money What is a lot of money to you?

[gal-m]

I'll try to keep this simple and short: I was just watching this Byte Size Tech video, because I am sometimes interested in this channels point of view on all things tech and thought to myself: what do people around the world consider to be a large about of money?

If you think about it, even though the internet is essentially yesterdays news, as it has now become a part of everyday life for most people, I still sometimes find it absolutely mesmerising how interconnected the majority of the world is nowadays, yet how it differs so much..

 

I think that in the world of technology the true value of money is quickly forgotten. We often forget how privileged some of us may be and how hard others have to work.. While I agree that you are who you are and that you live where you live, I still believe it's sometimes important to put yourself in someone else's shoes. 

 

Maybe this discussion could serve as a safe and neutral space for people to try and understand other people, which is important in the world of tech and especially in regards to this forum (recommendations, prices of tech, etc.) 

[whm1974]

Well even in same Nation, everyone has different Values for Money. 

[PlayStation 2]

A lot of money to me would be the point where me and @pinksnowbirdie own a house and I have a 2006 E55 wagon in the spec I want.

That would be a lot of money.

[gal-m]

21 minutes ago, whm1974 said:

Well even in same Nation, everyone has different Values for Money

 

18 minutes ago, PlayStation 2 said:

A lot of money to me would be the point where me and @pinksnowbirdie own a house and I have a 2006 E55 wagon in the spec I want.

That would be a lot of money

True @whm1974 & @PlayStation 2. But what about in reference to tech?

 

For example: to me spending, let's say, $700 after two years to upgrade a GPU is A LOT of money that I prob. wouldn't be comfortable spending. The vast majority of my friends would prob. think the same.

 

In general $500 regardless of purchase is A LOT of money. I live in Slovenia (Europe).

[PlayStation 2]

2 minutes ago, gal-m said:

 

True @whm1974 & @PlayStation 2. But what about in reference to tech?

 

For example: to me spending, let's say, $700 after two years to upgrade a GPU is A LOT of money that I prob. wouldn't be comfortable spending. The vast majority of my friends would prob. think the same.

 

In general $500 regardless of purchase is A LOT of money. I live in Slovenia (Europe).

In reference to tech? Being able to effortlessly blow a grand just on one part. Simple as that. It took me quite some time to dump $600+ on a sufficient upgrade on my PC as a whole, god forbid I could ever blow a grand just on one part.

[whm1974]

1 minute ago, gal-m said:

 

True @whm1974 & @PlayStation 2. But what about in reference to tech?

 

For example: to me spending, let's say, $700 after two years to upgrade a GPU is A LOT of money that I prob. wouldn't be comfortable spending. The vast majority of my friends would prob. think the same.

 

In general $500 regardless of purchase is A LOT of money. I live in Slovenia (Europe).

And I live on a Fix income. So I can related.

[WhitetailAni]

In reference to tech?
Justifying spending $200 on a combo floppy drive or a 3.5" ED floppy drive.

[gal-m]

6 minutes ago, FakeKGB said:

Justifying spending $200 on a combo floppy drive or a 3.5" ED floppy drive

I still remember my mom bringing me games on floppy drives when I was kid, after she came home from work.. 

Damn.. I kind of miss the old days @FakeKGB

[whm1974]

Just now, FakeKGB said:

In reference to tech?
Justifying spending $200 on a combo floppy drive or a 3.5" ED floppy drive.

How far back are We going? The FDDs for the 8 bit Microcomputers were really expensive. Which is Audio Cassettes were used.

[WereCatf]

11 minutes ago, gal-m said:

But what about in reference to tech?

While the question wasn't aimed at me, I consider even just 100€ to be a lot of money.

[kelvinhall05]

It doesn't just depend on the person, also depends on what they're buying. 10k for a house is relatively cheap for basically anyone, and 5k for a computer is expensive for most people.

[gal-m]

4 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

I consider even just 100€ to be a lot of money

To me @WereCatf e.g. spending 20EUR on lunch gives me something to think about. Though it has to be said food in Slovenia isn't as expensive as it is in other parts of Europe, e.g. Austria, Germany, etc.

 

The normal ("non fancy") mean I'd say costs somewhere around 14EUR (main course with a soft drink).

[gal-m]

4 minutes ago, kelvinhall05 said:

10k for a house is relatively cheap for basically anyone, and 5k for a computer is expensive for most people

Agreed @kelvinhall05, which is why I'm trying to aim this at tech, e.g. spending money on computer parts/computers & other tech.

[WhitetailAni]

16 minutes ago, gal-m said:

I still remember my mom bringing me games on floppy drives when I was kid, after she came home from work.. 

