Author Topic: Overheard at Work  (Read 13253105 times)

johndoe

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15250 on: October 16, 2016, 07:46:24 AM »

The car you drive up to the dealer in makes a big difference to the attention you get as well.  I love to drive up in a shitbox and get left alone while i browse though the used section.

Some years ago my boss turned up at the local Toyota / Mercedes dealer to buy a new merc. He was in older stained slightly ripped overalls driving the dump run ute.

A young salesman quickly walked up and loudly told him to get away from the cars, there is a used dealer down the road who sells stuff to your kind. Up behind the sales guy came the dealer principal who asked what the problem was and proceeded to give the sales guy a serve.
Boss then bought his 5th car from them that year.

Sales guy was then at his 4th or 5th dealership and moved on again soon after.

Or perhaps this was an elaborate reverse psychology trick by the salesman to make the potential customer say to himself "I'll show HIM, I'll buy the most expensive damn car here! "  :)

paddedhat

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15251 on: October 16, 2016, 09:16:52 AM »
Not overheard from work, but since there's so much foam here anyway, might as well go here.  It's not worth it's own post IMO.

I got a "check" in the mail today for $4250.  If I use it, I only have to pay 42 payments of $160 to cover it.  It even says on there, that's 23% interest.

I think mailings such as these should be illegal.

My little brother was selling software, and making a bit over $100K/YR,  just before the great recession struck. He lost that gig, then decided that working for a living wasn't something he wished to continue, and unlike the MMM crowd, determined that his future pursuits would be funded by the credit card industry. A few years later,  much to his surprise, his house of credit cards collapsed.  He had over $140K in unsecured, obscenely high interest debt. CCs alone were $125+ and he explained that until his credit was dinged, banks tripped over themselves to mail him checks. His high water mark was cashing one for $40k.  In the end it cost him a nice house, and just about everything else, except a flogged old truck.

ender

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15252 on: October 16, 2016, 09:26:24 AM »
Not overheard from work, but since there's so much foam here anyway, might as well go here.  It's not worth it's own post IMO.

I got a "check" in the mail today for $4250.  If I use it, I only have to pay 42 payments of $160 to cover it.  It even says on there, that's 23% interest.

I think mailings such as these should be illegal.

My little brother was selling software, and making a bit over $100K/YR,  just before the great recession struck. He lost that gig, then decided that working for a living wasn't something he wished to continue, and unlike the MMM crowd, determined that his future pursuits would be funded by the credit card industry. A few years later,  much to his surprise, his house of credit cards collapsed.  He had over $140K in unsecured, obscenely high interest debt. CCs alone were $125+ and he explained that until his credit was dinged, banks tripped over themselves to mail him checks. His high water mark was cashing one for $40k.  In the end it cost him a nice house, and just about everything else, except a flogged old truck.

Stuff like this really bothers me.

It's like hearing advertisements for the lottery too. It's just shameless manipulation of people to get them to do things not in their best interest.

Tjat

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15253 on: October 16, 2016, 06:59:08 PM »
On the flip side, some childless person determined to do their part to screw the credit industry could intentionally rack up as much credit card debt as possible with the intent of declaring bankruptcy. Living the high life for a bit at least. Course everyone else pays for it with higher interest rates but hey.

No Name Guy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15254 on: October 16, 2016, 07:08:35 PM »
Not overheard from work, but since there's so much foam here anyway, might as well go here.  It's not worth it's own post IMO.

I got a "check" in the mail today for $4250.  If I use it, I only have to pay 42 payments of $160 to cover it.  It even says on there, that's 23% interest.

I think mailings such as these should be illegal.

My little brother was selling software, and making a bit over $100K/YR,  just before the great recession struck. He lost that gig, then decided that working for a living wasn't something he wished to continue, and unlike the MMM crowd, determined that his future pursuits would be funded by the credit card industry. A few years later,  much to his surprise, his house of credit cards collapsed.  He had over $140K in unsecured, obscenely high interest debt. CCs alone were $125+ and he explained that until his credit was dinged, banks tripped over themselves to mail him checks. His high water mark was cashing one for $40k.  In the end it cost him a nice house, and just about everything else, except a flogged old truck.

Stuff like this really bothers me.

It's like hearing advertisements for the lottery too. It's just shameless manipulation of people to get them to do things not in their best interest.
This is a natural outcome of the current monetary system.

Increase credit outstanding at all costs, period.  Doesn't matter how.  Cars and student loans are current credit "crack" du jour.  Used to be mortgages. 

nobodyspecial

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15255 on: October 16, 2016, 07:50:15 PM »
On the flip side, some childless person determined to do their part to screw the credit industry could intentionally rack up as much credit card debt as possible with the intent of declaring bankruptcy. Living the high life for a bit at least. Course everyone else pays for it with higher interest rates but hey.
If they only do it on credit cards you are fine.
When they do it to the entire global economy it's worse

syednaeemul

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15256 on: October 16, 2016, 11:11:25 PM »
On the flip side, some childless person determined to do their part to screw the credit industry could intentionally rack up as much credit card debt as possible with the intent of declaring bankruptcy. Living the high life for a bit at least. Course everyone else pays for it with higher interest rates but hey.

