Overheard at Work

[Dollar Slice]

+1

The car you drive up to the dealer in makes a big difference to the attention you get as well.  I love to drive up in a shitbox and get left alone while i browse though the used section.

This kind of makes me want to go troll local car dealerships.

Particularly since I bike right by several on my way home from work ;-)

There's probably some good research to be done here with exotic combinations. Pull up to the dealership wearing ripped jeans, unshaven, uncombed, and driving a Tesla; wearing a nice suit and riding a BMX bike; etc.

[The Guru]

+1

The car you drive up to the dealer in makes a big difference to the attention you get as well.  I love to drive up in a shitbox and get left alone while i browse though the used section.

This kind of makes me want to go troll local car dealerships.

Particularly since I bike right by several on my way home from work ;-)

There's probably some good research to be done here with exotic combinations. Pull up to the dealership wearing ripped jeans, unshaven, uncombed, and driving a Tesla; wearing a nice suit and riding a BMX bike; etc.

Then after scoping out the most expensive car on the lot, ask the salesman for the trade-in value of the bike ;-)

[merula]

Traveling for work, I took an Uber from the airport. (I would've bused, but this is not a city well-served by transit. The airport bus runs once an hour at its most frequent and I had just missed it.)

So I'm talking to the driver and he tells me about his recent trip to the Dominican Republic, which was supposed to be $800 for the flight (two tickets, it was his birthday gift to his girlfriend) and $1,500 for the hotel. But he flew a budget airline I had never heard of (Dynamic Airlines?) and they cancelled his return trip and didn't give him an up-front refund, so he had to buy new one-way tickets for $1,300. I suggested he call his credit card to work with them about the charges.

Also this year, he went to Istanbul to visit family, and "only" spent $200 for the week going out with friends every night, plus $200 on a suitcase full of gifts.

He likes driving for Uber because it's a good part-time job, even though he doesn't really like driving.

[GuitarStv]

Also this year, he went to Istanbul to visit family, and "only" spent $200 for the week going out with friends every night, plus $200 on a suitcase full of gifts.

Why the quotes around "only"?  200$ a week seems pretty reasonable for living expenses.  That's just over ten grand a year.

[frugalnacho]

Also this year, he went to Istanbul to visit family, and "only" spent $200 for the week going out with friends every night, plus $200 on a suitcase full of gifts.

Why the quotes around "only"?  200$ a week seems pretty reasonable for living expenses.  That's just over ten grand a year.

I took it to mean in addition to actual living expenses.  Like he spent $200/wk on restaurants, bars, strip clubs, etc.  In that case it's just over ten grand in superfluous spending.  It would also be an additional ten grand in (probably) useless souvenirs. 

Side note: Why the fuck does FF auto correct keep correcting souvenirs to sou veneers? wtf is a sou veneer and why would it possibly think that's what I meant?

[BDWW]

Also this year, he went to Istanbul to visit family, and "only" spent $200 for the week going out with friends every night, plus $200 on a suitcase full of gifts.

Why the quotes around "only"?  200$ a week seems pretty reasonable for living expenses.  That's just over ten grand a year.

I took it to mean in addition to actual living expenses.  Like he spent $200/wk on restaurants, bars, strip clubs, etc.  In that case it's just over ten grand in superfluous spending.  It would also be an additional ten grand in (probably) useless souvenirs. 

Side note: Why the fuck does FF auto correct keep correcting souvenirs to sou veneers? wtf is a sou veneer and why would it possibly think that's what I meant?

A cheap covering? Sou means cheap/inexpensive, and a veneer is a thin covering over something(most commonly a wood veneer, aka the top layer of plywood or thin decorative exotic wood over cheap wood.).

[nanu]

Also this year, he went to Istanbul to visit family, and "only" spent $200 for the week going out with friends every night, plus $200 on a suitcase full of gifts.

Why the quotes around "only"?  200$ a week seems pretty reasonable for living expenses.  That's just over ten grand a year.

I took it to mean in addition to actual living expenses.  Like he spent $200/wk on restaurants, bars, strip clubs, etc.  In that case it's just over ten grand in superfluous spending.  It would also be an additional ten grand in (probably) useless souvenirs. 

Side note: Why the fuck does FF auto correct keep correcting souvenirs to sou veneers? wtf is a sou veneer and why would it possibly think that's what I meant?

