the frugal way to save $10K
how i got so rich
Don’t tell me the price.
Today I walked into JB Hi-Fi and did something extremely off-brand for a woman who meal-preps quinoa and throws side-eye at $9 cauliflower. I told the sales guy: “Please don’t tell me the price and sell me the best sports earbuds you have.” I know. Who is she.
He handed me a pair of Powerbeats Pro 2 with ear hooks—the kind cool runners wear in ads where no one sweats. I filmed the purchase like a nerd with a selfie stick, strutted out like I’d just hacked capitalism, then checked the receipt.
Four. Hundred. Dollars.
Cue the immediate identity crisis in the carpark. My inner accountant curled up and died; my inner defend-your-stupidity said, “But they’re shiny and you’ll run faster.” Meanwhile, my “frugal nomad who lives out of a suitcase and dogsits for rent” personality was like, “Girl. Return them. Return them now.”
So I walk of shame back across the road, ready to undo my five-minute experiment in wealth theatre. The sales guy looks at me like I’m the worst content creator he’s ever met, and says, “Honestly, they’re the best value we’ve got in the ear-hook style. And you bought the three-year warranty. In two and a half years if there’s even the tiniest issue, we’ll give you a brand spankin' new pair.” He didn’t say brand spankin’ because only I say that.
Great. Now I’m trapped between two religions: Frugality where every dollar that wants to be spent must audition, and Not-Strangling-Money (because I believe letting your money go out to play gives it a chance to bring friends home). Here’s how I decided what to do, and it’s the same way I decide on everything these days:
Good for content.
Haha. Sort of. But also, I looked at it and thought, what’s the return on investment here?
Traditionally, I buy my hooked sports earbuds on Amazon for $30-$50, and no joke, they die every 12 months and I buy a new pair.
$400 is like 6 years worth of cheapo earbuds.
And the guy at the store said these could last over 10 years if I look after them, and also, WARRANTY BABY.
So I kept them. Not because I got hypnotised by a spec sheet, but because they passed the value test. And also I didn’t want to look like an idiot insisting on returning them.
Frugality isn’t being cheap; it’s being selective. Keeping them wasn’t about looking cool; it was about making my life cheaper in disguise. If an item saves me money in the long run, but costs me a little in the now, it’s a little easier to get it past my spending filters.
I have lots of money mantras around money and spending now. And with these magic mantras I have managed to save $10K and beyond. I noticed that it was trendy on YouTube to talk about how everything changes after you save $10K, so I decided to make a video about what changes AS you save $10K. I think the video really makes me look like a strange person. But oh well.
Can you watch it?
Here it is:
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Some people go to therapy, others journal, meditate or pray. I make videos👇👀👇👀👇👀👇👀 WATCH NOW
Over and out chicos.
PLEASE EXCUSE TYPOS.
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