Author Topic: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)  (Read 5086733 times)

Redstone5

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6450 on: July 03, 2019, 04:39:26 PM »
I guess the person who passed away was sure they still had a lot of cleaning ahead of them to look forward to :)

My dad always tells the story of this extremely wealthy and famous business man who passed away in his late 80s (wish I could remember who it was), right after he'd just placed an order with his tailor for 10 new suits, each with two pairs of pants.

My dad always points out, "Imagine being in your elderly years and still having the confidence to assume that you would live long enough and still be active enough to need two pairs of pants to go with each suit jacket, just in case the first pair wears out" LOL

rantk81

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6451 on: July 03, 2019, 04:40:34 PM »
In my experience, "paying off" mortgages is unnecessarily complicated and convoluted.  First you need to order a "payoff statement" so that they can calculate how much it will cost you to pay off the amount on a certain date (with all the prorated interested included) and also potentially including any county recording fees, if applicable.  Sure, this is something that can easily be calculated at any time -- but every mortgage company I've had, had a "system" for doing this.  Then, they required "secure funds" for the payoff -- meaning they won't accept a personal check or an ACH... oh no, you have to WIRE the funds, which has a whole other set of outrageous fees at most banks.

Yeah, it's ridiculous.

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6452 on: July 03, 2019, 06:31:59 PM »
In my experience, "paying off" mortgages is unnecessarily complicated and convoluted.  First you need to order a "payoff statement" so that they can calculate how much it will cost you to pay off the amount on a certain date (with all the prorated interested included) and also potentially including any county recording fees, if applicable.  Sure, this is something that can easily be calculated at any time -- but every mortgage company I've had, had a "system" for doing this.  Then, they required "secure funds" for the payoff -- meaning they won't accept a personal check or an ACH... oh no, you have to WIRE the funds, which has a whole other set of outrageous fees at most banks.

Yeah, it's ridiculous.

My last several I'm pretty sure I just sent them a regular check or EFT as an extra payment for the mortgage balance plus a few hundred dollars.  They eventually figure it out down to the penny and send you a check back for whatever the leftover amount is.

TomTX

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6453 on: July 03, 2019, 06:38:13 PM »
In my experience, "paying off" mortgages is unnecessarily complicated and convoluted.  First you need to order a "payoff statement" so that they can calculate how much it will cost you to pay off the amount on a certain date (with all the prorated interested included) and also potentially including any county recording fees, if applicable.  Sure, this is something that can easily be calculated at any time -- but every mortgage company I've had, had a "system" for doing this.  Then, they required "secure funds" for the payoff -- meaning they won't accept a personal check or an ACH... oh no, you have to WIRE the funds, which has a whole other set of outrageous fees at most banks.

Yeah, it's ridiculous.

My last several I'm pretty sure I just sent them a regular check or EFT as an extra payment for the mortgage balance plus a few hundred dollars.  They eventually figure it out down to the penny and send you a check back for whatever the leftover amount is.

That was my thought as well. Kudos!

Just figure it roughly, add a couple hundred bucks and send them a check or ACH.

rantk81

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6454 on: July 03, 2019, 06:48:00 PM »
In my experience, "paying off" mortgages is unnecessarily complicated and convoluted.  First you need to order a "payoff statement" so that they can calculate how much it will cost you to pay off the amount on a certain date (with all the prorated interested included) and also potentially including any county recording fees, if applicable.  Sure, this is something that can easily be calculated at any time -- but every mortgage company I've had, had a "system" for doing this.  Then, they required "secure funds" for the payoff -- meaning they won't accept a personal check or an ACH... oh no, you have to WIRE the funds, which has a whole other set of outrageous fees at most banks.

Yeah, it's ridiculous.

My last several I'm pretty sure I just sent them a regular check or EFT as an extra payment for the mortgage balance plus a few hundred dollars.  They eventually figure it out down to the penny and send you a check back for whatever the leftover amount is.

That was my thought as well. Kudos!

Just figure it roughly, add a couple hundred bucks and send them a check or ACH.

Really wish I could have done that with my mortgage loan services in the past!  Mine had gone out of their way to say they would reject/return any payment for payoff without first getting the payoff statement and using certified funds!

Freedomin5

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6455 on: July 03, 2019, 07:24:17 PM »
In my experience, "paying off" mortgages is unnecessarily complicated and convoluted.  First you need to order a "payoff statement" so that they can calculate how much it will cost you to pay off the amount on a certain date (with all the prorated interested included) and also potentially including any county recording fees, if applicable.  Sure, this is something that can easily be calculated at any time -- but every mortgage company I've had, had a "system" for doing this.  Then, they required "secure funds" for the payoff -- meaning they won't accept a personal check or an ACH... oh no, you have to WIRE the funds, which has a whole other set of outrageous fees at most banks.

Yeah, it's ridiculous.

My last several I'm pretty sure I just sent them a regular check or EFT as an extra payment for the mortgage balance plus a few hundred dollars.  They eventually figure it out down to the penny and send you a check back for whatever the leftover amount is.

That was my thought as well. Kudos!

Just figure it roughly, add a couple hundred bucks and send them a check or ACH.

Really wish I could have done that with my mortgage loan services in the past!  Mine had gone out of their way to say they would reject/return any payment for payoff without first getting the payoff statement and using certified funds!