I think I watched this in a South Park episode.

gimp

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15257 on: October 18, 2016, 03:02:29 PM »
On the flip side, some childless person determined to do their part to screw the credit industry could intentionally rack up as much credit card debt as possible with the intent of declaring bankruptcy. Living the high life for a bit at least. Course everyone else pays for it with higher interest rates but hey.

I think I watched this in a South Park episode.


zephyr911

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15258 on: October 19, 2016, 01:20:19 PM »
Same thing happened to my former boss.
Hint to luxury car salesmen in the oil patch in the middle of a boom.
If a guy turns up in rigger boots and a hard hat and his name is the same as the oil company painted on the side of the pickup - it's probably worth being polite.
You'd think that'd be obvious, but nooooo.
One of my former co-workers when I was in Anchorage loved to tell the story of his friend who came down from Prudhoe Bay after a few weeks of work, looking about like you'd expect, and went directly to a dealership to ask about new trucks. After the sales guy snubbed him, he pulled out the cash he'd brought (enough to pay for the entire truck) and waved it right in the guy's face before leaving.

MgoSam

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15259 on: October 19, 2016, 02:19:17 PM »
Same thing happened to my former boss.
Hint to luxury car salesmen in the oil patch in the middle of a boom.
If a guy turns up in rigger boots and a hard hat and his name is the same as the oil company painted on the side of the pickup - it's probably worth being polite.
You'd think that'd be obvious, but nooooo.
One of my former co-workers when I was in Anchorage loved to tell the story of his friend who came down from Prudhoe Bay after a few weeks of work, looking about like you'd expect, and went directly to a dealership to ask about new trucks. After the sales guy snubbed him, he pulled out the cash he'd brought (enough to pay for the entire truck) and waved it right in the guy's face before leaving.

He was nicer about it than I was, I would have waved the money and stayed long enough for the sales manager to come running and apologize and then make a big show of leaving.

zephyr911

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15260 on: October 19, 2016, 03:04:53 PM »

My little brother was selling software, and making a bit over $100K/YR,  just before the great recession struck. He lost that gig, then decided that working for a living wasn't something he wished to continue, and unlike the MMM crowd, determined that his future pursuits would be funded by the credit card industry. A few years later,  much to his surprise, his house of credit cards collapsed.  He had over $140K in unsecured, obscenely high interest debt. CCs alone were $125+ and he explained that until his credit was dinged, banks tripped over themselves to mail him checks. His high water mark was cashing one for $40k.  In the end it cost him a nice house, and just about everything else, except a flogged old truck.

OMFG dude... does he even feel bad after all that? What a jackass!

economista

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15261 on: October 20, 2016, 08:36:48 AM »
I have a new coworker who just started a few weeks ago and he was saying that he needs to buy a bike but all of the bikes he's seen in Colorado are thousands of dollars and he can't afford that.  I told him that I could send him a link to a good blog post* that outlines how to go about buying a bike on craigslist, and he proceeded to tell me that he thinks that's really shady and he would never buy something off craigslist, especially not using advice from a random blog.  He said he will just have to bite the bullet and buy a new bike from a store.  A few days later he was talking about how much he likes to ski and his kids are finally old enough to take along but buying them all new ski gear is soooo expensive.  Some of the other parents in my division were commiserating with him about how expensive it is to buy new gear for kids, especially when they grow out of it so fast.  I popped in and said the previous weekend I had seen goggles, helmets, and gloves at Costco for a really good price and that play it again sports has almost brand new used skis and boots for kids for ridiculously low prices because, as he said, the kids grow out of it so fast it doesn't get used very much before it is too small.  This advice was shrugged off as well by his saying any "cheap" ski gear can't be good quality therefore isn't safe enough for his kids.  I don't think I'm going to say anything anymore when he starts complaining about how expensive things are.

*That blog post was a link I got from one of MMM's posts about biking.

ketchup

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15262 on: October 20, 2016, 09:01:12 AM »
I have a new coworker who just started a few weeks ago and he was saying that he needs to buy a bike but all of the bikes he's seen in Colorado are thousands of dollars and he can't afford that.  I told him that I could send him a link to a good blog post* that outlines how to go about buying a bike on craigslist, and he proceeded to tell me that he thinks that's really shady and he would never buy something off craigslist, especially not using advice from a random blog.  He said he will just have to bite the bullet and buy a new bike from a store.  A few days later he was talking about how much he likes to ski and his kids are finally old enough to take along but buying them all new ski gear is soooo expensive.  Some of the other parents in my division were commiserating with him about how expensive it is to buy new gear for kids, especially when they grow out of it so fast.  I popped in and said the previous weekend I had seen goggles, helmets, and gloves at Costco for a really good price and that play it again sports has almost brand new used skis and boots for kids for ridiculously low prices because, as he said, the kids grow out of it so fast it doesn't get used very much before it is too small.  This advice was shrugged off as well by his saying any "cheap" ski gear can't be good quality therefore isn't safe enough for his kids.  I don't think I'm going to say anything anymore when he starts complaining about how expensive things are.