I took it to mean the same thing, but I don't think that's bad.
Yes, $200 on restaurants and such in a week is bad (for mustachians, not the general population).
But then again, he obviously doesn't visit there all the time, so it seems ok to spend more than normal when he does.
Unless he meant $200/day every day that week? That would be excessive

[Ebrat]

Also this year, he went to Istanbul to visit family, and "only" spent $200 for the week going out with friends every night, plus $200 on a suitcase full of gifts.

Why the quotes around "only"?  200$ a week seems pretty reasonable for living expenses.  That's just over ten grand a year.

I took it to mean in addition to actual living expenses.  Like he spent $200/wk on restaurants, bars, strip clubs, etc.  In that case it's just over ten grand in superfluous spending.  It would also be an additional ten grand in (probably) useless souvenirs. 

Side note: Why the fuck does FF auto correct keep correcting souvenirs to sou veneers? wtf is a sou veneer and why would it possibly think that's what I meant?

I took it to mean the same thing, but I don't think that's bad.
Yes, $200 on restaurants and such in a week is bad (for mustachians, not the general population).
But then again, he obviously doesn't visit there all the time, so it seems ok to spend more than normal when he does.
Unless he meant $200/day every day that week? That would be excessive

Maybe because the exchange rate is good? I remember being surprised how cheap food and drinks were when I was there last year.

[Ralph2]

The car you drive up to the dealer in makes a big difference to the attention you get as well.  I love to drive up in a shitbox and get left alone while i browse though the used section.

Some years ago my boss turned up at the local Toyota / Mercedes dealer to buy a new merc. He was in older stained slightly ripped overalls driving the dump run ute.

A young salesman quickly walked up and loudly told him to get away from the cars, there is a used dealer down the road who sells stuff to your kind. Up behind the sales guy came the dealer principal who asked what the problem was and proceeded to give the sales guy a serve.
Boss then bought his 5th car from them that year.

Sales guy was then at his 4th or 5th dealership and moved on again soon after.

[nobodyspecial]

The car you drive up to the dealer in makes a big difference to the attention you get as well.  I love to drive up in a shitbox and get left alone while i browse though the used section.

Some years ago my boss turned up at the local Toyota / Mercedes dealer to buy a new merc. He was in older stained slightly ripped overalls driving the dump run ute.

A young salesman quickly walked up and loudly told him to get away from the cars, there is a used dealer down the road who sells stuff to your kind. Up behind the sales guy came the dealer principal who asked what the problem was and proceeded to give the sales guy a serve.
Boss then bought his 5th car from them that year.

Sales guy was then at his 4th or 5th dealership and moved on again soon after.

Same thing happened to my former boss.
Hint to luxury car salesmen in the oil patch in the middle of a boom.
If a guy turns up in rigger boots and a hard hat and his name is the same as the oil company painted on the side of the pickup - it's probably worth being polite.

[druth]

So...  anybody hear anything at work lately?

So I just learned that one of my coworkers lives in a city 100 km from work. She is one of the lowest paid workers in our team and makes about $45,000 (yes, our company pays pretty well). Not only that, she takes a toll highway to work everyday. Ontario doesn't have a lot of toll highways; most of our highways are free. There is another free highway running parallel to the toll one, but the free one has much more traffic. She said that she hates waiting in traffic, so would rather pay to take the toll route.

She spends about $600 per month of toll fees and another $500 per month on gas. That's $13,200 per year or about 30% of her gross salary on transportation. That's not even including her insurance which I can't include as I don't know what her insurance cost is. Thankfully though her car is fully paid for, so at least she doesn't have a car payment.

Not even counting depreciation/insurance/etc. on the car, and just counting that 13,200, I have to wonder if she could get a job in her own town paying $31,800 (salary now - cost of transit).  My guess is yes and she would save about 10 hours of her life per week.  Being a casheir at Aldi in my city pays that much.

[GuitarStv]

So...  anybody hear anything at work lately?

So I just learned that one of my coworkers lives in a city 100 km from work. She is one of the lowest paid workers in our team and makes about $45,000 (yes, our company pays pretty well). Not only that, she takes a toll highway to work everyday. Ontario doesn't have a lot of toll highways; most of our highways are free. There is another free highway running parallel to the toll one, but the free one has much more traffic. She said that she hates waiting in traffic, so would rather pay to take the toll route.

She spends about $600 per month of toll fees and another $500 per month on gas. That's $13,200 per year or about 30% of her gross salary on transportation. That's not even including her insurance which I can't include as I don't know what her insurance cost is. Thankfully though her car is fully paid for, so at least she doesn't have a car payment.

Not even counting depreciation/insurance/etc. on the car, and just counting that 13,200, I have to wonder if she could get a job in her own town paying $31,800 (salary now - cost of transit).  My guess is yes and she would save about 10 hours of her life per week.  Being a casheir at Aldi in my city pays that much.