Huh...it’s almost like they DON’T want you to pay off your mortgage. :D

gaja

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6456 on: July 04, 2019, 03:40:54 PM »
I guess the person who passed away was sure they still had a lot of cleaning ahead of them to look forward to :)

My dad always tells the story of this extremely wealthy and famous business man who passed away in his late 80s (wish I could remember who it was), right after he'd just placed an order with his tailor for 10 new suits, each with two pairs of pants.

My dad always points out, "Imagine being in your elderly years and still having the confidence to assume that you would live long enough and still be active enough to need two pairs of pants to go with each suit jacket, just in case the first pair wears out" LOL

That reminds me of the story of Haakon Lie, an important Norwegian political figure in the labour movement. After turning 90, he decided to invest in a heat pump for his house, happily declaring that the payback time was less than 10 years. He lived until 103.

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6457 on: July 04, 2019, 08:24:41 PM »
In my experience, "paying off" mortgages is unnecessarily complicated and convoluted.  First you need to order a "payoff statement" so that they can calculate how much it will cost you to pay off the amount on a certain date (with all the prorated interested included) and also potentially including any county recording fees, if applicable.  Sure, this is something that can easily be calculated at any time -- but every mortgage company I've had, had a "system" for doing this.  Then, they required "secure funds" for the payoff -- meaning they won't accept a personal check or an ACH... oh no, you have to WIRE the funds, which has a whole other set of outrageous fees at most banks.

Yeah, it's ridiculous.

This was done to me, once, and it irritated me.  So while I still believe (depending on the interest rate) that you are generally ahead getting out of debt ASAP, after that instance I accelerated payments (I believe it is called curtailing principal) until within 2 - 3 months of payoff.  Then I stopped the extra payments and let the loan wind itself down via the regular autodeduction from the bank.  It is worth cutting off the autopayment once you know you're done, in case they don't immediately realize they have switched from discharging your debt to them, to them stealing from you.  In any case - or I should say, in every case - where I've done it this way they eventually figure out they've overcharged a few dollars; turning off the autodeduction yourself just means their eventual refund of the overcharge is a bit smaller. 

SwordGuy

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6458 on: July 04, 2019, 08:40:24 PM »
In my experience, "paying off" mortgages is unnecessarily complicated and convoluted.  First you need to order a "payoff statement" so that they can calculate how much it will cost you to pay off the amount on a certain date (with all the prorated interested included) and also potentially including any county recording fees, if applicable.  Sure, this is something that can easily be calculated at any time -- but every mortgage company I've had, had a "system" for doing this.  Then, they required "secure funds" for the payoff -- meaning they won't accept a personal check or an ACH... oh no, you have to WIRE the funds, which has a whole other set of outrageous fees at most banks.

Yeah, it's ridiculous.

This was done to me, once, and it irritated me.  So while I still believe (depending on the interest rate) that you are generally ahead getting out of debt ASAP, after that instance I accelerated payments (I believe it is called curtailing principal) until within 2 - 3 months of payoff.  Then I stopped the extra payments and let the loan wind itself down via the regular autodeduction from the bank.  It is worth cutting off the autopayment once you know you're done, in case they don't immediately realize they have switched from discharging your debt to them, to them stealing from you.  In any case - or I should say, in every case - where I've done it this way they eventually figure out they've overcharged a few dollars; turning off the autodeduction yourself just means their eventual refund of the overcharge is a bit smaller.

And after they acknowledge you've paid it off, contact your county registrar of deeds (or local government equivalent) about a month later to verify they removed the mortgage lien from your property.  Otherwise, that will be discovered at the last minute when you try to sell your house in the future.

Freedomin5

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6459 on: July 04, 2019, 09:51:42 PM »
DH went to the bank and paid off the mortgage yesterday. However, we did not discharge the mortgage because there is a $260 discharge fee. This fee can be waived if we get another mortgage with the bank, as the bank will then discharge the old mortgage and set up the new one. It is possible that we will purchase another property in the future  and will need another mortgage. My MPP is that now I have to remember that this old mortgage has not been discharged and then to remember to ask for the fee to be waived a couple years in the future if/when we get a new mortgage.

My parents MPP was that they never discharged their mortgage after paying it off, and when they sold their house 15 years later, they weren’t able to do so until they dug up all the old mortgage statements proving that they had paid off the mortgage.

SwordGuy

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6460 on: July 04, 2019, 10:10:47 PM »
DH went to the bank and paid off the mortgage yesterday. However, we did not discharge the mortgage because there is a $260 discharge fee. This fee can be waived if we get another mortgage with the bank, as the bank will then discharge the old mortgage and set up the new one. It is possible that we will purchase another property in the future  and will need another mortgage. My MPP is that now I have to remember that this old mortgage has not been discharged and then to remember to ask for the fee to be waived a couple years in the future if/when we get a new mortgage.

My parents MPP was that they never discharged their mortgage after paying it off, and when they sold their house 15 years later, they weren’t able to do so until they dug up all the old mortgage statements proving that they had paid off the mortgage.

That's a fair bit of risk and headache for $260.   A leaky roof or leaky plumbing while you're out of town could destroy those records.   

