Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)

[MMMarbleheader]

When my daughter was born, my wife was having trouble nursing in the first few days.

Among the many stated heath benefits, the Nurse heard me tell my wife "we have to make this work, we don't have formula in our budget".

Later in the day, the Nurse cornered me in the hallway and sympathetically handed me a pamphlet for WIC. I think I would have needed 7 children to qualify and this was 3 years ago when I was 26.

[I'm a red panda]

Getting an 8% raise and having to go update excel spreadsheets because you only planned for a 3% raise

Very nice.

[TrMama]

DH is gung ho to buy me a new car. Not just any car, but a fancy pants luxury model. I've told him in no uncertain terms that he is not allowed to buy me a car and especially not a really nice one. I don't want to deplete the stash and I actually like driving a more beat up car so I don't have to carry comprehensive insurance on it, don't have to care about scratching it and people will assume we're broke, rather than the other way round.

He must be the only man in town whose wife would be mad at him for buying her a nice car.

[Pooperman]

Daw and I are planning to buy a house late this year. The only problem is a lack of cash. Most of our money is invested. This means we have $2.5k for the purchase right now. On the good side, we save a lot so I estimate we'll have about $20k waiting to buy our first hojse in September.

[APowers]

"Help, I've fallen and can't get up!"
-My Budget

I like my budget to be even, round numbers, but it's currently at $967/mo and there's really nothing I want to spend $33 more dollars per month on. And it's lean enough that there isn't really a good place to cut $17 more.

Stupid savings on auto insurance.

[I'm a red panda]

"Help, I've fallen and can't get up!"
-My Budget

I like my budget to be even, round numbers, but it's currently at $967/mo and there's really nothing I want to spend $33 more dollars per month on. And it's lean enough that there isn't really a good place to cut $17 more.

Stupid savings on auto insurance.

Buy $33 more dollars of a vanguard fund.

[afuera]

"Help, I've fallen and can't get up!"
-My Budget

made me chuckle :)

[APowers]

"Help, I've fallen and can't get up!"
-My Budget

I like my budget to be even, round numbers, but it's currently at $967/mo and there's really nothing I want to spend $33 more dollars per month on. And it's lean enough that there isn't really a good place to cut $17 more.

Stupid savings on auto insurance.

Buy $33 more dollars of a vanguard fund.

I would, except that's not our investment strategy at this point (our plan is real estate/rentals).

It still wouldn't make my expense budget come out to a round number. If I could put that $33 towards our mortgage payment, I would, and that would work, but we don't have a mortgage anymore.

Stupid aggressive debt repayment plan.

[I'm a red panda]

"Help, I've fallen and can't get up!"
-My Budget

I like my budget to be even, round numbers, but it's currently at $967/mo and there's really nothing I want to spend $33 more dollars per month on. And it's lean enough that there isn't really a good place to cut $17 more.

Stupid savings on auto insurance.

Buy $33 more dollars of a vanguard fund.

I would, except that's not our investment strategy at this point (our plan is real estate/rentals).

It still wouldn't make my expense budget come out to a round number. If I could put that $33 towards our mortgage payment, I would, and that would work, but we don't have a mortgage anymore.

Stupid aggressive debt repayment plan.

If it helps you out, you can put it toward my mortgage.

How about charitable giving?

[APowers]

"Help, I've fallen and can't get up!"
-My Budget

I like my budget to be even, round numbers, but it's currently at $967/mo and there's really nothing I want to spend $33 more dollars per month on. And it's lean enough that there isn't really a good place to cut $17 more.

Stupid savings on auto insurance.

Buy $33 more dollars of a vanguard fund.

I would, except that's not our investment strategy at this point (our plan is real estate/rentals).

It still wouldn't make my expense budget come out to a round number. If I could put that $33 towards our mortgage payment, I would, and that would work, but we don't have a mortgage anymore.

Stupid aggressive debt repayment plan.

If it helps you out, you can put it toward my mortgage.

How about charitable giving?

It's going into savings, to be put toward future investments. No worries there. :P

[LeRainDrop]

My favorite massage therapist I've been seeing for a year just left the spa where I have a discount package :-(  Going to have to try someone new.  On the plus side, I've been assured by the manager that if I don't like the therapist she recommended, then I can have that massage for free.  This is (obviously) one of my splurge areas that has been really helping my body and healing an injury, so this change is a real bummer for me!

[Tigerpine]

I've got one perfect for this thread.

Last month's budget was thrown into complete disarray(!) by my employer.  They decided to reward me for the extra hours I'd been putting in by giving me some Amazon gift cards.  But of course, this is counted as regular income, and therefore taxable.  This means I had less after-tax money than usual placed into my checking account.  Oh the horror!

