The Money Mustache Community
Around the Internet => Antimustachian Wall of Shame and Comedy => Topic started by: The Bearded Bank Builder on April 19, 2013, 01:16:05 PM
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I thought this thread might be good for a laugh. So long as some time has passed, it can be fun to look back at mistakes and think "what the hell was I thinking?"
Personally, I am in my early 20s and never had enough money to do anything too crazy before becoming Mustachian, but I did buy a huge punching bag, MMA (mixed martial arts) gloves, and all that crap convinced that after watch some people fight on TV that this would be my new favorite sport/hobby. I think I used all that gear 3 times ever. It's funny what cleaning out your garage will make you remember.
Anyways, what is the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
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Went to private undergraduate college and racked up crazy student loans. Young and stupid and uneducated.
As a thinking adult, I bought maybe $1500 worth of bicycle when all I needed was a $50 beater. You may have better stories, but I regret it.
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Has to be the $60k+ wedding. It was perfect, I enjoyed every second of it, and it undeniably singed my poor little 'stache.
Looking forward to reading these.
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Oh, that's an easy one - it'd be my first house. Purchased in December of 2004 in the SF bay area (east bay). 3/2 for 500k. When it foreclosed and was auctioned in 2011, it went for 240k - and that's not because the place was trashed or anything. I still go a bit nuts thinking about how much money / time I lost in that boondoggle - if I'd just kept renting, I'd be up by at least 200k, probably more.
Oh well - the reboot has been going swimmingly! What I don't spend on that crushing mortgage instead goes to the stache / paying down the mortgage on a much more affordable place in a much nicer neighborhood. Totally worth trashing my credit rating to get out of the ghetto!
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candidate 1 (nominated due to it's early influence and longevity): I bought an old British sports car in 1983. Little by little, I've rebuilt/replaced almost every component on it. I totaled it (badly) around 1987 and (stupidly) bought it back from the insurance company and had it repaired. I still have it and just can't peel my emotions off of it.
candidate 2: pilot's license. It's crack.
candidate 3: my first marriage. Enough said.
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Saved $2000 when I was 17 and to buy myself a vintage, imported surfboard that I could only use 3 months a year. This was virtually all the money I had, and I would totally do it again.
@Spork: ha! what kind of British car are we talking here?
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@Spork: ha! what kind of British car are we talking here?
1975 TR6
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@Spork: ha! what kind of British car are we talking here?
1975 TR6
You're in the clear.
(http://www.magicmonkeys.co.uk/games/files/sealofapproval.jpg)
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DH and I went through a traumatic event together, and were pretty seriously depressed for about 3 weeks (it took longer than that to recover, but the first 3 weeks were the worst). During that time we managed to blow money on a brand new leather couch (w/o shopping around AT ALL), and giant a$$ TV, and an Xbox 360. None of those things broke the bank or anything, but the antimustachian part was that we didn't think the purchases through, didn't shop around, didn't even discuss whether we really wanted/needed the items. We just spent money to feel better.
The biggest money wasters, however, would be our first house (now worth $40k less than we paid) and my undergrad degree (another $40k, when I don't need a degree for my line of work). But those were both calculated moves that seemed like a good idea at the time.
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I love this thread! (Especially since I just got done reading the "What's the most mustachian thing" thread) I have more than my share:
1. Buying our first house at the top of the housing bubble. 950 sq ft. We already had 2 kids and were planning on having a 3rd. Two years after buying, we had our 3rd and the house was bursting at the seams. We sold for a $80,000 loss (including depreciation and selling fees). It still hurts me in the face when I write that number.
2. I've taken a few jobs without negotiating the salary. Beginning a new job is the time you have the most bargaining power over your salary, and each job switch the effects will compound (since your pay usually goes up when you willingly switch employers).
3. Buying a new Crate and Barrel couch. Looked great on the showroom floor. $1400 and a few years later, it looks like a frumpy CraigsList find.
4. Lifestyle inflation immediately after getting my first job. I moved into an apartment in the most expensive, hippest part of town and started drinking like a fish at trendy bars and clubs. When my old Honda Civic broke down, I bought an almost-new Prius (which I later sold for an older car). Sometimes I feel like I'm still backing down from this lifestyle inflation back to my thrifty college ways.
5. Weekend trip to London. A friend was studying abroad in London and emailed me one day "What are you doing for Thanksgiving weekend? Want to come visit?" I booked a 4-day trip to London on a whim. Once there, I ate out 3 meals a day and went to trendy, expensive clubs.
Wow, glad I got that all out of my system. This must be what going to Confession feels like.
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Bought a new truck about a year ago, and financed it with a car loan. Next up: will be buying DW a sparkly to the tune of 5 grand for her 40th birthday in a couple of months. But I am wealthy and can afford a rare indulgence or two.
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candidate 2: pilot's license. It's crack.
Second the pilot's license. Spent all my savings ($8000) on it when I was 20 years old!
In my defense, it was going to be my career, until I realised it's actually a much worse career than programming.
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candidate 2: pilot's license. It's crack.
Second the pilot's license. Spent all my savings ($8000) on it when I was 20 years old!
In my defense, it was going to be my career, until I realised it's actually a much worse career than programming.
That was my defense as well. I love flying about like I like breathing.... but it is more than I can spend and not hate myself.
For a while there (while working on instrument rating) I was dropping $1k a month on a book with writing in it.
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I wouldn't call any of these mistakes, but things that turned into money sinks:
1) Got talked into running for the state legislature (many years ago). Didn't win.
2) Pilot's license, and airplane.
3) The horse.
2 & 3 were worth every cent I've paid for them. #1 was a gamble...
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!. Bought a 1K tennis bracelet for a gift on a credit card and paid the monthly minimum.
2. Bought thousands of dollars worth of PVC figurines, graphic novels, art books, and anime dvds.
3. Went overseas on credit.
Gah. My misspent youth!
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Bought a new car when I was still in University (in my defense it was a Civic and my down payment was over half and I payed it off way early) I liked the car but when I helped get my gf a car that served the same function for 1/4 the cost I felt kinda stupid.
At one point I owned almost 1,000 video games. Most of them were the old 8 bit Nintendo games that were a few bucks a piece but there were also more 50 and 60 dollar games than I could ever play. I sold a good chunk of them I probably made 750-1000 bucks back but just the gas alone to drive around and find "deals" on rare games might have been more than that.
I still have the older games and still buy video games from time to time (maybe 10 a year) but I never pay full price and I always sell them back when I'm done with them.
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I financed $6000 of my first car, and then used student loan money to pay for the loan, and exceedingly high insurance costs.
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I bought a $30k Mini Cooper 7.5 years ago on payments. I hate the car. It's a pain to drive and has no functionality. But I'm going to drive it until the wheels fall off because I'm just that pissed about my dumb decision.
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Thirded.
$40,000, went all the way: commerical, multiengine, IFR, instructor. I even got to fly business jets ... before realizing there was more money to be made in management and left the flight line for good.
Fourth on the airplanes...
ASEL, AMEL, IFR, AGI. Planning on going ahead and getting my Commercial and my IGI since they're relatively cheap add-ons compared to what I've already dumped in (and it is super fun, for those that haven't done it, you have no idea, and I recommend you DO NOT go try it! :-) ). On the plus side, I *did* come to my senses and realize that ownership is a really horrible idea for the limited hours I fly (after almost buying a quarter share of a Piper Aztec).
A close second is my racecar habit. Racing my daily driver on the weekends and breaking it all the time just wasn't expensive enough, so I went and bought a second car. Since I like racing both of them, both of them also have to be kept street legal since I never know which one will be broken at any given time (and, at least for now, a car is a requirement for my job). On the plus side, they were both several years old when I bought them, so the actual purchase price for BOTH my cars is less than most people I know spend on a single new car...
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I seriously had no idea that there were so many people who had planes as hobbies. You learn something new every day.
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Although I make crazy sacrifices with myself in terms of spending money, my one area of relative weakness is spending on my significant other.
Have been engaged before (twice), and have learned quite a bit about relationships and basic human psychology. One area that I've grown is not being such a passive person that lets people walk all over me. My problem is that when in a relationship, you don't expect the other person to be manipulative, so when I wound up in those situations, I let love cloud my judgment and didn't fully wake up until it was almost too late.
For the second engagement, I let her push and push me to spend waaaay too much on her engagement diamond (she was demanding a $50k budget...thankfully, I managed to start to find my backbone and refused increasing the budget that much). Ended up spending $33k. The only "good" thing about the experience was that I bought it from a good on-line jeweler in March 2009, at the very bottom of the economy - which also hit the diamond industry, and I managed to buy my diamond at a pretty low price that would let me sell it back to the jeweler today at about $2k more than I paid for it.
I was going to sell it back to the jeweler after we went our separate ways, but given how much it's gone up in value, I'll hold onto it for now to see if a future Mrs. MooreBonds might be willing to accept it, or if she would need a different stone (hopefully not as pricey!).
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I bought a $30k Mini Cooper 7.5 years ago on payments. I hate the car. It's a pain to drive and has no functionality. But I'm going to drive it until the wheels fall off because I'm just that pissed about my dumb decision.
Really? You don't like your MINI? We have one and love it. (Right now, the kids don't fit in the backseat very well due to car seat issues, but we made it until the younger one was 4.5 (and the older was 7) before it became an issue. I expect it will resolve in a few years.)
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I was going to sell it back to the jeweler after we went our separate ways, but given how much it's gone up in value, I'll hold onto it for now to see if a future Mrs. MooreBonds might be willing to accept it, or if she would need a different stone (hopefully not as pricey!).
FTLOG! Hopefully your future Mrs MooreBonds will tell you to sell that rock pronto and buy her something to go with her mustache. Hehe.
My least mustachian thing is probably letting my pregnancy hormones drive me over the cloth diapering cliff. To the tune of around $1200, and guess who didn't end up cloth diapering at ALL? That's right. At least I recouped a lot of my costs, cloth diapers have great resale value. Punch self in the face though. Ugh.
My current car is probably right up there too. At least it's paid for. And I keep paying, and paying and paying anyway! :/
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I bought a brand new very fast motorcycle, had cash from the bank and was young and dumb enough to not realize I could haggle a lot on price. Drove it off the lot and instantly lost something around 30% of it's value. over the next 2 years it got maybe 3 or 4,000 km total before I sold it for half what I paid as I needed to replace the bathroom and my sense of mortality caught up with me about the same time.
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My least mustachian thing is probably letting my pregnancy hormones drive me over the cloth diapering cliff. To the tune of around $1200, and guess who didn't end up cloth diapering at ALL?
Holy baby crap batman! Were those silk diapers stitched with gold thread?
P.s. still keeping my eyes out for the swerving weehoo.
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Well where do I start? This is the thread where I make everyone feel better. My biggest mustachian sin would have to be consumption creep. Dollar-wise the most antimustachian thing I've done would be buying a big house with a big mortgage just as soon as my previous mortgage was paid off. I had worked hard being frugal post divorce to pay it off in 5 years: using the skills of a great little Aussie frugalist called Anita Bell, who wrote "Your mortgage: How to pay it off in 5 years by someone who did it in 3", way back in 1999. Doh! I'm such a slow learner, but I think I've got it covered now!.
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1. I didn't want my ex to accuse me of spending any of the child support money on me instead of the kids, so I bought them way too many toys and gadgets. I did put a lot of that money into education accounts and therapy for our son, but I spent way too much on frivolous items for them when they were younger. Looking back, I should have just offered to take less child support. My daughter developed a huge sense of entitlement and I suspect all the spending I did on her was part of the problem.
2. I don't regret it at all, but I bought an inexpensive travel trailer several provinces away because I have two months of summer vacation and detest the humid smogginess of southern Ontario in the summer. I would probably be FI if I hadn't allowed that lifestyle inflation (costs about $4000/year for park fees, flights, and maintenance), but I love it, so it's worth it to me. I may decide to retire there, so in a sense will recoup some of the cost that way, but definitely not mustachian.
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Great thread! I'm enjoying reading all the responses.
For me, I am going to drop my dh into it. The most antimustachian thing he has ever done was get heavily into F1 car models-you know those small 1/32 cars that cost between $200-$400 EACH!!!!!!!!! He LOVED F1 racing and watched it all the time and collected the freaking cars.
Well, the bottom dropped out and his collection which he spent thousands on was probably worth under $100-total....sigh..but we had more money than sense then.
For me it would have to be my clothing purchases. I only shopped at Holt Renfrew, or Banana Republic and dropped about $150 for pants and the same for one freaking shirt-oh and I shopped weekly...sigh....at least I looked hot-hahaha
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I have SUCH a long list..it'd be scary if I wrote them all.
Current $ leaders have to be A) our existing house; I owe about $50k more than it's currently worth because I took cash out when refinancing to buy B) ten acres of land for my "dream house". In 2006. I couldn't give it away currently. Those two have me at least $100k in the hole.
There are tons of other stupid things but I'm starting to stem the bleeding. It's a good feeling. My sense of humor about this stuff will be much improved when we get into our new house, get this one rented out, and can pay down the property mortgage!
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Started a business without a business plan. All kinds of good ideas, contacts and experience, but lacked the team and time to make it profitable. That little misadventure ate up a year of savings and any motivation I had for a side gig. hard lesson to learn, thank goodness I pulled the pug when I did.
@hamster- I had the opposite experience with cloth dippers- got two full sets for 40$ - which has saved us 100's in the first months
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I got two bachelor's degrees (spending way too long in school, using student loans), and the degree I'm not using (computer science) pays a lot better than the one I decided to use (civil engineering). I even sat around unemployed because I was worried nobody would hire me as an engineer if my current job title was "programmer." And the worst part is, following the Mustachian plan, by the time I get all my licenses and certifications it'll be time to retire!
The most antimustachian thing I'm about to do is spend about $2000 on parts to repair and upgrade my $4000 car. I'm replacing the transmission and will be spending $1000 extra to get a 6-speed from Europe instead of settling a 5-speed like it has now.
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I've got a private pilot-SEL but I did it the Mustachian way; was an AOPA employee at the time and they reimbursed for almost everything, basically all I had to pay for was the headset (which I just eBayed a couple weeks ago for a $100 loss).
I financed a used car, less than a year old, $16k+ for 6.75% interest. But the worst was buying a closed circuit rebreather for SCUBA diving. I sank about $10k into it and now it's becoming extremely difficult to sell. The training cost me another $2k including taking unpaid leave from work. If I get $3500 back from the thing I'll consider myself extremely lucky.
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Wow, there are a lot of pilots here. Add me to the list. I spent $19,000 to get as far as my instrument rating and 300 hours, in the hopes of it being a career. Then I realized (dimly) that if something I loved became my job I would end up hating it. I actually did it all in a fairly mustachian way. I logged a lot of time in a Tomahawk which I bought 1/2 of and then later sold at break even, so I was flying for the cost of gas for awhile. I also made a lot of friends by offering to split the cost of gas if I could fly and log the time when they had to fly to accomplish some mundane task (get a part, get gas, drop off a plane, etc). I knew a few young guys who simply bought all those hours they needed to qualify for the instrument or commercial, boring holes in the sky at $110 an hour. It was more fun to meet people and do things that needed doing.
A few years after that, still looking for meaning in my life, I spent about $10,000 on skydiving. That was actually worth it, because it was then that I realized that running around playing tag with kids made me just as happy as jumping out of airplanes, the supposed peak of all experiences. The latter activity also required me to pacify the marketplace with my labors. I'm glad I spent the money. It was tuition.
Going through all that and spending all that money and still not being satisfied is what launched me into financial independence. I had always been frugal and entrepreneurial, but I didn't have escape as my ultimate goal. I never thought I could make it, or I wouldn't want to give up the modest wants I that had. When I got involved in the most audacious thing I had always wanted to do, and saw that my happiness had not REALLY changed, then I could finally stop chasing after things.
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umm...when i was 18 i felt the collapse of a relationship coming on like impeding doom, so what did i do.....i booked a week long cruise to the Caribbean for the two of us and paid for it ALL using a credit card. he broke up with me the second we got back.....and since i used to only pay the minimum it took me 4 and 1/2 years to pay that cruise off.
jerkface, although i should have seen it coming.
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Well I bought a new Tundra and financed it no less. The rate was 0%, but I could have taken a $2k rebate instead. Fortunately I came to my senses, sold it, and got a used Matrix.
A close second is the $10k Disney Med. cruise I took with my ex-wife and daughter. My only consolation is that we didn't incur credit card debt to pay for it.
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Oh geeze, I was hoping that someone would start a thread like this.
1. House. We built a much too large custom log home on 4 acres an hour away from our jobs. This also fits into the most mustachian thing because we lived in an airstream for 6 months (without water no less) and then the basement for another 6 years while we did most of the work ourselves. Even with so much of it being DIY, the house is waaay more than people like us should have. On the flip side, the house is spectacular with privacy, views, a hiking/biking trail out the back door, etc. It's like being on vacation in a mountain lodge every day and that's kind of awesome, I have to admit. Also, we have extremely cheap taxes and fantastic local services because of local legalized gambling. We should sell it, but like the British sports car mentioned above, it has our emotions all over it.
2. Because of the house, we didn't have the money to have a second child. However, at ages 40 and 46, we couldn't wait and we did it anyway. Now we have unsecured debt. All the more reason why we should sell the house. Oddly enough, we actually have a net worth of over 500K in retirement funds and some home equity, so maybe that's why we haven't done it. We're fooling ourselves!
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Well I guess Im right in the middle of the most antimustachian thing. The project started last year before I found MMM. I am currently driving an hour away to get my whole right arm tattooed. On the plus side the artist is amazing, he has been giving me one hell of a deal, and I only have one more session left. I have also spaced out the visits more and lumped in time with friends in that town. On the down side Ive spent one hellofa lot on art for my bod, and wear and tear on my car.
Kind of curious on the Mustachian feeling on tattoos.
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Kind of curious on the Mustachian feeling on tattoos.
I find them VERY sexy!
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Kind of curious on the Mustachian feeling on tattoos.
Same as everything else IMO. If you decide, after logical deliberation, that it's something worth spending your limited resources on, then go for it.
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I was going to sell it back to the jeweler after we went our separate ways, but given how much it's gone up in value, I'll hold onto it for now to see if a future Mrs. MooreBonds might be willing to accept it, or if she would need a different stone (hopefully not as pricey!).
A lady mustachian here....SELL IT! I wouldn't accept another woman's ring, unless it was your mother's/grandmother's heirloom that she gave to you. Plus, at a value like 33k that I'd be scared to wear it anywhere!
As for me, I was a bit into collecting some memorabilia in high school. Should have not wasted my money on that. I've tried to sell some of it, but not all of it is worth that much anymore.
I also once paid for laser hair removal. That was dumb.
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I was going to sell it back to the jeweler after we went our separate ways, but given how much it's gone up in value, I'll hold onto it for now to see if a future Mrs. MooreBonds might be willing to accept it, or if she would need a different stone (hopefully not as pricey!).
A lady mustachian here....SELL IT! I wouldn't accept another woman's ring, unless it was your mother's/grandmother's heirloom that she gave to you. Plus, at a value like 33k that I'd be scared to wear it anywhere!
As for me, I was a bit into collecting some memorabilia in high school. Should have not wasted my money on that. I've tried to sell some of it, but not all of it is worth that much anymore.
I also once paid for laser hair removal. That was dumb.
i would accept someone else's ring in a heartbeat. but i'm not sentimental either. i actually wear my partner's ex's bracelet. i found it, i liked it, i wear it. he thinks it's weird but i look at it as free jewelery.
that being said i would be afraid to wear something worth 33k too.
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I was going to sell it back to the jeweler after we went our separate ways, but given how much it's gone up in value, I'll hold onto it for now to see if a future Mrs. MooreBonds might be willing to accept it, or if she would need a different stone (hopefully not as pricey!).
A lady mustachian here....SELL IT! I wouldn't accept another woman's ring, unless it was your mother's/grandmother's heirloom that she gave to you. Plus, at a value like 33k that I'd be scared to wear it anywhere!
I'd accept someone else's ring if I liked it, it's just an object. But I'd never wear anything with a value above 1K, what if you flushed it down the toilet by accident?!
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I was going to sell it back to the jeweler after we went our separate ways, but given how much it's gone up in value, I'll hold onto it for now to see if a future Mrs. MooreBonds might be willing to accept it, or if she would need a different stone (hopefully not as pricey!).
A lady mustachian here....SELL IT! I wouldn't accept another woman's ring, unless it was your mother's/grandmother's heirloom that she gave to you. Plus, at a value like 33k that I'd be scared to wear it anywhere!
I'd accept someone else's ring if I liked it, it's just an object. But I'd never wear anything with a value above 1K, what if you flushed it down the toilet by accident?!
Totally agree - nothing above 1K. I think I'd even feel bad with something more than $500 on my finger. I wouldn't wear another woman's engagement ring because when it was purchased it was with her in mind, not me. That right there is what is crass about it, to me anyway. To each his own, I guess.
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Not a chick, but in general I'd accept an ex's jewelry as more of a "haha, fuck you!" to the other girl.
I'm pretty competitive though.
This diamond in particular... 33k is a hell of a lot of money, and you're lucky to be able to get rid of it without a loss. I'd sell it and get something just as meaningful but less expensive when the next possible Mrs. Moorebonds comes along
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Spending nearly my entire savings account on a 10-day Mediterranean Cruise. What I got? Not a lot of memories (kind of my fault as well though), an empty savings account, and the realization that I cruise ships, island jumping, and tours. And that I am stupid for nearly paying $400 for a painting. At least I learned that I should trust logic, and utilitarianism then emotions.
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All that stupid shit you do between when you're 16 and 20 something to your car before you learn the ways of MMM - you know, when your car is a statement, instead of merely a lazy mans way to get from here to there. In hindsight, my statement was "look what a dumb fuck I am for wasting all this money on a POS car". Of course, the typical knuckle headed kid would view the statement as something else entirely, but that's what helps to define the stupidity of youth.
I did much of it - new rims, new tires, rebuilt the engine with performance parts, 4 barrel carb, yadda, yadda, yadda. Stupid shit, all of it*. I can't stand to think where I would be were I to have been smart enough back then (note, mid 80's to early 90's time frame) to have sunk the money** into, oh, I don't know, Microsoft.....(and then, of course, be smart enough to have bailed in January 2000 and gone all in on treasuries).
** - Lucky for me my stupidity was only moderate - on the order of a couple grand. However with the time value of money, it would be a shit pot more than that today.
* - I just saw a current version of this same phenomenon the other day. Some kid driving a POS Toyota sedan, with a mis-matched door. It had the fancy wheels n tires, lowered suspension, added on tall spoiler and these absolutely hideous chrome (stainless?) accent pieces all over it - chrome flames on the quarter panel, chrome gas filler door and multiple other chrome pieces. I bet the owner is proud and his friends are impressed.
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I spent a fair amount making modifications to an old car a few years ago. It was a pain when it came time to sell it and I definitely learned my lesson there, but I don't consider it a total waste. It was valuable experience in fixing things and working on cars that has saved me money a few times over hiring a mechanic. It just depends on whether you do the work yourself or pay someone else to do it (frequently the case with fancy tires & rims, unless you mount and balance them yourself)
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I was going to sell it back to the jeweler after we went our separate ways, but given how much it's gone up in value, I'll hold onto it for now to see if a future Mrs. MooreBonds might be willing to accept it, or if she would need a different stone (hopefully not as pricey!).
I'd sell it, even if it was only worth $100. Why would anybody want to wear a ring around his or her finger? It's bizarre.
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I was going to sell it back to the jeweler after we went our separate ways, but given how much it's gone up in value, I'll hold onto it for now to see if a future Mrs. MooreBonds might be willing to accept it, or if she would need a different stone (hopefully not as pricey!).
While waiting for a Mrs. MooreBonds to show up, why not sell the ring now, invest the cash, and buy a new ring with the eventual proceeds? You never know when the right lady friend might show up, and anyway, you're not going to need to buy a ring ASAP. And if you're seriously looking right now, maybe try posting in the Personals section of this forum? ;)
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I'm a little surprised that we're 50 posts into this thread yet nobody has mentioned flying first class. There's been first marriage, first home, and first car... but not first-class accommodations. Is that because first class is considered essential for long-distance travel, or because we don't place a high value on frequent-flyer miles?
When I'm on a 8-10 hour flight to the interior Mainland, first class makes a huge difference over coach.
While I'm at it, I'll mention that the Hertz Gold Membership for rental cars also makes a huge difference over standing in line at the rental counter after a redeye flight-- and then getting beaten about the head & shoulders upsold on useless "features".
You can probably guess that I feel the same way about early check-in at hotels...
I'd sell it, even if it was only worth $100. Why would anybody want to wear a ring around his or her finger? It's bizarre.
It keeps the hot chicks from pestering me when I'm trying to have a quiet contemplative evening at a local watering hole.
But seriously, I've received three rings from my mother that (together) have been appraised at nearly five figures. I won't wear them, of course, and our daughter doesn't want the responsibility/hassle. (One of them could make a nice engagement ring someday, not that the subject has come up.) So my spouse has worn one of them a few times and then... put them away. It's another one of those sentimental assets that happens to have some financial value but just ends up being a burden dumped onto your kids.
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Jeez, where to start on this? Suped up cars? Check-2 not just 1, 1967 Ford Mustangs, 4 barrel, roller cam, 4.11 axle gears, aftermarket heads, tires, rims, stereo, yada, yada. A gazilion dollars to an emergency vet clinic for a pet? Dumb real estate- check had one rotten investment that cost me 25k and more work than I care to even think about, Tech stock crash? QQQs can go down? Huh? Hookers and blow? check, Great recession crash? check Paid people to manage my stash at a bank? (Crap that cost a stack!) check travel all across the USA, CA, Bahamas? check Drinking? Smoking? Coke? Boats? Tournament fishing? Rotten investments? (-100k?). check, check, check, check, check. Take your pick. However, the stash has never been higher than now so you live and learn I guess.
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I'd sell it, even if it was only worth $100. Why would anybody want to wear a ring around his or her finger? It's bizarre.
Also that. Rings are much more dangerous than people realize.
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* - I just saw a current version of this same phenomenon the other day. Some kid driving a POS Toyota sedan, with a mis-matched door. It had the fancy wheels n tires, lowered suspension, added on tall spoiler and these absolutely hideous chrome (stainless?) accent pieces all over it - chrome flames on the quarter panel, chrome gas filler door and multiple other chrome pieces. I bet the owner is proud and his friends are impressed.
I have seriously considered starting a tumblr where people could submit pictures of cars like that and their owners. They make us owners of 20 year old rust buckets look bad.
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I'm a little surprised that we're 50 posts into this thread yet nobody has mentioned flying first class.
'Cause I don't fly commercial? (Note number of pilots posting.) If I absolutely had to go somewhere, and it couldn't be done by car, train, ship, or packing myself in a crate and calling FexEx, I'd seriously consider at least business class.
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* - I just saw a current version of this same phenomenon the other day. Some kid driving a POS Toyota sedan, with a mis-matched door. It had the fancy wheels n tires, lowered suspension, added on tall spoiler and these absolutely hideous chrome (stainless?) accent pieces all over it - chrome flames on the quarter panel, chrome gas filler door and multiple other chrome pieces. I bet the owner is proud and his friends are impressed.
I just modded my 1995 tercel... Now featuring a passenger mirror that can be adjusted from INSIDE the car :D
Seriously though, I would never spend more on accessories for a car, than the car is worth. This means that I seriously debated replacing the wipers, until I found them on sale at Costco for $8 each last week.
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I was going to sell it back to the jeweler after we went our separate ways, but given how much it's gone up in value, I'll hold onto it for now to see if a future Mrs. MooreBonds might be willing to accept it, or if she would need a different stone (hopefully not as pricey!).
A lady mustachian here....SELL IT! I wouldn't accept another woman's ring, unless it was your mother's/grandmother's heirloom that she gave to you. Plus, at a value like 33k that I'd be scared to wear it anywhere!
As for me, I was a bit into collecting some memorabilia in high school. Should have not wasted my money on that. I've tried to sell some of it, but not all of it is worth that much anymore.
I also once paid for laser hair removal. That was dumb.
Another vote to sell here. I forbade my man to spend more than $100 on an engagement ring (he got me a lovely garnet), and I'm still thoroughly pleased with the $70 plain gold band I've worn all these years. Also I hate diamonds. What if your Mustachian babe is truly frugal? Sell and invest now; there will be rings out there later if you need one.
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My husband and I fell into the engagement ring trap. It's beautiful, but we spent far to much on it, however it was a "good deal" (as much as a diamond can be) since we got it at cost from a family friend jeweler. At that point we hadn't quite figured out the timeline for ER and it was more of a hope and dream than a concrete plan, so we had moments of living for the now such as this. Knowing what I know now, I'd probably insist on forgoing the engagement ring all together. The idea just seems kind of silly now.
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I love my engagement ring. It's tanzenite and cost about $100. My wedding band is plain and cost a bit, but not much, more.
So that's another vote to sell and get what you can out of it!
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Jeez, where to start on this? Suped up cars? Check-2 not just 1, 1967 Ford Mustangs, 4 barrel, roller cam, 4.11 axle gears, aftermarket heads, tires, rims, stereo, yada, yada. A gazilion dollars to an emergency vet clinic for a pet? Dumb real estate- check had one rotten investment that cost me 25k and more work than I care to even think about, Tech stock crash? QQQs can go down? Huh? Hookers and blow? check, Great recession crash? check Paid people to manage my stash at a bank? (Crap that cost a stack!) check travel all across the USA, CA, Bahamas? check Drinking? Smoking? Coke? Boats? Tournament fishing? Rotten investments? (-100k?). check, check, check, check, check. Take your pick. However, the stash has never been higher than now so you live and learn I guess.
hahaha wow, you must have had a pretty wild life!! Never mind the money you spent, just be happy you came out in one piece!
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A gazilion dollars to an emergency vet clinic for a pet?
I have done the vet thing, but I didn't list it as a mistake. My dogs are family members and I did not hesitate when one needed chemo and the other required lots of medical attention. I would do the same thing over again without thinking twice.
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A gazilion dollars to an emergency vet clinic for a pet?
I have done the vet thing, but I didn't list it as a mistake. My dogs are family members and I did not hesitate when one needed chemo and the other required lots of medical attention. I would do the same thing over again without thinking twice.
+1 I don't care if he's a somewhat mangy looking tomcat: he's been so important to me for so many years. I would so fork out for expensive vet care.
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Once a year for one week I go on RAGBRAI. I get silly drunk on $3 Coors. I eat $3 pie and $6 turkey legs. I don't give a shit what it costs. Its the most fun that can be had on a bike. In the scheme of things it not that expensive but I dont even think about where my money is going for the week making it very Antimustacian.
This year the mileage looks like 56,83,49,49,52,52,63. Those four days of 52 or less are going to brutal. Why because less riding=more drinking. Oh it will be fun.
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'Cause I don't fly commercial? (Note number of pilots posting.) If I absolutely had to go somewhere, and it couldn't be done by car, train, ship, or packing myself in a crate and calling FexEx, I'd seriously consider at least business class.
Ever since I became a pilot there's no way I'm climbing back into a commercial airliner unless I know the guys up front and they're on my "approved" list. My list of people I'm willing to fly with is shorter than my list of people I will NOT fly with...
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Okay, thought of one. Stupidly I decided I had to ride the mechanical bull at a work party. That cost me over $300, because I shattered a tooth falling off!
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Okay, thought of one. Stupidly I decided I had to ride the mechanical bull at a work party. That cost me over $300, because I shattered a tooth falling off!
haha oh no!!! What a life lesson. Note to self: stay away from mechanical bulls!
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Okay, thought of one. Stupidly I decided I had to ride the mechanical bull at a work party. That cost me over $300, because I shattered a tooth falling off!
Yikes! ha ha ha But on another note, it would be fun to work somewhere where there were mechanical bulls at the parties. Teacher parties are pretty tame.
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A gazilion dollars to an emergency vet clinic for a pet?
I have done the vet thing, but I didn't list it as a mistake. My dogs are family members and I did not hesitate when one needed chemo and the other required lots of medical attention. I would do the same thing over again without thinking twice.
+1 I don't care if he's a somewhat mangy looking tomcat: he's been so important to me for so many years. I would so fork out for expensive vet care.
+2. Vet care goes in the budget, at a much higher level than we ever think we'll spend. We roll it over from year to year, too, so we can afford to do what might need to be done without it being a hit to the budget. We try to do the same for ourselves with the HSA for the same reasons.
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Too many to mention.
The latest is when we decided to rent an apartment in a 'fun' part of Beijing, rather than continue in the paid housing for the Man's job that we'd lived in our first year here. Our excuses were:
* New flat is closer to my job (technically, but commute time isn't much shorter because a subway line which we hadn't known about at the time opened near our last place)
* We can get unblocked internet at home now (impossible as previous housing was gov't owned so VPNs don't work)
* We can get out more to see friends & go to events without insanely long bike or taxi-rides (often an hour each way, not good when combined with beer consumption)
* I can easily get to the arts district now, which is a big reason I moved here
* We can cook at home - it wasn't allowed in staff apts & there was no kitchen, the flats were more like hotel rooms
Our rent in Beijing is 5200RMB/month (nearly $900US) for a one-bedroom. It's a good price for the area but not a fantastic deal considering our salaries (lowish as they're technically part-time but we augment with lots of extra work). The Man gets a 2000RMB (nearly $350) housing allowance but it's still a lot of $ we could be saving. However we are enjoying Beijing a lot more, cooking quality safe food at home, finally getting a diverse social life. Really enjoying our last year here. We'll probably sublet the place for a couple months depending on our summer plans, then return for a final semester.
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Ever since I became a pilot there's no way I'm climbing back into a commercial airliner unless I know the guys up front and they're on my "approved" list. My list of people I'm willing to fly with is shorter than my list of people I will NOT fly with...
Oh, I have no problems with the pilots. It's the crap I'd have to put up with before I even got on the plane, plus the conditions I'm expected to tolerate on it. A seat far too small for comfort, with some woman changing her infant's diaper in the row ahead? I'd be more comfortable in the FedEx box.
Some things people spend money on aren't exactly anti-Mustachian. I'd class first/business class right up there with paying for anesthesia when you have surgery.
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Okay, thought of one. Stupidly I decided I had to ride the mechanical bull at a work party. That cost me over $300, because I shattered a tooth falling off!
Yikes! ha ha ha But on another note, it would be fun to work somewhere where there were mechanical bulls at the parties. Teacher parties are pretty tame.
Food scientists, who knew we were wild?
To be fair though, teachers have to be tame, anything less than perfect and you can get fired.
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A gazilion dollars to an emergency vet clinic for a pet?
I have done the vet thing, but I didn't list it as a mistake. My dogs are family members and I did not hesitate when one needed chemo and the other required lots of medical attention. I would do the same thing over again without thinking twice.
+1 I don't care if he's a somewhat mangy looking tomcat: he's been so important to me for so many years. I would so fork out for expensive vet care.
+1 for me too.
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While waiting for a Mrs. MooreBonds to show up, why not sell the ring now, invest the cash, and buy a new ring with the eventual proceeds? You never know when the right lady friend might show up, and anyway, you're not going to need to buy a ring ASAP. And if you're seriously looking right now, maybe try posting in the Personals section of this forum? ;)
My only reason for not having already sold it is because I bought it at the bottom of the market, a similar diamond today would cost quite a bit more - and that's at the on-line retailer. A traditional bricks-n-mortar jeweler would charge even more on top of that. More than I would ever spend, but since it's such a nice stone, figured I'd let her make the choice....
As far as posting on the forum, let's just say that I have quite a few qualities I'm looking for, and while I'm open to meeting her through any means, I'm focusing my efforts in other areas (mainly eHarmony).
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My worst most unmustachian sins are sins of omission mainly ... yes, I do probably also indulge in too many shop bought coffees and lunches, but the thing that has cost me MOST is being too lazy to get around to finding good investments or even savings rates and leaving too much of my hard-earned stache lolling around on the beach at 0% instead of working for its living.
Really stupid huh? At least all you guys' mistakes you got some fun out of!!
Anyway, I'm working on it. Still not there...
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I once acquiesced to a house guest with the munchies and drove his old jeep a quarter mile to a greasy Mexican restaurant for an unplanned dinner out. While turning into the parking lot I hit/was hit by a cyclist. (no one was injured, but my friend's side mirror and passenger door were dented.) Not my worst financial mistake (obviously), but for a capsular moment of unmustachianism, I think it might be in the top.
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Great Thread!!!
I'm a former less-stachin' life I...
1- Smoked cigarettes for 9 years. Officially the dumbest thing I've ever done. *knock on wood*
2- Bought a brand new VW (fuck yea turbo engine, 17's, sunroof and stereo!) for $23k in 2002. Soon after gas prices went crazy and it drove down the price of cars. In 2004 I sold it for $11k with $7k left on the loan. Took me an additional 3+ years to pay that off.
3- Was a DJ. I look at this list and think, "thank my god(s) i didn't decide pilot!" There was still my ability to never spend <$100 any time I went to a record shop. Just the general wasteful lifestyle. I did make a deal with myself that I'd give it 3 year before giving up. I gave it 5 until I sold everything and started repairing the financial sink hole I'd found myself in.
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Once a year for one week I go on RAGBRAI. I get silly drunk on $3 Coors. I eat $3 pie and $6 turkey legs. I don't give a shit what it costs. Its the most fun that can be had on a bike. In the scheme of things it not that expensive but I dont even think about where my money is going for the week making it very Antimustacian.
This year the mileage looks like 56,83,49,49,52,52,63. Those four days of 52 or less are going to brutal. Why because less riding=more drinking. Oh it will be fun.
RAGBRAI! I've never done it, but when I was a kid it came through my hometown and I sold lemonade and cookies for 50 cents to the riders. Fun times!
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Some things people spend money on aren't exactly anti-Mustachian. I'd class first/business class right up there with paying for anesthesia when you have surgery.
I've rejected local anesthetic before when they would let me. The broken bone I had set without it hurt LESS than the anesthetic they injected for my previous broken bone! :-) Obviously some things are too extreme to even consider rejecting it though. Last time I had it for a dental issue (old repair that went bad and had a big infection building under it), it was basically required. Of course, it went bad and my BP and pulse rate crashed, I hovered on the borderline of passed out, just fighting to stay awake and the Doctor got freaked out until I came back. She asked me if I wanted to go home and try again another day. I said that I was already numbed up and still alive, we should go for it (and it went fine after that, but she didn't give me the second round of scheduled anesthetic either). :-)
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Mine probably takes the cake.
In 2009 I bought a Lotus Elise.
On credit. With $1000 down. I thought, hey, I can easily afford the $700/month payment! I was 25 and stupid at the time.
(https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/315991_2455787918149_312843_n.jpg)
I finally sold it 2 years later when I've come to my senses. My current car is a humble 2002 BMW 330ci ($10K used) and paid for in cash. 153K miles on the clock, and I'll drive it until the wheels fall off. It's stickshift of course, like all cars I've ever owned.
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Mine probably takes the cake.
In 2009 I bought a Lotus Elise.
I dunno, I'd buy one (used, of course) if I could figure out how to get the dogs in it with me.
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3- Was a DJ. I look at this list and think, "thank my god(s) i didn't decide pilot!" There was still my ability to never spend <$100 any time I went to a record shop. Just the general wasteful lifestyle. I did make a deal with myself that I'd give it 3 year before giving up. I gave it 5 until I sold everything and started repairing the financial sink hole I'd found myself in.
I did the DJ thing as well (even though I got my decks used) so I know exactly what you're talking about. At $10 - $20 a pop, those records really add up. The digital equipment kids are using these days sure makes it cheaper to build up a collection. Now I feel old...
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3- Was a DJ. I look at this list and think, "thank my god(s) i didn't decide pilot!" There was still my ability to never spend <$100 any time I went to a record shop. Just the general wasteful lifestyle. I did make a deal with myself that I'd give it 3 year before giving up. I gave it 5 until I sold everything and started repairing the financial sink hole I'd found myself in.
I did the DJ thing as well (even though I got my decks used) so I know exactly what you're talking about. At $10 - $20 a pop, those records really add up. The digital equipment kids are using these days sure makes it cheaper to build up a collection. Now I feel old...
Yes, you can get more tracks and it won't fill your basement. However, digital equipment (especially that running "ticked" vinyl that plays on turntables) requires extra gear with a top of the line laptop that must be upgraded every 2-3 years minimum. I bought the first generation final scratch interface, got through one upgrade until the next needed the new 2.0 interface right as I was retiring. I was super lucky I sold the thing a couple weeks before another software update made the unit obsolete.
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Mine probably takes the cake.
In 2009 I bought a Lotus Elise.
I got lucky and avoided doing that. When the oil pump failed on my '95, I dropped it off at the shop to be checked out and drove right down to Columbus to the Lotus dealer, figuring that I might just buy an Elise instead of replacing the engine in my Eclipse. Well, I got lucky on 2 counts. 1) There's no possible way for me to get in and out of an Elise with the top in place (I can drive it, but I have to climb in, standing, then slide down into the seat, which obviously only works when the top is off). 2) Despite driving a mile or so with no oil pressure, there was no engine damage to my Eclipse (mechanic was surprised, he said it looked better than some of the much lower mileage and newer Evos that have come into the shop that have the same engine!). So, ended up NOT buying an Elise nor a 4g63 engine replacement. :-)
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When I was 16, I started playing a collectable card game called Magic the Gathering. Seven years later, after I got my first job, I had the nostalgy of those days when I was playing that game with my best friends are started collecting those cards again.
The only thing was that their value had increased dramatically. I bought the most expensive card in the game (Beta Black Lotus for those who know) for about $1300. Yes that's right, all that money put in a piece of paper. I bought all the most valuable cards in the game as a collectionner.
Right now, I probably have about $50,000 worth in Magic cards, sitting in a drawer of my parents' house.
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Right now, I probably have about $50,000 worth in Magic cards, sitting in a drawer of my parents' house.
SELL SELL SELL! Look what happened to the value of SWCCG cards. A premiere edition Vader went for over $60 back when I was in high school in 2001, and is $12 today. If the kids move on from magic to something else or WotC runs out of ideas, your 'stache is toast.
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Generally I agree, but magic has been around for two decades now. It's not like it's going anywhere fast, or a two year phenomenon like Yu-Gi-Oh or Pokemon.
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Generally I agree, but magic has been around for two decades now. It's not like it's going anywhere fast, or a two year phenomenon like Yu-Gi-Oh or Pokemon.
Beanie Babies? These aren't markets I'd want to time, even the established ones.
(My sell sell sell may have made it sound more panicky and rushed than just the enthusiasm I meant.)
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Generally I agree, but magic has been around for two decades now. It's not like it's going anywhere fast, or a two year phenomenon like Yu-Gi-Oh or Pokemon.
Beanie Babies? These aren't markets I'd want to time, even the established ones.
Maybe I am the most unimaginative being on the face of the planet, but the whole idea of having a fat wad of money tied up in a game or in pieces of paper would give me the shakes and make me wanna hurl.
Yes... I know... money is sort of just a game and is just little pieces of paper. And I know it could collapse. I just think it is a bit more widely accepted.
If it's really worth $50k, sell those bad boys.
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I chose to go to an out-of-state Engineering school with high name recognition rather than an in-state school that offered me a free ride (but didn't have an engineering program, only CS). $80k of student loans.
But, if I didn't do that, I would have been on a completely different path in life. Wouldn't have met my wife, wouldn't have met all the great friends I still keep in contact with, and almost certainly wouldn't be living in the area I live in today.
The potential different paths in life are very interesting.
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Beanie Babies? These aren't markets I'd want to time, even the established ones.
Beanie babies lasted six years, not twenty.
If it's really worth $50k, sell those bad boys.
I don't disagree. But it's not like it's a fad that'll go away any second now. It's a game with a huge community and two demonstrated decades of staying power, though, so it's not like you need to sell them today or burn them for heat tomorrow because they're so worthless.
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I have no opinion as to whether the cards have reached their peak value or not, but I sure as hell wouldn't be keeping 50k worth of whatever "in a drawer somewhere". If you're not selling, at least consider moving them somewhere safe and with guarantees, like a safe or bank.
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Yes selling my magic cards is definitely the plan. I just need to find the time to break them down separately and list them on eBay. They also have some 'sentimental' value and are more of a collection right now than a kid's game for me. And it's true that I delay selling them thinking their values will still hold in the medium term. But it's definitely not cash and goes against all my financial principles. I know that, I just need to let go...
So I guess I won't find any buyers on this forum? :)
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Yes selling my magic cards is definitely the plan. I just need to find the time to break them down separately and list them on eBay. They also have some 'sentimental' value and are more of a collection right now than a kid's game for me. And it's true that I delay selling them thinking their values will still hold in the medium term. But it's definitely not cash and goes against all my financial principles. I know that, I just need to let go...
So I guess I won't find any buyers on this forum? :)
Ha. I played Magic back in the mid-90s. I wish I still had all the cards I had. I recently started looking around at Magic websites and such after learning that it's still pretty popular. It was fun then.... but being a 31 married dude with a kid, I'm not so sure I'd have an easy time finding friends that share that interest :)
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Paying for first class with cash or miles seems very unmustachian to me. It's just so much more expensive than economy...crappy food and slightly more comfortable seats for a handful of hours for hundreds of dollars (or miles worth hundreds of dollars)?
I've been upgraded to first class for free half a dozen times, and sure it's nicer than economy, but I don't know that I'd ever have enough money that I would be willing to pay that much of a price difference for it. I'd rather pay for a second economy flight somewhere else with that money.
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I chose to go to an out-of-state Engineering school with high name recognition rather than an in-state school that offered me a free ride (but didn't have an engineering program, only CS). $80k of student loans.
But, if I didn't do that, I would have been on a completely different path in life. Wouldn't have met my wife, wouldn't have met all the great friends I still keep in contact with, and almost certainly wouldn't be living in the area I live in today.
The potential different paths in life are very interesting.
I had an offer for a half-ride to University of Miami. Ended up opting for my parents paying for a "high name recognition" school farther up the East coast. My dad offered to let me keep whatever scholarships I received, but I was drawn by the pedigree.
I also, too, often wonder "where would I be now if I had taken the scholarship?". Like you, even though I have suffered bouts of stress and have had quite a few adventures in life (good and bad), I'd likely be nowhere near where I am in life in a financial sense...but wonder where I'd be in a relationship sense (probably married, etc.)
Paying for first class with cash or miles seems very unmustachian to me. It's just so much more expensive than economy...crappy food and slightly more comfortable seats for a handful of hours for hundreds of dollars (or miles worth hundreds of dollars)?
I've been upgraded to first class for free half a dozen times, and sure it's nicer than economy, but I don't know that I'd ever have enough money that I would be willing to pay that much of a price difference for it. I'd rather pay for a second economy flight somewhere else with that money.
My yardstick is going on a cruise for the "alternative comparison".
"What? Pay $300 for a fancy meal out on the town with wine and drinks and the whole 9 yards? For $300, I could enjoy a cruise for 2 days with all tips, pretty good meals, and ports included for me and someone else!".
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Worst financial decision is split 3 ways.
1. First marriage (the divorce was totally worth it, though)
2. Second mortgage to fund some home improvements we could have done later for cash (just about paid off now)
3. Ridiculous amounts of student loans. (the bane of my existence)
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Graduate school.
For an MFA.
In poetry.
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Graduate school.
For an MFA.
In poetry.
Ooph.
But I guess the real question is: did you pay for it?
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Yes selling my magic cards is definitely the plan. I just need to find the time to break them down separately and list them on eBay. They also have some 'sentimental' value and are more of a collection right now than a kid's game for me. And it's true that I delay selling them thinking their values will still hold in the medium term. But it's definitely not cash and goes against all my financial principles. I know that, I just need to let go...
So I guess I won't find any buyers on this forum? :)
As someone with 10+ years of earning a nice side income buying/selling/trading/playing MtG, I wanted to throw in my $0.02
1. Unless you only have a handful of really valuable cards or you think you time is worth 0 to negative money, I think you are better off dumping your collection to one of the major dealers in the industry. Everyone I have known with major collections that wanted to sell would talk about how they were gonna break it out and put them on Ebay, but they don't. It is a massive time commitment to sort, track, post, package, and ship tons and tons of listings. You basically turn yourself into a temp dealer and get eaten alive in ebay and paypal fees. If you have one of the major dealers in your area who is reputable, I would take it to them and get a quote.
2. For the sentimental piece, I would focus on the idea that putting these cards back in the magic ecosystem will be better for the people who still enjoy and love the game. There are some cards that are in incredibly high demand with very limited supply, and by giving them back to a community instead of letting them rot in your parent's house, you will make some other player or collector happy the same way you once were by obtaining a coveted piece of the power 9.
3. If you don't have a major chain in your area, you could wait for a Grand Prix to come around and get a quote on your collection from the dealers there. Here's an article with the GP schedule for the rest of 2013:
http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/225b
4. Know and understand that whether you sell out to a dealer or parse it out on ebay, you will not get the full value of your collection. If your collection is worth 50K, you will get some percent of that, but you are not a major dealer with a solid reputation and cannot sell everything for retail price.
5. I would move sooner rather than later. Cards get banned in key formats, reprinted, or generally go down in value more often than not. Plus, you have the added risk of having something happen to them at your parents house. I have known many a person who had exhausting battles with insurance agents trying to explain that the fire/burglary/flood destroyed 6 figures of cardboard. You do not want to go through that.
Whichever route you take, I wish you luck. If you have any questions or want better advice about selling them, feel free to PM me.
