Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)

[ixtap]

We took advantage of a Merrill/ BoA offer to get cash back and Preferred Rewards level a couple of months ago. Every time I log in, there seems to be more cash sitting there. OK, I see that this one is the cash back reward and invest it. Log in a few days later and there is even more cash sitting around. Uh, yeah, that purchase went through, so where did this cash... Oh. How did I miss that their default is to cash out dividends and capital gains?! Probably because you can't make an election until after you have purchased the funds and I just logged in long enough to confirm the purchase had gone through. Well, we missed out on two days of gains, but I think I have resolved the problem now.

[dollarchaser]

...

I suspect they don't think I have enough income. 

This despite the fact that we're paying our bills now, we're almost 2 payments ahead on our mortgage, we bought four houses in the last 2 years (for cash!) and with me going on social security in January, we're getting a $24,000 raise.   A $340,000 30 year fixed rate mortgage on this house, including taxes and insurance, will run $24,500 a year.    How could anyone not figure out this was a damn good risk!!?? ...

Any unblindered lender will know you are golden, but most of them are constrained by "policies."  I found occasional lenders who would take 3/4 of rental income as "real" income.  To persuade them I had to have the usual sheaf of tax forms/* and signed 1-year leases.  In one case my good friend signed a lease that I showed to the bank, and had a change of heart as soon as the loan was granted; he backed out and left the place for my real tenants.

___
/* This still makes me snort, as the average loan officer reminds me of Ben Rhodes's remark that they were able to hoodwink the press about the Iran deal because the average reporter was 27 years old, had no experience except hanging around a political campaign, and "literally knew nothing."  For the average loan officer, any tax form beyond the w-2 is a head scratcher, and things like K-1s could as well have been written in Sanskrit.

At one point I was chasing a home purchase that was great deal (even better when selling it 2 years later).  The bank expected a 1 year lease for the current home and we provided it. :)
The signature came from a passer by in Home Depot and the rent deposit money order was our cash. The credit union teller did not blink when I asked for someone else name in the comment line.
My home deals have mostly been unorthodox but have been a huge part of my nw and financial situation.

[jinga nation]

My wife got a raise and big bonus yesterday. Her boss wanted to give her a check for the full amount, without subtracting for taxes, etc.
Our decision last year was that all bonus income was to be done the right way, not skirting the IRS.
Due to my line of work, constant background checks and financial monitoring is the norm.
If my wife didn't pay ~$2200 in taxes on the bonus, and if I got marked for a deeper financial review, it could mean fines, penalties and loss of my job, and blacklisted from working for any Fed Govt agency, maybe state and local too.
The long-term implications of a short-term greed are scary. Not worth taking the risk.

The pleasures of being thrifty. Where doing the right thing brings peace of mind.
The bonus and raise doesn't change our habits. Now have to plan how to reduce taxable income further.

[SwordGuy]

My wife got a raise and big bonus yesterday. Her boss wanted to give her a check for the full amount, without subtracting for taxes, etc.
Our decision last year was that all bonus income was to be done the right way, not skirting the IRS.
Due to my line of work, constant background checks and financial monitoring is the norm.
If my wife didn't pay ~$2200 in taxes on the bonus, and if I got marked for a deeper financial review, it could mean fines, penalties and loss of my job, and blacklisted from working for any Fed Govt agency, maybe state and local too.
The long-term implications of a short-term greed are scary. Not worth taking the risk.

The pleasures of being thrifty. Where doing the right thing brings peace of mind.
The bonus and raise doesn't change our habits. Now have to plan how to reduce taxable income further.

I like my financial affairs and my bowel movements to be regular.     You've done the right thing.   Bravo.