And now I have to figure out how to use the gift cards, since I don't usually buy much from Amazon.  And I'm never home when it gets delivered to my door.  Oh woe is me!  ;)

[nobodyspecial]

And now I have to figure out how to use the gift cards,

I buy stuff for work and claim it back.   

[Tigerpine]

And now I have to figure out how to use the gift cards,

I buy stuff for work and claim it back.

That's an interesting idea...I wonder if our accounting department would go for that...

[johnny847]

I've got one perfect for this thread.

Last month's budget was thrown into complete disarray(!) by my employer.  They decided to reward me for the extra hours I'd been putting in by giving me some Amazon gift cards.  But of course, this is counted as regular income, and therefore taxable.  This means I had less after-tax money than usual placed into my checking account.  Oh the horror!

And now I have to figure out how to use the gift cards, since I don't usually buy much from Amazon.  And I'm never home when it gets delivered to my door.  Oh woe is me!  ;)

I'm a little confused. Are you paid hourly or are you alaried?

Secondly, considering you can buy Amazon gift cards at a 4-5% discount on a regular basis, or for 20% off when a good Amex offer comes up, I would never accept gift cards if they were taxable as income for the face value.

[Tigerpine]

I'm salaried.  And for more detail, the choice was consumer crap goods that I do not want nor need, or Amazon gift cards.  I chose the gift cards.

The system my company uses to 'reward' employees reminds me of what my mother was offered when she retired.  She was given a catalog and was told she could choose anything in it up to some level.  I was technically given "points" that could be redeemed for worthless stuff that I don't want (and oh by the way, it's taxed at the same rate as the gift cards).  I'm happy that the cards were offered, because otherwise I probably wouldn't have redeemed the points for anything at all.

This 'complaint' of mine is truly a 贅沢な悩み (zeitaku na nayami). lol  (Translates roughly to "worry of luxury")

Oh, and...how do you get amazon gift cards for a 4-5% discount?  That interests me, because my main use of amazon is for getting presents for my niece/nephews.

[Bracken_Joy]

I'm salaried.  And for more detail, the choice was consumer crap goods that I do not want nor need, or Amazon gift cards.  I chose the gift cards.

The system my company uses to 'reward' employees reminds me of what my mother was offered when she retired.  She was given a catalog and was told she could choose anything in it up to some level.  I was technically given "points" that could be redeemed for worthless stuff that I don't want (and oh by the way, it's taxed at the same rate as the gift cards).  I'm happy that the cards were offered, because otherwise I probably wouldn't have redeemed the points for anything at all.

This 'complaint' of mine is truly a 贅沢な悩み (zeitaku na nayami). lol  (Translates roughly to "worry of luxury")

Oh, and...how do you get amazon gift cards for a 4-5% discount?  That interests me, because my main use of amazon is for getting presents for my niece/nephews.

I don't know what other people do, but I have an american express blue preferred card that gives 6% from grocery stores up to $6k/yr. You can get gift cards there, so 6% cash back on that.

[Tigerpine]

I'm salaried.  And for more detail, the choice was consumer crap goods that I do not want nor need, or Amazon gift cards.  I chose the gift cards.

The system my company uses to 'reward' employees reminds me of what my mother was offered when she retired.  She was given a catalog and was told she could choose anything in it up to some level.  I was technically given "points" that could be redeemed for worthless stuff that I don't want (and oh by the way, it's taxed at the same rate as the gift cards).  I'm happy that the cards were offered, because otherwise I probably wouldn't have redeemed the points for anything at all.

This 'complaint' of mine is truly a 贅沢な悩み (zeitaku na nayami). lol  (Translates roughly to "worry of luxury")

Oh, and...how do you get amazon gift cards for a 4-5% discount?  That interests me, because my main use of amazon is for getting presents for my niece/nephews.

I don't know what other people do, but I have an american express blue preferred card that gives 6% from grocery stores up to $6k/yr. You can get gift cards there, so 6% cash back on that.

That's genius!  I never thought about getting gift cards at grocery stores before.  Next time I go, I'll look to see what they offer so I can start planning ahead.

[johnny847]

I'm salaried.  And for more detail, the choice was consumer crap goods that I do not want nor need, or Amazon gift cards.  I chose the gift cards.

The system my company uses to 'reward' employees reminds me of what my mother was offered when she retired.  She was given a catalog and was told she could choose anything in it up to some level.  I was technically given "points" that could be redeemed for worthless stuff that I don't want (and oh by the way, it's taxed at the same rate as the gift cards).  I'm happy that the cards were offered, because otherwise I probably wouldn't have redeemed the points for anything at all.