*That blog post was a link I got from one of MMM's posts about biking.
People often don't want pragmatic solutions to their problems, they want validation and sympathy for their problems.  "Oh that sucks, how awful for you, you poor thing" vs "Here's how you mitigate that." It's sad.

jinga nation

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15263 on: October 20, 2016, 09:26:16 AM »
People often don't want pragmatic solutions to their problems, they want validation and sympathy for their problems.  "Oh that sucks, how awful for you, you poor thing" vs "Here's how you mitigate that." It's sad.
Change is good. But it's too hard. (Whine, whine, whine.)

Kitsune

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15264 on: October 20, 2016, 09:41:57 AM »
People often don't want pragmatic solutions to their problems, they want validation and sympathy for their problems.  "Oh that sucks, how awful for you, you poor thing" vs "Here's how you mitigate that." It's sad.
Change is good. But it's too hard. (Whine, whine, whine.)

But it's EAASSSSIIIIER to spend money you don't have!! *whine*

(To be fair: if saving 10$ means 2 hours of effort when I don't have 2 hours to spare, I will absolutely spend 10$. If it's 100$, I will find the time. There's a balance of time/effort/money. I just think that if you don't have the money the calculation becomes somewhat different...)

jinga nation

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15265 on: October 20, 2016, 11:31:13 AM »
I had the Federal Work Study program as part of my undergraduate financial aid package. I worked in the Campus Counseling Center, where I tutored Math to students failing the CLAST test and student athletes too. Our little breakroom, shared by PhDs and interns alike, had a (bread) toaster, a bagel toaster (the first time I ever heard and saw this novel invention), and a toaster oven.

One day, at the end of semester, I went for the early Christmas party to help setting up (I'm getting paid for this). The Ph.D's, my boss, Master's students, all psychologists and social behavioral people are complaining there's not enough counter space in the kitchen.
Me: Why do we need a regular and a bagel toaster.
Them: Oh no! You can't touch that, it's sacrilege. How would we toast bread and bagels?
Me: But you can use the toaster oven. That what we use at home for everything.
One of Them: What? You can toast in that thing?
Me: Yes. (speaking slowly) It is a Toaster Oven.
Another One of Them: But it doesn't toast properly.
Me: Did you use the right settings? You know you can turn the knobs for temperature to get the right color for your white sliced bread. (Yes I did say that)
Them: But what if all of us need to toast something
Me: Take turns.
Them: mumbling... at this point I stopped listening and gave up. I started putting food on my plate, I eat on the job, efficiency, politeness be damned with these nitwits.
Me: Whatever, I won't be here next semester, so Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Hanukkah, Kwanza to all and thanks for the yummy grub. (Steps out.)
My only regret is not looking at their facial reactions for my scummy first-in-line grub-grabbing actions.
« Last Edit: October 20, 2016, 11:33:04 AM by jinga nation »

barbaz

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15266 on: October 20, 2016, 12:36:47 PM »
There's a balance of time/effort/money. I just think that if you don't have the money the calculation becomes somewhat different...)
Right? It annoys me to no end when people say "If you do this saving trick, you're paying yourself less than minimum wage". Sorry but I can't afford to pay someone minimum wage to do my shit, and the only person who will do it for less is myself.

Papa Mustache

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15267 on: October 20, 2016, 01:15:53 PM »
BINGO!

I've heard people say well, you make $$ per hour at work, of course you can afford to pay someone $ per hour to do your task.

No, I'm at home, in the evening or on the weekend. I have time to do it. I have the skills to do it. I might hire someone but its not b/c I don't have the time.

Usually I hire it out if I don't have the skills and then I watch so next time I can do it for myself. ;)

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15268 on: October 20, 2016, 01:51:43 PM »
BINGO!

I've heard people say well, you make $$ per hour at work, of course you can afford to pay someone $ per hour to do your task.

No, I'm at home, in the evening or on the weekend. I have time to do it. I have the skills to do it. I might hire someone but its not b/c I don't have the time.

Usually I hire it out if I don't have the skills and then I watch so next time I can do it for myself. ;)
Also, it's worth bearing mind that the money you pay someone else is your after-tax money (at your marginal rate) and their pre-tax money.  If I make $30/hour at my day job, I may only take home $20/hour after FICA/Federal/State income taxes.

horsepoor

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15269 on: October 20, 2016, 01:54:15 PM »
I have a new coworker who just started a few weeks ago and he was saying that he needs to buy a bike but all of the bikes he's seen in Colorado are thousands of dollars and he can't afford that.  I told him that I could send him a link to a good blog post* that outlines how to go about buying a bike on craigslist, and he proceeded to tell me that he thinks that's really shady and he would never buy something off craigslist, especially not using advice from a random blog.  He said he will just have to bite the bullet and buy a new bike from a store.  A few days later he was talking about how much he likes to ski and his kids are finally old enough to take along but buying them all new ski gear is soooo expensive.  Some of the other parents in my division were commiserating with him about how expensive it is to buy new gear for kids, especially when they grow out of it so fast.  I popped in and said the previous weekend I had seen goggles, helmets, and gloves at Costco for a really good price and that play it again sports has almost brand new used skis and boots for kids for ridiculously low prices because, as he said, the kids grow out of it so fast it doesn't get used very much before it is too small.  This advice was shrugged off as well by his saying any "cheap" ski gear can't be good quality therefore isn't safe enough for his kids.  I don't think I'm going to say anything anymore when he starts complaining about how expensive things are.

