Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)

[Sugaree]

Wow! Great job! Keep surfing CL, FBM, etc. Something suitable it bound to turn up eventually.

You were right!  I found a beautiful 1920s slip shade chandelier on FB marketplace for about 1/4 of the price of any of the others I've seen online.  If I'd had a place to put them, I'd have picked up the wall sconces that she too. 

[Alternatepriorities]

There is always a street name? Never been to a village with 3 houses I guess.

I was amazed when I ran into an online form that wouldn't let me enter an address on Broadway. No, ALL addresses have to have something like "Elm Street" or "Maple Avenue". Not just a single word "Broadway." I finally just entered "Broad Way." But surely it's one of the most famous streets in the world, plus a very common one; and you didn't think to code for it?

Another favorite was a government website where you reserved some kind of parking passes, and it had day, month, year, and a drop-down for CE/BCE in case you needed a parking permit for precisely four thousand years ago on Tuesday.

Growing up in rural Alaska the lack of a real address was a minor inconvenience. We had street names, but there were no house numbers and everyone had a PO box. Locally you could just say "Street name, first left". We making an order over the phone you could either ask the seller to use the postal service or explain how other shipping companies like FedEx and UPS had agreements to include their packages with USPS. They would enter something like "street name, PO BOX #" and it would arrive eventually. The the internet came along and trying to convince the shipping systems the package will actually reach you has been a crap shoot ever since... Some companies it's no problem, some you can enter a pseudo address for, and some just won't ship to Alaska at all. In some villages packages from FedEx and UPS just get shipped to the airport and then they call you. More than once I had to call customer service to convince them that sending a package to my made up address would indeed work. Sometimes a few stories about -60 temps or bears in town are required to bribe them into trying it...

Sometime in the early 2000s as part of the "terrorism fight" the federal government added a requirement for banking that people provide their physical address to open accounts. The US postal service must have some kind of database of real addresses because making one up using your street and PO box doesn't work. The only solution I'm aware of is to use the physical address of the post office (which is in the system) for the town you live in and treat the PO box number like and apt number. And I thought my friends apartment in Seoul was small...

[glacio09]

I've mentioned on this forum that I have a pretty sweet rental set up going. It's a symbiotic relationship where she is elderly and doesn't have to renovate or even do much maintenance, but she doesn't raise the rent. Well we got a phone call yesterday from her lawyer about getting an appraisal for her estate. Heart rate goes immediately threw the roof. Turns out it's just her getting her will in order, but still. There may be some big changes coming and I'm freaking out. Financially we're fine and actually (why this is an MPP) we have the cash to either rent or buy just about anywhere, but it's difficult figuring out what would be the "best" answer. Coasting along with status quo is so much easier...

[crocheted_stache]

I sold a bitcoin (so that my other 2 are now 'free' and I'll hodl forever), have to sell 1/10th of an inherited IRA which keeps going up in value, and got a promotion with 10% raise and bonus...  and all I can think about is all the friggin taxes I'm going to be paying on all this!  I don't need the money!!!  I've reached ultimate MPP

I got a promotion too with a ~10% raise (due to the large difference in pay scales) and after that I got another 10% because of the union negotiated increase for all pay scales.
The funny part is, I've got less responsibilities, more time to invest in polishing my tech skills (really diving deep) and a lot of satisfaction from my business interactions because appearently I'm doing what my other teammates don't.

I'm kind of flabbergasted with the amount left over at the end of the month, so I doubled my input on the index fund and am still left with ~3k euro. I guess I'm going to spend some time to get my HAM license...

DH just got a pretty nice bonus and a stock grant amounting to about an extra year's salary, vesting over three years. We're FI and then some already, and not RE mainly because it's tough to leave with the fire hose still gushing, and his employer just cranked it up. Time to top up the DAF, I guess.

Regarding A. Quack's promotion, I believe many more companies should have a technical track, where senior people get to do their thing really well and maybe teach or guide those with less experience, without managing people or spending every business hour in meetings if that's not their thing. I'm glad if the new version of your gig is going well for you.

[Taran Wanderer]

I was trying to create the at my previous employer. I got zero traction from HR. In fact, they wouldn’t even have a conversation about it. Shoot, they wouldn’t even take the time to list our various technical training programs on a PowerPoint slide. It gives me serious doubts about the ability of our business leaders to manage companies and that actually do technical things. How can you effectively advance the state of the art in whatever (engineering, manufacturing, construction, healthcare) if you don’t have the first clue about the actual activity being managed?

