself. If you wanna save smarter any time you get a raise put that extra income straight to a savings account and let it build up. Everyone should have SHTF money.

ben_jones 7y ago

Personally I value my time working so highly that everything else became secondary. I don't even work on anything particularly important or wide-reaching, I've just clicked something in my brain that puts grocery shopping, budgeting, and other activities second such that I spend an egregious amount of money on take out and other lifestyle creeps. I think its because there is such a gully between middle class and upper class in the bay area. I make low six figures and the next bracket is so far away that I just feel kind of meh about it. I think this behavior is hugely detrimental and I'm actively trying to change it, but its what I notice as status quo for my peers and I.

vincent-toups 7y ago

I don't buy the trope that software people have analytic minds. I've seen a lot of source code.

kingo55 7y ago
Compare them to the general population.

tempsy 7y ago

Funnily enough, it is because I have an analytical mind that I actually think I over optimized on my spend. I, like many I know in this industry, have been playing the credit card reward game since 2012. I live a very minimalistic lifestyle as far as buying things goes, but then plan out rounds of credit card applications and "manufactured spend" to rack up hundreds of thousands of points at minimal cost every year, and have used those points to fund nearly free travel for the past 6 years (mostly one summer vacation and holiday travel + weekend trips). I can't remember the last time I paid for a flight or hotel unless it was a really good deal and made more sense to use cash vs points. Have been fortunate to fly international business/first/suite class + stay in some really nice hotels.

giancarlostoro 7y ago

I agree. One thing that is helping me not be so careless and I read someone on HN mention and went further with it is so simple: enable email and push notitications of your bank account. Any time you spend over 100 dollars you should be aware of what your balance looks like. It reminds you to step back and not be careless if you just literally got paid and you are already eating well into your funds. I also setup weekly balance notifications for every Friday. Another simple hack was opening up an American Express savings account. I put at least 10% of all paychecks straight into that account. This ensures I save and the APR is like 2% or something way more than any other savings account I have. Taking money out is a slow process and there is no debit card. Keeps me from being careless as my savings builds up. Lastly my company had a stock program I would buy shares and sell them once they went longterm and invest into dividend yielding ETFs stock. This has allowed me to build up side income. Took me a few years to stop and think about these things and form a strategy for myself. If you wanna save smarter any time you get a raise put that extra income straight to a savings account and let it build up. Everyone should have SHTF money.