*That blog post was a link I got from one of MMM's posts about biking.

Or agree that, insisting on the best of everything, brand new must be quite expensive. 

mm1970

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15270 on: October 20, 2016, 03:59:17 PM »
"I feel like you can't get a decent new car for under $40k anymore.  I feel like I'm in the top 10% of income but in the bottom 10% of cars."

More hilarity ensued.  Me suggesting that a Civic can be had for much less (brand new even). "But it's a Civic, not even an Accord!"  Hey, but today's Civic is the size of a 90s Accord.  And all new cars come with bling. 

Other person pulling up a variety of cars for under $30k, including said Accord, on their phone. 

The problem is in So Cal, people drive luxury SUVs.  I've never seen so many in my life.  And big trucks.  So it feels like you suck if you don't have one.

kayvent

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15271 on: October 20, 2016, 04:27:13 PM »
"I feel like you can't get a decent new car for under $40k anymore.  I feel like I'm in the top 10% of income but in the bottom 10% of cars."

More hilarity ensued.  Me suggesting that a Civic can be had for much less (brand new even). "But it's a Civic, not even an Accord!"  Hey, but today's Civic is the size of a 90s Accord.  And all new cars come with bling. 

Other person pulling up a variety of cars for under $30k, including said Accord, on their phone. 

The problem is in So Cal, people drive luxury SUVs.  I've never seen so many in my life.  And big trucks.  So it feels like you suck if you don't have one.

Am I the only person that finds a Yaris or Prius or other small cars "sexy"?

WootWoot

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15272 on: October 20, 2016, 05:30:41 PM »
It's not particularly comedic, but...our college is going from a twice-monthly payroll to a bi-weekly payroll. The way the board of trustees has figured it out, there are going to be two paychecks that will be "short" right after the holidays. You can, however, even them out by taking a "payback/advance" from the college. Or you can do without.

People are flipping out about this, even though it will mean that for at least two checks out of the year, there will be no benefit deductibles taken from our checks. I've overheard things like, "I'm going to have to take out a loan to cover those checks" and how this is the worst time of year to do this, because "people have credit card bills after the holidays."

I'm not trying to be smug. I don't agree with the way the college is going about this. I'm just grateful I have money to cover the gap.

Paul der Krake

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15273 on: October 20, 2016, 05:35:07 PM »
Am I the only person that finds a Yaris or Prius or other small cars "sexy"?
No. Just this past weekend, I expressed displeasure at having to pick between a pickup and a SUV instead of the subcompact I had requested for practical city driving and parking.

The rental lady looked at me like I had two heads.

Ended up with a Hyundai Santa Fe, which was the shortest vehicle they had. Terrible gas mileage, poor visibility that made maneuvering in tight spaces difficult. All that metal to carry about 300 lbs worth of humans and two carry ons. 0/10 would not rent again. I'll take a Yaris with manual windows and no cruise control over this monstrosity.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15274 on: October 20, 2016, 05:56:10 PM »
"I feel like you can't get a decent new car for under $40k anymore.  I feel like I'm in the top 10% of income but in the bottom 10% of cars."

More hilarity ensued.  Me suggesting that a Civic can be had for much less (brand new even). "But it's a Civic, not even an Accord!"  Hey, but today's Civic is the size of a 90s Accord.  And all new cars come with bling. 

Other person pulling up a variety of cars for under $30k, including said Accord, on their phone. 

The problem is in So Cal, people drive luxury SUVs.  I've never seen so many in my life.  And big trucks.  So it feels like you suck if you don't have one.

Try driving in Texas.   You can't see around anyone unless you also have a giant SUV or pickup.  I can't see shit in my 2004 Camry.  I, however, have never felt like I suck because I drive a small(er) car.  In fact, everyone else sucks.

Chris22

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15275 on: October 20, 2016, 06:51:43 PM »
"I feel like you can't get a decent new car for under $40k anymore.  I feel like I'm in the top 10% of income but in the bottom 10% of cars."

More hilarity ensued.  Me suggesting that a Civic can be had for much less (brand new even). "But it's a Civic, not even an Accord!"  Hey, but today's Civic is the size of a 90s Accord.  And all new cars come with bling. 

Other person pulling up a variety of cars for under $30k, including said Accord, on their phone. 

The problem is in So Cal, people drive luxury SUVs.  I've never seen so many in my life.  And big trucks.  So it feels like you suck if you don't have one.

Am I the only person that finds a Yaris or Prius or other small cars "sexy"?

Small cars, no. Those two shitboxes?  Yes.

geekette

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15276 on: October 20, 2016, 08:16:30 PM »
"I feel like you can't get a decent new car for under $40k anymore.  I feel like I'm in the top 10% of income but in the bottom 10% of cars."

