Author Topic: Overheard at Work  (Read 13253232 times)

C. K.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1150 on: December 11, 2013, 06:19:29 PM »

I used to eat lunch out more simply because I had to get out of the office and there wasn't much in the way of places to eat bagged lunch.  I wasn't ever comfortable bringing food to a restaurant.

Horrors! I would never take food into a restaurant. I'd feel like a squatter. :)

Jamesqf

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1151 on: December 11, 2013, 06:36:00 PM »
She does have a point.  It's possible to put off enjoyment of life to a day that never comes, due to death or illness or other misfortune.

Sure, but there also lots of cheap/free ways to enjoy life now.

Insanity

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1152 on: December 11, 2013, 08:16:35 PM »
She does have a point.  It's possible to put off enjoyment of life to a day that never comes, due to death or illness or other misfortune.

Sure, but there also lots of cheap/free ways to enjoy life now.

Exactly.

jefffff

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1153 on: December 12, 2013, 11:30:06 AM »
I would be kind of annoyed too if I liked travelling and the only travelling I got to do was visiting my spouse's parents. They are well within their rights to move wherever they want, but there's gonna be a tradeoff there with how often you see them. I would suggest not guilting your partner into letting you use your entire travel budget on your parents.

Insanity

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1154 on: December 12, 2013, 11:59:38 AM »
I would be kind of annoyed too if I liked travelling and the only travelling I got to do was visiting my spouse's parents. They are well within their rights to move wherever they want, but there's gonna be a tradeoff there with how often you see them. I would suggest not guilting your partner into letting you use your entire travel budget on your parents.

Your right.  They are well within their rights to move where ever they want.  And if we were flying to see them every few months that would be one thing.  But we are talking about one trip a year.  I mean, it isn't like my parents don't come up here frequently.  It isn't like they already know they are going to see their grandkids less.  I suppose I could be cruel and not make the effort solely so we can go take a "more exciting" family trip to some tourist trap.

EDIT: I should also note that it was well within my right to move away from them first.  So I guess I should have been ok if my wife did not want to take those trips to?
« Last Edit: December 12, 2013, 12:01:35 PM by Insanity »

starbuck

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1155 on: December 12, 2013, 12:28:49 PM »
I would be kind of annoyed too if I liked travelling and the only travelling I got to do was visiting my spouse's parents.

Amen. My parents moved to the midwest a few years ago, and keep trying to convince me to come out and visit yet again. I have twice so far, but frankly I'm not a fan of visiting the same place over and over again unless it's got some kick ass mountains to climb or ski. And where they live is someplace I would never plan to go on vacation. (Sorry, Oklahoma. You're just not my type.)

My solution is to try and coordinate vacations WITH them when possible. We both were planning on going to Colorado, so we went at the same time and rented an apartment together. We all did our own thing during the day and had dinner together most nights. Worked out well (for the most part, anyways.) They come back to MA for major family events at least once every two years, since my brother's family is here still too.

My in-laws have a place in Orlando FL. So help me lord if they move down there permanently when they retire. I love them dearly, but Florida is their dreamland not mine.

Gray Matter

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1156 on: December 12, 2013, 12:45:20 PM »
I would be kind of annoyed too if I liked travelling and the only travelling I got to do was visiting my spouse's parents.

I'm with you.  Going to see parents/in-laws is important, but does not fall under the category of "vacation" in my book.  It's a different animal, and I wouldn't want to have to give up one for the other, unless the one I was giving up was visiting the in-laws!  :-)

grantmeaname

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1157 on: December 12, 2013, 01:01:44 PM »
I should also note that it was well within my right to move away from them first.  So I guess I should have been ok if my wife did not want to take those trips to?
Are you saying your wife isn't allowed to form her own independent opinions of anything you do and that you should be able to act with impunity rather than form compromises? I still don't understand what's unreasonable about her point of view.

zinnie

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1158 on: December 12, 2013, 01:24:48 PM »
Also, I know that my mom has had success only buying dress pants for my dad that are machine washable. 

Ding!  If i cannot wash it in a machine, I don't want it or buy it.

