Overheard at Work

[Spawnstache]

The jury is out on whether Friday is Frey's, Freya's or Frigg's day. The fun part is that you have kept all the Nordic names, except for Saturday. In the Nordic languages this is the washing day (laugardagur), but you would rather watch the time go by? (Saturn = god of time).

As a Nordic citizen I have to report that of course we don't wash ourselves on Saturdays. That would be a serious health threat and quite wasteful. We take our annual baths just before Midwinter Sacrifice. Whether we need it or not.

[theadvicist]

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. ;)

Yep. When I complain about boring errands, my husband always reminds me, "unless you get a second job, your free time is worth nothing".

Also, I remember complaining to my dad about the hourly rate at my first job (£3.83 an hour). He said, "Do you think you're worth more?", and I said, "Yeah, I'm worth like £5 an hour!".

And he just said, "Nope. Sorry. You're worth what you can get someone to pay you. Not a penny more". Good lesson.

[onlykelsey]

"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.

I love little stick shifts.  Sort of neutral on brands, although I drove honda/acuras before I moved to the city. I think it may be because the people i've known to drive those have ended up being very practical, modest, helpful people, and I have good associations with those sorts of cars.

[horsepoor]

"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...

I finally gave up on  my CR-Z this spring and got a Nissan Juke for that reason.  Now I can at least see over the hood of a Ford Explorer.  It's still pretty small compared to even a small  SUV, but the driving position makes it a lot easier to navigate in a sea of trucks.

[zolotiyeruki]

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...

The way I see it, eventually you'll be able to see *under* all the other vehicles around you! :)

[MrMoogle]

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...

The way I see it, eventually you'll be able to see *under* all the other vehicles around you! :)

One of the best things about riding a tall motorcycle, I can finally see over some vehicles again, and at least through their windows.  And I'm not blocking anyone's view!  Driving a car, I feel totally blind in traffic.

[Allison]

"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"?

I do!!  I love my bright red Yaris...

[mm1970]

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. ;)

Yep. When I complain about boring errands, my husband always reminds me, "unless you get a second job, your free time is worth nothing".

Also, I remember complaining to my dad about the hourly rate at my first job (£3.83 an hour). He said, "Do you think you're worth more?", and I said, "Yeah, I'm worth like £5 an hour!".

And he just said, "Nope. Sorry. You're worth what you can get someone to pay you. Not a penny more". Good lesson.

Unless you have kids, or don't have enough time to sleep.  Then you can argue that it's worth it!

[MrMoogle]

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. ;)

Yep. When I complain about boring errands, my husband always reminds me, "unless you get a second job, your free time is worth nothing".

Also, I remember complaining to my dad about the hourly rate at my first job (£3.83 an hour). He said, "Do you think you're worth more?", and I said, "Yeah, I'm worth like £5 an hour!".

And he just said, "Nope. Sorry. You're worth what you can get someone to pay you. Not a penny more". Good lesson.

Unless you have kids, or don't have enough time to sleep.  Then you can argue that it's worth it!

Time is always worth something.  You always have an opportunity cost, what else you could be doing with that time. 

[MgoSam]

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. ;)

Yep. When I complain about boring errands, my husband always reminds me, "unless you get a second job, your free time is worth nothing".

Also, I remember complaining to my dad about the hourly rate at my first job (£3.83 an hour). He said, "Do you think you're worth more?", and I said, "Yeah, I'm worth like £5 an hour!".

And he just said, "Nope. Sorry. You're worth what you can get someone to pay you. Not a penny more". Good lesson.

Unless you have kids, or don't have enough time to sleep.  Then you can argue that it's worth it!

Time is always worth something.  You always have an opportunity cost, what else you could be doing with that time.

+1. While if you aren't currently working it will make it hard to put a precise monetary value, your time is always worth something. If I'm not working or working out or sleeping then I'm likely doing something that brings value to me, be it reading, watching TV, doing nothing, cleaning, ect. Now I'll acknowledge that I'm fairly lazy and should be more productive, my time is still valuable.

[Kitsune]

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. ;)

Yep. When I complain about boring errands, my husband always reminds me, "unless you get a second job, your free time is worth nothing".

