i've got this issue where i try to save money even when it's not time efficient. for example, i'm looking at backpacks on ebay. they sell for 160$. i keep checking because sometimes listings will go for like, 120-130$.

after tax, i make 37$ an hour. it's literally not worth the time to save on the backpack. i have this problem everywhere. i'll look through items on amazon to save a dollar or two on an item, but i mean, i get like a dollar every 2 minutes basically from work, and this is another type of work.

same thing with cooking. when i'm making food, and i consider all the time involved with prep and cleanup, it doesn't even make sense. it might take 3 hours to completely finish a meal. i could get a really good meal for 100$.

i was looking for flights, and i went between all the different pricing sites and checked different days and nearby airports, all to save like 30$ on some economy tickets.

do any of you have this same thing? i feel like i'm crazy.

thats life

>>60671729 (OP)
Yeah I do this with everything I buy. Then I go to the bar and buy a round of shots and end up with a $200 bill

>>60671729 (OP)
I do the same thing then I go to the bar and buy a round of shots and end up with a $200 tab

>>60671729 (OP)
It's called financial discipline. Thank your parents. If you don't need the backpack right away, you wait.

>>60671743
>>60671746
Piece of shit PHP slop

>>60671752
i don't think it's a good thing. i think it's a waste of time. this whole time, it's living rent free in my head because i've got to remember to check again if a cheap auction gets posted.

i am keenly aware of just how valuable and finite time is. and i can say that with absolute resolve, but still i'm wasting it. frankly, with finding deals, it is enjoyable. like a primitive enjoyment. like masturbation or something. but it's not productive, really.

it feels foolish to not pursue the deal. but if you consider a business or something, there's no way they'd waste time to save 10$ here or 20$ here. it's not worth it. they'll pay more for convenience because time is money. and i can type that out but fail to internalize it. how's that work?

>>60671729 (OP)
idk it's not like you can make $37 an hour 16 hours a day so you can take some time to be a cheapsss

if you were a top %1 trader or executive then yes it's not worth your time to be frugal

>>60671802
well what's a more productive alternative you can do? if you have that and compound it you'd feel the wastefulness of bargain hunting

>>60671811
just anything. i'm willing to sell my time for 37$. i don't think i'd be willing to sell much more than 40 hours a week at that rate. so if anything, the free hours should be worth even more than that.

i understand that it's irrational but i talked to my friends about this and none of them do this same thing. it must be a thing you get over. i don't think a doctor pulling hundreds of thousands of dollars is stressing about this in the same way i am.

You dont actually make 37/hr 24/7, its better to think of it as having multiple jobs with different rates

2$/hr is still more than 0/hr, I try to tell myself that so I dont just end up watching TV

You don't lose money by picking up a $100 bill because you earn the same whether you pick it up or not.

>>60671729 (OP)
Don't ever volunteer.

penny wise but pound foolish

>>60671729 (OP)
I think there is no better way to appreciate my time than to look for things to make it even more enjoyable, that's why I keep grabbing things like npc, I don't need to make it or become a millionaire, I just need to have enough fun so I don't care

>>60671729 (OP)
I can 100% relate. I used to be like that. You want to have SOME financial discipline when IT MAKES sense (i.e. low effort to save money, big ticket items, you don’t need the item right now etc.) but overdoing it is really dumb and most likely making your life less enjoyable. Try to care less and just force yourself to pull the trigger when you need something. Also, don’t try to save too much on things that have a big impact on your life by going for the cheaper option (health, relationships, hobbies that bring you a lot of joy/ fulfilment, productivity etc.).

>>60671729 (OP)
Terrible way to think about it. You aren't replacing that time with more work.

> i could get a really good meal for 100$
Ah yes start eating $100 meals every day and see how that works out for you.

Your "downtime" outside of work is not worth nearly as much as your working time. Maybe, *maybe* you're learning a skill or working over time. But I'm going to guess you're just dicking around. You're better off spending that free time trying to save some extra money than not.

Also if you're salaried, or maxed out on the amount of time you can work, thinking about your time being "worth" $37 an hour is misleading.

Take your post tax income, lets say $6200/mo then subtract out your monthly must-have expenses - $2k rent, $300 car note, $400 food, $200 utilities, $200 fuel - that's $3100 left over. So over hour of work is really only $18.50 of discretionary income, since the rest you can't avoid paying if you wanted to.