Taking the 407 instead of the 401 can be the difference between a 40 minute drive and an hour and three quarters . . . each way.  Moving closer to work/getting a different job is a great idea, but if she's set on working where she is . . . I totally get paying for the 407.

[I'm a red panda]

A few areas I've been in are now playing with "congestion pricing" for toll roads- the cost of the toll goes up when traffic is really bad.  It makes the decision a bit more difficult if you don't know what the toll is until you get there.

Most of the places I have to go through with toll roads there isn't a way to avoid them unless you want 1-lane backroads or unpaved country road detours.  If you need to get somewhere, you just have to suck it up and pay.

[I'm a red panda]

Either one of them can be beat if you ride a bike :)

I don't have any local toll roads. If I have a day to drive 4 hours to Chicago or 17 hours to Austin, I'm not riding a bike.

[MrMoogle]

Not overheard from work, but since there's so much foam here anyway, might as well go here.  It's not worth it's own post IMO.

I got a "check" in the mail today for $4250.  If I use it, I only have to pay 42 payments of $160 to cover it.  It even says on there, that's 23% interest.

[Enigma]

Not overheard from work, but since there's so much foam here anyway, might as well go here.  It's not worth it's own post IMO.

I got a "check" in the mail today for $4250.  If I use it, I only have to pay 42 payments of $160 to cover it.  It even says on there, that's 23% interest.

Cash it!  Daddy needs a new pair of shoes, down payment for a new car, and a new wardrobe...  After all it is only $160/month

[MgoSam]

Not overheard from work, but since there's so much foam here anyway, might as well go here.  It's not worth it's own post IMO.

I got a "check" in the mail today for $4250.  If I use it, I only have to pay 42 payments of $160 to cover it.  It even says on there, that's 23% interest.

I think mailings such as these should be illegal.

[LeRainDrop]

This made me remember how the words in English for the days of the week have pagan roots.  Many Norse.

Monday = Moon day
Tuesday = Týr's day
Wednesday = Odin's day
Thursday = Thor's day
Friday = Frigga's day
Saturday = Saturn's day
Sunday = Sun's day

4 days named after Norse gods, 1 Roman, 2 celestial.

Italian days of the week:

Lunedi: Moon (Monday)
Martedi: Mars (Tuesday)
Mercoledi: Mercury (Wednesday)
Giovedi: Jupiter (Thursday)
Venerdi: Venus (Friday)
Sabato: Saturn (Saturday)
Domenica: Day of God (Sunday)

Thanks to marty998, I knew the correct answer when Jeopardy just asked: "In most languages with Latin origins, Tuesday is named for this Roman God."  Poor Susan was wrong when she answered, "Tyr."

[TallFrodo]

Not Overheard at work but read while I was meant to be working (not my fault if you guys go Off topic and then I have to hunt around on Facebook to convince myself the economy is doomed).

Found a depressing series of posts on the Q&A page bring to my attention the existence of "online layby" (lay-away to Americans?) sites where they pay your bill for you and you pay them back 4 weeks later. I've posted the (Anonymised) full album below but here's a few highlights:


"No interest or anything just a late fee if you don't pay it on time, which is just $10 on the first day and $7 for each days after that until you pay."
--(Please someone run the numbers on that assuming its for a $500 purchase, seems like 4 weeks interest free then 1.4% of purchase price per DAY is a great way to get around restrictions on payday loans)

"Oh my, you guys just made my bank account hate me. Haha! thanks heaps everyone"
--(4 likes)

"Babies r us and toys r us doing after pay but you got to go on there site XDXD" ... "R u serious?? Holy Crap... <3"..."Will be looking into this! :0"
--(The whole process of "where can I get into debt > okay now what can I get from there" seems seriously backwards to me)

"$500 [limit] for 12 months :). Mines always maxed out ;D. I pay $100 off and then spend it the next week"
--(1 like)

"[laybycompanyname]! They do up to 52 weeks laybuy! I love them"

"[laybycompanyname] is the best I bought my iPhone through them"

"never knew this! Christmas here I come!"



And the one sane person to chime in
"Yep..everywhere..called the bank or building society. Save some $ each week just call it your lay buy. .then shop and pay...called no credit and living within your means."
--(1 like)

Link to full album, let me know if this isn't allowed and I'll remove it. (http://imgur.com/a/Yk5A9). Town Q&A pages are kinda cheating because barely a day goes by that someone doesn't get banned for accusing another poster of some heinous crime so it's where I go to watch my day-time-television quota of drama.

