Overheard on Facebook

[Plina]

Old friend on FB was trying to sell the frame for their king-size bed since it no longer fits in their new location. Said friend is an unmarried individual, no relationship. King-size bed. Millennial, occasionally complains about adulting and money. King. Size. Bed.

Are they tall? Or dating? I also know a lot of millennials whose parents gifted them a bed when they moved out.

Not dating, and holding religious views that wouldn't lead me to believe they'd be sharing it. They are somewhat short, but also somewhat large, which is where I think some of the rationale comes from, but goodness, not THAT large :) As for the gifting, that's not a bad consideration, but it sounds like they bought the frame, as they're trying to recoup the money they spent on that, so I'd suspect they probably bought the bed, too. And I don't wish to deny people their luxuries, but it's definitely a head-scratcher at the least. They've been known to buy some other very expensive items.

I try not to beat up too harshly on people, though, I just can't get over knowing that one of my very single old friends has a king size bed :D

I mean, maybe they bought it at a time when they aspired to get married?

My now-husband decided to splash out a queen instead of a double for his personal use after his divorce in case he met someone, which, uh, obviously he did. (Glad he didn't go for a king. It would have fit in his fancy bachelor pad but we can barely wedge the queen and 2 night stands into our cozy little basement master.)

I have a Queen size bed and I would say it is a fairly normal size for someone living alone. I would have bought a king size but the bedroom in my apartment was fairly small. King size is the standard size for a double bed here.

Where do you live?

It's probably because I'm a young coastal urban punk, but to me, king mattress is synonymous with chain hotel room, not something people normally sleep on at home.

In Sweden.

[Plina]

Are we sure this doesn't vary by country in Europe? In Spain and the parts of France I visited, a US full size was pretty standard for two people. Certainly none of the people I knew had rooms that would accommodate a king size

I have to stand corrected about the length. The sheet size I buy is 220 long but apparantly my bed is only 200 :) I just measured. It's 160 x 200 and no one would consider that a big bed. Our previous bed was much taller but now I'm not sure what size. Ikea says their most sold size is 180 x 200, and if you buy Ikea you probably have a small budget and a small house.

I'm sure it does vary country by country, I'm sure beds are longer in western and northern Europe since we are on average taller than southern Europeans. And yes, the smallest bedrooms/ homes I have personally encountered have been in the UK. But even in the UK I have never encountered a bed only 185 cm long. And I've slept in many private homes in the UK, not just in hotels.

A US full size according to google is 54" x 74" - 137 cm x 187 cm and that just seems really, really tiny to me. I have never personally encountered a bed shorter than 200 cm although I'm sure they used to exist at some point in history. I would say 200 cm (79") is a short bed and 220 cm (87") is a long bed. Beds 140cm wide do certainly exist here, we would consider it a "1,5". Fine for a single person who occasionally shares their bed with someone, or a student. Unless you lived in a studio apartment or something you wouldn't buy that size of bed if you were a couple sharing a bed every night.

I'm sure in some parts of Europe homes are smaller than in other parts, but I feel like I probably already live in a place with smaller homes/rooms than average. How much space does one need in a bedroom? Maybe 50 cm on three sides of the bed and the headboard to the wall? I feel that in many countries in Europe, at least in the homes I've been in, that would not be an unusually large size for the master bedroom. My own bedroom as I said is 11m2 and even though we have a 160 cm wide bed now, the bigger bed fit in comfortably.

I suppose if you're looking at the Hollywood film bedroom interior where there's a desk and a table and a carpet and a couple of chests of drawers, no, a bigger bed and all that furniture wouldn't fit in a typical European bedroom. Most people just have a bed, maybe two small sidetables. But I've always assumed that regular Americans don't have those type of ballrooms for bedrooms either.

I actually think the beds are shorter in southern Europe as well as in US and Canada. It seems like I always end up sleeping with my feets outside the bed or across the whole bed. And I am only 170 cm.

I don’t have drawers. This one has built in closets as well as wardrobes. Older apartments and houses have built in closets. Newer one often have a wall with wardrobes but I have never seen the bedrooms sets that are popular in american movies.

[Chraurelius]

To be fair, people from the Netherlands, like Imma, are the tallest people in the world.  On average, of course.

