Why would you ever need...

[Kuting]

I love questions that start off like that. Someone always justifies your lack of need for any given object, locale, or mindset. Insert what you want, cause we've all heard some form of it. Guns, semi-auto rifles, long range precision rifles, suppressors, NVD's, SBR's, food preps, precious metals, a BOB, a BOL, a group you can depend on, contingencies for your contingencies... Everyone can rattle off what YOU need better than you can.

My question to you is "WHY?"

I personally think that the "have-nots" will always, though jealousy attempt to justify an item's uselessness. A survival based forum on the net I used to frequent is filled with poor (yet still able to afford an internet connection) people and those who make poor economic choices. It has been said over and over on that board that "It must be nice to have all that money." any time someone posts a pic of an AR with non-junk furniture (No no no! Tapco is junk too.) talks about training (Why would you want to know how to use any of your weapons???) or expresses interest in anything else that can't be found on a dollar store shelf or swap meet. I think the bottom line is you don't have to answer to ANYONE for any of your preps or hobbies.

Quit going out to eat 5 times a day or buying stupid crap you truly don't need (Yes, the fuzzy kitten keychain with glitter eyes is a non-essential.) and you might have money for a nice rifle, nice pistol, and some quality gear.

I make just above minimum wage, and on that income I can; pay rent, pay bills, feed my family (No handouts here, I pay for my food), put gas in the car, keep cable and internet on, be a member of a conservation club and go shooting when time allows, feed 2 dogs, stock up on ammo, continue growing my food supply (About 18 months worth for my family), afford a top of the line pistol, afford top end nylon gear, afford a BCM AR, afford Aimpoint optics, and do little things every now and then that make me, the kids, and the girlfriend smile. How do I do all these things??? Daddy knows how to budget, so stop hating.

Kut

 

[The Bubba Effect]

I think the bottom line is you don't have to answer to ANYONE for any of your preps or hobbies.
Kut

That's the way I feel too. I take care of myself. I look after my people and my responsibilities.

It's a free country. If someone doesn't like my preps or hobbies, they can like it or like it.

Some people just have an obsession with being in control of other people. You are not spending your extra cash on the things they would spend it on and it drives them up a wall.

 

[Steve]

"Save your pennies, and your dollars will take care of themselves" comes to mind. Having the discipline to save a little bit every week will result in an amazing amount of "extra cash" to buy ammo, supplies, guns, and such in a very short time. Best of all, those purchases will have no effect on the weekly budget.

One trick I use is to alter my saving account passbook. I always list the correct deposit amount, but will drop $10 - $20 off of it when I carry it to the balance column. After a few months, I will re-balance the account and low and behold I always find an "extra" $100 - $300. That little windfall have come in quite handy more than once.

Another trick is the ever popular "change jar". The secret is to take the time to fill 4-5 of them before cashing them in. I do it twice a year and each time I have more than enough to buy a very nice handgun or rifle. And I'm talking AR, Springfield, S&W, AK, Ruger, Kimber, etc.

The more tricks you find and use, the quicker and "cheaper" you can build up you supplies without breaking the budget.

 

[nate1865]

Good on ya, Kut!

It's not how much money you make, but how you manage the money you do make that counts.

 

[rooster007]

I love questions that start off like that. Someone always justifies your lack of need for any given object, locale, or mindset. Insert what you want, cause we've all heard some form of it. Guns, semi-auto rifles, long range precision rifles, suppressors, NVD's, SBR's, food preps, precious metals, a BOB, a BOL, a group you can depend on, contingencies for your contingencies... Everyone can rattle off what YOU need better than you can.

My question to you is "WHY?"

I personally think that the "have-nots" will always, though jealousy attempt to justify an item's uselessness. A survival based forum on the net I used to frequent is filled with poor (yet still able to afford an internet connection) people and those who make poor economic choices. It has been said over and over on that board that "It must be nice to have all that money." any time someone posts a pic of an AR with non-junk furniture (No no no! Tapco is junk too.) talks about training (Why would you want to know how to use any of your weapons???) or expresses interest in anything else that can't be found on a dollar store shelf or swap meet. I think the bottom line is you don't have to answer to ANYONE for any of your preps or hobbies.

Quit going out to eat 5 times a day or buying stupid crap you truly don't need (Yes, the fuzzy kitten keychain with glitter eyes is a non-essential.) and you might have money for a nice rifle, nice pistol, and some quality gear.

I make just above minimum wage, and on that income I can; pay rent, pay bills, feed my family (No handouts here, I pay for my food), put gas in the car, keep cable and internet on, be a member of a conservation club and go shooting when time allows, feed 2 dogs, stock up on ammo, continue growing my food supply (About 18 months worth for my family), afford a top of the line pistol, afford top end nylon gear, afford a BCM AR, afford Aimpoint optics, and do little things every now and then that make me, the kids, and the girlfriend smile. How do I do all these things??? Daddy knows how to budget, so stop hating.