[BicycleB]

I was trying to create the at my previous employer. I got zero traction from HR. In fact, they wouldn’t even have a conversation about it. Shoot, they wouldn’t even take the time to list our various technical training programs on a PowerPoint slide. It gives me serious doubts about the ability of our business leaders to manage companies and that actually do technical things. How can you effectively advance the state of the art in whatever (engineering, manufacturing, construction, healthcare) if you don’t have the first clue about the actual activity being managed?

My MPP is I know all the answers* but no one listens because I don't work anywhere, being retired and all.

Sounds like Boeing as described by Matt Stoller at BIG: https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/the-nationalization-of-boeing-begins

In other words, of course management should listen to the workers / technical staff who care about product and have expertise - but sometimes momentum and monopoly allow incompetent management without subject matter expertise to fester for decades before a company finally crashes (pun intended). Hence my broad solution is better antitrust enforcement to produce more competition.

I do have odd ideas about fun.

*hahaha

[Alfred J Quack]

[snip for conciseness] but sometimes momentum and monopoly allow incompetent management without subject matter expertise to fester for decades before a company finally crashes (pun intended).

I work in semi-government, a non-profit for social housing to house low income families. There's a bunch of politics going on that I don't care for, at all, and a former co-worker was fed up with it as well.
Said co-worker was fed up enough that he moved employer working for a city. He was saying that he was happy to now have a manager with vision (our previous manager has as much insight as a goldfish). Now it's about 4 months later and he came and dropped by for coffee. I wasn't there by from my coworkers I understood that the politics is a lot worse.

I heard that a lot more recently, grass may seem greener on the other side of the fence but in the end - it didn't even matter ;)

[crocheted_stache]

I'm reading a personal finance book, both to support an author I like and to know if it's appropriate to recommend to others who are less mustachian or just not as far along on figuring out the money thing. It's written in a light-hearted, conversational tone.

I just got to the part about "Okay! Ready to figure out how much debt is costing you? This might be tough, but it's really important."* And my silent reading voice is screaming inside, "Zero! Nothing to see here."** I'm done with debt for good, unless a very good deal pays for itself by lowering overall costs or hassle.

*I'm paraphrasing. It's in quotation marks because there are no such things as paraphrase marks.
**Okay, I owe a couple bucks in library fines at the moment. They charge no interest, they're not stopping me from checking out books, and the money doesn't even go to the library. I'll pay when next I'm at the circulation desk, but I usually use the self-check machine.

[NorCal]

I'm reading a personal finance book, both to support an author I like and to know if it's appropriate to recommend to others who are less mustachian or just not as far along on figuring out the money thing. It's written in a light-hearted, conversational tone.

I just got to the part about "Okay! Ready to figure out how much debt is costing you? This might be tough, but it's really important."* And my silent reading voice is screaming inside, "Zero! Nothing to see here."** I'm done with debt for good, unless a very good deal pays for itself by lowering overall costs or hassle.

*I'm paraphrasing. It's in quotation marks because there are no such things as paraphrase marks.
**Okay, I owe a couple bucks in library fines at the moment. They charge no interest, they're not stopping me from checking out books, and the money doesn't even go to the library. I'll pay when next I'm at the circulation desk, but I usually use the self-check machine.

I had a similar but slightly different revelation the other day.  I'm anti-debt to the point of irrationality.  But I was admitting in an online forum that leasing a car might make sense in the EV world, as the underlying technology is changing quite a bit in the period of a lease.  The "buy for 10+ years" argument isn't as clear cut.

For context, I have an MBA with an emphasis in finance.  I've worked in corporate finance for 15+ years, and some of that was in the consumer finance industry.  I feel like financial calculations are something I have a handle on at this point. 

They started talking in auto lease language.  Residual values, implied interest rates, buyout costs, etc.  It was completely greek to me.  I couldn't make heads or tails of whether these leases were a good deal or not.  Just the idea of a fixed monthly payment sounded so dumb that I lost the willingness to even do the math on it.

I guess a debt-free life is habit forming. 

[Alternatepriorities]

I’ve long had a habit of keeping a couple pairs of nicer jeans and a couple pairs that are just a little rough for polite company that I do the dirty work in…. I only ever bought jeans for the first task and then I repurposed them for the second once they were a bit worn. My mpp: since retiring I go through work jeans faster than I wear out the nice jeans… yesterday I destroyed the last pair of work jeans that I had and i have no nice jeans rough enough to demote. DW found some at a thrift store today, but they are all much to nice for changing oil, welding, and cutting firewood in!