Also, I remember complaining to my dad about the hourly rate at my first job (£3.83 an hour). He said, "Do you think you're worth more?", and I said, "Yeah, I'm worth like £5 an hour!".

And he just said, "Nope. Sorry. You're worth what you can get someone to pay you. Not a penny more". Good lesson.

Unless you have kids, or don't have enough time to sleep.  Then you can argue that it's worth it!

Time is always worth something.  You always have an opportunity cost, what else you could be doing with that time.

+1. While if you aren't currently working it will make it hard to put a precise monetary value, your time is always worth something. If I'm not working or working out or sleeping then I'm likely doing something that brings value to me, be it reading, watching TV, doing nothing, cleaning, ect. Now I'll acknowledge that I'm fairly lazy and should be more productive, my time is still valuable.

The kids comment is on point - am I paying 300$ in blackout blinds so that the kids will sleep past 4:30am? Abso-fucking-lutely. (And yes, the light makes THAT much difference for the toddler).

When I have a migraine, am I willing to pay 50$ to get the prescription for migraine meds filled out (stops me from puking from pain and then passing out)? No joke, YES.

I totally agree that your time is, monetarily, worth only what someone is willing to pay you for it... But free time and well-being also has a value. Not monetary, and so harder to calculate, but value nonetheless.

In my first example: 6ish months/year for at least the next 2 years of 2 hours of extra morning sleep DAILY is TOTALLY worth the money. (I'm paying for sleep, not curtains. Let's be real here)

[gaja]

The jury is out on whether Friday is Frey's, Freya's or Frigg's day. The fun part is that you have kept all the Nordic names, except for Saturday. In the Nordic languages this is the washing day (laugardagur), but you would rather watch the time go by? (Saturn = god of time).

As a Nordic citizen I have to report that of course we don't wash ourselves on Saturdays. That would be a serious health threat and quite wasteful. We take our annual baths just before Midwinter Sacrifice. Whether we need it or not.

What do you mean; wasteful? On saturday morning, you get up bright and early, sprint down to the river, get naked and jump in. Then you scream from the cold, jump straight back out and run even faster inside to your warm bed. In winter (otherwise known as "not July 17th-20th") you have to spend a few minutes chopping away the ice, but that is just good exercise, and necessary to do anyway to get access to drinking water.

Oh; you thought I meant washing with *warm* water?! No, that would be crazy.

[cerat0n1a]

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. ;)

Yep. When I complain about boring errands, my husband always reminds me, "unless you get a second job, your free time is worth nothing".

Also, I remember complaining to my dad about the hourly rate at my first job (£3.83 an hour). He said, "Do you think you're worth more?", and I said, "Yeah, I'm worth like £5 an hour!".

And he just said, "Nope. Sorry. You're worth what you can get someone to pay you. Not a penny more". Good lesson.

The cash that you'd be using to pay someone to do the work has probably had tax paid on it too. So if your highest marginal rate of tax is 20%, then the £10 you've paid someone to a job needs you to earn £12.50. If you're a 40% tax payer, you'd need to earn £16.66 to generate the money to pay someone £10.

[arebelspy]

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. ;)

Yep. When I complain about boring errands, my husband always reminds me, "unless you get a second job, your free time is worth nothing".

Also, I remember complaining to my dad about the hourly rate at my first job (£3.83 an hour). He said, "Do you think you're worth more?", and I said, "Yeah, I'm worth like £5 an hour!".

And he just said, "Nope. Sorry. You're worth what you can get someone to pay you. Not a penny more". Good lesson.

The cash that you'd be using to pay someone to do the work has probably had tax paid on it too. So if your highest marginal rate of tax is 20%, then the £10 you've paid someone to a job needs you to earn £12.50. If you're a 40% tax payer, you'd need to earn £16.66 to generate the money to pay someone £10.

The trick to avoiding that: Pay them with the first dollar you earn, not the last.

[Fearthebait]

Alright, I will update this with a picture shortly, but today I saw something truly amazing.