More hilarity ensued.  Me suggesting that a Civic can be had for much less (brand new even). "But it's a Civic, not even an Accord!"  Hey, but today's Civic is the size of a 90s Accord.  And all new cars come with bling. 

Other person pulling up a variety of cars for under $30k, including said Accord, on their phone. 

The problem is in So Cal, people drive luxury SUVs.  I've never seen so many in my life.  And big trucks.  So it feels like you suck if you don't have one.

Try driving in Texas.   You can't see around anyone unless you also have a giant SUV or pickup.  I can't see shit in my 2004 Camry.  I, however, have never felt like I suck because I drive a small(er) car.  In fact, everyone else sucks.

LOL - we moved to Austin, Tx for a year in '91, and my DH drove a Honda CRX (one of those "sit down, get in" 2 seater cars).  Couldn't see a dang thing...

MrRealEstate

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15277 on: October 21, 2016, 12:38:38 AM »
It's not particularly comedic, but...our college is going from a twice-monthly payroll to a bi-weekly payroll. The way the board of trustees has figured it out, there are going to be two paychecks that will be "short" right after the holidays. You can, however, even them out by taking a "payback/advance" from the college. Or you can do without.

People are flipping out about this, even though it will mean that for at least two checks out of the year, there will be no benefit deductibles taken from our checks. I've overheard things like, "I'm going to have to take out a loan to cover those checks" and how this is the worst time of year to do this, because "people have credit card bills after the holidays."

I'm not trying to be smug. I don't agree with the way the college is going about this. I'm just grateful I have money to cover the gap.

It's amazing how no matter the workplace, this always causes an issue. With that in mind, when we went to biweekly(fortnightly) paychecks from twice a month no one seemed to have an issue here. Salaried employees were the only ones effected, hourly employees are paid weekly.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15278 on: October 21, 2016, 12:42:44 AM »
The jury is out on whether Friday is Frey's, Freya's or Frigg's day. The fun part is that you have kept all the Nordic names, except for Saturday. In the Nordic languages this is the washing day (laugardagur), but you would rather watch the time go by? (Saturn = god of time).

As a Nordic citizen I have to report that of course we don't wash ourselves on Saturdays. That would be a serious health threat and quite wasteful. We take our annual baths just before Midwinter Sacrifice. Whether we need it or not.

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15279 on: October 21, 2016, 03:16:29 AM »
BINGO!

I've heard people say well, you make $$ per hour at work, of course you can afford to pay someone $ per hour to do your task.

No, I'm at home, in the evening or on the weekend.
I have time to do it. I have the skills to do it. I might hire someone but its not b/c I don't have the time.

Usually I hire it out if I don't have the skills and then I watch so next time I can do it for myself. ;)

Yep. When I complain about boring errands, my husband always reminds me, "unless you get a second job, your free time is worth nothing".

Also, I remember complaining to my dad about the hourly rate at my first job (£3.83 an hour). He said, "Do you think you're worth more?", and I said, "Yeah, I'm worth like £5 an hour!".

And he just said, "Nope. Sorry. You're worth what you can get someone to pay you. Not a penny more". Good lesson.

onlykelsey

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15280 on: October 21, 2016, 07:15:55 AM »
"I feel like you can't get a decent new car for under $40k anymore.  I feel like I'm in the top 10% of income but in the bottom 10% of cars."

More hilarity ensued.  Me suggesting that a Civic can be had for much less (brand new even). "But it's a Civic, not even an Accord!"  Hey, but today's Civic is the size of a 90s Accord.  And all new cars come with bling. 

Other person pulling up a variety of cars for under $30k, including said Accord, on their phone. 

The problem is in So Cal, people drive luxury SUVs.  I've never seen so many in my life.  And big trucks.  So it feels like you suck if you don't have one.

Am I the only person that finds a Yaris or Prius or other small cars "sexy"?

Small cars, no. Those two shitboxes?  Yes.

I love little stick shifts.  Sort of neutral on brands, although I drove honda/acuras before I moved to the city. I think it may be because the people i've known to drive those have ended up being very practical, modest, helpful people, and I have good associations with those sorts of cars.

horsepoor

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15281 on: October 21, 2016, 08:15:59 AM »
"I feel like you can't get a decent new car for under $40k anymore.  I feel like I'm in the top 10% of income but in the bottom 10% of cars."

More hilarity ensued.  Me suggesting that a Civic can be had for much less (brand new even). "But it's a Civic, not even an Accord!"  Hey, but today's Civic is the size of a 90s Accord.  And all new cars come with bling. 

Other person pulling up a variety of cars for under $30k, including said Accord, on their phone. 

The problem is in So Cal, people drive luxury SUVs.  I've never seen so many in my life.  And big trucks.  So it feels like you suck if you don't have one.

Try driving in Texas.   You can't see around anyone unless you also have a giant SUV or pickup.  I can't see shit in my 2004 Camry.  I, however, have never felt like I suck because I drive a small(er) car.  In fact, everyone else sucks.

LOL - we moved to Austin, Tx for a year in '91, and my DH drove a Honda CRX (one of those "sit down, get in" 2 seater cars).  Couldn't see a dang thing...