Kut

+1 for you . You don't know how many times I have read crap, like your talking about , and I just what to reach through the internet and slap some dollar tree ( I do sometimes shop there) jackass for some of the obvious bad info or comments they make . I have a neighbor just like you are talking about .

 

[redpitbull44]

I make just above minimum wage, and on that income I can; pay rent, pay bills, feed my family (No handouts here, I pay for my food), put gas in the car, keep cable and internet on, be a member of a conservation club and go shooting when time allows, feed 2 dogs, stock up on ammo, continue growing my food supply (About 18 months worth for my family), afford a top of the line pistol, afford top end nylon gear, afford a BCM AR, afford Aimpoint optics, and do little things every now and then that make me, the kids, and the girlfriend smile. How do I do all these things??? Daddy knows how to budget, so stop hating.

 

[redpitbull44]

I love questions that start off like that. Someone always justifies your lack of need for any given object, locale, or mindset. Insert what you want, cause we've all heard some form of it. Guns, semi-auto rifles, long range precision rifles, suppressors, NVD's, SBR's, food preps, precious metals, a BOB, a BOL, a group you can depend on, contingencies for your contingencies... Everyone can rattle off what YOU need better than you can.

My question to you is "WHY?"

I personally think that the "have-nots" will always, though jealousy attempt to justify an item's uselessness. A survival based forum on the net I used to frequent is filled with poor (yet still able to afford an internet connection) people and those who make poor economic choices. It has been said over and over on that board that "It must be nice to have all that money." any time someone posts a pic of an AR with non-junk furniture (No no no! Tapco is junk too.) talks about training (Why would you want to know how to use any of your weapons???) or expresses interest in anything else that can't be found on a dollar store shelf or swap meet. I think the bottom line is you don't have to answer to ANYONE for any of your preps or hobbies.

Quit going out to eat 5 times a day or buying stupid crap you truly don't need (Yes, the fuzzy kitten keychain with glitter eyes is a non-essential.) and you might have money for a nice rifle, nice pistol, and some quality gear.

I agree. You have to know how to manage your money. It kills me how quickly people can **** away money, and then come off with statements like "You make money, you spend money" while they are bankrupt, thousands of dollars in debt, or living off of welfare and buying $500 worth of beer and cigarettes per month.

 

[Gunpowder]

You forgot Insurance (Life/Health/auto), braces, retirement, cloths, ..... lol!

 

[BigMatt]

I will have everything paid off except for the house by the end of next year. The house will be paid off in 2015. After that, everything is going into the bank.

I take my lunch to work, I eat dinner at home 19 out of 20 times. We don't splurge on things, just try to get by.

We have everything we need and we will be able to retire in 15 years on a nice piece of land with a nice little house. We should just have to pay for gas, electricity, insurance and taxes.

I can't wait.

 

[redpitbull44]

I will have everything paid off except for the house by the end of next year. The house will be paid off in 2015. After that, everything is going into the bank.

I take my lunch to work, I eat dinner at home 19 out of 20 times. We don't splurge on things, just try to get by.

We have everything we need and we will be able to retire in 15 years on a nice piece of land with a nice little house. We should just have to pay for gas, electricity, insurance and taxes.

I can't wait.

I hear that. I have been living below my means to pay stuff off for about the past 5 years. The one plan I couldn't pull off was living with my parents for a few years after college so I could save money and go out on my own debt free (they were ok with it). Over the course of those years I went from only being able to pay a little extra on bills to having bills payed off and watching them dwindle. My cost of living before food, vehicle expenses, and entertainment is about $1200 right now. I figure movie rentals, going out to eat (we rarely do that), etc. Heck, I don't even have cable tv or anything.

Make an itemized list of all of your debt, regardless of what it is. I use microsoft excel for this. Categorize them as house, individual utilities, insurance, car payments, each credit card, etc.
The #1 thing I recommend to people is plan to pay extra on your interest collecting debt (car, mortgage, CREDITCARDS) This way, you beat the interest at its own game. From there, pay even more extra on the thing with the highest interest. Once you pay one off, take the money you were using to pay off the next highest interest collecting debt. Keep snowballing that to where next thing you know, you are paying $3000 a month on your $1000 a month mortgage, and your house is payed off in 10 years instead of 30 (more like 5 years instead of 15 HOPEFULLY).

It ain't nothin but a thang once you don't owe anybody anything to get geared up and stocked up.

 

[flatlander]

I'm 52 and debt free. It's called HARD WORK!!!!!!!!!!! If you pretend you have NO money you will soon have SOME money.

Bob

 

[Lucas156]

Good on ya, Kut!

It's not how much money you make, but how you manage the money you do make that counts.

I say this all the time!!!

If you pretend you have NO money you will soon have SOME money.

Bob

Thats a good way to think of it. I'll have to put that in my repertoire.