This 'complaint' of mine is truly a 贅沢な悩み (zeitaku na nayami). lol  (Translates roughly to "worry of luxury")

Oh, and...how do you get amazon gift cards for a 4-5% discount?  That interests me, because my main use of amazon is for getting presents for my niece/nephews.

I don't know what other people do, but I have an american express blue preferred card that gives 6% from grocery stores up to $6k/yr. You can get gift cards there, so 6% cash back on that.

That's genius!  I never thought about getting gift cards at grocery stores before.  Next time I go, I'll look to see what they offer so I can start planning ahead.

Ah okay now that makes more sense.

http://www.giftcardwiki.com/giftcards/Amazon.com. This site lets you check discounted gift cards for basically any store out there.

Amazon gc's are available through GiftMe (you can't buy from their website, you must buy from their app) for 5% off. And you can buy it with a cc, so you can get another 1-2% in cash back (or more if you're earning miles), depending on what cc you have. So with a 2% cc, you're beating out the 6% from an Amex Blue Cash Preferred at grocery stores.

The Amex Blue Cash Preferred has a $75 annual fee. It can still be worth it if you spend enough on groceries (and buying Amazon or other gc's will certainly help you reach that maximum $6000 at 6%).

[Cannot Wait!]

... Let's assume you don't actually buy shit that the ad is selling.

... Even if it didn't sell you anything, because you're the smartest of the smarts, it still got everyone around you. You maybe didn't even see the ad, you probably didn't even see the ad, but everyone else did and everyone bought "this is what pretty people look like," especially because they've been buying it their whole lives with slight changes in style, and now you have to conform to that. "But I don't shop there." But whoever designs your clothes, unless you sew and tailor your own without ever looking at what anyone else is wearing, is making things in the proper style of today plus or minus five years. Maybe you don't "shop there" but I bet you wore a windbreaker in the 90s and don't today.

Wait, what?  Windbreakers are out?!   ;)

[Tigerpine]

I'm salaried.  And for more detail, the choice was consumer crap goods that I do not want nor need, or Amazon gift cards.  I chose the gift cards.

The system my company uses to 'reward' employees reminds me of what my mother was offered when she retired.  She was given a catalog and was told she could choose anything in it up to some level.  I was technically given "points" that could be redeemed for worthless stuff that I don't want (and oh by the way, it's taxed at the same rate as the gift cards).  I'm happy that the cards were offered, because otherwise I probably wouldn't have redeemed the points for anything at all.

This 'complaint' of mine is truly a 贅沢な悩み (zeitaku na nayami). lol  (Translates roughly to "worry of luxury")

Oh, and...how do you get amazon gift cards for a 4-5% discount?  That interests me, because my main use of amazon is for getting presents for my niece/nephews.

I don't know what other people do, but I have an american express blue preferred card that gives 6% from grocery stores up to $6k/yr. You can get gift cards there, so 6% cash back on that.

That's genius!  I never thought about getting gift cards at grocery stores before.  Next time I go, I'll look to see what they offer so I can start planning ahead.

Ah okay now that makes more sense.

http://www.giftcardwiki.com/giftcards/Amazon.com. This site lets you check discounted gift cards for basically any store out there.

Amazon gc's are available through GiftMe (you can't buy from their website, you must buy from their app) for 5% off. And you can buy it with a cc, so you can get another 1-2% in cash back (or more if you're earning miles), depending on what cc you have. So with a 2% cc, you're beating out the 6% from an Amex Blue Cash Preferred at grocery stores.

The Amex Blue Cash Preferred has a $75 annual fee. It can still be worth it if you spend enough on groceries (and buying Amazon or other gc's will certainly help you reach that maximum $6000 at 6%).

Thanks for the tip!  I'll have to open a thread about the GiftMe app with some questions I had after checking out their site.  Thus ends my hijacking of this thread.

[Bracken_Joy]

I'm salaried.  And for more detail, the choice was consumer crap goods that I do not want nor need, or Amazon gift cards.  I chose the gift cards.

The system my company uses to 'reward' employees reminds me of what my mother was offered when she retired.  She was given a catalog and was told she could choose anything in it up to some level.  I was technically given "points" that could be redeemed for worthless stuff that I don't want (and oh by the way, it's taxed at the same rate as the gift cards).  I'm happy that the cards were offered, because otherwise I probably wouldn't have redeemed the points for anything at all.

This 'complaint' of mine is truly a 贅沢な悩み (zeitaku na nayami). lol  (Translates roughly to "worry of luxury")

Oh, and...how do you get amazon gift cards for a 4-5% discount?  That interests me, because my main use of amazon is for getting presents for my niece/nephews.