[Siebrie]

True, I'm from the North of the Netherlands, female, 6', and average length for that part of the country :) Here in Belgium, it's easy for clothes shopping, because nothing fits, so I don't even have to bother :). Clothes shopping is  limited to the week(end)s we spend at my parents' during the year.
When I moved to Belgium 14 years ago and went to IKEA for our new bed, the largest they sold was 200cm, where in NL it was 220cm. I think IKEA Belgium now has 1 or 2 models that sell the longer length. I would love a longer mattress where my toes don't touch the end of the mattress when I lie on my stomach!

[Freedomin5]

One of the neighborhood moms posted a message asking where she could find smart watches for sale that she could buy today (today is Christmas Eve) as she needed the gift tomorrow for her son. A bunch of other moms replied with various store locations around the city where the watches are not sold out. The OP’s son is ~ 9 years old. The watches that were recommended cost around $600. I can’t fathom having my kid wearing the equivalent of a local person’s monthly salary on her wrist.

[Travis]

One of my friends posts a photo of a gas station in CA showing nearly $5 and says its only half that in New Mexico. So far so good. This starts an inflation discussion where someone remarks paying $14 for a Wendys sandwich and $34 for an 8 piece of KFC and why they should all leave CA. I don't live in the US right now so my experiences are different, but my first thought was "maybe you should stop eating fast food."

[Dicey]

One of my friends posts a photo of a gas station in CA showing nearly $5 and says its only half that in New Mexico. So far so good. This starts an inflation discussion where someone remarks paying $14 for a Wendys sandwich and $34 for an 8 piece of KFC and why they should all leave CA. I don't live in the US right now so my experiences are different, but my first thought was "maybe you should stop eating fast food."

Lol. We're road tripping (by car this time, not RV) in CA right now. When we stopped at our favorite last-one-in-NorCal Costco, we passed a Chevron where gas was 5.29. Costco was only a couple of blocks further. Their price was 4.16! Of course, there was no line at Chevron, lol. We were thrilled with the difference. About ten miles down the road, there were two truck stops featuring gas at 3.99. Oof. Gas  prices here are all over the place, which is nuts.

We always pack a cooler. When the weather got really nasty five hours in, we decided to burn some about-to-expire points and stop at a hotel. I used the room's microwave to make dinner. We noshed from the cooler again on day two. When we arrived at our destination, the previously home-cooked and frozen solid manicotti was thawed enough to make fixing dinner a breeze. I have no idea what fast food costs, but those prices sound crazy!

[ysette9]

We noticed the gas prices when we were in the Bay Area for thanksgiving with many of them over $5/gal. The blends are more expensive in cA in part due to stricter environmental regulations. I mostly don’t pay attention to the excitable posts about big differences in prices because it doesn’t matter to me. We were blessed to not be pinching pennies and we just don’t drive that much. I

 had a moment of understanding though while driving the entire length of the Bay Area in an inefficient rental SUV as we visited friends and family. It isn’t a lifestyle I want to go back to.

[ixtap]

One of my friends posts a photo of a gas station in CA showing nearly $5 and says its only half that in New Mexico. So far so good. This starts an inflation discussion where someone remarks paying $14 for a Wendys sandwich and $34 for an 8 piece of KFC and why they should all leave CA. I don't live in the US right now so my experiences are different, but my first thought was "maybe you should stop eating fast food."

Lol. We're road tripping (by car this time, not RV) in CA right now. When we stopped at our favorite last-one-in-NorCal Costco, we passed a Chevron where gas was 5.29. Costco was only a couple of blocks further. Their price was 4.16! Of course, there was no line at Chevron, lol. We were thrilled with the difference. About ten miles down the road, there were two truck stops featuring gas at 3.99. Oof. Gas  prices here are all over the place, which is nuts.

We always pack a cooler. When the weather got really nasty five hours in, we decided to burn some about-to-expire points and stop at a hotel. I used the room's microwave to make dinner. We noshed from the cooler again on day two. When we arrived at our destination, the previously home-cooked and frozen solid manicotti was thawed enough to make fixing dinner a breeze. I have no idea what fast food costs, but those prices sound crazy!

They are exaggerating. Because the real prices just aren't ridiculous enough to make their point.

[dragoncar]

I’m sure most of you know, but the GasBuddy app is a godsend for not getting hosed on gas

[Freedomin5]

This was just posted on WeChat, a popular Chinese social media platform. “SH Disney” is Shanghai Disneyland. I was thinking of going to the free park at Disney this past Wednesday but decided against it because it was too cold. It looks like I made the right decision.

