Overheard at Work

[Chris22]

Overheard at the table next to me in the cafeteria today..."I bought a BMW Z3 without telling my wife, but I felt like I deserved it."

They haven't made a Z3 for like 12 years, and you can pick one up for <$7500. 

So still dumb, but not like he made a $50k purchase dumb.

[Kitsune]

Overheard at the table next to me in the cafeteria today..."I bought a BMW Z3 without telling my wife, but I felt like I deserved it."

And when she finds out, decent chance that she'll feel he deserves lawyer's fees and alimony payments, so I guess it's all about what he really deserves... ;)

[Miss Piggy]

Overheard at the table next to me in the cafeteria today..."I bought a BMW Z3 without telling my wife, but I felt like I deserved it."

They haven't made a Z3 for like 12 years, and you can pick one up for <$7500. 

So still dumb, but not like he made a $50k purchase dumb.

Um...I'll admit I've made a few $200 handbag purchases without telling my husband (you're not going to tell him, either, are you?), but how in the world do you sneak a car past your spouse?

[MgoSam]

Overheard at the table next to me in the cafeteria today..."I bought a BMW Z3 without telling my wife, but I felt like I deserved it."

They haven't made a Z3 for like 12 years, and you can pick one up for <$7500. 

So still dumb, but not like he made a $50k purchase dumb.

I'm not a car person, but that doesn't seem like the dumbest thing in the world. My guess, though, is that his wife will retaliate by buying something around that price point, which can really add up. I've seen too many couples posting on FB about how due to one spouse buying ____(insert expensive toy), they get to buy ____(insert another expensive toy).

[MgoSam]

Overheard at the table next to me in the cafeteria today..."I bought a BMW Z3 without telling my wife, but I felt like I deserved it."

They haven't made a Z3 for like 12 years, and you can pick one up for <$7500. 

So still dumb, but not like he made a $50k purchase dumb.

Um...I'll admit I've made a few $200 handbag purchases without telling my husband (you're not going to tell him, either, are you?), but how in the world do you sneak a car past your spouse?

"When did you get the car?"
"What, this old thing? I've had it for ages honey. Are you feeling well today?"

[onlykelsey]

Overheard at the table next to me in the cafeteria today..."I bought a BMW Z3 without telling my wife, but I felt like I deserved it."

They haven't made a Z3 for like 12 years, and you can pick one up for <$7500. 

So still dumb, but not like he made a $50k purchase dumb.

Um...I'll admit I've made a few $200 handbag purchases without telling my husband (you're not going to tell him, either, are you?), but how in the world do you sneak a car past your spouse?

Yeah, I feel like the jig would be up on that pretty quickly unless you have like a 15 car garage.  If you do, you're probably not buying BMWs...

As a matter of finances I could make a 50K purchase without my husband knowing but I don't know what I could waste 50K on that didn't take up room.  Jewelry?

[Kitsune]

Overheard at the table next to me in the cafeteria today..."I bought a BMW Z3 without telling my wife, but I felt like I deserved it."

They haven't made a Z3 for like 12 years, and you can pick one up for <$7500. 

So still dumb, but not like he made a $50k purchase dumb.

Um...I'll admit I've made a few $200 handbag purchases without telling my husband (you're not going to tell him, either, are you?), but how in the world do you sneak a car past your spouse?

Hah! My standard 'sneak this past my husband' is going 3$ overboard on my ebook budget. I'm suddenly feeling a lot less guilty about that... ;)

[dragoncar]

Overheard at the table next to me in the cafeteria today..."I bought a BMW Z3 without telling my wife, but I felt like I deserved it."

They haven't made a Z3 for like 12 years, and you can pick one up for <$7500. 

So still dumb, but not like he made a $50k purchase dumb.

Um...I'll admit I've made a few $200 handbag purchases without telling my husband (you're not going to tell him, either, are you?), but how in the world do you sneak a car past your spouse?

Yeah, I feel like the jig would be up on that pretty quickly unless you have like a 15 car garage.  If you do, you're probably not buying BMWs...

As a matter of finances I could make a 50K purchase without my husband knowing but I don't know what I could waste 50K on that didn't take up room.  Jewelry?

Hookers and blow

[Chris22]

Overheard at the table next to me in the cafeteria today..."I bought a BMW Z3 without telling my wife, but I felt like I deserved it."

They haven't made a Z3 for like 12 years, and you can pick one up for <$7500. 

So still dumb, but not like he made a $50k purchase dumb.

Um...I'll admit I've made a few $200 handbag purchases without telling my husband (you're not going to tell him, either, are you?), but how in the world do you sneak a car past your spouse?

