I've decided to finally automate the living shit out of my finances.

@DeWayfarer That makes no sense. This is the epitome of responsibility and by using banking functionality to do it, it's ingenious.

@MarkPaul read this post...

https://similarworlds.com/finance/5172156-How-do-you-identify-expenses-that-can-be-reduced-eliminated

That's responsibility.

@DeWayfarer I am in control. I set up the payments, I set up my subscriptions, and I cancel things whenever I like. I'd rather spend my time and energy on actual important things like my work and my social life than punching in my debit card number to pay off my power bill or whatever.

@BlueVeins I am not going to argue with you on personal preferences.

It still prevents learning responsibilities.

Yes it's easier your way. Yet it doesn't teach you anything about finances. They don't want you to learn. That's why it's easier.

@DeWayfarer That twenty-something generation always likes the convenience of technology. That's why they will never succeed. And if technology ends up being affected or eliminated, they will be the ones left way behind. They will never be able to cope. They like it easy. Someone else doing things for them. I work with one of them at one job. They prefer their social life and shopping and video games over anything else in life. Makes me shake my head at how little they think.

@DeWayfarer Your way, you are wasting your time doing manual activity under the false premise the act of doing it manually is somehow the only way to learn a lesson. It's a good way to avoid working smarter. Our way, we have taken the responsible action once and freed up our time to do even more responsible things by letting automation repeat the action over and over again. It's like saying if you use a washing machine to clean your clothes you are not learning how to take care of your things unless you wash your clothes down by the creek with a washboard and good old elbow grease. It's literally insane.

@MarkPaul I was fortunate. I once was taught how to wash my clothes on a wash board. Also learned to sow buttons on my clothes and a little more than that.

I have had to use those skills over my lifetime. Not that I always did so.

Will your generation be able to when you can't do so? 🤷🏻‍♂

Can you even change your own oil on the car that you don't fully own?

I learned to put a motorcycle together from a crate at 16. And I owned it outright new.

@DeWayfarer I also don't know how to order and put a block of ice in an ice box, how to repair a mangled stagecoach wheel, and how an 8-track cassette (or whatever it was called) works or why it even existed. I suppose I could figure out how to operate a rotary dial landline phone, but not sure what relevance that would have.

@MarkPaul the relevance is that I OWNED it! I knew how to fix whatever! That's less costs .. again the link that I gave! Less cost!

@DeWayfarer Here's a newsflash for you. It costs nothing (0.0) to set up the automatic deposits and payments with the bank. There are no fees, no surcharges, and no tariffs. So, your problem with it is making less and less sense. It's not as complicated as your fears are making it seem to you.

@MarkPaul responsibilities is not easier! They are harder to learn. If you know how you're not going to spend anything and still own it.

The link I gave is very similar. The guy wants to learn how to spend less. That's a responsible behavior.

You want some newer modern examples? I fixed my own microwave! I didn't spend the money for a new one. Same with a Mr coffee maker!

The microwave cost me 50 cents for a darn fuse. The coffee maker only my own time

@DeWayfarer I think I see your problem. You think we are letting the bank make the decision on what we spend and save. No. We have made all those decisions in the initial set-up and we remain fully in control of the allocations and algorithms we are using to direct where our funds go. We are applying responsible money management principles. Do you follow? We have only removed having to take the same actions over and over again with mindless abandon.

Let me ask you something. When you pay your bills do you use a bank, do you use the mail (or the Internet)? Because if you do, I am wondering how responsible you are, using your crazy-ass metrics, if you are not hauling yourself into each physical place where you owe money to pay them in-person, in-cash? Unless you don't buy and pay for services at all, I suspect you use some 19th century modern conveniences (banking, mail) that someone from the 18th century might seem as reckless and lazy. Do you follow?

@DeWayfarer You can buy a cheap microwave AND have your savings automated.

@MarkPaul I don't believe you on the spending. If you have that many bills you can't be spending less

That's irresponsible behavior.

As to banking online I actually do have a online banking account. Social security is pushing it. My bills are only rent and utilities through the property owner though.

Even this cellphone and provider is free! Yes I had to sign up online! That's it!

BTW I have even had to do video interviews online.

Yet that is nothing new to me either!

I built my own computer in 1989!