Us too. Although a lot of things that SAY dry clean only can be washed and hung to dry. Dh recently bought a bunch of pants at the local goodwill and we don't dryclean any of them. Of course they were super cheap to begin with, so I didnt mind experimenting on them. YMMV.

Dry cleaning is a huge scam IMO. I wear nice professional clothing to work and have never encountered a fabric that was ruined with a hand wash in cold water, and a light steam if it is too delicate to iron (though I have encountered plenty of items ruined by a drycleaner!).

Insanity

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1159 on: December 12, 2013, 03:16:19 PM »
I should also note that it was well within my right to move away from them first.  So I guess I should have been ok if my wife did not want to take those trips to?
Are you saying your wife isn't allowed to form her own independent opinions of anything you do and that you should be able to act with impunity rather than form compromises? I still don't understand what's unreasonable about her point of view.

there was compromise.  We stayed in the area we live in now to be close to her family.  It was not my preferred location.  Her compromise should be to take the trip to visit my family.  I think that is quite fair.

I would be kind of annoyed too if I liked travelling and the only travelling I got to do was visiting my spouse's parents.

Amen. My parents moved to the midwest a few years ago, and keep trying to convince me to come out and visit yet again. I have twice so far, but frankly I'm not a fan of visiting the same place over and over again unless it's got some kick ass mountains to climb or ski. And where they live is someplace I would never plan to go on vacation. (Sorry, Oklahoma. You're just not my type.)

My solution is to try and coordinate vacations WITH them when possible. We both were planning on going to Colorado, so we went at the same time and rented an apartment together. We all did our own thing during the day and had dinner together most nights. Worked out well (for the most part, anyways.) They come back to MA for major family events at least once every two years, since my brother's family is here still too.

My in-laws have a place in Orlando FL. So help me lord if they move down there permanently when they retire. I love them dearly, but Florida is their dreamland not mine.

Maybe it is just the way I was raised..  But sending time with family is more important than going to somewhere where I enjoy.  It is just something you do.

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1160 on: December 12, 2013, 03:19:43 PM »
Also, I know that my mom has had success only buying dress pants for my dad that are machine washable. 

Ding!  If i cannot wash it in a machine, I don't want it or buy it.

Us too. Although a lot of things that SAY dry clean only can be washed and hung to dry. Dh recently bought a bunch of pants at the local goodwill and we don't dryclean any of them. Of course they were super cheap to begin with, so I didnt mind experimenting on them. YMMV.

Dry cleaning is a huge scam IMO. I wear nice professional clothing to work and have never encountered a fabric that was ruined with a hand wash in cold water, and a light steam if it is too delicate to iron (though I have encountered plenty of items ruined by a drycleaner!).

Confession time.  I've worn the same 4 pairs of wool slacks (in rotation) for about a year now without any kind of laundering (i.e. fifty-something wearings).  After hanging on the rack for about a week, they do not smell (well, they don't smell when I take them off either).  I wear underwear and socks, don't walk through puddles or mud, etc. so they seem perfectly fine.  If they do get dirty I guess I'll wipe them down or dryclean, depending on the details.

The only thing I'm worried about is bits of urine accumulating due to aerosolization when I pee (I don't use urinals because of the splashback issue).  I suppose eventually they will become overly contaminated, but for now they are fine.  They are all very dark colors.

Albert

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1161 on: December 12, 2013, 03:51:27 PM »
I agree that visiting parents is a priority. I spend about 3 weeks a year on average on that and they come to visit me for a week once or twice a year. There is still plenty of vacation time left over for fun trips.

Rural

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1162 on: December 13, 2013, 07:37:54 AM »
I should also note that it was well within my right to move away from them first.  So I guess I should have been ok if my wife did not want to take those trips to?
Are you saying your wife isn't allowed to form her own independent opinions of anything you do and that you should be able to act with impunity rather than form compromises? I still don't understand what's unreasonable about her point of view.

there was compromise.  We stayed in the area we live in now to be close to her family.  It was not my preferred location.  Her compromise should be to take the trip to visit my family.  I think that is quite fair.