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bought (2) brand-new uber depreciating vehicles in the 40k range [ea]
bought a house that was like 3-4x the national median as a primary residence [why u no rent!!1]
maintained a lifestyle that grows [outgrows?] earnings. currently trying to figure out how to reduce $10,500/avg monthly spending all in
multiple vacations that broke in/near around the upper 4/lower 5 digit range
Have a hobby car that I've dropped low 5-figures on
in short: probably darn near everything
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bought (2) brand-new uber depreciating vehicles in the 40k range [ea]
bought a house that was like 3-4x the national median as a primary residence [why u no rent!!1]
maintained a lifestyle that grows [outgrows?] earnings. currently trying to figure out how to reduce $10,500/avg monthly spending all in
multiple vacations that broke in/near around the upper 4/lower 5 digit range
Have a hobby car that I've dropped low 5-figures on
in short: probably darn near everything
It looks like you live in San Jose, so I don't know that you should presume that buying "a house that was like 3-4x the national median as a primary residence" was such a bad idea. I bought a house on the peninsula for 4x the national median and was only in it for four years (during "the worst (national) housing market ever") and even after the selling costs I came out way ahead versus renting.
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But the worst was buying a closed circuit rebreather for SCUBA diving. I sank about $10k into it and now it's becoming extremely difficult to sell. The training cost me another $2k including taking unpaid leave from work. If I get $3500 back from the thing I'll consider myself extremely lucky.
I figured I should post an update on this, since it may inspire others sitting on their bad purchases:
I sold my rebreather! I made a lot less than I could have sold it for, but it sold and I have a good chunk of money in its place. I was originally intimidated by seeing some listings that took months to sell and only had interest from people overseas. But when I actually listed mine it wasn't that bad, I priced it extremely low and took a hefty deposit in less than 24 hours. Three or four other people were scrambling to get in on the deal, including a few locals.
If I hadn't been so freaked out about the process I would have been better off approaching it smarter: do MORE research on selling prices, and try to get a little more (prob could have charged an extra $500-1k). Treat it as something a friend gave you for free that you think you could make money on by selling. Ignore all emotional attachments and just maximize your profit off this expensive item you have sitting around.
I'm cool with having sold it low. It would only truly be a financial loss if I had to pay more to replace it, and I never plan on doing that. Plus the money I got is basically a windfall, not in my financial plans so every dollar I got is a bonus to add to the Stash.
So if anyone else out there is feeling nervous about giving up something they have an emotional attachment to, just force yourself to go through the motions and sell it. You probably know exactly how to do it.
And if you're REALLY nervous about it, just do what I did and sell at a "wholesale" price. Anything of significant value is a liquid asset if you price it low enough. At least then you'll get something out of it, and maybe it will help you realize you didn't have anything to be afraid of to begin with.
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NOOOOO!!!!
Cheap rebreather? AND I MISSED OUT???
sigh.
(see user name)
Honestly though, I figure anything that hits the water depreciates so much it should be regarded as a total loss at time of purchase. The fact you got something out of it is good. Rebreathers and regs are about the only thing I can see holding any real value.
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It was actually pretty funny reading through all the offers I was getting. Most of these people already had one, but because mine was so cheap they were willing to pick up a second for spare parts/so their buddies could dive it/whatever. I even heard from a guy who had recently sold his, but then wanted to buy mine because it was priced lower than he sold his for!
Not at all the experience I expected. I know I used to be one of these people, but it's hard to put myself back in that mindset to figure out what to expect from them.
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I've wanted one badly but the initial cost plus the training has put me off. Also the horror stories.... not that I'd let that stop me. I still have a lot of diving and learning to do before I really get to that level anyway.
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Keep in mind the ongoing cost of dive gear in terms of maintenance. If you don't do the servicing work yourself (and most manufacturers strongly discourage you doing so or make it impossible) a rebreather costs at least $1000 per year just to keep running. You have to replace three or four oxygen sensors at $70 a pop every year. The thing has two first stage regulators that need overhauling, at a labor cost of about $35 per stage. Servicing of the breathing loop and counterlungs will probably cost a hundred or so, new O-rings, an ADV servicing, solenoid cleaning, new sensor wiring harness, plus shipping the thing to wherever you can get the service performed (at a cost of ~$100 each way).
I'll leave the safety of rebreather diving to other forums, though I could go on for hours on the subject.
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1. Buying our first house at the top of the housing bubble. 950 sq ft.
2nded. Although we still have ours and will maybe have positive equity in a year or so.
More likely though, and I couldn't even bring myself to verify the amount (if there even is some way to check) is that i've probably spend more then $100,000 on credit cards over the years buying useless crap. It's traumatically dumb, I can't even think about it without cringing, but at least it's all in the past.
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Hookers and blow? check,
I think we all probably know some guy or more, who would have been tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars ahead had he had a taste for hookers and blow rather than a wife/wives and divorce.
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I bought a $30k Mini Cooper 7.5 years ago on payments. I hate the car. It's a pain to drive and has no functionality. But I'm going to drive it until the wheels fall off because I'm just that pissed about my dumb decision.
I've bought two cars in my life I've absolutely totally hated about six months in. It hurts to take a loss, but trust me, driving a car you hate, that has no functionality, can make life miserable.
Might want to look into getting something else. Besides, British cars are not very reliable long term partners.
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I was going to sell it back to the jeweler after we went our separate ways, but given how much it's gone up in value, I'll hold onto it for now to see if a future Mrs. MooreBonds might be willing to accept it, or if she would need a different stone (hopefully not as pricey!).
You really do not want to be with a woman who puts a price tag on how much you should spend on a ring... I'd sell that thing yesterday.
I've known some very beautiful, sweet women who wore very modest rings. And I've known some real bitches who wore huge rings. You do the math.
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To answer the original question: Married an antimustachian.
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Hookers and blow? check,
I think we all probably know some guy or more, who would have been tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars ahead had he had a taste for hookers and blow rather than a wife/wives and divorce.
Of course, I know a guy who had a taste for hookers AND a wife (which led to divorce). That really didn't go well for him...
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After three decades, I finally answered the siren song of the banjo thanks to the aide of a fellow pickin' friend today and I'm hooked. Nothing invested so far outside of picks, but I fear this is going to turn into an expensive hobby... and I struggle with caring that it will.
Anyone got a good deal on a beginner banjo or willing to trade for an entry level accordion? >.>
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I already answered here, but I forgot one that should make this list!
A few years ago, my wife and I ate at Alinea, one of the most expensive restaurants in the USA. She's a chef, and we were visiting Chicago (where the restaurant is) so we knew it would be now or never. We planned it ahead of time because we knew it would be expensive, so it wasn't an impulse decision.
Hope you're sitting down. A 24-course dinner for two, with wine pairings + tip: $1,000
It was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing, but it still hurts to think about all those zeros on the bill. It made my wife happy so it was worth it.
Speaking of once-in-a-lifetime, now we're thinking about dining at French Laundry (even more expensive) when we visit friends in San Francisco this summer... Someone face-punch me, quick!
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Everyone I know that has been to the french laundry has said it was well worth the money. It should be pointed out that 3 out of 4 of them had net worth in the 20+ million range. Turns out hard work pays off more than being frugal.
I would vote for the wedding ring but I was told by the salesman that diamonds appreciate in value so that is just an investment. No way the salesman mislead me right?:)
I already answered here, but I forgot one that should make this list!
A few years ago, my wife and I ate at Alinea, one of the most expensive restaurants in the USA. She's a chef, and we were visiting Chicago (where the restaurant is) so we knew it would be now or never. We planned it ahead of time because we knew it would be expensive, so it wasn't an impulse decision.
Hope you're sitting down. A 24-course dinner for two, with wine pairings + tip: $1,000
It was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing, but it still hurts to think about all those zeros on the bill. It made my wife happy so it was worth it.
Speaking of once-in-a-lifetime, now we're thinking about dining at French Laundry (even more expensive) when we visit friends in San Francisco this summer... Someone face-punch me, quick!
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French Laundry is not more expensive, it's $270 prix fixe including service according to their web site. Not that that's exactly Mustachian... :)
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You can't compare a meal with wine to one without. Wine is going to be from 0-1000+ per person. I am sure there is a foodie out there that doesn't drink, but I haven't met them.
French Laundry is not more expensive, it's $270 prix fixe including service according to their web site. Not that that's exactly Mustachian... :)
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Hope you're sitting down. A 24-course dinner for two, with wine pairings + tip: $1,000
So how do you manage to eat 24 courses? Unless each course is about a teaspoon...
It was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing, but it still hurts to think about all those zeros on the bill. It made my wife happy so it was worth it.
But since she's a chef, it should have been a tax-deductible business expense, no? Checking out the competition :-)
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The most Antimustachian thing I've ever done? I bought a brand new car. Now, before you all jump at me and tear me to shreds - it was a brand new Kia with a 10-year bumper-to-bumper warranty.
I had tried the whole "buy used, save money" thing and it didn't work out. All 3 of my old cars that I'd owned before my new Kia ended up costing me a fortune because they kept falling apart due to old age and issues their previous owners didn't bother telling me about. I gave the thrifty approach a try and it just didn't work.
I'm sure I could have saved a considerable amount of money if I'd embarked on an epic quest to find the world's most reliable gently used car, but I figure the premium I paid for a brand new one is well worth the peace of mind. No matter what happens, I won't have to worry about my transportation and "Holy crap, what's going to break next?" for 10 more years....
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Paying for first class with cash or miles seems very unmustachian to me. It's just so much more expensive than economy...crappy food and slightly more comfortable seats for a handful of hours for hundreds of dollars (or miles worth hundreds of dollars)?
I've been upgraded to first class for free half a dozen times, and sure it's nicer than economy, but I don't know that I'd ever have enough money that I would be willing to pay that much of a price difference for it. I'd rather pay for a second economy flight somewhere else with that money.
+1, thank you. I was starting to wonder if I was in the right place! To be fair, I have never experienced first class, so I don't know what I'm missing. But I'm very confident that I could never justify it.
Oh well - I guess this is the thread to admit such things, after all.
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Bought my first desktop computer for full price (3k) at a retail store, a few yrs later...worthless.
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i failed last night, fridge full of food yet i chose to go to chick fil a for dinner....i had a coupon for a free sandwich but then saw arby's instead and NEEDED curly fries. epic fail....on top of that i was super lazy and drove. ugh. thank goodness today is a new day
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You can't compare a meal with wine to one without. Wine is going to be from 0-1000+ per person. I am sure there is a foodie out there that doesn't drink, but I haven't met them.
French Laundry is not more expensive, it's $270 prix fixe including service according to their web site. Not that that's exactly Mustachian... :)
Fair enough! I guess if you can't keep the wine budget under $460 for the two of you, then yes, French Laundry might be more expensive.
I too hope to dine there eventually some day! (A guy can dream, can't he?) Although personally I might take advantage of their $75 corkage "deal" and bring my own ~$50 bottle, given that a $50 bottle is statistically indistinguishable from a $500 bottle anyway, even by most sommeliers. ;)
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This is painful on multiple counts; anti-mustachian and plain stupid.
I was recently scammed out of $2400 through an online transaction. Ouch. I attempted to make a camera purchase and through a long story ended up using a bank transfer to the seller (I know, I know...) It seemed legit at the time. I'm not usually technologically illiterate and unaware... I guess it was a moment of weakness. Suffice it to say, there's no camera coming my way and I have no real way of getting my money back.
Expensive lesson learned.
Anyone know of a way to deal with this/if I have any way to get money back? If it matters I have the sellers address, phone numbers and bank account number.
Thanks everyone.
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Anyone know of a way to deal with this/if I have any way to get money back? If it matters I have the sellers address, phone numbers and bank account number.
Thanks everyone.
You probably don't. Most of these guys use middle-men and are physically out of the country. The address you have is probably an equally as scammed person that thinks they're working a "work at home" scheme. They're worse off than you. You're out money and they'll likely face criminal charges.
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Go in style. Bring a box wine.
And anyone can tell a 50 dollar bottle from a 500 one. The labels are clearly different.:) Now the wine on the inside is a different story. Anything over about 25 bucks tastes the same to me. And I hope my palate never gets more refined....
You can't compare a meal with wine to one without. Wine is going to be from 0-1000+ per person. I am sure there is a foodie out there that doesn't drink, but I haven't met them.
French Laundry is not more expensive, it's $270 prix fixe including service according to their web site. Not that that's exactly Mustachian... :)
Fair enough! I guess if you can't keep the wine budget under $460 for the two of you, then yes, French Laundry might be more expensive.
I too hope to dine there eventually some day! (A guy can dream, can't he?) Although personally I might take advantage of their $75 corkage "deal" and bring my own ~$50 bottle, given that a $50 bottle is statistically indistinguishable from a $500 bottle anyway, even by most sommeliers. ;)
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And anyone can tell a 50 dollar bottle from a 500 one. The labels are clearly different.:)
But that assumes you know which of the labels is supposed to be more expensive.
Now the wine on the inside is a different story. Anything over about 25 bucks tastes the same to me. And I hope my palate never gets more refined...
Forget the $25 line. I usually can't tell the difference between box wine of a particular variety, and the more expensive bottles. And when I can tell, I'm as likely to prefer the cheaper one.
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Paying for first class with cash or miles seems very unmustachian to me. It's just so much more expensive than economy...crappy food and slightly more comfortable seats for a handful of hours for hundreds of dollars (or miles worth hundreds of dollars)?
I've been upgraded to first class for free half a dozen times, and sure it's nicer than economy, but I don't know that I'd ever have enough money that I would be willing to pay that much of a price difference for it. I'd rather pay for a second economy flight somewhere else with that money.
+1, thank you. I was starting to wonder if I was in the right place! To be fair, I have never experienced first class, so I don't know what I'm missing. But I'm very confident that I could never justify it.
Oh well - I guess this is the thread to admit such things, after all.
Domestic 1st class is not at all worth it, even for miles, in normal circumstances. Long int'l trips on carriers with good service make miles for business class or 1st class seem good. I have never regretted unloading miles to fly business class from the west coast of the US to Asia or Europe.
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Domestic 1st class is not at all worth it, even for miles, in normal circumstances. Long int'l trips on carriers with good service make miles for business class or 1st class seem good. I have never regretted unloading miles to fly business class from the west coast of the US to Asia or Europe.
A random side note, but I actually *saved* money flying a private plane on one specific trip before... 6 of us going from Toledo to Pittsburgh with 2 days notice. Airline wanted $650 per person round trip... No 6 passenger cars, so we would have had to taken 2 cars, at somewhere between $250-300 a piece roundtrip worth of mileage (so around $90-100 a person). We were able to all to fit in a Cherokee 6 (older one with the better weight and balance, ending up with about 2lbs of gross weight left to spare) and do a pro-rata share that turned out to be $62.50 a person, for the round trip (airplane time AND fuel)! :-)
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Spending $600 in one night in Vegas (went for friend's wedding) while earning roughly $1300/month. I regretted it the minute I walked out of that place.
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Hope you're sitting down. A 24-course dinner for two, with wine pairings + tip: $1,000
So how do you manage to eat 24 courses? Unless each course is about a teaspoon...
It was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing, but it still hurts to think about all those zeros on the bill. It made my wife happy so it was worth it.
But since she's a chef, it should have been a tax-deductible business expense, no? Checking out the competition :-)
It's gastronomical food so each course was just a few bites, e.g. http://www.flickr.com/photos/sauerkraut/2973959828/
Some courses were literally served in a spoon: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sauerkraut/2973109413/in/photostream/
Even with the small course sizes and 4-hour dinner, I was very full at the end.
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Go in style. Bring a box wine.
Would I still need to pay a "corking" fee? I could argue that no cork = no fee.
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Go in style. Bring a box wine.
Would I still need to pay a "corking" fee? I could argue that no cork = no fee.
Yes, and I'd bet it to be in the $35-50 range.
I must mention that I'm impressed when you went for it you went all out. I've spent nearly $400 on dinner for two at Michael Mina, with only two glasses of wine shared between us. You're making me want to save up and go back. :) It *was* an exceptional dining experience and something worthy of doing on a "bucket list".
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After three decades, I finally answered the siren song of the banjo thanks to the aide of a fellow pickin' friend today and I'm hooked. Nothing invested so far outside of picks, but I fear this is going to turn into an expensive hobby... and I struggle with caring that it will.
Anyone got a good deal on a beginner banjo or willing to trade for an entry level accordion? >.>
This made me smile, I have both an accordion and a banjo. :) I am a beginner at both, but I can play "Bile Dem Cabbage Down" on page 10 of my banjo book. And accordions are loud as shit and fun to play even if you don't know what you're doing.
Honestly, I am building the case for being the biggest nerd on here, in bits and pieces in various threads. I should just stahp.
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This made me smile, I have both an accordion and a banjo. :) I am a beginner at both, but I can play "Bile Dem Cabbage Down" on page 10 of my banjo book. And accordions are loud as shit and fun to play even if you don't know what you're doing.
Honestly, I am building the case for being the biggest nerd on here, in bits and pieces in various threads. I should just stahp.
Well, I now know what one of the unofficial side events to any sort of mustachian convention's gonna involve if KulshanGirl and I wind up at the same event... FOLK MUSIC JAMBOREE!
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Keep in mind the ongoing cost of dive gear in terms of maintenance. If you don't do the servicing work yourself (and most manufacturers strongly discourage you doing so or make it impossible) a rebreather costs at least $1000 per year just to keep running. You have to replace three or four oxygen sensors at $70 a pop every year. The thing has two first stage regulators that need overhauling, at a labor cost of about $35 per stage. Servicing of the breathing loop and counterlungs will probably cost a hundred or so, new O-rings, an ADV servicing, solenoid cleaning, new sensor wiring harness, plus shipping the thing to wherever you can get the service performed (at a cost of ~$100 each way).
I'll leave the safety of rebreather diving to other forums, though I could go on for hours on the subject.
I ended up spending the money to get my padi instructors ticket - because it's a professional rating, makes all dive related expenses tax deductible and because of the close ties formed with my dive shop, maintenance is free minus parts. Plus, I get paid to play :)
One of My anti-mustachian moment: bottle service at a club in Vegas. $600..ugh
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This made me smile, I have both an accordion and a banjo. :) I am a beginner at both, but I can play "Bile Dem Cabbage Down" on page 10 of my banjo book. And accordions are loud as shit and fun to play even if you don't know what you're doing.
Honestly, I am building the case for being the biggest nerd on here, in bits and pieces in various threads. I should just stahp.
Nah, nowhere close. I used to try to play both harp & hammered dulcimer, and built both instruments myself. Unfortunately, I have approximately zero musical talent, and could never play to my own satisfaction.
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Yes selling my magic cards is definitely the plan. I just need to find the time to break them down separately and list them on eBay. They also have some 'sentimental' value and are more of a collection right now than a kid's game for me. And it's true that I delay selling them thinking their values will still hold in the medium term. But it's definitely not cash and goes against all my financial principles. I know that, I just need to let go...
So I guess I won't find any buyers on this forum? :)
As someone with 10+ years of earning a nice side income buying/selling/trading/playing MtG, I wanted to throw in my $0.02
1. Unless you only have a handful of really valuable cards or you think you time is worth 0 to negative money, I think you are better off dumping your collection to one of the major dealers in the industry. Everyone I have known with major collections that wanted to sell would talk about how they were gonna break it out and put them on Ebay, but they don't. It is a massive time commitment to sort, track, post, package, and ship tons and tons of listings. You basically turn yourself into a temp dealer and get eaten alive in ebay and paypal fees. If you have one of the major dealers in your area who is reputable, I would take it to them and get a quote.
2. For the sentimental piece, I would focus on the idea that putting these cards back in the magic ecosystem will be better for the people who still enjoy and love the game. There are some cards that are in incredibly high demand with very limited supply, and by giving them back to a community instead of letting them rot in your parent's house, you will make some other player or collector happy the same way you once were by obtaining a coveted piece of the power 9.
3. If you don't have a major chain in your area, you could wait for a Grand Prix to come around and get a quote on your collection from the dealers there. Here's an article with the GP schedule for the rest of 2013:
http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/225b
4. Know and understand that whether you sell out to a dealer or parse it out on ebay, you will not get the full value of your collection. If your collection is worth 50K, you will get some percent of that, but you are not a major dealer with a solid reputation and cannot sell everything for retail price.
5. I would move sooner rather than later. Cards get banned in key formats, reprinted, or generally go down in value more often than not. Plus, you have the added risk of having something happen to them at your parents house. I have known many a person who had exhausting battles with insurance agents trying to explain that the fire/burglary/flood destroyed 6 figures of cardboard. You do not want to go through that.
Whichever route you take, I wish you luck. If you have any questions or want better advice about selling them, feel free to PM me.
Seconded.
I had a collection to get rid of a few years back. I pulled out some rares, and sold the common/uncommons and rares to a local comic book / gaming store. Took me about 20 minutes. The payout was not great, of course.
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Did I decide to stop adding to my nerd cred? I thought so, but I better send up this Hail Mary as long as we're talking about CCGs.
I used to collect Lord of the Rings TCG AND Harry Potter TCG long ago. I have boxes and binders full of them. I even used to enter deck building competitions online and win sealed boxes, so you know I ain't kidding. LOL! Sad that they aren't worth bupkus. Maybe someday. (ha ha.) I actually wish I had people to play these games with, they're fun.
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1975 TR6
Seductive they are. Mine was a 1974 TR6, a white one. Barely ran. DH's was a British Racing green one from 1973, defiantly did not run. They were both sitting in our back yard when we drove two hours to look at a red one that we considered buying. It did not--wait for it!--run.
I just loved looking at them.
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1975 TR6
Seductive they are. Mine was a 1974 TR6, a white one. Barely ran. DH's was a British Racing green one from 1973, defiantly did not run. They were both sitting in our back yard when we drove two hours to look at a red one that we considered buying. It did not--wait for it!--run.
I just loved looking at them.
Mine runs. Usually. I try to drive it a couple of times a month. If I only had a working odometer, my cost per mile would be really high. ;)
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1975 TR6
Seductive they are. Mine was a 1974 TR6, a white one. Barely ran. DH's was a British Racing green one from 1973, defiantly did not run. They were both sitting in our back yard when we drove two hours to look at a red one that we considered buying. It did not--wait for it!--run.
I just loved looking at them.
Mine runs. Usually. I try to drive it a couple of times a month. If I only had a working odometer, my cost per mile would be really high. ;)
Ever consider trading it in on a gen 1 or 2 miata ;)
Best,
Mr. PoP
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1975 TR6
Seductive they are. Mine was a 1974 TR6, a white one. Barely ran. DH's was a British Racing green one from 1973, defiantly did not run. They were both sitting in our back yard when we drove two hours to look at a red one that we considered buying. It did not--wait for it!--run.
I just loved looking at them.
Mine runs. Usually. I try to drive it a couple of times a month. If I only had a working odometer, my cost per mile would be really high. ;)
Ever consider trading it in on a gen 1 or 2 miata ;)
Best,
Mr. PoP
I test drove the gen 1 back when they first came out. My first impression was: "wow, this seems like a LBC."
But trade in? No. If I could force myself to part with it, I'd be down to only 3 cars for a 2 person household... and I'd free up my workshop.
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I very antimustachianly drove to work today... on Bike to Work Day... I have my excuses, but we all know what excuses are worth.
[hangs head in shame]
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Don't feel bad. I'll bike to work on every Bike to Work Day until I retire... Well, unless it's a day like today when I don't go to work.
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While I wouldn't go so far as to say I've lived a Mustachian life, I've always had trouble parting with my money unless I could see a direct and tangible benefit out of it. I've never purchased a new car (in fact, at the age of 34, I'm still only on my second car), and have avoided buying things on credit. I never subscribed to cable TV and never even owned a real cell phone until about a year ago. (And that costs me under $15/month.) There are three things I've done (or am doing), which come to mind as anti-mustachian.
1) I joined the Air Force after high school and while the pay was low (somewhere around today's minimum wage, if I recall), I had access to free food, housing, and education. So instead of saving or investing all of my money, I spent it on computers, video games, and airline tickets. After four years of active duty, I hadn't saved or invested a thing.
2) I recently bought a house in a suburb which is about a 15-minute or 25-minute drive from where I work, depending on whether I take the expressway or not. The nearest grocery store is about 7 miles away, and it's down a two-lane country road with no shoulder to bike on. (Read: a long and extremely dangerous haul.) So we're enslaved to our two cars until we decide to move. Which we be awhile because other than the location, we really do like the house.
3) I recently bought a motorcycle. Not a brand-new financed crotch rocket, I bought a fixer-upper for $250. I thought this would be a cheap way to get into motorcycling and learn how to wrench on a bike, but it turns out that bringing a 33 year-old motorcycle back to road-worthiness is not cheap. I estimate that I have about $1500 total into it so far and I anticipate at least another $300 to get it running right. When I decide to sell it, I probably won't get more than $1000 because it's in fairly rough cosmetic condition. I do love riding it, though, and plan to switch to something newer like a used GS500 or mid-sized Ninja next year. I feel guilty about the money spent on this without any real return, but it turns out that this hobby makes me really happy. Since I'm a computer wonk, I needed something that didn't involve me sitting in front of a computer.
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Probably instant lottery tickets.
I did pay $160 for a bottle of wine once. It was pretty good wine, though.
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The most Antimustachian thing I've ever done? I bought a brand new car. Now, before you all jump at me and tear me to shreds - it was a brand new Kia with a 10-year bumper-to-bumper warranty.
I had tried the whole "buy used, save money" thing and it didn't work out. All 3 of my old cars that I'd owned before my new Kia ended up costing me a fortune because they kept falling apart due to old age and issues their previous owners didn't bother telling me about. I gave the thrifty approach a try and it just didn't work.
I'm sure I could have saved a considerable amount of money if I'd embarked on an epic quest to find the world's most reliable gently used car, but I figure the premium I paid for a brand new one is well worth the peace of mind. No matter what happens, I won't have to worry about my transportation and "Holy crap, what's going to break next?" for 10 more years....
How many miles did your used cars have on them when you bought them?
Don't tell anyone, but I tend to buy new cars myself. I will buyer lower end models that dealerships are trying to get rid of because the next years are coming out, or because the features are not exactly what a regular person wants. So they aren't that expensive. But I like having the full warranty, and I like having no worries about what a previous owner did. Then I will just drive them until they wear out.
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How many miles did your used cars have on them when you bought them?
I had my first one (2001 Altima, I think) for less than 3 months before it broke down, so I don't really remember... 100,000-ish? My 1998 Skylark had about 120,000 and its successor, the '88 CRX, had 220,000.
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This made me smile, I have both an accordion and a banjo. :) I am a beginner at both, but I can play "Bile Dem Cabbage Down" on page 10 of my banjo book. And accordions are loud as shit and fun to play even if you don't know what you're doing.
Honestly, I am building the case for being the biggest nerd on here, in bits and pieces in various threads. I should just stahp.
Well, I now know what one of the unofficial side events to any sort of mustachian convention's gonna involve if KulshanGirl and I wind up at the same event... FOLK MUSIC JAMBOREE!
I'll be there too with my mandolin and fiddle!!
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$2,000 of credit card debt. It was all spent on little stuff, I have nothing to show for it. On the up side, it was a total wake up call- I paid it off in just a couple of months, and it led me to learn more about credit and finance stuff in general. The real stupidity is that before I thought I could never learn about this kind of thing because I'm not good at math *palm face* I'm glad it happened because I wouldn't be where I am now without this idiotic past behaviour.
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Damn, where do I start...
Three most egregious:
1) credit card and student loan debt in my 20s. I was fresh off the boat from the country formerly behind the Iron Curtain, formed an impression that thousands of dollars in cc debt is just an American way of life on arrival, and promptly ran up a bunch of cards. Yeah, it was beyond dumb but debt was not a tool or a practice I was familiar with much, until I learned the hard way. Took me good 4 years to get that paid off post graduation. Student loan debt was unnecessary because I got my entire ride in terms of tuition picked up by the nice university (both merit and need aids) but I felt compelled to supplement my part-time job income with Stafford loans to keep self and ex-boyfriend in a style we'd liked to have become accustomed to. Both being in tech, we thought our newly minted graduate salaries will take care of all the debt in 3 months. Ha. Having learned that lesson, my graduate degree was paid fully by employer, so I do learn. Sometimes.
2) Buying 3 "investment" properties almost at the very top of the bubble and mortgaging them to the hilt. While these suckers break roughly even on cash flow and generate a nice tax write off against our W-2 incomes, the amount of work of handling 3 vacation rentals is substantial (that's about 90-100 rentors per year on average for all 3). There's no way to unload these without taking a massive bath, so I have to keep cranking.
3) German car habit. Bought used and on the lower end of the spectrum in terms of models, but completely unnecessary. The latest one was bought about a month before I discovered MMM, and I now may be cured. Will probably unload that one in 10 months when the warranties and such run out.
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Spending approximately 114% of my monthly income from graduation until several months ago. With luck, I'll have it all paid off in a year though.....
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2000 on a double-boiler espresso machine when, since I don't steam milk much at all, I could get a top-of-the-line single boiler (heat exchange) machine for about 1000 dollars. Or I could compare the machine to my $1.00 Vietnamese coffee press that makes pretty good coffee too...
400 on a coffee grinder, upgrading from a 150 coffee grinder. Now I use one for espresso and one for french press coffee.
1200 on a suit. Although this isn't that Anti-M, as it is a fully bespoke suit made in China with amazing materials. And my only other suit is one I purchased 12 years ago when I was in high school. For job interviews, presentations, tv interviews, etc., it's nice to have one suit that looks fantastic.
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Reached real estate investment goals ($10K a month passive income) and net worth goals a few years early, bought a new Jaguar XJL to celebrate.
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I've been frugal most of my life, but I do have um... lapses...
I bought a $25 shot of 25 year-old aged scotch a few years back. It was really good, but was it freakin' five times better than Glensomething?
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Spent $30 for an omelette and a smoothie at the Fairmount Orchid in Hawaii.
I justified it by telling myself I had eaten only eggs, refried beans, and salad for all the other days on my vacation, and was doing some heavy hiking.
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I married someone I was not at all suited to. He was an attorney. Imagine, if you will, the cost and complexity of the divorce.
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My fiancée got me hooked on the LaCroix water. They are $3.80 for 12 cans. It taste so much better than tap water and it got me off the sodas addiction. I used to be on a 1 soda a day (25cents) at work but now I drink LaCroix because it's so convenient and fizzy. I don't know how to stop even though I know it's so antimustachian. I told the fiancée that she's enabling me because she's the one that buys them most of the time and it's always there in the fridge when I need one. And she gets all the flavors! We have zero debt and saving for FI but I don't know how to beat this addiction.
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My fiancée got me hooked on the LaCroix water. They are $3.80 for 12 cans. It taste so much better than tap water and it got me off the sodas addiction. I used to be on a 1 soda a day (25cents) at work but now I drink LaCroix because it's so convenient and fizzy. I don't know how to stop even though I know it's so antimustachian. I told the fiancée that she's enabling me because she's the one that buys them most of the time and it's always there in the fridge when I need one. And she gets all the flavors! We have zero debt and saving for FI but I don't know how to beat this addiction.
Ah, Megatron: I have the perfect solution for you. I've been meaning to write it up... Give me a minute or two...
Edit:
and... here you go (https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/the-bubbles-they-burn-my-throat/)
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1. Trip to France. We were there 16 days and spent a whopping $10,000. That's $700 every single day. We wouldn't give up the experience for the world, but the trips to the farmers markets were way way way more affordable than the restaurants... ouch.
2. Trip to SE Asia. This was a month long, and we still spent less than our trip to France. Go figure.
3. Bought a brand-new Honda Civic GX. Yes, Civics are great cars, but the GX was just out, low-volume, and selling hot. I couldn't bargain the price down as they had a long waiting list for the car. I still bought it. But hey, natural gas is $2.50/gal ^.^
4. I used to spend around $700 a month for food on myself (eating out with the co-workers) before I got married. The married life got us down to slightly a more Mustachian $400 between the two of us. My bike, bought at the same time, cost $1000.
Oh, there's so much more. Other trips, student loans, bust-the-bank treats for parties... fools.
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To list few of the major ones:
Camera and lens that cost more than some used cars.
Audio system that costs more than some new cars.
Used to lease certain German-made car, the lease payments of which could have been used to purchase a new car.
Playing golf for two years to figuer out I suck at that sport.
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Buying a full DJ setup and a couple of hundred records and then finding out I didn't really like it. Boy, I could have done much better things with the money..
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1. Trip to France. We were there 16 days and spent a whopping $10,000. That's $700 every single day. We wouldn't give up the experience for the world, but the trips to the farmers markets were way way way more affordable than the restaurants... ouch.
I'm impressed. I thought some of my vacations were a bit on the expensive side, but yours are three levels up! How did you manage? Did it include multiple visits to Micheline star restaurants and staying in 400 euros/night hotels? I've been in France many times and it is not a particularly expensive place to travel to.
My own most expensive trip to date was three weeks in US few years ago (Yellowstone and NYC with tickets to USO tennis tournament). I spent about 3,500$. Didn't stay in any fancy hotels or go to expensive restaurant, but airfare, car rental and gas adds up. I don't regret it though, enjoyed the trip very much.
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Oi... can't believe I haven't posted on here. Too many stupid mistakes. Worst one has to be being upside down on a car loan (yes, I know), trading it in and rolling in that amount into a new car loan. But wait, it's worse... on a 4WD huge honker SUV, with me being the only passenger most times, to commute 25 miles, it got 11 mpg. O.O (RUNS from the face punches being thrown!!!) (while face punching herself)
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Well, this weekend I gave my wife a 5 grand piece of jewelry for her 40th birthday.
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Not a big mistake at all, but the other night the girlfriend and I went to one of the most expensive restaurants in the area (which isn't that expensive at all in NC). As a couple in early our early twenties, we were the youngest dining party of the evening by a margin of at least two decades. The waitress almost asked if we were getting engaged.
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1) Spent $40k on a skydiving trip to Virginia Beach/Norfolk at a military charity auction 4-5 months before I was laid off....
Took my husband, brother in law, sister, and dad on the trip last fall. Sister didn't jump but the rest of us did-my dad was 64 then and said it is the coolest thing he has ever done (and he has literally been all over the globe). Totally worth it. I was already FI when I bought the trip (tho I didn't fully realize it!), and I got to deduct over $30k of it from my taxes as a charitable donation, so that gave me a nice tax refund :). I probably wouldn't have bid for it had I thought my job was at risk, but I don't regret it (although I do sometimes think, 'could have bought another Detroit rental house for that wad of cash.'). Will likely never skydive again (it was SCARY, plus it's expensive & I can get more happiness bang for my bucks from aerial dance & my community pool), but I absolutely LOVED IT! Plus, it really helped with my fear of flying.
2) Had a flying trapeze and aerial dance addiction for ~7 years. $50/lesson for flying trap at 2 lessons/week-ended that 2 yrs ago because a neck injury (from bad ergonomics at my old job, not flying thru the air with he greatest of ease, natch) meant no more bouncing in the net. Then it was $35 aerial dance classes 2x/week....now I just pay to work out on the aerial apparatus at a circus school, they have open workout times and it's $17.50/workout. I try to go 1x/week (my amateur circus performing is on hold at the momentum, just trying to stay in climbing shape in case inspiration for a new routine strikes soon).
3) I'm too lazy to figure out how to quote, but for the pets comments, I'm there too! Probably have spent close to $15k on medical expenses for one of my dogs who has an autoimmune disorder. She's part of my family, it wasn't even a question. Worth EVERY penny! And then last fall (about 3 weeks after skydiving) we added to the family with a 'free' dog who promptly needed $800 worth of dental work. Totally worth it too!
We're not planning on having kids so any time dog stuff gets expensive, I repeat my mantra: 'it's cheaper than college...'
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Didn't know it at the time but an under age DUI (1 month from my 21st birthday) is the most Antimustachian thing I have ever done. Fines and ongoing issues have made it a big ticket item. See the below total.
- Initial Fine: 2k
- Additional Cost for car Insurance (for five years): 3k (approximately $50 per month)
- Temporary Resident Permit (so I can work in Canada (required by my job even though I live in MI I travel a lot)): 1k (200 $/year I need to renew it every year).
6k and counting. I will probably need to hire a lawyer to take care of this (see below)
As a side note it is still not taken care of. I got it in Colorado prior to moving back to MI. At my hearing (a day prior to leaving) I paid the fine and they said that when I get back to MI and try to get my license they will see that I have outstanding community service an some alcohol class and take care of it in MI. When I want to the Secretary of State (where MI residents get their driver's license) to get my new license after turning 21 (one month after the incident) I told them about the issue and they said no worries that stuff doesn't transfer over to Michigan. So according to my record in Colorado there is a class I should take and some community service I would need to take. However, since this did not transfer over in MI there is no equivalent. I have called a lot of times to try to figure this out and have had no luck. I went to get a new license (thought I lost mind (found it 2 days later)) and found out there they can not issue a new one till I get this taken care of in CO (now it does transfer over). So I am stuck in limbo from all my calls the CO legal system still has open items on me and no one in MI will let me take a class and call it the equivalent to the CO class because they just don't know. If you guys have any ideas on how to help shoot me a message.
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Last year, I bought a 2008 BMW 128i convertible with 34k miles on it. It's now worth about $21k on a good day. I owe $24k +
I've had it for sale since February with no takers. I haven't driven it (aside from a one-off trip to get vehicle inspection at mechanic) since February. I've spent about $500 in ad costs, etc, just trying to sell the damn thing.
Tonight it is going to Car Lotz, a consignment car sale place (cost - $900 total). Wish me luck that I'm soon cured of this hangover that will cost me roughly $15k once it is all said and done.
NEVER AGAIN (I now drive a 2007 Prius and LOVE it).
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The most Anti-M thing I've ever done is: Have an automotive hobby.
I'm 29 and I've owned (i think) 17 cars and 2 motorcycles. I've autocrossed/raced in some form or another since approx 2004.
That said, having owned 17 vehicles and driven approx 300K miles, the total depreciation I've suffered during my ownership of all cars has been pretty low. <$15k for sure.
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I bought a new Honda lawn mower for $385. Mowed my little lawn with it for less than one year. Handlebar was too low and the thing I had to squeeze for the drive hurt my wrist. The self propelling drive conked out about half way through that time, so I was pushing it without the drive after that but it was really heavy. It was too heavy for my son to push at that point, so he took care of the weed whacking even though he wanted to mow. I hated dealing with the gasoline and oil. Then my SO mowed over a big jutting root with it and one of the blades got so bent it wouldn't start again (possibly the drive shaft was also bent.) I might have been able to get it fixed under warranty, but I was fed up with it at that point. Unloaded it "as is" on Craigslist for $150.
Mustachianism in my mind would have mandated at least trying to get it fixed before selling it. But I had just had it with the thing and wanted it gone.
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just bought tickets to see Yoyo Ma play cello, $ 210 for 3 tix.I feel like I have to "confess" even though I'm a swami.
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Maxed out a credit card to pay for a 5K cruise because it was a groupon deal and I only had 3 days to buy it. Couldn't even come close to paying it off, so paid interest on the balance for FIVE MONTHS only to have to cancel the trip because I changed my job and wouldn't have the vacation time available. Luckily we were able to get a full refund, but I paid a crapload of interest on a trip we didn't even get to take. The worst part is, we even had a vacation savings account but it didn't have enough because we had just been on a vacation a few months before.
This was all before MMM, but even then I was so angry at myself (and still am)!
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I've got a list of things:
1. Owned a boat. Break Out Another Thousand. New starter = $750 just for the part. We ended up doing ok with the boat, though. It took us to some pretty awesome places in Alaska and we had some great experiences. Plus we sold it for slightly less than we paid for it in less than 12 hours from the time we advertised it, for CASH. I felt like pablo escobar on that trip to the bank. Probably should have asked for more $$.
2. Student Loans for law school. I don't regret law school, and I went to a CHEAP state school, but I still maxed out subsidized and unsubsidized stafford loans for all three years. Some of this money was used to pay on car debt and to renovate a house I bought while in law school (it was 2005 when I bought it, the underwriting consisted of checking my pulse). I did ok on the house when I sold it, but I used the proceeds for a second house which we still own, which leads to . . .
3. Have a rental property 3,500 miles away. We bought a house when we moved to Alaska. When it was time to move away we couldn't sell it for enough money for us to walk away with anything (the proceeds from 2, above), so we decided to rent it instead. We have had fantastic tenants, but after learning more about real estate investing it is not a great investment. Plus it is difficult to manage a property form 3,500 miles away.
4. Own a motorcycle. I was made an offer I couldn't refuse when I bought it, from a family member. It's fun, but with 2 kids now I don't ride it enough.
5. Bought a pickup with little foresight, after dark. Found a large dent in the bumper in the daylight the next day. Still have the pickup, and thankfully it's been a fantastic vehicle (except gas mileage).
6. Chose the longest payback period for my student loans made no effort to accelerate payment for at least 5 years. Started paying extra on them about 6 months ago, but even with serious effort its going to be at least 2017 before they're gone.
There are probably others that I will think of later. Live and learn, I suppose.
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I've been fairly smart with my money (especially compared to average 'Muricans), but I once traded in my perfectly good, paid off car for a new Jeep Wrangler. I loved that Wrangler, but what a waste. It maybe saw dirt a dozen times in the six years I owned it. The only good thing about a Wrangler vs. a different wasteful vehicle (e.g. SUV, sportcar, etc) is that they typically hold their value slightly better. It was still worth a whopping half of what I bought it for (hangs head in shame and defeat).
When I sold it I bought another brand new car (oops, pre-MMM). But I paid cash and got a small, fuel efficient manual hatchback.
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1. Bought a pickup on credit after college. Argh.
2. Am knowingly dropping $25-30k on a wedding. Makes me mad EVERY time I think about it.
3. Knowingly do things like keep my motorcycle and shoot for a hobby. They are 2 of my favorite 5 things to do in life so it's been hard giving either hobby up. If the time comes that I don't enjoy the MC then it's gone, but until then...
Although i do use the MC instead of a car when distances are way too far to bicycle, so its not a total loss I suppose.
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I'm impressed. I thought some of my vacations were a bit on the expensive side, but yours are three levels up! How did you manage? Did it include multiple visits to Micheline star restaurants and staying in 400 euros/night hotels? I've been in France many times and it is not a particularly expensive place to travel to.
My own most expensive trip to date was three weeks in US few years ago (Yellowstone and NYC with tickets to USO tennis tournament). I spent about 3,500$. Didn't stay in any fancy hotels or go to expensive restaurant, but airfare, car rental and gas adds up. I don't regret it though, enjoyed the trip very much.
Airfare and housing was 3200 + 1600, so about half the total cost. Crazy is we tried to save money. We traveled with a friend and split the rent (bringing us down to 1600). We ate at 0 Michelin star restaurants. We shunted the tourist packages and opted for the locals' weekly muni pass. We went to farmers' markets and grocery stores.
However, we also did buy a four-ride pass on their rail network to go anywhere in the country, and we used it well. We bought a couple nice bottles of champagne at a small shop in the middle of Champagne. Though they weren't Michelin starred restaurants, we ate exceedingly well. And we came home with lots and lots of new clothes. Of course, each little splurge we have our own excuses for, but the end of the day, this trip cost us a million pretty pennies.
Airfare: $3200
Housing: $1600
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Divorce.
Fastest wealth destructor ever.
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Grad school. By far. My idealism, optimism, lack of understanding of basic finance and total unpreparedness cost $50K in loan-based tuition, three years' worth of living expenditures, and (hypothetical) lost wages from only working part-time. It was a prestigious-sounding degree, but unfortunately I didn't have the After returning to California, I couldn't get work for a year in anything related to my field, and wound up as the most highly educated person at a warehouse (but hey, it was an elite warehouse). I have a career job now, but the financial damage has been done; of course, this is a pretty common story post 2008.
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Bought a condo in a HCOLA with my then-boyfriend. With 5% down. In June 2006. Because that's what grown-ups do.
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What is a swami?
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What is a swami?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swami
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I know the most anti-frugal thing I've done.
T-Mobile. Using their services and getting into a contract with them has been one of the worst choices I've ever made, because they are terrible.
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What is a swami?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swami
It's some sort of acronym like DINKs is, I think. Couldn't tell you what it stands for though, it's not in common use around these parts.
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Satisfied Working Advanced Mustachian Individual.
From the book of revelation (http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/04/30/weekend-edition-retire-in-your-mind-even-if-you-love-your-job/) itself.
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Bought a huge house in Jacksonville FL at the height of the market. Had to short sell it which impacted my credit. Once my credit started to rebound, bought myself a car (on credit) to celebrate. Then bought another car a couple months later (on credit) for my son after he totaled my old car.
Ta Da!
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Satisfied Working Advanced Mustachian Individual.
From the book of revelation (http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/04/30/weekend-edition-retire-in-your-mind-even-if-you-love-your-job/) itself.
That too;)
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I started flying after college and got my pilots license. I can't quit that shit. It's like crack.
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I started flying after college and got my pilots license. I can't quit that shit. It's like crack.
There seem to be several of us around. It is crack. I've been "sober" now for about 20 years (with a few hours of relapses in there, but they were "free".)
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There seem to be several of us around. It is crack. I've been "sober" now for about 20 years (with a few hours of relapses in there, but they were "free".)
Ha! I'm actually considering getting my commercial and CFI ratings so I can instruct as a post-FI hobby-job. Then I can justify the expense (that's what I like to tell myself anyways :)
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There seem to be several of us around. It is crack. I've been "sober" now for about 20 years (with a few hours of relapses in there, but they were "free".)
Ha! I'm actually considering getting my commercial and CFI ratings so I can instruct as a post-FI hobby-job. Then I can justify the expense (that's what I like to tell myself anyways :)
My goal was to do something similar and eventually go full blown ATP. Both the expense of doing it and awful uncorrected vision eventually made me change my plans. A buddy that started when I did actually did make it to doing commercial G-V flying.
It was when I was doing instrument rating and flushing about $1000/month down the toilet that I had to re-evaluate. (And that was at about 1990 prices!)
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There seem to be several of us around. It is crack. I've been "sober" now for about 20 years (with a few hours of relapses in there, but they were "free".)
Ha! I'm actually considering getting my commercial and CFI ratings so I can instruct as a post-FI hobby-job. Then I can justify the expense (that's what I like to tell myself anyways :)
My goal was to do something similar and eventually go full blown ATP. Both the expense of doing it and awful uncorrected vision eventually made me change my plans. A buddy that started when I did actually did make it to doing commercial G-V flying.
It was when I was doing instrument rating and flushing about $1000/month down the toilet that I had to re-evaluate. (And that was at about 1990 prices!)
I'll be honest; the GV flying makes me a little jealous.
I've been pretty lucky, my grandfather (still flying at 83) taught me to fly. It was running me about $40/hr in 2003. I've been pretty good about splitting safety pilot time with people for instrument time to keep the cost down. It is a drain on the ol stache but I love it.
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Divorce.
Fastest wealth destructor ever.
For me at least, it was worth every dime.
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I was going to sell it back to the jeweler after we went our separate ways, but given how much it's gone up in value, I'll hold onto it for now to see if a future Mrs. MooreBonds might be willing to accept it, or if she would need a different stone (hopefully not as pricey!).
A lady mustachian here....SELL IT! I wouldn't accept another woman's ring, unless it was your mother's/grandmother's heirloom that she gave to you. Plus, at a value like 33k that I'd be scared to wear it anywhere!
As for me, I was a bit into collecting some memorabilia in high school. Should have not wasted my money on that. I've tried to sell some of it, but not all of it is worth that much anymore.
I also once paid for laser hair removal. That was dumb.
Another vote to sell here. I forbade my man to spend more than $100 on an engagement ring (he got me a lovely garnet), and I'm still thoroughly pleased with the $70 plain gold band I've worn all these years. Also I hate diamonds. What if your Mustachian babe is truly frugal? Sell and invest now; there will be rings out there later if you need one.
My BFF's husband bought her new race wheels for her bicycle instead of a ring when they got engaged. Way more practical. :D
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When I was in college I paid for another year of polo instead of paying off my credit card debt.
By the time I graduated, the cc debt was over $10K.
*slaps self silly*
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Ah, Magic the gathering, probably one of the most antimustachian things I was involved in. It didn't take that much money buying packs, but it wasn't worth it in one of the trips I took for a tournament. My sister and her boyfriend got me into the game and I had built one or two decks with the card packs I had bought. I received 200$ from my mom for what was supposed to be a trip to an anime con that we drove 2/3 of the way there and then my friend turned around (big waste of time)
Anyways, they were going on a 2.5 hour trip to the Ravnica tournament. I don't know what the cost to enter was now, but my sister guilt tripped and pressured me into giving her 100 for gas money. I didn't realize how I was manipulated until later but knew it was wrong I paid her 100. Another 50 was spent on some card that could be used for creating any color mana. What made it a waste was, I was decent/good at the game, but I was sleep deprived going in because of where we stayed the night. We stayed at my sister's bf's house and his mom didn't approve of them sleeping in the same bed (they were 24 and I was 16) Instead my sister and I shared a room and bed because she said she couldn't sleep on the couch and she whined and huffed and tossed and turned all night .-. ( I don't handle lack of sleep well) I only won 1 of my rounds because it was a kid, and lost horribly playing someone else. I played terribly, had no fun competing, and was out the 200+.
Some time I will need to go through a couple rarer cards and see if I can get a little bit of cash back. They are 1000 miles away right now though.