>>60673108
Source on this please. Great read.

>>60673108
>>60673562
nta (obv) but I found it after a quick googleing:
http://48laws-of-power.blogspot.com/2011/05/law-40-despise-free-lunch.html

>>60673978
Thanks. I better read this book.

>>60671802
>>60671815
>frankly, with finding deals, it is enjoyable
>i understand that it's irrational
it's not irrational at all if you find it enjoyable.
i don't really like shopping so will pay some extra to limit the time spent doing it.
however i remember also getting bent out of shape over whether every action is economically rational when i was young and taking freshman econ classes. eventually you grow up and realize that economic theory is just applied philosophy, and if a philosophy isn't serving you you can just ignore it.

I literally make an average of $50 an hour, every hour, 24/7 assuming a 10% annual return on my investments. Adjusting for a 40 hour work week and two weeks of vacation I make $250 an hour.

>>60671729 (OP)
I wish someone would have given you a deeper answer than "it's ok to waste time being stingy bro". the opinion closest to criticism I found ITT was >>60673108, but that doesn't give solutions, it only describes people like us and the consequences.
it actually describes me very well. I've wasted a lot of time in my life on useless crap (not just loking for bargains, though) and worrying about useless shit, almost like a robot

btw, a more efficient way of doing this is joining forums where they post daily deals and stuff, and using websites where you can find and compare deals (camelcamelcamel.com is a good one for all things amazon)

My current rate is $100/hr. (this is variable) if whatver costs me 1 hr but saves $100 i go for it immediately otherwise execute on discretion.

>>60673108
I have to kill myself.

>>60671729 (OP)
I know I will die one day so I pennypinch every time I make a decision. I even pick up pennies and dimes from the ground since I'm that cheap.

I buy things I realize I don't need or actually want a month later and resell them at a slight loss. I do this with most of my purchases. It's become like a reverse hoarding illness. I waste so much time getting rid of things I thought I wanted.

>>60671729 (OP)
Just change where you shop and build a routine where you spend money at more cost effective outlets and use a payment method that's optimal for that outlet. At that point all you need to do is comparison shop by unit price for the best deal and you have the same end result without as much analysis and anything after that is just overthinking it.

>>60679264
what if you shot online?

>>60678710
anon, get a psychologist

>>60681372
*shop

>>60671729 (OP)
>same thing with cooking. when i'm making food, and i consider all the time involved with prep and cleanup, it doesn't even make sense. it might take 3 hours to completely finish a meal. i could get a really good meal for 100$.
Pic related is how I eat for less than $2.5 per meal, and total prep time comes out to about 5 mins per meal. And that includes gardening because they're set and forget plants other than a watering if it's been hot and dry for a while.

>>60671729 (OP)
>it might take 3 hours to completely finish a meal
>a meal
>singular
You need to reframe several things. If you're cooking for 3 hours you damn better make it worth your time and cook several meals at once. We made a big pot of lentils last Tuesday. Had 4 servings, (1 meal for two people in two consecutive days), with two remaining for today's lunch.
That's time saving even if the initial time expenditure is high.
As for purchases I'm not a consoomer by most metrics but I'm sure there must be a service out there that can automate listings on a wishlist reaching a certain discount. Or whatever.
I do the airport thing too but more of a timing issue for me, time waiting is often a bigger issue than money when I travel.
>>60671743
Based retard.

>>60682995
Too embarrassed to talk about it

>>60678710
I'm terrible at selling things. I can put an irrational amount of effort into getting a good deal but when it comes to not needing/wanting it anymore I just tell myself I don't need the money.

>>60684235
I don't need the money either, but it's just a feeling of being overwhelmed by my possessions.

>>60684163
that's what psychologists are for. it's not a terrible thing either, so why do you care? just talk about it and see how things go

>>60671729 (OP)
If you valued your time you wouldn't be here.

>>60671729 (OP)
>after tax, i make 37$ an hour
First off that's not a lot of money, you're barely lower middle class.
Second this is your life when you are a wagie.
If you spent the first few years of your adult life building up a robust dividend portfolio that would guarantee you income every month, you'd be free of this autism and free to enjoy life.

>>60671729 (OP)
duno how you justify it to yourself i only do it because im unemployed