It sounds like traveling for fun is important to her just as living near family is. Visiting your family is, rightly, important to you. Seems like the best compromise, then, would be to work together to find something else you can cut to balance the budget and still be able to visit your family as well as have vacations to new places.

rocksinmyhead

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1163 on: December 13, 2013, 07:48:27 AM »
I agree that visiting parents is a priority. I spend about 3 weeks a year on average on that and they come to visit me for a week once or twice a year. There is still plenty of vacation time left over for fun trips.

I am so jealous of the idea that you have plenty of vacation time left over after visiting your parents for 3 weeks! Ahh, Switzerland :)

I totally feel where Insanity is coming from. So far in my adult life (which admittedly isn't super long) I've never taken a "real" vacation, if by "real" you mean at least 5 days to the destination of your choice. I've gotten to go on some fun trips for school/work. But I've lived several hundred miles from my family since 2009, and I really really like them, so any travel $$ gets spent on trips home. Now that my boyfriend and I live several hundred miles from his family as well, the travel budget is even more stretched. Plus, he gets almost no vacation time. It is fine since we both love the parts of the country we grew up in much more than our current location, so it's fun to visit and it's not like we hang out with our families 24/7 while we're there. Plus we have done some weekend trips to places that are within a few hours' drive (one plus of having moved across the country is that there are a ton new fairly short road trips available to you!). But I have to say, I am looking forward to one day living closer to at least one of our families, and being able to take a vacation somewhere just for the hell of it :)

mm1970

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1164 on: December 13, 2013, 09:12:12 AM »
I should also note that it was well within my right to move away from them first.  So I guess I should have been ok if my wife did not want to take those trips to?
Are you saying your wife isn't allowed to form her own independent opinions of anything you do and that you should be able to act with impunity rather than form compromises? I still don't understand what's unreasonable about her point of view.

there was compromise.  We stayed in the area we live in now to be close to her family.  It was not my preferred location.  Her compromise should be to take the trip to visit my family.  I think that is quite fair.


It sounds like traveling for fun is important to her just as living near family is. Visiting your family is, rightly, important to you. Seems like the best compromise, then, would be to work together to find something else you can cut to balance the budget and still be able to visit your family as well as have vacations to new places.

Or, well...you are wanting an annual trip to see your parents.  My question is, what is your budget, and how much vacation do you have?

We were visiting both our families annually, then we had kids.  Then we cut it back a couple of times.  Now we visit both families every two years.  So we take one trip for 2 weeks and see both families.  The opposite years, we go on a vacation. 

So.  If you have the vacation to take two one-week trips a year, but only the budget for one, then consider alternatives.  Visit your family every year, and then go camping for your vacation one year and save up for a nice vacation the next.

If your time off or budget doesn't work for that, then consider visiting your parents as a family every OTHER year, and maybe you visit (alone or with the kids) every year.  Nowhere does it say that you can't take a week and go visit your parents with your kids and leave your wife to go to a spa with a friend or something.

mm1970

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1165 on: December 13, 2013, 09:13:33 AM »
Me: Hey!
C.W.: Do you bring your lunch every day?
Me: Well yeah, I love to cook so I always have leftovers.
C.W.: I'd much rather buy lunch out, that way I can get whatever I want.
Me: Well I buy all my groceries, so I can buy the ingredients to make whatever I want. I think I get more of what I want because I can tailor it specifically to my tastes.
C.W.: *stunned silence*

A person with decent cooking skills can come up with seemingly endless options for meal choices. On the flip side, there are only so many restaurants near work...

CW didn't really think that one through haha.

No, if you bring your lunch you have to eat whatever your mom packed for you.  Tuna fish again?  Gross!
This is funny.  I knew we'd made it when I realized that this week, when our fridge is almost empty and my husband is on jury duty, that we BOTH managed to scrounge up lunch food instead of eating out.

Jamesqf

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1166 on: December 13, 2013, 12:27:52 PM »
Insanity is saying that getting to visit his parents annually should be in the budget.

