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[–] Mechanicalmechanic 0 points 3 points (+3|-0) ago 

With the internet of information also brings the Internet of distraction. People have to WANT to do these things like you said. People crave that instant satisfaction that is granted when using social media and fast food. Education is "hard" for some people because it seems that not too many people want to learn. They will educate themselves for a profession but that is about it.

Even in a mechanical trade like ours there are quite a few lazy fatties who will install and service heating/cooling equipment but couldn't be bothered to change the oil in their own car let alone any other mechanical maintenance. The point is time spent in a profession is rewarded with payment vs time spent on personal development has such a long term rate of return most people discount it's importance. It isn't until a person is 60 with heart problems, diabetes, and high blood pressure that they say "Damn maybe I should have eaten better and exercised when I was younger"

The old saying "A penny saved is a penny earned" is lost now a days. If I save $30 on an oil change (I run mobil 1 synthetic, Mercedes) that means I now have an additional $30 to then invest/save/spend. The "modern" way of financial thinking is tuned more to make as much as you can professionally so that you can afford to have everything else done for you. Their thought would be "I have a Mercedes so clearly I can afford to pay someone to change my oil."

In my previous analogy where "clearly I can afford" the very definition of "afford" has different meaning. The "old way" was to pay for things if you had money and try to stretch your money as far as possible. The "new way" is to make payments. If you can make the payments you can "afford" something. The banks satisfy the need for many people to get that instant satisfaction which is another behavior that undermines the value of hard work.

I feel a need to justify myself after stating my position. My Mercedes is a 2003 E500 that I bought a year ago. It has 110K miles on it and I paid 7500 for it. I had a car budget of 8k. I looked at a lot of vehicles but high mileage luxury vehicles are often in much better condition and end up being a better value due to people trading them in for low values because "I can afford the payments on that new shiny thing". The car has a few minor issues that I have been addressing as time and money permits, I am a mechanic after all. We are a one car, one income, 2 kid family. I have a company service vehicle for my work transportation. Every time I save money by doing the work myself it's money that gets added to savings for our house. We are nutrition conscious, vegan and runners. My wife does all the cooking since she is stay at home. We eat out rarely and prepare a majority of our food at home, purchasing minimal ready to eat foods from the store except veggies.

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[–] Unsung_Heroes_again [S] 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

I do not trust fat mechanical contractors. I have seen so many fucked up half assed things during my inspections, it is honestly scary (job 2 weeks ago the fatfuck put 2 RTU's in backwards, when i tell him his supplies are now returns he countered with "maybe the fan is just running backwards" /sigh). Absolutely agree with you that Americans are in it for the short term, the feel goods and instant gratification.

And nah no need to justify yourself bud, each their own.

I am a little eccentric, I hiked from Ohio to Montana a few years ago, and before I left I sold or gave away almost all of my personal posessions. Everything I own now fits in the back of a car. When I told the company I was moving to Austin, they asked what I would need to move.

Laughed and said "4 tanks of gas" and didnt realize how weird that sounded until people started questioning me. But yup. Camping/backpacking gear, a computer/monitor, tools, and clothes, all of my worldly posessions as of now!