Presumably he's hiding the PURCHASE from the wife, not POSSESSION.  She'll find out eventually, after it's too late to stop it.

[dragoncar]

Overheard at the table next to me in the cafeteria today..."I bought a BMW Z3 without telling my wife, but I felt like I deserved it."

They haven't made a Z3 for like 12 years, and you can pick one up for <$7500. 

So still dumb, but not like he made a $50k purchase dumb.

Um...I'll admit I've made a few $200 handbag purchases without telling my husband (you're not going to tell him, either, are you?), but how in the world do you sneak a car past your spouse?

Presumably he's hiding the PURCHASE from the wife, not POSSESSION.  She'll find out eventually, after it's too late to stop it.

Just tell her it's stolen

[RWD]

Hah! My standard 'sneak this past my husband' is going 3$ overboard on my ebook budget. I'm suddenly feeling a lot less guilty about that... ;)

Are you my wife? Between this and the house cleanliness stuff over in the Facebook thread you sound a lot like my wife. Except we don't have kids...

[JLee]

Overheard at the table next to me in the cafeteria today..."I bought a BMW Z3 without telling my wife, but I felt like I deserved it."

They haven't made a Z3 for like 12 years, and you can pick one up for <$7500. 

So still dumb, but not like he made a $50k purchase dumb.

I am well aware, but was still pretty funny. This was also a "when I was in Miami" story (we're in NJ), so I have no idea how long ago it was.

[rae]

My DH overheard at work:
Coworker bought a new truck after buying one less than two years ago. His reason: 1. it's more fuel efficient, 2. aluminum is the way to go!

[nobodyspecial]

As a matter of finances I could make a 50K purchase without my husband knowing but I don't know what I could waste 50K on that didn't take up room.  Jewelry?

A spare husband?

[shanghaiMMM]

Went to an after work event yesterday called 'Health and Wealth'.

I had no idea what / who would be talking but was intrigued when I saw the speaker was from RL360, the same that caught MMM's ire. His whole premise was, 'your time is precious, don't waste it by stressing about money, it's too complicated! Leave it to us, the experts!'. This claim was somewhat undermined by the 5 apostrophe and 2 spelling mistakes in his presentation. He then proceeded to scaremonger the audience about inheritance tax, insurance etc etc.

Worrying thing was, I heard plenty of murmurs of agreement and such at the end from the crowd.

Are you sick and tired of the gummint stealing your hard earned money?  Sure, we all are! 

<Murmurs in agreement>

Hah! You're very close.

‘Tax? Yeah, I've never met the man either, and he tries to take 40% when you die too!’

[9-Volt]

[/quote]
A few years back here was a hailstorm that demolished a whole village.
At the end you just had to send in photos of your golfball-like car to the insurance to get your money.
From time to time I see one of those still driving around. After all the worst that happened (if at all) was broken windows, its not as if the engine is broken or real holes in the metal or something like that. The dots may even make it more fuel efficient (or less, I guess nobody tested it)

So if you think you are lucky... :D ;)
[/quote]

[plainjane]

Overheard at the table next to me in the cafeteria today..."I bought a BMW Z3 without telling my wife, but I felt like I deserved it."

They haven't made a Z3 for like 12 years, and you can pick one up for <$7500. 
So still dumb, but not like he made a $50k purchase dumb.

Um...I'll admit I've made a few $200 handbag purchases without telling my husband (you're not going to tell him, either, are you?), but how in the world do you sneak a car past your spouse?

Presumably he's hiding the PURCHASE from the wife, not POSSESSION.  She'll find out eventually, after it's too late to stop it.

Idk.  At a previous job my boss rented out one of the office's underground parking spots to the spouse of a co-worker in another office.  Apparently the co-worker was unaware of her spouse's car.

At another job, a co-worker had a friend whose aunt had two or three _houses_ that her spouse wasn't aware of (also, there was a whole thing about not telling her latest husband her real age and claiming she was 15 or 20 years younger?). 

Sometimes I don't tell my SO that I was weak and bought a honey crueler on the way to the office.

[Pooperman]

Overheard at the table next to me in the cafeteria today..."I bought a BMW Z3 without telling my wife, but I felt like I deserved it."

They haven't made a Z3 for like 12 years, and you can pick one up for <$7500. 
So still dumb, but not like he made a $50k purchase dumb.

Um...I'll admit I've made a few $200 handbag purchases without telling my husband (you're not going to tell him, either, are you?), but how in the world do you sneak a car past your spouse?

Presumably he's hiding the PURCHASE from the wife, not POSSESSION.  She'll find out eventually, after it's too late to stop it.