I think insanity, or maybe just total unawareness, is that being able to travel some thousands of miles to visit parents is not only possible, but considered a normal and reasonable thing to do.

Angelfishtitan

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1167 on: December 13, 2013, 01:33:16 PM »
Insanity is saying that getting to visit his parents annually should be in the budget.

I think insanity, or maybe just total unawareness, is that being able to travel some thousands of miles to visit parents is not only possible, but considered a normal and reasonable thing to do.

I now think Insanity should change his screenname to Just Total Unawareness = P

I agree with Mom to 5, I don't understand the continued criticism of Insanity's opinion after his further explanations.

She gets: Living close to her family
He gets: Yearly visit to see his family

How did she not already get the better end of that compromise if these are the only two agreements made? What additional thing is he asking for to have to use his free time to see his wife's family, presumably no less (I assume much more due to them being close) than she has to use to see his? If you say that it isn't the same, why not?

mm1970

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1168 on: December 13, 2013, 08:09:27 PM »
Quote
She gets: Living close to her family
He gets: Yearly visit to see his family
The only thing that I think needs to be considered is time off and budget.

If vacation and budget mean they can only get one week off per year to travel, then yes, I think it's unreasonable to say that every vacation from now on will be to my parents.  Some negotiation is in order. Every other.  2 out of 3.  5 days with my parents and 4 days on a weekend getaway.  Or let him go with the kids whenever he wants.

annaraven

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1169 on: December 14, 2013, 01:49:19 PM »
Nope, thrift shops sell wonderful dress shirts, most in never-worn condition. It is certainly not mustachian to buy a new one when there's a much cheaper equally-good alternative available.
I agree! All my good work clothes or going out clothes are second hand.

I once got a new job that required me to dress "nice". I went on ebay and to the consignment shops and Goodwill. Ended up spending less for my entire wardrobe than my boss did for *one* suit. (I know - he bragged about how much he spent on his suits.) Do you know how much silk you can buy at $1 a pound in the Goodwill outlets (formerly called Diggers Delight)? I had high-quality stuff including silk suits, a different outfit every day, which I wore with different accessories (I wore a lot of scarves which I inherited from my mom) so I had plenty of clothes.

My kids grew up with pretty much all used clothes and we would make a shopping trip to Diggers into a fun outing - like a treasure hunt. My daughter is now scandalized by the idea of paying $30 for jeans, much less $300. She's the one who loves fun socks, but when they get the inevitable hole - she cuts the heels and the toes off and turns them into fun arm warmers. Funny thing is - she's now working at  a place called "wet seal" which is a fashion retail shop that requires her to "dress fashionably". She gets a kick out of doing it without buying a thing new.

impaire

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1170 on: December 14, 2013, 04:00:55 PM »
Quote
She gets: Living close to her family
He gets: Yearly visit to see his family
The only thing that I think needs to be considered is time off and budget.

If vacation and budget mean they can only get one week off per year to travel, then yes, I think it's unreasonable to say that every vacation from now on will be to my parents.  Some negotiation is in order. Every other.  2 out of 3.  5 days with my parents and 4 days on a weekend getaway.  Or let him go with the kids whenever he wants.

Really? Well that goes to show that this is really a personal line. If my husband had accepted to live next to my family, that would definitely count for something! If then we could/would only afford one vacation yearly, then I may be bummed about losing the opportunity to travel elsewhere, but we would definitely be spending that vacation with his family, and I would be pleasant about it too. If I valued family to the point that it would determine where I spend 51 weeks out of the year, then depriving my SO of his 1 week of guilt-free time with his family would be unimaginable.

Albert

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1171 on: December 14, 2013, 06:13:11 PM »
People often talk about buying second hand clothes here. In my opinion doing so while earning above average income is mildly immoral. It deprives truly poor people an opportunity to have an acceptable clothing. I personally would never do it.

grantmeaname

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1172 on: December 14, 2013, 06:36:56 PM »
Thrift stores are often nonprofits that benefit specific causes with their sales revenues - take Goodwill for example. There's also no shortage of used clothing - in the US, much of it is sent overseas for cents a pound, and not even resold here. So I don't think you're really crowding anyone out. Maybe Switzerland is different, but I doubt it.