An individual pulled up to work in a brand new Chevy Silverado with KC Light attachments, 6" lift, front end police bumper add-on, and about 10 other "Upgrades" that I could spot from the exterior. The car must have cost him at least $50k although he wouldn't tell me what he actually paid. Pretty bad already, but here are some more details to make you cringe:

-The base is only 3 miles from end to end
-DFAC/Gym/Work all within 100 meters of the barracks, it literally takes longer to drive to these locations than it does to walk
-Only allowed to leave base every few weeks
-Only here for 1 year
-Can't ship the vehicle home
-Plans to sell it "At a profit" when he leaves
-No gas station available on base

[Seppia]

Does he get gas from Amazon?

[Fearthebait]

He said he will fill up a few gascans next time he goes out. I'm sure they we're an upgrade from the kind hearted dealership as well.

[lemanfan]

-Plans to sell it "At a profit" when he leaves

Bazinga!

[larmando]

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. ;)

Yep. When I complain about boring errands, my husband always reminds me, "unless you get a second job, your free time is worth nothing".

Also, I remember complaining to my dad about the hourly rate at my first job (£3.83 an hour). He said, "Do you think you're worth more?", and I said, "Yeah, I'm worth like £5 an hour!".

And he just said, "Nope. Sorry. You're worth what you can get someone to pay you. Not a penny more". Good lesson.

The cash that you'd be using to pay someone to do the work has probably had tax paid on it too. So if your highest marginal rate of tax is 20%, then the £10 you've paid someone to a job needs you to earn £12.50. If you're a 40% tax payer, you'd need to earn £16.66 to generate the money to pay someone £10.

The trick to avoiding that: Pay them with the first dollar you earn, not the last.

Impossible, you have to pay yourself first.

[arebelspy]

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. ;)

Yep. When I complain about boring errands, my husband always reminds me, "unless you get a second job, your free time is worth nothing".

Also, I remember complaining to my dad about the hourly rate at my first job (£3.83 an hour). He said, "Do you think you're worth more?", and I said, "Yeah, I'm worth like £5 an hour!".

And he just said, "Nope. Sorry. You're worth what you can get someone to pay you. Not a penny more". Good lesson.

The cash that you'd be using to pay someone to do the work has probably had tax paid on it too. So if your highest marginal rate of tax is 20%, then the £10 you've paid someone to a job needs you to earn £12.50. If you're a 40% tax payer, you'd need to earn £16.66 to generate the money to pay someone £10.

The trick to avoiding that: Pay them with the first dollar you earn, not the last.

Impossible, you have to pay yourself first.

Hah.

As a non-sarcastic aside, I think pay yourself first is terrible advice for a Mustachian.

[ender]

As a non-sarcastic aside, I think pay yourself first is terrible advice for a Mustachian.

Why?

There's my HSA, then my 401k, and then IRA.

What's wrong with paying myself first? ;-)

[Warlord1986]

Alright, I will update this with a picture shortly, but today I saw something truly amazing.

An individual pulled up to work in a brand new Chevy Silverado with KC Light attachments, 6" lift, front end police bumper add-on, and about 10 other "Upgrades" that I could spot from the exterior. The car must have cost him at least $50k although he wouldn't tell me what he actually paid. Pretty bad already, but here are some more details to make you cringe:

-The base is only 3 miles from end to end
-DFAC/Gym/Work all within 100 meters of the barracks, it literally takes longer to drive to these locations than it does to walk
-Only allowed to leave base every few weeks
-Only here for 1 year
-Can't ship the vehicle home
-Plans to sell it "At a profit" when he leaves
-No gas station available on base

That's beautiful. If he really plans to fill up gas cans, you might want to remind him that gas is useless after six months.

[Travis]

Alright, I will update this with a picture shortly, but today I saw something truly amazing.

An individual pulled up to work in a brand new Chevy Silverado with KC Light attachments, 6" lift, front end police bumper add-on, and about 10 other "Upgrades" that I could spot from the exterior. The car must have cost him at least $50k although he wouldn't tell me what he actually paid. Pretty bad already, but here are some more details to make you cringe:

-The base is only 3 miles from end to end
-DFAC/Gym/Work all within 100 meters of the barracks, it literally takes longer to drive to these locations than it does to walk
-Only allowed to leave base every few weeks
-Only here for 1 year
-Can't ship the vehicle home
-Plans to sell it "At a profit" when he leaves
-No gas station available on base

Korea?

[Metric Mouse]

Alright, I will update this with a picture shortly, but today I saw something truly amazing.