[jinga nation]

My wife got a raise and big bonus yesterday. Her boss wanted to give her a check for the full amount, without subtracting for taxes, etc.
Our decision last year was that all bonus income was to be done the right way, not skirting the IRS.
Due to my line of work, constant background checks and financial monitoring is the norm.
If my wife didn't pay ~$2200 in taxes on the bonus, and if I got marked for a deeper financial review, it could mean fines, penalties and loss of my job, and blacklisted from working for any Fed Govt agency, maybe state and local too.
The long-term implications of a short-term greed are scary. Not worth taking the risk.

The pleasures of being thrifty. Where doing the right thing brings peace of mind.
The bonus and raise doesn't change our habits. Now have to plan how to reduce taxable income further.

I like my financial affairs and my bowel movements to be regular.     You've done the right thing.   Bravo.

Et tu, @SwordGuy , et tu. Been reading your journal, epic find on la casa nueva. Enjoy the new adventure.

Many years ago, you posted "SwordGuy's Rules of <   >" on how to deal with management and problems. Sadly I can't find them when searching on these forums.

[SwordGuy]

@jinga nation , was this what you are looking for?

Well done, I like the lessons about upskilling and hadn't thought of the falling forward idea.

Thanks!

When we were dirt poor I worked horrendous hours to claw our way out of poverty.

Once I got into a middle-class job, I didn't want to do that again!

So I made a promise to myself about my day job. 

That employee handbook was chock full of rules and conditions.  But one of them was that I worked 40 hours for pay.   After 40 hours it was my personal time, and how I spent my personal time was my choice. 

I would only work extra during my personal time if at least one of three conditions was met:

1) It was a true emergency at work.  (As opposed to a scheduled emergency due to management choices.)  It's important to be a team player.

2) I learned skills that would advance my career.

I saw no point in treading water to stay where I was, I wanted to get ahead.

3) I taught my colleagues skills that would advance their careers (and mine, because teaching is a useful skill).

I decided upon one other choice, that I would not do things the wrong way unless a manager sat there and made me do it that way.

The combination of those choices meant I spent fewer hours dealing with emergencies because I did things the right way.  (Not necessarily the perfect way, but definitely the right way.)

And I learned more new skills which let me do things the right way faster and faster.

Oh, that investment in my colleagues?   When they went to a new company, they were more likely to get promoted and be considered a star because they had learned more.   So I had people there who were more likely to be in a position to hire me or to be believed when they recommended me for hire.

[shelivesthedream]

I can't figure out where one of our unwanted Christmas presents came from so I can't exchange it for something we'd actually like. Oh well, that's another 50p Oxfam can make off an item that probably cost £5.

[Tardis81]

I’m not fully mustachian yet, it is my first year and I’m still learning. But made me smile how compared to the last year where I paid for Christmas with credit cards this year I was feeling grumpy that “Christmas is too expensive, my December’s saving rate is only 30%!»

[Alternatepriorities]

I’m not fully mustachian yet, it is my first year and I’m still learning. But made me smile how compared to the last year where I paid for Christmas with credit cards this year I was feeling grumpy that “Christmas is too expensive, my December’s saving rate is only 30%!»

Congratulations on the progress!

[SwordGuy]

I’m not fully mustachian yet, it is my first year and I’m still learning. But made me smile how compared to the last year where I paid for Christmas with credit cards this year I was feeling grumpy that “Christmas is too expensive, my December’s saving rate is only 30%!»

That is one major life change!   Bravo!   Well done!

[Fomerly known as something]

I got all of my 4th quarter dividends, now I have to wait 3 more months to see if/by how much they go up.

[gaja]

DD (11 y.o.) hates shopping. She has discovered that if she says she is going to save her birthday money, she doesn't have to go to a shop with her parents or grandparents to pick out gifts. Christmas has provided two MPPs:

1) Her savings account is getting quite healthy. The money she got when she was younger has been placed in a mutual fund, but she refuses to do that with her current savings. In her words, that would change them from savings to fundings, and that is not the same. I tried showing her the magic of compounding interests, but to no avail. So they will keep sitting there, "earning" 1.5 %...