[With This Herring]

*snip*
Found a depressing series of posts on the Q&A page bring to my attention the existence of "online layby" (lay-away to Americans?) sites where they pay your bill for you and you pay them back 4 weeks later.
*snip*

Wikipedia confirms that Australia and New Zealand are the odd ones out in calling layaway "lay-by."
The problem is that "Afterpay" thing.  It looks like true online layaway (where you still pay in advance) does exist and benefits purchasers by lowering fees for layaway.  Layaway in retail stores requires storage space in those specific stores, instead of at a warehouse, which makes it more expensive.

[Drifterrider]

Maybe it's because I drive 5000 miles or less per year but how are 2 sedans for one person convenient?

If you have to much to drink at the bar and get a ride home, you have a car to go get your car!

If you have too much to drink at a bar, use your towing insurance:)

Sorry, but you're going to be disappointed when you get a $300 tow bill instead of paying $30 for a taxi. Insurance typically only covers towing if the vehicle isn't driveable. For example:

We will pay towing and labor costs incurred each time your covered auto is disabled, up to the amount shown in the Declarations as applicable to that vehicle.

I have only personal experience upon which to rely, not quotes :)

YMMV

[arebelspy]

Not all insurance is the exact same, with the exact same coverage.

[Greenway52]

So...  anybody hear anything at work lately?

So I just learned that one of my coworkers lives in a city 100 km from work. She is one of the lowest paid workers in our team and makes about $45,000 (yes, our company pays pretty well). Not only that, she takes a toll highway to work everyday. Ontario doesn't have a lot of toll highways; most of our highways are free. There is another free highway running parallel to the toll one, but the free one has much more traffic. She said that she hates waiting in traffic, so would rather pay to take the toll route.

She spends about $600 per month of toll fees and another $500 per month on gas. That's $13,200 per year or about 30% of her gross salary on transportation. That's not even including her insurance which I can't include as I don't know what her insurance cost is. Thankfully though her car is fully paid for, so at least she doesn't have a car payment.

Not even counting depreciation/insurance/etc. on the car, and just counting that 13,200, I have to wonder if she could get a job in her own town paying $31,800 (salary now - cost of transit).  My guess is yes and she would save about 10 hours of her life per week.  Being a casheir at Aldi in my city pays that much.

Taking the 407 instead of the 401 can be the difference between a 40 minute drive and an hour and three quarters . . . each way.  Moving closer to work/getting a different job is a great idea, but if she's set on working where she is . . . I totally get paying for the 407.

I couldn't imagine taking the 407 everyday! That's just nuts! It's good for special occasions as Prospector mentioned, but not as a daily commute. We have semi-flexible hours too, so she could come in earlier and leave earlier and avoid a lot of the traffic. She pays about $27/day for 407. That's post-tax money. Pre tax and deductions, it would be about $38, which is about 1.5 hours work at her salary.

The Mustachian in me would never allow for 407. Even when I'm travelling for work, I take the 401 even though I can expense the 407 fees, it just doesn't feel right.

[johndoe]

The car you drive up to the dealer in makes a big difference to the attention you get as well.  I love to drive up in a shitbox and get left alone while i browse though the used section.

Some years ago my boss turned up at the local Toyota / Mercedes dealer to buy a new merc. He was in older stained slightly ripped overalls driving the dump run ute.

A young salesman quickly walked up and loudly told him to get away from the cars, there is a used dealer down the road who sells stuff to your kind. Up behind the sales guy came the dealer principal who asked what the problem was and proceeded to give the sales guy a serve.
Boss then bought his 5th car from them that year.

Sales guy was then at his 4th or 5th dealership and moved on again soon after.

Or perhaps this was an elaborate reverse psychology trick by the salesman to make the potential customer say to himself "I'll show HIM, I'll buy the most expensive damn car here! "  :)

[paddedhat]

Not overheard from work, but since there's so much foam here anyway, might as well go here.  It's not worth it's own post IMO.

I got a "check" in the mail today for $4250.  If I use it, I only have to pay 42 payments of $160 to cover it.  It even says on there, that's 23% interest.

I think mailings such as these should be illegal.

My little brother was selling software, and making a bit over $100K/YR,  just before the great recession struck. He lost that gig, then decided that working for a living wasn't something he wished to continue, and unlike the MMM crowd, determined that his future pursuits would be funded by the credit card industry. A few years later,  much to his surprise, his house of credit cards collapsed.  He had over $140K in unsecured, obscenely high interest debt. CCs alone were $125+ and he explained that until his credit was dinged, banks tripped over themselves to mail him checks. His high water mark was cashing one for $40k.  In the end it cost him a nice house, and just about everything else, except a flogged old truck.

