Overheard at Work

[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...

[MrRealEstate]

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.

It's amazing how no matter the workplace, this always causes an issue. With that in mind, when we went to biweekly(fortnightly) paychecks from twice a month no one seemed to have an issue here. Salaried employees were the only ones effected, hourly employees are paid weekly.

[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?