An individual pulled up to work in a brand new Chevy Silverado with KC Light attachments, 6" lift, front end police bumper add-on, and about 10 other "Upgrades" that I could spot from the exterior. The car must have cost him at least $50k although he wouldn't tell me what he actually paid. Pretty bad already, but here are some more details to make you cringe:

-The base is only 3 miles from end to end
-DFAC/Gym/Work all within 100 meters of the barracks, it literally takes longer to drive to these locations than it does to walk
-Only allowed to leave base every few weeks
-Only here for 1 year
-Can't ship the vehicle home
-Plans to sell it "At a profit" when he leaves
-No gas station available on base

That's beautiful. If he really plans to fill up gas cans, you might want to remind him that gas is useless after six months.

Sounds like not burning enough gas will not be a problem...

[Fearthebait]

Alright, I will update this with a picture shortly, but today I saw something truly amazing.

An individual pulled up to work in a brand new Chevy Silverado with KC Light attachments, 6" lift, front end police bumper add-on, and about 10 other "Upgrades" that I could spot from the exterior. The car must have cost him at least $50k although he wouldn't tell me what he actually paid. Pretty bad already, but here are some more details to make you cringe:

-The base is only 3 miles from end to end
-DFAC/Gym/Work all within 100 meters of the barracks, it literally takes longer to drive to these locations than it does to walk
-Only allowed to leave base every few weeks
-Only here for 1 year
-Can't ship the vehicle home
-Plans to sell it "At a profit" when he leaves
-No gas station available on base

Korea?

Middle east in a country most people have never heard of.

[Travis]

Alright, I will update this with a picture shortly, but today I saw something truly amazing.

An individual pulled up to work in a brand new Chevy Silverado with KC Light attachments, 6" lift, front end police bumper add-on, and about 10 other "Upgrades" that I could spot from the exterior. The car must have cost him at least $50k although he wouldn't tell me what he actually paid. Pretty bad already, but here are some more details to make you cringe:

-The base is only 3 miles from end to end
-DFAC/Gym/Work all within 100 meters of the barracks, it literally takes longer to drive to these locations than it does to walk
-Only allowed to leave base every few weeks
-Only here for 1 year
-Can't ship the vehicle home
-Plans to sell it "At a profit" when he leaves
-No gas station available on base

Korea?

Middle east in a country most people have never heard of.

Gotcha.  This vehicle purchase is doubly ridiculous considering the Middle East countries that a) we're friends with b) we have bases and c) you can buy a POV while deployed are all very small. 

[TomTX]

The jury is out on whether Friday is Frey's, Freya's or Frigg's day. The fun part is that you have kept all the Nordic names, except for Saturday. In the Nordic languages this is the washing day (laugardagur), but you would rather watch the time go by? (Saturn = god of time).

As a Nordic citizen I have to report that of course we don't wash ourselves on Saturdays. That would be a serious health threat and quite wasteful. We take our annual baths just before Midwinter Sacrifice. Whether we need it or not.

Nobody likes a dirty sacrifice!

[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. ;)

Yep. When I complain about boring errands, my husband always reminds me, "unless you get a second job, your free time is worth nothing".

Also, I remember complaining to my dad about the hourly rate at my first job (£3.83 an hour). He said, "Do you think you're worth more?", and I said, "Yeah, I'm worth like £5 an hour!".

And he just said, "Nope. Sorry. You're worth what you can get someone to pay you. Not a penny more". Good lesson.

I remind our teenager that he is poor and just about unemployed (part time work) so the notions of custom cars and motorcycles will have to wait until he has more money in a few year. He might have enough money to buy something shiny but he still can't afford it b/c it decimates his savings. ;)

We mapped out the major life events over his next ten years the other night in the car. School (uni or trades) or military, first apartment, maybe marriage, maybe children of his own, adventures/travel, etc. I think I smelled smoke wafting out of his ears after that conversation. ;)

[Kitsune]

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. ;)

Yep. When I complain about boring errands, my husband always reminds me, "unless you get a second job, your free time is worth nothing".

Also, I remember complaining to my dad about the hourly rate at my first job (£3.83 an hour). He said, "Do you think you're worth more?", and I said, "Yeah, I'm worth like £5 an hour!".