I finally gave up on  my CR-Z this spring and got a Nissan Juke for that reason.  Now I can at least see over the hood of a Ford Explorer.  It's still pretty small compared to even a small  SUV, but the driving position makes it a lot easier to navigate in a sea of trucks.

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15282 on: October 21, 2016, 09:30:19 AM »

LOL - we moved to Austin, Tx for a year in '91, and my DH drove a Honda CRX (one of those "sit down, get in" 2 seater cars).  Couldn't see a dang thing...
The way I see it, eventually you'll be able to see *under* all the other vehicles around you! :)

MrMoogle

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15283 on: October 21, 2016, 09:37:40 AM »

LOL - we moved to Austin, Tx for a year in '91, and my DH drove a Honda CRX (one of those "sit down, get in" 2 seater cars).  Couldn't see a dang thing...
The way I see it, eventually you'll be able to see *under* all the other vehicles around you! :)
One of the best things about riding a tall motorcycle, I can finally see over some vehicles again, and at least through their windows.  And I'm not blocking anyone's view!  Driving a car, I feel totally blind in traffic.

Allison

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15284 on: October 21, 2016, 09:42:54 AM »
"I feel like you can't get a decent new car for under $40k anymore.  I feel like I'm in the top 10% of income but in the bottom 10% of cars."

More hilarity ensued.  Me suggesting that a Civic can be had for much less (brand new even). "But it's a Civic, not even an Accord!"  Hey, but today's Civic is the size of a 90s Accord.  And all new cars come with bling. 

Other person pulling up a variety of cars for under $30k, including said Accord, on their phone. 

The problem is in So Cal, people drive luxury SUVs.  I've never seen so many in my life.  And big trucks.  So it feels like you suck if you don't have one.

Am I the only person that finds a Yaris or Prius or other small cars "sexy"?

I do!!  I love my bright red Yaris...

mm1970

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15285 on: October 21, 2016, 09:56:13 AM »
BINGO!

I've heard people say well, you make $$ per hour at work, of course you can afford to pay someone $ per hour to do your task.

No, I'm at home, in the evening or on the weekend.
I have time to do it. I have the skills to do it. I might hire someone but its not b/c I don't have the time.

Usually I hire it out if I don't have the skills and then I watch so next time I can do it for myself. ;)

Yep. When I complain about boring errands, my husband always reminds me, "unless you get a second job, your free time is worth nothing".

Also, I remember complaining to my dad about the hourly rate at my first job (£3.83 an hour). He said, "Do you think you're worth more?", and I said, "Yeah, I'm worth like £5 an hour!".

And he just said, "Nope. Sorry. You're worth what you can get someone to pay you. Not a penny more". Good lesson.
Unless you have kids, or don't have enough time to sleep.  Then you can argue that it's worth it!

MrMoogle

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15286 on: October 21, 2016, 10:04:00 AM »
BINGO!

I've heard people say well, you make $$ per hour at work, of course you can afford to pay someone $ per hour to do your task.

No, I'm at home, in the evening or on the weekend.
I have time to do it. I have the skills to do it. I might hire someone but its not b/c I don't have the time.

Usually I hire it out if I don't have the skills and then I watch so next time I can do it for myself. ;)

Yep. When I complain about boring errands, my husband always reminds me, "unless you get a second job, your free time is worth nothing".

Also, I remember complaining to my dad about the hourly rate at my first job (£3.83 an hour). He said, "Do you think you're worth more?", and I said, "Yeah, I'm worth like £5 an hour!".

And he just said, "Nope. Sorry. You're worth what you can get someone to pay you. Not a penny more". Good lesson.
Unless you have kids, or don't have enough time to sleep.  Then you can argue that it's worth it!
Time is always worth something.  You always have an opportunity cost, what else you could be doing with that time. 

MgoSam

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15287 on: October 21, 2016, 10:16:38 AM »
BINGO!

I've heard people say well, you make $$ per hour at work, of course you can afford to pay someone $ per hour to do your task.

No, I'm at home, in the evening or on the weekend.
I have time to do it. I have the skills to do it. I might hire someone but its not b/c I don't have the time.

Usually I hire it out if I don't have the skills and then I watch so next time I can do it for myself. ;)

Yep. When I complain about boring errands, my husband always reminds me, "unless you get a second job, your free time is worth nothing".

Also, I remember complaining to my dad about the hourly rate at my first job (£3.83 an hour). He said, "Do you think you're worth more?", and I said, "Yeah, I'm worth like £5 an hour!".

And he just said, "Nope. Sorry. You're worth what you can get someone to pay you. Not a penny more". Good lesson.
Unless you have kids, or don't have enough time to sleep.  Then you can argue that it's worth it!
Time is always worth something.  You always have an opportunity cost, what else you could be doing with that time.

+1. While if you aren't currently working it will make it hard to put a precise monetary value, your time is always worth something. If I'm not working or working out or sleeping then I'm likely doing something that brings value to me, be it reading, watching TV, doing nothing, cleaning, ect. Now I'll acknowledge that I'm fairly lazy and should be more productive, my time is still valuable.