ArcticaMT6

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1173 on: December 14, 2013, 11:52:47 PM »
People often talk about buying second hand clothes here. In my opinion doing so while earning above average income is mildly immoral. It deprives truly poor people an opportunity to have an acceptable clothing. I personally would never do it.

Goodwill generates a ton of revenue from it's donated items that get sold. They then turn that revenue into jobs in their stores, as well as using to to provide training to low/no income people so that they can get better paying jobs and actually be able to make a living. That's why it's not immoral.

annaraven

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1174 on: December 15, 2013, 01:27:23 AM »
People often talk about buying second hand clothes here. In my opinion doing so while earning above average income is mildly immoral. It deprives truly poor people an opportunity to have an acceptable clothing. I personally would never do it.

Well, first off, who said anything about earning an above average income? And secondly, what the others said - Goodwill, etc., all pay people to work there and do other good stuff with the money they get.

And, I pretty much bought stuff at places like Diggers (which was where Goodwill sent stuff that had already *been* through their stores and hadn't sold), so the "poor people" you're concerned about had their chance already - or were looking through the bins right next to me.

mm1970

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1175 on: December 15, 2013, 12:40:08 PM »
People often talk about buying second hand clothes here. In my opinion doing so while earning above average income is mildly immoral. It deprives truly poor people an opportunity to have an acceptable clothing. I personally would never do it.
You don't think it's mildly immoral to be wasteful and constantly buy new things?  Wasteful on the earth?
What about the economy?  I mean, if you buy something new at the Gap or something, you are supporting the big company and the really poor people in 3rd world who are making the clothing.  If you buy a at a local thrift store, you are supporting the people who work there and the places they donate money.  Keeps it local.

So much clothing gets discarded and wasted that even a lot of the places that collect used clothing simply ship it overseas.

I don't see how spending $6 on a nice black skirt from the thrift store that is run by volunteers, where nearly 100% of the proceed go to the needy, harms the "truly poor people".

mm1970

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1176 on: December 15, 2013, 12:43:08 PM »
Quote
She gets: Living close to her family
He gets: Yearly visit to see his family
The only thing that I think needs to be considered is time off and budget.

If vacation and budget mean they can only get one week off per year to travel, then yes, I think it's unreasonable to say that every vacation from now on will be to my parents.  Some negotiation is in order. Every other.  2 out of 3.  5 days with my parents and 4 days on a weekend getaway.  Or let him go with the kids whenever he wants.

Really? Well that goes to show that this is really a personal line. If my husband had accepted to live next to my family, that would definitely count for something! If then we could/would only afford one vacation yearly, then I may be bummed about losing the opportunity to travel elsewhere, but we would definitely be spending that vacation with his family, and I would be pleasant about it too. If I valued family to the point that it would determine where I spend 51 weeks out of the year, then depriving my SO of his 1 week of guilt-free time with his family would be unimaginable.
I guess it depends on your life and your family.  We both live on the opposite coast from our families. I find it to be expensive and exhausting to travel there with the children.  I love my family and his but when I need to "recharge", it's just not what I want to do.  I found that at one point, after trying to visit both sides every year, that I was worn down.

I see nothing wrong with recognizing that your wife might like to go somewhere else once in awhile.  Of course my favorite vacation these days is a staycation.

Jamesqf

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1177 on: December 15, 2013, 02:15:56 PM »
Thrift stores are often nonprofits that benefit specific causes with their sales revenues - take Goodwill for example.

My gawd, we agree on something :-)

Besides that, the money I save buying things used rather than new doesn't vanish: either I spend it on something else (creating jobs), or I invest it, providing capital for job-creating businesses.  So what I am doing is maximizing my personal economic utility & efficiency - in a Mustashian sense, getting the most bang for my buck, just as I do when choosing to drive used cars instead of new.

grantmeaname

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1178 on: December 15, 2013, 03:23:26 PM »
It was bound to happen eventually :)

Angelfishtitan

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1179 on: December 16, 2013, 02:50:54 PM »
I guess it depends on your life and your family.  We both live on the opposite coast from our families. I find it to be expensive and exhausting to travel there with the children.  I love my family and his but when I need to "recharge", it's just not what I want to do.  I found that at one point, after trying to visit both sides every year, that I was worn down.

