"I beat the staff to death for 20 minutes to save $50 in fees and felt I made a great deal of money"

-01-

When one is poor, time is worthless.

I remember when I first graduated, I was still unemployed, casting around for resumes and interviewing for jobs, watching the route in advance, and planning my time. When the interview was over, I saw that the weather was nice and chose to walk back to my residence.

It wasn't that far, just a few buses stops away, but it took about five minutes by car and over half an hour on foot. For me at the time, time was worthless, and I felt I had earned it by saving 2 yuan on the bus fare.

When people are poor, they find ways to reduce their expenses. It's not being stingy, it's being forced to do so. Because that's all you have on hand, and if you don't plan or if you're a spendthrift, you're in for a rough ride.

I've never suffered from a lack of money since I was a kid, and I've never borrowed money from anyone, but I'm still very conscious of my worries. I would never spend money that I shouldn't. If you don't control your spending habits, you can become a moonlighter without realizing it.

Because my family was poor when I was young, and because of my parent's influence, I am now, and always have been, more rational and restrained, never spending impulsively. Other people are buying, but I don't buy if I can.

Even though I know I can't save much money, it's a lot of money that accumulates over time. Don't underestimate every time you spend without blinking, you'll regret it later.

-02-

A few days ago, I was about to pay off part of my mortgage early, so I thought I would put all my money from different places on one card. I was reminded of the daily limit of 3,000 yuan, I was dumbfounded, looking at the phone screen, the poor number, thinking that if this amount, I have to operate until when, and decided to go to the counter directly.

After I arrived at the counter, the staff told me that I would be charged a fee for large transfers like mine, with a single limit of 50 yuan. I heard, why should I give this 50 yuan fee ah, since the transfer fee, then withdraw cash.

The staff explained to me with a smile on their face that for large one-off withdrawals like mine, you need to make an appointment a week in advance. I couldn't. I had already taken a day off work to do this, so if I had to take another day off, it would be more than worth it.

When I heard that, the staff understood my difficulties and thought of increasing my daily transfer amount. With a little bit of work, I was finally able to get rid of this problem.

From the time I walked into the lobby to the time I stepped out, it took me about 40 minutes, and after the time spent on the previous transaction, it only took about 20 minutes to solve the problem. I felt that I had made a fortune.

At that moment, I felt that the sun was not too hot and that the sun shone on me in a way that made me feel comfortable, even if the ear-splitting sound of the horn was not so annoying and annoying at that moment.

-03-

Some might say that it's a bit much to beat the staff to death for 20 minutes just to save $50 in handling fees. However, I don't think so.

Because it was his job, it just took me slightly longer and was unfair to the customers behind me. But there wasn't much of a crowd that day, and I was the last customer, so there was no talk of taking up other people's time.

Perhaps I would have been despised for behaving this way. It is so deadly to save $50 in handling fees. I can only say that everyone's quest is different. I took the day off work specifically to get this done.

If I were to calculate the cost of my time, I earned it that day. If I had chosen to save time instead of fighting the staff to death, it would have been an extra $50 for nothing, which was my food bill for the day.

Yes, since I bought the house, I have asked myself to keep a tight rein on my spending, even for a day's meals, I have standards. Breakfast is kept under 10 yuan, lunch is between 15-20 yuan and dinner is usually no more than 20 yuan.

This gives me an extra day's worth of food. Probably for the vast majority of people, 50 yuan is not even a single dish on the table, but it is all I have for the day.

There is a difference between people, I can't "dig" as they do, so I have to live "on the cheap". I don't feel ashamed, I just feel like I've earned it.

-04-

There are times when people are tempted to make a fool of themselves. The fact is that you will be able to get a good deal of money, but you choose to be generous in front of people, but behind the scenes, you will eat food. I am no such vanity, I just fought for my interests and did not get in the way of others, so I do not feel ashamed.

There was a time when I, like many young people, felt that it did not matter if I spent a little more money for the sake of convenience. Whatever can be solved with money, I must not allow myself to physically do it.

Just as many people prefer to take a taxi, but not to ride. There are people who like to order takeaways but don't want to bring a bento. Some people like to buy new clothes, but don't want to wear old clothes that are still in good shape.

I understand all these things, people are all pleasure seekers at heart. I think that when you are young, you have to suffer a bit. Don't choose to enjoy yourself at an age when you should be suffering.

Because at this time, we don't have the capital to enjoy ourselves. This is at best a kind of early consumption, which is unnecessary. I'm not going to lie, I haven't bought any new clothes in two years. It's not that I can't afford it or can't afford it, but I don't think it's necessary.

It's the difference in perception between people, as some people think it's not cost-effective to fight with the staff for 20 minutes just to save 50 yuan on handling fees. If you have that kind of time, you might as well think about how to make yourself comfortable and happy.

The logic seems to be the same, but people have different pursuits. In my case, at that moment, I had plenty of time to get things sorted out, and I felt I had made a profit by saving $50 on the processing fee.

-05-

Of course, I don't recommend everyone, like me, to ride on your higher value of time to save a small amount of money. But from what I have observed, where people have money, they tend to be more stingy.

My ex-colleague, who has paid off her mortgage early and is under no pressure to raise a child, is still at the top of her game when it comes to saving money. As a simple example, she would take advantage of a supermarket sale and stock up on an entire fridge full of ingredients.

However, when it was time to spend money, she was not shy about it either. In my opinion, she is an exceptionally good person to live with and I am still learning from her. If you don't have a lot of money on hand at the moment and haven't found the right way to cut back on your spending, you might want to start by cutting back.

Most of us, as long as we do a good job of cutting back, we won't get along too badly. Of course, if you can cut back, that's the icing on the cake.

When I was a child, my mother told me, "Great wealth depends on fate; small wealth depends on hard work and thrift." Nowadays, I agree more and more that there is a limit to what one can do, or that not everyone, with their efforts, can live the life they want.

There are times when you have worked very hard, but you feel that you are still far from your ideal, and at this time, you will have a sense of decadence.

It is my sincere hope that those of you reading this article will be able to be frugal. Please believe that sooner or later the days will get better.