I don't know what other people do, but I have an american express blue preferred card that gives 6% from grocery stores up to $6k/yr. You can get gift cards there, so 6% cash back on that.

That's genius!  I never thought about getting gift cards at grocery stores before.  Next time I go, I'll look to see what they offer so I can start planning ahead.

Ah okay now that makes more sense.

http://www.giftcardwiki.com/giftcards/Amazon.com. This site lets you check discounted gift cards for basically any store out there.

Amazon gc's are available through GiftMe (you can't buy from their website, you must buy from their app) for 5% off. And you can buy it with a cc, so you can get another 1-2% in cash back (or more if you're earning miles), depending on what cc you have. So with a 2% cc, you're beating out the 6% from an Amex Blue Cash Preferred at grocery stores.

The Amex Blue Cash Preferred has a $75 annual fee. It can still be worth it if you spend enough on groceries (and buying Amazon or other gc's will certainly help you reach that maximum $6000 at 6%).

Thanks for the tip!  I'll have to open a thread about the GiftMe app with some questions I had after checking out their site.  Thus ends my hijacking of this thread.

This thread is 75% hijacking.

I've had great luck with carpool for starbucks cards at 10% off.

Re: the blue preferred. We got a $150 cash back at the beginning, so for the first 2 yrs it's essentially no fee. Gotta play the rewards right ;)

[johnny847]

This thread is 75% hijacking.

I've had great luck with carpool for starbucks cards at 10% off.

Re: the blue preferred. We got a $150 cash back at the beginning, so for the first 2 yrs it's essentially no fee. Gotta play the rewards right ;)

Your statement makes it seem like you're focusing on average cost instead of marginal cost, which is most definitely NOT playing the rewards right.

The first year you got your $150 bonus and paid your $75 fee. Cool. Now let's suppose it's been 11 months since you applied, and you're contemplating whether you should keep the card and pay the annual fee.

Idk how much you spend at grocery stores. Let's say for the sake of the argument you spend $2k a year. at grocery stores.

If you keep the card, you earn 6% on $2000 = $120. You pay an annual fee of $75, so your total benefit is $45.

If you cancel the card and get the Blue Cash Everyday instead, which earns 3% at grocery stores and has no annual fee, you earn 3% on $2000 = $60.

You're better off by cancelling the card and getting the Blue Cash Everyday instead. The breakeven point if we're just looking at grocery spending is $2500.


But by your logic, your first two years are free so you should stay with the Blue Cash Preferred. That's wrong. You've already earned your $150 signup bonus. That's a sunk gain (as opposed to sunk cost haha). It has no bearing on your decision now.


Incidentally, you could also get the signup bonus on the Blue Cash Everday. And I've ignored the extra cashback you can earn on gas with the BCP, but that doesn't change the point I'm trying to make: claiming your signup bonus makes your first two years free is the wrong way to analyze the situaiton.

[riverffashion]

And now I have to figure out how to use the gift cards,

I buy stuff for work and claim it back.

That's an interesting idea...I wonder if our accounting department would go for that...

Excellent idea, I hope it works

[Bracken_Joy]

This thread is 75% hijacking.

I've had great luck with carpool for starbucks cards at 10% off.

Re: the blue preferred. We got a $150 cash back at the beginning, so for the first 2 yrs it's essentially no fee. Gotta play the rewards right ;)

Your statement makes it seem like you're focusing on average cost instead of marginal cost, which is most definitely NOT playing the rewards right.

The first year you got your $150 bonus and paid your $75 fee. Cool. Now let's suppose it's been 11 months since you applied, and you're contemplating whether you should keep the card and pay the annual fee.

Idk how much you spend at grocery stores. Let's say for the sake of the argument you spend $2k a year. at grocery stores.

If you keep the card, you earn 6% on $2000 = $120. You pay an annual fee of $75, so your total benefit is $45.

If you cancel the card and get the Blue Cash Everyday instead, which earns 3% at grocery stores and has no annual fee, you earn 3% on $2000 = $60.

You're better off by cancelling the card and getting the Blue Cash Everyday instead. The breakeven point if we're just looking at grocery spending is $2500.


But by your logic, your first two years are free so you should stay with the Blue Cash Preferred. That's wrong. You've already earned your $150 signup bonus. That's a sunk gain (as opposed to sunk cost haha). It has no bearing on your decision now.


Incidentally, you could also get the signup bonus on the Blue Cash Everday. And I've ignored the extra cashback you can earn on gas with the BCP, but that doesn't change the point I'm trying to make: claiming your signup bonus makes your first two years free is the wrong way to analyze the situaiton.