2) Instead of money, her aunt gave her a gift sertificate for Christmas. She tried "forgetting" and "misplacing" it a couple of times, until I took pity on her and bought it from her (with a money transfer to her savings account). But now I have to remember using the card within the next 12 months. Hopefully, the local grocery store will accept it. 

[Freedomin5]

For Christmas, my family doesn’t really give gifts since we all have more than we need. So instead of giving things, I’ve been cooking and baking for them. Our MPP is that we are now all getting fat from the baked goods. Now off to make some waffles for breakfast!

[boridi]

Things didn't work out at job in first half of 2019 and started a lower paying job in the second half of 2019. Lower paying job plus a lot of pre-tax contributions at both jobs means taxable income is much lower, so I have $2500 worth of space for long-term capital gains at the 0% rate.

[rantk81]

Things didn't work out at job in first half of 2019 and started a lower paying job in the second half of 2019. Lower paying job plus a lot of pre-tax contributions at both jobs means taxable income is much lower, so I have $2500 worth of space for long-term capital gains at the 0% rate.

Gains aren't subject to wash-sale rules, so take advantage of any unrealized gains you have!  Might consider selling and re-purchasing the same investments, to "step up" your basis, without paying tax on it!

[trashtalk]

It was mildly cumbersome to put on boots and a jacket before I went outside to harvest one of our homegrown lemons for zesting.

[bluebelle]

My MPP?   I want to rant about the amount of income tax I pay, but to do so would effectively tell people my salary, which IMHO is bragging.   So I'll come here and bitch.....I pay more in income tax that the median household income in Canada.....and I don't consider myself high salary (based on some of the salaries posted here).

SOOOOOOOOO looking forward to 2021, when I FIR - a little E, and the government can suck someone else dry.   

[SwordGuy]

My MPP?   I want to rant about the amount of income tax I pay, but to do so would effectively tell people my salary, which IMHO is bragging.   So I'll come here and bitch.....I pay more in income tax that the median household income in Canada.....and I don't consider myself high salary (based on some of the salaries posted here).

SOOOOOOOOO looking forward to 2021, when I FIR - a little E, and the government can suck someone else dry.

At least you get health care for your tax money.   Count your blessings.

[boridi]

Things didn't work out at job in first half of 2019 and started a lower paying job in the second half of 2019. Lower paying job plus a lot of pre-tax contributions at both jobs means taxable income is much lower, so I have $2500 worth of space for long-term capital gains at the 0% rate.

Gains aren't subject to wash-sale rules, so take advantage of any unrealized gains you have!  Might consider selling and re-purchasing the same investments, to "step up" your basis, without paying tax on it!

The sell and repurchase is happening on Dec 30! More of a silver lining than a problem, I guess.

[secondcor521]

Things didn't work out at job in first half of 2019 and started a lower paying job in the second half of 2019. Lower paying job plus a lot of pre-tax contributions at both jobs means taxable income is much lower, so I have $2500 worth of space for long-term capital gains at the 0% rate.

Gains aren't subject to wash-sale rules, so take advantage of any unrealized gains you have!  Might consider selling and re-purchasing the same investments, to "step up" your basis, without paying tax on it!

State income tax may be owed on the "0% gain".  And any realized capital gain affects ACA premium tax credits and FAFSA EFC.

[pdxmonkey]

I need an odd $9 part that isn't available locally. I don't have Amazon prime and u can't think of what else to get to total $25 or more to get free shipping. So it's been sitting in my cart for a week and will probably sure there a while longer until there is something else I need. This is silly because I have the money at this point.

I consider myself FI at this point. I'm getting close to being able to pull the trigger. Based on the 4% rule I can spend $400 more a month this year than last year. I'm not sure if I can find a way to spend that much more without being frivolous, but if I don't that's a very good thing as that could potentially be the amount needed for healthcare in RE.