(gambling too, I'm even on that but I know I'm easily lured to random chance and know to avoid it now)
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There are the three new cars -
1998 Pontiac Grand Prix -> Traded in in 2004. Hated it.
2004 Mazda 6 -> Over 100K miles on it. Love it. Still have it.
2010 Chevy Equinox -> about 33K miles on it. Wife loves it.
I honestly would feel so bad about it if it weren't for the fact that Grand Prix (GTP version) cost me a crap load in time and gas. It was a PITA.
The Mazda I am running into the ground, and since I telecommute that won't be too soon.
The Equinox has come in handy and will also be run into the ground.
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Home Theatre equipment (This is a very slippery slope... I'm really glad I stopped about 2yrs back... funny thing is we hardly watch TV, lol, prob at least $20k over the years)
Tennis equipment / accessories (way too much stuff to count... I always need 4 of everything, prob have about 30+ racquets, looking to upgrade my ball machine ($1200), new stringer ($500).... just keeps going and going... hopefully once i start coaching i can make some money off it :)
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Spent 5k on a 3 weeks 'relationship'.
Not meeting the right girl right away when I was younger cost me a lot, or that's what I'm trying to tell myself. But I tend to struggle accepting it. Would I have been the person that I am today without all the accumulated experience I got out of the different relationships I was in? I think I became a better partner. I sure had to move across Canada twice, travel with buddies around the world through that quest to find inner peace and to define myself. But it was so worth it in the end, finding the right partner at the right moment in your life is an absolute bliss.
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Spent almost $1,000 during the holidays on a credit card. I was lucky that it had a 0% intro period, but I really deserved to be punched in the face for that.
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For dh it would be a truck he bought new without test driving it on the highway. He had just graduated college and the minute he drove it on the highway he realized how loud it is. He sold it couple years later even though he never really liked it.
For me it would be all the wasted money on the next "diet.". i don't want to add up all the money I have spent on books then the food they recommend, nutrisystem, weight watchers, etc. Finally I started eating healthy and exercise 3-5 times a week and my weight is healthy range and I am fit. Consistency was the key not bouncing from this diet to the next. Of course when you change diets you HAD to throw away all "bad"food. What a waste!
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Going to Vegas and Atlantic City, enough said.
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>50k on wedding and honeymoon.
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1) Starting the private pilots license. Was motivated at the start but then got 6-8k$ in and discovered that once you are past the basics it is really rather boring and totally useless. Yes it is cool to be up there alone but after that it is more of the same and a real pia to get everything lined up weather/time off work/instructor available/airplane available/studied up and ready for a new lesson.
2) Not moving to near work and commuting minimum of 30min each way for years.
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Leasing a new Honda Accord without negotiating the top line cost of the car (was focused on the monthly payment) AND buying LoJack on it when signing the paperwork, even though the lease included Gap insurance. Not my finest moment.
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Oh, that's an easy one - it'd be my first house. Purchased in December of 2004 in the SF bay area (east bay). 3/2 for 500k. When it foreclosed and was auctioned in 2011, it went for 240k - and that's not because the place was trashed or anything. I still go a bit nuts thinking about how much money / time I lost in that boondoggle - if I'd just kept renting, I'd be up by at least 200k, probably more.
Oh well - the reboot has been going swimmingly! What I don't spend on that crushing mortgage instead goes to the stache / paying down the mortgage on a much more affordable place in a much nicer neighborhood. Totally worth trashing my credit rating to get out of the ghetto!
Wow,
I too purchased a house in 2004, overpriced and unsuitable for us. We ended up selling at a loss and, like you, I keep thinking of all the $$ I could have saved instead of pouring endless $$ into that black hole...
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I bought a brand new car after I'd been work for a month out of university. After tax and delivery it came to roughly $27k
Then as if that wasn't anti-mustachian enough... I then paid off my 0% interest car loan a year early. (I had my reasons, but still...)
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Ok I'll bite:
1) Right now it is my cell phone bill which is ridiculously high. Now I am not only locked into a 2 year contract on it, but I have some extended family members that are on it which is going to make it even harder to get rid of.
2) My car...it is now paid off, but I actually leased it new, then renewed the lease, THEN took out a loan on it to buy it. Yeah, yeah....I know.
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Lost my heart in May 2012 to an ex-stray pit bull mix with serious cuddle skills, and then 9 months later went and adopted for him a companion bitch. Food (high-quality kibble, homemade stock, and various treats), vet bills (oy), heartworm pills, flea/tick treatment, toys, a trainer, and doggie daycare 4 x week. Insanity.
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You're not a fan of other breeds of dogs?
(that's a leading question)
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Ah. So your basenji is a pit bull.
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Dog breed confusion?
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I'm not sure exactly where on the axis this falls, since I made a large purchase so I could be more mustachian, but I bought a motorized wheel for my bike.
I wanted to bike to work and I know that I am not fit enough to do it at all easily. And my biggest fear was having people honking at me because I couldn't go fast enough and was holding up traffic. I get stared at enough as an overweight woman out in public. But I also really got a bug up my butt about biking to work, since I only live four miles away, ever since my coworkers and I were no longer permitted to park in the garage adjacent to my office and have to take a shuttle from a big garage a mile away. The shuttle takes a lot of time and I figured biking had to at least be equivalent (if I hit the lights right, it's a little faster than driving.)
So if I didn't have my motorized wheel, I would not have started biking to work. But the wheel cost more than 3x what the bike itself did. Overall I've put almost $700 into the bike and its attendant accessories. But I am now biking to work every day that I don't have to leave the office (sometimes I have to drive to the other side of the city for my job) and have already lost some weight, so I am very pleased with my motorized wheel. I feel pretty much invincible with it - I don't have to worry about driving in traffic because I know I can keep up the speed going through downtown even up hills, and it makes it super easy to get started again when the light turns green.
So, mustachian or not? I vote no in the short term (I am sure some would say I should have just sucked it up and gotten fit enough to ride without the wheel) but in the long run, I think it will be very good for me because I probably wouldn't have started biking every day without it.
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I'm not sure exactly where on the axis this falls, since I made a large purchase so I could be more mustachian, but I bought a motorized wheel for my bike.
I wanted to bike to work and I know that I am not fit enough to do it at all easily. And my biggest fear was having people honking at me because I couldn't go fast enough and was holding up traffic. I get stared at enough as an overweight woman out in public. But I also really got a bug up my butt about biking to work, since I only live four miles away, ever since my coworkers and I were no longer permitted to park in the garage adjacent to my office and have to take a shuttle from a big garage a mile away. The shuttle takes a lot of time and I figured biking had to at least be equivalent (if I hit the lights right, it's a little faster than driving.)
So if I didn't have my motorized wheel, I would not have started biking to work. But the wheel cost more than 3x what the bike itself did. Overall I've put almost $700 into the bike and its attendant accessories. But I am now biking to work every day that I don't have to leave the office (sometimes I have to drive to the other side of the city for my job) and have already lost some weight, so I am very pleased with my motorized wheel. I feel pretty much invincible with it - I don't have to worry about driving in traffic because I know I can keep up the speed going through downtown even up hills, and it makes it super easy to get started again when the light turns green.
So, mustachian or not? I vote no in the short term (I am sure some would say I should have just sucked it up and gotten fit enough to ride without the wheel) but in the long run, I think it will be very good for me because I probably wouldn't have started biking every day without it.
Kira - I started biking (after not biking since childhood) again with an electric bike - I was having 'range' anxieties that I might get stuck or be late to pick my daughter up from daycare... The price of the bike made me nearly naseaus for over a year... Now I can tell you that it was the best decision - I love biking! I promarily use a folding bike now (love that it will fit in my car, the bus, my cubicle, etc..) and I still use the bike electric when I am towing my daughter up hill (or when I am late - because it is sooo fast). Buying this bike got me into a habit I LOVE. I don't think I would have tried without the electric bike - now I bike everywhere :)
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Holy Shazam! So many of these Antimustchian things done are sooooo much more expensive than "Hookers and blow" that I am truly impressed. I have lived on the the cheap compared to many on this thread. Travel costs,stereos, trips,weddings, divorces, planes, cars, houses, $50,000 in Magic cards? all can and have been way more expensive than other, ahem, "hobbies". I got off light after reading every post on this thread. Incidentally, no longer do such foolish things. Not a tea totaler, but not the self destructive young fool that I once was. You live and learn. :)
I will admit, I had a lot of fun though. ;)
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I will admit, I had a lot of fun though. ;)
Isn't that all that matters? Just kidding, glad you got off the china and got over the Magic obsession :)
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Bought a house (a fix’er upper) for $126,000 with a 100% loan straight out of college in 2008. Poured every dime of disposable income (about $15,000) and every minute of free time for 3 years into the house. I ended up moving 3 states away for my job and when my house went on the market, I found out that my pride and joy was worth about $80,000. I still owed $120,000+ on it.
That one still stings. But in a roundabout way, it’s the reason I’m here. $60,000 worth of tuition at the school of hard knocks.
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I'm not sure if this is the most antimustachian in total dollars, but probably the most regrettable*. I spent around $1500 (not really sure, could have been $800) on an elliptical trainer many moons ago. I used it consistently for a few years, thinking that it saved me the money of a gym membership. Of course now it's just sitting in storage and I'm sure it would be worth very little if resold. Ugh.
*most antimustachian might be the new car I bought out of college, but I'm not sure I regret that. Also some random expensive furniture that I ended up giving to my parents, but again I don't regret it that much since it's getting a lot of use by people I love.
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I bought $10,000 worth of silver. In 1980. Yeah, right before the peak... Hey what could go wrong? The Hunt brothers (rich Texas family) were buying silver! Why not me too?
One problem was I didn't have 10K to spend. That's right, I BORROWED $10,000 at 18% to buy some old coins that just about filled up a one-quart ZipLok baggie. Remember interest rates in 1980? There was apparently a law* in effect back then that prevented banks from charging individuals enough to make a ridiculously speculative loan (like this one) look attractive. So I incorporated - another $600 - just for the privilege of borrowing more than my total net worth - at 18%!
If that's not bad enough, I didn't really have a job at the time. I was trying to make a go of it being a salesman** at straight commission.
Yeah, I paid it all off. It was rough and took several years but I finally cleared it up.
*Mortgages got up to around 18% or so back then but that was apparently different somehow.
** I discovered you need to have a personality to be successful in Sales. I checked into getting an implant but it was too expensive and I was broke. See above.
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Bought a car about 9 months ago. 2007 Jetta 2.5 /w 70k miles. Felt bad for spending so much compared to my old 2000 Neon that had an ownership cost of less than $3000 for almost 4 years of driving. I paid $8000 +taxes and got new tires as well. Not too bad compared to a new car and it has alot of life left in it. I paid cash.
I also have a silly hobby, high power flashlights. My most recent is an Armytek Predator 2.5 Pro, cost about $120 by the time I got hit with import duties on it. I live in a city and don't really "need" anymore than just a basic pocket light but I choose to carry a $70 Zebralight SC52 instead. I just enjoy them alot, the technology is cool and it gives me an excuse to take night hikes. Compared to most hobbies I don't think a few hundred dollars per year ranks all that highly compared to most others. Haha I may save a little on power though, I really enjoy minimizing my home lighting as much as I can as a result of this.
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I also have a silly hobby, high power flashlights. My most recent is an Armytek Predator 2.5 Pro, cost about $120 by the time I got hit with import duties on it. I live in a city and don't really "need" anymore than just a basic pocket light but I choose to carry a $70 Zebralight SC52 instead. I just enjoy them alot, the technology is cool and it gives me an excuse to take night hikes. Compared to most hobbies I don't think a few hundred dollars per year ranks all that highly compared to most others. Haha I may save a little on power though, I really enjoy minimizing my home lighting as much as I can as a result of this.
Haha, I'm envisioning your neighbors calling the cops when they see you walking around your dark house with a flashlight
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Guess I'll make my 2nd post here a confession piece.
My first & worst was spending $4k to bail out a girl from jail, shortly after she told me not to take the relationship too serious. The relationship quickly soured and was compounded by the fact that she was living with me once she got out of jail. She had no car & I wanted to make sure she made all the court dates so I wasn't on the hook for the rest of the $50k bond. She did manage to pay some of it back but it was an awful 7 months together.
Second and more recent was taking $4k out of an investment account to use as a down payment on a 2 year old car. The account is up over 10% this year alone so that's more money lost.
If I've learned one thing it's this: Don't spend $4k on anything
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I already answered here, but I forgot one that should make this list!
A few years ago, my wife and I ate at Alinea, one of the most expensive restaurants in the USA. She's a chef, and we were visiting Chicago (where the restaurant is) so we knew it would be now or never. We planned it ahead of time because we knew it would be expensive, so it wasn't an impulse decision.
Hope you're sitting down. A 24-course dinner for two, with wine pairings + tip: $1,000
It was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing, but it still hurts to think about all those zeros on the bill. It made my wife happy so it was worth it.
Speaking of once-in-a-lifetime, now we're thinking about dining at French Laundry (even more expensive) when we visit friends in San Francisco this summer... Someone face-punch me, quick!
Alinea is totally worth it. Watchmaker and I went two years ago. I think it's ok to splurge sometimes as long as it's something you enjoy and that will create fond memories. With that said, after our 24 course dinner plus about 10 different types of wine, I was beyond tipsy and full. I threw up a $500 meal right when we got back to our car. Ok, maybe that counts as the most antimustachian thing I've ever done. One more confession, we went to France on a week's notice. Watchmaker had some work and I decided to tag along. We thought, what the heck, let's go eat at Paul Bocuse' s L'Auberge. Ok, I'm ready for my face punches now.
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Alinea was amazing. It was a mistake at that point in our lives, and was part of an increase in lifestyle that we are only now getting to grips with. But I can't regret it. One of the best experiences of my life.
By the way, after Decibelle threw up, she remarked "It tasted just as good on the way up!"
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Wow! Five pages of Antimustachianism and this one hasn't come up:
I'm embarassed to admit I borrowed 6K from my 401k.
I did something smart with the money (borrowed to buy a property that more than doubled in four years). However, I HATED the feeling that I was trapped in my job unless/until I paid the loan off. Hated it! Plus, no one explains that you borrow pre-tax money, pay it back with post-tax dollars and then have to pay taxes on it again when you eventually withdraw it. That HR shit about paying yourself interest is just that: shit. And don't get me started about opportunity cost while your money is out of the market. Never, ever borrow against your 401k!
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I'm embarassed to admit I borrowed 6K from my 401k.
For a house that you are buying for rental/flip... convert some of the 401k to a self directed 401k. You can use it to buy house to flip/rental. You take no taxes on it since it is still money in 401k but you can't live in it/sell it to someone related to you/let someone related to you live in it.
That said, I'm not sure if it applies to your case? You lived in house I'm guessing?
edit: Mine would be travelling, I went to colorado/delaware this year for a week each place. Spent about $2k for both trips (combined/not per trip). But... yeah I'd go again :S At 27, I kind of want to see more of the US while I'm young so I can pick where I want to settle down in older age. I would probably pick a cheap bed next time but I went with family and couldn't let mother/sister sleep on a couch. We did get free Hilton rooms from using their credit card (cancelling now that trip is over). I also spent about $2k for a trip to Taiwan 2 years ago, and another $2k to Australia 5 years ago. Seems like I spend about $2k on travel every 2 or so years that I could cut down. But I want to travel!
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edit: Mine would be travelling, I went to colorado/delaware this year for a week each place. Spent about $2k for both trips (combined/not per trip). But... yeah I'd go again :S At 27, I kind of want to see more of the US while I'm young so I can pick where I want to settle down in older age. I would probably pick a cheap bed next time but I went with family and couldn't let mother/sister sleep on a couch. We did get free Hilton rooms from using their credit card (cancelling now that trip is over). I also spent about $2k for a trip to Taiwan 2 years ago, and another $2k to Australia 5 years ago. Seems like I spend about $2k on travel every 2 or so years that I could cut down. But I want to travel!
Your travel is not particularly expensive although it depends on how much you earn. My rule of thumb is that yearly travel expenses shouldn't exceed two months of savings. In my case that's a bit more than $5k.
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I bought a $15k engagement ring and took out a 20k loan on an Infiniti G35 (while the premium gas price was $4.40/gallon) in the same year. My salary at the time was $50,000. I have none of the above anymore (including the girl, who kept the ring). That was after I finally got from under a credit card I completely maxed and went into collections on, so it was a 10% interest rate on the car.
I learned a lot.
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This may be TMI, but my most anti-mustachian thing is marrying a guy who likes apple gadgets and can't seem to hold on to any job for long. Also, I never contributed to any 401k until I was 27 because I had no idea what it was and couldn't be bother to find out while I was traveling around the world, sometimes on credit. Oh, to be able to redo many things in my life... but I try not to wallow in self-pity. Forward march!
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I'm embarassed to admit I borrowed 6K from my 401k.
That said, I'm not sure if it applies to your case? You lived in house I'm guessing?
Yes, I lived in it. I made a great profit overall, so it wasn't a completely boneheaded move. I was just shocked at how indentured I felt after taking out the loan. I did not understand all the tax implications of borrowing/repaying this money and HR certainly didn't provide any information about the negatives of this type of loan. I've never borrowed from my parents since reaching adulthood and they did not pay for my college. However, in retrospect, it would have been smarter to swallow my pride and hit them up for a loan than my 401k. All's well that ends well in this case, but I still consider it my dumbest financial move ever.
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Wow! Five pages of Antimustachianism and this one hasn't come up:
I'm embarassed to admit I borrowed 6K from my 401k.
I did something smart with the money (borrowed to buy a property that more than doubled in four years). However, I HATED the feeling that I was trapped in my job unless/until I paid the loan off. Hated it! Plus, no one explains that you borrow pre-tax money, pay it back with post-tax dollars and then have to pay taxes on it again when you eventually withdraw it. That HR shit about paying yourself interest is just that: shit. And don't get me started about opportunity cost while your money is out of the market. Never, ever borrow against your 401k!
Well don't feel too bad about it, because you're wrong about the double taxation bit. http://www.investopedia.com/articles/retirement/08/borrow-from-401k-loan.asp (see the section on "Addressing Two Myths")
Your 401k is still just about the best place possible to borrow money from if you have a legitimate need to borrow money (and it sounds like you did). I don't think there's anything unmustacian about your story. Of course feeling shacked to your job is a legitimate complaint, but if you were going to be there anyway...
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I have two equally face-punch deserving moments (surely many more, but these are the most egregious):
My first college degree was in a very useless field - it sure loaded me with a lot of debt while goofing off in college and ignoring the future to learn that lesson.
Second, my wife and I were living in Seattle and making a good amount of money (to our young minds) and decided to buy new bedroom furniture on my new, high-limit CC. I have always considered myself a spendthrift and thought my old bed (with one of those flimsy, bottom-of-the-line frames) was fine, but once I was in the store seeing all that fancy new furniture, I told her, "In for a penny, in for a pound," and we walked out with about $3k in debt for new furniture that we could have gotten used or even new, but elsewhere for much less. Ugh...wish I could punch my past self for that one.
My wife's would be ignoring my advice on buying a new car while we were dating and walking off the VW lot with a new Jetta. Aside from the car payments, which we do not have anymore, working on that car is a huge pain in the butt.
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I have always considered myself a spendthrift and thought my old bed (with one of those flimsy, bottom-of-the-line frames) was fine, but once I was in the store seeing all that fancy new furniture, I told her, "In for a penny, in for a pound," and we walked out with about $3k in debt for new furniture that we could have gotten used or even new, but elsewhere for much less. Ugh...wish I could punch my past self for that one.
I can't quite tell because the whole thread is about spendthrifteryTM, but I think you may be misusing the word spendthrift. It means someone who spends extravagantly/wastefully. If I have misread your intent, I apologize for being a vocabulary buttinski.
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I have always considered myself a spendthrift and thought my old bed (with one of those flimsy, bottom-of-the-line frames) was fine, but once I was in the store seeing all that fancy new furniture, I told her, "In for a penny, in for a pound," and we walked out with about $3k in debt for new furniture that we could have gotten used or even new, but elsewhere for much less. Ugh...wish I could punch my past self for that one.
I can't quite tell because the whole thread is about spendthrifteryTM, but I think you may be misusing the word spendthrift. It means someone who spends extravagantly/wastefully. If I have misread your intent, I apologize for being a vocabulary buttinski.
Well I've been using that word in the opposite context all my life! Oops. I am usually unhappy to part with my money. Those were periods or moments of spendthriftery in my life, though ;)
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Going in order from most recent to oldest:
1. Sitting on $50K in mutual funds earning 0% (so, going backwards after inflation) from 2009-2012
2. Opting for a Roth 401K when earning big bucks instead of a traditional, because my head hurt too much figuring out which would be better for me and I was busy.
3. Not contributing to a 401k with vested match at my first job because I was planning to leave before it'd fully vest. If I had, I still would have gotten maybe a free $1000. (I was too poor to do that and an IRA, so I just did the IRA).
4. Buying a wooden white water kayak paddle at college graduation for $240. Just became an expensive decoration - never used it.
5. Spending $1000 in college on way overpriced products where the gimmick was you'd submit for rebates on everything and get paid back. Unsurprisingly, the company went bankrupt. Got back about $90 in the class action lawsuit.
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Credit card debt -- $15k for me, $30k for DH in our 20's. We both had help paying them off. (pre-marriage)
Student loan debt -- $120k for me. I paid some, my dad paid some and DH paid off the rest. (first year of our marriage)
Falling back into the "payment" trap -- we were debt free for 6 years. Then we bought a house.... 3 years later we are down to one payment on my truck. Hopefully we will have that gone in a year or 2 (at least it's only at 2%).
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Wow! Five pages of Antimustachianism and this one hasn't come up:
I'm embarassed to admit I borrowed 6K from my 401k.
I did something smart with the money (borrowed to buy a property that more than doubled in four years). However, I HATED the feeling that I was trapped in my job unless/until I paid the loan off. Hated it! Plus, no one explains that you borrow pre-tax money, pay it back with post-tax dollars and then have to pay taxes on it again when you eventually withdraw it. That HR shit about paying yourself interest is just that: shit. And don't get me started about opportunity cost while your money is out of the market. Never, ever borrow against your 401k!
Well don't feel too bad about it, because you're wrong about the double taxation bit. http://www.investopedia.com/articles/retirement/08/borrow-from-401k-loan.asp (see the section on "Addressing Two Myths")
Your 401k is still just about the best place possible to borrow money from if you have a legitimate need to borrow money (and it sounds like you did). I don't think there's anything unmustacian about your story. Of course feeling shacked to your job is a legitimate complaint, but if you were going to be there anyway...
Thanks, Sherr, but I still don't think I am wrong. I read the attached and all of the pertinent links. At least two problems come to mind. First, article seems to skip over the fact that you must use post-tax dollars to repay the pre-tax dollars you borrowed. Second, I rolled the money over once I left that job. There was no kind of statement regarding interest, it was just one lump sum. Good luck proving to the IRS thirty years later that a portion of your account should be treated/taxed differently. Not going to happen.
Another point I omitted for the sake of brevity is the fact that most plans do not allow you to prepay your loan. You must make your assigned monthly payment or pay it off, period. Also, I had no intention of leaving my job, but the feeling of being trapped was far beyond my expectations and I did not like it, Sam I Am.
Borrowing from my parents would have been the best option. I was too proud (and admittedly still am) to ask for their assistance.
I have achieved FIRE, so this is not that big a deal to me now. The main reason I commented was to help others learn the true impact of taking out a 401k loan. Which was the point of the whole thread, I believe. Aren't all of these stories cautionary tales?
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Wow! Five pages of Antimustachianism and this one hasn't come up:
I'm embarassed to admit I borrowed 6K from my 401k.
I did something smart with the money (borrowed to buy a property that more than doubled in four years). However, I HATED the feeling that I was trapped in my job unless/until I paid the loan off. Hated it! Plus, no one explains that you borrow pre-tax money, pay it back with post-tax dollars and then have to pay taxes on it again when you eventually withdraw it. That HR shit about paying yourself interest is just that: shit. And don't get me started about opportunity cost while your money is out of the market. Never, ever borrow against your 401k!
Well don't feel too bad about it, because you're wrong about the double taxation bit. http://www.investopedia.com/articles/retirement/08/borrow-from-401k-loan.asp (see the section on "Addressing Two Myths")
Your 401k is still just about the best place possible to borrow money from if you have a legitimate need to borrow money (and it sounds like you did). I don't think there's anything unmustacian about your story. Of course feeling shacked to your job is a legitimate complaint, but if you were going to be there anyway...
Thanks, Sherr, but I still don't think I am wrong. I read the attached and all of the pertinent links. At least two problems come to mind. First, article seems to skip over the fact that you must use post-tax dollars to repay the pre-tax dollars you borrowed. Second, I rolled the money over once I left that job. There was no kind of statement regarding interest, it was just one lump sum. Good luck proving to the IRS thirty years later that a portion of your account should be treated/taxed differently. Not going to happen.
You need to take into account the fungibility of money. If you borrow $20k from your 401k and withdraw $20k from a savings account, put them in two identical envelopes, mix them up so you don't know which is which, and then use one to buy a car and the other to pay off your 401k loan, did you pay off your 401k loan with pre-tax or post-tax dollars? The question is actually meaningless, because money is fungible. Or, to put it another way, either you have paid off your 401k loan with the pre-tax money, or you have bought a car with pre-tax money (when you would normally have to have used post-tax money).
In your specific case, you can think of having paid for the house with pre-tax money (when you normally would have had to use post-tax money). Then when you pay back your 401k with "post-tax money", you are really just making up for the house-buying pre-tax money you already spent. No matter how you look at it you have the same amount of pre-tax and post-tax money *somewhere* as you would have if you had not taken out the 401k loan, and since money is fungible it makes no difference where exactly you think it is. You'll pay the same in taxes either way. The exception is the money you pay into your 401k account as interest, that is double taxed as the article points out (but it's usually an fairly insignificant amount).
I have achieved FIRE, so this is not that big a deal to me now. The main reason I commented was to help others learn the true impact of taking out a 401k loan. Which was the point of the whole thread, I believe. Aren't all of these stories cautionary tales?
Oh sure, I agree. But I want to caution people appropriately and not scare them with misunderstandings, no matter how common they are. :)
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Second, I rolled the money over once I left that job. There was no kind of statement regarding interest, it was just one lump sum. Good luck proving to the IRS thirty years later that a portion of your account should be treated/taxed differently. Not going to happen.
Oh, and to address this more directly: you don't need to convince them of anything. You already received the benefit when you deducted your original 401k contribution from your income. 401k loans are not taxable income, so you are not loosing anything when you take them or repay them. You don't have to do anything special to not loose the benefit.
So like I said, no worries, it's not as bad as you thought!
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Recently, I impulse bought $380 of flights (1 for me and one as a gift for someone) it was completely random... It was a super good price but I already had a holiday booked for later in the year, so really didn't need it. I normally research purchases meticulously, and will wait at least 24 hours before buying things, even reasonably cheap clothes. Given I'm out of debt and it's not a material number compared to monthly income, it's not completely insane, but it really wasn't needed so it's silly, when I am trying to focus on this.
The other one was not really understanding that (subsidized) student loan debt was debt and would come out of my pay at $500/month after graduating. But once I realised I paid it off quickly, and my degree has given me a well paid job I enjoy so the outcome certainly could have been worse.
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Recently, I impulse bought $380 of flights (1 for me and one as a gift for someone) it was completely random... It was a super good price but I already had a holiday booked for later in the year, so really didn't need it. I normally research purchases meticulously, and will wait at least 24 hours before buying things, even reasonably cheap clothes. Given I'm out of debt and it's not a material number compared to monthly income, it's not completely insane, but it really wasn't needed so it's silly, when I am trying to focus on this.
The other one was not really understanding that (subsidized) student loan debt was debt and would come out of my pay at $500/month after graduating. But once I realised I paid it off quickly, and my degree has given me a well paid job I enjoy so the outcome certainly could have been worse.
I plan on making an un-planned flight/vacation in the near future!
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Fun conversation.
Shortly after we had our first baby, DH and I got sucked into one of those timeshare-type presentations (with the promise of a free trip). Before going in, we said - we are intelligent people. We will just say "no" and walk away with our free trip.
Several hours later, we had spent $3-5K+ (and stupidly also gave up the free trip). What did we buy? It wasn't even a useable timeshare. It was a super stupid, completely useless vacation CLUB that just gave us access to good timeshare deals. With tiny tots, it wasn't even practical for our circumstances and the strings to using it was so difficult we didn't use it a single time. We finally quit paying the fees 2-3 years later when we had the courage to face our stupidity.
DH blames me for this one because I was advocating hard for it. I told him his job was to talk me out of stupid decisions. He said it made me happy so he did it. (UGH - how do you get mad with a guy with reasons like that?)
In recent years, the most anti-Mustachian thing we have done is allow our consumption to match our earnings. Our earnings went up and our lifestyle went up with it. I cringe at how much we have wasted in the last couple of years in frivolous spending because we stopped thinking of want vs need.
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Well I can think of two anti-mustachian events that I deserve a punch in the face for:
1.) Last year I financed a new car on credit, a 2013 hyundai accent. I still like the car and as a bonus for the life that I own it I will get a mileage reimbursement due to an EPA settlement. Still, I need to get that sucker paid off ASAP (plan on paying $900 over the minimum payment next month). Would it potentially save me money to sell and buy used? Yes, but I think I will stick with this decision for the long-term usage and the EPA reimbursement, besides I still need something to drive. I just need to remember to punch myself in the face when I write the checks.
2.) At my previous employer I entered into an agreement to obtain my CPA. They would pay for the study materials, but if I left before I had worked there for three years I had to pay them back. Well, that happened. I left before the three years and my current supervisor is not an active CPA, so I cannot obtain a CPA license currently even if I completed all of the exams. So I have a set of expensive books that I ended up paying for that are fairly useless in my current employment situation. However, I was going to use it to leave to get a better paying job regardless and would have paid it back in the end. I just ended up getting a better job before finishing it.
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I plan on making an un-planned flight/vacation in the near future!
This is a good idea ;-)
Buying flights for a long weekend away when you already have a long and expensive trip planned within the next 12 months, not so much so ;-)
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Bought a new car for $22k with no money down financed for 5 years. Taxes and financing brought the real cost up to $30k. Good thing it gave me 14 years of life before I sold it. AND the proceeds of the sale financed our month of June 2013!
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I moved back home after 1 year in another state because I was homesick and not making as much money as I had anticipated: I had sold my first house at a profit even though I only had it for 3 years (This was 2005). Used that money and cashed in my 401K to pay off credit cards. Bought another house for way more than I had sold the last one for with no money down, lived in it a year and sold it at a $2k loss after all the realtor and legal cost (This was beginning 2006). Then I moved home and bought another house for way more than it was worth because renting was "wasteful". Used a split mortgage to get it for no money down and refinanced it a year later. After three years I let the bank short sell it for 80K less than I owed on it and joined the military. I could fill a book with all the dumb shit I have done. Not proud, but at least I woke up. Still have a lot of work to do. The kicker is I could have righted the ship at any point but was too dumb to know it.
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Bought a gas guzzling sports car that can't haul shit. Twice. Sold the first one when my daughter was born. Bought the second one when I got promoted and the kids could climb into the back seats and buckle their own belts. Thought I deserved it. Guess I wasn't thinking that I deserved financial freedom. I'll sell it in the spring. It won't move during the winter.
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paintball. costs a minimum 50 bucks every time you play
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My guitar collection. I have over a dozen of them. In my defense, most are Korean in the $200-400 range, most were bought on "good deals", and I've sold quite a few making a small profit each time (only to replace them with newer "good deals").
I bought them fully knowing:
1. I can barely play, and am not getting much better.
2. I can barely tell the difference between them after they go in an amp. Having more than one acoustic and one electric is overkill.
3. When I do play in my shitty way, I can only play one guitar at a time.
At first I was able to somehow justify getting a new one (I don't have a semi-hollow with P90's, the collection wouldn't be complete without it, and the tone is unique). Lately, even my excuses are lame (I want a green one).
Still, I can't help but smile every time I pass by and see them hanging in my music room.
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I suppose the most anti-Mustachian thing I do is buy a season ticket to a Major League Soccer team. I love going to games and MLS is much cheaper than other major league sports, but my season ticket would pay for two months of student loan payments, not counting all the money I spend on concessions at games, because they typically take place around dinnertime on weekends, plus $10/game for parking and gas to get to and from the games. What can I say? This is my one great weakness.
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Bought engagement ring worth $26k. And at a time when we had no money, no house, low paying jobs. Done a lot of stupid things in life - but this was one of the biggest regrets. Even now that we are *finally* in a great place with money, still feel that way. You don't need a big expensive ring to have a great marriage!
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^Wow! Yeah, that's a lot for a ring. I hope she gets the tongs that hold in the big stone checked and tightened by a jeweler each year.
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A brand new, 2012 Ford F-150 FX4, fully loaded, with 7k negative equity rolled in. $50k and it was the only vehicle for my family (me, wife, 1 child). We were living in suburbia with no reason for that vehicle except for vanity. A year later we traded it in on a new 2013 Honda Accord 4cyl and again rolled in about $5k in negative equity with no money down. This was before I started trying to become financially independent and reading this blog. The only way to recoup the horrible mistakes is to keep the Accord until it literally falls apart!
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Started with a perfectly good working 96' VW GTI i had from college obviously paid off already in cash $5500. 3 years later, pulled the engine, rebuilt with forged internals and turbo charged the car. Dyno'ed around 390 HP at 20 psi.
I lost the secondary fuel pump, ran lean and destroyed the first built motor through detonation. Second one, i was in a rush and paid a performance shop to build the second engine for me, i still installed it at least, and of course upgraded the turbo among other things. After that I went through 2 transmissions by striping the teeth of both 2nd gears on one and then both 3rd gears on the other (only $150 junk yard transmission so not that bad on the wallet)
At this point i couldn't enjoy the car because i always felt like i was going to break it. I have over 18K into a $3500 car.
I started reading MMM and sold it this last summer for $6500. It was not easy, but it began my commitment to this lifestyle
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My wife and I went to a concert last night. It was also for our anniversary. Given our situation, probably not the best thing right now, but it i sone of the few nights out that we've had recently. Got me to thinking how much we have spent going to the same show. More than I care to admit, but this was literally a drop in the bucket to what we saw at the show..
The lead singer brings a girl from the pit on stage at one point. the girl he brought on stage had a shirt stating this it he 200TH show she has seen. Now, mind you, this is the bands 15th album over a 30 year period. But I averaged the tickets at $250. That's over 50K. Not including travel expenses (I don't believe they have put on 200 shows in this city).. I figure I was way under given the price that we paid for non floor tickets.
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University. After I finished school I should have gone out into the workforce and done a trainee-ship instead of wasting 20k or so on not finishing a degree... but my parents pushed me into it and here I am now with a negligible work history and no degree either.
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Well...the list is long! The most antimustachian thing we've done is just piss away money in dribs and drabs amounting to tens of thousands of dollars over the past 20 years, which, if invested, would amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars instead.
The stupidest thing we did in one fell swoop was get suckered into one of those vacation clubs when we were in our 20s. Spent $3000 up front, then another $180 a year for about 10 years without using it once before we wised up and cancelled. I'm embarrassed to even write that.
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Well...the list is long! The most antimustachian thing we've done is just piss away money in dribs and drabs amounting to tens of thousands of dollars over the past 20 years, which, if invested, would amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars instead.
+1 for me and I am not proud to write it. Thanks Gray Matter for having the courage to write it. I've looked at this thread a few times and never quite posted on it.
My 'dribs and drabs' over 25 years would have been about an extra $50,000.00 working for me in my RRSP today. I guess the one big stupid thing was not stashing $ over the 10 years I lived with my-ex. I was sharing expenses with someone at that time but didn't make any effort to put the extra money aside. Just kept doing the 10% thing and thinking I was wonderful.
The last 6 months have been pretty different which I am proud to write. :)
PS I am so happy to see people being so smart with their money here. I wish we were here by the 1,000s. Maybe one day we will be.
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I wish we were here by the 1,000s. Maybe one day we will be.
I think we probably already are...
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The stupidest thing we did in one fell swoop was get suckered into one of those vacation clubs when we were in our 20s. Spent $3000 up front, then another $180 a year for about 10 years without using it once before we wised up and cancelled. I'm embarrassed to even write that.
Uhh I was suckered into one of these too, and came with a free trip (that's how they get you to listen) 21 years old and excited to travel and a new job, and the fees to actually use this for a vacation. We never ended up using the free trip...
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I didn't contribute to the 401(k) at my first employer (giving up a 3% match) because I was young, dumb, and "wouldn't be there long anyway." Five years later...
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As a more or less fiscally conscious adult I made a good move, fixing up and selling a rental house for 70K profit. The bad move was that if I'd waited 30 days to settle, the income would've been taxed at long term capital gains rate, not my marginal rate. At the time I needed the cash for another house purchase. In retrospect I am certain I could've figured out a way to delay both deals.
Cost me about 10K.
In my decidedly irresponsible twenties, I got my sister to cosign car loan. Fortunately I never let the loan go bad, but I did have some late payments. She still thinks nothing of it, I am now horrified that I had the nerve to ask her to cosign.
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Started with a perfectly good working 96' VW GTI i had from college obviously paid off already in cash $5500. 3 years later, pulled the engine, rebuilt with forged internals and turbo charged the car. Dyno'ed around 390 HP at 20 psi.
So is it anti-mustachian of me to read that and think "cool!"? But my real question is what kind of crazy torque steer do you get in a front-wheel drive car with 390HP?
I'm getting better, but car "upgrades" are one of my weaknesses. I spent about $2,000 upgrading the suspension and motor of my 1995 Saab 9000 before selling it this year for no more than the cost of those upgrades. I justified it because everyone I work with spends a shitload more on cars than I do, even with my upgrades, but my cars go faster and handle better than theirs. So far I have resisted the upgrade temptation on my current, 9 year old, Saab.
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Oof. I think I'm going to get torn a new one after I post this.
I paid around $3700 for my cat to travel from my mother's door in Texas to my door in South Korea. The company handled all of the paperwork, got her to and checked her in at the airport, arranged a comfort stop at a kitty condo in Germany (my cat has been to more countries than I have) where she rested and had some food and water, sent me pictures of her at each stop to show me how she was doing, and brought her from the airport to my apartment.
I'm honestly not sure how I would have even approached an alternative way of getting her here without an escort, and I didn't want to burden my mother with the process (she was kind enough to catsit for two months already). Also, having just moved to South Korea myself, I was a bit intimidated by the prospect of moving an unhappy, jet-lagged cat from an airport to my apartment via public transportation.
No regrets, but golly that was a pretty penny.
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Oof. I think I'm going to get torn a new one after I post this.
I paid around $3700 for my cat to travel from my mother's door in Texas to my door in South Korea. The company handled all of the paperwork, got her to and checked her in at the airport, arranged a comfort stop at a kitty condo in Germany (my cat has been to more countries than I have) where she rested and had some food and water, sent me pictures of her at each stop to show me how she was doing, and brought her from the airport to my apartment.
I'm honestly not sure how I would have even approached an alternative way of getting her here without an escort, and I didn't want to burden my mother with the process (she was kind enough to catsit for two months already). Also, having just moved to South Korea myself, I was a bit intimidated by the prospect of moving an unhappy, jet-lagged cat from an airport to my apartment via public transportation.
No regrets, but golly that was a pretty penny.
Pets are like family. No reason to get face punched for that. I probably would have done that for my dog.
That said, aren't cats a delicacy in South Korea? :-) (I jest)
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Pets ARE family, but would it not have been wiser to pay for a friend's ticket and have them bring the kitty along? You get to see a friend for a week, they get a free flight out of the deal, and your cat arrives well-taken-care of.
Not sure about the airline choices, but when my wife was moving here from Russia last year, her direct Aeroflot flight from Moscow (12h 30m) allowed her to bring her cat cage on board with her (it was her carry-on), arranged for a back row seat so the cage went between her seat back and the wall, and had a complete checklist for pet travel (don't feed / let the animal drink for 12 hrs before the flight for obvious reasons, what type of cage liner to buy, what paperwork is needed upon arrival in english from your vet, etc)
The kitty (a sphynx) made it just fine, though bit upset by the time she landed (no food / water for 24 hrs now), unlike my wife, who got 3 meals and multiple drink services on the flight ;)
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Pets ARE family, but would it not have been wiser to pay for a friend's ticket and have them bring the kitty along? You get to see a friend for a week, they get a free flight out of the deal, and your cat arrives well-taken-care of.
Not sure about the airline choices, but when my wife was moving here from Russia last year, her direct Aeroflot flight from Moscow (12h 30m) allowed her to bring her cat cage on board with her (it was her carry-on), arranged for a back row seat so the cage went between her seat back and the wall, and had a complete checklist for pet travel (don't feed / let the animal drink for 12 hrs before the flight for obvious reasons, what type of cage liner to buy, what paperwork is needed upon arrival in english from your vet, etc)
The kitty (a sphynx) made it just fine, though bit upset by the time she landed (no food / water for 24 hrs now), unlike my wife, who got 3 meals and multiple drink services on the flight ;)
My cat weighs 16lbs, and the maximum limit for carry-on I saw was 15lbs INCLUDING the crate. Big ole cat.
But ya--having a friend do the work is a cheaper way to transport animals. Too bad my cat is my best friend! Waahhh humans sucks! :-p
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During my college years I made $20-30/hour working as an SAT tutor, and $20/hour over the summers working in a lab. I also played the stock market during the big recovery ~2009. I easily had more money than anyone else I knew.
My parents paid my dorm/meal plan, and I had a tuition scholarship so I had no educational costs. I had a tech gadget habit and a girlfriend who had no income. I would pay for lots of expensive dates and lots of gadgets which I would play with for a few months and sell at a loss. I must have owned at least 6 laptops and a similar number of MP3 players. I also had an audiophile habit that consumed lots of cash on ridiculous things. I remember that one day I made $1000 speculating on a penny stock, which I promptly blew on some stupid audio equipment. One night I was bored, so I walked to the school bookstore and bought an Apple Airport Extreme and accessories, something like $200 total. Our college was in a rural area, so I would routinely hop in my clown car and drive 70 mi round trip into the "city" to spend exorbitant amounts of money. Once I bought a *cringe* $100 ugly shirt for going to clubs.
I went to med school after college. I probably could have easily saved an entire year of living expenses, possibly even more if I had invested smarter and reinvested the proceeds. Instead, I started med school with something like $5k which I also quickly blew through irresponsibly. My relationship eventually ended, although I don't necessarily regret the money spent on that. I still have a nice watch, a few pieces of audio gear that I actually use, and a some nice fountain pens.
After I ran out of money, I had to take out loans. For the past 3+ years of med school I've been living on $1300-1500/mo. I've taken up a lot of Mustachian habits out of necessity. My credit card bills now, despite having to pay for living expenses, are lower than they were in college.
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Started with a perfectly good working 96' VW GTI i had from college obviously paid off already in cash $5500. 3 years later, pulled the engine, rebuilt with forged internals and turbo charged the car. Dyno'ed around 390 HP at 20 psi....
At this point i couldn't enjoy the car because i always felt like i was going to break it. I have over 18K into a $3500 car.
I would have just detuned it so it'd be reliable, and then kept it.
(Or you could have gotten a TDI, which you wouldn't have to worry about running lean.)
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Mostly just all the money I wasted on eating out. The big slap in the face was when my financial advisor asked me how much I spent on eating out in the last month I added it all up (coffees, muffins, lunchs, snacks, dinners, etc.) I realized I had spent 400$ on eating out. In a month. And I had literally pooped that money away. I was so mortified, I didn't even want to tell her the final number. Then a few months ago I was talking to a friend who meticulously tracks her spending and she admitted spending 600$+ in the last month on eating out AND she had bought groceries, all of which had rotted in her fridge because she had eaten out for every meal for 1 month! It's crazy how fast that catchs up on you.
Another rather mortifying mistake I only noticed when I started working and starting watching every penny coming out of my savings account was a gym for a city I didn't live in. I was confused, and I remembered getting my sister a 6 month membership at that gym for x-mas 2 years beforehand. Found out they had some small print clause that if you don't unsign up for them they keep charging you 20$/month just to keep your account active. That means no one could even have used the gym. For 2 years I was paying 20$ month for a gym no one even remembered we had a membership to... I was so pissed and embarrassed. It was such a small amount every month I had never stopped to question the charge, but it added up to 480$ in 2 years. I think of what I could have done with 480$ (who am I kidding, I probably would have eaten out for a whole month, lol).
Oh well, that's the past. And I learned a valuable lesson: watch your bank account like a hawk.
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I realized I had spent 400$ on eating out. In a month. And I had literally pooped that money away.
LOL! Quote of the day =)
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got drunk, had sex, got pregnant....
with #3....
thought we were done with our mustachian max of 2.
oops!
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Anyone who has ever been into paintball can feel my pain. If you spend money on a good gun, you are already in deep. Then that gun allows you to throw a stream of paint that costs roughly $0.25 cents PER SECOND. And that is for the cheap ass paint balls that break in your barrel all the time, and fly every which way. Shooting the good paint can cost easily almost a dollar per second. This also doesn't include paying for all the other gear + field time!
tl;dr : Paintball should be called money ball.
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got drunk, had sex, got pregnant....
LOL this is hilarious. Describes how all 5 of ours happened. Don't regret it though!
My most Antimustachian involves cars, lots and lots of cars and parts. Stupid cars.
And I'm fixing to do it again, buying a used car for $17k that gets maybe 18mpg on premium. I drive almost exclusively for pleasure, not transportation. Cars possess an unmatched ability to transform a 'Stach into smoke and noise.
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Oh, we did the car thing too.
Bought my husband a used Infiniti G35 last year for $23k (CASH, baby). Cars are fun and we like to drive. :)
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On impulse, I bought a uni-tasking kitchen appliance (a popcorn popper) that I've used exactly twice in three weeks.
I need to get it out now and use it just because...
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Haha, that is how I feel about my juicer. This also makes me want to try to make pop corn in my cast iron dutch oven.
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Haha, that is how I feel about my juicer. This also makes me want to try to make pop corn in my cast iron dutch oven.
Easy to do with any pan. We typically use our stockpot. Just toss some oil in with popcorn kernels, cover the top with aluminum foil and stab some holes in it.
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Ah, shit. You guys just reminded me of the mini pie maker that I got last year. From Williams Sonoma. It's been used twice.
Probably the worst financial decision that I've made was paying out of state tuition for one year (all on loans, including living expenses) for a degree program that I hated and never finished. Oof.
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How about dropping $500 or so on dinner and drinks (just for me). Oh plus flights and accommodation (although I did get a weekend away from the small island I lived on out of it ... although this was the main point of it).
That was the tasting menu with wine paring, and cheeseboard, and an aperitif, at the Fat Duck. I don't regret it though because it was on my bucket list and I still remember it fondly years later. So I don't count it as anti-mustachian, but most of ya'll might since it's a month's food budget... for a family... in one evening for one person.
Else it's probably not trying harder to get a job on campus when I was an exchange student. A year of being unemployed and drinking at Canadian prices hurt the savings account pretty badly.
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How about dropping $500 or so on dinner and drinks (just for me).
.... So I don't count it as anti-mustachian, but most of ya'll might since it's a month's food budget... for a family... in one evening for one person.
I think the face punch goes towards mindless spending, not a one-time, memorable splurge when you can afford it. :)
My popcorn popper, on the other hand, I bought with the best intentions of adding another healthful snack in the food budget. I'm still working on making it a habit.
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Spent $80 per person on the Four Seasons buffet in Hawaii, as well as two $14 Mai Thais.
That being said, it was the best buffet I've ever hard, and probably ever will have. The Mai Thais were amazing as well.
Luckily this was for my Honeymoon, so I'll probably never do it again!
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Most anti thing I ever did, besides financing a car I wanted, rather than needed over 5 years, was continuing to drive the car after my job generously allowed me to use a company car. It was a 2 door Ford Explorer, not very nice to drive, but still free. Later it was upgraded to a GMC Envoy. I was living in Las Vegas at the time, and some of my friends and I would hang out at this bar after work. I usually played a little video poker (getting my drinks comped) and one day hit a $4k royal flush. I used it to pay of my car a year early, but I kept driving it. Later my work upgraded my company car to a brand new 2012 explorer. Did I mention they paid for the insurance, gas, and maintenance? And they paid people to come us at work, to wash it and change the oil. All I was responsible for was paying a federal tax on the benefit. This cost per year would have comparable to what I was paying for minimum insurance coverage plus $1000 deductible comprehensive. This tax was based on me having the car 5 days per week, even though I was welcome to use it 24/7, as long as I didn't abuse the privilege.
So basically, I could have had a nearly free car for the last 5 years, but I didn't bother because I liked having my own car. I'm now starting a new job in Ohio, but I never factored in the company car I gave up when making my decision to leave Las Vegas. After adding everything up, (taxes, rent, car, etc.) my total compensation was probably more in Las Vegas. This car is worth $7,500 at most now. At least it's paid off, and has had only one unscheduled maintenance issue. Looking forward, I will be biking to work as much as possible.
I can't understate how much that car purchase cost me. Back in 2007, I could have kept my dented and cheap, but mechanically perfect 97 civic. But I bought a used (but still overpriced) 05 Altima with an added on bs warranty! I believe that single purchase coupled with not taking advantage of a huge work benefit, has delayed my FI by a full year at minimum, maybe two. It really is a case of your money or your life.
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I can't decide :(
2 things definitely make the top of the list:
Spent my first 3 years of college living on campus... expensive crappy dorms and ridiculous food prices...