Idk.  At a previous job my boss rented out one of the office's underground parking spots to the spouse of a co-worker in another office.  Apparently the co-worker was unaware of her spouse's car.

At another job, a co-worker had a friend whose aunt had two or three _houses_ that her spouse wasn't aware of (also, there was a whole thing about not telling her latest husband her real age and claiming she was 15 or 20 years younger?). 

Sometimes I don't tell my SO that I was weak and bought a honey crueler on the way to the office.

I did some family history, and my grandfather's grandmother did this to her husband. I found out because I had her death certificate and it did not match her birth year... it was off by 7 years.

[MgoSam]

Sometimes I don't tell my SO that I was weak and bought a honey crueler on the way to the office.

I had to look up what that was, and now I want one!!!!

Seriously, donuts never held an appeal for me until a few months ago, now I crave them all the time. I've stopped at few local places a few times in the past month, buying them for my office so that I could grab one or two of them with less guilt.

[Kitsune]

Sometimes I don't tell my SO that I was weak and bought a honey crueler on the way to the office.

I had to look up what that was, and now I want one!!!!

Seriously, donuts never held an appeal for me until a few months ago, now I crave them all the time. I've stopped at few local places a few times in the past month, buying them for my office so that I could grab one or two of them with less guilt.

My sister makes these seriously amazing yeast-raised doughnuts that we dip in a sour cream and cinnamon sugar mix... Oh, man, those ruin any store-bought doughnuts all to hell.

I'm pretty sure she got the recipe from a Jamie Oliver cookbook.

[BFGirl]

Overheard at the table next to me in the cafeteria today..."I bought a BMW Z3 without telling my wife, but I felt like I deserved it."

They haven't made a Z3 for like 12 years, and you can pick one up for <$7500. 

So still dumb, but not like he made a $50k purchase dumb.

I sometimes look at those cars and then decide I don't really need it.  It's my favorite car ever.

[mtn]

Sometimes I don't tell my SO that I was weak and bought a honey crueler on the way to the office.

I had to look up what that was, and now I want one!!!!

Seriously, donuts never held an appeal for me until a few months ago, now I crave them all the time. I've stopped at few local places a few times in the past month, buying them for my office so that I could grab one or two of them with less guilt.

My sister makes these seriously amazing yeast-raised doughnuts that we dip in a sour cream and cinnamon sugar mix... Oh, man, those ruin any store-bought doughnuts all to hell.

I'm pretty sure she got the recipe from a Jamie Oliver cookbook.

Not a fan of the yeast-raised donuts, but I'll look for that recipe.

Here in Chicago, we have the worlds best doughnuts from the Doughnut Vault. I happily pay $3 for a single one. And then buy another.

[infogoon]

Idk.  At a previous job my boss rented out one of the office's underground parking spots to the spouse of a co-worker in another office.  Apparently the co-worker was unaware of her spouse's car.

At another job, a co-worker had a friend whose aunt had two or three _houses_ that her spouse wasn't aware of (also, there was a whole thing about not telling her latest husband her real age and claiming she was 15 or 20 years younger?). 

Sometimes I don't tell my SO that I was weak and bought a honey crueler on the way to the office.

Apparently my grandfather had hidden garages rented all over the city. He was one of those guys who was always buying or selling something; cars, trucks, boats, planes. It was the 1950s, so Grandma never asked.

[With This Herring]

Idk.  At a previous job my boss rented out one of the office's underground parking spots to the spouse of a co-worker in another office.  Apparently the co-worker was unaware of her spouse's car.

At another job, a co-worker had a friend whose aunt had two or three _houses_ that her spouse wasn't aware of (also, there was a whole thing about not telling her latest husband her real age and claiming she was 15 or 20 years younger?). 

Sometimes I don't tell my SO that I was weak and bought a honey crueler on the way to the office.

Apparently my grandfather had hidden garages rented all over the city. He was one of those guys who was always buying or selling something; cars, trucks, boats, planes. It was the 1950s, so Grandma never asked.

Was it that these things were a secret or that they were a side hustle that he didn't want taking up space at home?

This "it was the 1950s" comment seems so funny to me, as my one grandmother (in the 1950s) was the one to handle the money and pay all the bills.  When she passed, Grampa had to call his daughters to come over and make sure he was doing it properly.

[MgoSam]

Idk.  At a previous job my boss rented out one of the office's underground parking spots to the spouse of a co-worker in another office.  Apparently the co-worker was unaware of her spouse's car.

At another job, a co-worker had a friend whose aunt had two or three _houses_ that her spouse wasn't aware of (also, there was a whole thing about not telling her latest husband her real age and claiming she was 15 or 20 years younger?). 