And he just said, "Nope. Sorry. You're worth what you can get someone to pay you. Not a penny more". Good lesson.

I remind our teenager that he is poor and just about unemployed (part time work) so the notions of custom cars and motorcycles will have to wait until he has more money in a few year. He might have enough money to buy something shiny but he still can't afford it b/c it decimates his savings. ;)

We mapped out the major life events over his next ten years the other night in the car. School (uni or trades) or military, first apartment, maybe marriage, maybe children of his own, adventures/travel, etc. I think I smelled smoke wafting out of his ears after that conversation. ;)

Excellent parenting job. :)

[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. ;)

Yep. When I complain about boring errands, my husband always reminds me, "unless you get a second job, your free time is worth nothing".

Also, I remember complaining to my dad about the hourly rate at my first job (£3.83 an hour). He said, "Do you think you're worth more?", and I said, "Yeah, I'm worth like £5 an hour!".

And he just said, "Nope. Sorry. You're worth what you can get someone to pay you. Not a penny more". Good lesson.

Unless you have kids, or don't have enough time to sleep.  Then you can argue that it's worth it!

Time is always worth something.  You always have an opportunity cost, what else you could be doing with that time.

True. I installed a new faucet and disposal yesterday (Sunday afternoon). I'd work for a while and then pop my head up and look at the beautiful day outside through the kitchen window, then I'd go back to work. Saved ~$200+ yesterday not calling a plumber.

Yep - I blew my opportunity to wash the car and rake leaves.... ;)

[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. ;)

Yep. When I complain about boring errands, my husband always reminds me, "unless you get a second job, your free time is worth nothing".

Also, I remember complaining to my dad about the hourly rate at my first job (£3.83 an hour). He said, "Do you think you're worth more?", and I said, "Yeah, I'm worth like £5 an hour!".

And he just said, "Nope. Sorry. You're worth what you can get someone to pay you. Not a penny more". Good lesson.

The cash that you'd be using to pay someone to do the work has probably had tax paid on it too. So if your highest marginal rate of tax is 20%, then the £10 you've paid someone to a job needs you to earn £12.50. If you're a 40% tax payer, you'd need to earn £16.66 to generate the money to pay someone £10.

The trick to avoiding that: Pay them with the first dollar you earn, not the last.

My coffee hasn't kicked in yet and I'm pretty dimwitted right now.

Can you explain what you mean here?

[Making Cookies]

Alright, I will update this with a picture shortly, but today I saw something truly amazing.

An individual pulled up to work in a brand new Chevy Silverado with KC Light attachments, 6" lift, front end police bumper add-on, and about 10 other "Upgrades" that I could spot from the exterior. The car must have cost him at least $50k although he wouldn't tell me what he actually paid. Pretty bad already, but here are some more details to make you cringe:

-The base is only 3 miles from end to end
-DFAC/Gym/Work all within 100 meters of the barracks, it literally takes longer to drive to these locations than it does to walk
-Only allowed to leave base every few weeks
-Only here for 1 year
-Can't ship the vehicle home
-Plans to sell it "At a profit" when he leaves
-No gas station available on base

Korea?

GITMO?

[Pooperman]

Alright, I will update this with a picture shortly, but today I saw something truly amazing.

An individual pulled up to work in a brand new Chevy Silverado with KC Light attachments, 6" lift, front end police bumper add-on, and about 10 other "Upgrades" that I could spot from the exterior. The car must have cost him at least $50k although he wouldn't tell me what he actually paid. Pretty bad already, but here are some more details to make you cringe:

-The base is only 3 miles from end to end
-DFAC/Gym/Work all within 100 meters of the barracks, it literally takes longer to drive to these locations than it does to walk
-Only allowed to leave base every few weeks
-Only here for 1 year
-Can't ship the vehicle home
-Plans to sell it "At a profit" when he leaves
-No gas station available on base

Korea?

GITMO?

[With This Herring]

The cash that you'd be using to pay someone to do the work has probably had tax paid on it too. So if your highest marginal rate of tax is 20%, then the £10 you've paid someone to a job needs you to earn £12.50. If you're a 40% tax payer, you'd need to earn £16.66 to generate the money to pay someone £10.