Bought a $500 elliptical machine that I used about 8-10 times.. ended up giving it to my sister and she uses it now so at least it wasn't a total waste.
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Swapped a car (that was free-to-me) for Star Wars lego.
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I suppose sitting on an outdoor barstool next to the valet Ferrarri's at the Cafe Du Paris in Monocco while my wife walks around the corner to find the Louie Vitton store. She came back with a purse... for her AND both of our daughters. The only upside- LV keeps its prices the same no matter if you are buying in Monoco or Mooselips, Montana.
I told her I could get a much better price on an identical purse from a guy I know, Leon Vitton.
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Swapped a car (that was free-to-me) for Star Wars lego.
I suppose the car *does* require more upkeep and I assume it takes up more space too...
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Swapped a car (that was free-to-me) for Star Wars lego.
I suppose the car *does* require more upkeep and I assume it takes up more space too...
It did take up a lot of room and required significant repairs/maintenance. Also, I needed to get rid of it so that I could buy a new, shiny car! Because of course.
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Bought a $40000 new car with low mpg after our old one was totaled... Could we have bought an old one? yes; Could we have bought one wth high mpg? yes... But yeah, we bought this suv. Only consolation is we paid it off quickly. No more cars till we drive this down in another 20/30 years (IF we still have fuel left in the earth)
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On impulse, I bought a uni-tasking kitchen appliance (a popcorn popper) that I've used exactly twice in three weeks.
I need to get it out now and use it just because...
Or, perhaps that was a great purchase. Did you know you can roast coffee beans with an air popper? It's also known as dog bowl roasting.
http://www.sweetmarias.com/airpop/airpopmethod.php (http://www.sweetmarias.com/airpop/airpopmethod.php)
Green coffee beans cost about 50 - 60% less than good roasted coffee.
I buy locally roasted fair trade beans currently. I just found about about the hack and I'm looking forward to trying it.
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This made me smile, I have both an accordion and a banjo. :) I am a beginner at both, but I can play "Bile Dem Cabbage Down" on page 10 of my banjo book. And accordions are loud as shit and fun to play even if you don't know what you're doing.
Enjoy the accordion! When my daughter competed in Irish Dance, we loved the venues that had accordion players for the dance music. There was a list at one point, "You know you're an Irish Dancer if..." and one of the ifs was "you think the accordion is a highly under-rated instrument"
And I am also spending money on a new instrument - I have started mandolin lessons. The mandolin has the same tuning as the violin, so all the fun fiddle music works for it.
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This made me smile, I have both an accordion and a banjo. :) I am a beginner at both, but I can play "Bile Dem Cabbage Down" on page 10 of my banjo book. And accordions are loud as shit and fun to play even if you don't know what you're doing.
Honestly, I am building the case for being the biggest nerd on here, in bits and pieces in various threads. I should just stahp.
Well, I now know what one of the unofficial side events to any sort of mustachian convention's gonna involve if KulshanGirl and I wind up at the same event... FOLK MUSIC JAMBOREE!
I'll be there too with my mandolin and fiddle!!
And me with my mandolin and Canadian, Irish and Scottish folk songs.
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Bought a new car. Yeah, we paid cash and got it for good prices. But, it was unplanned and un-budgeted for.
And, two weeks later, we got hit with a huge, unexpected tax bill.
I hate scrambling to pay bills. Felt really stupid about that one.
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On impulse, I bought a uni-tasking kitchen appliance (a popcorn popper) that I've used exactly twice in three weeks.
I need to get it out now and use it just because...
Or, perhaps that was a great purchase. Did you know you can roast coffee beans with an air popper? It's also known as dog bowl roasting.
http://www.sweetmarias.com/airpop/airpopmethod.php (http://www.sweetmarias.com/airpop/airpopmethod.php)
Green coffee beans cost about 50 - 60% less than good roasted coffee.
I buy locally roasted fair trade beans currently. I just found about about the hack and I'm looking forward to trying it.
Cool link to the coffee beans, I'm gonna have to try it. We bought a popper for 5 bucks at the thrift store a couple months ago and use it about once a week. Definitely a want, not a need, but pretty low on my personal anti-mustachian activities list. Makes a great snack with less fat than the stuff I might eat otherwise. A bag of bulk organic popcorn is less than $2 and we haven't even finished the first bag.
[Mod Edit: Quote Tags.]
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I was going to sell it back to the jeweler after we went our separate ways, but given how much it's gone up in value, I'll hold onto it for now to see if a future Mrs. MooreBonds might be willing to accept it, or if she would need a different stone (hopefully not as pricey!).
FTLOG! Hopefully your future Mrs MooreBonds will tell you to sell that rock pronto and buy her something to go with her mustache. Hehe.
My least mustachian thing is probably letting my pregnancy hormones drive me over the cloth diapering cliff. To the tune of around $1200, and guess who didn't end up cloth diapering at ALL? That's right. At least I recouped a lot of my costs, cloth diapers have great resale value. Punch self in the face though. Ugh.
My current car is probably right up there too. At least it's paid for. And I keep paying, and paying and paying anyway! :/
That is so funny to see that, I know exactly what you are talking about, I probably didn't spend that much though and I did use them for almost 7 years, so they saved us money for sure. But a lady I know from an online mommie board had an excel spread sheet and knew exactly how much she spent to cloth diaper 2 kids and it was 10k, not a typo.
One of the dumber things we have done was buy into one of those pay me a 1k to teach you how to invest, I kicked myself quite a bit for that one, but in the scheme of things 1k isn't too much to pay for stupid tax.
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Looks like this thread is still going so I'll chime in.
If I can't say "general lifestyle inflation all through my 30's" and have to provide one single anti-mustachian thing, I'd have to say that trying to sell my condo in 2008 was pretty huge. It's funny, I've seen people saying that buying their house at the top of the bubble was their worst, mine is the flip side - trying to sell during the crash.
I was convinced that we'd be able to sell and have enough equity to buy a new place. We moved into a rented apartment so the house could be staged. Hired painter, replaced carpet, paid people to fix a ton of things in the house, paid for rent on the new place. $20k in the hole, easy, which was about all I had saved up. We ended up admitting defeat and moving back into the condo - but hey - at least it looked really nice. *eyeroll*
If only I had remodeled the kitchen at the time and gotten a new stove - then I'd have something to show for it.
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$10,000 wedding. Cheaper than anyone else in my family, but still I should have just stuck the money in the bank or made a bigger down payment on my house. Oh well.
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Bought a $10K brand new car- financed, no money down. Was totaled by a drunk driver 2 weeks later. Insurance paid us $6K MORE than we purchased it for because it was the replacement value (that particular car at the time was very hard to find, and the only one the insurance could find within three states was really that much more).
The stupid part? Instead of getting the same car again, my boyfriend talked me into getting a $30K car, and using the $6K as a downpayment. I only make $50K a year! And now i have a $500 a month car payment on a car it turns out I hate, and I can't sell it because now 2 years later of paying on the loan and I'm $5K underwater on the loan (still owe $20K on the loan, car is worth about $15K).
Also, because this car was so much more expense than my last car, my insurance skyrocketed as well.
Argh.
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After three decades, I finally answered the siren song of the banjo thanks to the aide of a fellow pickin' friend today and I'm hooked. Nothing invested so far outside of picks, but I fear this is going to turn into an expensive hobby... and I struggle with caring that it will.
UPDATE:
A local music shop was clearing out its banjo section as their banjo expert had left. As the aftermarket for Deering openbacks is limited at best, I folded with the price offered, and am now the owner of a brand new Deering Goodtime (http://www.deeringbanjos.com/collections/5-string-banjos/products/goodtime-banjo) banjo. Clearly, it's only going to get more expensive from this point on.
(insert shave and a haircut riff here)
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After three decades, I finally answered the siren song of the banjo thanks to the aide of a fellow pickin' friend today and I'm hooked. Nothing invested so far outside of picks, but I fear this is going to turn into an expensive hobby... and I struggle with caring that it will.
UPDATE:
A local music shop was clearing out its banjo section as their banjo expert had left. As the aftermarket for Deering openbacks is limited at best, I folded with the price offered, and am now the owner of a brand new Deering Goodtime (http://www.deeringbanjos.com/collections/5-string-banjos/products/goodtime-banjo) banjo. Clearly, it's only going to get more expensive from this point on.
(insert shave and a haircut riff here)
more than 2 bits?
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After three decades, I finally answered the siren song of the banjo thanks to the aide of a fellow pickin' friend today and I'm hooked. Nothing invested so far outside of picks, but I fear this is going to turn into an expensive hobby... and I struggle with caring that it will.
UPDATE:
A local music shop was clearing out its banjo section as their banjo expert had left. As the aftermarket for Deering openbacks is limited at best, I folded with the price offered, and am now the owner of a brand new Deering Goodtime (http://www.deeringbanjos.com/collections/5-string-banjos/products/goodtime-banjo) banjo. Clearly, it's only going to get more expensive from this point on.
(insert shave and a haircut riff here)
more than 2 bits?
*sigh* Substantially.
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After three decades, I finally answered the siren song of the banjo thanks to the aide of a fellow pickin' friend today and I'm hooked. Nothing invested so far outside of picks, but I fear this is going to turn into an expensive hobby... and I struggle with caring that it will.
UPDATE:
A local music shop was clearing out its banjo section as their banjo expert had left. As the aftermarket for Deering openbacks is limited at best, I folded with the price offered, and am now the owner of a brand new Deering Goodtime (http://www.deeringbanjos.com/collections/5-string-banjos/products/goodtime-banjo) banjo. Clearly, it's only going to get more expensive from this point on.
(insert shave and a haircut riff here)
more than 2 bits?
*sigh* Substantially.
I'm sure it did.. just had to add that from the shave and a haircut riff :)
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I have some vehicle face punches coming. I bought a new 2005 Mazda3 @ 7.something% interest when I should have kept on driving my '95 Civic for a couple more years. Paid off the Mazda when I sold my house in California. I should have kept that car and still be driving it today. Loved it, actually. No, instead I sold it for not too much less than I paid, bought a crappy old CRX that was constantly needing $600 repairs, plus an F-150 and a horse trailer... without doing the research needed to get an appropriate truck/trailer pairing. Landed a new job where I needed a more reliable commuter than the CRX, so bought a brand new Honda Fit - financed of course. Then traded in the F-150 for a more suitable F-250 (this actually wasn't too bad of a move, the 150 needed work, and the 250 has been great). After driving the Fit for about 2 years, I decided I just wanted something "cushier" so traded it in for a brand new Accord, which I then traded for a CR-Z, because the Accord was boring and the gas mileage sucked. I don't want to know how much farther ahead I'd be right now if I'd just kept the paid-off Mazda3 and purchased an appropriate horse-hauling setup for cash after a few months of saving. Duh. At least the CR-Z gets about 40 MPG and I'm planning to keep it for 10 years or so.
ETA: The CRX may have seemed Mustachian, but it was unreliable, so I ended up commuting 17 miles in my F-150 quite a bit when gas was $4 a gallon. Sort of negated any savings there.
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Well, I am a music collector, so that's antiMustachian in some ways... on the other hand, I only buy good deals, and I have enough non-liquid equity in music that I could sell it all if I had to, given enough time, for quite a tidy profit. I guess luxury spending isn't that bad if you spend it on assets.
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When I was in college, I bought a first-gen firebird in very bad shape and put in a new engine, suspension, the works. I had a full scholarship, so I funded it with student loans and did not get a job at any point (except a few summers.) I then proceeded to use it for 6 years to make my 75 mile one-way commute to college. This car required premium fuel and got around 8-12 mpg.
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I was awfully un-mustachian today. Got tired of trying to find a "good enough" used saddle to fit my and my horse's challenging conformations and ordered a brand new one. I'm getting it on a trial, so I haven't technically bought it yet, but if I do, the horrifying price tag is $3,380. At least they will build it to my exact specs for that price if I don't decide to keep the trial saddle.
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Mid 90's we had a mini van and pop up camper that we used for family vacations. We enjoyed it quite a bit.
So we decided we wanted a bigger pop up camper that had a heater, hot water and more storage so we bought a brand new one.
But the new camper was bigger and needed a larger mini van that could tow more so we bought a brand new larger mini van which replaced a van that wasn't more than 5 years old.
Then less than 2 years later we decided to buy a cabin instead. Sold off the camper for quite a bit less than we paid.
The camping and cabin were great for our family but that 2nd camper was a big mistake. We did get many years out of that mini van at least.
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Bought a brand new 45' Carver to keep on Lake Michigan and a few high end cars. Got rid of yacht late that fall (end of season) because wife had second baby. That was Dumb but at least 14 years ago! Did have a family boat/ski boat after that but am free of fancy cars, boats and almost all other toys now.
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I still kick myself for this...I didn't start really investing until I was 33. I did contribute minimally to my 401k from the start in my 20s, but I wasn't saving nearly enough. What's worse, I wasn't even blowing money on fun stuff. I was holding it in cash. Way too much cash. Embarrassingly high amounts of cash in a non-interest bearing account. I just hadn't learned about investing yet. Once I got things turned around, things have really picked up in the last 6 years since then and I hope to be FI within 10 years. I do think to myself that if only MMM had been around 15 years ago, I'd probably already be FI or at least be close! I'm just glad I got my act together in my early 30s and didn't wait until even later like many people do. I guess if that's the worst financial mistake I ever make, maybe I'm not doing too bad after all.
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Used my student loan to pay for a trip to India.
Trip was awesome, but I should have worked and saved for it instead.
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LASIK. It works out to being somewhat more expensive or possibly break-even to buying a new pair of glasses every few years but I paid for it when I was in CC debt, although the timing may actually have been good because I used a FSA account to pay for the whole thing before they dropped the contribution limit to only $2500/yr.
I'd still waste my money on LASIK without hesitation, one of the best things I ever wasted money on in my 27 years long life!
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Became a skydiver (500+ jumps), Built two airplanes, became an instrument rated Private pilot and went to aerobatic school.
All great fun but I'm glad its out of my system and all aviation hobbies have been sold..:)
Frank
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Built two airplanes
My grandfather paid for a lot of his flying by building an selling his own planes. I think he said you can brake even excluding fuel/storage. The others on the list not-so-much.
You ever try sailplanes? Seems cheaper than powered but have not tired it. (got 85% done with private powered before stopping; got boring and hard to consistently get flight time.)
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I fell in love with (then married) a man who was being drained by his evil ex-wife -- she threatened to withhold access to their son if he didn't agree to a huge payment, and he was too distressed to fight it. I paid for practically everything for two years until we were able to get a fair agreement in place. It took forever to dig out of that one.
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When we moved in together we bought lots of stuff for the new house on credit cards and we used to blow through money buying takeaways and having meals out instead of cooking. I can barely make myself calculate how much money that was as it's too horrendous.
I still kick myself for this...I didn't start really investing until I was 33.
Eek, I am only thinking about investing now and I'm 38.
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Built two airplanes
My grandfather paid for a lot of his flying by building an selling his own planes. I think he said you can brake even excluding fuel/storage. The others on the list not-so-much.
You ever try sailplanes? Seems cheaper than powered but have not tired it. (got 85% done with private powered before stopping; got boring and hard to consistently get flight time.)
Well it depends very much on what you build. About the only airplanes where you could "make" money (excluding your labour) was to build one of the Van's series of pre-punched kits.
But that was before the great recession.. I knew of several builders that made out but ended up selling mine for slightly less than what I built it for.
Then add to that hangar rental fees ($140 a month and Insurance ($1500 a year), not even mentioning the two yearly instrument recertifications to allow your airplane to fly in clouds, and fuel.
It was definately not a cost neutral hobby.
Then again my salary was pretty high and I enjoyed it.. This was before I ever thought about retiring early.
Thankfully the airplane sold very quickly back in September when I knew I wanted to retire.
I think I would probably built an ultralight that I could take off/land in my back field if I felt the need to go back to flying... No more 1200 mile trips to Colorado (and beating the airlines door to door) with one of those though..:)
Frank
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Ooh I have a few:
1. $35k wedding, $25k came from my generous parents.
2. Paying $900 PER NIGHT for a private room in the hospital after our baby was born. That was on top of the hospital bill. I still think I could have stayed at the mandarin oriental up the block and hired a nurse for those 3 days and come out ahead. Surcharges seem to be standard in NYC for private rooms.
3. Hello, my name is krnten, and I'm someone who likes expensive jewelry. I didn't know this about myself until my husband bought me a lovely engagement ring and then I wanted MORE. That ring was 2200, I bought another beautiful ring for 2300 last year, and just bought myself a $1900 watch (from eBay). Which doesn't even work well, btw, and I had to return it for repairs. Ugh. I'm embarrassed to write all that down. I think that's it for the jewelry for a while.
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I'd still waste my money on LASIK without hesitation, one of the best things I ever wasted money on in my 27 years long life!
Oh absolutely. +1.
I wouldn't even consider it Antimustachian. Mustachainity is not about being as cheap as possible, it's about improving your quality of life by being frugal. Some things are worth paying for, others aren't. The joy / simplification of life from being able to see clearly with my own two eyes was well worth the cost of my PRK surgery.
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Well, here's something bad: last week I had to pay $53.00 in credit card interest because somehow my financial guy (aka DH) mishandled the credit card bill and it went unpaid. I'm not sure that has ever happened in our 25 years of marriage. One time in the past a payment was late but he talked the cc company into deleting that charge because we had years in with that company.
My current card isn't one that I've had around for very long so I did not try to get them to remove the fee. I can't think of any other time I've paid interest on ANYTHING in 25 years. We pay cash for everything including houses.
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Ooh I have a few:
3. Hello, my name is krnten, and I'm someone who likes expensive jewelry. I didn't know this about myself until my husband bought me a lovely engagement ring and then I wanted MORE. That ring was 2200, I bought another beautiful ring for 2300 last year, and just bought myself a $1900 watch (from eBay). Which doesn't even work well, btw, and I had to return it for repairs. Ugh. I'm embarrassed to write all that down. I think that's it for the jewelry for a while.
hey there jewelry girl, I'm going to tell you something: your expense in jewelry isn't all that much. A $2,200 engagement ring is nice but not extreme. I think it fits well within mustachean principles because you love it AND you'll be wearing it for a long time.
I say this as someone who has never considered herself a jewelry fan, yet I am lately into rings on ebay. I like vintage but haven't pulled the trigger on anything. I need to get off this jewelry kick I'm on before I spend some real money.
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I think it fits well within mustachean principles because you love it AND you'll be wearing it for a long time.
Sorry, but loving possessions is not Mustachian at all. You can be perfectly happy without owning expensive decorations.
It's also pretty clear that this became a habit, which would have big consequences for your finances in the long term.
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I think it fits well within mustachean principles because you love it AND you'll be wearing it for a long time.
Sorry, but loving possessions is not Mustachian at all. You can be perfectly happy without owning expensive decorations.
It's also pretty clear that this became a habit, which would have big consequences for your finances in the long term.
It's a very, very slippery slope.
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It's a very, very slippery slope.
Yes it is. Face punching is in order for those who "collect" if they aren't evaluating the worth of the "stuff" in their lives and are mindlessly collecting. One nice engagement ring and one nice watch--not deserving of the punching. Presumably they will be worn for a lifetime.
But it's about living your values. If the wearer totals up the amount of hours one works for The Man as a measure of its worth and it is worthy of that--so be it.
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One nice engagement ring and one nice watch--not deserving of the punching. Presumably they will be worn for a lifetime.
Sure it is. I agree with the values you appeal to in your post, but the way I see it the facepunch is best interpreted as an invitation to reflect on whether you're really getting the value for the money. Presumably I have at least a couple facepunch-worthy behaviors (like a crazy-nice laptop, even though it's acquired new). ATMO it's not productive for me to say "how dare you question my right to buy a snazzy ultrabook" but it is productive for me to seriously question whether or not the snazzy laptop is worth it, and then continue living my life having examined my spending and having either decided to get rid of or to keep the laptop.
But my opinion is worth exactly what you paid for it...
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I know a lot of people who say this and have been really happy post-LASIK. I must be an oddball because I've worn glasses since I was 7, and I can't imagine not wearing them. I don't think I even look like me without them.
Mark me down as another oddball! I like my glasses and also don't think I look like myself without them. I feel the same way about earrings (am the only female I know without pierced ears). Whenever I put on clip-ons (like if I'm in a wedding party), I think I don't look like myself at all. Of course, the silly dress could contribute to that feeling as well!
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I think going to an out-of-state college was the most antimustacian thing I did. I loved my time at Michigan but looking at it from a tuition/rent/living expenses compared to going to an in-state school (or to Wisconsin using reciprocity).
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I know a lot of people who say this and have been really happy post-LASIK. I must be an oddball because I've worn glasses since I was 7, and I can't imagine not wearing them. I don't think I even look like me without them.
Mark me down as another oddball! I like my glasses and also don't think I look like myself without them. I feel the same way about earrings (am the only female I know without pierced ears). Whenever I put on clip-ons (like if I'm in a wedding party), I think I don't look like myself at all. Of course, the silly dress could contribute to that feeling as well!
I don't wear earrings either (male), but I have considered LASIK and contacts. I don't think I would feel right without my glasses on.
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$800 toilet seat.
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$800 toilet seat.
???
Explain.
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$800 toilet seat.
???
Explain.
Toto Washlet (Fancy Bidet with heated seat, temperature and pressure controls for water, and a few other fancy features)
http://www.amazon.com/SW554-01-Washlet-Elongated-Toilet-Cotton/dp/B0011YSEUC
TOTALLY worth it!! (Sorry Mustachians, I'll take the face-punch for this one)
I like to think I got it for the health and sanitary aspects, but the heated seat just makes me feel decadent.
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$800 toilet seat.
???
Explain.
Toto Washlet (Fancy Bidet with heated seat, temperature and pressure controls for water, and a few other fancy features)
http://www.amazon.com/SW554-01-Washlet-Elongated-Toilet-Cotton/dp/B0011YSEUC
TOTALLY worth it!! (Sorry Mustachians, I'll take the face-punch for this one)
I like to think I got it for the health and sanitary aspects, but the heated seat just makes me feel decadent.
You can get a bidet far cheaper than that, though. For that price you could put a bidet in every toilet that you regularly use.
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Not a chick, but in general I'd accept an ex's jewelry as more of a "haha, fuck you!" to the other girl.
I'm pretty competitive though.
This diamond in particular... 33k is a hell of a lot of money, and you're lucky to be able to get rid of it without a loss. I'd sell it and get something just as meaningful but less expensive when the next possible Mrs. Moorebonds comes along
Speaking as a chick, I wouldn't want the other girls ring but I wouldn't want a $33K diamond either. I actually wouldn't want a diamond. I would prefer my birth stone which is quite cheap compared to diamonds.
Pretty much my entire marriage was anti-mm. My ex was a huge spender. I was the breadwinner. I wasn't able to save anything until after the divorce.
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As I was graduating college I had access to a lot of money all of sudden so I put about $10k in a tech fund at the height of the tech-craze. Once I figured out everything I think I lost about half of it moving it to a S&P 500 index fund. Pretty embarassing that I bought into the 'make money quick scheme' of tech stocks back in 2000.
A more recent event was I needed a specialty paint which a local paint shop convinced me to switch for a different, same-ingredients paint that they sold for about $50/gallon. When I ran out of the 6-7 gallons I purchased, on a Sunday morning when that particular store was closed, I did an internet search and found the same paint for about $21 at the local Lowe's...
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You can get a bidet far cheaper than that, though. For that price you could put a bidet in every toilet that you regularly use.
I first saw this in Japan 13 years ago and wanted it then. I waited ELEVEN YEARS to get one. Doesn't that cooling off period count for anything? :) Seriously, I love this thing and while I wouldn't run back in a burning house for it, if it broke, I'd get the same one all over again.
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Lost my heart in May 2012 to an ex-stray pit bull mix with serious cuddle skills, and then 9 months later went and adopted for him a companion bitch. Food (high-quality kibble, homemade stock, and various treats), vet bills (oy), heartworm pills, flea/tick treatment, toys, a trainer, and doggie daycare 4 x week. Insanity.
Oh I can beat that. Already into a dog breed with known health problems, (and NO I don't pay for the dogs, I get them for free) I adopted last spring, a bulldog who needs lots of regular veterinary care. And then decided to start the countdown to FIRE. While technically I can afford this dog's treatments, it will be the one outstanding luxury that I will have in retirement, can't cut back on him.
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You can get a bidet far cheaper than that, though. For that price you could put a bidet in every toilet that you regularly use.
I first saw this in Japan 13 years ago and wanted it then. I waited ELEVEN YEARS to get one. Doesn't that cooling off period count for anything? :) Seriously, I love this thing and while I wouldn't run back in a burning house for it, if it broke, I'd get the same one all over again.
Yeah in Japan the toilets play music and have gizmos that clean up 'after'. Is really rather funny to watch. All American seats are positively spartan by comparison.
First youtube video I found https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXkGC2c5PT4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXkGC2c5PT4)
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Yeah in Japan the toilets play music and have gizmos that clean up 'after'. Is really rather funny to watch. All American seats are positively spartan by comparison.
I will also add in my defense that this is definitely a purchase that I don't brag about at work, so there is no one-upmanship involved. I wish I could tell everyone I knew about it because it's THAT good. Plus, I would love if these were more common and found in every home so I don't have to look like a spendthrift.
I would rate the purchase as 40% health and hygiene and 60% anti-mustache luxury. Because it's true, I didn't choose the lowest end model.
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Lost my heart in May 2012 to an ex-stray pit bull mix with serious cuddle skills, and then 9 months later went and adopted for him a companion bitch. Food (high-quality kibble, homemade stock, and various treats), vet bills (oy), heartworm pills, flea/tick treatment, toys, a trainer, and doggie daycare 4 x week. Insanity.
Oh I can beat that. Already into a dog breed with known health problems, (and NO I don't pay for the dogs, I get them for free) I adopted last spring, a bulldog who needs lots of regular veterinary care. And then decided to start the countdown to FIRE. While technically I can afford this dog's treatments, it will be the one outstanding luxury that I will have in retirement, can't cut back on him.
Well done, on both the dog rescue and the countdown to FIRE. Since that post I have found some ways to economize on doggie day care (switched my work hours/work some at home), but then there's an upcoming vet dentist visit... However, one thing the dogs do for me that is Mustachy is remind me that the best things, like a walk outside or a couch cuddle, are free.
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I use a Louis Vuitton men's wallet. Cost was $500.
bought as a reward once all my debt was 99% eliminated (now 100%).
my justification at the time was that my weekly paycheck is able to purchase 4, but after having it a few months now I'm starting to really regret it.
:-/
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I had been wanting a gun for a year, I finally realized "I had enough" when the person at the counter told me I could pay half then, and half when I picked it up after my background check cleared. I put it the half I "could afford" on credit because I had just enough room left on my card that I wouldn't be overdrafting.
I woke up 3 months later and am now debt free and saving.
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The most anti-mustachian thing I've ever done is definitely buying a brand-new 2005 RX-8 with 100% financing right out of school. Was a great car to drive, but sucked gas like nobody's business and cost me over $800/mo in payments! I sold it several years later for what was owing on it, so at least it didn't ruin my finances completely.
The next car was an '08 Honda Fit, purchased new with 25% down. Next one (when the Fit is no longer serviceable, so hopefully 10 or more years) will be used and paid for in full.
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Argh! I fell prey to the vending machines today. Not only is the food/soda completely unhealthy, but it's so expensive! I spent over 4.50 on soda and junk today. That's the first time in probably 5 months that I've used the vending machines, and I really hate when I do it! Plus I gave up caffeine and today I had 32 ounces of caffeinated soda. I'll be up all night!
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Argh! I fell prey to the vending machines today. Not only is the food/soda completely unhealthy, but it's so expensive! I spent over 4.50 on soda and junk today. That's the first time in probably 5 months that I've used the vending machines, and I really hate when I do it! Plus I gave up caffeine and today I had 32 ounces of caffeinated soda. I'll be up all night!
I keep snacks in my office to help me avoid the vending machines. I make smarter choices...and it plays on my laziness (no need to even get up!).
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I know a lot of people who say this and have been really happy post-LASIK. I must be an oddball because I've worn glasses since I was 7, and I can't imagine not wearing them. I don't think I even look like me without them.
Mark me down as another oddball! I like my glasses and also don't think I look like myself without them. I feel the same way about earrings (am the only female I know without pierced ears). Whenever I put on clip-ons (like if I'm in a wedding party), I think I don't look like myself at all. Of course, the silly dress could contribute to that feeling as well!
I don't wear earrings either (male), but I have considered LASIK and contacts. I don't think I would feel right without my glasses on.
I've worn glasses since I was 8 and they also feel like part of my identity, but I still consider LASIK occasionally. I mentioned it to my son, who has Asperger's and is often quite blunt without intending to be mean. His response was, "No don't do that, you're ugly without your glasses. It would be good for you, but bad for me." (It did make me laugh pretty hard.)
I'll keep mentioning it to him for an instant facepunch whenever I think about it. ;-)
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Taking out more in loans than needed for DW's masters degree.
Buying house at peak of market. Last I tried to estimate, values are STILL going down.
Trying to start a high capital, low margin business. (Custom PCs)
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I also paid about £400 to have my teeth whitened a few years ago and people said I didn't look any different.
I can laugh at that now. ;)
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When I was in my mid-20s and going through a bad break up, I got really down. Like really down. For several months. During that period, I did probably the most mustachian and least mustachian things of my life.
The break up was in the fall. I had been a smoker for 7 years or so, keeping it more or less in check but after the break up, my smoking increased and had gotten to more than half a pack a day and rising. On New Year's, I decided to quit. I was already miserable and I couldn't imagine being more miserable so it seemed like a good time to quit. About 3 days into the quit, I'd had terrible insomnia and was extra cranky. I realized that I never wanted to feel that bad again. And that if I smoked again, I would have to quit again and so I would feel that bad again. So I really committed to the quit. And I have stayed quit since. So mustachian.
But some months later, by spring, I was still feeling really down. I felt I needed to do *something* for myself, to start feeling better. So I learned transcendental meditation. Which is truly not anti-mustachian in itself. But the pricetag was. I believe it was in the range of $1300. Which went on my credit card. And was really more than I could afford, given my circumstances at the time.
Eventually, I did start feeling better. The meditation certainly didn't hurt (not sure how much it helped). But man was that ever overpriced!!! I got 2 - 3 sessions with a teacher who assigned me my own mantra and told me how it's done (basically just clearing your mind and repeating the mantra, twice a day, 20 mins each time). So quite anti-mustachian.
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thanks, you just saved me $1300! haha
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Tonight we went out to dinner to celebrate my brother in law's birthday. It was really great. We had 3 bottles of wine (only 4 of 5 of us were drinking) and I ordered steak, because the restaurant was a steakhouse. Food was awesome! The waiter came around and we told her what food we wanted and she brought it to our table, then we split 2 desserts and my wife and I had decaf coffee. I picked up the check, and I just gave them this plastic card that sits in my wallet and I added a tip to the bill and signed my name... and that was it! We had this fantastic meal and all I did was give them a piece of plastic (which they returned to me!) It just doesn't seem fair!!
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Tonight we went out to dinner to celebrate my brother in law's birthday. It was really great. We had 3 bottles of wine (only 4 of 5 of us were drinking) and I ordered steak, because the restaurant was a steakhouse. Food was awesome! The waiter came around and we told her what food we wanted and she brought it to our table, then we split 2 desserts and my wife and I had decaf coffee. I picked up the check, and I just gave them this plastic card that sits in my wallet and I added a tip to the bill and signed my name... and that was it! We had this fantastic meal and all I did was give them a piece of plastic (which they returned to me!) It just doesn't seem fair!!
Ha! Reminds me of my sister's sister - she applied for and then maxed out all of those credit cards she gets in the mail. "It's free money! Why wouldn't I use it?"
A few years later, she files for bankruptcy. I still don't think she gets it.
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Tonight we went out to dinner to celebrate my brother in law's birthday. It was really great. We had 3 bottles of wine (only 4 of 5 of us were drinking) and I ordered steak, because the restaurant was a steakhouse. Food was awesome! The waiter came around and we told her what food we wanted and she brought it to our table, then we split 2 desserts and my wife and I had decaf coffee. I picked up the check, and I just gave them this plastic card that sits in my wallet and I added a tip to the bill and signed my name... and that was it! We had this fantastic meal and all I did was give them a piece of plastic (which they returned to me!) It just doesn't seem fair!!
Ha! Reminds me of my sister's sister - she applied for and then maxed out all of those credit cards she gets in the mail. "It's free money! Why wouldn't I use it?"
A few years later, she files for bankruptcy. I still don't think she gets it.
or maybe she does. After all: It really was free money. :)
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Married my almost-ex husband.
Second worst decision - didn't go back for my Ph.D when the chance was offered to me - I had a job lined up and we "needed" (he needed) the money. I actually enjoyed the grad student life style.
Third worst decision - thinking he would change when I laid out the financial picture (over and over and over again).
We were both poor broke students at the time, I had no idea he had such a sense of entitlement. And no boundaries - what was his was his, what was mine was his, etc. I see this enough in some of the journals, I don't need to elaborate here, do I?
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Listing all the mustachian things I've done would be a much shorter list.
The worst... poor investing (ahem) of my 401k during the 2k investment bubble, loosing 50%. Instead of retiring about my current age I have about 5 years to go (age 62).
If I continue until full social security, the additional SS and additional 401k contributions and growth would make my retirement sweeter, money wise. From my current perspective, reaching financial independence at 62 is a lot more attractive.
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I use a Louis Vuitton men's wallet. Cost was $500.
bought as a reward once all my debt was 99% eliminated (now 100%).
my justification at the time was that my weekly paycheck is able to purchase 4, but after having it a few months now I'm starting to really regret it.
:-/
I actually think that's a great purchase because it daily will demonstrate to you how easy it is to get off the straight and narrow, and how unworthy 99% of those purchases can be. Don't agonize over it, but appreciate it as The Object Lesson.
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Wife drove around in a Subaru for 13 years. When my Acura died I bought her a new Lexus SUV. $50,000. "Discovered" MMM... five months later.
Punch me now.
But at least I'm driving her old Subaru now.
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Worst thing I ever did was about 4 years ago. I was reading a "get rich quick" stock strategy book where they promoted a technique called the dead cat bounce. Essentially, the goal was to find the most beaten up equity of the day, watch it sell off, then buy it when it appeared to have hit an absurd low, hoping you could reap a quick 5-10% on a quick dead cat bounce. The first time I tried it, I bought 5K of a stock called the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company ( the old A&P) when it declared bankruptcy and tanked over 40%. The stock was frozen 5 minutes later on a Friday, and i sweated it out all weekend. It was de-listed from the NYSE and I had to sell it over the phone on the pink sheets for 1200 bucks. Lesson learned! Been indexing ever since.
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1.. Bought a house at market peak - lost $100,000 on sale. But then bought a condo on market low and have since made back $200,000(well unless market is low when we go to sell)
2. Bought a used red BMW Z3. Man I loved that car. It even carried golf clubs in the trunk. Sold said car for college tuition for DD. Didn't lose too much $$$ but still what a waste and took too much time to detail and maintain. And I am NOT a car person.
3. Used a financial advisor - fees were a killer and never made up those in returns. And gave his name to another friend who invested $1m.
4. This one is for my dear brother in law - they pay someone about $2500 to hang their outside Christmas lights. About the most stupid thing ever.
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4. This one is for my dear brother in law - they pay someone about $2500 to hang their outside Christmas lights. About the most stupid thing ever.
wow.
wow.
I dont even see how you could spend that much. I can almost sort of-but not really- see paying some neighbor kids 10$/hr to help out. But 2500$ to hang lights, duck!
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When I got my first full time job, I use to go out to bars every weekend, two nights a week. I'd spend $80-$100 a night. Since then I've stopped doing this, my wallet and body are both much happier now!
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I can't believe I have to own up to this one, especially because it's so recent. I can't believe I am still doing this crap, but here it is:
$200 on Hue Starter kit + 3 extra bulbs @ $60/each. I bought it because I'm a jackass. I am really trying to tame my spendy ways and this is just so wasteful. I don't even know what itch I was satisfying. I don't think this was to keep up with the Joneses. I don't think it was to show off (maybe -- buying the Hue Disco app for $2.99 makes me think this is my motivation). I really wanted something that would turn on at a certain time of evening and turn on/off by itself and dim. But I know there was a cheaper way to do this.
I justified the purchase like this:
saving money for not having to buy dimmer switches
saving money for not having to buy dimmable light bulbs
saving money for not having to buy timer/dimmer switches
+2.99 for Hue disco to provide strobe light effect in case I ever have a disco party in my house (unlikely)
Coolness factor
Coolness factor of being able to control all lights in house from a single location (onsite or off)
Security
Please facepunch me. I really need it because even thought I am no longer impressed by these, as I'm writing this I'm thinking I might do another roomful of recessed lights because I'm starting to believe the reasons above. WTH?
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I can't believe I have to own up to this one, especially because it's so recent. I can't believe I am still doing this crap, but here it is:
$200 on Hue Starter kit + 3 extra bulbs @ $60/each. I bought it because I'm a jackass. I am really trying to tame my spendy ways and this is just so wasteful. I don't even know what itch I was satisfying. I don't think this was to keep up with the Joneses. I don't think it was to show off (maybe -- buying the Hue Disco app for $2.99 makes me think this is my motivation). I really wanted something that would turn on at a certain time of evening and turn on/off by itself and dim. But I know there was a cheaper way to do this.
I justified the purchase like this:
saving money for not having to buy dimmer switches
saving money for not having to buy dimmable light bulbs
saving money for not having to buy timer/dimmer switches
+2.99 for Hue disco to provide strobe light effect in case I ever have a disco party in my house (unlikely)
Coolness factor
Coolness factor of being able to control all lights in house from a single location (onsite or off)
Security
Please facepunch me. I really need it because even thought I am no longer impressed by these, as I'm writing this I'm thinking I might do another roomful of recessed lights because I'm starting to believe the reasons above. WTH?
Uh, WTH is this stuff? I googled it and I still don't understand what it is and what it would be used for. It certainly doesn't look like anything that someone focused on early retirement would ever want.
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When I was 23, I took $1000 cash out of my local bank branch and went to the mall with my conveniently named friend Rich, who had done the same.
Goal: Spend it all in one day.
Mission Accomplished.
I barely remember what we bought. Lego Bionicle sets and pokemons? CDs of Destiny's Child and Nelly? Anti-flatulence underwear?
I did the anti-mustachian walk of shame from my car to my apartment that night, holding several bags of garbage that had already depreciated to zero.
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Uh, WTH is this stuff? I googled it and I still don't understand what it is and what it would be used for.
They're lightbulbs with wi-fi controllers in each bulb so you can control (dim, change color, strobe, set up timers, etc) each bulb individually over wi-fi. They're 3 times as expensive as "regular" LED light bulbs because they have all the fancy stuff in them.
It certainly doesn't look like anything that someone focused on early retirement would ever want.
Exactly. I'm not focused yet. Or I fell off the wagon. or I shaved my mustache. Or I murdered the dream of FI. What expression do you use when you have a colossal failure like this? I couldn't even return them once I came to my senses. The return was limited to 7 days (obviously they know how long it takes for reality to set in).
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Uh, WTH is this stuff? I googled it and I still don't understand what it is and what it would be used for.
They're lightbulbs with wi-fi controllers in each bulb so you can control (dim, change color, strobe, set up timers, etc) each bulb individually over wi-fi. They're 3 times as expensive as "regular" LED light bulbs because they have all the fancy stuff in them.
It certainly doesn't look like anything that someone focused on early retirement would ever want.
Exactly. I'm not focused yet. Or I fell off the wagon. or I shaved my mustache. Or I murdered the dream of FI. What expression do you use when you have a colossal failure like this? I couldn't even return them once I came to my senses. The return was limited to 7 days (obviously they know how long it takes for reality to set in).
eBay time.
Could be worse. Commercial grade LED are very expensive (although they are far superior to anything you can find for residential applications.) It took $20,000 not including installation to light a 2500 square foot room with these. (https://vl10.visalighting.com/catalog/i/CV1100-24PSX)
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candidate 1 (nominated due to it's early influence and longevity): I bought an old British sports car in 1983. Little by little, I've rebuilt/replaced almost every component on it. I totaled it (badly) around 1987 and (stupidly) bought it back from the insurance company and had it repaired. I still have it and just can't peel my emotions off of it.
The LBC's * are stupidly seductive. I've had 2 of them and DH has had 2 of them.
The year I stopped smoking I substituted a new activity: shopping. I probably spent $1,000 to $1,500 of clothes that I normally wouldn't have purchased. I want to the mall 2x - 3X weekly, and to the other stores. Tried on clothes. clothes clothes clothes.
But damn, I stopped smoking and didn't gain weight. worth it.
*Little British Cars
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By far the dumbest thing I've ever done is rack up over $10k in cc debt. The kicker is that I KNEW better - I was quite financially responsible my first job out of college, saved a bunch of dough, paid down student loans... then a couple of years later I went to work for a non-profit in a new city, took a 40% pay cut, and didn't cut my lifestyle 40%. I also did especially stupid crap like drive my car the 2 miles to work, and rack up parking tickets to the point that I got booted. :-\ Stupid twenties.
We also had a $60k wedding 4 years ago but we paid cash and don't regret it. We found each other somewhat later in life, after a fair amount of heartbreak for each of us, and we wanted to celebrate with all our loved ones - and we did. One of the best weekends ever, and we still watch our wedding video every now and then. :)
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Using the house as a cash register during the early 2000's. A 50k Kitchen remodel bought with equity cash out, not savings. Then rolling in car loans into refinance as well. Ugh.
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candidate 1 (nominated due to it's early influence and longevity): I bought an old British sports car in 1983. Little by little, I've rebuilt/replaced almost every component on it. I totaled it (badly) around 1987 and (stupidly) bought it back from the insurance company and had it repaired. I still have it and just can't peel my emotions off of it.
The LBC's * are stupidly seductive. I've had 2 of them and DH has had 2 of them.
*Little British Cars
The most anti-Mustachian thing I've ever done was owning 26 35(!) different cars in my lifetime. I'm 36 years old. Granted, many of them were $500-$3000 specials, and the sale of one was often funneled into another, but I'm certainly not "in the black" over the long haul. I've finally settled down after getting a Triumph Spitfire as a project car (aren't they all?) a few years back. I also converted my Subaru Baja Turbo, which had surprising resale value, into a Mazda2 last year in an effort to get a mustachian car that will last me a long time.
SIDEBAR: The Triumph Spitfire project purchase was a step towards more responsible car spending for me, as I've had it for several years now and it satisfies my car hobby/project/engineering need. I'm currently in the process of swapping a Miata drivetrain into it and completely re-engineering the front suspension and steering systems.
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candidate 1 (nominated due to it's early influence and longevity): I bought an old British sports car in 1983. Little by little, I've rebuilt/replaced almost every component on it. I totaled it (badly) around 1987 and (stupidly) bought it back from the insurance company and had it repaired. I still have it and just can't peel my emotions off of it.
The LBC's * are stupidly seductive. I've had 2 of them and DH has had 2 of them.
*Little British Cars
The most anti-Mustachian thing I've ever done was owning 26 35(!) different cars in my lifetime. I'm 36 years old. Granted, many of them were $500-$3000 specials, and the sale of one was often funneled into another, but I'm certainly not "in the black" over the long haul. I've finally settled down after getting a Triumph Spitfire as a project car (aren't they all?) a few years back. I also converted my Subaru Baja Turbo, which had surprising resale value, into a Mazda2 last year in an effort to get a mustachian car that will last me a long time.
SIDEBAR: The Triumph Spitfire project purchase was a step towards more responsible car spending for me, as I've had it for several years now and it satisfies my car hobby/project/engineering need. I'm currently in the process of swapping a Miata drivetrain into it and completely re-engineering the front suspension and steering systems.
You'll still have to keep the Roadster Factory on speed dial. ;)
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You'll still have to keep the Roadster Factory on speed dial. ;)
I usually use Victoria British, but yes :)
The car is so heavily modified (mechanically) that body/trim pieces are pretty much the only factory stuff that still fits on it!
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Definitely the dumbest thing I've spent on was a Swiss watch. I got a windfall last year, saved most of it, but spent $4000 on a watch. And this is after I converted to Mustachianism! I love it and wear it every day, but still...
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Financed a USED boat that cost $16,500 for TEN years at 5.5%. And put nothing down on it. Granted, I'm not quite dumb enough to not pay extra and pay it off way before that... but yea, definitely not mustachian.
It was also the first thing I ever financed and couldn't believe they would offer me that. I keep thinking to myself "no wonder why our country and Americans are so outrageously in debt."
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Before I saw the
light 'stache, I would habitually shell out $100 or more at Sephora - SEVERAL TIMES A MONTH.
I don't even wear that much makeup so I really don't know what I was thinking, except that I was single, in my mid 20s, and had a great stable job. And they give you free samples!
Each time I think about it I throw up a little in my mouth.
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Wife drove around in a Subaru for 13 years. When my Acura died I bought her a new Lexus SUV. $50,000. "Discovered" MMM... five months later.
Punch me now.
But at least I'm driving her old Subaru now.
LOL, I bought my now ex wife a brand new $40K BMW X3 (at least we paid cash). Under a year later we were divorced.
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In 2008, I was studying abroad in Switzerland for a semester and I would take trips to neighboring countries during the weekends. I spent about $4000-5000 total on these trips during the 5 or so months I was there in addition to the higher cost of living in Switzerland. However, I still kept my expenses in check each time I took a weekend trip by using Eurail passes to get cheap long distance transportation and staying in hostels. I probably averaged less than $100 a day doing these trips (including transportation and lodging) but the sheer # of them that I took ended up costing me around $5000 total. It was still quite fun and one of the happiest times in my life.
It wasn't until I came back to the states and graduated in 2009 when reality hit. It took me 10 months to find a job and I burned through my savings during that time.. 12,000 became 2000 in 10 months and that was after ruthlessly cutting as many expenses as I could by cheap renting, cooking almost every day, and getting the cheapest car and health insurance plans I could find. My ordeal during that time pretty much taught me the lesson of Mustachianism (or whatever it should be called since that name wasn't around back then) AND my near miss with homelessness pretty much ensured these values stuck with me (to this day) even after I found a job.
Another One:
I was learning how to sell covered calls on stocks a few years ago when I discovered a stock with an unusually high option premium. it was too good to be true but my alarm bells didn't go off instantly as I was desperate for money back then (unemployed). I didn't realize that that stock had split a while ago and those call options were on the stock pre-split. I had 100 shares of the stock (post split) and sold 1 call on the pre-split stock.. I panicked when I found out the mistake I made and tried to get out asap but there was no liquidity so I ended up covering my option at the ask price, losing $800 which could have been easily prevented. Now $800 may not be much money but that was back in 2009 when I graduated with no job.
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The most un-Mustachian thing I've done is dated women who expected me to pay for everything. Dating women who had this type of financial mindset taught me exactly what I wanted to actively avoid in life. I find one of the hardest part was becoming an astute detective, culling the truth from the lies. I'm reminded of the phrase, "Deeds not words". Does anyone else find a persons deeds are far more revealing than their words?
It is normal for people to put their best foot forward when dating, but there is a difference between that and completely hiding/distorting your true nature, which is what I encountered on more than one occasion. Anyways, I am sure there are many singles in the forums with different experiences. But if you encountered this too, what tips would you share with others? Cheers!
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The most un-Mustachian thing I've done is dated women who expected me to pay for everything. Dating women who had this type of financial mindset taught me exactly what I wanted to actively avoid in life. I find one of the hardest part was becoming an astute detective, culling the truth from the lies. I'm reminded of the phrase, "Deeds not words". Does anyone else find a persons deeds are far more revealing than their words?
It is normal for people to put their best foot forward when dating, but there is a difference between that and completely hiding/distorting your true nature, which is what I encountered on more than one occasion. Anyways, I am sure there are many singles in the forums with different experiences. But if you encountered this too, what tips would you share with others? Cheers!
Been there done that. I have certainly found women who say they are good with their money but are not. On the other hand I know that I have been guilty in the past of doing things (going out more often than I would otherwise) solely because I am newly dating someone. I try to not let that be the case but I think this is, to some extent, inevitable.
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The most un-Mustachian thing I've done is dated women who expected me to pay for everything. Dating women who had this type of financial mindset taught me exactly what I wanted to actively avoid in life. I find one of the hardest part was becoming an astute detective, culling the truth from the lies. I'm reminded of the phrase, "Deeds not words". Does anyone else find a persons deeds are far more revealing than their words?
It is normal for people to put their best foot forward when dating, but there is a difference between that and completely hiding/distorting your true nature, which is what I encountered on more than one occasion. Anyways, I am sure there are many singles in the forums with different experiences. But if you encountered this too, what tips would you share with others? Cheers!
Been there done that. I have certainly found women who say they are good with their money but are not. On the other hand I know that I have been guilty in the past of doing things (going out more often than I would otherwise) solely because I am newly dating someone. I try to not let that be the case but I think this is, to some extent, inevitable.
I think some people think "good with money" means using coupons or something just as weird. Uh yeah using a coupon is super smart IF you were going to buy that exact item anyway, if not it's a huge waste of money. Or I have friends that think they are great with money because they are so much better than her sister, but her sister is TERRIBLE so what kind of barometer is she?
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The most un-Mustachian thing I've done is dated women who expected me to pay for everything. Dating women who had this type of financial mindset taught me exactly what I wanted to actively avoid in life. I find one of the hardest part was becoming an astute detective, culling the truth from the lies. I'm reminded of the phrase, "Deeds not words". Does anyone else find a persons deeds are far more revealing than their words?