[Taran Wanderer]

Sounds like it’s time for some Carhartts!

[Metalcat]

Sounds like it’s time for some Carhartts!

Those would be more durable, but much more expensive than thrift store jeans, even relative to the amount of wear they could take, depending on conditions.

[mspym]

Sounds like it’s time for some Carhartts!

Those would be more durable, but much more expensive than thrift store jeans, even relative to the amount of wear they could take, depending on conditions.

Sounds like it's time for thrift-store Carhartts!

[Metalcat]

Sounds like it’s time for some Carhartts!

Those would be more durable, but much more expensive than thrift store jeans, even relative to the amount of wear they could take, depending on conditions.

Sounds like it's time for thrift-store Carhartts!

Don't people keep their Carhartts literally forever though?? That would be like trying to find professional grade work boots at a thrift shop. You might. I guess it would depend where you live.

[LennStar]

And here is me, the clueless German, wondering if that has something to do with having a heart for cars.

It's a brand for not-quite-work clothing?

[ChpBstrd]

And here is me, the clueless German, wondering if that has something to do with having a heart for cars.

It's a brand for not-quite-work clothing?

Now available in German! https://www.carhartt.com/de/de-de

[GuitarStv]

Carhartt makes some of the hardest wearing clothing I've run across.  I have a pair of their double front jeans that are pushing 12 years of heavy use now and still holding up great.  It's very hard to find long lasting clothing and Carhartt's can be expensive but I think they might actually be worth it.

[Metalcat]

Carhartt makes some of the hardest wearing clothing I've run across.  I have a pair of their double front jeans that are pushing 12 years of heavy use now and still holding up great.  It's very hard to find long lasting clothing and Carhartt's can be expensive but I think they might actually be worth it.

It really depends on what you mean by "worth it" though.

The double fronts here cost over $100 while a used pair of thick jeans from Value Village costs about $10-15.

If replacing pants is a huge hassle, then sure, factor that value in. But IMO, the biggest value benefit for double front work pants is the safety element. It's kind of like how you wouldn't wear a pair of thrift store leather boots while doing a task that requires steel toes.

But if thigh wounds aren't too much of a concern, then there goes a lot of the premium value of double front pants. Especially since as pants, they aren't indestructible. Depending on your build, they can be just as vulnerable to crotch splitting as any other thick pants.

Some men have crotch splitting issues and others don't, it's really a physique thing. Thicker thighed men who crouch a lot go through a lot of crotch seams.

[ChpBstrd]

Carhartt makes some of the hardest wearing clothing I've run across.  I have a pair of their double front jeans that are pushing 12 years of heavy use now and still holding up great.  It's very hard to find long lasting clothing and Carhartt's can be expensive but I think they might actually be worth it.

It really depends on what you mean by "worth it" though.

The double fronts here cost over $100 while a used pair of thick jeans from Value Village costs about $10-15.

If replacing pants is a huge hassle, then sure, factor that value in. But IMO, the biggest value benefit for double front work pants is the safety element. It's kind of like how you wouldn't wear a pair of thrift store leather boots while doing a task that requires steel toes.

But if thigh wounds aren't too much of a concern, then there goes a lot of the premium value of double front pants. Especially since as pants, they aren't indestructible. Depending on your build, they can be just as vulnerable to crotch splitting as any other thick pants.

Some men have crotch splitting issues and others don't, it's really a physique thing. Thicker thighed men who crouch a lot go through a lot of crotch seams.

Another element of my life has been explained.

[GuitarStv]

I got 'em on sale for 30$.  If you're not in a hurry and don't mind waiting for sales, you can pick them up cheap once or twice during the year usually.  And while I'm thicker thighed the baggier fit of the jeans helps somewhat with exploding crotches (a problem that I've had with tighter fitting Levis in the past).

[Metalcat]

I got 'em on sale for 30$.  If you're not in a hurry and don't mind waiting for sales, you can pick them up cheap once or twice during the year usually.  And while I'm thicker thighed the baggier fit of the jeans helps somewhat with exploding crotches (a problem that I've had with tighter fitting Levis in the past).

Nice, that's great value. I'm mostly aware of Carhartt in Newfoundland where nothing of value ever goes on sale, so I just conceptualize them as expensive and necessary for some tradesfolk.

[tygertygertyger]

Some men have crotch splitting issues and others don't, it's really a physique thing. Thicker thighed men who crouch a lot go through a lot of crotch seams.

