"Pennywise, Pound Foolish" I grew up with this saying, and not until my wiser, or is it more mature years have I found myself using it often when explaining how to evaluate our time vs. money. In my 20's I can remember driving 3 hours to pick up a used lawnmower for 25.00. I was young, on my own. I only thought about a cheap mower for 25.00, listening to tunes, the open road, the sun at my back, and a quick solution to my "growing" problem. It cost me another 55.00 for the tune-up, and if I had been more money savvy in the day and planned, I could have bought a new one for about 70.00 more - local. This used mower did not have a bagger either, another 50.00 if I was to order a replacement. In the end, I spend double the time mowing and having to go back and rake.
Looking at the math (for the sake of simplicity, we'll use 10.00 an hour), the extra time I spend raking and the added mowing was an additional 3 hours of labor or 30.00. Times that by every three weeks for five months, that's equivalent to about 6.50 times or 195.00. Not counting the 4 hours travel there and back to purchase it. Gas, oh, and the lunch I got on the road. Granted, the mower lasted me three years, but all toll it cost me 585.00 in added "labor" over that time, but it only cost 25.00! How familiar does that sound...
Wow, the crazy things we do in our 20's and how pennywise, pound foolish I was in the end. Some would call these the hard knocks of life, and we learn from these life lessons but do we? It is amazing how they still creep into our lives even in retirement. For example, just retiring 3-5 years later than 62 can boost your Social Security Payout by 25%.
So what you say?
That can be equivalent to buying two or even three lawnmowers a month for some people and I am meaning NEW lawnmowers. Think of all the lawns you could have cut with that; one could start a lawn mowing business.
But seriously, that savings can be all the difference in adding an extra month or two of living expenses per year to your long-term budget. That can go a long way as we continue to live longer, especially if you don't have a pension or 401K to fall back on and social security is all you have.
