Comments on: Why do delusional people think their spending will be different than other people’s?

By: The Best of Black Coffee: 43 of the Worst Personal Finance Articles of 2009

The Best of Black Coffee: 43 of the Worst Personal Finance Articles of 2009 — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:12:44 +0000

[...] Will Teach You to Be Rich – Ramit had a provocative post asking why delusional people think their spending will be different from other folks. Isn’t that kind of obvious? They’re [...]

By: Credit Card Chaser

Credit Card Chaser — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 06:06:57 +0000

Ok, it looks like I am not allowed to put brackets into comments so what is missing from the above comment is:

“it’s not my fault – it’s my (parents/dog/whatever) ’s fault.”

By: Credit Card Chaser

Credit Card Chaser — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 06:05:22 +0000

@ Liz

“it’s very possible for young people to consciously make different financial decisions than their parents did.”

Couldn’t agree with your more on that point. One of the things that irks me the most about most financial discussions is the probability that someone will play the “it’s not my fault – it’s my ’s fault. I love your point though that no matter who you are and what your background or upbringing is – one can always take responsibility for their own actions and work to affect the change that they want (wow, that really sounded like it might digress into a really corny motivational speech for a second there so I will just stop typing … immediately)

By: Liz

Liz — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 01:04:34 +0000

I read a handful comments saying that young people are full of misguided optimism about how their financial future will be different from their parents’. It’s true, that many will follow that path, but I’m 20, in college, and seeing that all that I’ve learned about money and finance I learned from my parents, who are still living paycheck to paycheck in their mid-50s. Fortunately for me, I’ve REALIZED that I will follow in their footsteps unless I start taking my financial future into my own hands. My dad recommended that I open an IRA as soon as I am able to. I hope to do this (after I pay off my credit card debt) by the end of next year. I also bought Ramit’s book as a starting point to learn about my options and will probably buy many more in the next few years. My point is, it’s very possible for young people to consciously make different financial decisions than their parents did. So yes, I am optimistic. Yes, I am young. Yes, I will screw up a lot over the next 20, 30, 50 years. The major difference is that I’m learning early, and like Ramit says, I can start to save for the unexpected (or expected) now, rather than later.

By: Rosanne @ ComparedForMe

Rosanne @ ComparedForMe — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:08:52 +0000

I almost laughed out loud with your last sentence. This post really hits home. And I tend to agree that people become more conservative in their investments as they grow older.. they have responsibilities after all.

By: Sara

Sara — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 03:18:26 +0000

Kevin (62) — True, but I’m not talking really about the small, backyard weddings of yesteryear. Not many people have those these days, even those people who get all their friends and family to “help out.”

By: Black Coffee: My Favorite Blogs, Money News & Opinions #13

Black Coffee: My Favorite Blogs, Money News & Opinions #13 — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 00:33:08 +0000

[...] Will Teach You to Be Rich – Ramit had a provocative post asking why delusional people think their spending will be different from other folks. My short answer: because they’re, well, delusional! Am I right? But [...]

By: Kevin@OutOfYourRut

Kevin@OutOfYourRut — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 17:02:28 +0000

Sara (61)–According to people I know over the age of 70, that frugal wedding you’re describing, complete with donated stuff from family and friends was pretty normal not too long ago! They were called house weddings or backyard weddings.

We’ve gotten a bit over-indulgent with the Roman feasts that pass for weddings today. If that’s a preference, fine, but there are less extravagent ways to do it. And it might not even ruin the marriage

By: Sara

Sara — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:23:38 +0000

My favorite delusional commenters are definitely on the wedding post. I especially love the people who claim to do super awesome-but-frugal weddings (aka 200 people for 3K) by getting all their friends and family to “donate” stuff to your cause. That’s not frugal; that’s being an asshole taking advantage of the people who are your friends. Trust me — your grandma doesn’t want to spend your wedding day preparing food for your 200 friends when all of her family is gathered in one place.

Speaking of assholes, um, #57, a person who keys other people’s cars and sticks toothpicks in locks because he thinks the driver of said car is an asshole… is also an asshole.

Speaking of weddings, I am totally available for marriage to snarky Indian finance bloggers.

By: Kevin@OutOfYourRut

Kevin@OutOfYourRut — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:06:24 +0000

There’s a lot of good stuff in Ramit’s post, but the BMW corner is getting most of the attention in the comments.

Is it that we’re more passionate (and more likely to express an opinion) about things we don’t like than about things we do like???