It is normal for people to put their best foot forward when dating, but there is a difference between that and completely hiding/distorting your true nature, which is what I encountered on more than one occasion. Anyways, I am sure there are many singles in the forums with different experiences. But if you encountered this too, what tips would you share with others? Cheers!
Been there done that. I have certainly found women who say they are good with their money but are not. On the other hand I know that I have been guilty in the past of doing things (going out more often than I would otherwise) solely because I am newly dating someone. I try to not let that be the case but I think this is, to some extent, inevitable.
I think some people think "good with money" means using coupons or something just as weird. Uh yeah using a coupon is super smart IF you were going to buy that exact item anyway, if not it's a huge waste of money. Or I have friends that think they are great with money because they are so much better than her sister, but her sister is TERRIBLE so what kind of barometer is she?
True. I dated a girl who said she was good with money because she didn't have CC debt and only $40k in student loans and a $35k loan on a big Volvo SUV ("it was a great deal"). Spent every penny she made.
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I buy camera gear. I don't yet make any money from it. I don't really plan to, though I wouldn't mind if I did. That's my vice.
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This is as good a place as any for my first post...
back in my early 20s, I really enjoyed gambling. At the time I was making, maybe $45-50k per year, had $500 a month in student loan payments and basically living paycheck to paycheck with a "safety net" of $1200 in my checking account. I went on a business trip to Reno, NV and ended up losing $1,000 of my $1,200 over the course of three days of blackjack, craps, roulette and (eventually) keno. The latter was played only because it required a small initial investment and it took longer (per dollar) to lose than the other games I'd been playing.
Fortunately, I started dating my now wife soon after that and she really righted the ship.
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Did it yesterday, in fact. Booked 10 days in Mexico over CHRISTMAS FREAKING BREAK. Somebody PLEASE put my hair out?????
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Cashed out our entire savings, $100,000 in mutual funds, in stock market crash in early 2000's. Went to Disneyland and bought a van. Still shaking my head over our stupidity!
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Did it yesterday, in fact. Booked 10 days in Mexico over CHRISTMAS FREAKING BREAK. Somebody PLEASE put my hair out?????
Yeah I don't think this is so terrible at all, as long as you don't make it a habit. What if it's the vacation you'll always remember and look back upon fondly? Again, as long as it's not a habit, cut yourself some slack and eat lots of cheap tacos.
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Did it yesterday, in fact. Booked 10 days in Mexico over CHRISTMAS FREAKING BREAK. Somebody PLEASE put my hair out?????
Yeah I don't think this is so terrible at all, as long as you don't make it a habit. What if it's the vacation you'll always remember and look back upon fondly? Again, as long as it's not a habit, cut yourself some slack and eat lots of cheap tacos.
I think the issue is more doing it over xmass brake, two weeks one way or the other and the hotels would be half the price.
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For me, it was probably spending $60 on a name-brand pair of jeans that were just a little too small. They ripped wide open across the backside the second time I wore them. Lesson learned.
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I've got my fair share, but probably one of the dumbest has to be buying a brand new toyota tacoma even though my commute was 23 miles each way (Malibu to downtown LA, EVERY DAY). There are so many things wrong with that last sentence it makes my head spin now.
To atone for this I have done several things: (1) I now live about a mile from work (not in LA); (2) I sold the truck; (3) Bought a $200 beach cruiser (it was the cheapest bike I could find on the island)
The other real kick in the pants was going to a private school for undergrad, I guess, but I'm a bit reluctant to place this in the "really dumb move" pile because those 4 years and the people I met at school had a profound impact on my life. I'm not sure I'd be the same person or be in the same position that I am in today, and I really wouldnt change a thing about my life now, I truly do enjoy it.
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The most un-Mustachian thing I've done is dated women who expected me to pay for everything. Dating women who had this type of financial mindset taught me exactly what I wanted to actively avoid in life. I find one of the hardest part was becoming an astute detective, culling the truth from the lies. I'm reminded of the phrase, "Deeds not words". Does anyone else find a persons deeds are far more revealing than their words?
It is normal for people to put their best foot forward when dating, but there is a difference between that and completely hiding/distorting your true nature, which is what I encountered on more than one occasion. Anyways, I am sure there are many singles in the forums with different experiences. But if you encountered this too, what tips would you share with others? Cheers!
Been there done that. I have certainly found women who say they are good with their money but are not. On the other hand I know that I have been guilty in the past of doing things (going out more often than I would otherwise) solely because I am newly dating someone. I try to not let that be the case but I think this is, to some extent, inevitable.
I think some people think "good with money" means using coupons or something just as weird. Uh yeah using a coupon is super smart IF you were going to buy that exact item anyway, if not it's a huge waste of money. Or I have friends that think they are great with money because they are so much better than her sister, but her sister is TERRIBLE so what kind of barometer is she?
True. I dated a girl who said she was good with money because she didn't have CC debt and only $40k in student loans and a $35k loan on a big Volvo SUV ("it was a great deal"). Spent every penny she made.
Wow! Only $40,000 in loans plus $35,000 car loans? I hope you ran away faster than the wind. Sadly it appears there are a lot more of these types of women than sensible Mustachians. Have you met any?
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The most un-Mustachian thing I've done is dated women who expected me to pay for everything. Dating women who had this type of financial mindset taught me exactly what I wanted to actively avoid in life. I find one of the hardest part was becoming an astute detective, culling the truth from the lies. I'm reminded of the phrase, "Deeds not words". Does anyone else find a persons deeds are far more revealing than their words?
It is normal for people to put their best foot forward when dating, but there is a difference between that and completely hiding/distorting your true nature, which is what I encountered on more than one occasion. Anyways, I am sure there are many singles in the forums with different experiences. But if you encountered this too, what tips would you share with others? Cheers!
Been there done that. I have certainly found women who say they are good with their money but are not. On the other hand I know that I have been guilty in the past of doing things (going out more often than I would otherwise) solely because I am newly dating someone. I try to not let that be the case but I think this is, to some extent, inevitable.
I think some people think "good with money" means using coupons or something just as weird. Uh yeah using a coupon is super smart IF you were going to buy that exact item anyway, if not it's a huge waste of money. Or I have friends that think they are great with money because they are so much better than her sister, but her sister is TERRIBLE so what kind of barometer is she?
True. I dated a girl who said she was good with money because she didn't have CC debt and only $40k in student loans and a $35k loan on a big Volvo SUV ("it was a great deal"). Spent every penny she made.
Wow! Only $40,000 in loans plus $35,000 car loans? I hope you ran away faster than the wind. Sadly it appears there are a lot more of these types of women than sensible Mustachians. Have you met any?
Unfortunately no :(
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I bought my house in 2010 and I used most of the $8,000 Obama first time home buyer tax credit money on furnishing my home.
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The most un-Mustachian thing I've done is dated women who expected me to pay for everything. Dating women who had this type of financial mindset taught me exactly what I wanted to actively avoid in life. I find one of the hardest part was becoming an astute detective, culling the truth from the lies. I'm reminded of the phrase, "Deeds not words". Does anyone else find a persons deeds are far more revealing than their words?
It is normal for people to put their best foot forward when dating, but there is a difference between that and completely hiding/distorting your true nature, which is what I encountered on more than one occasion. Anyways, I am sure there are many singles in the forums with different experiences. But if you encountered this too, what tips would you share with others? Cheers!
Been there done that. I have certainly found women who say they are good with their money but are not. On the other hand I know that I have been guilty in the past of doing things (going out more often than I would otherwise) solely because I am newly dating someone. I try to not let that be the case but I think this is, to some extent, inevitable.
I think some people think "good with money" means using coupons or something just as weird. Uh yeah using a coupon is super smart IF you were going to buy that exact item anyway, if not it's a huge waste of money. Or I have friends that think they are great with money because they are so much better than her sister, but her sister is TERRIBLE so what kind of barometer is she?
True. I dated a girl who said she was good with money because she didn't have CC debt and only $40k in student loans and a $35k loan on a big Volvo SUV ("it was a great deal"). Spent every penny she made.
Wow! Only $40,000 in loans plus $35,000 car loans? I hope you ran away faster than the wind. Sadly it appears there are a lot more of these types of women than sensible Mustachians. Have you met any?
I was not a crazy mustachian when we started dating, but I was a 23yo girl who had zero debt to to her name and a bit of a savings account. The first financial thing we did once we got married was use some of my savings to pay off his truck debt, and we have had no debt in our married life except a mortgage.
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Antimustachian thing: Refusing to learn from previous accumulation errors.
Last weekend I had SafeRacks installed in my garage. (super-strong industrial strength, ceiling-mounted shelves). I was really happy to get my Xmas tree off the floor of my garage. The installer suggested another spot in the garage that was ideal for another shelf. I went for it. I really like them, and I can't wait to start cleaning out and rearranging my garage, but I realized that I'm OCD or a hoarder or just nuts!
Christmas items are now on the rack above the garage door. Excellent. Love it.
Second rack is stacked top to bottom with Rubbermaid bins. That are empty. Sister gave them to me. Yes, that's right, I just paid a couple hundred dollars to store empty storage bins. I have no desire to fill these bins and actually want to get rid of more stuff in the garage.
I did this in my last place when I got Ikea shelves and then started collecting pretty boxes to put into the empty cubbies so they didn't look empty. When I started accumulating more things, I built shelves in the closets to store the real stuff so I wouldn't have to get rid of the empty boxes! I even started paying for empty cigar boxes thinking they would be perfect for storing (something) some day. They're not.
This is clearly some type of hoarding issue!
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20% of our take home on food last month. Despite the fact that we're pretty good at both cooking and being frugal.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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Completely moronic: $180 on a freaking dark espresso jewelry box seven years ago. A jewelry box.
I hardly even wear jewelry, and bought it to match the entire bedroom set we'd received as newlyweds. Now we no longer have the bedroom set (sold it to move several hours away, built an upholstered headboard/frame and wall-mounted bedside tables and got 2 mahogany dressers for $100)
I now have a $180 jewelry box that doesn't match sitting on those 2 much nicer dressers. D'oh.
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We haven't invested anything anywhere, ever. Even when there was surplus. We were just ignorant. I'm planning on fixing that as soon as we move back to the US this month.
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There are two big ones that spring to mind. Other than these, I'm pretty frugal with my money.
1) Bought a sea eagle kayak (385ft Pro Package http://www.seaeagle.com/FastTrack.aspx). Include shipping from the US and Australian taxes and all up it came to about $2000. I can't fault its build quality or design. The problem is that after I use it I have to clean it well with fresh water and let it dry before rolling it up and putting it away otherwise it smells a little. I should also add that I've only used it 3 times in 2 years....
2) Maldives honeymoon. We actually got a good deal (for a Maldives honeymoon). Flights, transfers, meals, unlimited alcohol, people powered/wind powered activities, 4 nights/5 full days for $3000 each. Normally I'm a camping and backpacking kinda guy, but the wife twisted my arm into going to the Maldives. No regrets though. Pictures here http://gdaykorea.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/maldives-honeymoon-centara-ras-fushi-resort.html
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We haven't invested anything anywhere, ever. Even when there was surplus. We were just ignorant. I'm planning on fixing that as soon as we move back to the US this month.
Have you done the leg work online yet? Do you know who you will invest with, I can go along with delaying pulling the trigger till you have a US mailing address but is there a good reason not get ready to go? Do you know what funds you will invest in?
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Bought a handheld video game system after losing my job last year. No regrets though, especially since it game with a few free games.
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I think that if you truly enjoy playing videogames, they need not be antimustachian.
Say you drop a thou on a system, TV, and a couple of games. Within a couple of weeks, you can easily spend several hundreds of hours on those games, and you can make friends online and such. That's a pretty good bang for your buck, if you'd have otherwise spent your time watching TV or whatever.
Naturally there are more productive uses of money and time, but Mustachianism is about balancing wastefulness/luxury and frugality. Videogames can have a place in a Mustachian lifestyle, as long as you don't overdo it or overspend on it.
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We haven't invested anything anywhere, ever. Even when there was surplus. We were just ignorant. I'm planning on fixing that as soon as we move back to the US this month.
Have you done the leg work online yet? Do you know who you will invest with, I can go along with delaying pulling the trigger till you have a US mailing address but is there a good reason not get ready to go? Do you know what funds you will invest in?
Somewhat. We're changing situations kind of dramatically - one kid remaining in Europe (non-mustachian move in an attempt to stave off later emotionally draining fallout. long story, some face-punches already applied), DH's new job will be paid irregularly and provides no US based retirement since it's with a foreign employer. So it's hard to know what will be surplus and how often. Oh and I guess I couldn't avoid mentioning my possibly-most-anti-mustachian thing which is that we'll be putting lots of our extra into our mortgage (3% interest for next 5 years)… The way we're looking at it is that the house is our retirement account (at least for now). I'll be doing everything I can to plan and plant a smart edible landscape/water harvesting mini paradise with as many free/scavenged/second-hand resource inputs as possible. I also freelance from home part time and will up my hours any way I can when the moving dust settles.
None of which answers your question. It's only in the last month, since I found MMM, that I felt like my frugal tendencies weren't just personal quirks (and some-time social liabilities) AND that I found information that calmed my irrational fear of investing. But now I know about Vanguard and just came across the William Bernstein recommendations. I'm still in the educational phase combined with evaluating best options given the situation, but at least I'm starting - which never happened before.
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Well... There wasnt one thing but...
1. 60000 SUV - Nissan pathfinder because it was new and was cheaper becuase it had warranty.
2. Bought many things and ended up $125000 in credit card debt.
Glad I found this site and have dug my way mostly out of the hole I made...
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I bought my house in 2010 and I used most of the $8,000 Obama Bush first time home buyer tax credit money on furnishing my home.
Fixed it for you. This came out in 2008 a few months before Obama was even elected. Sorry, I'm not actually political but for some reason that bugs me :)
You are correct but Obama did extend it which allowed me to qualify for it so it is a bit of both.
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Dropped $3k on business class tickets to Europe for our summer trip, since they were really cheap (compared to normal business class fares).
Was worth it, but it's not at all Mustachian.
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I was such an idiot on Saturday. I have been trying to lose weight for my son's wedding, to no avail. On Saturday, I was desperate and went and signed up for Jenny Craig. $149.50 for a membership for a year, and $190 for one week of their food. Plus, you still have to buy your own fruit, veg, and dairy.
And the food is gross.
Been kicking myself in the ass all day today.
I called and they said no refunds.
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Dumbest was probably 15 or so years ago. Just out of school and wanted to impress. Waltzed over to a fancy suit place and spent $1000 on a suit. I wore it about three times. Still have it and I should probably take it to a consignment shop
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Wife and I bought a $450k house in the DC area in 2008. We both had good paying jobs, and were happy with the house. But we hadn't quite cracked the whole communication thing...
6 months in (after a total of 2 years in the area), we were both near our breaking point. Turns out, we both hated the East Coast, and thought we were making a sacrifice to make the other happy. Sold the house at a $100k loss to move back to Oklahoma. And our quality of life is so much better that the $100k loss is easily worth it... but obviously things would be much better for us if we had never bought out East in the first place.
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I was such an idiot on Saturday. I have been trying to lose weight for my son's wedding, to no avail. On Saturday, I was desperate and went and signed up for Jenny Craig. $149.50 for a membership for a year, and $190 for one week of their food. Plus, you still have to buy your own fruit, veg, and dairy.
And the food is gross.
Been kicking myself in the ass all day today.
I called and they said no refunds.
Mother used that service years ago. She gave it to the kids to play with and we used it to mix into mud pies - literal mud. I assumed the customers drop pounds from a loss of appetite.
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I was such an idiot on Saturday. I have been trying to lose weight for my son's wedding, to no avail. On Saturday, I was desperate and went and signed up for Jenny Craig. $149.50 for a membership for a year, and $190 for one week of their food. Plus, you still have to buy your own fruit, veg, and dairy.
And the food is gross.
Been kicking myself in the ass all day today.
I called and they said no refunds.
Mother used that service years ago. She gave it to the kids to play with and we used it to mix into mud pies - literal mud. I assumed the customers drop pounds from a loss of appetite.
Do you still have to buy the food? Does the membership still give you a support group? My guess is that the support group is the most beneficial thing in the system.
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Antimustachian thing: Refusing to learn from previous accumulation errors.
Last weekend I had SafeRacks installed in my garage. (super-strong industrial strength, ceiling-mounted shelves). I was really happy to get my Xmas tree off the floor of my garage. The installer suggested another spot in the garage that was ideal for another shelf. I went for it. I really like them, and I can't wait to start cleaning out and rearranging my garage, but I realized that I'm OCD or a hoarder or just nuts!
Christmas items are now on the rack above the garage door. Excellent. Love it.
Second rack is stacked top to bottom with Rubbermaid bins. That are empty. Sister gave them to me. Yes, that's right, I just paid a couple hundred dollars to store empty storage bins. I have no desire to fill these bins and actually want to get rid of more stuff in the garage.
I did this in my last place when I got Ikea shelves and then started collecting pretty boxes to put into the empty cubbies so they didn't look empty. When I started accumulating more things, I built shelves in the closets to store the real stuff so I wouldn't have to get rid of the empty boxes! I even started paying for empty cigar boxes thinking they would be perfect for storing (something) some day. They're not.
This is clearly some type of hoarding issue!
I love this post! Biggest smile of the day.
You may just be a hoarder of pretty empty boxes...
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My Anti mustachian things:
1. Played $20 at the casino. Watched it disappear in under 2 minutes. Thought how much I would have rather taken my husband out to a movie with that money. A move is at least 2 hr experience. Never ever ever been tempted to put money down again, so something learned, but in that moment it felt like I had just let a pet use it to eliminate on.
2. Bought a time share with a bonus from work. I was tired of all our money going into house repairs / appliances, and never vacationing together, so this location 1.5 hrs outside of town was an investment into family togetherness.
The down side is we moved away 2 years later, and the maint fees are $650 per year. I can usually recoup at least $500 of that on years we don't use it but....(sell the points) but yeah, net $/yr to us if we just get rid of it. It would be better just to rent via VBO or Tug2.net when we want to go somewhere.
3. Went to Hawaii at Christmas, timed the vacation to accomodate my extended family, we only chose Christmas as that was the time that my parents and sister always went, and we finally wanted a chance to join them. After confirming the dates, and booking it (using those timeshare points so it was cheap accomodation anyway) we were all set, and ready to divert money for a once in a lifetime large family vacation.
Only to have my sister say 2 months later that she did not want to go back to the same island again, and my parents to tell us they would only spend 4 days with us, so they could go to the other island to spent the final week with my sister. GAWK. Never make spendy plans to accomodate others! We would have gone in spring for half the cost in flights... or camped near home again..
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Dropped $3k on business class tickets to Europe for our summer trip, since they were really cheap (compared to normal business class fares).
Was worth it, but it's not at all Mustachian.
I burned a lot of extra FF miles to upgrade an award ticket to Europe from economy to business. In my defense, I only did it for the overnight outbound flight. Even doing it with miles it is not Mustachian. But once you do it with a lie flat bed, it is hard to go back!
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spent about $40K on a wedding (obviously for my bride and to accommodate her huge family!... +250 head count. Ohhh but it was a great wedding, I have to admit). ~$30K student loan (although I wouldn't be where I am today without it). ~$350 Vegas bottle service for one night celebrating a friend's bachelor party and not remember any of it...
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Too many to list, and I don't really want to think about them. Mostly involve houses and cars.
But one word for future anti-mustachian, and hopefully it's the only anti-mustachian big thing that I do: Disneyland.
$400 for a day of fun. It's nuts, I know.
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spend about $40K on a wedding (obviously for my bride and to accommodate her huge family!... +250 head count. Ohhh but it was a great wedding, I have to admit). ~$30K student loan (although I wouldn't be where I am today without it). ~$350 Vegas bottle service for one night celebrating a friend's bachelor party and not remember any of it...
Vegas is almost more fun partly sober so you remember all the crazy stuff your cohorts are doing.
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Has to be the $60k+ wedding. It was perfect, I enjoyed every second of it, and it undeniably singed my poor little 'stache.
Looking forward to reading these.
Hmm, I would say this, too, only mine was $40k+, but at least that was paid for in cash ($25k of it supplied by my bride's parents). No, the pre-wedding thing I did was far stupider and more anti-Mustachian -- financed $12.5k of a $15K engagement ring. Yep, 2 carats worth of 3C's stupidity. Ugh. That was the price of making her wait 16 years . . . Oh well, didn't really set me back FIRE-wise when I look back, because I was always going to do this job for 20+ years anyway (read: pension).
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I was such an idiot on Saturday. I have been trying to lose weight for my son's wedding, to no avail. On Saturday, I was desperate and went and signed up for Jenny Craig. $149.50 for a membership for a year, and $190 for one week of their food. Plus, you still have to buy your own fruit, veg, and dairy.
And the food is gross.
Been kicking myself in the ass all day today.
I called and they said no refunds.
Mother used that service years ago. She gave it to the kids to play with and we used it to mix into mud pies - literal mud. I assumed the customers drop pounds from a loss of appetite.
Do you still have to buy the food? Does the membership still give you a support group? My guess is that the support group is the most beneficial thing in the system.
I've never used the service. We were children who weren't interested in the details of mother's weight loss and wondered why she felt the need to put herself through this.
Mother did have weigh-in appointments, but we remained in the car while she popped in there for no more than 20 minutes. The support group was 40 minutes away from where we lived, so the whole thing was inconvenient for her, I suspect.
It didn't last long.
She did buy the food in addition to whatever start-up fee there is.
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Definitely not the most Antimustachian thing I've ever done, but a recent one.
The washer recently broke - wash cycle runs, but drain / spin doesn't. Researched it, and came to the conclusion it was either A) clogged or B) pump had failed. Opened her up and couldn't find a clog, and was able to drain via gravity through the regular drain hose - must be the pump!
Instead of mail-ordering said pump and waiting 3-10 days and spending ~$20, I went to the local supply place and bought one for $60 so I could get it fixed faster - the clothes were piling up! Installed the pump, and it still does not work.
Further research yields possibility C) Lid switch is kaput. Flipped the shell so I could see that, and it is OBVIOUSLY broken - casing is all messed up and falling apart. Not wanting to waste money on another part that won't fix it, I hotwired the washer - cut out the old switch and joined the wires. At least this fixed the problem. New switch will be mail ordered for about 10 bucks. Thing works now, just isn't as safe as it could be, so we can wait a week or two. Frustrating because in hind-sight it was so obvious - there was no sound at all when it got to the end of wash - motor wasn't even trying to turn the pump.
So spent $70 on repair that could have been done for $10. At least I learned something and the new pump probably won't hurt anything.
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Definitely not the most Antimustachian thing I've ever done, but a recent one.
The washer recently broke - wash cycle runs, but drain / spin doesn't. Researched it, and came to the conclusion it was either A) clogged or B) pump had failed. Opened her up and couldn't find a clog, and was able to drain via gravity through the regular drain hose - must be the pump!
Instead of mail-ordering said pump and waiting 3-10 days and spending ~$20, I went to the local supply place and bought one for $60 so I could get it fixed faster - the clothes were piling up! Installed the pump, and it still does not work.
Further research yields possibility C) Lid switch is kaput. Flipped the shell so I could see that, and it is OBVIOUSLY broken - casing is all messed up and falling apart. Not wanting to waste money on another part that won't fix it, I hotwired the washer - cut out the old switch and joined the wires. At least this fixed the problem. New switch will be mail ordered for about 10 bucks. Thing works now, just isn't as safe as it could be, so we can wait a week or two. Frustrating because in hind-sight it was so obvious - there was no sound at all when it got to the end of wash - motor wasn't even trying to turn the pump.
So spent $70 on repair that could have been done for $10. At least I learned something and the new pump probably won't hurt anything.
I'd hardly call that anti-mustachian. Live and learn. Still got out of it cheaper than hiring a repair tech to replace the switch.
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I know - mainly pissed because if I had my thinking cap on a little better, and wasn't in such a rush to fix it quickly, I might have saved quite a bit of money.
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Definitely not the most Antimustachian thing I've ever done, but a recent one.
The washer recently broke - wash cycle runs, but drain / spin doesn't. Researched it, and came to the conclusion it was either A) clogged or B) pump had failed. Opened her up and couldn't find a clog, and was able to drain via gravity through the regular drain hose - must be the pump!
Instead of mail-ordering said pump and waiting 3-10 days and spending ~$20, I went to the local supply place and bought one for $60 so I could get it fixed faster - the clothes were piling up! Installed the pump, and it still does not work.
Further research yields possibility C) Lid switch is kaput. Flipped the shell so I could see that, and it is OBVIOUSLY broken - casing is all messed up and falling apart. Not wanting to waste money on another part that won't fix it, I hotwired the washer - cut out the old switch and joined the wires. At least this fixed the problem. New switch will be mail ordered for about 10 bucks. Thing works now, just isn't as safe as it could be, so we can wait a week or two. Frustrating because in hind-sight it was so obvious - there was no sound at all when it got to the end of wash - motor wasn't even trying to turn the pump.
So spent $70 on repair that could have been done for $10. At least I learned something and the new pump probably won't hurt anything.
My washer had a switch problem too, 100$ repairman bill. Was on my way out of town so no opportunity to debug/fix it on my own.
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Housing
1998 bought my first home with 20% down payment. Purchase price $133,000.
2004 sold this home for $198,000. Sold it 'by owner' during the real estate BOOM so total fees were only $3000. Net gain on buying and then selling this home: $62,000.
I wish I could say, "The End, Suckas!"
Of course, there's more to the story.
Next, we purchased a $254,000 home b/c I NEEDED a four bedroom / 2.5 bath on a cul-du-sac with a $6000+ property tax bill. At least I put $104,000 down on this property...but still...
It gets better. Still not content, or fully mustachian, I needed EVEN MORE. Purchased a new $350,000 house (at least we moved 15 miles closer to our jobs). Oh, did I mention we weren't able to sell the second house for three and a half years? At least I was able to rent it out to a great tenant during that time and make a little rental income. Sold the second house last fall for $272,000. After paying realtor fees and title insurance - I guess it was a break even.
Now, here I sit in my stupid $350,000 home with granite counter tops and hardwood floors. I wish I had stayed in my $133,000 home. It made me just as happy and would have been paid for twice over by now. I CANNOT wait to downsize. Problem is, my kids and DH love the house, the neighborhood, and the schools. I'm totally outnumbered on this -- but one day I'll get my way.
On the bright side, I live 8 miles from work and "only" owe $70,000 on this beast. I've got the money in cash and brokerage accounts to pay it off, but am choosing not to just yet.
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Mostly vehicles. My parents are into vehicles and really had a role in this.
They are completely different now since I have educated them, and are actually against expensive brand new cars too now and have retired.
I approximate about 75k blown into vehicles.
Also, I bought 2 dress belts for $100 each once. They have lasted a long time, but you can find similar high end off brand ones for $50-60.
Finally, I didn't refinance from my 4.96% loan to lower to mid 3% when the rates were super-low a while back.
The car and the loan were just ignorance/not knowing better. But the belts I knew better and bought them anyway, so I consider that the most antimustachian.
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Got the $25,000 'Career Starter' loan offered by USAA to graduating ROTC members. It was actually a good rate at 2.5% in 2007. The only catch was the $425/month payment that came along with it. It was unsecured so I could spend it on whatever I wanted. I wound up spending about 18,000 on a used Jeep Wrangler, and I have no idea what became of the rest honestly. I sold the Jeep a mere three years later so I really have nothing to show for all that money...
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Antimustachian thing: Refusing to learn from previous accumulation errors.
Last weekend I had SafeRacks installed in my garage. (super-strong industrial strength, ceiling-mounted shelves). I was really happy to get my Xmas tree off the floor of my garage. The installer suggested another spot in the garage that was ideal for another shelf. I went for it. I really like them, and I can't wait to start cleaning out and rearranging my garage, but I realized that I'm OCD or a hoarder or just nuts!
Christmas items are now on the rack above the garage door. Excellent. Love it.
Second rack is stacked top to bottom with Rubbermaid bins. That are empty. Sister gave them to me. Yes, that's right, I just paid a couple hundred dollars to store empty storage bins. I have no desire to fill these bins and actually want to get rid of more stuff in the garage.
I did this in my last place when I got Ikea shelves and then started collecting pretty boxes to put into the empty cubbies so they didn't look empty. When I started accumulating more things, I built shelves in the closets to store the real stuff so I wouldn't have to get rid of the empty boxes! I even started paying for empty cigar boxes thinking they would be perfect for storing (something) some day. They're not.
This is clearly some type of hoarding issue!
I love this post! Biggest smile of the day.
You may just be a hoarder of pretty empty boxes...
There is something about women and boxes. Some deep seated fascination is stored in our reptilian brains. I wonder if anyone has done a study on it. I truly believe it, however, this is not facetious.
But then, there's something about cats and boxes and no one needs to do an in-depth study on it, just watch a couple of Maru videos. He is Da Bomb when it comes to cats.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbiedguhyvM
He has dozens of videos out there on Youtube where it is Maru Vs. The Box.
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Anti-mustachian confession: I like cheese in a can (spray cheese). I would never admit this in the real world. It's just wrong on so many different levels, but I really do like it.
On another note:
There is something about women and boxes. Some deep seated fascination is stored in our reptilian brains. I wonder if anyone has done a study on it. I truly believe it, however, this is not facetious.
Glad to hear I'm not the only one.
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Becoming an Arbonne rep when I was like 18 years old. Such a waste of money. MLMs are such a scam.
Got into about $10,000 of credit card debt by spending money I expected to have from ex-husband's deployment he never ended up going on. Regret soooo hard!
Not buying into the ESPP of the company I worked for right out of college. We could buy I'm for about 3¢ per share when I started, and I heard it was down to 1¢ at some point. Last year the company was purchased and the stock ended up at something like $7.23 per share. Basically, a $100 investment would have gotten me about $24,000.
I'm sure I've made other stupid mistakes but these are the ones I keep thinking about :-/
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Anti-mustachian confession: I like cheese in a can (spray cheese). I would never admit this in the real world. It's just wrong on so many different levels, but I really do like it.
Hahaha, my wife doesn't like spray cheese, she LOVES it! So don't feel ashamed. She promised she would only buy it for long car rides/road trips because otherwise it would probably make up 60% of her diet =) Oddly enough the rest of her diet is extremely healthy.
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I guess it would be in 1998 when I was 20ish my dad put down the deposit a thousand or two on a brand new
Jet ski for me that was around total $9,000.00. I paid the payments $150 a month for 4 years I think. I might have paid it off early
With some extra payments. I got alot of use out of it and had a great time with that jet ski. I had a job at the time and I could afford it and it was something I really wanted.
I got one earlier this year used for $5,000 and I love it…tempted to buy new but not worth dropping $11k or whatever it would be.
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Last year we decided to get a new chair for the living room. The room's very small so we ended up getting a "chair and a half" from LL Bean that would unfold into a twin-size bed. It cost about $1700 with shipping and had to be custom-made. It arrived, it looked lovely, and we sat on it.
MOST. UNCOMFORTABLE. CHAIR. EVER.
It resides in our living room as the World's Most Expensive Cat Bed.
/my face, please to punch it
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Bought a $35k kitchen upgrade for a $100k house.
Took out a HELOC to pay for it, but the bank would only give me $30k and my credit card was maxxed out.
So called the credit card people and had them raise my limit $5k so I could charge the rest.
*SLAP*
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Probably our most and least mustachian things are housing. Straight out of college (married with 1 kid) in 2005, we bought a 3/2/2 1500 sq ft house for $105k. We were told that we could "afford" a $250k house based on my salary ($56k starting). Lived in that house for 6 years until we had 4 kids. Boy, it was snug! We were 1 year away from paying it off when we moved. That's one of the most mustachian things we've done.
The most *un*mustachian thing? Our current home. Almost 3500 sq ft, 3 car garage, huge unfinished basement, backs onto a beautiful pond, lots of space for everyone, absolutely gorgeous (and huge!) kitchen, walking distance to the school and park, and 10 minutes from work (20 if I bike). The PITI is close to half my take-home pay. But we love it. Every once in a while I remind my wife that if we had settled for one of a couple other homes we had considered, we'd be paying $500 less per month on PITI.
Granted, we bought it as a foreclosure and the bank had fixed it up, so we got a very good deal on it. But still, it's an expensive collection of wood, vinyl, and sheetrock.
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We were told that we could "afford" a $250k house based on my salary ($56k starting).
They told me I could afford a loan that would have been 85% of my take home. Really guys?
Bought a $35k kitchen upgrade for a $100k house.
Took out a HELOC to pay for it, but the bank would only give me $30k and my credit card was maxxed out.
So called the credit card people and had them raise my limit $5k so I could charge the rest.
*SLAP*
Please tell me this was not recently. Otherwise your hair is on fire, please stop drop and roll.
Last year we decided to get a new chair for the living room. The room's very small so we ended up getting a "chair and a half" from LL Bean that would unfold into a twin-size bed. It cost about $1700 with shipping and had to be custom-made. It arrived, it looked lovely, and we sat on it.
MOST. UNCOMFORTABLE. CHAIR. EVER.
It resides in our living room as the World's Most Expensive Cat Bed.
/my face, please to punch it
This is the kind of thing that I would have nightmares about.
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Bought a $35k kitchen upgrade for a $100k house.
Took out a HELOC to pay for it, but the bank would only give me $30k and my credit card was maxxed out.
So called the credit card people and had them raise my limit $5k so I could charge the rest.
*SLAP*
Please tell me this was not recently. Otherwise your hair is on fire, please stop drop and roll.
Eight years ago. Although I am far from frugal yet, I at least came to my senses about the really stupid stuff some time ago. It's amazing how surviving a sudden 20% layoff at your company will cause you to take a more critical look at your finances. No credit card balance for years, and the HELOC only has a 4k left.
The biggest problem with the line of credit was that I kept finding other things to put on it. New roof? Sure! Landscaping? Well, that's kinda home improvement related, so sure. When I finally found myself putting lawn service on it is when I woke up and stopped adding to it.
Many years of stupid, stupid behavior.
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I just finished what is probably the most Anti-mustachian 10 days of my life. Background was a plan for my girlfriend to come and visit me and we would drive round Belgium and possibly visit Paris also using low cost accommodation etc.
Well, we broke up on the second day of the holiday and everything went a bit crazy from there. First there was the last minute flight for the GF back home. Then on the spur of the moment i decided to join my friends in Croatia for a music festival they were attending. So i booked that flight. Then i had to get local currency - the only way i could do that was to get Euros from my GBP account and convert them there into Kunas (i had some left so that currency ended up getting converted 3 times!)
My friends there are from Switzerland and pretty well off so apart from scalping a festival ticket we also went over the top on everything from eating out to drinking, taxis etc. As i couldn't get a direct flight home i went with them in a hire car back to Zurich and got a flight from there (night out in Zurich $$$). We also got an on the spot fine in Italy for doing about 120mph on the motorway.
To top it off, all that bad living ran me down so much i caught a cold and i had to take a few unpaid days off work to recover.
i still have to work it all out but i think the whole escapade cost me probably around $2000 for 10 days holiday. It was bloody fun though!!
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My confessional in no particular order:
- Racking up $100k of student loan debt for a degree I wound up not finishing, I think the final tally was $120k. I was stubborn and refused to accept that it wasn't right for me especially in light of my mother experiencing severe health issues back home b/c I knew it was something my mother wanted for me too. Good news is that once I started reading this website (my husband always felt should pay down my loans first before saving up DP for home), my student loans went down a whole lot and now I have about $42k left since repayment started in 2010 (MMM revelation started about 9 months ago).
- We had a city hall marriage and planned to hold a "real" wedding later on. In preparation, spent $500 on a wedding gown that will now go unused b/c now no plans to have a big, expensive wedding. It's still hanging around, no real resale value b/c it was already considered a "budget" gown. It is the single most expensive piece of clothing I have ever purchased.
- My SO purchased a engagement ring for over $11k and I love it (though feel guilty that I do since it's so damned expensive). The ring was purchased before MMM but we have child together, living with his parents (no home), still had/have aforementioned student loan debt and he gave me in aftermath of a fire, death in the family and my mother's then ongoing health issues.
- We just spent $4k on a family vacation (cruise) and we could have spent less but b/c it's Disney... We pulled the trigger on this vacation in light of stressful few months dealing with other stuff that came out. We were initially not planning any vacation b/c of trying to enter hair-on-fire-pay-down-debt mode.
Yes, I deserve some face punching. Punch away. I definitely have a lot more work to do.
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Let's see here. Getting married in 1988......1999.....2007...need I say more? With the exception of a recent major purchase I attribute (or try to rationalize) my previous bad decisions to the ex's. Buying a 2005 Durango after returning from a deployment to help me convince 1999 to stay with me. Taking two loans from my Thrift Savings Plan to pay off debt incurred by 2007's illicit drug use.
I finally did the mustachian thing and filed for divorce from 2007 in April (of course, shooting up the house had something to do with it). It's a wonderful feeling to have complete control over my finances again. Of course, I did something Anti by buying a 1998 Honda Valkyrie motorcycle....but I Love It!
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My SO purchased a engagement ring for over $11k and I love it (though feel guilty that I do since it's so damned expensive). The ring was purchased before MMM but we have child together, living with his parents (no home), still had/have aforementioned student loan debt and he gave me in aftermath of a fire, death in the family and my mother's then ongoing health issues.
My engagement ring cost that much. In my defense, we didn't have children and I'd paid off $100k of student loans single-handedly, and it really is a gorgeous ring. I paid half of it since my now-husband couldn't afford more, but I had the money and knew exactly what I wanted. It currently is sitting on the windowsill in our kitchen, where it's been catching light for about a year. I don't like wearing rings! At least I got smarter with my wedding ring and only bought a small plain band that cost $200. The matching ring to go with my e-ring was about 3k. No way was I going to spend that after knowing how little I was wearing my engagement ring! I now encourage women on wedding forums who ask ring advice to not buy diamond rings! I felt I had to keep up with the witches in my office who gossiped anytime someone got engaged and received a small ring.
My husband's wedding ring was $37 on Etsy. He has worn his every day of our marriage. (Is it a little better that I swore up and down when we bought my ring that we could do a courthouse wedding or whatever cheap wedding he wanted, if I could just get the ring I wanted? OK maybe not. But I did keep my promise and we had a tiny wedding with just our parents present. Didn't wear a bridal gown either, just a white cocktail dress, so that saved a lot!)
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Let's see here. Getting married in 1988......1999.....2007...need I say more? With the exception of a recent major purchase I attribute (or try to rationalize) my previous bad decisions to the ex's. Buying a 2005 Durango after returning from a deployment to help me convince 1999 to stay with me. Taking two loans from my Thrift Savings Plan to pay off debt incurred by 2007's illicit drug use.
I finally did the mustachian thing and filed for divorce from 2007 in April (of course, shooting up the house had something to do with it). It's a wonderful feeling to have complete control over my finances again. Of course, I did something Anti by buying a 1998 Honda Valkyrie motorcycle....but I Love It!
Damn, you should write a book!
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My SO purchased a engagement ring for over $11k and I love it (though feel guilty that I do since it's so damned expensive). The ring was purchased before MMM but we have child together, living with his parents (no home), still had/have aforementioned student loan debt and he gave me in aftermath of a fire, death in the family and my mother's then ongoing health issues.
My engagement ring cost that much. In my defense, we didn't have children and I'd paid off $100k of student loans single-handedly, and it really is a gorgeous ring. I paid half of it since my now-husband couldn't afford more, but I had the money and knew exactly what I wanted. It currently is sitting on the windowsill in our kitchen, where it's been catching light for about a year. I don't like wearing rings! At least I got smarter with my wedding ring and only bought a small plain band that cost $200. The matching ring to go with my e-ring was about 3k. No way was I going to spend that after knowing how little I was wearing my engagement ring! I now encourage women on wedding forums who ask ring advice to not buy diamond rings! I felt I had to keep up with the witches in my office who gossiped anytime someone got engaged and received a small ring.
My husband's wedding ring was $37 on Etsy. He has worn his every day of our marriage. (Is it a little better that I swore up and down when we bought my ring that we could do a courthouse wedding or whatever cheap wedding he wanted, if I could just get the ring I wanted? OK maybe not. But I did keep my promise and we had a tiny wedding with just our parents present. Didn't wear a bridal gown either, just a white cocktail dress, so that saved a lot!)
I wear my ring every day b/c I love it so much. It is the single most expensive possession I have... I think my husband felt this was what he had to spend b/c his brother also wound up buying a ring too around the same time for his long term girlfriend, which was more expensive. Your perspective can really be skewed w/o some MMM punching.. Glad I'm not the only one here w/ an expensive ring though, haha.
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I don't even know where to start.
1. Spent 4 years in the military; made way more money than I needed and spent every penny. No savings, no investments, nothing. Got married while I was in, had one kid, divorced a couple of years after I got out. I don't regret the divorce; he was an asshole and I was too young.
2. Post-military and post-divorce, in school full-time, worked very part-time, used student loan and GI Bill money to maintain the same standard of living I'd had as part of an active-duty dual-military couple.
3. Didn't even finish school, and if I had, it would have been a completely useless degree. Still, $24K in student loans and nothing to show for it.
4. Fourteen-plus years of bulimia. Thousands of dollars quite literally down the toilet, plus medical bills, etc. Still working on this one.
I'm 31 now and just woken up. I feel like I've wasted my entire life, financially, but am grateful that I'm young enough that I still have time to turn it around. Getting husband on board has been tough, but I'm making progress. I found YNAB last year, which led me to MMM, and the combination has been eye-opening. Right now I'm just working on getting out of the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle, but I have a long-term goal to be FIRE by 50.
My parents are in their late 50's, no retirement or other savings, living paycheck to paycheck. Somehow they have money for my mom to have a fancy DLSR camera, my dad to have a boat, vacations every year, eating out every week, satellite tv, etc. The thought of being in that position terrifies me, and is a huge motivation.
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married in 1988......1999.....2007...
Almost due for another.
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Took ballroom dance at local Fred-Astaire studio for a few years. Lots of positives:
1. Achieved goal of filling free time left from hockey-rink closure
2. Lots of fun
3. Helped me to meet / apparently adequately impress my now wife
4. Good relationship building with wife
5. Exercise
But holy hell was that expensive. When we finally quit, we had just finished up a run where we had been paying ~$400 a month for a single private lesson + unlimited group classes per week. Then they try to upsell you into shows / competitions all the time. I mean, if we were REALLY into it, the 400/month was not a bad deal for that level of instruction. But we got good enough we can now take advantage of various things around town that cost $5-10 per head and generally include group lessons and open dancing in the fee.
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I went on a cruise to Alaska recently. It was the first time I or anyone else in my family had been on a cruise. It was a lot of fun and I don't think there is probably a much cheaper way to see so much of SE Alaska, but man, was it anti-mustachian.
I think the most anti-mustachian thing we did was buy the booze package. That was $770 bucks for both of us. My entire group purchased it and we were drinking from sunrise to sunset to sunrise to get our money's worth from it. On the upside, I am not sure how we would have EVER been able to try so many drinks and shots without it (alcohol is very expensive in my state and we don't go to bars) and we learned a lot, but man, drinking from sunrise to sunset to sunrise. :)
One of the couples we went with ended up financing (seriously...) art they bought at an auction on the ship. OK, we were bad but we weren't THAT bad. :p
I learned that I wasn't really a big fan of cruising from this. I think it is an OK way to travel when you are older or just want to pay a crap load of money to do nothing in a floating hotel, but we're really active and want to see a lot when we are traveling. The at-sea days seemed like a waste of time. My family and friends immediately started planning the next cruise as soon as we got back. We declined.
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I went on a cruise to Alaska recently. It was the first time I or anyone else in my family had been on a cruise. It was a lot of fun and I don't think there is probably a much cheaper way to see so much of SE Alaska, but man, was it anti-mustachian.
I think the most anti-mustachian thing we did was buy the booze package. That was $770 bucks for both of us. My entire group purchased it and we were drinking from sunrise to sunset to sunrise to get our money's worth from it. On the upside, I am not sure how we would have EVER been able to try so many drinks and shots without it (alcohol is very expensive in my state and we don't go to bars) and we learned a lot, but man, drinking from sunrise to sunset to sunrise. :)
One of the couples we went with ended up financing (seriously...) art they bought at an auction on the ship. OK, we were bad but we weren't THAT bad. :p
I learned that I wasn't really a big fan of cruising from this. I think it is an OK way to travel when you are older or just want to pay a crap load of money to do nothing in a floating hotel, but we're really active and want to see a lot when we are traveling. The at-sea days seemed like a waste of time. My family and friends immediately started planning the next cruise as soon as we got back. We declined.
I went on a cruise once and calculated that I'd have to drink 5 drinks per day to justify the package. I then decided that the liver transplant expenses killed the deal.
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I went on a cruise to Alaska recently. It was the first time I or anyone else in my family had been on a cruise. It was a lot of fun and I don't think there is probably a much cheaper way to see so much of SE Alaska, but man, was it anti-mustachian.
I think the most anti-mustachian thing we did was buy the booze package. That was $770 bucks for both of us. My entire group purchased it and we were drinking from sunrise to sunset to sunrise to get our money's worth from it.
I went on a cruise once and calculated that I'd have to drink 5 drinks per day to justify the package. I then decided that the liver transplant expenses killed the deal.
Ok, never been on a cruise, so I have to ask: What is a booze package????
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I went on a cruise to Alaska recently. It was the first time I or anyone else in my family had been on a cruise. It was a lot of fun and I don't think there is probably a much cheaper way to see so much of SE Alaska, but man, was it anti-mustachian.
I think the most anti-mustachian thing we did was buy the booze package. That was $770 bucks for both of us. My entire group purchased it and we were drinking from sunrise to sunset to sunrise to get our money's worth from it.
you pay a set price and then your drinks are free (except that they can limit the number you order).
I looked at it on my last cruise - mean both me and my wife having to buy it and then we'd have to drink 6 drinks a day EACH to break even - including the days that we were in port. I decided that my OCD needs to track such things and ensure that I getting value for money was worth putting to work during a vacation.
I would have drunk enough to get the best end of the deal but then I would have felt obliged to drink all the time. I prefer not to feel obliged like that.
We ended up with a few bottles of wine over dinner and the occasional drink elsewhere.
I went on a cruise once and calculated that I'd have to drink 5 drinks per day to justify the package. I then decided that the liver transplant expenses killed the deal.
Ok, never been on a cruise, so I have to ask: What is a booze package????
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I went on a cruise to Alaska recently. It was the first time I or anyone else in my family had been on a cruise. It was a lot of fun and I don't think there is probably a much cheaper way to see so much of SE Alaska, but man, was it anti-mustachian.
I think the most anti-mustachian thing we did was buy the booze package. That was $770 bucks for both of us. My entire group purchased it and we were drinking from sunrise to sunset to sunrise to get our money's worth from it. On the upside, I am not sure how we would have EVER been able to try so many drinks and shots without it (alcohol is very expensive in my state and we don't go to bars) and we learned a lot, but man, drinking from sunrise to sunset to sunrise. :)
One of the couples we went with ended up financing (seriously...) art they bought at an auction on the ship. OK, we were bad but we weren't THAT bad. :p
I learned that I wasn't really a big fan of cruising from this. I think it is an OK way to travel when you are older or just want to pay a crap load of money to do nothing in a floating hotel, but we're really active and want to see a lot when we are traveling. The at-sea days seemed like a waste of time. My family and friends immediately started planning the next cruise as soon as we got back. We declined.
This is the fallacy of a sunk cost. I'm assuming that the $770 was non refundable. Nothing you do from the time you bought the booze package is going to change the fact that you spent $770 and can't get it back. Hence, you shouldn't base your decision to drink based on the fact that you spent that $770 - you should drink as much as you feel like, but purposely drinking to "get your money's worth" is a fallacy.
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married in 1988......1999.....2007...
Almost due for another.
HELL NO!!!!!!!
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This is the fallacy of a sunk cost. I'm assuming that the $770 was non refundable. Nothing you do from the time you bought the booze package is going to change the fact that you spent $770 and can't get it back. Hence, you shouldn't base your decision to drink based on the fact that you spent that $770 - you should drink as much as you feel like, but purposely drinking to "get your money's worth" is a fallacy.
The point was to drink far more than $770 bucks worth of booze/soda/etc simply because we could. Otherwise, why buy the package besides the convenience? Mission very much accomplished, btw. And it wasn't that we downed every drink. We'd sometimes get things just to try sips of to see if we liked it or not and then abandon them for the next bar and repeat. It was a fun game, plus we knew from the outset one of the main reasons for going on this cruise was to group drink ourselves stupid as one of those once in a lifetime kind of things. I'd never do it again. Got all that out of my system for sure. :p
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This is the fallacy of a sunk cost. I'm assuming that the $770 was non refundable. Nothing you do from the time you bought the booze package is going to change the fact that you spent $770 and can't get it back. Hence, you shouldn't base your decision to drink based on the fact that you spent that $770 - you should drink as much as you feel like, but purposely drinking to "get your money's worth" is a fallacy.
The point was to drink far more than $770 bucks worth of booze/soda/etc simply because we could. Otherwise, why buy the package besides the convenience?
You're missing the point. Once you've already bought the package, there is no rational real to drink simply because you can--which is what I assume you meant when you said "we were drinking from sunrise to sunset to sunrise to get our money's worth from it." If you're drinking sips of random drinks to try them out like you said just now, or drinking because you actually enjoy it, then that's rational. But drinking for the sole purpose of drinking at least $770 worth is pointless because you're out $770 whether you drink nothing or everything they had.