@BlueVeins guy the only reason why I have a new microwave now is because my old one was stolen! Even that had to be worth something to be stolen.

@PoetryNEmotion I kind of agree in general, but we're talking about setting up a tool to automatically save money. That's the opposite of recklessly spending. Technology can be a tool for wasting money on Temu shit, but it can also be a tool for financial responsibility.

@BlueVeins I have not changed my words here to my friend nor regarding you. You take the easy way out because you can. I agree with what DeWayfarer said. He's very intelligent. I have learned this many years ago. None of my inner circle from EP are stupid. I think you likely haven't learned enough about priorities in life. Learning is better than settling. Institutions like to make money off people who cannot think for themselves.

@PoetryNEmotion I don't waste time and energy on things that can be done in better and simpler ways. I don't carry water from the river to wash my dishes when I can simply turn on my faucet. I don't wash every single one of my dishes by hand when the dishwasher in my apartment can do it much more efficiently and effectively. I don't forge my own replacement keys by hand on the occasion that I need one, because they can be made very quickly and cheaply my machines designed for that purpose. If you want to do these things, that's perfectly fine. If you enjoy doing things in harder ways or perhaps have found some edge case personal benefit, more power to you. But if you believe these things somehow make you better than everyone else just because they are more time consuming, your arrogance is only hurting yourself.

@BlueVeins there's a difference between doing something all the time and not being able to do something at all.

Not being able to do things is irresponsible because of the frame of mind.

It not the frequency that you do things that truly matters. It's that you can do so at all.

I gave specific examples only to show there is a multitude of things I know how to do. Being responsible is not spending the money!

Do you really need certain things or not? And can you spend less as opposed to spending more is being RESPONSIBLE!

Being able to do things is only a consequence of being responsible!

It's the frame of mind that makes anyone responsible or not!

We live in a throw away society. That is a frame of mind that is irresponsible to the environment all by itself.

@DeWayfarer Any human being om this planet can make bank transfers manually. Its so easy a well-trained chimp could probably do it. I've done it a million times before, it's not a meaningful learning opportunity in any way.

And as Mark pointed out, none of this costs money. In fact, the bank pays you to keep money in savings.

@BlueVeins again you are looking at the wrong side of the equation.

Being responsible leads to abilities.

Which costs less. Nothing or a 50% discount a $150 item. The responsibility leads to the ability to pay nothing.

@DeWayfarer Manually transferring funds in a bank account does not make you responsible.

@DeWayfarer If we take you at your word, being able to till the land manually, being able to gin cotton without the cotton gin, being able to hitch horses to a wagon, being able to churn butter, walk 2 miles in the snow uphill both ways to return a library book, being able to write letters with a quill pen, and being able to suffer through pain (and death) without modern medicine are all skills worth retaining in defiance of technological improvements. Yet, you seem to stop at skills that you apparently learned in your romanticization of the past... your own past... based on your own personal life experiences.

You can choose to live like an Amish farmer if you wish for the joy and satisfaction for which you seem to want to pat yourself on the back. That's okay, if you are getting joy and satisfaction from doing so. But, to judge everyone else by that same (dare I say) obsessive standard seems self-serving at best and neurotic at worst... no shade. The problem is, you only seem to want to judge people on skill maintenance for skills you have deemed worth retaining. So, there is that flaw with your obsession.

Holding on to skills that are dear to you is sentimental and let's be clear, there is nothing wrong with that... if it brings you joy. But, the skills you are holding up as indicators for responsibility are only meaningful to you; they are not universal. If you believe using technology to perform mundane banking, bill paying and other money management tasks (like saving) is eradicating responsibility then you need to take an honest assessment of your life and start churning your own butter because by letting someone else do it for you is irresponsible. Instead, I recommend you reflect on the danger and psychological damage you are doing to yourself by remaining stuck in, "that's the way we have always done it." There is a whole new world of wonder for you to explore. There is nothing redeeming or sane in doing time-wasting tasks manually that can be automated.

@BlueVeins
Exactly! Nor does electronic transfers. NEITHER doesn't give you ABILITIES!

Freeing your time up is not a ability.

@DeWayfarer Nor does turning on the faucet to get water. The point of freeing up time is (in part) to focus on other things that are more important, like studying, cooking, and reconnecting with loved ones.