Sometimes I don't tell my SO that I was weak and bought a honey crueler on the way to the office.

Apparently my grandfather had hidden garages rented all over the city. He was one of those guys who was always buying or selling something; cars, trucks, boats, planes. It was the 1950s, so Grandma never asked.

Was it that these things were a secret or that they were a side hustle that he didn't want taking up space at home?

This "it was the 1950s" comment seems so funny to me, as my one grandmother (in the 1950s) was the one to handle the money and pay all the bills.  When she passed, Grampa had to call his daughters to come over and make sure he was doing it properly.

I don't know why but this put a huge smile on his face.

[Kitsune]

Idk.  At a previous job my boss rented out one of the office's underground parking spots to the spouse of a co-worker in another office.  Apparently the co-worker was unaware of her spouse's car.

At another job, a co-worker had a friend whose aunt had two or three _houses_ that her spouse wasn't aware of (also, there was a whole thing about not telling her latest husband her real age and claiming she was 15 or 20 years younger?). 

Sometimes I don't tell my SO that I was weak and bought a honey crueler on the way to the office.

Apparently my grandfather had hidden garages rented all over the city. He was one of those guys who was always buying or selling something; cars, trucks, boats, planes. It was the 1950s, so Grandma never asked.

Was it that these things were a secret or that they were a side hustle that he didn't want taking up space at home?

This "it was the 1950s" comment seems so funny to me, as my one grandmother (in the 1950s) was the one to handle the money and pay all the bills.  When she passed, Grampa had to call his daughters to come over and make sure he was doing it properly.

I don't know why but this put a huge smile on his face.

I'm always surprised when people refer to handling money as a traditional man thing... I do it for my family. My mom did it. Both my grandmas did it. The only great-grandma I met handled HER family's money (and now we're in the 1920s...). I'm always surprised by families where the dude handles money.

[Pebs]

Co-worker, upon learning that I planned to drive to a near-by state to visit an old college friend: What will you drive?

Me, sure I wasn't understanding the question: My car.

Co-worker: You should really rent a car.

Me: Why? I have a car.

Co-worker: But a rental will be more reliable.

He apparently had doubts that my 12-year-old Sentra that had never given me a lick of trouble and was well maintained could make it 4 hours there and 4 hours back.  Of course I ignored his advice and had no trouble on the trip.

This is the same guy, when we first started working together, asked where I lived. When I told him, he replied: That's not such a bad neighborhood. I even let my son trick-or-treat in part of it.

Gee, thanks?!?

[pancakes]

We all chipped in at work recently to get their daughter something for her birthday after they complained that they had no money in their accounts to buy anything. Two weeks later on payday they were celebrating their new mortgage with a $150/head meal at a top restaurant...

I would have asked my money back them. Clearly they lied and did have enough money for their child.

The poor little thing with such parents...

How dare you. These people sound like they are really struggling and couldn't find a way to buy their daughter presents. That dinner celebration was something they deserved for surviving through their struggles. It comes from two separate budgets...1) actual money and 2) fairy-tale money. #2 is needed because can you really except them to live like paupers just because they are? Shame on you!

You tell it Tjat! It's so hard for the middle class these days!

Yesterday they told me they are going to buy a $500 iPad because their phones are not big enough to google search properly.

Now I agree a larger screen is more comfortable for web searching but when you regularly run out of money for food regularly it hardly seems a priority.

[MrDelane]

I was recently told by a coworker that they are looking into selling their home because it has appreciated to the point that they can get 200K over what they paid for it.

Nothing really wrong with that on its own.
But then I asked how long they'd been in the house.
The response is what threw me...

"10 years.  I don't know how else I could get that amount of money.  I mean, I can't save 200K in 10 years, you can't save 200K in 10 years.  The system is set up so all you can do is sell your house and then get into another mortgage."

It was a bit of a slap in the face for me (especially considering this coworker is approaching 50 years old).  I spend so much time reading posts on this forum that I forget the attitudes here are not the norm.  If you ever find yourself feeling bad about your own efforts because so many people here are doing 'better' than you, just remember... we are not the norm here.  The norm is middle aged people for whom saving 20K in one year is an impossible goal.

[RWD]

"10 years.  I don't know how else I could get that amount of money.  I mean, I can't save 200K in 10 years, you can't save 200K in 10 years.  The system is set up so all you can do is sell your house and then get into another mortgage."

You can't trust the system!

I haven't been working 10 years yet, but I've paid off my student loans (~$50k), lost ~$50k selling a house purchased in 2008, and put down 20% (~$50k) on a house this year. And yet we still have over $200k saved/invested...