Yes I will be repairing a pair of these today for my partner. I've started to wonder if it would make better sense to reinforce them immediately upon purchase rather than wait until they start to show wear... but I'm extremely unlikely to do unnecessary work.

[LennStar]

Thicker thighed men who crouch a lot go through a lot of crotch seams.

I don't consider myselv thickly thighed and I certainly avoid crouching whenever possible, but even so 90% of my pants split up in the dark middle because of friction induced substance loss.

And shoes and pants are such a nightmare to get for me! And that is before the fact I hate "shopping".

If you could give me pants that fit good and are guaranteed to survive until my death: Here are my 1000€!

[GuitarStv]

And shoes and pants are such a nightmare to get for me! And that is before the fact I hate "shopping".

Yes!  Shopping sucks so much that when I find something that lasts a while I'm happy to pay extra just to not have to do shopping again for a longer while.

[ixtap]

And shoes and pants are such a nightmare to get for me! And that is before the fact I hate "shopping".

Yes!  Shopping sucks so much that when I find something that lasts a while I'm happy to pay extra just to not have to do shopping again for a longer while.

I had near perfect.shoes that were consistently available at Marshalls for a few rounds. Then, I found my perfect shoes. I stocked up five pairs of them and was able to go just shy of five years without worrying about shoes. I cannot find another shoe I am willing to stock up on. At most, I tolerate them until they fall apart and start looking again. I even contacted the manufacturer, in case they had a hidden stockpile or were willing to revert to that style.

[Metalcat]

And shoes and pants are such a nightmare to get for me! And that is before the fact I hate "shopping".

Yes!  Shopping sucks so much that when I find something that lasts a while I'm happy to pay extra just to not have to do shopping again for a longer while.

Note that I already stipulated to this exact value in my previous reply.

However, also note that pp mentioned that his wife picked up jeans for him. So if someone has a wife who enjoys shopping and jeans just kind of magically show up when needed, that removes a lot of the longevity value.

[NorthernIkigai]

A few years ago, I bought a couple of pairs of Darn Tough socks for about 30 € per pair to test, one pair each for me and my spouse. They have a lifetime guarantee, but both had holes in them after a couple of years of very reasonable (maybe 1/14 days) wear. I ended up wearing both pairs, as spouse found theirs a bit too tight. So I brought them back to the shop, where the salesperson said “yeah, nothing lasts forever”, and just told me to go pick replacement socks from the shop floor. The new ones, which are the same ones as the old ones, magically fit spouse better though.

I’ve had similar experiences with sheets with a 50-year guarantee. I’m not sure the hassle of going to swap them for new ones is worth the high price, getting brand new ones, and still using up resources instead of actually using the product for 50 years or a lifetime (whichever comes first).

[Metalcat]

A few years ago, I bought a couple of pairs of Darn Tough socks for about 30 € per pair to test, one pair each for me and my spouse. They have a lifetime guarantee, but both had holes in them after a couple of years of very reasonable (maybe 1/14 days) wear. I ended up wearing both pairs, as spouse found theirs a bit too tight. So I brought them back to the shop, where the salesperson said “yeah, nothing lasts forever”, and just told me to go pick replacement socks from the shop floor. The new ones, which are the same ones as the old ones, magically fit spouse better though.

I’ve had similar experiences with sheets with a 50-year guarantee. I’m not sure the hassle of going to swap them for new ones is worth the high price, getting brand new ones, and still using up resources instead of actually using the product for 50 years or a lifetime (whichever comes first).

I destroyed a dozen pairs of "lifetime" guarantee socks when I was on crutches for half of last year. Turns out that putting an enormous amount of weight on one foot and doing a lot of sharp pivots on the ball of that foot just destroys socks.

[ixtap]

A few years ago, I bought a couple of pairs of Darn Tough socks for about 30 € per pair to test, one pair each for me and my spouse. They have a lifetime guarantee, but both had holes in them after a couple of years of very reasonable (maybe 1/14 days) wear. I ended up wearing both pairs, as spouse found theirs a bit too tight. So I brought them back to the shop, where the salesperson said “yeah, nothing lasts forever”, and just told me to go pick replacement socks from the shop floor. The new ones, which are the same ones as the old ones, magically fit spouse better though.

I’ve had similar experiences with sheets with a 50-year guarantee. I’m not sure the hassle of going to swap them for new ones is worth the high price, getting brand new ones, and still using up resources instead of actually using the product for 50 years or a lifetime (whichever comes first).