[ender]

Not overheard from work, but since there's so much foam here anyway, might as well go here.  It's not worth it's own post IMO.

I got a "check" in the mail today for $4250.  If I use it, I only have to pay 42 payments of $160 to cover it.  It even says on there, that's 23% interest.

I think mailings such as these should be illegal.

My little brother was selling software, and making a bit over $100K/YR,  just before the great recession struck. He lost that gig, then decided that working for a living wasn't something he wished to continue, and unlike the MMM crowd, determined that his future pursuits would be funded by the credit card industry. A few years later,  much to his surprise, his house of credit cards collapsed.  He had over $140K in unsecured, obscenely high interest debt. CCs alone were $125+ and he explained that until his credit was dinged, banks tripped over themselves to mail him checks. His high water mark was cashing one for $40k.  In the end it cost him a nice house, and just about everything else, except a flogged old truck.

Stuff like this really bothers me.

It's like hearing advertisements for the lottery too. It's just shameless manipulation of people to get them to do things not in their best interest.

[Tjat]

On the flip side, some childless person determined to do their part to screw the credit industry could intentionally rack up as much credit card debt as possible with the intent of declaring bankruptcy. Living the high life for a bit at least. Course everyone else pays for it with higher interest rates but hey.

[No Name Guy]

Not overheard from work, but since there's so much foam here anyway, might as well go here.  It's not worth it's own post IMO.

I got a "check" in the mail today for $4250.  If I use it, I only have to pay 42 payments of $160 to cover it.  It even says on there, that's 23% interest.

I think mailings such as these should be illegal.

My little brother was selling software, and making a bit over $100K/YR,  just before the great recession struck. He lost that gig, then decided that working for a living wasn't something he wished to continue, and unlike the MMM crowd, determined that his future pursuits would be funded by the credit card industry. A few years later,  much to his surprise, his house of credit cards collapsed.  He had over $140K in unsecured, obscenely high interest debt. CCs alone were $125+ and he explained that until his credit was dinged, banks tripped over themselves to mail him checks. His high water mark was cashing one for $40k.  In the end it cost him a nice house, and just about everything else, except a flogged old truck.

Stuff like this really bothers me.

It's like hearing advertisements for the lottery too. It's just shameless manipulation of people to get them to do things not in their best interest.

This is a natural outcome of the current monetary system.

Increase credit outstanding at all costs, period.  Doesn't matter how.  Cars and student loans are current credit "crack" du jour.  Used to be mortgages. 

[nobodyspecial]

On the flip side, some childless person determined to do their part to screw the credit industry could intentionally rack up as much credit card debt as possible with the intent of declaring bankruptcy. Living the high life for a bit at least. Course everyone else pays for it with higher interest rates but hey.

If they only do it on credit cards you are fine.
When they do it to the entire global economy it's worse

[syednaeemul]

On the flip side, some childless person determined to do their part to screw the credit industry could intentionally rack up as much credit card debt as possible with the intent of declaring bankruptcy. Living the high life for a bit at least. Course everyone else pays for it with higher interest rates but hey.

I think I watched this in a South Park episode.

[gimp]

On the flip side, some childless person determined to do their part to screw the credit industry could intentionally rack up as much credit card debt as possible with the intent of declaring bankruptcy. Living the high life for a bit at least. Course everyone else pays for it with higher interest rates but hey.

I think I watched this in a South Park episode.

[zephyr911]

Same thing happened to my former boss.
Hint to luxury car salesmen in the oil patch in the middle of a boom.
If a guy turns up in rigger boots and a hard hat and his name is the same as the oil company painted on the side of the pickup - it's probably worth being polite.

You'd think that'd be obvious, but nooooo.
One of my former co-workers when I was in Anchorage loved to tell the story of his friend who came down from Prudhoe Bay after a few weeks of work, looking about like you'd expect, and went directly to a dealership to ask about new trucks. After the sales guy snubbed him, he pulled out the cash he'd brought (enough to pay for the entire truck) and waved it right in the guy's face before leaving.

[MgoSam]

Same thing happened to my former boss.
Hint to luxury car salesmen in the oil patch in the middle of a boom.
If a guy turns up in rigger boots and a hard hat and his name is the same as the oil company painted on the side of the pickup - it's probably worth being polite.