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6461 on: July 04, 2019, 10:15:35 PM »
DH went to the bank and paid off the mortgage yesterday. However, we did not discharge the mortgage because there is a $260 discharge fee. This fee can be waived if we get another mortgage with the bank, as the bank will then discharge the old mortgage and set up the new one. It is possible that we will purchase another property in the future  and will need another mortgage. My MPP is that now I have to remember that this old mortgage has not been discharged and then to remember to ask for the fee to be waived a couple years in the future if/when we get a new mortgage.

My parents MPP was that they never discharged their mortgage after paying it off, and when they sold their house 15 years later, they weren’t able to do so until they dug up all the old mortgage statements proving that they had paid off the mortgage.
Is that standard practice?  It sure seems kinda scummy to me: "Hey, we know you paid off the debt, but we won't officially discharge it until you pay us this BS fee."

Freedomin5

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6462 on: July 04, 2019, 11:38:28 PM »
DH went to the bank and paid off the mortgage yesterday. However, we did not discharge the mortgage because there is a $260 discharge fee. This fee can be waived if we get another mortgage with the bank, as the bank will then discharge the old mortgage and set up the new one. It is possible that we will purchase another property in the future  and will need another mortgage. My MPP is that now I have to remember that this old mortgage has not been discharged and then to remember to ask for the fee to be waived a couple years in the future if/when we get a new mortgage.

My parents MPP was that they never discharged their mortgage after paying it off, and when they sold their house 15 years later, they weren’t able to do so until they dug up all the old mortgage statements proving that they had paid off the mortgage.
Is that standard practice?  It sure seems kinda scummy to me: "Hey, we know you paid off the debt, but we won't officially discharge it until you pay us this BS fee."

Yes, standard practice. It’s with one of the largest banks in Canada. We will probably get a new mortgage within the next year or two, at which point we will discharge this mortgage. We like mortgage money because the interest rates are typically quite low. This last mortgage had an interest rate of 2.34%.

dragoncar

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6463 on: July 05, 2019, 01:39:33 AM »
DH went to the bank and paid off the mortgage yesterday. However, we did not discharge the mortgage because there is a $260 discharge fee. This fee can be waived if we get another mortgage with the bank, as the bank will then discharge the old mortgage and set up the new one. It is possible that we will purchase another property in the future  and will need another mortgage. My MPP is that now I have to remember that this old mortgage has not been discharged and then to remember to ask for the fee to be waived a couple years in the future if/when we get a new mortgage.

My parents MPP was that they never discharged their mortgage after paying it off, and when they sold their house 15 years later, they weren’t able to do so until they dug up all the old mortgage statements proving that they had paid off the mortgage.
Is that standard practice?  It sure seems kinda scummy to me: "Hey, we know you paid off the debt, but we won't officially discharge it until you pay us this BS fee."

It's totally scummy, but I'd be surprised if it wasn't disclosed when the mortgage was created

RetiredAt63

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6464 on: July 05, 2019, 09:24:04 AM »
DH went to the bank and paid off the mortgage yesterday. However, we did not discharge the mortgage because there is a $260 discharge fee. This fee can be waived if we get another mortgage with the bank, as the bank will then discharge the old mortgage and set up the new one. It is possible that we will purchase another property in the future  and will need another mortgage. My MPP is that now I have to remember that this old mortgage has not been discharged and then to remember to ask for the fee to be waived a couple years in the future if/when we get a new mortgage.

My parents MPP was that they never discharged their mortgage after paying it off, and when they sold their house 15 years later, they weren’t able to do so until they dug up all the old mortgage statements proving that they had paid off the mortgage.
Is that standard practice?  It sure seems kinda scummy to me: "Hey, we know you paid off the debt, but we won't officially discharge it until you pay us this BS fee."

Yes, standard practice. It’s with one of the largest banks in Canada. We will probably get a new mortgage within the next year or two, at which point we will discharge this mortgage. We like mortgage money because the interest rates are typically quite low. This last mortgage had an interest rate of 2.34%.

My bank didn't charge me extra when I  paid off my mortgage. Instead I got a card signed by all my branch staff congratulating me.

radram

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6465 on: July 06, 2019, 06:52:59 AM »

My bank didn't charge me extra when I  paid off my mortgage. Instead I got a card signed by all my branch staff congratulating me.

Now THAT is a great use of a couple of bucks. Because of that small gesture, who here would not go back to this bank first to get a competitive rate on your next loan. I know I would.

+1 for your bank

techwiz

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6466 on: July 08, 2019, 07:01:38 AM »

My bank didn't charge me extra when I  paid off my mortgage. Instead I got a card signed by all my branch staff congratulating me.

Wow, this is great customer service from a bank. I suspect this happened a long time ago or in a small town branch where they dont' have high turnover of staff?  I haven't seen that kind of personal touch from the banks in decades.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6467 on: July 08, 2019, 07:13:44 AM »

My bank didn't charge me extra when I  paid off my mortgage. Instead I got a card signed by all my branch staff congratulating me.

Wow, this is great customer service from a bank. I suspect this happened a long time ago or in a small town branch where they dont' have high turnover of staff?  I haven't seen that kind of personal touch from the banks in decades.

Just a few years ago. Small town branch, moderate turnover rate. It is known internally as a good branch.  But I have also gotten great service from a branch in Ottawa.