A- we spend an obscene amount on groceries, so figure the whole $6k.
B- we don't CC churn except for primary use cards. This is undoubtedly a missed opportunity, but just isn't worth monitoring for us. Too much work at this point. So the rewards are not seen as a one time bonus, but instead weighed against the fees.

[johnny847]

This thread is 75% hijacking.

I've had great luck with carpool for starbucks cards at 10% off.

Re: the blue preferred. We got a $150 cash back at the beginning, so for the first 2 yrs it's essentially no fee. Gotta play the rewards right ;)

Your statement makes it seem like you're focusing on average cost instead of marginal cost, which is most definitely NOT playing the rewards right.

The first year you got your $150 bonus and paid your $75 fee. Cool. Now let's suppose it's been 11 months since you applied, and you're contemplating whether you should keep the card and pay the annual fee.

Idk how much you spend at grocery stores. Let's say for the sake of the argument you spend $2k a year. at grocery stores.

If you keep the card, you earn 6% on $2000 = $120. You pay an annual fee of $75, so your total benefit is $45.

If you cancel the card and get the Blue Cash Everyday instead, which earns 3% at grocery stores and has no annual fee, you earn 3% on $2000 = $60.

You're better off by cancelling the card and getting the Blue Cash Everyday instead. The breakeven point if we're just looking at grocery spending is $2500.


But by your logic, your first two years are free so you should stay with the Blue Cash Preferred. That's wrong. You've already earned your $150 signup bonus. That's a sunk gain (as opposed to sunk cost haha). It has no bearing on your decision now.


Incidentally, you could also get the signup bonus on the Blue Cash Everday. And I've ignored the extra cashback you can earn on gas with the BCP, but that doesn't change the point I'm trying to make: claiming your signup bonus makes your first two years free is the wrong way to analyze the situaiton.

A- we spend an obscene amount on groceries, so figure the whole $6k.
B- we don't CC churn except for primary use cards. This is undoubtedly a missed opportunity, but just isn't worth monitoring for us. Too much work at this point. So the rewards are not seen as a one time bonus, but instead weighed against the fees.

Neither of which change the fact that your approach of "the signup bonus makes the first two years free" is the wrong way to analyze the situaiton.

[Bracken_Joy]

This thread is 75% hijacking.

I've had great luck with carpool for starbucks cards at 10% off.

Re: the blue preferred. We got a $150 cash back at the beginning, so for the first 2 yrs it's essentially no fee. Gotta play the rewards right ;)

Your statement makes it seem like you're focusing on average cost instead of marginal cost, which is most definitely NOT playing the rewards right.

The first year you got your $150 bonus and paid your $75 fee. Cool. Now let's suppose it's been 11 months since you applied, and you're contemplating whether you should keep the card and pay the annual fee.

Idk how much you spend at grocery stores. Let's say for the sake of the argument you spend $2k a year. at grocery stores.

If you keep the card, you earn 6% on $2000 = $120. You pay an annual fee of $75, so your total benefit is $45.

If you cancel the card and get the Blue Cash Everyday instead, which earns 3% at grocery stores and has no annual fee, you earn 3% on $2000 = $60.

You're better off by cancelling the card and getting the Blue Cash Everyday instead. The breakeven point if we're just looking at grocery spending is $2500.


But by your logic, your first two years are free so you should stay with the Blue Cash Preferred. That's wrong. You've already earned your $150 signup bonus. That's a sunk gain (as opposed to sunk cost haha). It has no bearing on your decision now.


Incidentally, you could also get the signup bonus on the Blue Cash Everday. And I've ignored the extra cashback you can earn on gas with the BCP, but that doesn't change the point I'm trying to make: claiming your signup bonus makes your first two years free is the wrong way to analyze the situaiton.

A- we spend an obscene amount on groceries, so figure the whole $6k.
B- we don't CC churn except for primary use cards. This is undoubtedly a missed opportunity, but just isn't worth monitoring for us. Too much work at this point. So the rewards are not seen as a one time bonus, but instead weighed against the fees.

Neither of which change the fact that your approach of "the signup bonus makes the first two years free" is the wrong way to analyze the situaiton.

So the break even, you stated, is $2500 on grocery spending. I stated we spend well above this, easily the $6k/yr rewards limit. And yet I am still wrong? I'm not entirely sure why I am being berated here.

[johnny847]

A- we spend an obscene amount on groceries, so figure the whole $6k.
B- we don't CC churn except for primary use cards. This is undoubtedly a missed opportunity, but just isn't worth monitoring for us. Too much work at this point. So the rewards are not seen as a one time bonus, but instead weighed against the fees.