Damn.. I kind of miss the old days @FakeKGB

I never experienced them.

I grew up with a Phenom X3 (to X4) and Windows 7.

Though I did just buy some floppy disks for 1 cent from my grandpa.

[givingtnt]

What "a lot of money" is to you doesn't matter because we're all (yes, even you who worked so hard to get to where you're at) factors of our environment.
And regardless it's all dependent on context.

is 20$ a lot ?
Well, it's enough to buy a lot of things, but generally not.

Is 20$ a lot when it comes to buying a single post stamp ?
Yes.

[TetraSky]

Depends where the money comes from.

If I'm just fixing a PC and the person decides to pay me $100, that's a LOT to me.

If I'm working 40 hours and get $400 for the week, that's not a lot.

 

But if we consider just a plain amount...10k is a lot.

But is it "comfortable for the rest of my life" a lot? Of course not. That would be closer to 1 million.

[handymanshandle]

1 hour ago, PlayStation 2 said:

A lot of money to me would be the point where me and @pinksnowbirdie own a house and I have a 2006 E55 wagon in the spec I want.

That would be a lot of money.

mmm that'd be nice

 

[Arika]

Having worked in a bank for 10 years, 5 of which was as a teller, I fear I've become desensitised to money. It was not uncommon to look at a wad of cash and just think "probably a few thousand that I now have to count" 

 

And even now dealing with accounts that have more than most people will ever see. 

 

When it comes to my own finances I do not live beyond my means. I like to keep a nest egg of a few months of living expenses in savings just in case. Which is how I decide to make purchases. 

[Rybo]

For me, it comes down entirely to what I'm spending the money on.  I just agreed to a $700 per month lease on a car because I like having a cool car.  I also recently sold my $1,800 per month house because the benefits of living in it weren't worth the money I was spending on it.  I'm now renting a room from a friend for like $600 a month and am completely content with it.  

Compare this to my behavior with comparatively minor purchases: I got a Noctua NH-D15 cooler for $100 instead of the Chromax Black version for $200 because the extra $100 just wasn't worth it to me, even though I'm looking at a set of tan fans and silver fins in an otherwise blacked out computer case all day.  I have a normal SATA m.2 drive instead of an nVME drive for much the same reason -- didn't want to spend double on a drive, even though that cost will be amortized over at least 5 years.  

I then turn around and drop $300 to treat a group of friends to dinner or some other activity because I place extremely high value on that experience.  That money could have gotten me higher quality computer components that would have lasted years! 

So all I can really surmise is that we each have our priorities with the things we spend our money on.  Some will look logical; others will look patently insane.  I suspect we're all like this to some extent, and mastering those impulses will go a good way toward making you more financially responsible.  

[gal-m]

18 hours ago, givingtnt said:

What "a lot of money" is to you doesn't matter because we're all (yes, even you who worked so hard to get to where you're at) factors of our environment.
And regardless it's all dependent on context

That is true @givingtnt

 

18 hours ago, TetraSky said:

Depends where the money comes from

True @TetraSky

16 hours ago, Arika S said:

Having worked in a bank for 10 years, 5 of which was as a teller, I fear I've become desensitised to money. It was not uncommon to look at a wad of cash and just think "probably a few thousand that I now have to count"

Now THAT is a very interesting perspective on things @Arika S

 

13 hours ago, Rybo said:

For me, it comes down entirely to what I'm spending the money on.  

So all I can really surmise is that we each have our priorities with the things we spend our money on.  Some will look logical; others will look patently insane.  I suspect we're all like this to some extent, and mastering those impulses will go a good way toward making you more financially responsible.  

Agreed @Rybo

 

How much do you guys usually spend on tech, like building a new computer? How often do you upgrade your components?

I think this is a very relevant and interesting question in reference to what this (tech forum) is all about. Of course this all depends on what each person expects their computer to do for them.

[Rybo]

Just now, gal-m said:

How much do you guys usually spend on tech, like building a new computer? How often do you upgrade your components?

I think this is a very relevant and interesting question in reference to what this (tech forum) is all about. Of course this all depends on what each person expects their computer to do for them.

Until mid 2019, I was a luddite.  I had a GTX 1050 and an AMD FX8320 and was completely content with it.  

Then I played a PSVR, and it was on.  I wanted the best VR kit I could get my grubby little mitts on.  Er, for the most part.  The rig I put together would best be characterized as "pretty good" (Ryzen 7 3700x, x570 mobo, 16gb 3600 ram), but I did splurge on an RTX 2080 TI because of its like 20+% boost in VR performance.  And before the 3090's went from $1500 to $2100, I was willing to pay for one if I could find it.  