Man holds back urine till bleeding at SH Disneyland to buy toys

The hashtag “More than 5,000 people lined up at Disney at 3 am” topped Chinese Twitter-like social media Sina Weibo on Wednesday with over 12 million views.

Photos and videos circulating on social media showed thousands of visitors waiting outside Shanghai Disneyland early on Wednesday to buy the 2021 Duffy and Friends Christmas Collection. The moment the gates opened people dashed into the resort, mostly adults. In one picture a man was seen kneeling on the ground, possibly worn out by the wait.
...

According to some visitors, there were more than five thousand people at Shanghai Disneyland at 3 am on Wednesday waiting for the opening of the three stores of the park.

On Wednesday morning Shanghai Disneyland issued an emergency notice on its WeChat account saying that it has suspended the lines to enter the three stores of the park for Wednesday as it reached the capacity limit for queues on its venue.
...

On secondhand goods trading platform Xianyu, an item with the original price tag of 139 yuan ($21.82) has hiked by 500 yuan. A StellaLou plush toy was priced at around 1,200 yuan($188) and price for a set of six dolls with six key rings has quadrupled to 8,500 yuan ($1,335) on the secondhand market

[Just Joe]

I’m sure most of you know, but the GasBuddy app is a godsend for not getting hosed on gas

Most of the time around my little piece of the world fuel prices vary not more than 10-15 cents per gallon. I usually look for one of the better maintained name brand gas stations and just buy fuel there. Also, we don't buy alot of fuel in the first place. A potential difference of perhaps $2 per tank. Just checked my town and it is currently +/- 3 cents among the listed gas stations.

Historically, these were important topics of extended family discussions where +/- 3 cents could be a big deal to my elders. Elders who would buy small amounts of gas several times in a week's time in case they saw a low price source later.

We just drive less and save more money.

[parkerk]

This was just posted on WeChat, a popular Chinese social media platform. “SH Disney” is Shanghai Disneyland. I was thinking of going to the free park at Disney this past Wednesday but decided against it because it was too cold. It looks like I made the right decision.

Man holds back urine till bleeding at SH Disneyland to buy toys

This is just ... is there another word for horrifying?  Appalling?  Disgusting?  None of them seem strong enough for the visceral reaction I had to how bad this is. 

[Just Joe]

I had to look up what a 2021 Duffy and Friends Christmas Collection was... So this was a selection of small stuffed animals?

[Freedomin5]

I had to look up what a 2021 Duffy and Friends Christmas Collection was... So this was a selection of small stuffed animals?

Yes, but they’re special because 1) they’re dressed in Christmas outfits, and 2) some of them have a keychain attached to them!

[Glenstache]

I’m sure most of you know, but the GasBuddy app is a godsend for not getting hosed on gas

Most of the time around my little piece of the world fuel prices vary not more than 10-15 cents per gallon. I usually look for one of the better maintained name brand gas stations and just buy fuel there. Also, we don't buy alot of fuel in the first place. A potential difference of perhaps $2 per tank. Just checked my town and it is currently +/- 3 cents among the listed gas stations.

Historically, these were important topics of extended family discussions where +/- 3 cents could be a big deal to my elders. Elders who would buy small amounts of gas several times in a week's time in case they saw a low price source later.

We just drive less and save more money.

Maybe they were just dollar cost averaging their gas.

[PDXTabs]

Not very long ago I noticed a $2/gal difference between stations in Portland, OR. That's real money.

[Just Joe]

Not very long ago I noticed a $2/gal difference between stations in Portland, OR. That's real money.

Yes it is! Never seen that before. Difference between downtown and the suburbs?

[PDXTabs]

Not very long ago I noticed a $2/gal difference between stations in Portland, OR. That's real money.

Yes it is! Never seen that before. Difference between downtown and the suburbs?

Pretty much, but maybe more spotty than that. It was during that period of time when gas prices and petrol supply chain was in the news a few months ago. I'm not sure what was going on but perhaps the stations that couldn't get enough petrol were jacking up prices to not run out. I don't really know.

[NorCal]

Not very long ago I noticed a $2/gal difference between stations in Portland, OR. That's real money.

Yes it is! Never seen that before. Difference between downtown and the suburbs?

Pretty much, but maybe more spotty than that. It was during that period of time when gas prices and petrol supply chain was in the news a few months ago. I'm not sure what was going on but perhaps the stations that couldn't get enough petrol were jacking up prices to not run out. I don't really know.