FireHiker

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6468 on: July 08, 2019, 10:15:19 AM »
I have a new MPP today. We are finally making the very mustachian move of downsizing our 3690 square foot clown house to a 1642 square foot townhome nearby. It's about a mile from our current home, same schools, shortens our work commute from 2 miles to 1 mile each way. We have qualified to carry our current mortgage, a heloc to pay a 25% down payment, and the new mortgage...BUT the initial lender we chose will not believe us that we are downsizing and is considering the purchase "investment property" which means the rate they are offering is a full point higher. WTF!! We have a listing agreement and are putting our house on the market next week once we're finished getting it prepped for sale. Evidently we are "too young" to be downsizing and cannot convince this lender that the purchase will be our new primary residence.

Now, it's very likely our current home will sell and we'll close escrow on it first before escrow closes on the purchase, in which case we no longer have this problem, but it isn't guaranteed and the seller accepted our offer because it wasn't contingent on the sale of our first home. But, seriously?! I am both annoyed because now we have to spend time and energy that we don't have on this, and offended that they don't believe we are downsizing in the same area with two kids still at home.

SwordGuy

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6469 on: July 08, 2019, 10:40:15 AM »
I have a new MPP today. We are finally making the very mustachian move of downsizing our 3690 square foot clown house to a 1642 square foot townhome nearby. It's about a mile from our current home, same schools, shortens our work commute from 2 miles to 1 mile each way. We have qualified to carry our current mortgage, a heloc to pay a 25% down payment, and the new mortgage...BUT the initial lender we chose will not believe us that we are downsizing and is considering the purchase "investment property" which means the rate they are offering is a full point higher. WTF!! We have a listing agreement and are putting our house on the market next week once we're finished getting it prepped for sale. Evidently we are "too young" to be downsizing and cannot convince this lender that the purchase will be our new primary residence.

Now, it's very likely our current home will sell and we'll close escrow on it first before escrow closes on the purchase, in which case we no longer have this problem, but it isn't guaranteed and the seller accepted our offer because it wasn't contingent on the sale of our first home. But, seriously?! I am both annoyed because now we have to spend time and energy that we don't have on this, and offended that they don't believe we are downsizing in the same area with two kids still at home.

Do you have a blog of longstanding that covers you and your goals?

You've got over 1000 posts on this forum.   Make an appointment with them, show them your account on this forum, typical posts you've made (there's a link on your profile to them), and relevant articles.
Might help convince them.

FireHiker

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6470 on: July 08, 2019, 10:53:55 AM »
@SwordGuy I hadn't thought of that, but if it becomes necessary it's worth a shot. Thanks for the suggestion! The regional credit union may give us an acceptable mortgage rate and didn't have an issue with the downsizing so we may just go that route. We don't close escrow on the purchase until late August.

The thing that blew my mind, though, is that if we were going the other way they wouldn't argue it. But, because it is "so much smaller" it raises a red flag. Our society is messed up!

Linea_Norway

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6471 on: July 08, 2019, 10:57:09 AM »
I have a new MPP today. We are finally making the very mustachian move of downsizing our 3690 square foot clown house to a 1642 square foot townhome nearby. It's about a mile from our current home, same schools, shortens our work commute from 2 miles to 1 mile each way. We have qualified to carry our current mortgage, a heloc to pay a 25% down payment, and the new mortgage...BUT the initial lender we chose will not believe us that we are downsizing and is considering the purchase "investment property" which means the rate they are offering is a full point higher. WTF!! We have a listing agreement and are putting our house on the market next week once we're finished getting it prepped for sale. Evidently we are "too young" to be downsizing and cannot convince this lender that the purchase will be our new primary residence.

Now, it's very likely our current home will sell and we'll close escrow on it first before escrow closes on the purchase, in which case we no longer have this problem, but it isn't guaranteed and the seller accepted our offer because it wasn't contingent on the sale of our first home. But, seriously?! I am both annoyed because now we have to spend time and energy that we don't have on this, and offended that they don't believe we are downsizing in the same area with two kids still at home.

Isn't there a lot of competition? Find another one.
But I understand that it is more hassle for what should have been a formality.

FireHiker

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6472 on: July 08, 2019, 12:15:13 PM »
Isn't there a lot of competition? Find another one.
But I understand that it is more hassle for what should have been a formality.

Every time you go to a different lender they do a credit check, and too many will lower your credit here. And, it's a big annoyance. We have some options, and if we sell our house first (very possible) then it is a non-issue. I was just stunned that they "didn't believe" we were downsizing because it wasn't the typical thing. I guess it just confirms that we're doing the right thing if it's so counter-cultural "at our ages" that it raises red flags.

letsdoit

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6473 on: July 08, 2019, 02:33:08 PM »
i have perfect credit but almost got rejected from a new credit card bc i had been shopping around for better rewards and got three cards in the space of a month. 

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6474 on: July 13, 2019, 11:58:34 AM »
There is a thrift store I go to maybe 6 times per year and spend about $200/year - mostly for clothes and household items.  It has a bunch of half priced days (at least one per week)  They are typically mobbed with people, to the point it got to be so annoying I vowed to never go on a half price day again. 

The prices in the place are a little higher to compensate for the fact a big chunk of the inventory gets sold for half price. 

Today I bought about $20 worth of stuff, the first time I had gone there in months.   It was a fraction of the cost if I had bought this stuff new and it was stuff we actually needed.  I am still lamenting the fact I could have gotten it all for $10 and not $20.  It is so ridiculous because there are other parts of my life I have no problem wasting money on.  Also, my spending at this store represents a tiny, tiny fraction of our yearly income. 