You'd think that'd be obvious, but nooooo.
One of my former co-workers when I was in Anchorage loved to tell the story of his friend who came down from Prudhoe Bay after a few weeks of work, looking about like you'd expect, and went directly to a dealership to ask about new trucks. After the sales guy snubbed him, he pulled out the cash he'd brought (enough to pay for the entire truck) and waved it right in the guy's face before leaving.

He was nicer about it than I was, I would have waved the money and stayed long enough for the sales manager to come running and apologize and then make a big show of leaving.

[zephyr911]

My little brother was selling software, and making a bit over $100K/YR,  just before the great recession struck. He lost that gig, then decided that working for a living wasn't something he wished to continue, and unlike the MMM crowd, determined that his future pursuits would be funded by the credit card industry. A few years later,  much to his surprise, his house of credit cards collapsed.  He had over $140K in unsecured, obscenely high interest debt. CCs alone were $125+ and he explained that until his credit was dinged, banks tripped over themselves to mail him checks. His high water mark was cashing one for $40k.  In the end it cost him a nice house, and just about everything else, except a flogged old truck.

OMFG dude... does he even feel bad after all that? What a jackass!

[economista]

I have a new coworker who just started a few weeks ago and he was saying that he needs to buy a bike but all of the bikes he's seen in Colorado are thousands of dollars and he can't afford that.  I told him that I could send him a link to a good blog post* that outlines how to go about buying a bike on craigslist, and he proceeded to tell me that he thinks that's really shady and he would never buy something off craigslist, especially not using advice from a random blog.  He said he will just have to bite the bullet and buy a new bike from a store.  A few days later he was talking about how much he likes to ski and his kids are finally old enough to take along but buying them all new ski gear is soooo expensive.  Some of the other parents in my division were commiserating with him about how expensive it is to buy new gear for kids, especially when they grow out of it so fast.  I popped in and said the previous weekend I had seen goggles, helmets, and gloves at Costco for a really good price and that play it again sports has almost brand new used skis and boots for kids for ridiculously low prices because, as he said, the kids grow out of it so fast it doesn't get used very much before it is too small.  This advice was shrugged off as well by his saying any "cheap" ski gear can't be good quality therefore isn't safe enough for his kids.  I don't think I'm going to say anything anymore when he starts complaining about how expensive things are.

*That blog post was a link I got from one of MMM's posts about biking.

[ketchup]

I have a new coworker who just started a few weeks ago and he was saying that he needs to buy a bike but all of the bikes he's seen in Colorado are thousands of dollars and he can't afford that.  I told him that I could send him a link to a good blog post* that outlines how to go about buying a bike on craigslist, and he proceeded to tell me that he thinks that's really shady and he would never buy something off craigslist, especially not using advice from a random blog.  He said he will just have to bite the bullet and buy a new bike from a store.  A few days later he was talking about how much he likes to ski and his kids are finally old enough to take along but buying them all new ski gear is soooo expensive.  Some of the other parents in my division were commiserating with him about how expensive it is to buy new gear for kids, especially when they grow out of it so fast.  I popped in and said the previous weekend I had seen goggles, helmets, and gloves at Costco for a really good price and that play it again sports has almost brand new used skis and boots for kids for ridiculously low prices because, as he said, the kids grow out of it so fast it doesn't get used very much before it is too small.  This advice was shrugged off as well by his saying any "cheap" ski gear can't be good quality therefore isn't safe enough for his kids.  I don't think I'm going to say anything anymore when he starts complaining about how expensive things are.

*That blog post was a link I got from one of MMM's posts about biking.

People often don't want pragmatic solutions to their problems, they want validation and sympathy for their problems.  "Oh that sucks, how awful for you, you poor thing" vs "Here's how you mitigate that." It's sad.

[jinga nation]

People often don't want pragmatic solutions to their problems, they want validation and sympathy for their problems.  "Oh that sucks, how awful for you, you poor thing" vs "Here's how you mitigate that." It's sad.

Change is good. But it's too hard. (Whine, whine, whine.)

[Kitsune]

People often don't want pragmatic solutions to their problems, they want validation and sympathy for their problems.  "Oh that sucks, how awful for you, you poor thing" vs "Here's how you mitigate that." It's sad.

Change is good. But it's too hard. (Whine, whine, whine.)

But it's EAASSSSIIIIER to spend money you don't have!! *whine*

(To be fair: if saving 10$ means 2 hours of effort when I don't have 2 hours to spare, I will absolutely spend 10$. If it's 100$, I will find the time. There's a balance of time/effort/money. I just think that if you don't have the money the calculation becomes somewhat different...)