My in laws have a lifetime drive train warranty. The nearest dealer is over an hour away from them and they have to leave it for a week or two at a time. They seem to get all repairs done at a dealer and have kept meticulous records for over 15 years in order to prove they have complied with the terms of the warranty. It seems like far more hassle than just replacing the vehicle. And I say that as someone who has vehicle of a similar age but I have needed far fewer repairs, none of which would have been covered as drive train.

[ChpBstrd]

I got 'em on sale for 30$.  If you're not in a hurry and don't mind waiting for sales, you can pick them up cheap once or twice during the year usually.  And while I'm thicker thighed the baggier fit of the jeans helps somewhat with exploding crotches (a problem that I've had with tighter fitting Levis in the past).

Nice, that's great value. I'm mostly aware of Carhartt in Newfoundland where nothing of value ever goes on sale, so I just conceptualize them as expensive and necessary for some tradesfolk.

Check eBay. Lots of Carhartt stuff in the $30 range. And if it doesn't fit just right... it's not supposed to.

[mspym]

Sounds like it’s time for some Carhartts!

Those would be more durable, but much more expensive than thrift store jeans, even relative to the amount of wear they could take, depending on conditions.

Sounds like it's time for thrift-store Carhartts!

Don't people keep their Carhartts literally forever though?? That would be like trying to find professional grade work boots at a thrift shop. You might. I guess it would depend where you live.

Yeah, my professional-grade workboots were $20 at the local Red Cross op shop. There tends to be a ton of workwork flowing in and out of the op shop where I volunteer, plus our small rural town has *the* Carhartt store for the country, so my experiences may not be typical.

My MPP is having to resist the temptation to buy truly fantastic stuff for very little money from the op shop where I work... because I have already got a life full of truly fantastic stuff. There's not much remaining that needs an upgrade or a back-up. But but but some of this stuff is So Good.

[Loren Ver]

Sounds like it’s time for some Carhartts!

Those would be more durable, but much more expensive than thrift store jeans, even relative to the amount of wear they could take, depending on conditions.

Sounds like it's time for thrift-store Carhartts!

We are in the process of running the experiment now.  DH doesn't have luck finding thrift store jeans but would be the ~$20 target jeans that last about a year to go through their life cycle.

 The carhartts we got were about $120 IIRC (it's all written down but I am too lazy to go get the actual numbers so this is just a thought experiment for you all).  So if they last 6 years we break even, longer then it's better.  With the added benefits of:  not land filling a pair every year (even after it goes through the rag bin; we don't have to patch them to get through that year; they do have better pockets; they are better protectors since DH does use them for welding they aren't just cheap denim; they get the title of "work pants" so serious business gets done in them (mind set matters especially when retired).

So not exactly an apples to apples comparison of products but more an pear to pear comparison of usage of money. 

My MPP - This is how I am spending my time, doing experiments on pants for DH. Not an issue you say?  Yeah, until you notice, there is NO CONTROL GROUP!  Terrible, terrible experimental design.  This will be anecdotal at best.

Loren

[Metalcat]

For sure, new expensive Carhartts are superior to new cheap jeans.

[sayonara]

The other day at the thrift store, there were 3 pairs of Carhartt pants in my size that were in pretty great shape. $10 each. I took a stroll around as I was considering whether I wanted to spend the $10... just to see some other guy swoop in and grab all 3 pairs right as I had decided I wanted them. He was so giddy when he was in front of me in line that he unknowingly rubbed it in by talking about how sweet of a deal he just scored, with a little dance to go with it.

[jfer_rose]

I'm over here scratching my head re: the Carhartts. My partner bought a pair sometime post 2020 but they only lasted a year before he wore them out completely. They actually wore out more quickly than other pants he buys at garage sales, or just picked up from the curb (we live in a college town and frequently get fantastic curb finds when students move out). I'm not sure if they sell different models of pants and his was less durable. But our theory is that the pair he got was done in by bicycling. When bicycling for recreation he will wear bike shorts, but when bicycling for transportation he'll wear regular clothes and this pair wore out in the bicycling pressure point places.

[Metalcat]

I'm over here scratching my head re: the Carhartts. My partner bought a pair sometime post 2020 but they only lasted a year before he wore them out completely. They actually wore out more quickly than other pants he buys at garage sales, or just picked up from the curb (we live in a college town and frequently get fantastic curb finds when students move out). I'm not sure if they sell different models of pants and his was less durable. But our theory is that the pair he got was done in by bicycling. When bicycling for recreation he will wear bike shorts, but when bicycling for transportation he'll wear regular clothes and this pair wore out in the bicycling pressure point places.

Yeah, they have many styles, some are more like basic Dickies.