It is one thing to be frugal, quite another to devote any mental energy to this when I am sitting on a giant freakin' stache. Sigh.

Hirondelle

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6475 on: July 13, 2019, 12:19:34 PM »
I was in a thrift store today and they had a 1+1 free promotion. I wanted/needed a pair of flats and a simple black top. Found some flats, but no suitable top, so I left with just 1 product missing the promotion.

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6476 on: July 13, 2019, 12:37:48 PM »
A mortgage lender was pessimistic about what I could get for my pre-approval, since they didn't see how someone with $11,300 saved up would want to put 20% down. Maybe if they knew I was Mustachian and that savings figure was growing fast, that phone conversation wouldn't have sounded so belabored. Oh well!

SwordGuy

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6477 on: July 13, 2019, 01:02:59 PM »
A mortgage lender was pessimistic about what I could get for my pre-approval, since they didn't see how someone with $11,300 saved up would want to put 20% down. Maybe if they knew I was Mustachian and that savings figure was growing fast, that phone conversation wouldn't have sounded so belabored. Oh well!

My realtor introduced me to a mortgage broker who would do some of my business after hours on the phone because I was travelling and dealing with the death of my mother.   A house we had been tracking for several years had finally come back on the market at an acceptable price so it was time to snap it up and move in.

The broker's been told that we're into real estate investing, so he starts off with, "So, Swordguy, how many houses do you have?"

Me:  "Well, legally, we own four."

Him:  "Squawk!!!!!!   Legally!!!???"

Me:  "Well, yes.  We own four houses.  My mom just passed away and I'll be inheriting her house, but I don't technically own it yet."

Him:  big sigh of relief.

Some conversations are more fun than others.

OtherJen

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6478 on: July 13, 2019, 04:08:05 PM »
Two "problems":

1. I recently paid off a car loan, which was then closed by the bank, and financed a home improvement on a 0% interest credit card for the cash back rewards (and have since paid off 80% of it). Those events caused my credit score to dip below 800 for the first time in a couple of years. Oops.

2. Husband just got an application for a Discover loan of up to $35k to pay off high-interest debt. We have no high-interest debt.

Raenia

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6479 on: July 14, 2019, 01:57:08 PM »
1. I recently paid off a car loan, which was then closed by the bank, and financed a home improvement on a 0% interest credit card for the cash back rewards (and have since paid off 80% of it). Those events caused my credit score to dip below 800 for the first time in a couple of years. Oops.

I have this one too - my score dropped below 750 for the first time in years, after several credit pulls and an unusually high utilization on one of my cards.  We had the credit pull from the mortgage company, opening a Home Depot credit card, and applying for financing for the new AC/furnace installation, plus I had put the electrician bill on a card for the points (paid off in full on the usual billing cycle, but still reported to the credit agencies as high utilization).  I was so sad to see it!

FireHiker

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6480 on: July 16, 2019, 11:56:58 AM »
It looks like our previous MPP has likely been resolved by going to the local credit union for the mortgage. They seem to believe us that we are actually downsizing and not trying to get a primary residence rate on an investment property. I still can't believe people will actually go to the effort to engage a realtor and list their house for sale to get a percentage point off an investment mortgage? It seems like a lot of work to me. We are exhausted but our listing should hit tomorrow...crossing fingers for a quick sale, and then our MPP will be figuring out how best to invest what we don't put down on the new house: VTSAX in an investment account, Mega Backdoor Roth (first?), do we bother with 529's for the two younger kids or not, etc. All good problems. Also, I was wrong: it seems if you have multiple credit checks in a brief period for the same thing (like a mortgage) it is viewed as "rate shopping" and not separate events. Our credit was still plenty good when the credit union checked it, whew.

rantk81

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6481 on: July 17, 2019, 06:01:02 AM »
I now have to figure out how else to deploy the $50/month that had been going to Comcast toward my condo building's bulk cable tv package!

YES! That is right! Finally the condo board in my building voted to get rid of that trash!  Ever since I moved in, they had a "bulk agreement" with Comcast, where every unit owner was required to pay for the service. In exchange, Comcast gave us a discount on the price of the TV service.

For years, owners have been complaining about it at meetings -- since a lot of people are cord cutters now and have no interest in paying for that garbage.  Surveys were sent out, the board ignored the will of the owners for several years!  I was on the board at one point and tried to push for ending it... But it always stalled by delay/stonewall tactics by the "older" members on the board who wanted to keep their sweatheart cable tv deal -- -- even if OVER HALF THE BUILDING didn't want to pay for it.  Basically, in my mind, their mentality was: "everyone else can go to hell, I get what I want since I'm on the board."

If you send out a survey to all owners with a direct question "Do you want the building to have a bulk cable TV package, forcing everyone to buy it, but in return getting a discount on the price?" and you get back more than 50% of the owners answer with "NO", it is extremely irresponsible (and in being-an-asshole territory, if you ask me) to continue to keep the service purely for one's self-interest of saving a couple bucks on their own package.