[jinga nation]

I had the Federal Work Study program as part of my undergraduate financial aid package. I worked in the Campus Counseling Center, where I tutored Math to students failing the CLAST test and student athletes too. Our little breakroom, shared by PhDs and interns alike, had a (bread) toaster, a bagel toaster (the first time I ever heard and saw this novel invention), and a toaster oven.

One day, at the end of semester, I went for the early Christmas party to help setting up (I'm getting paid for this). The Ph.D's, my boss, Master's students, all psychologists and social behavioral people are complaining there's not enough counter space in the kitchen.
Me: Why do we need a regular and a bagel toaster.
Them: Oh no! You can't touch that, it's sacrilege. How would we toast bread and bagels?
Me: But you can use the toaster oven. That what we use at home for everything.
One of Them: What? You can toast in that thing?
Me: Yes. (speaking slowly) It is a Toaster Oven.
Another One of Them: But it doesn't toast properly.
Me: Did you use the right settings? You know you can turn the knobs for temperature to get the right color for your white sliced bread. (Yes I did say that)
Them: But what if all of us need to toast something
Me: Take turns.
Them: mumbling... at this point I stopped listening and gave up. I started putting food on my plate, I eat on the job, efficiency, politeness be damned with these nitwits.
Me: Whatever, I won't be here next semester, so Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Hanukkah, Kwanza to all and thanks for the yummy grub. (Steps out.)
My only regret is not looking at their facial reactions for my scummy first-in-line grub-grabbing actions.

[barbaz]

There's a balance of time/effort/money. I just think that if you don't have the money the calculation becomes somewhat different...)

Right? It annoys me to no end when people say "If you do this saving trick, you're paying yourself less than minimum wage". Sorry but I can't afford to pay someone minimum wage to do my shit, and the only person who will do it for less is myself.

[Making Cookies]

BINGO!

I've heard people say well, you make $$ per hour at work, of course you can afford to pay someone $ per hour to do your task.

No, I'm at home, in the evening or on the weekend. I have time to do it. I have the skills to do it. I might hire someone but its not b/c I don't have the time.

Usually I hire it out if I don't have the skills and then I watch so next time I can do it for myself. ;)

[zolotiyeruki]

BINGO!

I've heard people say well, you make $$ per hour at work, of course you can afford to pay someone $ per hour to do your task.

No, I'm at home, in the evening or on the weekend. I have time to do it. I have the skills to do it. I might hire someone but its not b/c I don't have the time.

Usually I hire it out if I don't have the skills and then I watch so next time I can do it for myself. ;)

Also, it's worth bearing mind that the money you pay someone else is your after-tax money (at your marginal rate) and their pre-tax money.  If I make $30/hour at my day job, I may only take home $20/hour after FICA/Federal/State income taxes.

[horsepoor]

I have a new coworker who just started a few weeks ago and he was saying that he needs to buy a bike but all of the bikes he's seen in Colorado are thousands of dollars and he can't afford that.  I told him that I could send him a link to a good blog post* that outlines how to go about buying a bike on craigslist, and he proceeded to tell me that he thinks that's really shady and he would never buy something off craigslist, especially not using advice from a random blog.  He said he will just have to bite the bullet and buy a new bike from a store.  A few days later he was talking about how much he likes to ski and his kids are finally old enough to take along but buying them all new ski gear is soooo expensive.  Some of the other parents in my division were commiserating with him about how expensive it is to buy new gear for kids, especially when they grow out of it so fast.  I popped in and said the previous weekend I had seen goggles, helmets, and gloves at Costco for a really good price and that play it again sports has almost brand new used skis and boots for kids for ridiculously low prices because, as he said, the kids grow out of it so fast it doesn't get used very much before it is too small.  This advice was shrugged off as well by his saying any "cheap" ski gear can't be good quality therefore isn't safe enough for his kids.  I don't think I'm going to say anything anymore when he starts complaining about how expensive things are.

*That blog post was a link I got from one of MMM's posts about biking.

Or agree that, insisting on the best of everything, brand new must be quite expensive. 

[mm1970]

"I feel like you can't get a decent new car for under $40k anymore.  I feel like I'm in the top 10% of income but in the bottom 10% of cars."

More hilarity ensued.  Me suggesting that a Civic can be had for much less (brand new even). "But it's a Civic, not even an Accord!"  Hey, but today's Civic is the size of a 90s Accord.  And all new cars come with bling. 

Other person pulling up a variety of cars for under $30k, including said Accord, on their phone. 