Kitsune

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15288 on: October 21, 2016, 11:13:33 AM »
BINGO!

I've heard people say well, you make $$ per hour at work, of course you can afford to pay someone $ per hour to do your task.

No, I'm at home, in the evening or on the weekend.
I have time to do it. I have the skills to do it. I might hire someone but its not b/c I don't have the time.

Usually I hire it out if I don't have the skills and then I watch so next time I can do it for myself. ;)

Yep. When I complain about boring errands, my husband always reminds me, "unless you get a second job, your free time is worth nothing".

Also, I remember complaining to my dad about the hourly rate at my first job (£3.83 an hour). He said, "Do you think you're worth more?", and I said, "Yeah, I'm worth like £5 an hour!".

And he just said, "Nope. Sorry. You're worth what you can get someone to pay you. Not a penny more". Good lesson.
Unless you have kids, or don't have enough time to sleep.  Then you can argue that it's worth it!
Time is always worth something.  You always have an opportunity cost, what else you could be doing with that time.

+1. While if you aren't currently working it will make it hard to put a precise monetary value, your time is always worth something. If I'm not working or working out or sleeping then I'm likely doing something that brings value to me, be it reading, watching TV, doing nothing, cleaning, ect. Now I'll acknowledge that I'm fairly lazy and should be more productive, my time is still valuable.

The kids comment is on point - am I paying 300$ in blackout blinds so that the kids will sleep past 4:30am? Abso-fucking-lutely. (And yes, the light makes THAT much difference for the toddler).

When I have a migraine, am I willing to pay 50$ to get the prescription for migraine meds filled out (stops me from puking from pain and then passing out)? No joke, YES.

I totally agree that your time is, monetarily, worth only what someone is willing to pay you for it... But free time and well-being also has a value. Not monetary, and so harder to calculate, but value nonetheless.

In my first example: 6ish months/year for at least the next 2 years of 2 hours of extra morning sleep DAILY is TOTALLY worth the money. (I'm paying for sleep, not curtains. Let's be real here)

gaja

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15289 on: October 21, 2016, 02:23:09 PM »
The jury is out on whether Friday is Frey's, Freya's or Frigg's day. The fun part is that you have kept all the Nordic names, except for Saturday. In the Nordic languages this is the washing day (laugardagur), but you would rather watch the time go by? (Saturn = god of time).

As a Nordic citizen I have to report that of course we don't wash ourselves on Saturdays. That would be a serious health threat and quite wasteful. We take our annual baths just before Midwinter Sacrifice. Whether we need it or not.

What do you mean; wasteful? On saturday morning, you get up bright and early, sprint down to the river, get naked and jump in. Then you scream from the cold, jump straight back out and run even faster inside to your warm bed. In winter (otherwise known as "not July 17th-20th") you have to spend a few minutes chopping away the ice, but that is just good exercise, and necessary to do anyway to get access to drinking water.

Oh; you thought I meant washing with *warm* water?! No, that would be crazy.

cerat0n1a

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15290 on: October 21, 2016, 10:45:26 PM »
BINGO!

I've heard people say well, you make $$ per hour at work, of course you can afford to pay someone $ per hour to do your task.

No, I'm at home, in the evening or on the weekend.
I have time to do it. I have the skills to do it. I might hire someone but its not b/c I don't have the time.

Usually I hire it out if I don't have the skills and then I watch so next time I can do it for myself. ;)

Yep. When I complain about boring errands, my husband always reminds me, "unless you get a second job, your free time is worth nothing".

Also, I remember complaining to my dad about the hourly rate at my first job (£3.83 an hour). He said, "Do you think you're worth more?", and I said, "Yeah, I'm worth like £5 an hour!".

And he just said, "Nope. Sorry. You're worth what you can get someone to pay you. Not a penny more". Good lesson.

The cash that you'd be using to pay someone to do the work has probably had tax paid on it too. So if your highest marginal rate of tax is 20%, then the £10 you've paid someone to a job needs you to earn £12.50. If you're a 40% tax payer, you'd need to earn £16.66 to generate the money to pay someone £10.

arebelspy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15291 on: October 21, 2016, 10:49:56 PM »
BINGO!

I've heard people say well, you make $$ per hour at work, of course you can afford to pay someone $ per hour to do your task.

No, I'm at home, in the evening or on the weekend.
I have time to do it. I have the skills to do it. I might hire someone but its not b/c I don't have the time.

Usually I hire it out if I don't have the skills and then I watch so next time I can do it for myself. ;)

Yep. When I complain about boring errands, my husband always reminds me, "unless you get a second job, your free time is worth nothing".

Also, I remember complaining to my dad about the hourly rate at my first job (£3.83 an hour). He said, "Do you think you're worth more?", and I said, "Yeah, I'm worth like £5 an hour!".

And he just said, "Nope. Sorry. You're worth what you can get someone to pay you. Not a penny more". Good lesson.