Neither of which change the fact that your approach of "the signup bonus makes the first two years free" is the wrong way to analyze the situaiton.

So the break even, you stated, is $2500 on grocery spending. I stated we spend well above this, easily the $6k/yr rewards limit. And yet I am still wrong? I'm not entirely sure why I am being berated here.

You specifically said

Re: the blue preferred. We got a $150 cash back at the beginning, so for the first 2 yrs it's essentially no fee. Gotta play the rewards right ;)

And I'm saying your reasoning here is wrong. Here you justified the annual fee by saying you got a $150 signup bonus. When you should be justifying it with your spending at groceries.

I'm not saying you're worse off by using the BCP--you are better off as I already calculated. What I take issue with is the statement above, particularly when you said you "gotta play the rewards right." Using a signup bonus to justify any annual fee past the first year is playing the rewards wrong.

[Jakejake]

And now I have to figure out how to use the gift cards, since I don't usually buy much from Amazon.  And I'm never home when it gets delivered to my door.  Oh woe is me!  ;)

You could sell the gift cards on raise.com if you really don't want them.

[riverffashion]

It's all good people- "just for fun" right?

[With This Herring]

DH is gung ho to buy me a new car. Not just any car, but a fancy pants luxury model. I've told him in no uncertain terms that he is not allowed to buy me a car and especially not a really nice one. I don't want to deplete the stash and I actually like driving a more beat up car so I don't have to carry comprehensive insurance on it, don't have to care about scratching it and people will assume we're broke, rather than the other way round.

He must be the only man in town whose wife would be mad at him for buying her a nice car.

But wait, there is another wife like that!
Etiquette Hell: The Christmas Car
Your post reminded me of this horrible story.  Happy cringing!

[Giro]

DH is gung ho to buy me a new car. Not just any car, but a fancy pants luxury model. I've told him in no uncertain terms that he is not allowed to buy me a car and especially not a really nice one. I don't want to deplete the stash and I actually like driving a more beat up car so I don't have to carry comprehensive insurance on it, don't have to care about scratching it and people will assume we're broke, rather than the other way round.

He must be the only man in town whose wife would be mad at him for buying her a nice car.

But wait, there is another wife like that!
Etiquette Hell: The Christmas Car
Your post reminded me of this horrible story.  Happy cringing!

cringe!!

My husband sometimes hints around at just showing up with my dream car in the driveway.  In no uncertain terms, I've made it clear that I do not want that.  It's a $100K car and I would be quite upset!

[LennStar]

I'm salaried.  And for more detail, the choice was consumer crap goods that I do not want nor need, or Amazon gift cards.  I chose the gift cards.

The system my company uses to 'reward' employees reminds me of what my mother was offered when she retired.  She was given a catalog and was told she could choose anything in it up to some level.  I was technically given "points" that could be redeemed for worthless stuff that I don't want (and oh by the way, it's taxed at the same rate as the gift cards).  I'm happy that the cards were offered, because otherwise I probably wouldn't have redeemed the points for anything at all.

This 'complaint' of mine is truly a 贅沢な悩み (zeitaku na nayami). lol  (Translates roughly to "worry of luxury")

Oh, and...how do you get amazon gift cards for a 4-5% discount?  That interests me, because my main use of amazon is for getting presents for my niece/nephews.

Amazon offers referal programs - someone buys something after they clicked your link and you get paid. In most countries that is 6% for gift cards.
(example> http://www.amazon.de/s/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1638&creative=19454&keywords=geschenkgutschein%20amazon&linkCode=ur2&qid=1404679311&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Ageschenkgutschein%20amazon&site-redirect=de&tag=lennstarsgeda-21 would give my account % )

hm...... talking about luxury worries - how do you think "clown car driving" would translate to nihongo?
And can you please link to the wikipedia entry about the car class where you dont need a parking space in Tokyo? the ultra short ones. I always forget it.

[Tigerpine]

I'm salaried.  And for more detail, the choice was consumer crap goods that I do not want nor need, or Amazon gift cards.  I chose the gift cards.

The system my company uses to 'reward' employees reminds me of what my mother was offered when she retired.  She was given a catalog and was told she could choose anything in it up to some level.  I was technically given "points" that could be redeemed for worthless stuff that I don't want (and oh by the way, it's taxed at the same rate as the gift cards).  I'm happy that the cards were offered, because otherwise I probably wouldn't have redeemed the points for anything at all.

This 'complaint' of mine is truly a 贅沢な悩み (zeitaku na nayami). lol  (Translates roughly to "worry of luxury")

Oh, and...how do you get amazon gift cards for a 4-5% discount?  That interests me, because my main use of amazon is for getting presents for my niece/nephews.

