So many tools... so little application

Sometimes I am amazed at how much stuff my wife knows about online tools. It seems no matter what the subject or need, she knows of a site that has tools, resources, systems, etc. There are SO MANY....

Yet, I also find myself frustrated. At the core of the divide is the fact that we are a single income household. I earn 100% of our family income (and am not always happy about it). I really wish she could apply some of this great knowledge for an income stream.

I, on the other hand, am REALLY adept at using very few tools very efficiently. I make money with every tool I use (whether mechanical tools or electronic tools). If a tool can't be used in multiple ways or be part of generating an income, I don't have a lot of use for it.

So my kids, wife, etc treat me like a luddite. They seem to think I am somehow behind the curve and just need to enter the 21st century. And I can't figure out how they can get so lost in the sea of electronic non-productivity without any effort to convert some of it to an income.

I'm not really complaining, I'm just noticing the difference. It extends much beyond my family (I see it everywhere).

To me, the electronic tool world is very nice, but largely redundant. I could do without 85% of it. It's just noise.

I feel like our society has gotten so used to producing so little with so much that we will soon be very capable of producing nothing at all with so many tools at our disposal.

Yes, I understand some of you will only hear me say, "Get off my lawn". But I think it is a pretty real divide that is a societal stumbling block to us becoming as great as we could be. I simply can't get excited about the new free gizmo that does almost nothing useful except generate traffic to someone's app or website.

Not sure if I should say "Rant off". Just thinking out loud...

I feel like I need some actual examples of these "tools". the only online tools I use are search engines and forums to find information. I'm not aware of anything online that DOES anything other than provide information. Even then, you need to know how or where to look for it.

It sounds like you want your wife to make money online. The only way I really know to do that is to buy something cheap and then sell it for more online.

Earn $2000-$4000 a month from home. Just ask me how!

I have nothing productive to add

In reply to SVreX:

I've generally been very poor at generating income. Sure, I have a good job now and I can't really complain about the pay vs. workload, yet I know there are others(on here and elsewhere) who have the similar skills/knowledge and earn ~3x what I do. I'm willing to accept it though because I work for a wonderful company who accepts me, and doesn't try to force me to conform to their corporate box.

I guess the point is that somewhere along the way I've realized there are 3-separate components at play here: 1.) Having knowledge and/or skills that are valuable. 2.) Understanding how to exploit them to generate income. And 3.) Being able and willing to accept the responsibilities, commitments, and additional stress of doing so.

Number-1 is relatively easy - most people reach that point after they figure out their strengths vs. weaknesses. However, number 2 & 3 are more difficult for many, myself included. I think you have to posses a certain type of character to truly succeed at either/both of them, as it requires as much instinct, intuition, and personality traits, as it does knowledge.

In reply to Pete Gossett:

Agreed. And probably a dose of dumb luck.

But being enamoured with the tools without trying to put them to work productively doesn't help the situation.

Your wife apparently has the time to explore the web and find all these tools...perhaps she needs a job? (LOL)

Flashy beats rational every time.

The Apple Watch is the perfect example of this. I've always said that the only good product Apple offers is its stock. I'm exaggerating, but the point is that it's the only thing they offer which can pay for itself, so to speak.

Then again our wives don't understand why we want to spend $thousands to race a junky car in a parking lot.

Get used to it......

'Roseanne' Revival Officially a Go at ABC.

Say it isn't so....

pinchvalve wrote: Your wife apparently has the time to explore the web and find all these tools...perhaps she needs a job? (LOL)

No comment.

SVreX wrote: In reply to Pete Gossett: Agreed. And probably a dose of dumb luck. But being enamoured with the tools without trying to put them to work productively doesn't help the situation.

Ah, but there's a distinction between being productive, and producing something worthy of generating money.

I used to be on the opposite side of this with my ex-wife. She believed that if you could be productive, you were compelled to.

I never understood this. My time is my time, to do whatever I want. I don't like being productive, and I've set my life up so that I don't need to be productive.

So I'm not. I work ~20 hours a week, which is just enough to provide the income I need. I spend the rest of my time mostly dinking around, not really accomplishing much of anything. Sure I could, but why, if I don't like to and I don't need to??

This thread is a test. If Mrs. SVreX is so good at using online tools to solve problems, she will find this thread and know Mr. SVreX expects her to get a job. The ball is in her court.

EvanR wrote: I used to be on the opposite side of this with my ex-wife. She believed that if you *could* be productive, you were compelled to. I never understood this. My time is my time, to do whatever I want. I don't like being productive, and I've set my life up so that I don't need to be productive. So I'm not. I work ~20 hours a week, which is just enough to provide the income I need. I spend the rest of my time mostly dinking around, not really accomplishing much of anything. Sure I *could*, but why, if I don't like to and I don't need to??

You are fortunate.

SVreX wrote: You are fortunate.

Interesting choice of words. If I have good fortune, that come only from recognizing my slothful ways early, and arranging my life around that.

For example, having children or houses requires a person to be productive, because those things require productivity to maintain. I did make conscious decisions to avoid both of those things, because I know that I don't care to be productive enough to support them.

Does that mean I've missed out on some things that society deems important? Absolutely. Do I regret it? Rarely.

Some people make choices, and other people allow the world to happen to them. I suppose I'm fortunate in that I made my own choices.

In reply to EvanR:

Yes, my words were chosen carefully.

Of all the hobbies I've ever participated in, tool collecting is my favorite. I don't borrow tools, I buy them.

The tools I use to make a living all fit behind the seat of a extended cab truck.

The tools I collect fill my shop. If a tool can make life, or a job, easier, I'll buy it.

I even like my smart watch.

EvanR wrote: I suppose I'm fortunate in that I made my own choices.

Fortune favors the prepared!

SVreX wrote: I feel like our society has gotten so used to producing so little with so much that we will soon be very capable of producing nothing at all with so many tools at our disposal. Yes, I understand some of you will only hear me say, "Get off my lawn". But I think it is a pretty real divide that is a societal stumbling block to us becoming as great as we could be. I simply can't get excited about the new free gizmo that does almost nothing useful except generate traffic to someone's app or website. Not sure if I should say "Rant off". Just thinking out loud...

I think it's the other way around, what you see as idleness/time-wasting is actually caused by an excess of productivity. We've gotten so used to producing so much with so little that we'll soon be very capable of producing everything with all the tools at our disposal. These tools enable your wife to do all these things herself at home that in the past you might've had to hire someone to do.

And on the other side of the coin, this is why it's hard to generate income with these newfound tools - there's always some big company with a very refined version of these tools in-house that can do it easier and cheaper than any little fledgling business. Who hires a garage machinist to mill a part when you can send the CAD file to be CNC'd at some giant shop for less, etc?