So the short version is that my pc cost about $2,300 in total, monitors and peripherals were another $800, vr rig (Valve Index) was $1,000.  All in pursuit of VR gaming bliss, which I have mostly achieved.  I'd still like to have the 3090, but I can afford to wait 'til it's broadly available and can be bought at MSRP.  

[Tristerin]

Alot of money to me, is when you can solve 99% of the problems an average person in the world would experience without a note that the issue arose.

 

I.E. total out your car, new car today/tomorrow latest - the accident isnt a problem because money solved it and didnt impact your day to day needs/desires/goals

 

For me, enough is when the saying "Its not a problem if you have enough money" covers most problems that arise.  

 

I am blessed and fulfilled however with my current income either way, and KNOW I am blessed when it comes to the world view.

[Helpful Tech Witch]

What is a lot of money?

Me weighing it between Bill Gates and DenFi

[Colty]

As a techie and someone who likes cars, anything above $500 is sort of my limit. $500 cpu/mobo upgrade is _fine_ for me. $500 GPU feels the same. Not super fun to see the $ go away, but fine. $500 car upgrades? Not a big deal. $400 winter tire set on my GF's car? That was big to her (she's a lot more frugal than me). I just spent over $700 on a PS5 bundle from Gamestop (extra controller, a couple games.) I had been anticipating that though, I knew I wanted to get one without paying a scalper and bundle remain in stock much longer, so I was ready for it. 

I buy $500-$1k beater cars and fix them up. I've got an older Jetta that I'm holding onto for my brother once he gets a permit. I'm giving it to him at cost of the few parts I had to replace plus my original purchase price and I got some use out of the car as well. I could definitely sell it and pocket $500, but that's not worth it when I know I can help out my family. 

In short, for me, no matter the item, it seems like $500 is the limit before I really need to ponder something. 

[gal-m]

1 hour ago, Rybo said:

So the short version is that my pc cost about $2,300 in total, monitors and peripherals were another $800, vr rig (Valve Index) was $1,000.  All in pursuit of VR gaming bliss, which I have mostly achieved.  I'd still like to have the 3090, but I can afford to wait 'til it's broadly available and can be bought at MSRP. 

I feel you there @Rybo.. I'm waiting on the 3080 Ti, but not sure if it'll ever release.

 

1 hour ago, Tristerin said:

For me, enough is when the saying "Its not a problem if you have enough money" covers most problems that arise.  

 

I am blessed and fulfilled however with my current income either way, and KNOW I am blessed when it comes to the world view.

Very powerful words @Tristerin. I agree with you. I too am blessed HOWEVER I need to admit I don't mind saying that I would not be where I am today without the help and support of my parents.

I truly am forever in their debt and am trying to make them proud every single day.

37 minutes ago, Colty said:

anything above $500 is sort of my limit. $500 cpu/mobo upgrade is _fine_ for me. $500 GPU feels the same. Not super fun to see the $ go away, but fine

@Colty I've always been used to paying somewhere around $300 - $500 on a CPU and somewhere from $200 - $300 for a motherboard and somewhere around $500 for a GPU, which for the longest time meant getting an Nvidia 80 series.. Prices nowadays are.. insane, seriously.

In 2012 I made the decision in 2012 to purchase an Intel Core i7-3930K (6 cores, 12 threads) CPU together with an ASUS Rampage IV Forumula (fabulous X79 chipset, quad channel, etc.) motherboard. It did sting a bit, however it was one of the best decisions ever in reference to computers, as the system is still holding its own after 9 years - remember, not much bottlenecking at higher resolutions, aka. 4K + no memory bottlenecking, since it's running 2133MHz RAM in quad channel - similar bandwidth to what you might see today with an Intel or AMD platform, from what I remember.

I also LOVE cars, but the numbers when it comes to cars tend to get higher, no doubt.

 

For me $500 for any single computer component is A LOT A LOT of money.. I don't mind spending quite a bit more every decade (in this case 9 years) and for the components lasting and serving me for a long time as well, but not often

 

What would bother me is e.g. spending let's say $700 for a GPU every couple (2, 3) of years.. (used GPU's here in Slovenia hold a pretty darn terrible resale value, so something like a $700 GPU would sell for around $300 in two or three years - that is up till last year).

For me, I really do expect high end components to last at least two or maybe three generations (4 - 6 years), however that usually, especially in the case of GPU's, doesn't happen, either due to swift evolution of technology or manufacturers forcing the consumer to upgrade prematurely (VRAM limitations when the chip would have been perfectly fine..)