Amazon offers referal programs - someone buys something after they clicked your link and you get paid. In most countries that is 6% for gift cards.
(example> http://www.amazon.de/s/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1638&creative=19454&keywords=geschenkgutschein%20amazon&linkCode=ur2&qid=1404679311&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Ageschenkgutschein%20amazon&site-redirect=de&tag=lennstarsgeda-21 would give my account % )

hm...... talking about luxury worries - how do you think "clown car driving" would translate to nihongo?
And can you please link to the wikipedia entry about the car class where you dont need a parking space in Tokyo? the ultra short ones. I always forget it.

Thanks for the link!

I assume you're referring to "Kei" cars, right?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kei_car

Hmm...I don't know about that translation....bakasha unten maybe?  バカ車運転  The question is, would anyone understand the meaning you're trying to convey?

[Gerard]

My husband sometimes hints around at just showing up with my dream car in the driveway.  In no uncertain terms, I've made it clear that I do not want that.  It's a $100K car and I would be quite upset!

I hear about people doing this kind of stuff and I really don't get it. "Hey, honey! Against your expressed wishes, *I* bought *you* a treat with *our* money!"

[onehair]

I was going to up my contributions for my retirement and stocks thinking I had forgotten logged in and saw I had already entered 3 small increases and forgotten about them.  I did increase two or three more then logged out.

[LennStar]

Thanks for the link!

I assume you're referring to "Kei" cars, right?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kei_car

Hmm...I don't know about that translation....bakasha unten maybe?  バカ車運転  The question is, would anyone understand the meaning you're trying to convey?

Thats the one, right! Thanks.
(I must build me some mnemo like... sometimes these cars look (their visual is) like visual kei cars (k and c sounding the same))

 Clown car driving has no pre-MMM meaning either, so I think its ok if it is totally new meaning. My japanese is not good enough to judge any fine points anyway, but I think we need something more slapstick-stupid sounding.
Like the mascot of the freezer company Fukushima that called it Fuckuppy. It did get quite a few smiles in the english speaking world, but it was still a real fuck up of the "better image" idea.

[rantk81]

My condo association had to do a fairly large and expensive repair project, and will be charging us all for a special assessment.  In order to pay for it, the association took out a loan (at a higher interest rate than I am able to obtain for a loan myself), and I am forced to pay my portion off with some monthly payment schedule, instead of just writing one big check and avoiding paying the extra interest.

[GreenSheep]

My condo association had to do a fairly large and expensive repair project, and will be charging us all for a special assessment.  In order to pay for it, the association took out a loan (at a higher interest rate than I am able to obtain for a loan myself), and I am forced to pay my portion off with some monthly payment schedule, instead of just writing one big check and avoiding paying the extra interest.

Wow, I'd be fighting them on that. I'd be doing the math on what the interest would be on your portion and then telling them I'm paying my portion, minus the interest, all in one lump sum. This is yet another sad example of the fact that the average person thinks that paying interest is just part of life.

[riverffashion]

My condo association had to do a fairly large and expensive repair project, and will be charging us all for a special assessment.  In order to pay for it, the association took out a loan (at a higher interest rate than I am able to obtain for a loan myself), and I am forced to pay my portion off with some monthly payment schedule, instead of just writing one big check and avoiding paying the extra interest.

Wow, I'd be fighting them on that. I'd be doing the math on what the interest would be on your portion and then telling them I'm paying my portion, minus the interest, all in one lump sum. This is yet another sad example of the fact that the average person thinks that paying interest is just part of life.

Agreed. But, Idk if they would see/accept  your side of it. Because of the interest the association has agreed upon to pay. At the least , I could see them accepting the entire lump sum (with the interest) .
Seems like something the condo community would have discussed first. But maybe they did(?) And decided for the typically monthly plan .

[afuera]

I agree with all of these except the last one :) 
http://www.buzzfeed.com/annas31/23-things-shamelessly-frugal-people-will-understan-942y#.lrQ41nMwB

[Cannot Wait!]

My Mustachian newly FIREd Problem:  I can't seem to wipe the smile off my face!  😄

[Cannot Wait!]

Also,  I now have time to take afternoon naps - but without the soulsucking job, I don't have the need to anymore...

[G-dog]

Also,  I now have time to take afternoon naps - but without the soulsucking job, I don't have the need to anymore...

It is great, isn't it! Congratulations!

[theadvicist]

Mustachian Person Problem:

I writing my to-do list and amongst many other boring things like "Check life insurance renewal" was, "Count money".

