Entertaining banter, but silly at best. I'm an old fart, fixing to be sixty-six come this December, and my parents were raised during the great depression by farmers and ranchers; my father flew Mustangs over Germany during WWII protecting the B-17's bombing the crap out of the German factories and whatever else is in the way. They taught me many lessons on life so, I'm going to pass along a couple that I think appropriate to the conversation.
The first thing is never to envy; it is the path to discontent. Besides, wealth is relevant, isn't it? I retired early to take care of my disabled daughter because her mother is batshit crazy with bi-polar disorder. I get a measly $1548 a month before they take out a $146 premium for my medicare; this plus my daughter's SSI disability check, we do okay. I also have a side gig, from home, maintaining an inventory system I wrote while I was still running my business (before retiring) that makes me some good extra coin. We live in a shithole 2-bedroom apartment, but it's a cheap shithole for $565/month where everything else is $850 plus in this hood. I own both my Jeeps, Bought them used, cash, and fixed them up as I could, didn't take long. My point is because I live cheap, and not beyond my means; I consider my self wealthy beyond my own expectations because I don't owe anyone a dime! I can do what I want when I want to do it. I sold my sailboat back in January, broke my heart, I love to sail, but too old to sail her by myself anymore, and not appropriate to live in with my daughter, too cramped. We're saving up to rig up a used class C, a cheap fixer-upper, and going Nomad for as long as we want. And that brings up my second lesson; neither a borrower nor lender be. My first wife drove me to bankruptcy with credit, and while paying my way back out of debtors hell, I swore never to go there again, and to this date, I've not borrowed a penny! I do it in the old fashioned way, I have a savings account, and because I live cheaply, I can save a lot of money real fast. The last thing I'll add is that patience is a virtue, and nothing could be truer, remember that if you remember anything. Save your money, shop around, and keep your eye out for a good deal, and have the cash-money to make the deal.
When I spend my money, I buy the best I can afford, new, from a reputable firm, with a warranty, and I'll save up for it. Yeah, every now and then, you can find a deal at a pawn shop, but a pawn shop is not in the business of good deals contrary to popular belief; they're in the business of making money. Craigslist is a better option, it's a human nature thing, and I'll explain why that is if you're curious. I worked at a pawn shop in Slidell, Louisiana for a year; the owner was a friend of my present, or third wife, who is batshit crazy. It was one of the most interesting jobs I ever had, and I've had a variety of interesting jobs I can assure you. You're rarely going to get a good deal at a pawn shop, take my word for it.