[Sandi_k]

For sure, new expensive Carhartts are superior to new cheap jeans.

Hmm. I buy them as DH's work pants - $60 via Amazon:

Carhartt Men's Loose Fit Firm Duck Double-Front Utility Work Pant

And they last for 6 years, for someone who is ROUGH on his work clothes. Much better quality than the cheap jeans, and not $120. At $60, and lasting for 6+ years, that's $10 per year. Totally worth it.

[eyesonthehorizon]

I’d heard from several people their quality had taken a dive, if people are still having good results out of them that’s good to know. But it might explain the uneven results.

[Alternatepriorities]

Sounds like it’s time for some Carhartts!

Those would be more durable, but much more expensive than thrift store jeans, even relative to the amount of wear they could take, depending on conditions.

Sounds like it's time for thrift-store Carhartts!

Don't people keep their Carhartts literally forever though?? That would be like trying to find professional grade work boots at a thrift shop. You might. I guess it would depend where you live.

They seem to do that up here. I'm sure if there are ever any given to the thrift store they go fast and I visit rarely. My father used to wear their insulated stuff in the winter because it was both warm and relatively durable. When he passed away there was only one pair of winter overalls that was fit to be passed on. I am an inch taller and 50 lbs heavier than he was so it went to someone else. In the past I've found Carhartts to be nearly indestructible and too heavy/warm for summer/indoor use. I don't think I've tried work pants from them though maybe I will sometime. DW found me a set of jeans that are the same brown color as generic Carhartts at the thrift store for $8.99. They were so nice I wore them to church Sunday before moving them to shop duty on Monday... They should last for at least a year and DW said there was another pair of the same pants at the thrift store so I might buy them too.

[Alternatepriorities]

For sure, new expensive Carhartts are superior to new cheap jeans.

Hmm. I buy them as DH's work pants - $60 via Amazon:

Carhartt Men's Loose Fit Firm Duck Double-Front Utility Work Pant

And they last for 6 years, for someone who is ROUGH on his work clothes. Much better quality than the cheap jeans, and not $120. At $60, and lasting for 6+ years, that's $10 per year. Totally worth it.

This does sound intriguing.

[never give up]

I had a Mustachian People Problem today, or at least a Mustachian People Incident. I had both my bicycle and my car serviced this week and the bike service was more expensive! This is completely logical because my bicycle does about three times the mileage the car does, and I had a host of consumables to replace.

I service the bike myself two out of three years but like to get a pro to look at it every third year and make sure everything is completely safe. It's quite odd looking at both bills and knowing all that can go wrong with a car, yet the bill is considerably less than that of the bike.

Hurrah for cycling, Mustachianism, low mileage driving and new chains and brake rotors!

[crocheted_stache]

I have a new MPP as of lunchtime today.

My work used to have an on-site cafeteria. At one point, I'm told, the lunches were paid for by the company, but as the company grew, the company went from paying for lunches to subsidizing part of the cost. Then COVID happened and everyone went home, whereupon the cafeteria closed. Some people decided they like working from home, and not everyone who came back is in every day, so the cafeteria is now a room with tables and chairs, and there's a lunch delivery service, which is still subsidized.

I ate lunch today with a different set of colleagues than usual, all relatively recent grads and young men who don't cook a whole bunch. I get the impression talking to them that they're capable of cooking, but it's tough to cook for just yourself, so they were comparing notes on the various options.

The lunch subsidy isn't a percentage. It's a fixed dollar amount per day. So one of the young guys figured out that anything under that amount is free. It's not really enough for an entree or even a sandwich, but it is enough for a side, a salad, or a dessert.

My MPPs:
1. I'm kicking myself for not identifying this hack myself.*
2. Now I might have to sign up for the delivery service, after all, so I can go hunting for "free" soups, salads, and sides to try.

*Don't get me wrong; I'm pretty good at saving money on food. I'm a veteran at both bag lunches and making the most of provided food offerings. I once combined sour cream and grated cheese left from a taco-based event with a bunch of veggies I rescued from an unpopular (or at least far larger than necessary) crudité tray after a different event to make a broccoli cheese soup at home.

[glacio09]

I have a new MPP as of lunchtime today.

My work used to have an on-site cafeteria. At one point, I'm told, the lunches were paid for by the company, but as the company grew, the company went from paying for lunches to subsidizing part of the cost. Then COVID happened and everyone went home, whereupon the cafeteria closed. Some people decided they like working from home, and not everyone who came back is in every day, so the cafeteria is now a room with tables and chairs, and there's a lunch delivery service, which is still subsidized.