The trick to avoiding that: Pay them with the first dollar you earn, not the last.

My coffee hasn't kicked in yet and I'm pretty dimwitted right now.

Can you explain what you mean here?

It's just a joke.  cerat0n1a is saying that you are effectively paying someone else after tax at your highest marginal tax rate, so the last dollars you earn.  ARS is jokingly saying to just pay instead with the first dollars you earn, those taxed at the lowest rate or not taxed, as if it made any difference with something fungible such as money.

[Royale with Moustache]

The trick to avoiding that: Pay them with the first dollar you earn, not the last.

My coffee hasn't kicked in yet and I'm pretty dimwitted right now.

Can you explain what you mean here?

Because of marginal tax rates the first dollar is only taxed at ~10%, while the last dollar may have been taxed at ~33%. Thus, using the first $10 would only really cost $11 while if you used the last $10 it costs you more like $15.

[MrRealEstate]

The trick to avoiding that: Pay them with the first dollar you earn, not the last.

My coffee hasn't kicked in yet and I'm pretty dimwitted right now.

Can you explain what you mean here?

Because of marginal tax rates the first dollar is only taxed at ~10%, while the last dollar may have been taxed at ~33%. Thus, using the first $10 would only really cost $11 while if you used the last $10 it costs you more like $15.

Unless it's tax deductible, then using the last dollar is better than the first..?

[zephyr911]

Because of marginal tax rates the first dollar is only taxed at ~10%, while the last dollar may have been taxed at ~33%. Thus, using the first $10 would only really cost $11 while if you used the last $10 it costs you more like $15.

The first dollar is at a zero rate, or possibly even a negative marginal rate, with little things like EITC and saver's credits....

[zolotiyeruki]

Because of marginal tax rates the first dollar is only taxed at ~10%, while the last dollar may have been taxed at ~33%. Thus, using the first $10 would only really cost $11 while if you used the last $10 it costs you more like $15.

The first dollar is at a zero rate, or possibly even a negative marginal rate, with little things like EITC and saver's credits....

Actually, that first dollar only has a marginal rate of 0% if you have non-refundable credits that take your total tax to $0.  If you've got refundable credits greater than your total tax (i.e. if you have lots of kids), the marginal rate for that first dollar is still 10%.  Source: me doing my taxes earlier this year.

[RyanAtTanagra]

Because of marginal tax rates the first dollar is only taxed at ~10%, while the last dollar may have been taxed at ~33%. Thus, using the first $10 would only really cost $11 while if you used the last $10 it costs you more like $15.

The first dollar is at a zero rate, or possibly even a negative marginal rate, with little things like EITC and saver's credits....

Actually, that first dollar only has a marginal rate of 0% if you have non-refundable credits that take your total tax to $0.  If you've got refundable credits greater than your total tax (i.e. if you have lots of kids), the marginal rate for that first dollar is still 10%.  Source: me doing my taxes earlier this year.

Marginal rate for first dollar should never be over 0% since everyone gets a standard deduction.

[zephyr911]

Because of marginal tax rates the first dollar is only taxed at ~10%, while the last dollar may have been taxed at ~33%. Thus, using the first $10 would only really cost $11 while if you used the last $10 it costs you more like $15.

The first dollar is at a zero rate, or possibly even a negative marginal rate, with little things like EITC and saver's credits....

Actually, that first dollar only has a marginal rate of 0% if you have non-refundable credits that take your total tax to $0.  If you've got refundable credits greater than your total tax (i.e. if you have lots of kids), the marginal rate for that first dollar is still 10%.  Source: me doing my taxes earlier this year.

Your first dollar of taxable income isn't the same as your first dollar of income. Source: standard deduction, personal exemption, and so on.

[zolotiyeruki]

Because of marginal tax rates the first dollar is only taxed at ~10%, while the last dollar may have been taxed at ~33%. Thus, using the first $10 would only really cost $11 while if you used the last $10 it costs you more like $15.

The first dollar is at a zero rate, or possibly even a negative marginal rate, with little things like EITC and saver's credits....

Actually, that first dollar only has a marginal rate of 0% if you have non-refundable credits that take your total tax to $0.  If you've got refundable credits greater than your total tax (i.e. if you have lots of kids), the marginal rate for that first dollar is still 10%.  Source: me doing my taxes earlier this year.