I am STILL trying to get through all that cash I had lying around from months ago, and I wanted to make sure I wasn't getting slapdash tracking my spending.

But then I did a double-take and realised I sound like Scrooge making an appointment to sit and count my money, and scrapped that to do list and made a mental note instead.

(It all added up right, don't worry)

[riverffashion]

Mustachian Person Problem:

I writing my to-do list and amongst many other boring things like "Check life insurance renewal" was, "Count money".

I am STILL trying to get through all that cash I had lying around from months ago, and I wanted to make sure I wasn't getting slapdash tracking my spending.

But then I did a double-take and realised I sound like Scrooge making an appointment to sit and count my money, and scrapped that to do list and made a mental note instead.

(It all added up right, don't worry)

That's hilarious

[Miss Piggy]

I like to do surveys on Swagbucks (mostly for fun rather than their measly payoff..  it somehow feels fulfilling to have my opinion heard as a Mustachian and a minority).

Unfortunately, a lot of these surveys will ask if you've bought a certain product, how much you spend on certain things, how often you buy a product/service, etc. as "filter" questions in the beginning and I get disqualified at that step for at least 90% of the time.

As a marketing researcher, I write some of those surveys. Yeah...the people on this forum are definitely not the target respondents.

[Zikoris]

I like to do surveys on Swagbucks (mostly for fun rather than their measly payoff..  it somehow feels fulfilling to have my opinion heard as a Mustachian and a minority).

Unfortunately, a lot of these surveys will ask if you've bought a certain product, how much you spend on certain things, how often you buy a product/service, etc. as "filter" questions in the beginning and I get disqualified at that step for at least 90% of the time.

As a marketing researcher, I write some of those surveys. Yeah...the people on this forum are definitely not the target respondents.

Hey, I do surveys sometimes and I was wondering - how come the really important qualifying questions are often quite far in? It's not uncommon for me to spend several minutes putting in my age, income, marital status, region, and job field, and only after that get asked "Do you own a car?" or "How many times a week do you use tobacco/alcohol?". If the survey is about cars or tobacco or alcohol, why is that never the first question?

[LennStar]

I like to do surveys on Swagbucks (mostly for fun rather than their measly payoff..  it somehow feels fulfilling to have my opinion heard as a Mustachian and a minority).

Unfortunately, a lot of these surveys will ask if you've bought a certain product, how much you spend on certain things, how often you buy a product/service, etc. as "filter" questions in the beginning and I get disqualified at that step for at least 90% of the time.

As a marketing researcher, I write some of those surveys. Yeah...the people on this forum are definitely not the target respondents.

Hey, I do surveys sometimes and I was wondering - how come the really important qualifying questions are often quite far in? It's not uncommon for me to spend several minutes putting in my age, income, marital status, region, and job field, and only after that get asked "Do you own a car?" or "How many times a week do you use tobacco/alcohol?". If the survey is about cars or tobacco or alcohol, why is that never the first question?

Because they get statistical data without paying for it (when you get "fired").
I really really hate that, because of course I also get kicked in 90% of the cases.
Like "When did you last bought a jeans?" hm... about 3 years ago? And the longest time possible is one year.
And all the brand questions that dont make sense for me.

[plainjane]

I like to do surveys on Swagbucks (mostly for fun rather than their measly payoff..  it somehow feels fulfilling to have my opinion heard as a Mustachian and a minority).
Unfortunately, a lot of these surveys will ask if you've bought a certain product, how much you spend on certain things, how often you buy a product/service, etc. as "filter" questions in the beginning and I get disqualified at that step for at least 90% of the time.

As a marketing researcher, I write some of those surveys. Yeah...the people on this forum are definitely not the target respondents.

Hey, I do surveys sometimes and I was wondering - how come the really important qualifying questions are often quite far in? It's not uncommon for me to spend several minutes putting in my age, income, marital status, region, and job field, and only after that get asked "Do you own a car?" or "How many times a week do you use tobacco/alcohol?". If the survey is about cars or tobacco or alcohol, why is that never the first question?

Sometimes it is because we need to weight the data to make it look like the general population.  And we don't know the composition of the population who drinks alcohol 1x/week or more.  But we do know the general population.  So we weight everyone, and then the distribution should be pretty close once the screener is done.

The other reason is sometimes that the company is using a router, and so  it's trying to find the survey that you qualify for. That's why you keep getting asked similar questions over and over (slightly different age breaks, a different set of potential answers for education).

Finally, some clients think that it's too obvious what types of answers would qualify if you put that question first, and respondents would lie in order to get into the survey.  This is obviously silly, because it's just as easy for them to answer those obvious questions later in.