In fact, when (another unit owner) directly called out the board members (who still voted to keep the package), some of the absolute BULLSHIT reasons they gave for their vote (instead of admitting what self-centered-assholes they are) were:

1) "I don't think the owners understood the survey properly and weren't well informed", or
2) "Well, the MLS listings when people bought their condos said it should include cable, so we need to keep it"
3) "But Everyone is now going to have to pay almost $100 a month to Comcast now for their TV service!"

Well, the tides finally changed!  New members on the board.. and by a razor-thin vote of 3-2, we are not renewing the contract in November when it expires!  $50/month now not headed straight for the toilet!  MPP: How else do I deploy that fifty bucks?? Oooh that VTSAX over there sure looks nice!

« Last Edit: July 17, 2019, 06:30:17 AM by rantk81 »

Alfred J Quack

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6482 on: July 17, 2019, 11:05:17 AM »
A few annoying people keep biking past my house over the sidewalk rather than biking the extra 10 yards to use the bike path. The effect is that I can hear them inside and this is annoying.

Knowing that the city won't do anything about it, I asked them whether I can buy the 20 by 2 meters of sidewalk so that the annoying people will have to use the other sidewalk or bike path.

If it works, I can also build a carport to charge a future EV :P

LennStar

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6483 on: July 17, 2019, 11:15:06 AM »
YES! That is right! Finally the condo board in my building voted to get rid of that trash!  Ever since I moved in, they had a "bulk agreement" with Comcast, where every unit owner was required to pay for the service. In exchange, Comcast gave us a discount on the price of the TV service.

STOP! STOP!

Am I understanding that right? You pay 50$ and after that you have to pay the same for your TV?

I used to have Internet + TV + phone for 47€. Now (moved 2 weeks ago) I have Internet + phone flatrate for 30€. TV from community antenna. When my TV did the search on "free" channels only (not encrypted) I got 300+. Granted, a lot of them will be a public TV (which cost every household in Germany 17€ but is not a tax!!) channels with a dozen regional names (they have different weather forecast or something like that), but I still come out with more than 100 individual channels for free (plus the 17€ from above).

Damn Socialism again, I guess - they only try to keep people dumb with cheap, mindless entertainment!

rantk81

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6484 on: July 17, 2019, 11:17:40 AM »
YES! That is right! Finally the condo board in my building voted to get rid of that trash!  Ever since I moved in, they had a "bulk agreement" with Comcast, where every unit owner was required to pay for the service. In exchange, Comcast gave us a discount on the price of the TV service.

STOP! STOP!

Am I understanding that right? You pay 50$ and after that you have to pay the same for your TV?

I used to have Internet + TV + phone for 47€. Now (moved 2 weeks ago) I have Internet + phone flatrate for 30€. TV from community antenna. When my TV did the search on "free" channels only (not encrypted) I got 300+. Granted, a lot of them will be a public TV (which cost every household in Germany 17€ but is not a tax!!) channels with a dozen regional names (they have different weather forecast or something like that), but I still come out with more than 100 individual channels for free (plus the 17€ from above).

Damn Socialism again, I guess - they only try to keep people dumb with cheap, mindless entertainment!

The $50 was the discounted price for the TV package.  It did not include any internet or phone (which we are left to buy separately.)

dougules

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6485 on: July 18, 2019, 10:39:40 AM »
I've been nursing blueberry bushes along for several years since they're a bit of an expensive treat at the farmers' market.  This year a combination of factors has given me a bumper crop like I've never had before.  What I didn't think about in my excitement watching them come in in the spring is that they all have to be picked.  Now I am having to spend 3-4 hours a week picking blueberries.  Rough times. 

BicycleB

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6486 on: July 18, 2019, 11:33:26 AM »
A mortgage lender was pessimistic about what I could get for my pre-approval, since they didn't see how someone with $11,300 saved up would want to put 20% down. Maybe if they knew I was Mustachian and that savings figure was growing fast, that phone conversation wouldn't have sounded so belabored. Oh well!

My realtor introduced me to a mortgage broker who would do some of my business after hours on the phone because I was travelling and dealing with the death of my mother.   A house we had been tracking for several years had finally come back on the market at an acceptable price so it was time to snap it up and move in.

The broker's been told that we're into real estate investing, so he starts off with, "So, Swordguy, how many houses do you have?"

Me:  "Well, legally, we own four."

Him:  "Squawk!!!!!!   Legally!!!???"

Me:  "Well, yes.  We own four houses.  My mom just passed away and I'll be inheriting her house, but I don't technically own it yet."

Him:  big sigh of relief.

Some conversations are more fun than others.

@SwordGuy, literally LOL.

Hirondelle

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6487 on: July 18, 2019, 01:19:52 PM »
My flatmate is moving out and as I'm in the smallest room of the house, I was asked to move into his room. Now I'd like to move into a slightly bigger room as mine is quite small, however his room is about 2-2.5x the size of mine and about $100-150/month more expensive.

I'd love to move within the same house, yet I'm only interested in a room about 1.5-2x the size as I would just want enough space to host more than 4 guests at a time and wouldn't really be willing to pay more than $50/month extra because it would cut my SR too much.

(Yes, I'm fairly low income, grad student)

dragoncar

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6488 on: July 18, 2019, 01:45:29 PM »
My flatmate is moving out and as I'm in the smallest room of the house, I was asked to move into his room. Now I'd like to move into a slightly bigger room as mine is quite small, however his room is about 2-2.5x the size of mine and about $100-150/month more expensive.