I see nothing wrong with recognizing that your wife might like to go somewhere else once in awhile.  Of course my favorite vacation these days is a staycation.

I don't blame Insanity's wife for wanting to go somewhere else, I understand that using all your vacation days/money on seeing family isn't ideal. However, the goal should not be to make the compromise ideal for the wife and problematic for Insanity or you lose all meaning of the word. They both already got their say, changing the bargain is great but the family portion doesn't change for the wife unless they move so there needs to be more to it then "I don't like wasting my vacation".

This is obviously a one sided story, but based on what I've been told I don't see the argument in what is currently presented.

People often talk about buying second hand clothes here. In my opinion doing so while earning above average income is mildly immoral. It deprives truly poor people an opportunity to have an acceptable clothing. I personally would never do it.

Do you believe anyone with an (above) average income is mildly immoral for using Ebay or Craigslist? There is more than enough stuff in the world for us all to get a second hand piece.

Kira

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1180 on: December 16, 2013, 08:19:35 PM »
People often talk about buying second hand clothes here. In my opinion doing so while earning above average income is mildly immoral. It deprives truly poor people an opportunity to have an acceptable clothing. I personally would never do it.

I don't know what clothing prices are like in Europe, but in America most of the poor people shop at Walmart where you can get $10 pants. Thrift stores are not the only place to get cheap clothing. And as has been said by others, Americans donate literally tons more clothing than will ever be re-bought. There is no shortage.

SwordGuy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1181 on: December 16, 2013, 09:43:07 PM »
A friend at work today told me about some neighbors of his.  They each budget $600 a month for car payments.  Not gas, insurance, repairs, etc.  Just the payments!  Shopping for a new car means going to a dealership and exclaiming, "I can pay $600 per month, what can I get?"

That's almost 5 car payments a month at the price point I've bought at!   I could pay off any car I've ever bought in less than a year at that rate.  Heck, I could pay off the first two I bought and still have spending money in just the first month.

Insanity

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1182 on: December 17, 2013, 07:59:32 AM »
I don't blame Insanity's wife for wanting to go somewhere else, I understand that using all your vacation days/money on seeing family isn't ideal. However, the goal should not be to make the compromise ideal for the wife and problematic for Insanity or you lose all meaning of the word. They both already got their say, changing the bargain is great but the family portion doesn't change for the wife unless they move so there needs to be more to it then "I don't like wasting my vacation".

This is obviously a one sided story, but based on what I've been told I don't see the argument in what is currently presented.

I don't "blame" her for wanting to.  Hell, I want to go elsewhere.  But that isn't the priority I have.

ketchup

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1183 on: December 17, 2013, 08:27:43 AM »
Conversation with a coworker today on the walk in through the parking lot.

Me: Glad I put down my rubber mats yesterday; it's getting pretty slushy out here.
Him: Yeah it is.  But my car's old enough now that I don't care.
Me: ...

He drives a 2008 Pontiac that he's still paying $450/mo for.  I drive a 1996 Volvo with a $0/mo payment.

golden1

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1184 on: December 17, 2013, 10:10:37 AM »
This isn't really a work one, but I had my jaw drop when a guy I went to high school with was moaning on Facebook about how hard it was to support his family on $450K a year. 

WTF?

He had about 30 people comment to him that they make far, far less and still manage to survive.

His response was "Well, my 3 sons are in hockey and that is really expensive."

Okay.....

Left Bank

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1185 on: December 17, 2013, 12:40:03 PM »
This isn't really a work one, but I had my jaw drop when a guy I went to high school with was moaning on Facebook about how hard it was to support his family on $450K a year. 

WTF?

He had about 30 people comment to him that they make far, far less and still manage to survive.