[Threshkin]

I need an odd $9 part that isn't available locally. I don't have Amazon prime and u can't think of what else to get to total $25 or more to get free shipping. So it's been sitting in my cart for a week and will probably sure there a while longer until there is something else I need. This is silly because I have the money at this point.

I consider myself FI at this point. I'm getting close to being able to pull the trigger. Based on the 4% rule I can spend $400 more a month this year than last year. I'm not sure if I can find a way to spend that much more without being frivolous, but if I don't that's a very good thing as that could potentially be the amount needed for healthcare in RE.

So don't spend it.  Invest it.  There is no requirement that you spend 4%.  There are also some pretty good arguments that 4% is too high, especially if you are younger and are looking at time frames of more than 30 years. go.

[rantk81]

I need an odd $9 part that isn't available locally. I don't have Amazon prime and u can't think of what else to get to total $25 or more to get free shipping. So it's been sitting in my cart for a week and will probably sure there a while longer until there is something else I need. This is silly because I have the money at this point.

I consider myself FI at this point. I'm getting close to being able to pull the trigger. Based on the 4% rule I can spend $400 more a month this year than last year. I'm not sure if I can find a way to spend that much more without being frivolous, but if I don't that's a very good thing as that could potentially be the amount needed for healthcare in RE.

I have Prime... but when I am in similar situations at other retailers (or where there is some kind of incentive to spend $xx more), I will search the site for any shelf-stable consumer-staple-type items that I know I use eventually "anyway", and stock up!  (As long as the prices for such items are in-line with what I'm accustomed to paying.)

[Sibley]

I ordered curtains for a bedroom. They came, and are not the color as advertised. Ok, it happens when you order online. Go to return them, and shit. Cash refund? Pay return shipping. Store credit refund? Free return shipping.

So now I have $38 in store credit at Joss and Main. I've looked. I don't like their stuff (I didn't pick out these curtains). Ugh.

If anyone would like to buy something there, let me know. I'm happy to work out an exchange of some sort.

[dragoncar]

I ordered curtains for a bedroom. They came, and are not the color as advertised. Ok, it happens when you order online. Go to return them, and shit. Cash refund? Pay return shipping. Store credit refund? Free return shipping.

So now I have $38 in store credit at Joss and Main. I've looked. I don't like their stuff (I didn't pick out these curtains). Ugh.

If anyone would like to buy something there, let me know. I'm happy to work out an exchange of some sort.

Joss and main is part of a big parent company.. (way fair) take a look at their other stores maybe you can use it there

[Dicey]

I need an odd $9 part that isn't available locally. I don't have Amazon prime and u can't think of what else to get to total $25 or more to get free shipping. So it's been sitting in my cart for a week and will probably sure there a while longer until there is something else I need. This is silly because I have the money at this point.

I consider myself FI at this point. I'm getting close to being able to pull the trigger. Based on the 4% rule I can spend $400 more a month this year than last year. I'm not sure if I can find a way to spend that much more without being frivolous, but if I don't that's a very good thing as that could potentially be the amount needed for healthcare in RE.

In our experience, often the same item on eBay plus shipping comes out ahead of Amazon. Worth a look.

[BTDretire]

I take dates out in a 23 year old truck with 508,000 miles on it

508k miles!  That is fantastic.  What kind of truck?

That post is from five years ago and surfhb has deleted their account so unfortunately we may never know.

I did some forum searching just for you. It was a 1993 Toyota Pickup:

My 93 Toyota Pick Up could have been retired many times but I decided to fix the issue instead.....512,000 miles and still going.

Wow, at the rate I put miles on my 97 Toyota truck I'll be driving it in, 2067.
I'll be driving it a little slower though, I'll be 111 yrs old.
It's only got 110,000 miles on it now.

[Dicey]

I take dates out in a 23 year old truck with 508,000 miles on it

508k miles!  That is fantastic.  What kind of truck?

That post is from five years ago and surfhb has deleted their account so unfortunately we may never know.