I'd love to move within the same house, yet I'm only interested in a room about 1.5-2x the size as I would just want enough space to host more than 4 guests at a time and wouldn't really be willing to pay more than $50/month extra because it would cut my SR too much.

(Yes, I'm fairly low income, grad student)

Seems like there could be someone else willing to “move up” and let you take their medium room

Hirondelle

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6489 on: July 18, 2019, 01:53:58 PM »
My flatmate is moving out and as I'm in the smallest room of the house, I was asked to move into his room. Now I'd like to move into a slightly bigger room as mine is quite small, however his room is about 2-2.5x the size of mine and about $100-150/month more expensive.

I'd love to move within the same house, yet I'm only interested in a room about 1.5-2x the size as I would just want enough space to host more than 4 guests at a time and wouldn't really be willing to pay more than $50/month extra because it would cut my SR too much.

(Yes, I'm fairly low income, grad student)

Seems like there could be someone else willing to “move up” and let you take their medium room

The other flatmate actually the biggest room and she ain't going anywhere. It's just the 3 of us so no other in-house options unfortunately.

dragoncar

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6490 on: July 18, 2019, 03:06:00 PM »
My flatmate is moving out and as I'm in the smallest room of the house, I was asked to move into his room. Now I'd like to move into a slightly bigger room as mine is quite small, however his room is about 2-2.5x the size of mine and about $100-150/month more expensive.

I'd love to move within the same house, yet I'm only interested in a room about 1.5-2x the size as I would just want enough space to host more than 4 guests at a time and wouldn't really be willing to pay more than $50/month extra because it would cut my SR too much.

(Yes, I'm fairly low income, grad student)

Seems like there could be someone else willing to “move up” and let you take their medium room

The other flatmate actually the biggest room and she ain't going anywhere. It's just the 3 of us so no other in-house options unfortunately.

Take the biggest room and subdivide it :-P

Freedomin5

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6491 on: July 18, 2019, 06:03:47 PM »
We typically eat oatmeal for breakfast. It’s cheap and filling and delicious. Well, we just moved into a fancy serviced apartment, and in the  “welcome to the neighborhood” gift basket was a box of cornflakes. Cornflakes are very expensive here, as are most “American” foods.

The following conversation ensued when I tried to serve 5-year-old DD a bowl of Kellogg’s cornflakes with milk and sliced bananas (the quintessential North American breakfast).

DD: What are those? Are they chips?
Me: No, they’re cornflakes.
DD: Do I like them?
Me: I don’t know. You liked Cheerios when you were a baby. We used to eat Cheerios and milk and bananas at grandma’s house in Canada.
DD: (tries a spoonful) Yuck! They don’t taste ANY good!
Me: Shall I take them out of your bowl?
DD: Yes, next time, don’t put any chips. I just want bananas and milk.

MY MPP is that DD doesn’t recognize any major cereal brands and doesn’t know how to eat *normal* breakfasts. She’ll be the weirdo eating a bowl of sliced bananas swimming in milk when she’s attending sleepover summer camps.

dragoncar

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6492 on: July 18, 2019, 11:54:54 PM »


MY MPP is that DD doesn’t recognize any major cereal brands and doesn’t know how to eat *normal* breakfasts. She’ll be the weirdo eating a bowl of sliced bananas swimming in milk when she’s attending sleepover summer camps.

Seems like a blessing, since most major cereal brands are bad for you.  I never understood how people love breakfast cereal so much (as opposed to cereals as a botanical term).  I ate it plenty as a kid, from the boring healthy stuff to the sugar-laden stuff.  It was fine.  It filled me up.  But I've heard people describe it as some kind of perfect breakfast.  Just don't get it.

Hirondelle

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6493 on: July 19, 2019, 12:46:41 AM »


MY MPP is that DD doesn’t recognize any major cereal brands and doesn’t know how to eat *normal* breakfasts. She’ll be the weirdo eating a bowl of sliced bananas swimming in milk when she’s attending sleepover summer camps.

Seems like a blessing, since most major cereal brands are bad for you.  I never understood how people love breakfast cereal so much (as opposed to cereals as a botanical term).  I ate it plenty as a kid, from the boring healthy stuff to the sugar-laden stuff.  It was fine.  It filled me up.  But I've heard people describe it as some kind of perfect breakfast.  Just don't get it.

Yes, sounds like a blessing to me too. I've never understood cereal/cornflakes (Dutch, so we got bread + cheese for breakfast and our bread isn't sweet like many American breads). Muesli I can understand, but actual cornflakes? To me it's disgusting and it's super unhealthy. If I want to eat unhealthy stuff I want it to actually taste good. If I wanted dairy + sugar as my breakfast I'd just eat a chocolate bar or ice cream :p.

Freedomin5

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6494 on: July 19, 2019, 02:04:27 AM »


MY MPP is that DD doesn’t recognize any major cereal brands and doesn’t know how to eat *normal* breakfasts. She’ll be the weirdo eating a bowl of sliced bananas swimming in milk when she’s attending sleepover summer camps.

Seems like a blessing, since most major cereal brands are bad for you.  I never understood how people love breakfast cereal so much (as opposed to cereals as a botanical term).  I ate it plenty as a kid, from the boring healthy stuff to the sugar-laden stuff.  It was fine.  It filled me up.  But I've heard people describe it as some kind of perfect breakfast.  Just don't get it.

