In Link Love

In the world of Save. Spend. Splurge.


The perfect kick in the ass post that everyone NEEDS to read, it would solve so many of our society’s self-entitled problems.

Couldn’t have said it better myself.



Just guess how this snow art was created…!


I find it a bit ironic that the Chinese are the biggest luxury spenders yet they are the ones who really kickstarted this low-labour sweatshop-like factory movement which we all find to be a problem now.

The gap between the rich and the poor there is really astronomical, and it boggles my mind that they don’t see they’re greedily profiting at the expense of their own countrymen.

Speaking of the Chinese, this method to stay awake while studying by Chinese students is funny, but is it really healthy or a sign of ‘intelligence’?

Not in the slightest.



I don’t think they (or any student in any country like that particularly ones in Asia) are any smarter than those who DON’T resort to such extreme measures to study — it’s just a question of time and effort being put in and it isn’t impressive in the slightest.

So you can memorize stuff. Big effin’ deal.

Can you innovate and create something you have never learned or seen before?

Can you think outside of a box that you never knew you had structured around you?

Can you see a problem and organically solve it without a textbook?

Someone who can learn the material in 5 hours is smarter than someone who spends the equivalent of 2 whole days studying it.

To put it another way, it is as impressive as someone who earns $200,000 a year but has to work 100+ hour workweeks to do so. Another person who earns $50,000 a year but works only 20 hours a week is far more intelligent in my eyes.

$200,000 / 100 hours a week x 50 weeks = $40 / hour with no life to speak of

$50,000 / 20 hours a week x 50 weeks =  $50/hour AND he/she has a life and free time to boot

Sure, the the first person makes more money net, but at what cost?

I’d rather have more time than money and live reasonably well but not extravagantly (e.g. taking cabs which to me is very extravagant).

You can always make more money.

You can always put in more time to study and be “smarter” .. the trick is to actually BE smarter about working and studying which is something I think these Asian countries are missing completely.


After 70 years of searching, this woman finally gets to meet the solider who liberated her from a Nazi concentration camp.


Dolphins are a bunch of drug addicts after all!


Just watch this video about this 14-year old girl who bought a house….

…and feel immensely horrible about your financial prowess because she just PUTS YOU (and 99.99999% of people in the U.S. and Canada) TO SHAME.

Pure. Shame. *hangs head*


Fashion + Business + Money? Sign me up. This woman is incredible.


Next time you want to avoid something, try using hidden elves as an excuse. Seems to work in Iceland.


We’re back to saying: “SCREW COLLEGE“. Yep. Definitely still not paying for my kids’ college educations.

Who needs a college degree anyway? It doesn’t mean that if you have one you have any skills worth paying for?

As I read and posted from this book (How children succeed) a while back, it’s grit and conscientiousness that makes the difference, not IQ.



I truly hate loathe Kia cars (I drove plenty-a-Kia when I rented them while traveling), but this commercial was really adorable.


What a historical treasure….although it makes my inner PF blogger a little squeamish that she paid all these years without ever going back.

I mean.. REALLY? *sigh* All that money… wasted and not invested properly.


Don’t ever judge someone by their appearances alone. What a heartwarming story.


.. I am in shock that we’re considered the most educated country in the world.

I fear for the rest of the world then because if we’re the benchmark, I think we’re pretty dumb when it comes to basic money things such as:

So yes, maybe we know how to read and write, and pass tests (somewhat, considering the spelling and grammar errors I see around me on a daily basis), but I’m not impressed in the slightest.

A college degree doesn’t mean jack squat in my eyes.


Speaking of jobs, want to know if yours made it to the most stressful / least stressful of 2014?

I personally would not want to any of these jobs, even the least stressful ones. They do not appeal to me in the slightest, although it is preferable to working at minimum wage your entire life if you can hack it.


This 39-year old executive dates a 17-year old and wonders if age is an issue

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Sherry of Save. Spend. Splurge.

I got out of $60,000 of debt in 18 months using Since then, I have worked 50% of my career (taking 1-2 year breaks), and quadrupled my income within 2 years of graduating, going from $65K to $260K (savings rate = 85%). I could retire today if I wanted, but love my work-life balance as a freelancing consultant in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). I also post daily on Instagram @saverspender.

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  1. Laurie @thefrugalfarmer

    Just love the story about the 14-year-old that bought a house, and the exec who’s dating a 17-year-old? YUCK. Dude, that’s just sick.

    1. save. spend. splurge.

      Tell me about it (re: 17 year old girlfriend). Makes me think of the movie Juno where the husband tries to hit on the teen who is pregnant to recapture his youth.

  2. Glen @ Monster Piggy Bank

    Those photos of the students are great!

    I understand your point about time in and effort vs creative thinking, but I do respect how much commitment they have to study and self improvement. It makes me feel like I should be more motivated than I currently am.

    1. save. spend. splurge.