I did some forum searching just for you. It was a 1993 Toyota Pickup:

My 93 Toyota Pick Up could have been retired many times but I decided to fix the issue instead.....512,000 miles and still going.

Wow, at the rate I put miles on my 97 Toyota truck I'll be driving it in, 2067.
I'll be driving it a little slower though, I'll be 111 yrs old.
It's only got 110,000 miles on it now.

My MPP is that sometimes people who's stories you are enjoying just disappear. @surfhb is one, @serpentstooth is another. And man, I miss @sol, even though he warned us he was going.  Sometimes, people you're rooting for get themselves banned, like dagiffey01 or boarder42.

It's like I know I've forgotten something, but can't quite remember what. In my mind, they're all FIRE and living happily ever after, but the vague sense of loss is real.
.
MPP indeed.

[dragoncar]

My MPP is that sometimes people who's stories you are enjoying just disappear. @surfhb is one, @serpentstooth is another. And man, I miss @sol, even though he warned us he was going.  Sometimes, people you're rooting for get themselves banned, like dagiffey01 or boarder42.

It's like I know I've forgotten something, but can't quite remember what. In my mind, they're all FIRE and living happily ever after, but the vague sense of loss is real.
.
MPP indeed.

Don’t worry, I heard they are all living upstate on a farm.  Lots of space to run around.  Living the FIRE life.  Boarder has a huge mortgage

[Dicey]

My MPP is that sometimes people who's stories you are enjoying just disappear. @surfhb is one, @serpentstooth is another. And man, I miss @sol, even though he warned us he was going.  Sometimes, people you're rooting for get themselves banned, like dagiffey01 or boarder42.

It's like I know I've forgotten something, but can't quite remember what. In my mind, they're all FIRE and living happily ever after, but the vague sense of loss is real.
.
MPP indeed.

Don’t worry, I heard they are all living upstate on a farm.  Lots of space to run around.  Living the FIRE life.  Boarder has a huge mortgage

Lol, I know for a fact that B42 has re-fi'd at least once since being shown the door here.

Glad to hear everyone's doing fine ;-)

[Imma]

Today is a lovely sunny day and I'm home all day. Perfect day for line drying.... But I don't have a full load of laundry :(

[Alternatepriorities]

Last quarter I waited to pay myself from my business earnings until after I knew how to optimize the taxes. I saved myself a couple thousand dollars by doing so...

MMP: We're refinancing our house. The bank is concerned our checking account doesn't have enough money to close. We have plenty of cash, but it's in the wrong accounts and moving it triggers alarms which requires more research by them and delays things. The stupidest part is that I probably missed out on as much money in capital gains as I saved in taxes with the market run up since the beginning of Q4... On second thought The stupidest part is we have enough physical cash (bought stuff for family on CC and they gave me cash) to cover closing but depositing it would just raise another flag.

[Taran Wanderer]

Don’t you love people / organizations that are so formula driven in the name of good decision making that they can’t make a good decision when it doesn’t fit their formula?

[Alternatepriorities]

Don’t you love people / organizations that are so formula driven in the name of good decision making that they can’t make a good decision when it doesn’t fit their formula?

I wonder how many of us Mustachians have run into some version of this problem when buying a home... Of course it worked in my favor in 2011 when i bought a "vacation home" with my sister. Normal job with sufficient income? Check! Credit score? Check! 20% down? Check! Yes, Mr. Alternatepriorities it appears you check all the boxes you can buy a vacation home 3k  miles from your job and let your sister take care of it for you. You just need to visit your sister vacation home once a year...

[zolotiyeruki]

Don’t you love people / organizations that are so formula driven in the name of good decision making that they can’t make a good decision when it doesn’t fit their formula?

I wonder how many of us Mustachians have run into some version of this problem when buying a home... Of course it worked in my favor in 2011 when i bought a "vacation home" with my sister. Normal job with sufficient income? Check! Credit score? Check! 20% down? Check! Yes, Mr. Alternatepriorities it appears you check all the boxes you can buy a vacation home 3k  miles from your job and let your sister take care of it for you. You just need to visit your sister vacation home once a year...