Yes, sounds like a blessing to me too. I've never understood cereal/cornflakes (Dutch, so we got bread + cheese for breakfast and our bread isn't sweet like many American breads). Muesli I can understand, but actual cornflakes? To me it's disgusting and it's super unhealthy. If I want to eat unhealthy stuff I want it to actually taste good. If I wanted dairy + sugar as my breakfast I'd just eat a chocolate bar or ice cream :p.

I haven’t eaten cold cereals in a while and to be honest, when I tasted it, it tasted like it’s supposed to taste, but it also tasted a bit...odd.

Greenback Reproduction Specialist

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6495 on: July 19, 2019, 09:44:31 AM »
Anxiety over having serious FU money and just hitting a bare bones minimum FIRE threshold, but wanting to get to our real FIRE goal, but realizing we could just stop now, but if we did then we couldnt get the house we really want in the areas we really want to live or have to sacrifice the income, but we are only getting older each year and sailing around the world is totally doable, but would we really enjoy sailing enough to make the full circumnavigation and if not we wouldnt have enough to full FIRE when we got back but we would still be FI, but really..... we dont need all that fancy stuff we could just go live back in the mountains and rent the house out, but we would really like all that fancy stuff and whats a few more years in the grand schem of things, but I'm not even sure my job is secure here for a few more years, but I've been saying that since I took the position 3 yrs ago..... Its so close!!!

BicycleB

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6496 on: July 19, 2019, 10:07:07 AM »
Anxiety over having serious FU money and just hitting a bare bones minimum FIRE threshold, but wanting to get to our real FIRE goal, but realizing we could just stop now, but if we did then we couldnt get the house we really want in the areas we really want to live or have to sacrifice the income, but we are only getting older each year and sailing around the world is totally doable, but would we really enjoy sailing enough to make the full circumnavigation and if not we wouldnt have enough to full FIRE when we got back but we would still be FI, but really..... we dont need all that fancy stuff we could just go live back in the mountains and rent the house out, but we would really like all that fancy stuff and whats a few more years in the grand schem of things, but I'm not even sure my job is secure here for a few more years, but I've been saying that since I took the position 3 yrs ago..... Its so close!!!

@Greenback Reproduction Specialist, I can totally sympathize! I feel like I've experienced a similar situation, except that I lost the job right at the start of that phase and never got another. Still in thin FIRE!

Strictly speaking, details are different, because I didn't realize thin FIRE was a thing when I lost the job. So there was a bigger fear phase at first. Maybe my MPP is stretching examples a bit too far because of having the free time to do so.  :)

Parizade

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6497 on: July 19, 2019, 11:32:47 AM »
Anxiety over having serious FU money and just hitting a bare bones minimum FIRE threshold, but wanting to get to our real FIRE goal, but realizing we could just stop now, but if we did then we couldnt get the house we really want in the areas we really want to live or have to sacrifice the income, but we are only getting older each year and sailing around the world is totally doable, but would we really enjoy sailing enough to make the full circumnavigation and if not we wouldnt have enough to full FIRE when we got back but we would still be FI, but really..... we dont need all that fancy stuff we could just go live back in the mountains and rent the house out, but we would really like all that fancy stuff and whats a few more years in the grand schem of things, but I'm not even sure my job is secure here for a few more years, but I've been saying that since I took the position 3 yrs ago..... Its so close!!!

Excellent post! I hope you don't mind, I'm linking this over to a thread on Post Fire!
https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/post-fire/what-did-those-last-few-years-before-fire-look-like-for-you/msg2420665/#msg2420665

GreenToTheCore

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6498 on: July 19, 2019, 04:22:10 PM »
A few annoying people keep biking past my house over the sidewalk rather than biking the extra 10 yards to use the bike path.

I'm intrigued by this. Generally it's much more pleasant to cycle on a bike path than a sidewalk.
This might be a case where design is influencing behaviors. It would be great to figure out the motivation behind the behavior. Maybe there's another path that ends onto this sidewalk, or the other path is inconvenient to enter, etc. When you observe the surrounding area do you see any triggers and then maybe you can make improvement suggestions to the city?

Alfred J Quack

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Re: Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)
« Reply #6499 on: July 21, 2019, 12:00:00 AM »
A few annoying people keep biking past my house over the sidewalk rather than biking the extra 10 yards to use the bike path.

I'm intrigued by this. Generally it's much more pleasant to cycle on a bike path than a sidewalk.
This might be a case where design is influencing behaviors. It would be great to figure out the motivation behind the behavior. Maybe there's another path that ends onto this sidewalk, or the other path is inconvenient to enter, etc. When you observe the surrounding area do you see any triggers and then maybe you can make improvement suggestions to the city?
Nah, people are just too lazy. The bike path and pedestrian path are both equally comfortable to bike on (both have paving stones) but the path by my house saves them 3 seconds to get to the same destination.

The roads in my city block are fairly angular and go around the houses, the sidewalks go through the parts where there are no roads. Following the bikepath with the road is almost as fast but appearently people think they have a right to use the sidewalk because they perceive it as faster.
Had a bit of a row with a bicyclist last week too. She biked across the sidewalk with face glued to the screen. Said something about it along the lines of "you're going to run into some kids" to which she replied she wasn't that dumb, face still glued to the phone.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!