His response was "Well, my 3 sons are in hockey and that is really expensive."

Okay.....

That is just bragging that he makes $450K/yr.  Isn't that what FB is for?

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1186 on: December 17, 2013, 12:51:32 PM »
This isn't really a work one, but I had my jaw drop when a guy I went to high school with was moaning on Facebook about how hard it was to support his family on $450K a year. 

WTF?

He had about 30 people comment to him that they make far, far less and still manage to survive.

His response was "Well, my 3 sons are in hockey and that is really expensive."

Okay.....

That is just bragging that he makes $450K/yr.  Isn't that what FB is for?

I was hoping it was ironical

Russ

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1187 on: December 17, 2013, 01:43:08 PM »
definitely a stealth brag

brand new stash

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1188 on: December 17, 2013, 02:23:26 PM »
Not work.  But I was recently chatting with a group of mothers of my kids' friends, and the conversation turned to cleaning services.  Someone asked me who I use, and I told them that we don't have a cleaning service.  I was the only one of this group of about 10 people who didn't have a cleaning service.   But the best was the reply from one of the other mothers: "But your house has always been so clean whenever we come over, how does that happen without a cleaning service?"   I actually found myself explaining that not having a cleaning service is not the same as not cleaning your house.

lifejoy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1189 on: December 17, 2013, 04:39:50 PM »
Not work.  But I was recently chatting with a group of mothers of my kids' friends, and the conversation turned to cleaning services.  Someone asked me who I use, and I told them that we don't have a cleaning service.  I was the only one of this group of about 10 people who didn't have a cleaning service.   But the best was the reply from one of the other mothers: "But your house has always been so clean whenever we come over, how does that happen without a cleaning service?"   I actually found myself explaining that not having a cleaning service is not the same as not cleaning your house.

WOW. Way to go! This is my dream. Is it tough getting the whole family on board?

prosaic

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1190 on: December 17, 2013, 06:49:01 PM »
People often talk about buying second hand clothes here. In my opinion doing so while earning above average income is mildly immoral. It deprives truly poor people an opportunity to have an acceptable clothing. I personally would never do it.

We're talking about stores that are open to the public, and that use sales revenue for non-profit benefit. We're NOT talking about a place designed for social service agencies to send clients to find clothing using vouchers and that has low volume of clothing.

How is it ever immoral to shop at a retail establishment open to the public?

ocandelario

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1191 on: December 17, 2013, 07:58:31 PM »
We're talking about stores that are open to the public, and that use sales revenue for non-profit benefit. We're NOT talking about a place designed for social service agencies to send clients to find clothing using vouchers and that has low volume of clothing.

How is it ever immoral to shop at a retail establishment open to the public?
[/quote]

Agreed.  If the store owners wanted only the needy to shop there or if they thought it was inappropriate for financially secure people to shop there, they would have made that clear (e.g. this is what soup kitchens do, for example).

HappierAtHome

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1192 on: December 17, 2013, 08:39:03 PM »
Coworker: I wish I could be on holidays all the time. I was so sad that I had to come back to work after my last lot of leave.
Me: Yeah, I'm really looking forward to going on permanent leave some day - I call it retirement!
Coworker: No, it's impossible to retire before 75 with the cost of living here and by then I'll be too tired from working to enjoy my retirement.

Coworker seemed almost proud of how hard his life is, so I let it go.

greenmimama

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1193 on: December 18, 2013, 11:44:09 AM »
Not work.  But I was recently chatting with a group of mothers of my kids' friends, and the conversation turned to cleaning services.  Someone asked me who I use, and I told them that we don't have a cleaning service.  I was the only one of this group of about 10 people who didn't have a cleaning service.   But the best was the reply from one of the other mothers: "But your house has always been so clean whenever we come over, how does that happen without a cleaning service?"   I actually found myself explaining that not having a cleaning service is not the same as not cleaning your house.

