Shopping SaleAre You A Penny Pincher Or A Time Optimizer?

We all like a deal. No one likes to pay more for something than is absolutely necessary. What woman's eyes don't light up at the thought of a sale?

There is also penny pinching. Trying to get a bargain to the nth degree. Sometimes the tradeoff is our time if we shop around too long for the best price.

Think of foreclosures. Sometimes the houses need repair, there are multiple offers, take a long time to close, AND they may not even be the best deal compared to another normal preowned home.

What is your TIME worth in any of these situations?

Hold PennyIf you are a buyer of real estate, do you really need to look for eight months to find a home you like? Is the inventory that low? Wouldn't you like to get on with your life and settle in? If you are a seller, not penny pinching about staging, preparing, and setting the right price on your home, will allow you to sell your home and not sit there. Again, what is your time worth? As an investor know your targeted return and focus on that and skip properties that are outside your criteria.

I am not saying be a spendthrift or unwise with your finances. Cutting coupons for the grocery stores can save you money as can shopping online. Net it out whatever you are doing with your choices but keep your TIME as well as your money at the forefront of your thinking. Optimize your time because the seconds of your life are what your life is made up of. They are very precious.

With frugality I am not a big Dave Ramsey fan of at least partly what he suggests although I know he helps people focus getting out of debt. He says to live like no other today so to live like no other tomorrow. It is a scarcity mentality not abundance, and I think you deserve abundance.

Life is short!!

Good luck with being a time optimizer and NOT SO much a penny pincher. You deserve it all!!

 
This post has been included in Texas Real Estate News Denton County, TX Real Estate News Flower Mound, TX Real Estate News
Post is included in group: BananaTude
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22 Comments on Are You A Penny Pincher Or A Time Optimizer?

20 Most Recent Comments Displayed Show All

JAN
06
2010
1,402,520 Points 54 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Garry...the word SALE is written into a woman's DNA!  Penny [inching isn't a bad thing, you just have to know when to let go.   I have an uncle that pinched the penny so hard, he got a nickle from it!
3:20pm • #3
1,114,794 Points 115 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

You have expressed this so well Gary. I sometimes wonder why people would waste months and months and months looking at homes and/or penny pinch on selling.  It's our job to teach and model what really works well - and everybody can win.

FEATURED IN BANANATUDE!
3:55pm • #4
1,207,539 Points 193 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

A message I need to hear and digest today.
5:05pm • #5
918,914 Points 80 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Called Shot Master

I can only wonder why it would take 8 months to find a home...and think of the loss of money and waste of time that can never be returned! I enjoyed your post Gary and glad that Anna re-blogged it!
5:06pm • #6
238,110 Points 1 Featured Post Attended Rain Camp

After 1 month of looking at homes that are decent and the buyer still does not want to budge, they get put on the back burner.
5:51pm • #7
564,733 Points 75 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Gary--There is a time and place to penny-pinch. We save money on the everyday things and buy smart to afford the things that make sense to splurge on...Like vacations, new cars and houses. Sometimes if you wait too long for a perceived "deal" it can pass you buy and you will kick yourself for not acting sooner. We have all seen it with a client who hemmed and hawed so long they lost the deal of a lifetime. (We don't think so differently after all...lol.)
6:07pm • #8
402,651 Points 29 Featured Posts Outside Blog

Gary,

I try to strike a balance when it comes to budgeting.....not being frivolous, however when buying I believe that buying good quality even if you pay a bit more is worth far more in the long run and saves you time too!

This goes with choosing anything in life....quality always saves you time and money in the end.

Jo
6:41pm • #9
1,326,593 Points 37 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Gary

I like to get value for my money, but I'm not going to spend hours or days to save a dollars.

Good luck and success.

Lou Ludwig
6:50pm • #10
1,518,017 Points 112 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Gary:  This post brings to mind many a home buyer who usually don't understand the phrase, "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is."  Those are the bargain hunters, ready to pounce on those lowball listings in horrible shape. 
7:01pm • #11
761,240 Points 69 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

It's penny wise pound foolish.  Everything in moderation.
7:17pm • #12
471,130 Points 26 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Called Shot Master

Hi Gary, I'm a big believer in saving time - it's the one thing I can't make more of!
10:08pm • #13
JAN
07
2010
301,384 Points 55 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog

Gary - I find it amazing that some people can bicker and threaten to kill a deal over five thousand dollar difference on a quarter million dollar home.  And, what would be the point of a seller paying the carrying cost of a house if it takes 2 more months to sell because they wouldn't bend?  
6:47am • #14
1,261,130 Points 2 Featured Posts Outside Blog Hit Router

Gary

I am sitting here reading your post again. It really does become a paradox at times does it not?
7:35am • #15
1,223,599 Points 79 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Hi Gary,

I'm for sure with Mary! I don't have time to drive all over creation looking for the cheapest deal! Lif is wayyyyyyyyyyyy to short..many other fun things to do!
4:04pm • #16
429,479 Points 43 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Hi Gary...If you miss out on something you really want, and later regret it, saving a few pennies is not going to make up for the lose.  Finding the house that suits you and then passing it up in the hopes it may be reduced sometime in the future can be shortsighted for sure.

Kate
8:20pm • #17
JAN
08
2010
1,452,477 Points 46 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Great post.The older I get , the better I get at optimizing my time. Time is one thing money can't buy.
9:48am • #18
780,264 Points 38 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

I think I'm both.  I want to save money, but I know when doing it myself is going to cost me more in the long run.  Sometimes you just have to admit that the big savings come from spending the money it cost to have the job done by a professional.
4:06pm • #19
JAN
09
2010
536,404 Points 5 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp

Gary...this is a topic dear to my heart because time is very valuable, especially when trying to juggle the needed time commitment to real estate, then trying to raise a family, and oh...I almost forgot, a husband, friends, and myself...I time optimize, for instance, by having a house cleaner...
8:43am • #20
339,755 Points 9 Featured Posts Called Shot Master

Gary, you come up with the best pictures for your posts! Great point on the time vs. money issue!  How much do we do that even in our business? Wow!  Makes me think...Delegate!
11:29pm • #21
JAN
10
2010
697,960 Points 15 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Gary, I'm a big believer in simple abundance and real magic.  My mindset stays firmly in that I have all I need and I'm prosperous.  I rarely make a purchase, but not because of a scarcity mentality...from an abundance mentality.  Unless I really need it, do I want to take care of it and find a home for it?  I know you understand.  It's great to know you wish us all the best.  Back at you!!!
7:59am • #22

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Gary Woltal - Assoc. Broker REALTOR® SFR Dallas Ft. Worth

Flower Mound, TX

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Keller Williams Realty

Address: 2611 Cross Timbers Rd, Suite 100, Flower Mound, TX, 75028

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