Posted on 09/25/2025 5:56:16 AM PDT by CIB-173RDABN
Subscription models (SaaS) have become the worst. “Own nothing and be happy”.
Great post. Worthy of broader distribution
In the ‘50s, capital items were built to last a lifetime. Sure, you may end up missing out on 50 years on innovation, but that Craftsman drill still runs. Today’s society is practically disposable. New things, new versions of things keep coming. Try giving old, but still useful items to your kids. They don’t want them! Leasing actually makes more sense than owning many things. Not saying I like it. I prefer ownership. Many modern items defy repair. Often cheaper to throw away and replace. It is a much different world today than when we were starting out.
“Great post. Worthy of broader distribution.”
Absolutely, this author is on a roll and going places...
What I appreciate the most is tackling topics no one wants to even discuss or talk about because it is reality. No one wants to hear reality, they ignore it, too real.
Well done... :)
May I have permission to repost this in another forum and attribute it back to you here on the FR?
This is one of the best pieces I have read in a long time that addresses personal responsibility...
Good info. Useful references to alternative services.
I stopped upgrading photoshop after cs5 because it went to subscription only. Cs5 works perfectly well, and i dont n3ed an account to access it because it is mine, bought and paid for.
The only yearly subscription we ever had really was norton’s security suit. (Which now is not necessary). There are plentyof great pay for to own softwares for those that require a subscription.
Well i guess things like insurance, rent internet can be co sidered “subscriptionc based”, so yeah we have those, but i dont even have a credit card... though i do have debit card, but no fees attached to it unless overspend, which i never do.
I have five credit cards. Two are for my business. Three are personal. Of those one is never used it is only for an apocalyptic emergency. My wife and I each have one just to keep track of our use separately. All cards are paid every month on the 1st. I get about $1,500 a year in cash back from the cards. No interest paid and $1,500 cash back, not a bad deal.
This is and should be a substantial warning.
If the two primary lists are examined (1950 vs 2025) an overwhelming number of the 2025 items are “wants” and not “needs” (with a few being partial needs). This is an important distinction.
However, if the core concern is “Installment” living, look again at the 1950’s list. Every one of the items in the 1950’s list is an installment. The multiple utility bills are deliberately collapsed to a “utilities” category. But couldn’t many of the 2025 on-line items be collapsed into an “entertainment” category? (Ripe for elimination!) Trying to sensationalize this problem with deliberately dissimilar lists undermines the introductory writing a bit, at least for me.
As for the rest? Thank you! Absolutely, it is vital to pay careful attention to where your money is going. Eliminate expensive “wants” and look for less expensive ways to address both “needs” and the “wants” you decide to keep. Pay down debt, use credit wisely if at all, save and invest. This article has a great list of recommendations.
As Dave Ramsey says; If you live like no one else now, you will be able to live like no one else in your retirement.
Cheers!
Regular old electric corded drills.
Reminds me of the change when we changed from Briggs to Honda mowers, and I switched from SAE 30 Briggs speced to Exxon Mobil’s Mobil 1 5w-40 turbo diesel truck or a high ZDDP spec racing oil. Even Briggs say use 15W-50 oil. Biden ran Honda out of the gas mower business.
I also switched to using either canned unoxygenated fuels at hardware stores, but prefer either Sunoco or VP Racing Fuel’s unleaded unoxygenated race fuels, abandoning ethanol-laced fuels. Walmart sells VP Racing Fuel in a can. For mowers, to last longer, use Mobil 1 Racing 0W-50 or Supercar 5w-50 oils since the ZDDP is an advantage.
Yep, tbey zre necessary for some... ive never needed one personally, but can see the benefits of having them. I dont even have a cell phone- am pe4f3ctly content without one, and hopefully will never need one.
Grew up without one, never had a problem where i needed one. I can see the benefit of convenience especially for business owners and families to keep in touch, but personally i just wanna ger trhough kife not needing one. There may come a time when it is impossible, or extremely inconvenient to not have one, but. For now, that time is not here for me anyways.
My ideologies personally lean toward free market capitalism.