But of course, before you've bought the package, you should contemplate whether you'd actually end up drinking more than $770.
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This is the fallacy of a sunk cost. I'm assuming that the $770 was non refundable. Nothing you do from the time you bought the booze package is going to change the fact that you spent $770 and can't get it back. Hence, you shouldn't base your decision to drink based on the fact that you spent that $770 - you should drink as much as you feel like, but purposely drinking to "get your money's worth" is a fallacy.
The point was to drink far more than $770 bucks worth of booze/soda/etc simply because we could. Otherwise, why buy the package besides the convenience?
You're missing the point. Once you've already bought the package, there is no rational real to drink simply because you can--which is what I assume you meant when you said "we were drinking from sunrise to sunset to sunrise to get our money's worth from it." If you're drinking sips of random drinks to try them out like you said just now, or drinking because you actually enjoy it, then that's rational. But drinking for the sole purpose of drinking at least $770 worth is pointless because you're out $770 whether you drink nothing or everything they had.
But of course, before you've bought the package, you should contemplate whether you'd actually end up drinking more than $770.
The purpose is to stick it to the man. And to support the liquor industry.
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This is the fallacy of a sunk cost. I'm assuming that the $770 was non refundable. Nothing you do from the time you bought the booze package is going to change the fact that you spent $770 and can't get it back. Hence, you shouldn't base your decision to drink based on the fact that you spent that $770 - you should drink as much as you feel like, but purposely drinking to "get your money's worth" is a fallacy.
The point was to drink far more than $770 bucks worth of booze/soda/etc simply because we could. Otherwise, why buy the package besides the convenience?
You're missing the point. Once you've already bought the package, there is no rational real to drink simply because you can--which is what I assume you meant when you said "we were drinking from sunrise to sunset to sunrise to get our money's worth from it." If you're drinking sips of random drinks to try them out like you said just now, or drinking because you actually enjoy it, then that's rational. But drinking for the sole purpose of drinking at least $770 worth is pointless because you're out $770 whether you drink nothing or everything they had.
But of course, before you've bought the package, you should contemplate whether you'd actually end up drinking more than $770.
The purpose is to stick it to the man. And to support the liquor industry.
I realize you're joking, but seriously - if they wanted to stick it to the man, they could've just taken alcohol from the bar, and when no one was looking, dumping it on overboard.
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I'm a gearhead, so I've definitely blown a lot of money on cars, motorcycles, and bicycles. Over the last few years though, I have transitioned my hobbies to become a little less antimustachian, though. I once loved my gas-guzzling muscle cars and all of the performance parts I could buy for them, now I enjoy bicycling or riding a 70+mpg motorcycle to/from work and around town for errands (though I still have a truck for when I need it.)
Wife and I went to Vegas once, and though I don't drink or gamble, I rented a high end bicycle at over $70/day while we were there.
Most recently, I considered selling my full-size 4wd quad cab pickup and buying a Civic or Corolla (and small trailer for utility needs) for 1/2 the sale price of the truck, but decided that I like my truck and will drive the wheels off of it. It has plenty of reliable life left in it, and is one of the few antimustachian luxuries that I am willing to pay for (I don't owe anything on it, but am willing to keep it and take the mpg hit as opposed to getting rid of it for a cheaper, more efficient vehicle.)
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Oh man, this is the thread for me. In 2013 I sold my first business and made excellent money for the first time in my life... and my spending was so bad I honestly think it just shocked me to the point of rebounding into mustachianism.
- Spent $750 on a pair of boots. They're rad, but JESUS.
(Actually quite a few awful purchases like this in different fashion categories, plus probably hundreds of cheaper items. This KILLS me now. My closet but could have been a sizeable deposit on a house.)
- Spent 10K on a 3-month european holiday which we ended up returning from two days in because a family member's cancer took a drastic turn. I don't regret that, but I do regret booking the thing in the first place and not making sure of my refund policies (we could only get about $2K back).
- Spent 5K getting my husband's root canal taken out and replaced with a titanium implant because his "doctor" thought doing so might cure his chronic illness. (It didn't).
On the upside, I'm sure all this crap was what made MMM so compelling to me. I figure if I can leave all that behind and learn from it from age 25 onwards, my finances will work out better in the long run!
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Dumbest was probably 15 or so years ago. Just out of school and wanted to impress. Waltzed over to a fancy suit place and spent $1000 on a suit. I wore it about three times. Still have it and I should probably take it to a consignment shop
There is a way to make this purchase considerably more mustachian. If the suit is a classic cut and timeless color, make it your mission to keep yourself fit enough to wear it for the rest of your life. The health benefits of same could turn your "mistake" into a very mustachian move in the long run.
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1. Alcohol - I was married to micro-brew for 5 years or so, but have since divorced for a cheaper date with the classics, I do go back to her once in a while though. A quick calculation estimates this habit has cost the 'stache $25k or so (to date). Hoping to get into cider production at some point if my apple trees ever produce.
2. Guns & Ammo - Hard to say what this has cost the 'stache, but certainly thousands, but probably less than $10k. I reload my own ammo now which doesn't really save money, but it allows me to shoot more. While I don't consider the guns investments, they do tend to hold their values well against inflation. As does reloading equipment. The powder and primers are like booze, though, once they are shot, they are gone forever.
3. Tractors-Went through a phase of buying, repairing and using garden tractors (7 of them plus attachments) from the 60's and 70's. Never sold any of them. Hoping to at least thin the herd after FIRE. Probably have $5k tied up in them, but they hold even with inflation well too.
4. 5 years of lunches out everyday. Probably cost the 'stache $12k or so, but I justify by saying the socialization kept me sane.
Pretty wild to add it all up and think the 'stache could be $50k larger, although I really don't regret much of it at all, because without the outlets, I doubt I could have tolerated the corporate world for as long as I have.
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I bought an iPad with retina display today. Total cost with tax and protective cover came to $450.00.
My 13 year old needed it. She attends a 'bring your own device' school and all her friends have one. She's like the poor white trash student who is demoralized by having to use paper and pencil.
Yeah, I got conned BUT she signed an agreement that she MUST make the honor roll every quarter AND she paid $200 towards the cost with her summer savings.
Still....it's soooo unmustachian of me....I just had to find a place to confess my shame.
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What drove me to the site today was my spending for next month... approximately $10K. I work rotationally in northern Iraq... 10 weeks on, 3 weeks off. I usually spend my off time in northern Thailand, where I have a small/cheap apatment ($225/mo) and a lovely little gal that makes me laugh a lot.
Well, giving myself the excuse that they were on my bucket list, I signed up for both a motorcycle racing school and a high performance driving course. Between the two, and the air tickets to criss cross the country (one is in SoCal, the other Atlanta), and the hotels and the rentals cars... yep, more than $10,000 spent for an 18 day trip.
Since I havent actually gone to them yet, I could look at cancelling them for a big loss. Honestly though, I dont want to. I'll go through with it cuz I've already pulled the trigger. I also think I will get a lot out of the motorcycle school as riding around SE Asia is pretty much the main thing I like to do when I'm not stuck in Iraq. So I'll do them both, but I have somewhat learned the lesson and started looking around the interebz for more sound financial practices, which eventually lead me here... so, there's a silver lining.
Still, yeah, ten grand... ouch.
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Not the most anti-Mustachian thing I've ever done, but today I just spent $90 on 5 Hanna Andersson dresses for my 4 year old - she can wear two now and three in the next size up. And I was doing so well on my no-buy challenge for 2014 - first clothing purchase for the whole family this year! Granted she will get lots of use out of these clearance summer dresses since it's summer weather year round for us.. but it still seems extremely extravagant.
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The resale value on the Hanna dresses should be pretty good, too...unless your kid is like mine and destroys clothes.
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I just did the most anti-mustachian thing of my life this friday.
I bought an Omega watch for $4800.
In my defense:
1. I have been dreaming about this watch for years.
2. I had more than enough cash on hand
3. The watch will hold its value quite well, so it's not like all of the money is wasted.
4. For me it is a beautiful thing that I will treasure each day.
Now you may facepunch me bigtime.
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I just did the most anti-mustachian thing of my life this friday.
I bought an Omega watch for $4800.
In my defense:
1. I have been dreaming about this watch for years.
2. I had more than enough cash on hand
3. The watch will hold its value quite well, so it's not like all of the money is wasted.
4. For me it is a beautiful thing that I will treasure each day.
Now you may facepunch me bigtime.
I think I might faint.
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Bought a project car.
It was fun, and I learned a LOT, but I certainly wouldn't recommend it as a sound financial move.
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I just did the most anti-mustachian thing of my life this friday.
I bought an Omega watch for $4800.
In my defense:
1. I have been dreaming about this watch for years.
2. I had more than enough cash on hand
3. The watch will hold its value quite well, so it's not like all of the money is wasted.
4. For me it is a beautiful thing that I will treasure each day.
Now you may facepunch me bigtime.
I think I might faint.
I kind of want a Breitling watch….I am also standing-by for face-punches
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I went through a phase of book hoarding for a year.
The good news is I mainly bought used or free, so the main waste was space. But I still dropped a lot of dimes on books that I ultimately want to dispose of now.
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1. While going to school using the post 9/11 GI Bill (tuition 100% paid for, plus $1500ish monthly living allowance), found out I could take out student loans and the school would cut me a check for all the money the GI bill paid them...did that, bought lots of high-end outdoorsy gear (used for the degree, but not necessary) still paying off the loans. That degree got me a job that will allow me to have the loans paid off 5 years after graduation, but I could've done it all on the cheap and graduated debt free.
2. In 2010 I took a 2004 Ford Escape Hybrid that I had bought with cash to the dealership and traded it in for a GMC Seirra Denali & a car loan. Originally an effort to live out of a vehicle, but such a dumbass move on my part. It was so shiny!
3. Bought another Escape Hybrid (loan), wife liked it so much she stole it from me, so I was driving her paid off 04 Suzuki Forenza (4 door manual, great gas mileage). Sold that for cash and bought a pickup truck + loan. wtf?! I never learn. Used the truck a lot, both to move and for helping friends out, but still not necessary. Started cleaning up my act, found this site, and started telling my wife I'm going to sell the truck after it's paid off, and bike. Oh yeah, if I need to drive someday, we'll get a small, manual car (she said: "Like my Forenza?" hahahaha).
I wish the lessons I've had to learn hadn't been so expensive.
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We spent $30,000 on our wedding in 2006. Best day ever but holy shit. Wasn't at all Mustachian back then. Luckily I picked well and have a lovely frugal hubby. Would do it differently now but of course that experience is behind me now. Please facepunch 2006 me that also bought a $400 pair of shoes that didn't fit properly, used to buy her lunch most days and had a gym membership that I hardly used but needed for all the after work wines I downed. Thankfully 2006 and 2014 me wouldn't even recognize each other if we met in the street.
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I just did the most anti-mustachian thing of my life this friday.
I bought an Omega watch for $4800.
In my defense:
1. I have been dreaming about this watch for years.
2. I had more than enough cash on hand
3. The watch will hold its value quite well, so it's not like all of the money is wasted.
4. For me it is a beautiful thing that I will treasure each day.
Now you may facepunch me bigtime.
I think I might faint.
I kind of want a Breitling watch….I am also standing-by for face-punches
[/quote
HOLY SHIT - a $5k watch! Does anyone even need a watch these days given that the time is everywhere including on the phones that are superglued to most people's palms? Sorry, just saying...
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Bought a condo in Mexico that was under construction in June 2013 for $161,500. Went to take possession and furnish it in July 2014. Great trip, love the condo, but husband left 3 weeks later. Still love the condo, though.
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I just did the most anti-mustachian thing of my life this friday.
I bought an Omega watch for $4800.
In my defense:
1. I have been dreaming about this watch for years.
2. I had more than enough cash on hand
3. The watch will hold its value quite well, so it's not like all of the money is wasted.
4. For me it is a beautiful thing that I will treasure each day.
Now you may facepunch me bigtime.
I think I might faint.
I kind of want a Breitling watch….I am also standing-by for face-punches
HOLY SHIT - a $5k watch! Does anyone even need a watch these days given that the time is everywhere including on the phones that are superglued to most people's palms? Sorry, just saying...
Indeed, this is against all this site stands for! The point is you'll get just as much enjoyment (happiness) out of a more frugal selection (or as you mention, no selection!) Build those frugal muscles, right?
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I went on a cruise to Alaska recently. It was the first time I or anyone else in my family had been on a cruise. It was a lot of fun and I don't think there is probably a much cheaper way to see so much of SE Alaska, but man, was it anti-mustachian.
I think the most anti-mustachian thing we did was buy the booze package. That was $770 bucks for both of us. My entire group purchased it and we were drinking from sunrise to sunset to sunrise to get our money's worth from it.
I went on a cruise once and calculated that I'd have to drink 5 drinks per day to justify the package. I then decided that the liver transplant expenses killed the deal.
Ok, never been on a cruise, so I have to ask: What is a booze package????
Food is included in the price of a cruise ticket and is usually buffet style and all you can eat 24/7. Alcohol is not included. You have to either pay for each over priced alcoholic beverage you get, or you buy a pass and get unlimited drinks. That is what the booze package is.
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Fresh out of college and working as an elementary school teacher, I purchased a condo for $0 down with payments at $1050 per month PLUS HOA dues of $175 (which has gone up to $250 during the downturn when everyone started foreclosing). So my starting payments were $1225 and my take home pay from the school district was only around $1900 per month.
Then on top of that I had a horrible spending habit. I only got paid once per month and I would just go to the store and buy whatever I wanted. Then when the money ran out of my checking account I would start using the credit card until the end of the month when I got paid again. It was an endless cycle for a couple of years until I finally got things under control.
The ONLY thing that ended up saving me was my ARM. My mortgage payment went from $1050 to $801 and I was able to finally rent it out and break even, well for another year anyway. I'm still at 2.75% interest and stuck on the ARM because I can't refinance it (I've tried). I still owe almost double what the condo is worth, but at least someone else is paying the mortgage and HOA dues and I'm hopeful that SOMEDAY it will all be worth it. Someday... in the meantime I'm desperately working to get the principal balance paid down so I can refinance when the interest rate starts to go up again... sigh...
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Fresh out of college and working as an elementary school teacher, I purchased a condo for $0 down with payments at $1050 per month PLUS HOA dues of $175 (which has gone up to $250 during the downturn when everyone started foreclosing). So my starting payments were $1225 and my take home pay from the school district was only around $1900 per month.
Then on top of that I had a horrible spending habit. I only got paid once per month and I would just go to the store and buy whatever I wanted. Then when the money ran out of my checking account I would start using the credit card until the end of the month when I got paid again. It was an endless cycle for a couple of years until I finally got things under control.
The ONLY thing that ended up saving me was my ARM. My mortgage payment went from $1050 to $801 and I was able to finally rent it out and break even, well for another year anyway. I'm still at 2.75% interest and stuck on the ARM because I can't refinance it (I've tried). I still owe almost double what the condo is worth, but at least someone else is paying the mortgage and HOA dues and I'm hopeful that SOMEDAY it will all be worth it. Someday... in the meantime I'm desperately working to get the principal balance paid down so I can refinance when the interest rate starts to go up again... sigh...
Out of curiosity, did you buy it to rent it out, or was it your intent to live there, and renting it out is just making the best out of a bad situation?
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Brought my first new car. I did get a good deal on it, it was the demo car for the dealer. Then bought another new car about three years later.
Very dumb, wouldn't do that ever again.
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When I was 20, I inherited some money. My car was on it's last legs. Instead of replacing it with a mustacian vehicle, I bought a Ford Mustang. I drove it for three years in upstate New York and New England. The rear wheel drive made driving in the snow very difficult. I traded it in for a new car three years later. I paid for both cars in cash, but boy, I wish I had just bought a 4-5 year old sedan instead of churning through those cars.
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I just did the most anti-mustachian thing of my life this friday.
I bought an Omega watch for $4800.
In my defense:
1. I have been dreaming about this watch for years.
2. I had more than enough cash on hand
3. The watch will hold its value quite well, so it's not like all of the money is wasted.
4. For me it is a beautiful thing that I will treasure each day.
Now you may facepunch me bigtime.
I think I might faint.
I kind of want a Breitling watch….I am also standing-by for face-punches
HOLY SHIT - a $5k watch! Does anyone even need a watch these days given that the time is everywhere including on the phones that are superglued to most people's palms? Sorry, just saying...
Indeed, this is against all this site stands for! The point is you'll get just as much enjoyment (happiness) out of a more frugal selection (or as you mention, no selection!) Build those frugal muscles, right?
I disagree. I don't own a watch like these, but see no difference between buying one or any other piece of art. For that matter, a car is not always a car. Sometimes form matters more than function. This is an anti-consumerism forum on an anti-consumerism blog, and I completely agree with 90% of it..but we still have the right to live a life full of those things we value.
That said..my most unMustachian thing is still going on: I'm making payments on my Audi. I'm saving money, planning for my future, working on killing my debt, but refuse to sell my car. I don't think owning the Audi is unMustachian, but the debt...definitely.
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Whatever makes you happy I guess...But looking carefully at all the stuff in my life including the diamonds on my finger I can't find any possession except my bike that actually makes me happy. Only a recent discovery but a life changing one for sure. But feel free to stroke your watch or car if that gives you the warm fuzzies. Each to their own.
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Probably the most Antimustachian thing I've ever done, in terms of sheer amount of money, is send my oldest to a private high school.
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I just did the most anti-mustachian thing of my life this friday.
I bought an Omega watch for $4800.
In my defense:
1. I have been dreaming about this watch for years.
2. I had more than enough cash on hand
3. The watch will hold its value quite well, so it's not like all of the money is wasted.
4. For me it is a beautiful thing that I will treasure each day.
Now you may facepunch me bigtime.
I think I might faint.
I kind of want a Breitling watch….I am also standing-by for face-punches
HOLY SHIT - a $5k watch! Does anyone even need a watch these days given that the time is everywhere including on the phones that are superglued to most people's palms? Sorry, just saying...
Indeed, this is against all this site stands for! The point is you'll get just as much enjoyment (happiness) out of a more frugal selection (or as you mention, no selection!) Build those frugal muscles, right?
I disagree. I don't own a watch like these, but see no difference between buying one or any other piece of art. For that matter, a car is not always a car. Sometimes form matters more than function. This is an anti-consumerism forum on an anti-consumerism blog, and I completely agree with 90% of it..but we still have the right to live a life full of those things we value.
That said..my most unMustachian thing is still going on: I'm making payments on my Audi. I'm saving money, planning for my future, working on killing my debt, but refuse to sell my car. I don't think owning the Audi is unMustachian, but the debt...definitely.
Hedonic adaptation, my man. You'll be just as happy with cheap shit, scientifically proven.
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Owning an Audi is unMustachian. The End.
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Fresh out of college and working as an elementary school teacher, I purchased a condo for $0 down with payments at $1050 per month PLUS HOA dues of $175 (which has gone up to $250 during the downturn when everyone started foreclosing). So my starting payments were $1225 and my take home pay from the school district was only around $1900 per month.
Then on top of that I had a horrible spending habit. I only got paid once per month and I would just go to the store and buy whatever I wanted. Then when the money ran out of my checking account I would start using the credit card until the end of the month when I got paid again. It was an endless cycle for a couple of years until I finally got things under control.
The ONLY thing that ended up saving me was my ARM. My mortgage payment went from $1050 to $801 and I was able to finally rent it out and break even, well for another year anyway. I'm still at 2.75% interest and stuck on the ARM because I can't refinance it (I've tried). I still owe almost double what the condo is worth, but at least someone else is paying the mortgage and HOA dues and I'm hopeful that SOMEDAY it will all be worth it. Someday... in the meantime I'm desperately working to get the principal balance paid down so I can refinance when the interest rate starts to go up again... sigh...
Out of curiosity, did you buy it to rent it out, or was it your intent to live there, and renting it out is just making the best out of a bad situation?
The original plan was to buy it, gain a ton of equity from it, in a couple of years sell it for $50K+ more and use that money for a down payment on a bigger place. Then continue over and over until I got the nice house I wanted. Whether or not it was realistic (even if the market hadn't collapsed) I have no idea. Probably would have found out NO. But that was the plan at one point. Then the market crashed, the world changed. I learned more about finances and the real estate market in general, and now I'm here and in a much better place. Or at least, hopefully, assuming I don't have more issues with the condo... I'm just desperately trying not to have to foreclose on it (or shortsale, since I can't afford to short sale either, it would probably end up a foreclosure). I made the mistake of financing with a non profit at the time, so they can come after me for the difference if I short sale. I've talked to lawyers, I would have no other choice but to pay it back. So by having it as a rental, the renters are paying it off for me... and so far so good, but no clue what the future will hold.
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I bought myself a Tiffany Necklace while I was in Vegas in my early 20's. I justified it by not wanting to wait for a man to get the things I want in life. It has brought the dust in my jewelry box many happy years :)
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This should probably be its own topic, but I'm genuinely curious: How does this forum feel about art? Is it only something that you would see for reduced price at the museum, or would you consider owning it? Or craftsmanship? Would you pay a premium for a finely crafted piece of furniture, or would you only use something that you made yourself? And if you made it yourself, would you make it beautiful...or just good enough?
I believe that FIRE is about more than subsistence living and getting by with good enough. JD Roth explained his idea of FI being getting what you want, but not everything you want. You have to pick what is important. For some it is a tiny home, laid out efficiently in an idyllic location. For others, they can't imagine not having a large family. Many take pride in their gardening or cooking. Some like beautiful watches. I like cars. And I really like my Audi. Stupid cheesy grin every morning...I'm not kidding.
Anyway, I'm not going to convince anybody...but that's my perspective.
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This should probably be its own topic, but I'm genuinely curious: How does this forum feel about art? Is it only something that you would see for reduced price at the museum, or would you consider owning it? Or craftsmanship? Would you pay a premium for a finely crafted piece of furniture, or would you only use something that you made yourself? And if you made it yourself, would you make it beautiful...or just good enough?
I believe that FIRE is about more than subsistence living and getting by with good enough. JD Roth explained his idea of FI being getting what you want, but not everything you want. You have to pick what is important. For some it is a tiny home, laid out efficiently in an idyllic location. For others, they can't imagine not having a large family. Many take pride in their gardening or cooking. Some like beautiful watches. I like cars. And I really like my Audi. Stupid cheesy grin every morning...I'm not kidding.
Anyway, I'm not going to convince anybody...but that's my perspective.
I think the answer here is going to vary. I myself, don't have a huge attraction to art. yes, it's pretty and I enjoy going to museums. But I don't need fancy artwork in my house. If a cute print from Kohls costs $20 and it works, I will buy it. I know people who are really into art as a hobby and have purchased expensive paintings. To each their own I guess. As far as furniture goes, I do like higher quality so it will last longer. I've bought some really cheapo stuff from Walmart that fell apart after just a couple years. But I don't need to go buy fancy expensive, mid level furniture from the store or even furniture from Craigslist will suffice if it's in good condition.
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This should probably be its own topic, but I'm genuinely curious: How does this forum feel about art? Is it only something that you would see for reduced price at the museum, or would you consider owning it? Or craftsmanship? Would you pay a premium for a finely crafted piece of furniture, or would you only use something that you made yourself? And if you made it yourself, would you make it beautiful...or just good enough?
I have a different feel about art - I want it to be mine. I'm looking at getting a couple of my photos printed - large, high quality. I don't want to display other people's art, though. That's my opinion on cars, too; I want to restore something, but I have no desire to buy a nice new car.
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This should probably be its own topic, but I'm genuinely curious: How does this forum feel about art? Is it only something that you would see for reduced price at the museum, or would you consider owning it? Or craftsmanship? Would you pay a premium for a finely crafted piece of furniture, or would you only use something that you made yourself? And if you made it yourself, would you make it beautiful...or just good enough?
I have a different feel about art - I want it to be mine. I'm looking at getting a couple of my photos printed - large, high quality. I don't want to display other people's art, though. That's my opinion on cars, too; I want to restore something, but I have no desire to buy a nice new car.
If you're good at it, then that's awesome. I'm horrible at art and making stuff. I have tried and it usually doesn't go well... it's also not something I'm into so I don't care enough. But if I was good at it, I totally would. So that is awesome that you have your own art on display :)
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I bought a brand new Cadillac CTS in 2010. Gawd, how stupid.
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This should probably be its own topic, but I'm genuinely curious: How does this forum feel about art? Is it only something that you would see for reduced price at the museum, or would you consider owning it? Or craftsmanship? Would you pay a premium for a finely crafted piece of furniture, or would you only use something that you made yourself? And if you made it yourself, would you make it beautiful...or just good enough?
I have a different feel about art - I want it to be mine. I'm looking at getting a couple of my photos printed - large, high quality. I don't want to display other people's art, though. That's my opinion on cars, too; I want to restore something, but I have no desire to buy a nice new car.
My mother is a watercolor artist and I take a pretty good photo. I can think of only two pieces of art on my walls that wasn't made by one of us -- a photo I bought at a craft fair for $30 and a funky print given to me by a relative. I used to have more "real" art, but it left with my ex and I don't miss it.
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Three days after i got my first full time paycheck, I bought a $21k truck. And by that I mean that I signed up for 5 years of payments at $319/month. While i still had $24,000 in student loans.
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I BOUGHT A BRAND NEW CAR AT 29.995% INTEREST! *MRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHWHHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRRRR* *super clippers screech loudly against dollars dying in a slaughter*
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That does not have to be Antimustachian - it depends on the child, the school, and the cost. We sent ours to a private French HS (in Quebec) which was just over $3000/year. She came out fluently bilingual (so fluent that French kids think she is mother language French). She has never had problems getting a job while in school, since the two languages made her very employable. If she had gone to our local English HS, she would never have been bilingual. Plus the academic side was better, and the sports (she is such a jock) were better. I've never regretted that money.
I have also seen very bright students do well in either private schools or magnet schools, where their life would have been hell in their local school. It is all about figuring out priorities.
Sorry your experience didn't work out as well.
Probably the most Antimustachian thing I've ever done, in terms of sheer amount of money, is send my oldest to a private high school.
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That does not have to be Antimustachian - it depends on the child, the school, and the cost. We sent ours to a private French HS (in Quebec) which was just over $3000/year. She came out fluently bilingual (so fluent that French kids think she is mother language French). She has never had problems getting a job while in school, since the two languages made her very employable. If she had gone to our local English HS, she would never have been bilingual. Plus the academic side was better, and the sports (she is such a jock) were better. I've never regretted that money.
I have also seen very bright students do well in either private schools or magnet schools, where their life would have been hell in their local school. It is all about figuring out priorities.
Sorry your experience didn't work out as well.
Probably the most Antimustachian thing I've ever done, in terms of sheer amount of money, is send my oldest to a private high school.
Oh, no, don't get me wrong-we are quite happy with the experience, at least so far. I was just trying to think of the most expensive thing we've done that many people around here would consider to be antimustachian. And to be honest, we probably could have had an equally good experience at a public high school. We just felt that, for various reasons, the private school was a better fit for our eldest.
Sounds like you raised a great kid-kudos to you!
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During my 20s I lived in NYC and I spent every cent I made on fabulous vacations to Paris, etc. and dinners out. I saved about 6% a year in my 401K and never had any credit card debt. I achieved that modicum of savings by living w/ a roommate in a tiny place and not spending any money on clothes or furniture or anything and I made an OK salary working really long hours, so it was very work hard play hard. I literally had nothing to show for all that spending except extra LBs and wear and tear on the liver haha. More recently I spent 30K on a Masters degree that I have literally never used. Not sure if I regret these decisions. I wish I had just put aside 10% in my 401K instead of 6%. I just didn't know any better.
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This should probably be its own topic, but I'm genuinely curious: How does this forum feel about art? Is it only something that you would see for reduced price at the museum, or would you consider owning it? Or craftsmanship? Would you pay a premium for a finely crafted piece of furniture, or would you only use something that you made yourself? And if you made it yourself, would you make it beautiful...or just good enough?
I have a different feel about art - I want it to be mine. I'm looking at getting a couple of my photos printed - large, high quality. I don't want to display other people's art, though. That's my opinion on cars, too; I want to restore something, but I have no desire to buy a nice new car.
I love art and I like to buy original oil and acrylic paintings. I really don't like the idea of having an art piece that someone else might have. I paint and I sculpt as hobbies, but I never display my own pieces. I think the most expensive piece I've ever bought was about $2600. I love it and it's the statement piece in my home.
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I traded in my 1 year old 2 wheel drive pickup truck for a new 4 wheel drive pickup truck.
To be completely fair to myself, I was into back country camping at the time and I kept getting stuck and knocking the wheels out of alignment. It was a 93 Nissan. Looking back, it seems like I went everywhere in that truck. Nonetheless, this was a very expensive solution.
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If you are happy with the school and your oldest is doing well there, I don't think that is anti-mustachian. Careful consideration of appropriate expenditure is our motto here (or one of them) and it sounds like you also think your private school is money well spent.
We are not alone - I know a couple, long since retired, who allocated almost all their discretionary spending to their 3 children's educations. They also considered it money well spent.
Oh, no, don't get me wrong-we are quite happy with the experience, at least so far. I was just trying to think of the most expensive thing we've done that many people around here would consider to be antimustachian. And to be honest, we probably could have had an equally good experience at a public high school. We just felt that, for various reasons, the private school was a better fit for our eldest.
Sounds like you raised a great kid-kudos to you!
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-Spending 600 dollar of my savings in one go into workattire. (nominated because I took a couple years out of college and worked in between. The clothes were necessary but it did not have to be this much).
- giving in in buying a Juicy couture bracelet and a DKNY jacket (which I both sold with little profit, so not that bad after all).
- borrowing money.
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Spending $350 on Wealthy Affiliate to try and learn how to build a website/blog, only to completely run out of ideas and traction a month in. If I ever try to blog again, I'll go with a free Wordpress or Blogger site. Lesson learned.
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-Spending 600 dollar of my savings in one go into workattire. (nominated because I took a couple years out of college and worked in between. The clothes were necessary but it did not have to be this much).
- giving in in buying a Juicy couture bracelet and a DKNY jacket (which I both sold with little profit, so not that bad after all).
- borrowing money.
I don't think borrowing money is necessarily Antimustachian. Borrowing beyond your means certainly is. Borrowing with a high interest rate, such as carrying a balance on a typical credit card, is. But if borrowing money of any amount and for any purpose is antimustachian, then home ownership would be incredibly difficult, as getting a mortgage is borrowing money.
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-Spending 600 dollar of my savings in one go into workattire. (nominated because I took a couple years out of college and worked in between. The clothes were necessary but it did not have to be this much).
- giving in in buying a Juicy couture bracelet and a DKNY jacket (which I both sold with little profit, so not that bad after all).
- borrowing money.
I don't think borrowing money is necessarily Antimustachian. Borrowing beyond your means certainly is. Borrowing with a high interest rate, such as carrying a balance on a typical credit card, is. But if borrowing money of any amount and for any purpose is antimustachian, then home ownership would be incredibly difficult, as getting a mortgage is borrowing money.
Agreed! I didn't think that one through haha :) . At the time I borrowed (too much) money for college. It left me with a studentloandebt which (captain hinsight) could have been avoided.
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Most anti-mustachian thing I ever did...
Married an alcoholic who doesn't contribute to household bills beyond the occasional grocery trip. Thereby making Rent + Utilities over 45% of my take-home pay (because I can't get a roommate who would be willing to live with that).
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Paid $8000 USD for a dog. Then sold it 6 months later because I didn't have the time for it for $1500.
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Paid $8000 USD for a dog. Then sold it 6 months later because I didn't have the time for it for $1500.
What kind of dog was it? Enquiring minds want to know!
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Paid $8000 USD for a dog. Then sold it 6 months later because I didn't have the time for it for $1500.
What kind of dog was it? Enquiring minds want to know!
A 3 year old Dobermann. Very lovely dog but didn't make sense at all to buy such an expensive dog as I "just" wanted a companion dog. It was a very expensive dog from good bloodlines sold for show/breeding. But I was of the mindset that "I only wanted the best" at that time. At least I had the money for it. But still feel very stupid about it today.
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Most anti-mustachian thing I ever did...
Married an alcoholic who doesn't contribute to household bills beyond the occasional grocery trip. Thereby making Rent + Utilities over 45% of my take-home pay (because I can't get a roommate who would be willing to live with that).
Oh dear. Have you made any moves toward improving your situation? Because I don't offhand see any scenario in which sticking with the current dynamic helps you. Sending good thoughts for a better future.
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Got into $5,000-ish worth of credit card debt after losing my job, by going out partying/going out with friends all the time. To be fair, I did this because it kept me from spiraling down into bad depression (that happened the last time I was out of a job). I then only made minimum payments every single month, for months on end, which REALLY sucked when I saw the amount staying exactly the same, no matter how many months I had payed :( A lesson I hadn't realized previously because I was always so responsible with money/credit cards. Luckily this was the only situation like this I have ever gotten into!
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Oh, we did the car thing too.
Bought my husband a used Infiniti G35 last year for $23k (CASH, baby). Cars are fun and we like to drive. :)
I haven't done this yet but my current car is on its last legs and I think I am going to get a used G35 as well.
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The most antimustachian thing would have to be my first sailboat. Not completed moneysink of time and dreams. After 3 years I sold it at a dramatic loss. And I'd do it over again in a second (though now I'd finish the woodwork). Some great times living on a boat in Tofino in my early 20s, I would never give them up. It's when I discovered how to not be a moron with money too.
Second most would be my second boat. Fewer mistakes, but all boats are moneysinks.
Third most would be my degrees. I like them, I learned a lot, but I really should have tried working in an office for awhile before I spent 5 years at school qualifying for something that I hated.
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Most Antimustachian thing I ever did: I didn't consolidate my student loans when I had the chance to lock them in at a super low rate. I was still in grad school at the time, so it would have only applied to my previous loans. Everyone else was doing it. It seemed complicated and hard and I was lazy. Thus I graduated with $120,000 of student debt at 6.375% -- that would have been tens of thousands of dollars over the repayment of the debt.
It did lead to some Mustachian moments, though. I saw my student loan was my SINGLE highest monthly bill -- higher than rent -- and that the MAJORITY of it was paying interest. I realized mistakes can not be unmade but they can be dealt with. I continued to live like a student, started reading financial blogs, and paid those bad boys off in 6 1/2 years. Would I have been as motivated if the interest were lower? I don't know.
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Mortgages. Got my first house financed with a shares mortgage: you BORROW money to buy a shares portfolio. So you have a mortgage for the house, and another one for the shares. Idea behind it: after 30 years, the shares will be worth more than what you owe in mortgages, you do not pay anything on the principal.This was 1997 and top of the shares market. It has taken until 3 years ago for the portfolio to be worth more than when I bought it, especially as one set of shares is still worth only half of what I bought it for.
Learned from that? Nope. Partially remortgaged to change to an insurance fund that buys shares, this time with a minimum guaranteed return. Will cover my contributions at least but no profit as I can see.
At this rate, I would have paid for a mortgage for 30 years and still be stuck with 70% of the principal outstanding. So, decided to cut through the whole mortgage issue by paying down on the principal. 100.000 euro done in 3 years, 190.000 to go of which 60.000 may be covered by shares and insurance policy. For now, I retain the shares and insurance policy to see how they develop.
Looking back, I would have gone for an old fashioned mortgage without any risk components. It was the stupidest thing ever to trust the mortgage brokers without knowing anything about shares myself.
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Our Galapagos vacation.
We took a semi-luxury cruise.
It was wonderful, and I feel very fortunate to have been able to travel to the Galapagos, and do it so comfortably. I wouldn't take it back. But then I enjoyed my Mexican vacation that cost 1/5 the price just as much (and possibly more).
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I just did the most anti-mustachian thing of my life this friday.
I bought an Omega watch for $4800.
In my defense:
1. I have been dreaming about this watch for years.
2. I had more than enough cash on hand
3. The watch will hold its value quite well, so it's not like all of the money is wasted.
4. For me it is a beautiful thing that I will treasure each day.
Now you may facepunch me bigtime.
I think I might faint.
I kind of want a Breitling watch….I am also standing-by for face-punches
HOLY SHIT - a $5k watch! Does anyone even need a watch these days given that the time is everywhere including on the phones that are superglued to most people's palms? Sorry, just saying...
Indeed, this is against all this site stands for! The point is you'll get just as much enjoyment (happiness) out of a more frugal selection (or as you mention, no selection!) Build those frugal muscles, right?
I disagree. I don't own a watch like these, but see no difference between buying one or any other piece of art. For that matter, a car is not always a car. Sometimes form matters more than function. This is an anti-consumerism forum on an anti-consumerism blog, and I completely agree with 90% of it..but we still have the right to live a life full of those things we value.
That said..my most unMustachian thing is still going on: I'm making payments on my Audi. I'm saving money, planning for my future, working on killing my debt, but refuse to sell my car. I don't think owning the Audi is unMustachian, but the debt...definitely.
Hedonic adaptation, my man. You'll be just as happy with cheap shit, scientifically proven.
If you're able to afford it, and enjoy it, why not buy it? Also, Jacob from ERE admits to owning an Omega. I enjoyed his post about buying classics.
For full disclosure, I own a lovely Tag Heuer Carerra, but I'll admit that after 2 years of owning it, I'm not sure it was the best purchase. I enjoy the automatic movement and finish of the watch, but it does feel excessive to wear ~$2k on your wrist, just to tell time.
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I just did the most anti-mustachian thing of my life this friday.
I bought an Omega watch for $4800.
In my defense:
1. I have been dreaming about this watch for years.
2. I had more than enough cash on hand
3. The watch will hold its value quite well, so it's not like all of the money is wasted.
4. For me it is a beautiful thing that I will treasure each day.
Now you may facepunch me bigtime.
I think I might faint.
I kind of want a Breitling watch….I am also standing-by for face-punches
HOLY SHIT - a $5k watch! Does anyone even need a watch these days given that the time is everywhere including on the phones that are superglued to most people's palms? Sorry, just saying...
Indeed, this is against all this site stands for! The point is you'll get just as much enjoyment (happiness) out of a more frugal selection (or as you mention, no selection!) Build those frugal muscles, right?
I disagree. I don't own a watch like these, but see no difference between buying one or any other piece of art. For that matter, a car is not always a car. Sometimes form matters more than function. This is an anti-consumerism forum on an anti-consumerism blog, and I completely agree with 90% of it..but we still have the right to live a life full of those things we value.
That said..my most unMustachian thing is still going on: I'm making payments on my Audi. I'm saving money, planning for my future, working on killing my debt, but refuse to sell my car. I don't think owning the Audi is unMustachian, but the debt...definitely.
Hedonic adaptation, my man. You'll be just as happy with cheap shit, scientifically proven.
If you're able to afford it, and enjoy it, why not buy it? Also, Jacob from ERE admits to owning an Omega. I enjoyed his post about buying classics.
For full disclosure, I own a lovely Tag Heuer Carerra, but I'll admit that after 2 years of owning it, I'm not sure it was the best purchase. I enjoy the automatic movement and finish of the watch, but it does feel excessive to wear ~$2k on your wrist, just to tell time.
I smell somebody else who needs a facepunch. Shit, have you guys even READ the blog?
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Agreed, I thought $35 for my timex was too much. I don't get expensive watches. They seem to exist for the sake of rich men that don't know what to spend their money on and want to impress people, just like expensive cars. 80/20 rule, you can get 80% of the results for 20% of the effort. After that you're generally bored or addicted.
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Mortgages. Got my first house financed with a shares mortgage: you BORROW money to buy a shares portfolio.
I didn't even know that was a thing. Never heard of it. Thanks for sharing.
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Mortgages. Got my first house financed with a shares mortgage: you BORROW money to buy a shares portfolio.
I didn't even know that was a thing. Never heard of it. Thanks for sharing.
Not surprised you have not heard of it, this was in The Netherlands in the nineties. This type of mortgage is no longer allowed, which is not surprising either...
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I bought a brand new car in 09. Its paid off and I'm still driving it so at least I'm making up for it.
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I bought into the myth of institutional higher education.
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I bought a brand new car in 09. Its paid off and I'm still driving it so at least I'm making up for it.
Mm, I bought a brand new car in '09, except I bought it on an 18% loan with payment insurance.
I negotiated a bank loan at 5%, and cleared the 18% loan two weeks later, but the $500 in payment insurance was gone never to return. I could've had remote central locking for that money ;)
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I graduated college in June 2010 with $16.5k in student loans, then saved just over $35k in after tax income in the first 6 months after graduating from college.
Then I proceeded to do the following:
#1 NOT pay back my student loans.
#2 Buy a used motorcycle for $4k and spend another $20k riding it for 8 months from Seattle to Argentina.
#3 Return home and make enough money to repay my student loans for a second time, but instead travel to Australia where I lived for year, but only worked 5 months.
#4 Return home again and earn enough money to repay student loans for the THIRD time, and spend it getting married, which doubled my/our accumulated student loan debt.
I calculate the money spent on traveling, and lack of income during time spent traveling, and total lack of investment, to come to an opportunity cost just shy of $400k in those 4.5 years at 7% growth.
Now, having watched $25k-$30k come and go THREE F*$*ING times, I've grown wise. Admittedly I visited 19 countries and 23 US states, and only worked 32 of the 54months in the time span.
This week I killed 25% of the debt. Next week I'll kill another 25%, and the week after 15% more. I'm tired of this shit.
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I BOUGHT A BRAND NEW CAR AT 29.995% INTEREST! *MRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHWHHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRRRR* *super clippers screech loudly against dollars dying in a slaughter*
I didn't even know they could offer interest that high... I thought credit cards at ~20% was as high as it got.
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I bought a used Hummer H2 on a 13.5% loan several years ago. I quickly realized it drank gas. The 37" tires were bald too. So I sold it 8 months later for $5,000 less than I bought it. At least I didn't drop another $5,000 in tires. The new owner had to buy tires. I saw him at Kal-tire a week later.
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Spent $8000 dollars taking the family out of the country for a fantastic vacation.
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I was going to sell it back to the jeweler after we went our separate ways, but given how much it's gone up in value, I'll hold onto it for now to see if a future Mrs. MooreBonds might be willing to accept it, or if she would need a different stone (hopefully not as pricey!).
A lady mustachian here....SELL IT! I wouldn't accept another woman's ring, unless it was your mother's/grandmother's heirloom that she gave to you. Plus, at a value like 33k that I'd be scared to wear it anywhere!
I second this. I hate to stereotype women (I am one, BTW), but you are very unlikely to find a woman who would accept another woman's ring -- especially a past ex of yours! Plus, many women would likely be somewhat offended at the suggestion.
Sell the ring and invest the money.
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Blew 20k € I got as a windfall through work for electronics and consumer stuff three years ago. Didn't save much aside of about automatic 200 € each month for retirement until recently. Just thinking about how much money I could have saved in the 13 years since I joined the workforce full-time hurts so much. I wish I had found this site years earlier. I could now own a house instead of just having started downpayment savings on one. I could be 1/3 to FU/FI money.
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I just did the most anti-mustachian thing of my life this friday.
I bought an Omega watch for $4800.
In my defense:
1. I have been dreaming about this watch for years.
2. I had more than enough cash on hand
3. The watch will hold its value quite well, so it's not like all of the money is wasted.
4. For me it is a beautiful thing that I will treasure each day.
Now you may facepunch me bigtime.
I think I might faint.
I kind of want a Breitling watch….I am also standing-by for face-punches
HOLY SHIT - a $5k watch! Does anyone even need a watch these days given that the time is everywhere including on the phones that are superglued to most people's palms? Sorry, just saying...
Indeed, this is against all this site stands for! The point is you'll get just as much enjoyment (happiness) out of a more frugal selection (or as you mention, no selection!) Build those frugal muscles, right?
I disagree. I don't own a watch like these, but see no difference between buying one or any other piece of art. For that matter, a car is not always a car. Sometimes form matters more than function. This is an anti-consumerism forum on an anti-consumerism blog, and I completely agree with 90% of it..but we still have the right to live a life full of those things we value.
That said..my most unMustachian thing is still going on: I'm making payments on my Audi. I'm saving money, planning for my future, working on killing my debt, but refuse to sell my car. I don't think owning the Audi is unMustachian, but the debt...definitely.
Hedonic adaptation, my man. You'll be just as happy with cheap shit, scientifically proven.
If you're able to afford it, and enjoy it, why not buy it? Also, Jacob from ERE admits to owning an Omega. I enjoyed his post about buying classics.
For full disclosure, I own a lovely Tag Heuer Carerra, but I'll admit that after 2 years of owning it, I'm not sure it was the best purchase. I enjoy the automatic movement and finish of the watch, but it does feel excessive to wear ~$2k on your wrist, just to tell time.
I smell somebody else who needs a facepunch. Shit, have you guys even READ the blog?
Fairly new to MMM so chiming in on an old post. I have had a Rolex for 8 years and to me it is like a piece of art/jewelry that I get to wear every day. I shopped around and got a good price and didn't take out a loan to buy it so I don't feel any guilt at all about buying it.
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Bought a fifty dollar glass of port at the end of a restaurant meal.
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Bought a fifty dollar glass of port at the end of a restaurant meal.
I bought a few after-dinner glasses of Johnnie Walker Blue Label when my wife and I were on a cruise ship. Expensive, but absolutely delicious.
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When my husband and I got married at ages 19 and 20, we took $1600 with us on our honeymoon to Orlando, a combination of savings and cash gifts. We blew it all. It was quite a whirlwind experience, but I'm glad we developed the good sense never to do it again.
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I just did the most anti-mustachian thing of my life this friday.
I bought an Omega watch for $4800.
In my defense:
1. I have been dreaming about this watch for years.
2. I had more than enough cash on hand
3. The watch will hold its value quite well, so it's not like all of the money is wasted.
4. For me it is a beautiful thing that I will treasure each day.
Now you may facepunch me bigtime.
I think I might faint.
I kind of want a Breitling watch….I am also standing-by for face-punches
HOLY SHIT - a $5k watch! Does anyone even need a watch these days given that the time is everywhere including on the phones that are superglued to most people's palms? Sorry, just saying...
Indeed, this is against all this site stands for! The point is you'll get just as much enjoyment (happiness) out of a more frugal selection (or as you mention, no selection!) Build those frugal muscles, right?
I disagree. I don't own a watch like these, but see no difference between buying one or any other piece of art. For that matter, a car is not always a car. Sometimes form matters more than function. This is an anti-consumerism forum on an anti-consumerism blog, and I completely agree with 90% of it..but we still have the right to live a life full of those things we value.
That said..my most unMustachian thing is still going on: I'm making payments on my Audi. I'm saving money, planning for my future, working on killing my debt, but refuse to sell my car. I don't think owning the Audi is unMustachian, but the debt...definitely.
Hedonic adaptation, my man. You'll be just as happy with cheap shit, scientifically proven.
If you're able to afford it, and enjoy it, why not buy it? Also, Jacob from ERE admits to owning an Omega. I enjoyed his post about buying classics.
For full disclosure, I own a lovely Tag Heuer Carerra, but I'll admit that after 2 years of owning it, I'm not sure it was the best purchase. I enjoy the automatic movement and finish of the watch, but it does feel excessive to wear ~$2k on your wrist, just to tell time.
I smell somebody else who needs a facepunch. Shit, have you guys even READ the blog?
Fairly new to MMM so chiming in on an old post. I have had a Rolex for 8 years and to me it is like a piece of art/jewelry that I get to wear every day. I shopped around and got a good price and didn't take out a loan to buy it so I don't feel any guilt at all about buying it.
So, shortly after starting work, I realized I didn't know how to look professional. So I bought a few books on the topic. I learned a lot, and bought a whole new wardrobe on sale for like $300, and look like a million bucks.
One of the topics in a lot of these books was on watches. And while a $10 Casio gives accurate time, it doesn't look all that professional. So I decided to get something nice. So I bought a Swiss made Tissot for <$200. I really liked it, and still do. It should last me the rest of my life. Maybe you can argue I spent too much on it. But on the other hand, it's Swiss quality, but it's not Rolex name brand price, so it seems frugal to me.
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From a FIRE perspective, moving to Canada from the US and buying a house here definitely set us back. We would have paid off our house in the States long ago had we stayed, as it stands, we're looking at another 5 years of mortgage. No regrets.
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I just did the most anti-mustachian thing of my life this friday.
I bought an Omega watch for $4800.
In my defense:
1. I have been dreaming about this watch for years.
2. I had more than enough cash on hand
3. The watch will hold its value quite well, so it's not like all of the money is wasted.
4. For me it is a beautiful thing that I will treasure each day.
Now you may facepunch me bigtime.
I think I might faint.
I kind of want a Breitling watch….I am also standing-by for face-punches
HOLY SHIT - a $5k watch! Does anyone even need a watch these days given that the time is everywhere including on the phones that are superglued to most people's palms? Sorry, just saying...
Indeed, this is against all this site stands for! The point is you'll get just as much enjoyment (happiness) out of a more frugal selection (or as you mention, no selection!) Build those frugal muscles, right?
I disagree. I don't own a watch like these, but see no difference between buying one or any other piece of art. For that matter, a car is not always a car. Sometimes form matters more than function. This is an anti-consumerism forum on an anti-consumerism blog, and I completely agree with 90% of it..but we still have the right to live a life full of those things we value.
That said..my most unMustachian thing is still going on: I'm making payments on my Audi. I'm saving money, planning for my future, working on killing my debt, but refuse to sell my car. I don't think owning the Audi is unMustachian, but the debt...definitely.