Heh, we did the same thing when we last moved--our new "vacation" home (1,000 miles away), is three times the size of our old permanent home, but we were under the debt-to-income ratio, so we were ok!

[Sibley]

I ordered curtains for a bedroom. They came, and are not the color as advertised. Ok, it happens when you order online. Go to return them, and shit. Cash refund? Pay return shipping. Store credit refund? Free return shipping.

So now I have $38 in store credit at Joss and Main. I've looked. I don't like their stuff (I didn't pick out these curtains). Ugh.

If anyone would like to buy something there, let me know. I'm happy to work out an exchange of some sort.

Joss and main is part of a big parent company.. (way fair) take a look at their other stores maybe you can use it there

In case anyone is curious - yes, the store credit is transferable to wayfair. Which is more to my liking anyway.

[SwordGuy]

Don’t you love people / organizations that are so formula driven in the name of good decision making that they can’t make a good decision when it doesn’t fit their formula?

I wonder how many of us Mustachians have run into some version of this problem when buying a home... Of course it worked in my favor in 2011 when i bought a "vacation home" with my sister. Normal job with sufficient income? Check! Credit score? Check! 20% down? Check! Yes, Mr. Alternatepriorities it appears you check all the boxes you can buy a vacation home 3k  miles from your job and let your sister take care of it for you. You just need to visit your sister vacation home once a year...

Heh, we did the same thing when we last moved--our new "vacation" home (1,000 miles away), is three times the size of our old permanent home, but we were under the debt-to-income ratio, so we were ok!

Just went thru my first mortgage post-FIRE.    It was awful.

On day one I told them I wasn't drawing on my stock and bond portfolio (other than RMDs) because we lived frugally.   So all they had to do was tell us how much income we needed and Voila!, it would be arranged for the next business day. 

The goobers diddled for 2 weeks and couldn't do it.   Niggled on depreciation on our rental properties.  (They were wrong!)   Niggled on other pointless crap.   

Finally, I started reading the online Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae guidelines for asset based loans and told them how much I was taking out and from where.   Then, suddenly, they discovered we had enough money.

This is despite the fact that we could pay cash for the property and another 3 1/2 just like it if we wanted to.

Lordy!   If it wasn't for having to pay taxes on taking out all that money during one year, I would have told them FU and paid cash.

So, I strongly advise reading those guidelines BEFORE starting to shop for a house if you're going to use an asset based loan.   Then, set your budget and set up your automatic withdrawal so that it shows up on two bank statements in a row.   Then look for the property.    Don't count on those goobers being able to figure it out for themselves.

[Imma]

A friend of mine is going through that bullshit now. Their new build is mostly self-funded and DIY with a tiny mortgage and the option of extending that a little bit. They need like 25k extra but because they've passed a certain time limit they can't extend that mortgage but need to apply for a new one. And they need to raise a new downpayment. Doesn't seem to matter they've paid cash for most of the build and that when finished, it will be worth 6 figures more than what they owe. Looks like saving up the money to complete will be quicker than getting a mortgage.

If they hadn't done this silly thing of building their own home at a low cost, they would quality for a mortgage on an existing home twice as high as the mortgage they are requesting now because that would fit in the neat categories that the bank uses.

[BTDretire]

My first MPP, This my first year of retirement.
 I paid in two quarterlies this year, I forgot the first one, paid some extra on the 2nd one, paid the 3rd one and skipped the 4th. Total about $6,900.
 Now, because almost all of my income is from LTCGs and my total income is under $103,150, I'll owe zero taxes, if I have it figured correct.
 I gave my money to the government for nothing.

[simple money]

The bruises I got on my arms from fixing the washing machine myself.