The problem is in So Cal, people drive luxury SUVs.  I've never seen so many in my life.  And big trucks.  So it feels like you suck if you don't have one.

[kayvent]

"I feel like you can't get a decent new car for under $40k anymore.  I feel like I'm in the top 10% of income but in the bottom 10% of cars."

More hilarity ensued.  Me suggesting that a Civic can be had for much less (brand new even). "But it's a Civic, not even an Accord!"  Hey, but today's Civic is the size of a 90s Accord.  And all new cars come with bling. 

Other person pulling up a variety of cars for under $30k, including said Accord, on their phone. 

The problem is in So Cal, people drive luxury SUVs.  I've never seen so many in my life.  And big trucks.  So it feels like you suck if you don't have one.

Am I the only person that finds a Yaris or Prius or other small cars "sexy"?

[WootWoot]

It's not particularly comedic, but...our college is going from a twice-monthly payroll to a bi-weekly payroll. The way the board of trustees has figured it out, there are going to be two paychecks that will be "short" right after the holidays. You can, however, even them out by taking a "payback/advance" from the college. Or you can do without.

People are flipping out about this, even though it will mean that for at least two checks out of the year, there will be no benefit deductibles taken from our checks. I've overheard things like, "I'm going to have to take out a loan to cover those checks" and how this is the worst time of year to do this, because "people have credit card bills after the holidays."

I'm not trying to be smug. I don't agree with the way the college is going about this. I'm just grateful I have money to cover the gap.

[Paul der Krake]

Am I the only person that finds a Yaris or Prius or other small cars "sexy"?

No. Just this past weekend, I expressed displeasure at having to pick between a pickup and a SUV instead of the subcompact I had requested for practical city driving and parking.

The rental lady looked at me like I had two heads.

Ended up with a Hyundai Santa Fe, which was the shortest vehicle they had. Terrible gas mileage, poor visibility that made maneuvering in tight spaces difficult. All that metal to carry about 300 lbs worth of humans and two carry ons. 0/10 would not rent again. I'll take a Yaris with manual windows and no cruise control over this monstrosity.

[esq]

"I feel like you can't get a decent new car for under $40k anymore.  I feel like I'm in the top 10% of income but in the bottom 10% of cars."

More hilarity ensued.  Me suggesting that a Civic can be had for much less (brand new even). "But it's a Civic, not even an Accord!"  Hey, but today's Civic is the size of a 90s Accord.  And all new cars come with bling. 

Other person pulling up a variety of cars for under $30k, including said Accord, on their phone. 

The problem is in So Cal, people drive luxury SUVs.  I've never seen so many in my life.  And big trucks.  So it feels like you suck if you don't have one.

Try driving in Texas.   You can't see around anyone unless you also have a giant SUV or pickup.  I can't see shit in my 2004 Camry.  I, however, have never felt like I suck because I drive a small(er) car.  In fact, everyone else sucks.

[Chris22]

"I feel like you can't get a decent new car for under $40k anymore.  I feel like I'm in the top 10% of income but in the bottom 10% of cars."

More hilarity ensued.  Me suggesting that a Civic can be had for much less (brand new even). "But it's a Civic, not even an Accord!"  Hey, but today's Civic is the size of a 90s Accord.  And all new cars come with bling. 

Other person pulling up a variety of cars for under $30k, including said Accord, on their phone. 

The problem is in So Cal, people drive luxury SUVs.  I've never seen so many in my life.  And big trucks.  So it feels like you suck if you don't have one.

Am I the only person that finds a Yaris or Prius or other small cars "sexy"?

Small cars, no. Those two shitboxes?  Yes.

[geekette]

"I feel like you can't get a decent new car for under $40k anymore.  I feel like I'm in the top 10% of income but in the bottom 10% of cars."

More hilarity ensued.  Me suggesting that a Civic can be had for much less (brand new even). "But it's a Civic, not even an Accord!"  Hey, but today's Civic is the size of a 90s Accord.  And all new cars come with bling. 

Other person pulling up a variety of cars for under $30k, including said Accord, on their phone. 

The problem is in So Cal, people drive luxury SUVs.  I've never seen so many in my life.  And big trucks.  So it feels like you suck if you don't have one.

Try driving in Texas.   You can't see around anyone unless you also have a giant SUV or pickup.  I can't see shit in my 2004 Camry.  I, however, have never felt like I suck because I drive a small(er) car.  In fact, everyone else sucks.

LOL - we moved to Austin, Tx for a year in '91, and my DH drove a Honda CRX (one of those "sit down, get in" 2 seater cars).  Couldn't see a dang thing...