Hedonic adaptation, my man. You'll be just as happy with cheap shit, scientifically proven.
If you're able to afford it, and enjoy it, why not buy it? Also, Jacob from ERE admits to owning an Omega. I enjoyed his post about buying classics.
For full disclosure, I own a lovely Tag Heuer Carerra, but I'll admit that after 2 years of owning it, I'm not sure it was the best purchase. I enjoy the automatic movement and finish of the watch, but it does feel excessive to wear ~$2k on your wrist, just to tell time.
I smell somebody else who needs a facepunch. Shit, have you guys even READ the blog?
Fairly new to MMM so chiming in on an old post. I have had a Rolex for 8 years and to me it is like a piece of art/jewelry that I get to wear every day. I shopped around and got a good price and didn't take out a loan to buy it so I don't feel any guilt at all about buying it.
So, shortly after starting work, I realized I didn't know how to look professional. So I bought a few books on the topic. I learned a lot, and bought a whole new wardrobe on sale for like $300, and look like a million bucks.
One of the topics in a lot of these books was on watches. And while a $10 Casio gives accurate time, it doesn't look all that professional. So I decided to get something nice. So I bought a Swiss made Tissot for <$200. I really liked it, and still do. It should last me the rest of my life. Maybe you can argue I spent too much on it. But on the other hand, it's Swiss quality, but it's not Rolex name brand price, so it seems frugal to me.
Good call, I'd have a hard time picking apart that choice. I can see how somebody may argue about a used Rolex holding it's value pretty well, but I don't think you can get one of those for $200 if you're a fence, much less legit.
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I just did the most anti-mustachian thing of my life this friday.
I bought an Omega watch for $4800.
In my defense:
1. I have been dreaming about this watch for years.
2. I had more than enough cash on hand
3. The watch will hold its value quite well, so it's not like all of the money is wasted.
4. For me it is a beautiful thing that I will treasure each day.
Now you may facepunch me bigtime.
I think I might faint.
I kind of want a Breitling watch….I am also standing-by for face-punches
HOLY SHIT - a $5k watch! Does anyone even need a watch these days given that the time is everywhere including on the phones that are superglued to most people's palms? Sorry, just saying...
Indeed, this is against all this site stands for! The point is you'll get just as much enjoyment (happiness) out of a more frugal selection (or as you mention, no selection!) Build those frugal muscles, right?
I disagree. I don't own a watch like these, but see no difference between buying one or any other piece of art. For that matter, a car is not always a car. Sometimes form matters more than function. This is an anti-consumerism forum on an anti-consumerism blog, and I completely agree with 90% of it..but we still have the right to live a life full of those things we value.
That said..my most unMustachian thing is still going on: I'm making payments on my Audi. I'm saving money, planning for my future, working on killing my debt, but refuse to sell my car. I don't think owning the Audi is unMustachian, but the debt...definitely.
Hedonic adaptation, my man. You'll be just as happy with cheap shit, scientifically proven.
If you're able to afford it, and enjoy it, why not buy it? Also, Jacob from ERE admits to owning an Omega. I enjoyed his post about buying classics.
For full disclosure, I own a lovely Tag Heuer Carerra, but I'll admit that after 2 years of owning it, I'm not sure it was the best purchase. I enjoy the automatic movement and finish of the watch, but it does feel excessive to wear ~$2k on your wrist, just to tell time.
I smell somebody else who needs a facepunch. Shit, have you guys even READ the blog?
Fairly new to MMM so chiming in on an old post. I have had a Rolex for 8 years and to me it is like a piece of art/jewelry that I get to wear every day. I shopped around and got a good price and didn't take out a loan to buy it so I don't feel any guilt at all about buying it.
So, shortly after starting work, I realized I didn't know how to look professional. So I bought a few books on the topic. I learned a lot, and bought a whole new wardrobe on sale for like $300, and look like a million bucks.
One of the topics in a lot of these books was on watches. And while a $10 Casio gives accurate time, it doesn't look all that professional. So I decided to get something nice. So I bought a Swiss made Tissot for <$200. I really liked it, and still do. It should last me the rest of my life. Maybe you can argue I spent too much on it. But on the other hand, it's Swiss quality, but it's not Rolex name brand price, so it seems frugal to me.
Good call, I'd have a hard time picking apart that choice. I can see how somebody may argue about a used Rolex holding it's value pretty well, but I don't think you can get one of those for $200 if you're a fence, much less legit.
Jumping back into the conversation. If you can afford it (truly), and appreciate it for what it is, I say go for it. They last forever and hold their resale value. Most people only look at the initial cost, but the actual cost of ownership is: Initial cost - resale value. You could take a step further and look at it on a yearly basis too. But personally, the way I make the road to FI work for me, is that I choose to own less, but prefer higher quality classic items. I think Jacob from ERE dives into this topic more than MMM does, but I tend to lean towards Jacobs approach. When you do buy an item, if you go for the best quality (not necessarily the most expensive), it takes the desire to upgrade out of the equation. I'm not saying there is a need to buy a quality mechanical watch, vs, a Timex, and if I was to re-do it today, I'm not sure I would buy my watch again, but, if I wanted to sell it, I would re-coop close to 100% of the price I paid for it (used). I've worn it every day since I bought it, so I won't fault anyone for their watch choices. Well, as long as it isn't a Movado :)
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I bought $250 Frye boots. But they were on sale! And they'll last me for decades!
I've worn them about 3 times since I got them 2 years ago. I currently have them listed on CL, but maybe eBay or something similar will be a better option...
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Just put a check in the mail for $300 to join the local gun club and signed myself up for $170/yr membership dues. I hope I can come back a few years from now and say it was worth it, but right now I feel like facepunching myself.
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We didn't max our 401ks for three last five years and instead held it in cash! Thumps head!!
We also didn't invest in company stock when it was low and now it's increased by 5 times the value.
With those two done, we'd have cut our FI date by half! Sigh
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Convinced my parents to cosign a five year loan for a brand new car after my freshman year of college, and it basically just sat in the parking lot at school for 3 years (bad). After graduation, blew my signing bonus paying off the loan (good to get rid of loan, bad because the money would have done better being invested). After about two months, decided that car wasn't worthy of my status as a professional, and traded it at around 30K miles for a bigger, more expensive brand new car (bad). At least I drove that one until a little over 100K miles and it started falling apart.
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Second most would be my second boat. Fewer mistakes, but all boats are moneysinks.
A boat is a hole in the water you pour money into. I have more than a few, but the boat was the biggest one. We paid cash for a used one, but we ended up selling it 4 years later for $11k less than we bought it for. It was a lot of fun and we got a ton of use out of it, but to this day I can't force myself to add up the maintenance and dry dock fees.
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This thread is fascinating reading! I'm glad I'm not alone in not having been born Mustachian.
My worst was the summer after my articling year (it's like a paid apprenticeship after law school). I'd been in a long-distance relationship and went to live in Manhattan--rent-free, at least--to see if we were going to make it work in the long run. I spent everything I had on a course for the New York Bar Exam. When it became very clear, a couple weeks in, that the relationship was ending, I dropped the course (no refunds!) and spent three months of break-up fugue in the Big Apple, eating out, ordering crap online, and making no attempt to start looking for jobs.
(That said, the subsequent financial desperation led me to take a TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO-GOOD job which was the immediate catalyst for my business partners and I opening our own firm a few months later, so it worked out pretty well in the end.)
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I bought $250 Frye boots. But they were on sale! And they'll last me for decades!
I've worn them about 3 times since I got them 2 years ago. I currently have them listed on CL, but maybe eBay or something similar will be a better option...
I LOVE Frye boots. My mom found me a $300 pair for only $70 at Nordstrom Rack. I wore them twice in two years. Sold them on ebay for $125. I encourage you to do ebay! I set the price at $40 and got lots of entertainment from the bidding ware over them
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First anti-mustachian decision. I made 2000 over the course of the summer when I was 14. I didn't know what to do with it so I spent it all on eating at the food court on the mall. Second most, freshman year of college I made 2000 over the course of the year. I didn't know what to do with it so I spent it all on clothes. Third, not getting the 401k match at my first job out of grad school. 4th, well I'm not sure its anti-mustachian as much as just regretting something in hind sight. I could've gone to my university for free had I gotten better grades. But instead I took out 100k in loans for undergrad. But it was the catalyst for me getting my shit together in life.
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First anti-mustachian decision. I made 2000 over the course of the summer when I was 14. I didn't know what to do with it so I spent it all on eating at the food court on the mall. Second most, freshman year of college I made 2000 over the course of the year. I didn't know what to do with it so I spent it all on clothes. Third, not getting the 401k match at my first job out of grad school. 4th, well I'm not sure its anti-mustachian as much as just regretting something in hind sight. I could've gone to my university for free had I gotten better grades. But instead I took out 100k in loans for undergrad. But it was the catalyst for me getting my shit together in life.
Dang- those are some doozies. Glad you got your "shit together" and did something about it.
Even as a teen, I was VERY careful with my money. I did the usual recreation stuff like malls, movies, and make-up but I also had to pay for my gas and 1/2 my car insurance.
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We spent $30,000 on our wedding in 2006. Best day ever but holy shit. Wasn't at all Mustachian back then. Luckily I picked well and have a lovely frugal hubby. Would do it differently now but of course that experience is behind me now. Please facepunch 2006 me that also bought a $400 pair of shoes that didn't fit properly, used to buy her lunch most days and had a gym membership that I hardly used but needed for all the after work wines I downed. Thankfully 2006 and 2014 me wouldn't even recognize each other if we met in the street.
Well said. I spent $12K on my wedding back in 1997. Even if I could, that is one day/expense I wouldn't change (except the ugly royal purple color I chose for my bridesmaids). I would, however, have gone back and FACEPUNCHED my otherwise frugal future husband who bought me a $3000 diamond engagement ring. I didn't find this out until a few months after our wedding. THAT sum could have gone towards our IRA's or down payment on our first house. I would have been equally happy with a CZ. Jewelry does nothing for me, and I give a flying fuck what people think of my ring size/carat/quality. Pshhh.
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First and only anti-mustachian thing: accepting and still holding on to a job that involves an absurdly crazy car commute.
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I used to spend $16 on lunch on Fridays from a sushi restaurant near my work. I had my 2013 tax return sent over to me in the form of Amazon credit because it gave me an extra 10% of my return. I sent 1200 over to it and got 1325 out of it. I ended up spending it all on big purchase items like a new laptop, a gas grill that is way bigger than I will ever need, an expensive computer chair, and a $220 Tissot watch. If I had the cash I probably would have paid down my student loans. The only amazon purchase I regret is the grill (and all the accessories) because while I use it, my wife and I don't need a 4-burner grill. I would have bought a cheaper laptop and chair though.
Gave my sister a 2k "loan" so she could buy a new car (I gave her her first car) while I was accruing more student loans. It was a loan to the extent that she would have to pay me back only if she didn't go back to college. She is still in college year later so I don't regret it at all but it was definitely antimustachian.
Spent the little money I did have (4k) on an engagement ring rather than pay off my student loans (SL are a reoccurring theme).
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Playing backjack at $25-$100 a hand. My gambling budget was $50, but I kept on winning so I kept on planning. I won about $600 total.
I ate lunch at Subway, because I didn't want to spend $20 on the buffet. Later that night I was betting $100 hands after one too many drinks. Vegas can change a man in a short amount of time :)
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Most anti mustachios thing I've ever done? Buy 300$ shoes/boots. 2 pairs of them. 6-7 years ago. (Sooo muuuuch mooooney...)
On the positive side, though:
- the boots are my "warm" winter boots. They've got traction, solid sole, are insanely warm, and have kept my feet toast warm though -30C Quebec winters for 7 years now, and I should be able to get another few years out of them if I take them to the cobblers for mending at the end of this winter. Do I regret it? No. But when these give out, I'll probably buy a good pair of Sorrel boots on sale for 120$ or so instead.
- the other shoes are Cole Haan heels. Ludicrous price, I know. But these are 3-inch heels I can wear while standing for 10 hours straight at a conference, walk to dinner, walk back to the hotel, and do it all again the next day... Without having my feet hurt.
And for those who say "just don't wear heels then", please just take my word that not performing to corporate/feminine clothing standards, in the workplace I was in, has direct consequences to being taken seriously, being considered for promotions, and generally being seen as competent. I have an incredibly competent colleague who got denied promotions and lectured about how she needed to "appear more professional", and was specifically told to wear heels and make-up. This was pretty standard expectations at my last 3 jobs... (Ugh, so glad I'm going somewhere with suddenly sensible expectations...) but, basically: if I have to wear heels, I'm ok with paying more to not be in pain while doing it.
And then be frugal enough to be able to switch industries and jobs and wear whatever reasonable shoe I bloody well like. *rant over*
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Hmm. Most of my late teens and all of my 20s have a few doozies.
I'll leave out taking a year here and there to travel, as they were actually fairly cheap and are only bad in terms of opportunity cost.
First and most - buying my first boat, which was a 'project boat'. Yes, I lived on it for 3 years and had fun, but I poured all my money into it for that time and sold it for less than I paid for it. On the upside my wife tells me it made me 'interesting' when we met though, so it wasn't a total loss.
Second most antimustachian - probably buying my second boat.
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Ugh. I'm a moron. again. A few months ago, while getting a bunch of other expensive maintenance items on my car taken car of, I foolishly agreed to have my faulty in-dash NAV system sent out for refurbishment. I knew as soon as I got home that it was a mistake -- the NAV system sucked and the only real reason I wanted it fixed was because it also knocked out the clock display and the radio display (so I couldn't tell what radio station I was on).
Mistake #1 - repairs by the dealer
Mistake #2 - getting NAV system refurbished
Mistake #3 - found out today that I didn't prepay it as I thought. I was shocked to get another $550 bill! That's after the $1500 in December when they sent the darn thing away. I was convinced that the refurb was included in the bill but was too lazy to look at the paperwork. I suck!
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Married my first husband. An attorney. The divorce was agonizing.
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Bought myself brand new skis and boots. Last year, my first year out of college and with a real job, and decided I had to have them. Spent about $1.5K total, but to think that could have completely eliminated one of my loans drives me crazy.
You can bet I'll be using those skis for the rest of forever to get value from them!
Other than that, maybe spending 3 months abroad in Spain? Cost quite a bit of money that I am now paying for via student loans, but it was an amazing semester and I don't regret it one bit.
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In college, I bought an old Dodge Durango to drive to and from hockey...not a very Mustachian vehicle. Hard to justify the 15 GPM fuel economy (oops...MPG ;-) ) In its defense, I did find myself driving in the snow fairly often (upstate NY, after all), and that thing was pretty much on rails unless I wanted to do donuts ;-)
Also, in my pre-MMM days I spent waaaay too much at bars and restaurants. In the year before I discovered MMM and started the journey, I tallied up my spreadsheet to find that my Bar/Restaurant tab for the year was...wait for it...$5k. It hurts to even type that.
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15 GPM fuel economy (oops...MPG ;-) )
It's not *that* hard to make a 15 MPG vehicle to go 15 GPM. Okay, may be a little bit hard. Just couldn't resist. :)
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Gotta tell on myself. Just ordered a $4530 custom saddle. Tried to save $1300 by ordered ng directly from the UK but no dice.
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Well for me i had just started my first real job out of university. I figured i'd buy a nice suit - you know the whole dress to impress thing - so i went out and bought a $750 Lipson (sp?) - this was back in 1996. I think I wore it a grand total of two times. I hate suits.
Also, right around the same time I figured I must have a home entertainment system. I brought a relatively crappy Panasonic one for about $650. I did end up keeping it for about 10 years but really was a waste of $. I had buddies who spent 5 grand on that kind of stuff so not too bad i guess. Nowadays of course i realize a system like that is a complete waste of $
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I turned 30 and bought a Corvette. To "fix it up". Total waste of money. I loved that car. I'd do it again (If I were 30 again) but I wouldn't do it now. I'm a firm believer is saving (like a hoarder) but I've never seen a hearse with a trailer hitch.
Don't wait until you get old to live but, save enough so you can live when you get old :)
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Well for me i had just started my first real job out of university. I figured i'd buy a nice suit - you know the whole dress to impress thing - so i went out and bought a $750 Lipson (sp?) - this was back in 1996. I think I wore it a grand total of two times. I hate suits.
BAAAAHAHAHAHA
Wow... after 9 years in corporate/fed offices, mostly in business attire, I don't think I've spent $750 yet. I have two $99 sport coats and a few $20 shirts, but otherwise, it's all from thrift stores. I always viewed spending on work as a waste of the hours that paid for it, so bottom dollar wins, and not once has it been an issue.
I actually love dressing up, just not spending money on it, and it's amazing what people give away in good condition. My favorite suits were used or randomly appropriated (e.g., rented a room and it was left behind).
Plenty of my coworkers, however, drop at least that much annually on their work clothes. High-end shoes and $50-100 shirts are common, and I'm sure the suits are up there too. I just can't see loving my job enough to pay for the privilege of working longer before retiring.
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I once came home from a six-month deployment and spent an entire month on leave being lonely and drunk, and during that time I got emotionally involved... with a stripper.
I gave away about $1100 in my first night at that place, and a couple grand more over the next two months. I also gave her $500 that she was short for a boob job. If you add up all the shopping, drinks and other shit, and gas driving back and forth (it was New Orleans and I lived 100 miles away), I'm sure I wasted at least five grand on that bitch.
She wasn't even that hot, to be honest, and I wasn't banging her. (thank god, right?) And in retrospect, it would have been obvious to any casual observer that she wasn't really into me, just getting off on the money and the attention.
Live and learn, they say.
*facepunches self*
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Zephyr - Don't blame the stripper, she was just doing her job, and very well too! :D
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Cashed out on about $5k on vested stocks from the first company I worked for after leaving and after they got bought out and went public. I treated my family to a nice meal at a seafood restaurant in San Diego and then I went and spent that five-grand on a new custom-built acoustic guitar that I thought would blow the roof off and outmatch all my buddies' guitars. I ended up trading (down) the guitar for another guitar less than a year later. And then a couple trades later, the guitar I have now as a result of all that is probably worth half but sounds better than the custom-built I had made. Such a huge waste of money.
In the first place, my GAS (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome) is completely Anti-Mustachian. And I'd even argue that guitar building can get to be somewhat Anti-Mustachian too (if you all were to tell me to build my own guitar, which I've tried and failed at). LOL I'm not even that good of a player. So me even being *interested* in guitars is pretty Anti-Mustachian at this point.
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Cashed out on about $5k on vested stocks from the first company I worked for after leaving and after they got bought out and went public. I treated my family to a nice meal at a seafood restaurant in San Diego and then I went and spent that five-grand on a new custom-built acoustic guitar that I thought would blow the roof off and outmatch all my buddies' guitars. I ended up trading (down) the guitar for another guitar less than a year later. And then a couple trades later, the guitar I have now as a result of all that is probably worth half but sounds better than the custom-built I had made. Such a huge waste of money.
In the first place, my GAS (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome) is completely Anti-Mustachian. And I'd even argue that guitar building can get to be somewhat Anti-Mustachian too (if you all were to tell me to build my own guitar, which I've tried and failed at). LOL I'm not even that good of a player. So me even being *interested* in guitars is pretty Anti-Mustachian at this point.
Even building a guitar can be pretty expensive. My uncle has recently become an apprentice guitar-maker since retiring, and they have to sell them for thousands of dollars just to make any money.
That reminds me of my first realization of my husband's previous anti-mustachian ways: When we were in college, about a week after we first met, he shows up sporting a shiny new acoustic guitar. He tells me how it "only" cost him $500. I furrow my brow, genuinely puzzled, and ask, "But what was wrong with your old guitar?"
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Cashed out on about $5k on vested stocks from the first company I worked for after leaving and after they got bought out and went public. I treated my family to a nice meal at a seafood restaurant in San Diego and then I went and spent that five-grand on a new custom-built acoustic guitar that I thought would blow the roof off and outmatch all my buddies' guitars. I ended up trading (down) the guitar for another guitar less than a year later. And then a couple trades later, the guitar I have now as a result of all that is probably worth half but sounds better than the custom-built I had made. Such a huge waste of money.
In the first place, my GAS (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome) is completely Anti-Mustachian. And I'd even argue that guitar building can get to be somewhat Anti-Mustachian too (if you all were to tell me to build my own guitar, which I've tried and failed at). LOL I'm not even that good of a player. So me even being *interested* in guitars is pretty Anti-Mustachian at this point.
Even building a guitar can be pretty expensive. My uncle has recently become an apprentice guitar-maker since retiring, and they have to sell them for thousands of dollars just to make any money.
That reminds me of my first realization of my husband's previous anti-mustachian ways: When we were in college, about a week after we first met, he shows up sporting a shiny new acoustic guitar. He tells me how it "only" cost him $500. I furrow my brow, genuinely puzzled, and ask, "But what was wrong with your old guitar?"
Guitars are super seductive to us players... I was recently in a music shop for picks and almost walked out of there with a $300 used 7-string. I don't need a 7 string, but it took a lot of willpower not to buy it. It was a great deal, and in really good condition. Pre-mustachian me wouldn't have batted an eye and would have whipped out the credit card and charged that sucker. When I got home I looked at my 4 other guitars (and I've cut back a bit.. used to have 7) and was relieved I didn't succumb.
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I would criticize about the guitars, but I have the same problem with sewing machines. It's hard to just stick with the one I have, especially since it's glitchy.
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Zephyr - Don't blame the stripper, she was just doing her job, and very well too! :D
True enough. She was awful with money though. She didn't bother to pretend it was putting her through college or whatever... she just blew it in every stupid way you can imagine, barely kept up with necessities on six figures.
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Guitars are super seductive to us players... I was recently in a music shop for picks and almost walked out of there with a $300 used 7-string. I don't need a 7 string, but it took a lot of willpower not to buy it. It was a great deal, and in really good condition. Pre-mustachian me wouldn't have batted an eye and would have whipped out the credit card and charged that sucker. When I got home I looked at my 4 other guitars (and I've cut back a bit.. used to have 7) and was relieved I didn't succumb.
I had that bug bad for a while. At one point I bought an ESP Jeff Hannemann signature model for around 3k. I finally talked myself into selling it sometime last year, basically broke even and invested the money. I've also bought and sold several others that looked cool but didn't feel good in my hands, and deserved better homes.
I keep the same $300 acoustic I've had for about ten years, and two electrics: the beat-up Schecter C1XXX that I played in Iraq, and a Richard Kruspe LTD RZK1 that one of my best friends left to me when he killed himself. The first is definitely not valuable; the second may be, but I'd starve before I'd sell it.
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Guitars are super seductive to us players... I was recently in a music shop for picks and almost walked out of there with a $300 used 7-string. I don't need a 7 string, but it took a lot of willpower not to buy it. It was a great deal, and in really good condition. Pre-mustachian me wouldn't have batted an eye and would have whipped out the credit card and charged that sucker. When I got home I looked at my 4 other guitars (and I've cut back a bit.. used to have 7) and was relieved I didn't succumb.
I had that bug bad for a while. At one point I bought an ESP Jeff Hannemann signature model for around 3k. I finally talked myself into selling it sometime last year, basically broke even and invested the money. I've also bought and sold several others that looked cool but didn't feel good in my hands, and deserved better homes.
I keep the same $300 acoustic I've had for about ten years, and two electrics: the beat-up Schecter C1XXX that I played in Iraq, and a Richard Kruspe LTD RZK1 that one of my best friends left to me when he killed himself. The first is definitely not valuable; the second may be, but I'd starve before I'd sell it.
I've managed to avoid paying a lot for a guitar. There's pretty much no upper limit. I've got a $350 acoustic that was a gift from my parents, a Squier Classic Vibe Strat and Tele, and an Ibanez RG870QMZ-BI that's my main baby. Got a really good deal on it, and it was the first one I'd saved up before buying, so that also makes it feel somewhat more special.
I don't have a huge emotional attachment to any of them, though, so I could sell any if I need to. I just don't need to.
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Best cure for GAS...
"I'd kick way more ass if I had more time to practise and jam with different people and the only way I will get more time is through FI" works every single time.
I play bass and have a yamaha pacifica ($200 off a friend) and a 1972 fender musicmaster ($550 off a friend of a friend). I also have a vintage Italian hollow body (free off a friend who was moving away and I helped him with prepping for the move). I still lust over a fender jazz bass, but I know I really have more than enough for playing shows etc. I just saw a guy tear it up on a pacifica the other day and was like "yup, you have all you need to kick ass!"
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I wish I had the money spent on cigarettes, booze and expensive dinners back at 6% in my accounts. Id be close to FIRE :(
Oh well.....live and learn
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Best cure for GAS...
"I'd kick way more ass if I had more time to practise and jam with different people and the only way I will get more time is through FI" works every single time.
I play bass and have a yamaha pacifica ($200 off a friend) and a 1972 fender musicmaster ($550 off a friend of a friend). I also have a vintage Italian hollow body (free off a friend who was moving away and I helped him with prepping for the move). I still lust over a fender jazz bass, but I know I really have more than enough for playing shows etc. I just saw a guy tear it up on a pacifica the other day and was like "yup, you have all you need to kick ass!"
That's a great way to look at it Melody! I'll have to remember that next time a guitar calls to me seductively. As long as you have an instrument that's playable enough you don't have to fight with it, you have what you need to make music.
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I just saw a guy tear it up on a pacifica the other day and was like "yup, you have all you need to kick ass!"
I go through the same thing with bicycles. I went mountain biking last year with some guys from a local shop, and they all have gorgeous multi-thousand dollar custom bikes. I felt like kind of a schlub with my bog-standard bike, but I'm just not an experienced enough rider at this point to benefit from something better. The equipment isn't the bottleneck, my skill is.
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I just saw a guy tear it up on a pacifica the other day and was like "yup, you have all you need to kick ass!"
I go through the same thing with bicycles. I went mountain biking last year with some guys from a local shop, and they all have gorgeous multi-thousand dollar custom bikes. I felt like kind of a schlub with my bog-standard bike, but I'm just not an experienced enough rider at this point to benefit from something better. The equipment isn't the bottleneck, my skill is.
I've had some incredibly great trail rides on a crappy undersized hardtail mountain bike, 30 minutes after collecting it from a thrift store and slapping a tire patch and some WD-40 on it. When it comes to bikes, your description of the bottleneck really applies to the vast majority of people.
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I just saw a guy tear it up on a pacifica the other day and was like "yup, you have all you need to kick ass!"
I go through the same thing with bicycles. I went mountain biking last year with some guys from a local shop, and they all have gorgeous multi-thousand dollar custom bikes. I felt like kind of a schlub with my bog-standard bike, but I'm just not an experienced enough rider at this point to benefit from something better. The equipment isn't the bottleneck, my skill is.
I've had some incredibly great trail rides on a crappy undersized hardtail mountain bike, 30 minutes after collecting it from a thrift store and slapping a tire patch and some WD-40 on it. When it comes to bikes, your description of the bottleneck really applies to the vast majority of people.
Totally agree, although I imagine that if you ride long time it's worth it to upgrade for comfort rather than performance.
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I just saw a guy tear it up on a pacifica the other day and was like "yup, you have all you need to kick ass!"
I heard a story a few years back - Maybe an old guitar teacher trying to convince me not to upgrade yet? Read it online? Honestly can't remember. Anyways, whoever told it had been in a bar, listening to some band play. Lead guitarist was playing an old junky guitar and sounded miserable. Turns out Randy Rhoads was in the audience, and at some point he accepts the band's invitation to play with them- Guitarist hands him this POS, and he made the damn thing sing. Whoever was telling the story said it was the moment he realized that the guitar itself is never as important as the skill of the person playing it.
I've had a few anti-mustachian guitar purchases, of course, but now that I've trimmed the collection down to a nice-enough Martin and a half-decent Les Paul, why even bother tempting myself by walking into guitar stores anymore? Buy my strings/picks/etc online, so there's no need to set foot in those dens of lust and fuel the GAS.
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Totally agree, although I imagine that if you ride long time it's worth it to upgrade for comfort rather than performance.
My Walmart GMC road bike sports a nice Bontrager saddle that I transferred from one project bike to the next for years and will ride until it falls apart beneath me.
I think I got it used on eBay, but I honestly can't even remember now.
Most of the other parts aren't all that vital to comfort. Good bar tape goes a long way. Otherwise it's mostly about fit, as opposed to pricey components.
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GAS - oh yes. I now own three spinning wheels - and unless I need an electronic one when I am old and can't treadle, my Lendrum is my last. My first one I can't/won't sell for sentimental reasons, I held on to it all through my (now-defunct) marriage over DH's comments that I would never use it, it is my confirmation that I did have some back bone then. Plus it is easy to take to spinning demos. The second I might sell, it is really neat and an unusual design, but no real reason to hold on to it now.
Mandolin - now that it is properly set up and in tune, no need to trade up. As others have said, it is me that needs to upgrade (i.e. practice, practice) not the instrument.
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Cashed out on about $5k on vested stocks from the first company I worked for after leaving and after they got bought out and went public. I treated my family to a nice meal at a seafood restaurant in San Diego and then I went and spent that five-grand on a new custom-built acoustic guitar that I thought would blow the roof off and outmatch all my buddies' guitars. I ended up trading (down) the guitar for another guitar less than a year later. And then a couple trades later, the guitar I have now as a result of all that is probably worth half but sounds better than the custom-built I had made. Such a huge waste of money.
In the first place, my GAS (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome) is completely Anti-Mustachian. And I'd even argue that guitar building can get to be somewhat Anti-Mustachian too (if you all were to tell me to build my own guitar, which I've tried and failed at). LOL I'm not even that good of a player. So me even being *interested* in guitars is pretty Anti-Mustachian at this point.
I disagree with this, and would just say you did it poorly. Including my dad and my brother, since some of them have changed hands between us multiple times (I know my dad owes me $1,900, my brother owes my dad $700, and I owe my brother $200 and a Strat that I haven't given him yet, but he owes me a 12 string in trade for a guitar that he already sold), we've owned over 70 guitars over the past 10 years. Currently we own about 20 (3 are for sale). Taking out our current stock, we're probably down about $1,000 total. Not bad for a 10 year hobby for 3 people. Including our current stock, if we were to sell out today and being conservative with the values, we're up about $10,000--take out the ringer in there, we're up about $2,000.
I view them kind of as a poor performing bond, but a lot more fun.
On a completely unrelated note, is anyone interested in a Gibson B-25, Guild F-20, or a Martin D28?
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In 2005 I did travel to New York - and nearly bought the whole city - because, I quote "It is so cheep it would be looooosing money not to buy this.."
I came home with 4 suite cases - there off 2 new - full of loads and loads of crap. I dont think I managed to use half of it before it ended up in the Red Cross...
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In 2005 I did travel to New York - and nearly bought the whole city - because, I quote "It is so cheep it would be looooosing money not to buy this.."
I came home with 4 suite cases - there off 2 new - full of loads and loads of crap. I dont think I managed to use half of it before it ended up in the Red Cross...
I still have a closet full of Chinatown ties that I wear to work regularly. Not even Walmart can touch those prices. 4 or even 5 for $20 or less... and usually good quality. They're all over 4 years old and mostly look like new.
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1) I got a full-tuition scholarship to college, so I should have been able to graduate debt-free. Instead I took out loans to cover living costs, study abroad, and a 2-month post-graduation hike on the PCT and graduated with $24k in student loans (just paid off the last of it last fall!).
2) Quit my good paying job, at which I was getting 10% raises every year, to go back to grad school. Got paid (a pittance - less than enough to live on if not for hubby's salary) to go to school, but then became a SAHM, so not using that degree at all. Should've worked for three more years instead.
3) Bought a new VW Jetta TDI last fall when we moved out of the city with no money down (low-interest, but still). No intention to sell it because we love it, and torn on whether to accelerate paying it off.
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Put 100% of my 401k money and new deposits in a "Stable Value Fund" earning 1%/quarter in March 2009 because "Those thieving bastards aren't getting any more of my money."
Came out from under my rock in Jan. 2014 after reading that the market was up like 250% since March 2009... "I think I just fucked myself..."
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I lit a cigarette when I was 13 years old and didn't put it out until 25 years later.
Conservative estimates put my monetary loss at least at $37,000 pre-interest. This doesn't even figure in any future health problems and the attendant costs that may still occur. (No current health problems, touch wood.)
And the time loss, that really astounded me when I figured it out. Since I have never smoked inside my house, I have spent countless wasted hours sitting on one porch or another. General estimate is over 18,000 hours spent smoking. That's 750 days, or just over two years, of my life wasted.
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Cashed out on about $5k on vested stocks from the first company I worked for after leaving and after they got bought out and went public. I treated my family to a nice meal at a seafood restaurant in San Diego and then I went and spent that five-grand on a new custom-built acoustic guitar that I thought would blow the roof off and outmatch all my buddies' guitars. I ended up trading (down) the guitar for another guitar less than a year later. And then a couple trades later, the guitar I have now as a result of all that is probably worth half but sounds better than the custom-built I had made. Such a huge waste of money.
In the first place, my GAS (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome) is completely Anti-Mustachian. And I'd even argue that guitar building can get to be somewhat Anti-Mustachian too (if you all were to tell me to build my own guitar, which I've tried and failed at). LOL I'm not even that good of a player. So me even being *interested* in guitars is pretty Anti-Mustachian at this point.
I disagree with this, and would just say you did it poorly. Including my dad and my brother, since some of them have changed hands between us multiple times (I know my dad owes me $1,900, my brother owes my dad $700, and I owe my brother $200 and a Strat that I haven't given him yet, but he owes me a 12 string in trade for a guitar that he already sold), we've owned over 70 guitars over the past 10 years. Currently we own about 20 (3 are for sale). Taking out our current stock, we're probably down about $1,000 total. Not bad for a 10 year hobby for 3 people. Including our current stock, if we were to sell out today and being conservative with the values, we're up about $10,000--take out the ringer in there, we're up about $2,000.
I view them kind of as a poor performing bond, but a lot more fun.
On a completely unrelated note, is anyone interested in a Gibson B-25, Guild F-20, or a Martin D28?
Depends on how mustachian of a deal the D-28 is? I sold my Martin D-16 RGT a few years ago, and I quite miss the Martin tone.
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Cashed out on about $5k on vested stocks from the first company I worked for after leaving and after they got bought out and went public. I treated my family to a nice meal at a seafood restaurant in San Diego and then I went and spent that five-grand on a new custom-built acoustic guitar that I thought would blow the roof off and outmatch all my buddies' guitars. I ended up trading (down) the guitar for another guitar less than a year later. And then a couple trades later, the guitar I have now as a result of all that is probably worth half but sounds better than the custom-built I had made. Such a huge waste of money.
In the first place, my GAS (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome) is completely Anti-Mustachian. And I'd even argue that guitar building can get to be somewhat Anti-Mustachian too (if you all were to tell me to build my own guitar, which I've tried and failed at). LOL I'm not even that good of a player. So me even being *interested* in guitars is pretty Anti-Mustachian at this point.
I disagree with this, and would just say you did it poorly. Including my dad and my brother, since some of them have changed hands between us multiple times (I know my dad owes me $1,900, my brother owes my dad $700, and I owe my brother $200 and a Strat that I haven't given him yet, but he owes me a 12 string in trade for a guitar that he already sold), we've owned over 70 guitars over the past 10 years. Currently we own about 20 (3 are for sale). Taking out our current stock, we're probably down about $1,000 total. Not bad for a 10 year hobby for 3 people. Including our current stock, if we were to sell out today and being conservative with the values, we're up about $10,000--take out the ringer in there, we're up about $2,000.
I view them kind of as a poor performing bond, but a lot more fun.
On a completely unrelated note, is anyone interested in a Gibson B-25, Guild F-20, or a Martin D28?
Depends on how mustachian of a deal the D-28 is? I sold my Martin D-16 RGT a few years ago, and I quite miss the Martin tone.
Fair deal, not a great deal. 1974, fair condition (excellent playing condition), may will need a neck reset in the next 5 years. Was thinking $1,300, but I'm not in a hurry to sell it and I haven't actually looked at ebay recently to see what it is worth.
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I spent $750 on a meet and greet with my favorite musician. (the $750 went to a charity and I got to write off $650 of it). We hugged. It was awesome. I would NEVER spend that money now.
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I bought a $20k watch. Every day I wear it I get pleasure out of it. Oo
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GAS - oh yes. I now own three spinning wheels - and unless I need an electronic one when I am old and can't treadle, my Lendrum is my last. My first one I can't/won't sell for sentimental reasons, I held on to it all through my (now-defunct) marriage over DH's comments that I would never use it, it is my confirmation that I did have some back bone then. Plus it is easy to take to spinning demos. The second I might sell, it is really neat and an unusual design, but no real reason to hold on to it now.
A fellow spinner! What's the second wheel?
I've offloaded my Lendrum and will probably do the same with my electric, but I have a Canadian Production Wheel that runs beautifully, and I plan to keep it for life. I don't spin much anymore (too much of a project knitter to "waste" the time when I work fulltime), but I find that as soon as I have substantial free time, my fingers start itching, so my guess is that my retirement will be full of spinning.
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I haven't read any of the responses yet, but my most Antimustachian act was marrying my soon to be ex husband.
I wasn't good with money through out college, but once I graduated, I started gaining some ground. Started paying off $10K of credit card debt I wreck up while in college. Set my student loans on auto pay at 2.5 times my monthly payment. Had a small savings accounts. Started an Roth IRA account.
Few years later I met my husband. It's been 16 years and I truly feel that there hasn't been a single smart financial decision made between two of us in that entire time. Every so often I would "wake up" and get angry and pay off credit cards and try to get some savings going, but it wouldn't last long with him pulling the other way and me getting tired of fighting the losing battle. So usually, once I paid off all credit cards and we were back to zero, I'd give up and it would start a low slide backwards.
In August 2013, we had $163 (that's dollars, no zeros there) in the bank, $6K on credit cards, and were planning a $3K vacation. I got so mad (mostly at myself) and after we came back from that vacation (I know, you don't have to say it) I set out to pay off all credit cards.
By January 2014 we had $3K in the bank account and zero credit card debt.
At that point it was clear that we are going to divorce. But with zero financial cushion it wasn't possible.
To fix this, I had to basically go through the process of losing every last shred of respect for him. I opened a separate bank account in my name only and started stashing there every penny I could get my hands on. I put him on allowance and questioned every single transaction that came through our joint bank account. I took away his credit cards and was monitoring his credit history and all his credit card online statements religiously. It got to the point where I was checking bank account and about 7 credit cards multiple times per day and txting him and questioning about every $6 charge from 7-Eleven as soon as they appeared. It was maddening, but I was a woman on a mission. I wanted a divorce and I was going to have at least couple pennies to rub together when that happens.
I am all set to move out with my kids in July as soon as school ends in late June. We are going through divorce mediation and should have everything signed before I move out.
That bank account I opened in my name only right now has $50,000 in it (so $25,000 for each of us). There is another $7,000 in our joint bank account to cover mediation costs and kids' summer camp.
I would not recommend this to anybody. I have zero respect left for this man, who, even now while marveling at how much money we (I!!!) was able to save is talks about wanting to get a new MacBook while having perfectly working laptop.
And before anybody asks, yes he knew about the account and that we are getting divorced. I was very open and vocal about it.
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I haven't read any of the responses yet, but my most Antimustachian act was marrying my soon to be ex husband.
I wasn't good with money through out college, but once I graduated, I started gaining some ground. Started paying off $10K of credit card debt I wreck up while in college. Set my student loans on auto pay at 2.5 times my monthly payment. Had a small savings accounts. Started an Roth IRA account.
Few years later I met my husband. It's been 16 years and I truly feel that there hasn't been a single smart financial decision made between two of us in that entire time. Every so often I would "wake up" and get angry and pay off credit cards and try to get some savings going, but it wouldn't last long with him pulling the other way and me getting tired of fighting the losing battle. So usually, once I paid off all credit cards and we were back to zero, I'd give up and it would start a low slide backwards.
In August 2013, we had $163 (that's dollars, no zeros there) in the bank, $6K on credit cards, and were planning a $3K vacation. I got so mad (mostly at myself) and after we came back from that vacation (I know, you don't have to say it) I set out to pay off all credit cards.
By January 2014 we had $3K in the bank account and zero credit card debt.
At that point it was clear that we are going to divorce. But with zero financial cushion it wasn't possible.
To fix this, I had to basically go through the process of losing every last shred of respect for him. I opened a separate bank account in my name only and started stashing there every penny I could get my hands on. I put him on allowance and questioned every single transaction that came through our joint bank account. I took away his credit cards and was monitoring his credit history and all his credit card online statements religiously. It got to the point where I was checking bank account and about 7 credit cards multiple times per day and txting him and questioning about every $6 charge from 7-Eleven as soon as they appeared. It was maddening, but I was a woman on a mission. I wanted a divorce and I was going to have at least couple pennies to rub together when that happens.
I am all set to move out with my kids in July as soon as school ends in late June. We are going through divorce mediation and should have everything signed before I move out.
That bank account I opened in my name only right now has $50,000 in it (so $25,000 for each of us). There is another $7,000 in our joint bank account to cover mediation costs and kids' summer camp.
I would not recommend this to anybody. I have zero respect left for this man, who, even now while marveling at how much money we (I!!!) was able to save is talks about wanting to get a new MacBook while having perfectly working laptop.
And before anybody asks, yes he knew about the account and that we are getting divorced. I was very open and vocal about it.
Kudos to you for identifying a mission and achieving it.
Hopefully once you've completed this process, your progress will really take off.
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We're in the process of planning our most antimustachian thing right now. My wife and I are both 38 and we are going to have a joint 40th birthday party. We are going to dress up and hire a pirate ship to take us and 40 of our closest friends out on the Mississippi River. They do a treasure hunt on an island and we will 'bar hop' in a couple of the river towns. We plan on renting full theater grade outfits for ourselves and provide tons of booze and food for everybody. There's even a cannon on the ship we can fire. A motherfucking cannon!
All told I expect to spend waste about $2k on this party. And no fucks will be given.
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We're in the process of planning our most antimustachian thing right now. My wife and I are both 38 and we are going to have a joint 40th birthday party. We are going to dress up and hire a pirate ship to take us and 40 of our closest friends out on the Mississippi River. They do a treasure hunt on an island and we will 'bar hop' in a couple of the river towns. We plan on renting full theater grade outfits for ourselves and provide tons of booze and food for everybody. There's even a cannon on the ship we can fire. A motherfucking cannon!
All told I expect to spend waste about $2k on this party. And no fucks will be given.
Only 2k for all of that stuff? That's actually pretty good value!
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We're in the process of planning our most antimustachian thing right now. My wife and I are both 38 and we are going to have a joint 40th birthday party. We are going to dress up and hire a pirate ship to take us and 40 of our closest friends out on the Mississippi River. They do a treasure hunt on an island and we will 'bar hop' in a couple of the river towns. We plan on renting full theater grade outfits for ourselves and provide tons of booze and food for everybody. There's even a cannon on the ship we can fire. A motherfucking cannon!
All told I expect to spend waste about $2k on this party. And no fucks will be given.
Not gonna ARRRRRgue with that. This is an outstanding idea. I mean, how can you say no to a motherfucking cannon?!
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Happily going OT to talk wheels.
First one is a castle wheel, double drive, screw tension adjustment - made by a man in the Montreal area sometime in the 1970's. I love it but the bobbins are small. It has small hooks and orifice, so works well on fine yarns. Three legs on the ground means it is stable at outdoor demos, and it looks old-fashioned.
The second one is a SpinWell (made in Sifton Manitoba during the Depression and WWII). Mine still has its label. Most seem to have a wooden wheel but mine is metal. Here is one like it in a museum: http://chace.athm.org/singleDisplay.php?kv=37077 (http://chace.athm.org/singleDisplay.php?kv=37077). Also double drive, big treadle, big bobbins. My wheel's treadle is well worn, the wheel was obviously used a lot. The loom style (big open box holding everything) gets attention at demos, it looks very modern.
I am a slow knitter, and could probably go a year on what I have already spun, but I love the Zen of spinning. I have donated some yarns (silent auctions, local heritage museum display). Of course once you start spinning it is easy to get into fiber processing (rinse water from a fleece is wonderful in the garden) and dyeing. No boredom in retirement here.
GAS - oh yes. I now own three spinning wheels - and unless I need an electronic one when I am old and can't treadle, my Lendrum is my last. My first one I can't/won't sell for sentimental reasons, I held on to it all through my (now-defunct) marriage over DH's comments that I would never use it, it is my confirmation that I did have some back bone then. Plus it is easy to take to spinning demos. The second I might sell, it is really neat and an unusual design, but no real reason to hold on to it now.
A fellow spinner! What's the second wheel?
I've offloaded my Lendrum and will probably do the same with my electric, but I have a Canadian Production Wheel that runs beautifully, and I plan to keep it for life. I don't spin much anymore (too much of a project knitter to "waste" the time when I work fulltime), but I find that as soon as I have substantial free time, my fingers start itching, so my guess is that my retirement will be full of spinning.
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Family's 6 figure shopping spree in Paris.... My mint account showed something like "this month spending xx,xxx, you usually spend xxx" D'Oh!
The curse of the weak Euro.
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We're in the process of planning our most antimustachian thing right now. My wife and I are both 38 and we are going to have a joint 40th birthday party. We are going to dress up and hire a pirate ship to take us and 40 of our closest friends out on the Mississippi River. They do a treasure hunt on an island and we will 'bar hop' in a couple of the river towns. We plan on renting full theater grade outfits for ourselves and provide tons of booze and food for everybody. There's even a cannon on the ship we can fire. A motherfucking cannon!
All told I expect to spend waste about $2k on this party. And no fucks will be given.
Not gonna ARRRRRgue with that. This is an outstanding idea. I mean, how can you say no to a motherfucking cannon?!
In future please lead with the cannon :-)
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I went to a guru's real estate seminar and bought a real estate course that cost thousands of dollars. FML. My mom and I actually bought the course together so now whenever we mention that horrible decision in passing, we kind of end up calling it the "thing that shall not be named" lol because we both cannot believe how fucking stupid we were to fall for that sales pitch and spend so much money. It makes me cringe so badly every time I think of it. Even worse, I never took action on the things I learned in the real estate seminar. Doh!
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I went to a guru's real estate seminar and bought a real estate course that cost thousands of dollars. FML. My mom and I actually bought the course together so now whenever we mention that horrible decision in passing, we kind of end up calling it the "thing that shall not be named" lol because we both cannot believe how fucking stupid we were to fall for that sales pitch and spend so much money. It makes me cringe so badly every time I think of it. Even worse, I never took action on the things I learned in the real estate seminar. Doh!
I'm glad I lucked into the free version of that, before I stepped back and realized something I'm assuming most attendees never consider:
If the get-rich-quick approach those guys sell is so effective, why aren't they out DOING IT?
The answer, of course, is that they make more money selling you the class than they do (or you will) in the market.
Don't get me wrong - there's money to be made in real estate, and I'm balls-deep in it myself, but there is no such thing as magic. A really clever huckster can make a lot of money without doing much work, but only by positioning themselves to receive rewards earned - value created, that is - by the hard work and sweat of others.
I'm currently faced with a dilemma related to one of my investments - the least Mustachian, even if well-intended, a big townhouse in a nouveau-riche neighborhood in Alabama. I thought it was a good buy at the time but I realize I was just buying a status symbol. It's not really a profitable rental and it's been sitting empty for six months due to poor management. I'm on the verge of selling but I don't have a lot of equity because I bought in on a 100% VA loan, so I'm hesitant to put effort into that.
Even with this thing dragging me down, I'm still saving $2-3K a month and (overall) making money in real estate, but I kick myself when I think about how I could own a cash-cow 4-plex or 2-3 really nice, if small, condos for what I borrowed on this place. Oh well.
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In the lowly depths of my previous bout of singledom and quarter life crisis, I splurged on an Audi S4 (I'm a Yuppie, what can I say) as my new commuting vehicle. Financed with a car loan. MPG: 18 City/28 Highway. Premium Gas Only. Insurance costs doubled.
It did its job in that after many months of no success, the first girl I dated while driving it became my girlfriend. And ironically this car has double the fuel economy of my previous car (an SUV).
But now it's a hugely painful expense as well as a rapidly depreciating asset. I discovered the ways of the Money Mustache only AFTER making the purchase, unfortunately.
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6 figure shopping spree in Paris
wait what
Did you buy a damn house??
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We're in the process of planning our most antimustachian thing right now. My wife and I are both 38 and we are going to have a joint 40th birthday party. We are going to dress up and hire a pirate ship to take us and 40 of our closest friends out on the Mississippi River. They do a treasure hunt on an island and we will 'bar hop' in a couple of the river towns. We plan on renting full theater grade outfits for ourselves and provide tons of booze and food for everybody. There's even a cannon on the ship we can fire. A motherfucking cannon!
All told I expect to spend waste about $2k on this party. And no fucks will be given.
I've never been so jealous of another human being in all my life...
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We're in the process of planning our most antimustachian thing right now. My wife and I are both 38 and we are going to have a joint 40th birthday party. We are going to dress up and hire a pirate ship to take us and 40 of our closest friends out on the Mississippi River. They do a treasure hunt on an island and we will 'bar hop' in a couple of the river towns. We plan on renting full theater grade outfits for ourselves and provide tons of booze and food for everybody. There's even a cannon on the ship we can fire. A motherfucking cannon!
All told I expect to spend waste about $2k on this party. And no fucks will be given.