[AnnaGrowsAMustache]

The bruises I got on my arms from fixing the washing machine myself.

Hahha, this made me chuckle. I've had many, many mustachian bruises.

[Mighty Eyebrows]

they would quality for a mortgage on an existing home twice as high as the mortgage they are requesting now

Ah yes.

Rule number one: The bank is not your friend. Any financing you happen to get is a bonus. Don't expect mortgages to be easy, especially in the future...

Rule number two: Bank employees, like government employees, are not there to make your life easier. They aren't malicious (mostly), but it is just up to you to figure out the system, because they (probably) won't really help you.

Rule number three: Occasionally you meet awesome helpful people, but don't count on it.

It all comes back to the basic Mustachian truism: You make your own luck!

[Monerexia]

they would quality for a mortgage on an existing home twice as high as the mortgage they are requesting now

Ah yes.

Rule number one: The bank is not your friend. Any financing you happen to get is a bonus. Don't expect mortgages to be easy, especially in the future...

Rule number two: Bank employees, like government employees, are not there to make your life easier. They aren't malicious (mostly), but it is just up to you to figure out the system, because they (probably) won't really help you.

Rule number three: Occasionally you meet awesome helpful people, but don't count on it.

It all comes back to the basic Mustachian truism: You make your own luck!

So true! First home I bought I had over 20% down and kept wondering when they would ask me how much I wanted to put down. Kept going through the process for six weeks or so and get to closing and it's a little over 3% and I'm thinking okay, I guess I'll just put that down and maybe use the money for something else or pay down the mortgage later. Turns out of course they roped me into PMI and I didn't discover this for about three years until I got a clue. Never once did they bring up I could save a boatload of money with a bigger down payment. Seems like that's the first thing you'd tell somebody.

[Sugaree]

The free, mostly unmaintained, app that I've been using for the last five years to organize recipes and create shopping lists announced via email yesterday that they were moving to a subscription model.  I'm perturbed for a few reasons.  The first is the developers basically ghosted the app for more than two years and are now surprising everyone with this.  Secondly, if I'd seen some sign of new development (or, you know, fixing the problems with the current app) I might be willing to pay for it, but given the past flakiness I'm not at all convinced that any new development will take place.  For that matter, I'd be perfectly happy to use an as-is, ad-supported version and their advanced features could be a subscription-based add-on.  Third, why in the world would anyone use a $36/year product when a similar enough product exists for a $5 one-time fee?  Finally, the email that everyone got says "But, don't worry, if you decide to activate your subscription at a later date, your recipes will be waiting for you."  That just feels like they are trying to hold our recipes hostage (there is no native export option, though there are a couple of ways around this). 

[rantk81]

The free, mostly unmaintained, app that I've been using for the last five years to organize recipes and create shopping lists announced via email yesterday that they were moving to a subscription model.  I'm perturbed for a few reasons.  The first is the developers basically ghosted the app for more than two years and are now surprising everyone with this.  Secondly, if I'd seen some sign of new development (or, you know, fixing the problems with the current app) I might be willing to pay for it, but given the past flakiness I'm not at all convinced that any new development will take place.  For that matter, I'd be perfectly happy to use an as-is, ad-supported version and their advanced features could be a subscription-based add-on.  Third, why in the world would anyone use a $36/year product when a similar enough product exists for a $5 one-time fee?  Finally, the email that everyone got says "But, don't worry, if you decide to activate your subscription at a later date, your recipes will be waiting for you."  That just feels like they are trying to hold our recipes hostage (there is no native export option, though there are a couple of ways around this).

My family uses Google Docs and Google Keep to share and organize lists and things... no cost!