I just got back from a road trip from CO to CA.  I saw numerous places where there was nearly a $2/gallon swing within a short distance.  I've heard (but can't verify) that refiners are now pricing gas to the stations at different rates based on how well situated the station is.  And I'm sure the station owners are conscious that a prime location right next to the interstate lets them charge a premium.

[ixtap]

Wrong place

[Sibley]

Currently on my neighborhood FB page: "Does anyone know if it's better to lease or finance a car? Which would you recommend? My current vehicle is breaking down and can't afford anymore major repairs and used cars are extremely expensive right now."

Responses:
1. Finance
2. reference to Dave Ramsey
3. Finance
4. Finance
5. Lease
6. Lease or finance
7. Finance - 84 months!
8. Lease
9. Lease
10. (me) buy

Response to me: blah blah always lease, don't have to worry about maintenance, etc.

Of course, I was curious and looked. That guy who responded to me - he posted last week asking about bankruptcy lawyers.

Edit:
To continue the story here... I responded with a link to Forbes or whoever's article about buy vs lease, pretty balanced article overall. Not frugal of course, but decent. This guy posts a long run-on sentence response that is basically him explaining to a child (me?) why I'm dumb.

Anyway, I put a nice comment telling him to cut the bs and reported him to the admin. He can have a hissy fit for all I care, he's shown me who he is and I have no use for him.

[ixtap]

Of course, I was curious and looked. That guy who responded to me - he posted last week asking about bankruptcy lawyers.

Hahahahahaha....oh, I needed that one!

[SwordGuy]

Of course, I was curious and looked. That guy who responded to me - he posted last week asking about bankruptcy lawyers.

My response would be to say, "The only financial advice I take from people looking for bankruptcy lawyers is 'Don't do what I did.'"

[Sibley]

Of course, I was curious and looked. That guy who responded to me - he posted last week asking about bankruptcy lawyers.

My response would be to say, "The only financial advice I take from people looking for bankruptcy lawyers is 'Don't do what I did.'"

LOL I did consider it. But I don't want to start a fight on the FB page. As it is, one of the group moderators did a general post, "please be nice and play nicely together" vibe. I mostly use the page for local news.

[SailingOnASmallSailboat]

Not on Facebook but on Instagram.

"It's time to ditch our fridge. The company changed the water filter and it's not working with our fridge plus it's 7 years old."

You're going to spend thousands of dollars on replacing a 7 year old appliance (that probably has a lifespan of 10-15 years, according to the US Department of Energy) because a WATER FILTER DOES NOT FIT?????

[Sibley]

Not on Facebook but on Instagram.

"It's time to ditch our fridge. The company changed the water filter and it's not working with our fridge plus it's 7 years old."

You're going to spend thousands of dollars on replacing a 7 year old appliance (that probably has a lifespan of 10-15 years, according to the US Department of Energy) because a WATER FILTER DOES NOT FIT?????

Hey, cheap fridge for you!

[SailingOnASmallSailboat]

hahaha I live on a sailboat. My fridge is the size of a cooler. <3 

[ixtap]

hahaha I live on a sailboat. My fridge is the size of a cooler. <3

But very much not a cheap fridge, I bet... Oh, looks like those dometics are actually cheaper than the stove we replaced last year!

[SailingOnASmallSailboat]

stupid marine crap. Those stoves are ridiculously expensive! (and yeah on the fridge. Though ours is an ARB which we've had for close to 10 years. It kicks ass.)

[Sugaree]

stupid marine crap. Those stoves are ridiculously expensive! (and yeah on the fridge. Though ours is an ARB which we've had for close to 10 years. It kicks ass.)

There is a boat stove sitting on my back porch.  Because my husband traded some work for it several years ago.  Has it been put on the boat?  No.  Will it ever get put on the boat?  Probably not.

[ixtap]

stupid marine crap. Those stoves are ridiculously expensive! (and yeah on the fridge. Though ours is an ARB which we've had for close to 10 years. It kicks ass.)

There is a boat stove sitting on my back porch.  Because my husband traded some work for it several years ago.  Has it been put on the boat?  No.  Will it ever get put on the boat?  Probably not.

Wish I had known, we might have been willing to work something out while waiting 8 months for ours in 2021. I did 80% of the work myself, including 100% of discussing with bother the dealer and the manufacturer about the difference between low noise, no noise and the fucking annoying hum that the propane alarm was making at rest. Left to DH, yeah, progress would not have been made.