I ate lunch today with a different set of colleagues than usual, all relatively recent grads and young men who don't cook a whole bunch. I get the impression talking to them that they're capable of cooking, but it's tough to cook for just yourself, so they were comparing notes on the various options.

The lunch subsidy isn't a percentage. It's a fixed dollar amount per day. So one of the young guys figured out that anything under that amount is free. It's not really enough for an entree or even a sandwich, but it is enough for a side, a salad, or a dessert.

My MPPs:
1. I'm kicking myself for not identifying this hack myself.*
2. Now I might have to sign up for the delivery service, after all, so I can go hunting for "free" soups, salads, and sides to try.

*Don't get me wrong; I'm pretty good at saving money on food. I'm a veteran at both bag lunches and making the most of provided food offerings. I once combined sour cream and grated cheese left from a taco-based event with a bunch of veggies I rescued from an unpopular (or at least far larger than necessary) crudité tray after a different event to make a broccoli cheese soup at home.

Oh work cafeteria shenanigans. My company acquired a department of another huge company. When we visited, they had a highly subsidized cafeteria that was rather nice (the office was in an industrial complex so no other choices). My new co-workers complained about it, because apparently for years it had been completely free but there was too much drama and they started charging people. Once a month they'd have a meeting that turned into an airing of grievances. My favorite example was a list of dates when they'd have two cream-based soups instead of one cream and one broth. It was literally an example of biting the hand that feeds you.

[Sugaree]

I have a new MPP as of lunchtime today.

My work used to have an on-site cafeteria. At one point, I'm told, the lunches were paid for by the company, but as the company grew, the company went from paying for lunches to subsidizing part of the cost. Then COVID happened and everyone went home, whereupon the cafeteria closed. Some people decided they like working from home, and not everyone who came back is in every day, so the cafeteria is now a room with tables and chairs, and there's a lunch delivery service, which is still subsidized.

I ate lunch today with a different set of colleagues than usual, all relatively recent grads and young men who don't cook a whole bunch. I get the impression talking to them that they're capable of cooking, but it's tough to cook for just yourself, so they were comparing notes on the various options.

The lunch subsidy isn't a percentage. It's a fixed dollar amount per day. So one of the young guys figured out that anything under that amount is free. It's not really enough for an entree or even a sandwich, but it is enough for a side, a salad, or a dessert.

My MPPs:
1. I'm kicking myself for not identifying this hack myself.*
2. Now I might have to sign up for the delivery service, after all, so I can go hunting for "free" soups, salads, and sides to try.

*Don't get me wrong; I'm pretty good at saving money on food. I'm a veteran at both bag lunches and making the most of provided food offerings. I once combined sour cream and grated cheese left from a taco-based event with a bunch of veggies I rescued from an unpopular (or at least far larger than necessary) crudité tray after a different event to make a broccoli cheese soup at home.

A free salad plus a loaf of bread from the grocery store would end up making sanwiches for the week though....

[crocheted_stache]

I have a new MPP as of lunchtime today.

My work used to have an on-site cafeteria. At one point, I'm told, the lunches were paid for by the company, but as the company grew, the company went from paying for lunches to subsidizing part of the cost. Then COVID happened and everyone went home, whereupon the cafeteria closed. Some people decided they like working from home, and not everyone who came back is in every day, so the cafeteria is now a room with tables and chairs, and there's a lunch delivery service, which is still subsidized.

I ate lunch today with a different set of colleagues than usual, all relatively recent grads and young men who don't cook a whole bunch. I get the impression talking to them that they're capable of cooking, but it's tough to cook for just yourself, so they were comparing notes on the various options.

The lunch subsidy isn't a percentage. It's a fixed dollar amount per day. So one of the young guys figured out that anything under that amount is free. It's not really enough for an entree or even a sandwich, but it is enough for a side, a salad, or a dessert.

My MPPs:
1. I'm kicking myself for not identifying this hack myself.*
2. Now I might have to sign up for the delivery service, after all, so I can go hunting for "free" soups, salads, and sides to try.

*Don't get me wrong; I'm pretty good at saving money on food. I'm a veteran at both bag lunches and making the most of provided food offerings. I once combined sour cream and grated cheese left from a taco-based event with a bunch of veggies I rescued from an unpopular (or at least far larger than necessary) crudité tray after a different event to make a broccoli cheese soup at home.

A free salad plus a loaf of bread from the grocery store would end up making sanwiches for the week though....