      I don’t think it’s commitment and self improvement more than it is sheer FEAR that they will not make it in life. That kind of drive/ambition to have a better life is admirable but also sick.

  3. Andrew@LivingRIchCheaply

    One: Pretty cool post…thanks for sharing! 3: I agree that many in China seem to love those status symbols and luxury items…might be that “one child policy” now everyone has entitlement issues. As for greedily profiting at the expense of their countrymen…that happens everywhere (though I agree that there are many economic/political/social issues there). Happens more so when a country is industrializing. Much like the robber barons in the US back in the 19th century. I also agree that China is much better at copying products and making them cheaper rather than innovation…learning by rote is probably part of the reason. Those pics of students studying are crazy…while I agree that working harder doesn’t mean more intelligent…I think many U.S students aren’t willing to work that hard which is why there is a demand for many jobs requiring technical skills which are filled by foreigners.

    1. save. spend. splurge.

      I try to do these roundup posts once a month because there are such great links to share!!

      True — you make a good analogy / point with the robber barons back in the 19th century.

      The thing about China copying a lot of products is that they don’t really make them better. They’re cheaper, but cheaper does not necessarily mean better.

      They can copy and make a cheap, crappy version of it, but they can’t necessarily make a good, high quality copy of it if it is something very technical (a laptop for instance). Therein lies the rub for me — it just LOOKS the same, but it is of a lower quality because of the materials used and the unskilled labour as well.

      Good point about not wanting to work hard — I see that foreigners are a lot hungrier than natives, even hustling for $100 seems like a hassle to a lot of people who have grown up here, whereas $100 is $100 and seems like a fortune to many others.

      (I see a penny as being worth a penny. I still pick them up off the ground and I don’t really need to.)

  4. Kandice @ The Simple Year

    Damn, that teenager that bought the house is a badass. I’m going to make my kids watch that clip.

  5. NZ Muse

    I’m not stressed about uni costs. They’re not an issue in NZ and if my kids want to study overseas, that’s cool, they can figure out how to fund it (and I’ll help them research but won’t pay for it.)

    The Chinese thing really fascinates me. On the one hand I KNOW how much poverty there is in China from certain things I’ve read and from friends who’ve been there. Yet there is also the growing middle and wealthy class, and a f*ckload of those people are coming to NZ, and a lot are buying property here in Auckland (no doubt pushing up prices even further). Or they send their kids here to study at uni, paying outrageous international student fees. When that’s what I see every day in NZ, it’s really hard to reconcile with the huge numbers back in small, poor villages that I know, theoretically, exist and are struggling to survive.

    1. save. spend. splurge.

      @NZ Muse: That’s true. There are very rich and the very poor but the majority of Chinese are not very rich. The ones that can afford to go abroad or move to another country (Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada, NZ, Australia are popular places to go), are the ones who are filthy rich.

  6. L

    That KIA commercial was adorable. I own a KIA and I also hate it but it is an economy car and I didn’t have to get a car loan, it is reliable for the most part.

    Speaking about how you don’t want to pay for your child’s college.

    I believe by the time your kid makes it to eighteen there will probably be more options. A lot of people have been questioning the expense and value of college, and the time it takes to complete a degree the average now for many is 5-6 years.

    We are also now starting to see MOCCs, online certificates, online badges and online portfolios as alternatives to college. Some colleges are now offering 3 year degrees. Georgia Institute of Technology will start offering a Masters in Computer Science for only $7,000.

    I like these options and we need more of them. It would be awesome if companies once again offered to train graduate students like they did in the past.

    There’s a girl who won $500,000 in college scholarships and wrote a book about it. So your child could also go after scholarships if they want.

    Here’s a video about her:

    1. save. spend. splurge.

      I am going to encourage my kids to think of trade professions. Everyone needs a plumber. That’s NOT going away.

      I am not a fan of online degrees however.. that’s something I think a lot of employers have a stigma against, and even if it’s only $7000 it could be $7000 for nothing.

      I will definitely be trying to get my kids to get grants and scholarships, trust me! Thanks for the video link 🙂

  7. La Tejana @ Debt Free Tejana

    I love your writing style! And the Kia Spectra is the best! My little car has been plugging away for years now despite my really wonderful (if you could use cross out in comments it would go over that last word) driving skills.

    And as a teacher, grit is what it is all about. So many students are used to getting things their way all the time and need to learn how to deal with the sh*t life can through at you.

    1. save. spend. splurge.

      Thank you so much for the (very) kind compliment.

      I have not had the same experience with a Kia, but at least you love your car!

  8. Clarisse @ Make Money Your Way

    I so love this blog, especially the Chinese students! I couldn’t believe that they would do that method just to stay awake!


    Kick ass first article as it makes me feel like I can help that bleeding person because I stayed at a holiday inn. Glad you liked my article, I agree with you that people bitch too much.

    1. save. spend. splurge. We’re all a bunch of whiners 🙂


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