That is really funny, I am all for cleaning help if you can afford it, but obviously it isn't really a need, unless you are on bedrest or have some sort of real reason you can't clean.

kms

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1194 on: December 19, 2013, 04:32:04 AM »
For us, the cleaning lady is a luxury we don't want to miss anymore. Both my wife and I work long hours and I'm out of town two or three days a week. Not having to clean the apartment gives us pretty much a day off for some quality time together, and to us that's worth a lot more than saving a few bucks a month.

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1195 on: December 19, 2013, 04:37:03 AM »
For us, the cleaning lady is a luxury we don't want to miss anymore. Both my wife and I work long hours and I'm out of town two or three days a week. Not having to clean the apartment gives us pretty much a day off for some quality time together, and to us that's worth a lot more than saving a few bucks a month.

I guess I'm a wierdo, but I don't like random people coming in and touching my stuff

brand new stash

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1196 on: December 19, 2013, 06:38:28 AM »
Not work.  But I was recently chatting with a group of mothers of my kids' friends, and the conversation turned to cleaning services.  Someone asked me who I use, and I told them that we don't have a cleaning service.  I was the only one of this group of about 10 people who didn't have a cleaning service.   But the best was the reply from one of the other mothers: "But your house has always been so clean whenever we come over, how does that happen without a cleaning service?"   I actually found myself explaining that not having a cleaning service is not the same as not cleaning your house.

WOW. Way to go! This is my dream. Is it tough getting the whole family on board?

My kids have never had a cleaning service, so I'm not even sure they realize such a thing exists.  My husband had one before we got married, but had no problem with the transition.  We have a family cleaning session on Saturday mornings to get the bulk of it done and everyone pitches in.  I actually think it is good for kids to learn how to clean up after themselves and help clean for the family.

My horror at the statement wasn't that they have cleaning services, but that they didn't realize it was an optional luxury, not a requirement for non-slovenly life.

Le0

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1197 on: December 19, 2013, 07:20:40 AM »
I just have to reference the recent threads about cleaning services. *FACE PUNCH*

Why focus all our energy on getting cheaper phones, cutting cable, Not Driving our cars to get groceries, Investing well, not eating out, doing a side hustle, shopping around for insurance etc etc the list goes on. Then you turn around and pay someone $80 a month for something you could be doing yourself? That goes against the whole idea of Badassity.

$80*12mth = $960 a year

@7% that's over $24,000 in 15 years

Rant done.

Insanity

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1198 on: December 19, 2013, 07:53:34 AM »
I just have to reference the recent threads about cleaning services. *FACE PUNCH*

Why focus all our energy on getting cheaper phones, cutting cable, Not Driving our cars to get groceries, Investing well, not eating out, doing a side hustle, shopping around for insurance etc etc the list goes on. Then you turn around and pay someone $80 a month for something you could be doing yourself? That goes against the whole idea of Badassity.

$80*12mth = $960 a year

@7% that's over $24,000 in 15 years

Rant done.

Umm, you don't want to see how much we pay for a cleaning service :)  (we pay $80 every two weeks, so it costs a lot more than that)..  But then again, I'm getting paid $90 an hour for my side hustle so the net of $70 gain an hour is worth it.

nawhite

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #1199 on: December 19, 2013, 08:15:03 AM »
I just have to reference the recent threads about cleaning services. *FACE PUNCH*

Why focus all our energy on getting cheaper phones, cutting cable, Not Driving our cars to get groceries, Investing well, not eating out, doing a side hustle, shopping around for insurance etc etc the list goes on. Then you turn around and pay someone $80 a month for something you could be doing yourself? That goes against the whole idea of Badassity.

$80*12mth = $960 a year

@7% that's over $24,000 in 15 years

Rant done.

Umm, you don't want to see how much we pay for a cleaning service :)  (we pay $80 every two weeks, so it costs a lot more than that)..  But then again, I'm getting paid $90 an hour for my side hustle so the net of $70 gain an hour is worth it.

Do you really spend the time you would be cleaning on your side hustle? I know I wouldn't. I would use it playing video games or exercising or doing other projects around the house. The exercise and the other projects are probably worth more than $20/hour to me, but not by much. If you do always use that time productively, then good job.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!