The cash that you'd be using to pay someone to do the work has probably had tax paid on it too. So if your highest marginal rate of tax is 20%, then the £10 you've paid someone to a job needs you to earn £12.50. If you're a 40% tax payer, you'd need to earn £16.66 to generate the money to pay someone £10.
The trick to avoiding that: Pay them with the first dollar you earn, not the last.
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

Fearthebait

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15292 on: October 22, 2016, 02:43:24 AM »
Alright, I will update this with a picture shortly, but today I saw something truly amazing.

An individual pulled up to work in a brand new Chevy Silverado with KC Light attachments, 6" lift, front end police bumper add-on, and about 10 other "Upgrades" that I could spot from the exterior. The car must have cost him at least $50k although he wouldn't tell me what he actually paid. Pretty bad already, but here are some more details to make you cringe:

-The base is only 3 miles from end to end
-DFAC/Gym/Work all within 100 meters of the barracks, it literally takes longer to drive to these locations than it does to walk
-Only allowed to leave base every few weeks
-Only here for 1 year
-Can't ship the vehicle home
-Plans to sell it "At a profit" when he leaves
-No gas station available on base



Seppia

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15293 on: October 22, 2016, 02:59:54 AM »
Does he get gas from Amazon?

Fearthebait

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15294 on: October 22, 2016, 04:29:44 AM »
He said he will fill up a few gascans next time he goes out. I'm sure they we're an upgrade from the kind hearted dealership as well.

lemanfan

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15295 on: October 22, 2016, 05:57:23 AM »
-Plans to sell it "At a profit" when he leaves

Bazinga!

larmando

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15296 on: October 22, 2016, 08:58:38 AM »
BINGO!

I've heard people say well, you make $$ per hour at work, of course you can afford to pay someone $ per hour to do your task.

No, I'm at home, in the evening or on the weekend.
I have time to do it. I have the skills to do it. I might hire someone but its not b/c I don't have the time.

Usually I hire it out if I don't have the skills and then I watch so next time I can do it for myself. ;)

Yep. When I complain about boring errands, my husband always reminds me, "unless you get a second job, your free time is worth nothing".

Also, I remember complaining to my dad about the hourly rate at my first job (£3.83 an hour). He said, "Do you think you're worth more?", and I said, "Yeah, I'm worth like £5 an hour!".

And he just said, "Nope. Sorry. You're worth what you can get someone to pay you. Not a penny more". Good lesson.

The cash that you'd be using to pay someone to do the work has probably had tax paid on it too. So if your highest marginal rate of tax is 20%, then the £10 you've paid someone to a job needs you to earn £12.50. If you're a 40% tax payer, you'd need to earn £16.66 to generate the money to pay someone £10.
The trick to avoiding that: Pay them with the first dollar you earn, not the last.
Impossible, you have to pay yourself first.

arebelspy

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15297 on: October 22, 2016, 03:51:49 PM »
BINGO!

I've heard people say well, you make $$ per hour at work, of course you can afford to pay someone $ per hour to do your task.

No, I'm at home, in the evening or on the weekend.
I have time to do it. I have the skills to do it. I might hire someone but its not b/c I don't have the time.

Usually I hire it out if I don't have the skills and then I watch so next time I can do it for myself. ;)

Yep. When I complain about boring errands, my husband always reminds me, "unless you get a second job, your free time is worth nothing".

Also, I remember complaining to my dad about the hourly rate at my first job (£3.83 an hour). He said, "Do you think you're worth more?", and I said, "Yeah, I'm worth like £5 an hour!".

And he just said, "Nope. Sorry. You're worth what you can get someone to pay you. Not a penny more". Good lesson.

The cash that you'd be using to pay someone to do the work has probably had tax paid on it too. So if your highest marginal rate of tax is 20%, then the £10 you've paid someone to a job needs you to earn £12.50. If you're a 40% tax payer, you'd need to earn £16.66 to generate the money to pay someone £10.
The trick to avoiding that: Pay them with the first dollar you earn, not the last.
Impossible, you have to pay yourself first.
Hah.

As a non-sarcastic aside, I think pay yourself first is terrible advice for a Mustachian.
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

ender

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15298 on: October 22, 2016, 04:04:36 PM »
As a non-sarcastic aside, I think pay yourself first is terrible advice for a Mustachian.

Why?

There's my HSA, then my 401k, and then IRA.

What's wrong with paying myself first? ;-)

Warlord1986

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Re: Overheard at Work
« Reply #15299 on: October 22, 2016, 07:04:24 PM »
Alright, I will update this with a picture shortly, but today I saw something truly amazing.

An individual pulled up to work in a brand new Chevy Silverado with KC Light attachments, 6" lift, front end police bumper add-on, and about 10 other "Upgrades" that I could spot from the exterior. The car must have cost him at least $50k although he wouldn't tell me what he actually paid. Pretty bad already, but here are some more details to make you cringe:

-The base is only 3 miles from end to end
-DFAC/Gym/Work all within 100 meters of the barracks, it literally takes longer to drive to these locations than it does to walk
-Only allowed to leave base every few weeks
-Only here for 1 year
-Can't ship the vehicle home
-Plans to sell it "At a profit" when he leaves
-No gas station available on base

That's beautiful. If he really plans to fill up gas cans, you might want to remind him that gas is useless after six months.