I already eat pretty cheap for lunch, but this coworker inspired me to sign up for this program. The offered salads are all trying to be meals, with calories and prices to match. That leaves some of the soups, some of the sides/appetizers, and most of the desserts (which I don't exactly need more of).

The occasional discount on a purchased meal or side may make lunch logistics a little easier, even if I pay a few bucks for it. It happens now and then that we end up on the far end of the grocery shopping or cooking cycle or I get tired of sandwiches from home, and the restaurant options nearby are so-so. It often results in me taking the lone remaining portion of leftovers and DH going to the place across the way.

[Loren Ver]

I'm over here scratching my head re: the Carhartts. My partner bought a pair sometime post 2020 but they only lasted a year before he wore them out completely. They actually wore out more quickly than other pants he buys at garage sales, or just picked up from the curb (we live in a college town and frequently get fantastic curb finds when students move out). I'm not sure if they sell different models of pants and his was less durable. But our theory is that the pair he got was done in by bicycling. When bicycling for recreation he will wear bike shorts, but when bicycling for transportation he'll wear regular clothes and this pair wore out in the bicycling pressure point places.

There is a shift with more recent models where instead of being made out of, lets say canvas, they are adding in something like spandix, so it wears easier and looks nicer but doesn't last as long because it isn't canvas.  So you really need to make sure you are getting the version that is canvas or firehose (what we bought DH).  If it feel oh so comfy then it probably has the add ins that decrease the wear time.  I did some research before we picked DHs to make sure I had the ones that would last.  HOPEFULLY!!! they aren't being phased out entirely.  The ones with add ins were certainly the majority.

[ChpBstrd]

I received about $750 cash that I need to deposit (so that it can earn interest). My closest bank branch is 5 miles away, but the deal is they refund all ATM fees. So I thought I could just deposit it in a closer bank's ATM. Nope. Deposit was not an option on the screen. Now I have to drive or bike A WHOLE 5 MILES but I learned something about ATMs.

[Dicey]

I received about $750 cash that I need to deposit (so that it can earn interest). My closest bank branch is 5 miles away, but the deal is they refund all ATM fees. So I thought I could just deposit it in a closer bank's ATM. Nope. Deposit was not an option on the screen. Now I have to drive or bike A WHOLE 5 MILES but I learned something about ATMs.

OTOH, it's never a bad thing to have a small cache of cash on hand.

Back to the Carhardtt conversation. DH had a huge stash of painter's and carpenter's bibs on hand when he retired. Huge, as in 29 pair, all new and most still in package (NIP). He finally decided to keep two and sell the rest. A few were Dickies and the rest were Carhardtts. He listed them on ebay, where they gradually sold for very modest prices.

For regular  jeans, he prefers Kirkland. In winter, he lives in Weatherproof lined jeans, which I get at Costco if I'm lucky, or on ebay. They wear like iron.

[midweststache]

I received about $750 cash that I need to deposit (so that it can earn interest). My closest bank branch is 5 miles away, but the deal is they refund all ATM fees. So I thought I could just deposit it in a closer bank's ATM. Nope. Deposit was not an option on the screen. Now I have to drive or bike A WHOLE 5 MILES but I learned something about ATMs.

You also taught me something, because I had no idea I could deposit cash INTO an ATM - I thought it was only for withdraws. But lo and behold, I just checked and CapitalOne allows this at their ATMS. (We received a cash gift at Christmas but, as CO doesn't have a brick and mortar location anywhere near us, just assumed we'd have to slowly spend it down when we had the rare cash-only or cash-preferred situation.)

Thanks!

[Catbert]

I received about $750 cash that I need to deposit (so that it can earn interest). My closest bank branch is 5 miles away, but the deal is they refund all ATM fees. So I thought I could just deposit it in a closer bank's ATM. Nope. Deposit was not an option on the screen. Now I have to drive or bike A WHOLE 5 MILES but I learned something about ATMs.

My sister was once the Cookie Mom/Treasurer for her daughter's Girl Scout troop.  That was a lot of cash (before orders were online and credit cards).  She once filled an ATM deposit bin with one and five dollar bills.  She had to find another machine to finish the deposit.

You also taught me something, because I had no idea I could deposit cash INTO an ATM - I thought it was only for withdraws. But lo and behold, I just checked and CapitalOne allows this at their ATMS. (We received a cash gift at Christmas but, as CO doesn't have a brick and mortar location anywhere near us, just assumed we'd have to slowly spend it down when we had the rare cash-only or cash-preferred situation.)

Thanks!