BF and I have been talking about a joint Harry Potter themed birthday for our 30ths this year but wow, I really want the pirate cannon party! If only I lived anywhere near you, I'd be asking for the name of the company!
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Happily going OT to talk wheels.
Ah, you're getting me all excited to dive back into spinning when I retire. There's a reason that--despite my yen for destashing--I've held onto my production wheel and my best spindles, and it's not just because they're gorgeous.
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I'm new here. Started reading MMM last week.
Last month, I bought a brand new Prius. My previous car (which was paid off) was totaled when a drunk driver ran a stop sign, and insurance gave me $7000.
I don't think the Prius in general was a stupid idea (only $4k more than a used Prius, and with 0% APR, where the used would've had interest because I didn't have enough cash to fill the gap (without damaging the 6-month-fund), since I wasn't expecting to replace my car for another 5-10 years), and I spent $100 less on gas this month than usual....BUT...I put $7000 down on a 0% APR financing. I have student loans at 3%. Clearly I should've put the $7000 dent in the 3% not the 0%!
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I just spent $400 on two Blackhawks playoff tickets. And I am really, REALLY happy that I did it. Carpe Diem.
Cue Chelsea Dagger
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I just spent $400 on two Blackhawks playoff tickets. And I am really, REALLY happy that I did it. Carpe Diem.
Cue Chelsea Dagger
Shame, cause the Wild are going to totally rock them. And no, I did not say that last year, nor the previous year....
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I just spent $400 on two Blackhawks playoff tickets. And I am really, REALLY happy that I did it. Carpe Diem.
Cue Chelsea Dagger
Shame, cause the Wild are going to totally rock them. And no, I did not say that last year, nor the previous year....
Does the mental ward know you escaped? :P
This is, IMHO, the only series left until the Canadiens. This is really, really going to be a great one. I think it is going to come down to four things:
1: Can the Hawks crack Dubnyk?
2: Which Crawford shows up?
3: Does playoff Bickell show up?
4: Can the Wild 4th line hold up?
Obviously the goalies are well known. Edge (cliff? and I like Crawford) Wild.
Defenses are both extremely good, maybe a slight edge overall to the Wild.
The top 2 lines I'll give an edge to the Blackhawks, but not a comfortable one.
The third lines, I'm giving the edge to the Hawks. Unless Coyle's stats turn out to be like what I perceive him to be--I always think he should be better than his stats show every time I see him play, despite the fact he did have his best year. Otherwise, Vermette is starting to play decent, Teuvo is back in (the guys creativity is out of this world), and Sharpy is on fire right now. Edge to the Hawks, no question.
The 4th line though... I have a lot of faith in the Hawks, and little to none in the Wild's. And Cooke is an asshat.
As an aside, a Mikko and a Nino on the same line? What a world! I predict Hawks in 6, with 3 overtimes.
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The most antimustachian thing I've ever done is also just about as antimustachian as you can get: I bought a $10,000 used Subaru on loan out of the fear of doomsayers telling me how bad this past winter was going to be.
Two years ago I sold my car and opted to bike everywhere, even in Michigan winter, and did it without batting an eye or missing a day of work. Last winter (2013/2014) had a couple particularly bad weeks where wind chill dropped to -30F or lower and I had to bum rides because I didn't have the arctic-level clothing required to be outside in those temperatures for 40+ minutes.
So anyway, all the weathermen and people around me kept telling me how this past winter was going to be even worse than that one. 2013/2014 was the worst winter in years, and the next one is going to be EVEN WORSE?! I guess I need all-wheel drive now, even if it throws me into years of debt! That ate up my budget for refreshing my winter biking gear (base layer clothing needed replacement and some other things) and even though 2014/2015 was actually WAY more tame than last year I couldn't bike it because of the damn car. More recently it's cost me an additional $3500 in repairs. It just goes to show that if you make hasty decisions out of pessimism/fear it will come back to bite you again and again.
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Well, there's this antique Eames lounge chair..
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I just spent $400 on two Blackhawks playoff tickets. And I am really, REALLY happy that I did it. Carpe Diem.
Cue Chelsea Dagger
Shame, cause the Wild are going to totally rock them. And no, I did not say that last year, nor the previous year....
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WCvvwoFsMzw
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I just spent $400 on two Blackhawks playoff tickets. And I am really, REALLY happy that I did it. Carpe Diem.
Cue Chelsea Dagger
Shame, cause the Wild are going to totally rock them. And no, I did not say that last year, nor the previous year....
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WCvvwoFsMzw
Yeah, could have done for a more competitive series..., and now I need to send a few of Betty's Pies to a customer of mine (friendly wager).
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6 figure shopping spree in Paris
wait what
Did you buy a damn house??
We need details, OP!
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I occasionally do unmustachian things. Most recently I paid a bill where a check was cut from my online banking account. I didn't really pay attention to which account I had selected for this bill to be paid, and so I overdrafted that account. Got hit with $30 fee. Dumb and annoying.
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Mostly taking expensive vacations that were amazing and having a third kid, who is also amazing, so it's hard to regret those decisions even though we've had to work super hard to get back on track.
I'm not sure this counts, but before I found this forum I was just two months away from starting another 4 year degree in a new field because my current job is really boring. The loans would have totalled about 80k with no guarantee that I'd make more money once I finished. I've decided just to find another job that's not boring and I feel like I've dodged a bullet :) I can't believe I thought that would have been a good idea.
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The loans would have totalled about 80k with no guarantee that I'd make more money once I finished. I've decided just to find another job that's not boring and I feel like I've dodged a bullet :) I can't believe I thought that would have been a good idea.
Yikes, so glad that you decided not to do this. I had an aunt who told me that I should go to law school and demanded (not asked) to know why I didn't go. "It's 100k and 3 years for something that I may not want." Her response, "How will you know until you do it?" My initial response was going to be 'I haven't snorted cocaine, but I'm pretty sure it's something I wouldn't enjoy,' but instead said, "It's too much money to do on a whim," and when she retorted that my parents would pay for it, I wanted to retort with, 'if you're so sure it's an investment, will you fund it?,' but instead bit my tongue and walked away.
Something to note is that her mother is insanely wealthy and subsidizes them to the point where they live in a $1.5M house, all 4 of their children go to an expensive private school, have a maid and Au Pair, and send their kids to private colleges...and to my knowledge. The oldest is 23, and I believe is going back for another degree because she isn't sure what she wants to do.
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It's so hard to make a good decision about education spending and student loans. I work for a university and we spend tons of money, like every school does, encouraging students to take programs that they might never use to get a real job. It's hard to know what stats to trust when it comes to making a good educational investment. I know many unemployed teachers, engineers and lawyers.
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The most Antimustachian thing I have ever done was lease a new Lexus. This was before I found MMM but was starting my minimalism phase. I turned it back in after the lease was up.
I let myself be talked into it because everyone kept telling me "I deserved it". It was a nice car and smooth ride, but I much prefer my hatchback which I paid cash for.
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I'm potentially looking at cutting my/our retirement and student loan savings from approximately 26-46% (depending on how you calculate it) to about 15%.
I suppose that it should be mentioned that the reasons behind this decision are pretty mustachian--we're weighing commutes, how big of an apartment (600sq ft vs 1200 sq ft) and happiness at jobs. But it still would hurt to bring down the savings rate that far, even if only for a short time.
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observer that she wasn't really into me, just getting off on the money and the attention.
Live and learn, they say.
*facepunches self*
All of my most anti mustachian decisions have been related to women in one way or another.
I consider them all learning experiences, though, necessary steps on the path to marrying someone better. It's hard to regret bad decisions if they lead you somewhere good.
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Sushi. Really good stuff, lots of it, sometimes several times a week, with sake. I don't want to do the math on how much we must have spent on it back then.
God I miss those days.
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I may do a bit of destashing at my next guild meeting - and send the money to the Yarn Harlot for this year's fund-raising bike tour. I have some very nice fibre that is not really the right colours for me, and now that I know the wonderfulness that is out there, I can get wonderful fibres that are also wonderful colours.
I do resist temptation - there were bags of alpaca fleece at our last meeting, really lovely feel and nice colours, and none of it came home with me.
What kind of electric spinner do you have? If I had no space I would get the Hansen.
Happily going OT to talk wheels.
Ah, you're getting me all excited to dive back into spinning when I retire. There's a reason that--despite my yen for destashing--I've held onto my production wheel and my best spindles, and it's not just because they're gorgeous.
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Sushi. Really good stuff, lots of it, sometimes several times a week, with sake. I don't want to do the math on how much we must have spent on it back then.
God I miss those days.
Never been a big fan of sake, but I LOVE sushi and could easily eat it each night. Thankfully been good about not splurging.
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I bought the DW an I-Phone 6 for Christmas.
Wait for it . . .
She dropped it in the bathtub!
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I fell off the wagon today... spent $360 on appliances/electronics, only $80 of which were actually necessary (mini-fridge). The new microwave, ice maker, and 2Tb hard drive not so much.
Also, I gambled away $250 last week. I hadn't gambled since last summer, when it took a lot of self-discipline to stop. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the urge hit me last week. It's self-sabotaging, as I'm five weeks away from being out of debt, which has been a 4-year, $50k journey.
I'm trying to figure out where this urge came from. Astrology, maybe? Right now my natal Mars is sextile to Jupiter, and the new moon is in Sagittarius, my sun sign. Jupiter makes me want to spend money I guess...
Edit: Holy crap, I just threw the online I Ching for this.
(http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b638/plutonianblue/ichinggambling_zpskl82ypka.png)
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Sushi. Really good stuff, lots of it, sometimes several times a week, with sake. I don't want to do the math on how much we must have spent on it back then.
God I miss those days.
I'm not sure I would consider sushi an indulgence and not a necessity. When I have the craving I just pick up some from the local supermarket. It's obviously not as nice as an expensive restaurant, but it's cheap, quick and will do in a pinch for an occasional lunch.
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"This can't miss," my cousin said. "Tech stocks are booming, and my company's router is better than Cisco's."
You know where this is going. I had not a whole lot of money at the time, but I found $10,000 to buy 100 shares of the IPO. And the stock shot up, nearly doubling in the first week. And thank God none of my friends listened to my advice to buy, buy, buy. Cause it came down, and in a hurry. And a couple years later, I had lost 99% on my first major investment.
An expensive lesson, but one well worth learning.
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Fortunately I've never been so clueless with money to get myself into any real trouble, like credit card debt or financing a new car, but two mistakes stand out:
1. Since I was in HS, I wanted an electric car, so I decided to build one. I spent about a month and $9500 (almost all the money to my name at the time) building it, then ran out of interest and decided to sell it off. I sold the half-converted car for $1250.
2. As you can imagine, it took a while to sell the half-converted electric vehicle, even with 95% of the parts included. So while it sat in my mother's garage, I continued to drive my old inherited Corolla that was in good condition and consistently got 33-35 MPG, no matter how much I abused it (51 when I really pushed it). Being a car guy, I hated that car, and secretly wished someone would rear end me so I could collect the insurance money and replace it with something more fun. As it turned out, an errant shift to 2nd gear at 85 MPH did the trick, necessitating a $2200 engine replacement. I elected to scrap the car and borrowed $1k from my mom (I had spent almost all my money on the electric car, remember?) to buy a 21-year-old, 19 MPG Volvo 940. While I liked that car, I only had it for one summer because it was nothing but constant problems-- I was at the pick-a-part yard almost every weekend getting parts to fix it. Sold it for $400 when the cat went out.
So to replace it, I bought a $1600 Buick Park Avenue Ultra. This was the first car I owned I freaking adored. I could just stare at that thing for hours. Unfortunately, it was shortly after this time I started reading MMM, and began to see the folly of owning such an impractical, luxurious, 240 HP monster that ate premium fuel at a rate of 16 MPG (with mild hypermiling!). So I sadly traded it in for a $2500, 202k mile Scion xB, which is my current car. Mild hypermiling gets me 36-37 MPG, and normal driving yields 30-32, which is plenty adequate.
But between these two mistakes, I estimate I'm out about $16k. Not nearly as bad as some of the stories here, but I could be so much better off right now if only I'd never started the EV conversion and never destroyed the Corolla. Live and learn I suppose.
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Bought a Worldmark timeshare that we have never made time to use. Extremely stupid; trying to figure out how to sell it now. I regret that decision.
We also restored and repowered an old 1970s vintage coastal flybridge cruiser. However, though unmustachian, both Hubby and I love it, and use it a lot - going out for day cruises, mostly, sometimes just as a tiny waterfront venue to sit and relax with a glass of wine. So I don't regret the boat.
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After my divorce, I walked out, plunked 7 grand down on a brand new Mercedes Benz..
I have since sold that thing.. But hey, I thought I "deserved something nice after my divorce"
Terrible logic indeed. The leather was soooooo comfy though... >.>
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I'm planning an antimustachian thing right now.
Here in Columbus, right across the street from campus, there was a beautiful burrito place called La Bamba (http://labambaburritos.com) that made these terrific dirt cheap burritos that were much closer to what you'd get out of a truck in San Diego than what you'd get from Chipotle and its imitators. It was run by a nice bunch of actual Mexicans who let me order in midwestern high school spanish every time, they had delicious horchata and free refills if you asked them how their day was going. Plus they had a mural of the 2002 national championship football team with burrito heads, a bit like this mural from Lousiville. Man I loved that place.
(http://i.imgur.com/HWtzo.jpg)
So of course it closed my second year on campus. Turns out they still exist in Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. So on my drive to Wisconsin for vacation next month I'm driving like half an hour out of the way to buy a fast food burrito. An hour of my time + SWMBO's time + $10 of gas. It's absolutely ridiculous and probably facepunch worthy, but it feels so worth it I might go again on the drive back home!
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Having a kid. Not only is it a definite increase in expense, but it's an increase in expense of unknown quantity and uncertain timing and duration. Generally a goal of financial planning is to minimize the unknowns so they can be more easily accounted for. At this point I know it delays my time to FI, but I don't know by how much. And I don't even know how the non-monetary benefits and costs will line up afterwards. So I'm definitely paying a lot for a whole lot of hassle, stress, etc. But maybe the kid will be wonderful enough to make up for it. Some day.
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Having a kid. Not only is it a definite increase in expense, but it's an increase in expense of unknown quantity and uncertain timing and duration. Generally a goal of financial planning is to minimize the unknowns so they can be more easily accounted for. At this point I know it delays my time to FI, but I don't know by how much. And I don't even know how the non-monetary benefits and costs will line up afterwards. So I'm definitely paying a lot for a whole lot of hassle, stress, etc. But maybe the kid will be wonderful enough to make up for it. Some day.
Its not all negative, you can probably get like 700$/month out of a kid once they grow up.
http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/rant-on-family (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/rant-on-family)
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Having a kid. Not only is it a definite increase in expense, but it's an increase in expense of unknown quantity and uncertain timing and duration. Generally a goal of financial planning is to minimize the unknowns so they can be more easily accounted for. At this point I know it delays my time to FI, but I don't know by how much. And I don't even know how the non-monetary benefits and costs will line up afterwards. So I'm definitely paying a lot for a whole lot of hassle, stress, etc. But maybe the kid will be wonderful enough to make up for it. Some day.
Its not all negative, you can probably get like 700$/month out of a kid once they grow up.
http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/rant-on-family (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/rant-on-family)
Cool, that's like a pension bump. I'll just have to make sure they don't find this forum or anyone else with any sense that they can talk to.
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I spent $300 on a heart shaped bracelette for my ex, she broke up a month later. That was well spent.... not....
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I spent $300 on a heart shaped bracelette for my ex, she broke up a month later. That was well spent.... not....
If that's all it cost you - I would consider that money very well spent !
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I bought a laptop, then bought another one immediately after. I only need one laptop.
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Anyone want to bring this thread back?
I spent $8K on a one week honeymoon. Worth it.
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Anyone want to bring this thread back?
I spent $8K on a one week honeymoon. Worth it.
Oh man, I totally forgot about this thread.
Most anti-mustachian would be financing a $10k SUV when we had a kid, should have bought a Toyota Matrix or Prius or something more efficient instead. The rest of my anti-mustachian tendencies are all "death by a thousand cuts" little things, a bit too much eating out or buying the odd little thing I don't need at a garage sale just because it was a deal, but damn it does tend to add up.
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After a 6 month long job search, finally landed one in a stable engineering company in summer of 2006. Bought my new wife a brand new Civic. Then she found a full-time job so bought a new Accord, about 6 weeks after the Civic. Both cars had 36-month loans, 20% down. Then I paid for her grad school using 0% credit card offers. Luckily she received an on-campus job as a graduate assistant the next semester which paid 80% of her tuition. I never had that much debt before, but we were both brought up in frugal families, so paid it off pretty fast. So fast that 4 years later we put down 25% on a 200k house. The horror of debt made us save constantly thus 2 years later we bought 2 rental condos, and had only $1000 in a savings account. Again the horrors made us save aggressively and we ended up buying a condo each year until 2015 when prices became stupid on rental units. We were uncomfortable with debt and with too much money in cash.
Accord lasted 11 years until insurance company wrote it off after minor fender bender.
Civic still running. Wife won't part with it, even though Florida Sun/UV is doing its thing on the rubber.
TL;DR: debt forced us to save, savings dumped into properties, rinse and repeat.
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Spent $200k on a cottage that incurs an additional $10k per year in club/resort fees. Oh...and it’s in a different country that involves $5000 in flights (for our family of 3) halfway around the world, so we only visit for a couple weeks each year.
Yes, being Mustachian did not factor into the decision making process.
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GF and I spent $800 on a 2 Michelin star dinner for ourselves and best friend when we were out in San Fran last summer. It was a treat for our friend who is an amazing chef and wanted to eat there for months. We justified it as acceptable as he housed us in San Fran for 3 weeks for free so it was a way for us to give back to him.
Also it was hands down one of the best dining experiences of our lives.
Probably wouldn't do it again.
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In retrospect, it was purchasing my current vehicle!
Over the past 3 years of ownership it's cost,
$6k in depreciation
$4k in insurance
$4k in premium gas
$1k in maintenance
$15k Total Cost Of Ownership
$5k/yr total.....which is ~25% of my total spending over those years.
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$4k insurance over three years? Holy smokes! Are you a 20-year-old driving a 'vette?
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I occasionally do unmustachian things. Most recently I paid a bill where a check was cut from my online banking account. I didn't really pay attention to which account I had selected for this bill to be paid, and so I overdrafted that account. Got hit with $30 fee. Dumb and annoying.
I get really annoyed by things like that. 2 weeks ago, I was stuck in Paris airport waiting for a connection. Bought a coffee with the wrong card, which had high foreign transaction fees, instead of the CC with zero fees, and paid more than the cost of the coffee in fees.
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$4k insurance over three years? Holy smokes! Are you a 20-year-old driving a 'vette?
Nope, sadly the rate on a RWD sports luxury car in my HCOL area is ~$670/6 months for full coverage. I have an impeccable driving record over the past 16 years, with 0 moving violations, and drive <10k miles a year.
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$4k insurance over three years? Holy smokes! Are you a 20-year-old driving a 'vette?
Nope, sadly the rate on a RWD sports luxury car in my HCOL area is ~$670/6 months for full coverage. I have an impeccable driving record over the past 16 years, with 0 moving violations, and drive <10k miles a year.
Ah, so not a 20-year-old, but driving something more expensive than a 'vette :)
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GF and I spent $800 on a 2 Michelin star dinner for ourselves and best friend when we were out in San Fran last summer. It was a treat for our friend who is an amazing chef and wanted to eat there for months. We justified it as acceptable as he housed us in San Fran for 3 weeks for free so it was a way for us to give back to him.
Also it was hands down one of the best dining experiences of our lives.
Probably wouldn't do it again.
Sounds amazing. It's always easier for me to blow large amounts of money when I'm being generous with it too, in your case taking your friend out.
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I hired (and still do) someone to come in every 2 weeks and clean the house.
And honestly I have no regrets. Among other things, it's eliminated about 80% of the arguing between my spouse and I, and the cleaner is cheaper than therapy.
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I hired (and still do) someone to come in every 2 weeks and clean the house.
And honestly I have no regrets. Among other things, it's eliminated about 80% of the arguing between my spouse and I, and the cleaner is cheaper than therapy.
Do you mind if I ask how much you spend on this, and how many bd/br your house is?
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I was young, stupid, heartbroken, and drunk. I spent an evening drinking really quite a lot of wine and calling phone psychics, and racked up nearly $400 in calls - pretty much all the money I had when I was an impoverished student. They said he loved me and we'd be together. As it turned out, they were wrong and apparently not psychic at all!!
Not a lot of money in the big scheme of things, but surely I'd win some kind of prize for sheer idiocy. My children can never know it happened.
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I hired (and still do) someone to come in every 2 weeks and clean the house.
And honestly I have no regrets. Among other things, it's eliminated about 80% of the arguing between my spouse and I, and the cleaner is cheaper than therapy.
Do you mind if I ask how much you spend on this, and how many bd/br your house is?
I don't mind. :) We have a reasonably large house (the joys and restrictions of country living...), and don't use/clean the basement regularly. The top 2 floors is 3 bedrooms, 1 full bathroom and 1 half-bath, a very large kitchen/dining area, large living room, library/play area, and entryway. Getting that reasonably clean takes me 6 hours and takes my housecleaner 4, and runs 70$CAD every 2 weeks (roughly 50$ for americans).
Honestly: every week would be overkill, but with 4 people and a cat, by the time she comes, it NEEDS cleaning - visibly.
... and to be blunt: the cleaning has to happen (well, I guess living in filth is an option, but not one I can deal with), and my options are either to do it while we're at home with the kids (... um, I wanna spend time with the kids, or with the husband), cut my hours at work by a half-day and do it myself (I HATE it, and make more than I pay her for that half-day of cleaning so it would be a stupid financial move), or outsource it. Given our income... this works for our family as the best of all options.
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As a teenager, I took on mid-five figures of student debt to get a BA without any viable career plan.
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Plans? People have plans? I was so stupid back then (and only marginally better now) that the only reason I don't have student debt is because I couldn't figure out where to sign up for it. /s j/k
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Plans? People have plans? I was so stupid back then (and only marginally better now) that the only reason I don't have student debt is because I couldn't figure out where to sign up for it. /s j/k
I lol'd.
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1. In 1987, in my 4th year of university, a salesman came to our fraternity to sign upperclassmen to join a buyer’s club (CBN: The Computerized Buying Network) for all sorts of household goods. For the bargain price of a $1,000 lifetime membership, we were assured of dramatically reduced prices on furniture, major appliances, kitchen wares, you name it.
The pitch went something like, “You guys will be graduating from school and starting to earn some real money, and you’ll be moving out of University housing so you’ll need to furnish an apartment/house soon.” And we were like, “Hell yes, we’re about to be making bank; this totally makes sense; we would be stupid NOT to join.”
A dozen of us signed contracts and started making monthly payments. Immediate regret. Especially for me because I wouldn’t be graduating for another year (and my first post-college job would end up paying $5/hour), so $1,000 was a shit ton of money for me at the time. One of my classmates actually did start at a well-paying job and went to place an order for furniture: “Ok, your couch and chairs will be delivered in 24 months.”
2. Several years into my next job, my salary had increased quite a bit. I bought a house (just paid it off last year—no regrets!) and was tired of parking my big-ass Ford F150 pickup. My girlfriend (now wife) had finished her master’s degree and wanted to upgrade from her utilitarian and rattling Toyota 4Runner, so we both went to the Infiniti dealership. Ugh. I got a black FX35 SUV (because at my salary, I deserved it and could afford it [face punch] and she got a red G35 sport coupe. Each about $40,000 at the time. At least we both got 0% financing. I bet the salesman went out for a celebratory dinner that night. I have to credit the FX35 for making me realize that owning expensive shit wasn’t improving my hate for my well-paying job and what I really wanted was freedom from the obligation to work. I traded it in for a Subaru Outback which I still happily drive 12 years later. As for the G35, it was a blast to drive and it looked very sexy. When we got it home we discovered that it sat so low that the undercarriage scraped the driveway! She had to back it in (after I took a grinder to the cracked high spot of concrete!). The proverbial last straw came when she went to replace the thin, wide sport tires –designed to wear quickly for maximum traction -- and shelled out about $2,500.
I’m happy to report that today I am debt free and about 7 months from fat FIRE.
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I hired (and still do) someone to come in every 2 weeks and clean the house.
And honestly I have no regrets. Among other things, it's eliminated about 80% of the arguing between my spouse and I, and the cleaner is cheaper than therapy.
Do you mind if I ask how much you spend on this, and how many bd/br your house is?
I don't mind. :) We have a reasonably large house (the joys and restrictions of country living...), and don't use/clean the basement regularly. The top 2 floors is 3 bedrooms, 1 full bathroom and 1 half-bath, a very large kitchen/dining area, large living room, library/play area, and entryway. Getting that reasonably clean takes me 6 hours and takes my housecleaner 4, and runs 70$CAD every 2 weeks (roughly 50$ for americans).
Honestly: every week would be overkill, but with 4 people and a cat, by the time she comes, it NEEDS cleaning - visibly.
... and to be blunt: the cleaning has to happen (well, I guess living in filth is an option, but not one I can deal with), and my options are either to do it while we're at home with the kids (... um, I wanna spend time with the kids, or with the husband), cut my hours at work by a half-day and do it myself (I HATE it, and make more than I pay her for that half-day of cleaning so it would be a stupid financial move), or outsource it. Given our income... this works for our family as the best of all options.
$100 USD/month for someone else to keep your house clean? That actually sounds so nice.
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I hired (and still do) someone to come in every 2 weeks and clean the house.
And honestly I have no regrets. Among other things, it's eliminated about 80% of the arguing between my spouse and I, and the cleaner is cheaper than therapy.
Do you mind if I ask how much you spend on this, and how many bd/br your house is?
I don't mind. :) We have a reasonably large house (the joys and restrictions of country living...), and don't use/clean the basement regularly. The top 2 floors is 3 bedrooms, 1 full bathroom and 1 half-bath, a very large kitchen/dining area, large living room, library/play area, and entryway. Getting that reasonably clean takes me 6 hours and takes my housecleaner 4, and runs 70$CAD every 2 weeks (roughly 50$ for americans).
Honestly: every week would be overkill, but with 4 people and a cat, by the time she comes, it NEEDS cleaning - visibly.
... and to be blunt: the cleaning has to happen (well, I guess living in filth is an option, but not one I can deal with), and my options are either to do it while we're at home with the kids (... um, I wanna spend time with the kids, or with the husband), cut my hours at work by a half-day and do it myself (I HATE it, and make more than I pay her for that half-day of cleaning so it would be a stupid financial move), or outsource it. Given our income... this works for our family as the best of all options.
+1
We finally pulled the trigger when kid #1 was a year old (he's 13 now). Husband was resistant, but we were both fucking exhausted. And we finally found someone recommended highly. Until then, my friends say "she's great but has a long wait list" or "she's great but doesn't do DEEP cleaning". Um...I want deep cleaning?
12 years later, small house (1100 sf, or thereabouts, 1 bath) and we still have the service. $75 every 2 weeks. Has never ever gone up. I think she loves us because we kept going during the downturn (because of course we did, we had a second kid and were even more exhausted!)
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ever... probably buying a $21.5k used car.... before my mustachian days.
In 2013 I decided to "upgrade" my 2005 Galant with 100k miles for a 4 year old fully loaded Nissan Maxima. It was mint condition 27k miles from a private/original seller. Rear camera, panoramic roof, leather seat, cooled and heated driver seat, memory seats that move in and out as you get in, keyless entry... fast!
I loved the car (still do) but in 2015 after I "rediscovered' MMM and got myself together I began slowly regretting the decision. I went to CarMax a few times and saw my car's value depriciate like a rock over a few years. I decided to "keep" the car until it dies since, you know.... I already lost like $10k value over 3 years, and the car was rather reliable. Ove the years it kept grinding me that I spent sooo much, and it uses premium fuel @ mediocre 20-21mpg. I really wanted to get a Wagon! Then BAM one day I got rear ended. Not only my baby took a hit, so did it resale value :(
Last year I finally decided to pull the trigger, if I found a great deal on a wagon I would go for it and sell the Nissan for what it's worth.
Got myself a 2016 Golf Sportwagen with 67k miles for $8.8k, a great deal. I couldnt bear to sell the Nissan to another person so I will sell it to my parents. The bonus they are getting is that I already did $800 worth of DIY maintenance (trans fluid, break fluid, coolant, break pads, rotors) and repairs(suspension front and back, camshaft sensor) to make sure that they dont have to touch anything on it for a while.
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The > $15k vacation.
Granted, it lasted 2+ weeks, took me to the other side of the globe, and included multiple bucket list items(including scuba at the Great Barrier Reef), but still... that's a lot of money, to the tune of ~$1k/day. Could have done most of it at much less expense, but I wasn't the one planning.
Probably the only time in my life I've had sticker shock associated with a particular expense.
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I LOVE my cleaning lady and would never give her up. $120 every two weeks but it keeps me happy in my home and in my marriage.
I once bought a $1200 silk jumpsuit because I was ending a chapter in my life and it felt like a fitting farewell. 7 years later, I've worn it three times.
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when I was 25 I spent 1/2 a year's salary on a car ($30k)
Liked it so much when I was 30 I spent 2/3 a year's salary on a car ($100k)
And I'm planning when I'm 38 (in a few years' time) to spend 3/4 year's salary on a car ($200k) - presuming my salary makes it that far. Here's hoping.
However, my fraction skills are not that great and I think that will be the last car I ever purchase. By the way I don't even commute. These cars are just daily/track toys.
I realise this is very face-punchable but frankly, I like my toys, I like my revs and the rest of my finances are well sorted so I don't have much difficulty justifying it. I think everyone ought to be allowed to splurge as long as he/she knows exactly what he/she is sacrificing. In my case, I could have FIRED 3-4 years younger if I never bought and drove the cars I did - and I'm okay with that sacrifice.
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I often buy expensive top of the line drums to only play them for a year or so and them sell them for another drumset. This also includes cymbals and hardware.
I justify my purchases because I typically get paid ~$100 or more when I do play out.
Another expensive habit of mine are luxury cars. I love German engineering.
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Gah, pretty much anything involving internal combustion engines.
I dabbled in various forms of auto racing. Then got into motorcycles to "save" money.
Maybe it's just a thing young men do.
I think I finally started getting a clue when I shared an elevator ride with two long time competitors and one remarked to to the other: "Man, what if we had put all this money we've spent on racing into property or something?"
The sad, awkward silence that followed was indeed both sad and awkward.
Thankfully I found bicycles. While they can still be somewhat spendy, I find them way, way more fun than cars or motorcycles ever were. I wish I had figured that out sooner.
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I'll offer
The summer I was 14 I worked two jobs and literally tracked my finances to the penny... Then I spent it all on a snowmobile. It was used, I paid cash, and I enjoyed the heck out of it for the rest of high school but I can't pretend it was a wise choice
When I went to college I "invested" in new macbook pro. I seriously considered buying apple stock with the money but still thought investing in stocks was something only rich people did... I'd be completely fired now if I bought the stock.
I stayed on campus for most of college even though it cost twice as much because high speed internet wasn't available anywhere else in the town.
Fortunately I've otherwise been generally frugal and was borderline obsessed with it by the time I finished college. I do wish I'd learned I wasn't the only one sooner.
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I bought these when I was in high school. Not the best use of $1500CAD. To be fair, I didn't really have anyone around me with financial sense, and I still have those cans, and they've held up beautifully.
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I hired (and still do) someone to come in every 2 weeks and clean the house.
And honestly I have no regrets. Among other things, it's eliminated about 80% of the arguing between my spouse and I, and the cleaner is cheaper than therapy.
Do you mind if I ask how much you spend on this, and how many bd/br your house is?
I don't mind. :) We have a reasonably large house (the joys and restrictions of country living...), and don't use/clean the basement regularly. The top 2 floors is 3 bedrooms, 1 full bathroom and 1 half-bath, a very large kitchen/dining area, large living room, library/play area, and entryway. Getting that reasonably clean takes me 6 hours and takes my housecleaner 4, and runs 70$CAD every 2 weeks (roughly 50$ for americans).
Honestly: every week would be overkill, but with 4 people and a cat, by the time she comes, it NEEDS cleaning - visibly.
... and to be blunt: the cleaning has to happen (well, I guess living in filth is an option, but not one I can deal with), and my options are either to do it while we're at home with the kids (... um, I wanna spend time with the kids, or with the husband), cut my hours at work by a half-day and do it myself (I HATE it, and make more than I pay her for that half-day of cleaning so it would be a stupid financial move), or outsource it. Given our income... this works for our family as the best of all options.
$100 USD/month for someone else to keep your house clean? That actually sounds so nice.
Yeah, I'd like to do this, but it would be $150 per cleaning in my area for a two bedroom apartment.
u/Kitsune, did you notice that you didn't even register it as an option that your husband could do the cleaning? I hope you're not passing on this internalized "cleaning is a woman's job" message to your children.
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A leftist.
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A leftist.
Hah!
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I hired (and still do) someone to come in every 2 weeks and clean the house.
And honestly I have no regrets. Among other things, it's eliminated about 80% of the arguing between my spouse and I, and the cleaner is cheaper than therapy.
Do you mind if I ask how much you spend on this, and how many bd/br your house is?
I don't mind. :) We have a reasonably large house (the joys and restrictions of country living...), and don't use/clean the basement regularly. The top 2 floors is 3 bedrooms, 1 full bathroom and 1 half-bath, a very large kitchen/dining area, large living room, library/play area, and entryway. Getting that reasonably clean takes me 6 hours and takes my housecleaner 4, and runs 70$CAD every 2 weeks (roughly 50$ for americans).
Honestly: every week would be overkill, but with 4 people and a cat, by the time she comes, it NEEDS cleaning - visibly.
... and to be blunt: the cleaning has to happen (well, I guess living in filth is an option, but not one I can deal with), and my options are either to do it while we're at home with the kids (... um, I wanna spend time with the kids, or with the husband), cut my hours at work by a half-day and do it myself (I HATE it, and make more than I pay her for that half-day of cleaning so it would be a stupid financial move), or outsource it. Given our income... this works for our family as the best of all options.
$100 USD/month for someone else to keep your house clean? That actually sounds so nice.
Yeah, I'd like to do this, but it would be $150 per cleaning in my area for a two bedroom apartment.
u/Kitsune, did you notice that you didn't even register it as an option that your husband could do the cleaning? I hope you're not passing on this internalized "cleaning is a woman's job" message to your children.
No, no - note that I wrote that WE can clean on weekends (if we give up time together or with the kids - bad bargain). It's extremely externalized and household work split is something we discuss and actually split 50%. If you mean the option of me working fewer hours vs him : my job is flexible and I could, his is categorically not and not an option. It's a logistics/job issue, not a gender issue.
Though that's worth discussing on its own, mind - because having one partner with a job that flexes means that it's damned easy to flex it into a smaller thing to take on more family work, so resisting that has to be conscious. From both of us.
... and since the people with flexible/perceived flexible jobs tend to be women, in my circles, that's also something I see a lot. We're aware of it and I WON'T (like, if the kids are sick, we trade off on use of sick days, barring extremely important engagements from either of us. That's worked out to an even split, but it would be so easy for me to flex time and cover it all... but it's a shared responsibility and also my work is important so no) but for anyone else, it's definitely something to be aware of.
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I once bought a $1200 silk jumpsuit because I was ending a chapter in my life and it felt like a fitting farewell. 7 years later, I've worn it three times.
Ok. Now I don’t feel quite as bad that yesterday I spent $230 on a white lace jumpsuit from Anthropologie.
Still, not a good decision. I don’t know what I was thinking other than that I’ve finally lost enough weight that I can just walk into an Anthropologie and buy something for the first time in my life. And the salesperson convinced me that if I just dress it down with a denim jacket I could wear it anywhere.
Probably the most antimustachian thing we’ve done is buying the big loft style condo in the south loop with a $200k mortgage when we had a sweet but much smaller condo in the near suburbs that was completely paid off. But now we can walk to work and that’s sort of mustachian, right?
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Can i just say that I love jumpsuits. The pre-mustachian me would have been all over that white lace jumpsuit. Although I'd probably also spill someting on it within a week of purchase.
Most of my non-mustachian things were clothing related. I love clothes but realized that FIRE is more important and I have enough in my closet already.
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White clothes, white upholstery, white carpet, white car interiors - nope 'cause white is like a dirt magnet. My touch or ownership may multiply the magnetic effect. Not sure.
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First class plane tickets from east coast US to Australia for my teenage daughter and me. Because we are worth it. Maximally un-mustachian. Definitely delayed FIRE a teeny bit.
And now I want to fly first class every time I go overseas, so I upgraded first class on the way to Europe this summer.
I suck.
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To celebrate breaking 6 figures of cash in the bank, I furnished my living room with a ton of expensive furniture. Between the lounge chair, shelves, couch, rug and coffee table, I spent about $30,000 altogether.
Never again. I love my space and think it looks cool, but probably wouldn’t have the nerve to do it again knowing how much better it would be to invest it.
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White clothes, white upholstery, white carpet, white car interiors - nope 'cause white is like a dirt magnet. My touch or ownership may multiply the magnetic effect. Not sure.
Agreed. It's one reason why I was hesitant to buy an ipod in the beginning. The charger cable and the ear buds are white and you want how much for them???
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And apparently one version of the device doesn't necessarily work with another version of the earbuds so says my DW.
A generic 1/8" stereo jack along with generic bluetooth audio is better... Something proprietary is better for Apple.
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I bought a 2019 Toyota 4 Runner 6 months ago. With cash. I've been retired for 12+ years. The 30k+ won't have any impact on my lifestyle. I've driven beaters nearly all my life. This should last me a year or two.
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I bought a 2019 Toyota 4 Runner 6 months ago. With cash. I've been retired for 12+ years. The 30k+ won't have any impact on my lifestyle. I've driven beaters nearly all my life. This should last me a year decade or two.
FTFY.
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Welp, ok I'll bite.
Mine is antimustachian, yes - but worth it.
I am a low-income earner who optimizes most/all other areas, yet I go to a Crossfit gym. YUP, I do.
I hack the heck out of my membership, paying for it yearly for the biggest discount (vs. monthly), with a card for cash back, and negotiating an extra month into every annual package I buy, yet it's still about $82/month and it is so so so so so so so so so....so so so so so so (<---wanted to ad a few more there...) worth it for me. :p I would say broken down weekly, it brings me 40-50% of my joy for the week, plus I get to have a community, work on my health, and I can carry a dresser for my elderly neighbor by myself in a pinch (last weekend).
Être fort pour être utile and all that, you know?
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I joined the military to get the GI Bill to finish school. During my six-year contract, I had paid-for housing (awful as it was), an additional stipend for food half the time (and free awful food the other half), lived less than ten miles from where I worked, and had two years of untaxed income (and huge pay raises) thanks to a couple deployments. Out of that (I estimated $150k before taxes), all I had to show for it was a nice motorcycle, $20k in debt paid off, and about $6k invested. I knew that I should be investing, but just didn't care.
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Investing? When I was in the military (pre-internet) I barely knew what the word meant. I had some savings bonds that I later cashed out to buy my first motorcycle post-military. Not smart.
Six years of stupidity but I was alot smarter going out than I was going in. All relative right?
Over the next few years it dawned on me that I needed to make smarter choices in order to get ahead otherwise face just scraping by forever.
I earned an engineering degree using my GI Bill. Met DW. We worked alot of odd jobs. DW earned two more degrees.
DW and I have been gaining momentum ever since. She helped set me straight.
The next time I'm 25 years old, I have a few things to do right but sooner like learning about compound interest....
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Got divorced and kept the house. Ouch.
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For me, my most anti-mmm purchases would be related to my car hobby, particularly my current "toy". I'm not sorry I bought it but it wasn't a great financial decision.
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Got divorced and kept the house. Ouch.
got divorced and kept the mortgage....
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Mine is antimustachian, yes - but worth it.
I am a low-income earner who optimizes most/all other areas, yet I go to a Crossfit gym. YUP, I do.
Nah man, a gym membership doesn't have to be antimustachian. You can get a lot of value out of a membership. Just look at the guys who live in vans and shower at their gym. The gym membership you don't use is antimustachian.
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Mine is antimustachian, yes - but worth it.
I am a low-income earner who optimizes most/all other areas, yet I go to a Crossfit gym. YUP, I do.
Nah man, a gym membership doesn't have to be antimustachian. You can get a lot of value out of a membership. Just look at the guys who live in vans and shower at their gym. The gym membership you don't use is antimustachian.
Thank you. :)
I've also been trying to shower there whenever I don't have to go back to work asap (the water savings vs going back to work favors going back to work, unless I'm off for the rest of the day).
I've tried to think of every possible way to hack it so that I can enjoy it relatively guilt free. :)
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We just got back from Disney World. Stayed on the property, got the meal plan.
But at least I wasn't one of the folks walking around with $40 mouse ears that I'll never wear after going back home.
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We just got back from Disney World. Stayed on the property, got the meal plan.
But at least I wasn't one of the folks walking around with $40 mouse ears that I'll never wear after going back home.
Hey, you can buy the mouse ears at the thrift store for $5 before you go, and wear them at the property.
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Buying a new car (~$21k) in 2014 from a brand that had a reputation of abysmal resale. I had no business taking on debt at that time in my life either. Car itself only had one problem in the first year (clutch master cylinder covered under warranty) and was reliable overall and kinda fun, but final straw was when the company killed off that model, foiling my plans to do some tinkering to it. After 4 years it had lost about 65% of its value. There are some regrets with that purchase.
Last year I traded it for a 5 year old certified pre-owned 335i; paid about $14k after trade. I'm earning substantially more than I was in 2014, with only one debt left (mortgage). The 335i had already lost the bulk of its value before I purchased (and has barely depreciated at all over the last year); freaking love that car. One of the fastest cars I've ever driven, really comfortable and fun to drive and just feels solid; gets a very respectable 33ish mpg on the highway for a turbo 6 cylinder. Not mustachian at all but no regrets with this one. Cue the BMW haters; and for the record I've had 0 issues with it which is already ahead of the brand new car I bought in 2014.
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Buying a new car (~$21k) in 2014 from a brand that had a reputation of abysmal resale. I had no business taking on debt at that time in my life either. Car itself only had one problem in the first year (clutch master cylinder covered under warranty) and was reliable overall and kinda fun, but final straw was when the company killed off that model, foiling my plans to do some tinkering to it. After 4 years it had lost about 65% of its value. There are some regrets with that purchase.
Last year I traded it for a 5 year old certified pre-owned 335i; paid about $14k after trade. I'm earning substantially more than I was in 2014, with only one debt left (mortgage). The 335i had already lost the bulk of its value before I purchased (and has barely depreciated at all over the last year); freaking love that car. One of the fastest cars I've ever driven, really comfortable and fun to drive and just feels solid; gets a very respectable 33ish mpg on the highway for a turbo 6 cylinder. Not mustachian at all but no regrets with this one. Cue the BMW haters; and for the record I've had 0 issues with it which is already ahead of the brand new car I bought in 2014.
How much do you budget annually for routine maintenance? I agree that 3-5year BMWs coming off lease have a huge depreciation pre-built in... but before I almost bought one, I did a double take on the oil change / routine maintenance costs, even just parts costs, so I would love your input here.
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Buying a new car (~$21k) in 2014 from a brand that had a reputation of abysmal resale. I had no business taking on debt at that time in my life either. Car itself only had one problem in the first year (clutch master cylinder covered under warranty) and was reliable overall and kinda fun, but final straw was when the company killed off that model, foiling my plans to do some tinkering to it. After 4 years it had lost about 65% of its value. There are some regrets with that purchase.
Last year I traded it for a 5 year old certified pre-owned 335i; paid about $14k after trade. I'm earning substantially more than I was in 2014, with only one debt left (mortgage). The 335i had already lost the bulk of its value before I purchased (and has barely depreciated at all over the last year); freaking love that car. One of the fastest cars I've ever driven, really comfortable and fun to drive and just feels solid; gets a very respectable 33ish mpg on the highway for a turbo 6 cylinder. Not mustachian at all but no regrets with this one. Cue the BMW haters; and for the record I've had 0 issues with it which is already ahead of the brand new car I bought in 2014.
How much do you budget annually for routine maintenance? I agree that 3-5year BMWs coming off lease have a huge depreciation pre-built in... but before I almost bought one, I did a double take on the oil change / routine maintenance costs, even just parts costs, so I would love your input here.
Sure - as far as routine maintenance so far, I've only had to do brake fluid change on the 335. That was ~$140, and only done every 24 months I believe (but it's the CBS system so YMMV). I actually will spend the same, if not more on oil changes on my 15 year old beater Jeep (~$70 per 12 quart case of dinosaur oil, each change taking 6 quarts + plus filter) doing it myself since that has to be changed every 3k miles. The 335 can go 10-12k between changes (or more), albeit much more expense; probably $130. I put about 8k miles on the BMW each year.
So as far as maintenance budget goes: I expect to spend a few hundred a year on maintenance on the Jeep + 335. I do the majority of the work myself, which as of now is almost all Jeep stuff. I won't touch the 335 myself until it's out of CPO warranty. I am reasonably confident working on vehicles myself; yes I know BMW is its own world of maintenance, but youtube is your friend.
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In 2011 when I moved back to the US I bought a used Audi A4 for $28.500 in full. Will never do that again. I wised up in the meantime, also thanks to MMM.
At least I am still driving it and plan to do so until it can’t crawl anymore.
The now realized opportunity cost makes me a bit dizzy :)
But wait, there is more!
I had a 6 figure sum saved in 2011 and just didn’t know what to do with it so I just let it sit on my bank account for like forever. Simply moving it into a Vanguard index fund would have put me lightyears ahead by now. Oof! Being uneducated costs a lot of money, here’s the proof!
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when I was 25 I spent 1/2 a year's salary on a car ($30k)
Liked it so much when I was 30 I spent 2/3 a year's salary on a car ($100k)
And I'm planning when I'm 38 (in a few years' time) to spend 3/4 year's salary on a car ($200k) - presuming my salary makes it that far. Here's hoping.
However, my fraction skills are not that great and I think that will be the last car I ever purchase. By the way I don't even commute. These cars are just daily/track toys.
I realise this is very face-punchable but frankly, I like my toys, I like my revs and the rest of my finances are well sorted so I don't have much difficulty justifying it. I think everyone ought to be allowed to splurge as long as he/she knows exactly what he/she is sacrificing. In my case, I could have FIRED 3-4 years younger if I never bought and drove the cars I did - and I'm okay with that sacrifice.
Just curious, do you mind sharing what the 100k and 200k cars are?
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triathlons. prob 10k for the gear and the bikes and the races
i only lasted 3-4 years on that hobby, too
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triathlons. prob 10k for the gear and the bikes and the races
i only lasted 3-4 years on that hobby, too
Scuba Diving.... I don't think we spent that much (10k) for the lessons and gear, mayber $5k-$8k in today's values...and we did get a lot of experiences out of it, so it is not the worst thing... but it was a spendy thing.
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The most anti-mustachian thing that we have done and continue to do is bike racing. My two sons and I are all doing it, and we have thousands of dollars tied up in bikes for a 4yo, 6yo and one adult (we will all have two racing bikes each as of a birthday next month). I got most of the bike parts used or on good sales so theoretically we could sell them to recoup most of the cost, but in practice this is difficult to do. Mostly we pay about $60 per week to race, but this weekend there are two big races and the cost will be almost $300 for one weekend.
We did not even know about this sport (racing vs. recreational) a year and a half ago, but my kids were really good riding bikes and I found out about this league. I took them and after a couple times they were completely hooked and this is all that they want to do, and they are really good at it. I am not so good, but it's something that we can all do as a family and I think it is actually worth the thousands of dollars per year. Our house is paid off and we are maxing out all retirement accounts, etc.
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when I was 25 I spent 1/2 a year's salary on a car ($30k)
Liked it so much when I was 30 I spent 2/3 a year's salary on a car ($100k)
And I'm planning when I'm 38 (in a few years' time) to spend 3/4 year's salary on a car ($200k) - presuming my salary makes it that far. Here's hoping.
However, my fraction skills are not that great and I think that will be the last car I ever purchase. By the way I don't even commute. These cars are just daily/track toys.
I realise this is very face-punchable but frankly, I like my toys, I like my revs and the rest of my finances are well sorted so I don't have much difficulty justifying it. I think everyone ought to be allowed to splurge as long as he/she knows exactly what he/she is sacrificing. In my case, I could have FIRED 3-4 years younger if I never bought and drove the cars I did - and I'm okay with that sacrifice.
Just curious, do you mind sharing what the 100k and 200k cars are?
Completely guessing as I'm not the OP but am/was a motorsports guy and did a similar thing.
$100K: M3
$200k: AMG GT/MacLaren 600LT or similar
I went M156 C63 for the street giggles. Previous purchase was an S2000. Still have both. I'd argue the S2000 turned out to be very mustachian.
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In the pre-cell phone days when you would carry around a long distance card like a credit card - I made a $150 long distance call.
I called from Australia to Africa but it routed through the US. It was $2.50 per minute and we talked for an hour. Yikes!!
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In the pre-cell phone days when you would carry around a long distance card like a credit card - I made a $150 long distance call.
I called from Australia to Africa but it routed through the US. It was $2.50 per minute and we talked for an hour. Yikes!!
Did you find out which direction the toilets flush?
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My husband and I bought a NordicTrack treadmill retail from the NordicTrack store in the mall.
When we were grad students.
We took so long to admit that we weren't going to use it regularly that by the time we were prepared to get rid of it, we'd lost some of the parts. So we couldn't even sell it.