However, I don’t consider artificial scarcity to be “free market”.
Free markets is being able to row your boat to the edge of the harbor and cast a line to bring a few fish back to the open market to sell them along side the shops of the the big trawlers and netcasters.
Artificial Scarcity is running for mayor and passing a law to create a commercial fish licensing commission with punitive fees so only big operations who donate to your campaign can fish there.
Subscription services are the most desired forms of business because they create a constant revenue stream and don’t rely on demand, and thus aren’t as subject to sales fluctuations.
Because of that, many businesses try to rig the game as much as possible. That entails controlling the large producers (or artists if you are talking about media) as well as the distribution networks, and forcing the consumers to pay repeatedly rather than just buy to own.
You don’t own the music you buy anymore, even if you can hold a CD or DVD in your hands. You are merely licensed to play it.
In my opinion, this crap should be illegal.
Scarcity should only be subject to the intrinsic rarity of a product, and should not be controlled, particularly using the controlled by the collusion of the government (often falling under the guise of “intellectual property”)
However, if the core concern is “Installment” living, look again at the 1950’s list. Every one of the items in the 1950’s list is an installment. The multiple utility bills are deliberately collapsed to a “utilities” category. But couldn’t many of the 2025 on-line items be collapsed into an “entertainment” category? (Ripe for elimination!) Trying to sensationalize this problem with deliberately dissimilar lists undermines the introductory writing a bit, at least for me.
Yes, the 1950s list could be consider “subscription”. However there was no “entertainment” subscription (except for magazines and newspapers) in the 1950s. Entertain was paid as you go.
I should also note that eating out was not yet a thing, when traveling it was a necessity, but not day to day, and certainly there were no “starbucks” either. I personally think a lot of money could be saved by just not eating out.
People today spend a lot of money on things that either did not exist or were unthinkable (paying someone to deliver your fast food lunch being one of them).
“Trying to sensationalize this problem with deliberately dissimilar lists undermines the introductory writing a bit, at least for me.”
There was no effort to “sensationalize” anything. It is a very short essay on the difference between household economic from the 1950s and today. Certainly not meant to be a deep dive into the subject. The point of the essay was to bring up something that explains how previous generations were able to have the “American Dream” and the current generation are struggling. It is not their fault, the Dream is still being pushed, but the rules had changed.
Very few Americans were in debt in the 1950s simply because credit was not easily available. Stores had “lay away” plans for those that had only so much extra money. Lay away simply meant you would pay the store in small amount and when the item was paid for, you got to take it home.
So sorry I did not make it clear in the beginning.
-The Hermit-
ping for later
Mail has never been free. What a silly thing to say.
PRICE OF SUCH PRE-OILED FUEL IS VERY HIGH.
OLDER RETIREES CANNOT BE SPENDING WISELY.
I DRIVE OLD IRON. I SUE RED LINE LEAD ADDITIVE & OCTANE BOOSTER FOR BOTH VEHICLES. NO ISSUES.
BEATS PAYING ANYTHING FOR A NEW VEHICLE.
GET STATIC ABOUT HOW MUCH COSMETIC WORK EACH VEHICLE NEEDS.
LOOKED UP A CHEVY SUBURBAN-—THE CLOSEST TO MY BUICK STATION WAGON. A USED ONE-—2 YEARS OLD==17,000 miles was listed for $75,000 PLUS & SALE TAX ON TOP OF THAT & ALSO TAGS. NUTS!!!!
I CAN RESTORE MY BUICK FOR ALOT LESS....AND I LIKE MY BUICK HAVE HAD IT 44 YEARS.
Mail was free
The U.S. Postal Service **stopped routinely delivering mail without stamps (with the recipient paying postage due) in the late 1970s to mid-1980s.
By the late 1980s, this practice was essentially obsolete for everyday mail.
So in the 1950s it was acceptable to send a letter or even a payment via the mail without paying postage (free for the sender) with the person receiving it expected to pay.
I am an old man, and sometimes remember things that others don’t. Thanks for catching me out, I will tray and be more careful in the future.
Later
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