 

[malern28us]

I love questions that start off like that. Someone always justifies your lack of need for any given object, locale, or mindset. Insert what you want, cause we've all heard some form of it. Guns, semi-auto rifles, long range precision rifles, suppressors, NVD's, SBR's, food preps, precious metals, a BOB, a BOL, a group you can depend on, contingencies for your contingencies... Everyone can rattle off what YOU need better than you can.

My question to you is "WHY?"

I personally think that the "have-nots" will always, though jealousy attempt to justify an item's uselessness. A survival based forum on the net I used to frequent is filled with poor (yet still able to afford an internet connection) people and those who make poor economic choices. It has been said over and over on that board that "It must be nice to have all that money." any time someone posts a pic of an AR with non-junk furniture (No no no! Tapco is junk too.) talks about training (Why would you want to know how to use any of your weapons???) or expresses interest in anything else that can't be found on a dollar store shelf or swap meet. I think the bottom line is you don't have to answer to ANYONE for any of your preps or hobbies.

Quit going out to eat 5 times a day or buying stupid crap you truly don't need (Yes, the fuzzy kitten keychain with glitter eyes is a non-essential.) and you might have money for a nice rifle, nice pistol, and some quality gear.

I make just above minimum wage, and on that income I can; pay rent, pay bills, feed my family (No handouts here, I pay for my food), put gas in the car, keep cable and internet on, be a member of a conservation club and go shooting when time allows, feed 2 dogs, stock up on ammo, continue growing my food supply (About 18 months worth for my family), afford a top of the line pistol, afford top end nylon gear, afford a BCM AR, afford Aimpoint optics, and do little things every now and then that make me, the kids, and the girlfriend smile. How do I do all these things??? Daddy knows how to budget, so stop hating.

Kut

All your examples are purely materialistic in nature.
Great for you! I think "balance" is more important. Hate quoting songs but I have always believed "its not what you got, its what you give. Its not the life you choose, its the life you live."
How much of this wonderful knowledge that you were blessed with have you taught or shared with others?
Unless you know someone elses circumstances, you cant judge them or the life they lead. You werent forced to grow up in a dysfunctional family or a family that never saved money. How could you "judge" them for never having someone to teach them how to budget?
I have seen this first hand. People that were never taught how to budget and save dont know how too.
I would rather try to teach others how to improve their lives than make fun of others. Then again, I worry more about making God happy than making myself sound great to a bunch of bored people on a forum.

 

[Gunpowder]

Seems we have a bunch of Dave Ramsey fans

 

[ThrottleJockey]

D.R. ROCKS!!! Even though his advice is pure common sense it seems as though the vast majority have none. I love watching ppl pay 19% interest on brand names at the grocery store, or on gas, or to become a billboard advertising their favorite brand name clothes, etc....They all line up to purchase debt???WTF??? Good job Kut.

 

[darinb]

+1 on budgeting, It really works. We are in a similar situation as you as far as pay wage and I always try and do a little every paycheck. Some people just dont get it and those are the ones I pray and hope one day they will get some self reliance going before its too late. I try and use some recent history (hurricane katrina, recent bad weather,blackouts,etc) to get people out of their mindset but some just wont allow themselves to understand.

 

[darinb]

All your examples are purely materialistic in nature.
Great for you! I think "balance" is more important. Hate quoting songs but I have always believed "its not what you got, its what you give. Its not the life you choose, its the life you live."
How much of this wonderful knowledge that you were blessed with have you taught or shared with others?
Unless you know someone elses circumstances, you cant judge them or the life they lead. You werent forced to grow up in a dysfunctional family or a family that never saved money. How could you "judge" them for never having someone to teach them how to budget?
I have seen this first hand. People that were never taught how to budget and save dont know how too.
I would rather try to teach others how to improve their lives than make fun of others. Then again, I worry more about making God happy than making myself sound great to a bunch of bored people on a forum.

Simply perfect. Give a man a fish and he will be happy for a day but teach him to fish and he will be happy the rest of his life. The very people we look down upon today for whatever reason may help us tommorrow.

 

[malern28us]

Simply perfect. Give a man a fish and he will be happy for a day but teach him to fish and he will be happy the rest of his life. The very people we look down upon today for whatever reason may help us tommorrow.

Thanks. Exactly what I had in mind.
Dont get me wrong. The things the OP said are unsettling to me but NO ONE is perfect. You can "stroke" yourself or use it as motivation. Everyone has a "vice" or something that they cannot get control of. Besides, anyone who thinks they are without fault please step up and "correct" me. You might be better at saving and budgeting but I would bet there are aspects of your life you could improve. Maybe your ability to plan and budget could be shared with others or provide support to someone that needs it.
Your OP just seems so negative and condescending. I didnt mean to go off the deep end on you.

 

[redpitbull44]

Seems we have a bunch of Dave Ramsey fans

Who's Dave Ramsey?

 

[theweakerbrother]

My Dave Ramsey pager went off and I've shown up with my decoder ring!