[Sugaree]

The free, mostly unmaintained, app that I've been using for the last five years to organize recipes and create shopping lists announced via email yesterday that they were moving to a subscription model.  I'm perturbed for a few reasons.  The first is the developers basically ghosted the app for more than two years and are now surprising everyone with this.  Secondly, if I'd seen some sign of new development (or, you know, fixing the problems with the current app) I might be willing to pay for it, but given the past flakiness I'm not at all convinced that any new development will take place.  For that matter, I'd be perfectly happy to use an as-is, ad-supported version and their advanced features could be a subscription-based add-on.  Third, why in the world would anyone use a $36/year product when a similar enough product exists for a $5 one-time fee?  Finally, the email that everyone got says "But, don't worry, if you decide to activate your subscription at a later date, your recipes will be waiting for you."  That just feels like they are trying to hold our recipes hostage (there is no native export option, though there are a couple of ways around this).

My family uses Google Docs and Google Keep to share and organize lists and things... no cost!

I've looked into that.  I have found an app that is currently free and will import recipes from the other app.  I suspect that he's going to get a huge bump in bandwidth soon because of this and will have to start charging too.  But at least he has an export option with a couple of different formats.  I'd started building an Access dB to hold my recipes and create my shopping lists (this is the most important feature to me), but actually getting all  400+ recipes that I'd collected into it has proven difficult.

[frugalnacho]

The free, mostly unmaintained, app that I've been using for the last five years to organize recipes and create shopping lists announced via email yesterday that they were moving to a subscription model.  I'm perturbed for a few reasons.  The first is the developers basically ghosted the app for more than two years and are now surprising everyone with this.  Secondly, if I'd seen some sign of new development (or, you know, fixing the problems with the current app) I might be willing to pay for it, but given the past flakiness I'm not at all convinced that any new development will take place.  For that matter, I'd be perfectly happy to use an as-is, ad-supported version and their advanced features could be a subscription-based add-on.  Third, why in the world would anyone use a $36/year product when a similar enough product exists for a $5 one-time fee?  Finally, the email that everyone got says "But, don't worry, if you decide to activate your subscription at a later date, your recipes will be waiting for you."  That just feels like they are trying to hold our recipes hostage (there is no native export option, though there are a couple of ways around this).

My family uses Google Docs and Google Keep to share and organize lists and things... no cost!

I've looked into that.  I have found an app that is currently free and will import recipes from the other app.  I suspect that he's going to get a huge bump in bandwidth soon because of this and will have to start charging too.  But at least he has an export option with a couple of different formats.  I'd started building an Access dB to hold my recipes and create my shopping lists (this is the most important feature to me), but actually getting all  400+ recipes that I'd collected into it has proven difficult.

We use Our Groceries for shopping lists.  It's free and it syncs with multiple devices and updates in real time.  We have on going lists for a number of stores.

For recipes we use a combination of allrecipes and printed hard copies.  We also usually put it into an email and email it to ourselves in case we ever need it in the future.

[imadandylion]

My Mustachian problem: Not being able to wear certain outfits that I want to wear because I have to cycle everywhere, because we don't have a car. And I'm too cheap for a Lyft or public transportation. Those costs add up!

@Sugaree  It's a small fee (but one-time/lifetime) per device ($4.99) but my husband and I did some research on meal planning apps (that help manage shopping lists) and we settled on Paprika. However, you only need one account and can sync to all devices, so it's pretty nice. I think if you have IOS/apple phones you can just share the app instead of re-buying them on multiple phones via family sharing (of apps). Unfortunately Android phones/Google does not allow family sharing of many apps including this. The app is totally worth it, though.

[ixtap]

My Mustachian problem: Not being able to wear certain outfits that I want to wear because I have to cycle everywhere, because we don't have a car. And I'm too cheap for a Lyft or public transportation. Those costs add up!

We just put a change of clothes in the panniers.

[Sugaree]

@imadandylion, I looked at the demo version of Paprika last night.  I do like almost everything about it and would actually be willing to pay a one time fee for it.  I especially like the in-app browser and recipe import.  So easy.  Right now though, I've settled on RecipeSage because I was able to import my recipes into it.  I may end up using them in conjunction with each other for awhile.