Your first dollar of taxable income isn't the same as your first dollar of income. Source: standard deduction, personal exemption, and so on.

We're both correct, just talking about two different scenarios.  You're correct if deductions and exemptions reduce taxable income to $0.  I'm correct if the "This is your tax" line is >$0 but non-refundable credits reduce the tax to $0

[zephyr911]

I'm pretty sure that what I'm saying is accurate for either scenario, but I may be missing something.

[zolotiyeruki]

I'm pretty sure that what I'm saying is accurate for either scenario, but I may be missing something.

You know what?  You're right--I was thinking about things backwards.  Sorry!

[zephyr911]

I'm pretty sure that what I'm saying is accurate for either scenario, but I may be missing something.

You know what?  You're right--I was thinking about things backwards.  Sorry!

NP, let's hug it out.

[arebelspy]

Only on the MMM forums would that stupid joke I made generate a dozen posts of discussion.  I heart you guys.  :)

[ender]

Because of marginal tax rates the first dollar is only taxed at ~10%, while the last dollar may have been taxed at ~33%. Thus, using the first $10 would only really cost $11 while if you used the last $10 it costs you more like $15.

The first dollar is at a zero rate, or possibly even a negative marginal rate, with little things like EITC and saver's credits....

depends on FICA too ;)

[cerat0n1a]

Only on the MMM forums would that stupid joke I made generate a dozen posts of discussion.  I heart you guys.  :)

I was admiring the fact that the OP had framed the problem in £, I'd responded with UK tax rate examples and we'd then segued into the intricacies of the US tax code ;-) Maybe if I'd pointed out that the tradesperson might have to charge 20% VAT on the work too, depending on the size of their business, we could have digressed onto the intricacies of sales tax?

Back on topic, company I work for was acquired a couple of months back. All employees had share options, so everyone has an unexpected lump of cash. Company paid for a lot of (good quality) financial advice re pensions, tax, ISAs and other investments and (lots of mathematically minded engineers here) most people have been pretty sensible.

Lady I work with calculated that laser surgery on her eyes would pay back vs the cost of contact lenses pretty quickly and has had the operation, which seems OK. However, she's also bought a new BMW on finance (6% interest rate) in spite of having the cash, because "the dealer threw in 12 months free insurance if you took their finance package."

[LennStar]

However, she's also bought a new BMW on finance (6% interest rate) in spite of having the cash, because "the dealer threw in 12 months free insurance if you took their finance package."

I gues she doesn't know how cheap insurance is. I was surprised too when my dealer said it costs him about 50€ per year. Ok, was a cheap car, but still.

[kayvent]

Only on the MMM forums would that stupid joke I made generate a dozen posts of discussion.  I heart you guys.  :)

I was admiring the fact that the OP had framed the problem in £, I'd responded with UK tax rate examples and we'd then segued into the intricacies of the US tax code ;-) Maybe if I'd pointed out that the tradesperson might have to charge 20% VAT on the work too, depending on the size of their business, we could have digressed onto the intricacies of sales tax?

Back on topic, company I work for was acquired a couple of months back. All employees had share options, so everyone has an unexpected lump of cash. Company paid for a lot of (good quality) financial advice re pensions, tax, ISAs and other investments and (lots of mathematically minded engineers here) most people have been pretty sensible.

Lady I work with calculated that laser surgery on her eyes would pay back vs the cost of contact lenses pretty quickly and has had the operation, which seems OK. However, she's also bought a new BMW on finance (6% interest rate) in spite of having the cash, because "the dealer threw in 12 months free insurance if you took their finance package."

She bought the BMW because the dealer threw in the insurance, she bought it on financing terms because of the insurance, or she bought the BMW AND financed it because of the free insurance?

If it is 6% and no interest in the first X-months (and she can pay it off before then), that's not a horrible deal. Except for the BMW.

[cerat0n1a]

she bought it on financing terms because of the insurance.
If it is 6% and no interest in the first X-months (and she can pay it off before then), that's not a horrible deal.

I don't think there's any interest free period and she can't pay off early. I reckon the 6% interest will cost her over £4000 over the term of the loan. The insurance is probably approaching £1000 - it's only for the first year.