[dandarc]

"10 years.  I don't know how else I could get that amount of money.  I mean, I can't save 200K in 10 years, you can't save 200K in 10 years.  The system is set up so all you can do is sell your house and then get into another mortgage."

You can't trust the system!

I haven't been working 10 years yet, but I've paid off my student loans (~$50k), lost ~$50k selling a house purchased in 2008, and put down 20% (~$50k) on a house this year. And yet we still have over $200k saved/invested...

You must be doing your math wrong, because it can't be done!

[mtn]

Co-worker, upon learning that I planned to drive to a near-by state to visit an old college friend: What will you drive?

Me, sure I wasn't understanding the question: My car.

Co-worker: You should really rent a car.

Me: Why? I have a car.

Co-worker: But a rental will be more reliable.

He apparently had doubts that my 12-year-old Sentra that had never given me a lick of trouble and was well maintained could make it 4 hours there and 4 hours back.  Of course I ignored his advice and had no trouble on the trip.

This is the same guy, when we first started working together, asked where I lived. When I told him, he replied: That's not such a bad neighborhood. I even let my son trick-or-treat in part of it.

Gee, thanks?!?

We/I've rented cars for trips before. That was back when I was driving a 20 year old German car that, while very reliable and very safe, I didn't want to have something happen in the middle of nowhere and have to go to a gas station that referred to it as a furrin car, and probably price gouge me to hell if he even had the right parts.

[CabinetGuy]

Overheard at dinner with neighbor. Ok, it was my neighbor...

Guy just lost his job a month ago, but he's not in panic mode, since he seems to have it together for the most part.  Small home, recently downsized, Older CRV, and his wife drives an older van that they own.

Over dinner he says he landed a job.  Great news!  But this is what made my jaw drop:  it comes with a monthly stipend of 800.00, with a separate gas card.  He nonchalantly mentions that his CRV payment is just under 400.00 a month, so they're looking to replace his wife's van with something much newer, like a 2012 Honda Odyssey.  Jesus. 

This guys no spring chicken, and I can't help but think how fast I could stuff that money into anything other than another car...

[beltim]

Overheard at dinner with neighbor. Ok, it was my neighbor...

Guy just lost his job a month ago, but he's not in panic mode, since he seems to have it together for the most part.  Small home, recently downsized, Older CRV, and his wife drives an older van that they own.

Over dinner he says he landed a job.  Great news!  But this is what made my jaw drop:  it comes with a monthly stipend of 800.00, with a separate gas card.  He nonchalantly mentions that his CRV payment is just under 400.00 a month, so they're looking to replace his wife's van with something much newer, like a 2012 Honda Odyssey.  Jesus. 

This guys no spring chicken, and I can't help but think how fast I could stuff that money into anything other than another car...

Is this a stipend for a vehicle?  If so, isn't it probably a "use it or lose it" scenario?

[MgoSam]

Overheard at dinner with neighbor. Ok, it was my neighbor...

Guy just lost his job a month ago, but he's not in panic mode, since he seems to have it together for the most part.  Small home, recently downsized, Older CRV, and his wife drives an older van that they own.

Over dinner he says he landed a job.  Great news!  But this is what made my jaw drop:  it comes with a monthly stipend of 800.00, with a separate gas card.  He nonchalantly mentions that his CRV payment is just under 400.00 a month, so they're looking to replace his wife's van with something much newer, like a 2012 Honda Odyssey.  Jesus. 

This guys no spring chicken, and I can't help but think how fast I could stuff that money into anything other than another car...

Is this a stipend for a vehicle?  If so, isn't it probably a "use it or lose it" scenario?

I wouldn't have a car payment looming, but if I was offered a $800/month stipend specifically earmarked for car use, I would likely go out and get a fancy new car. I would get a Tesla Model 3.

[BTDretire]

Oh, boy, I can relate to this one. I walk DH to work every morning, all three tenths of a mile. For sport, he tells me how far each person who passes us has driven to get to work to pick up their company vehicles. The latest? FNG drives 80 miles one way! The worst thing is that they are sometimes on call, meaning they drive the company truck to and from work, collecting a premium for being on call and burning the company's gas. There's supposed to be a limit on how far they can take the trucks, but nobody's paying attention. Oh, it's a public utility. The waste is epicly facepunch worthy.

Not sure the geography of the situation, but I work for a contractor that does work for utilites. For about 6 months, I was driving 100-130 miles each way in a company pickup plus more driving between jobs. It's just something you do if you want to keep the employee. I'm sure as hell not driving my own car that much, I'll go work somewhere else.
 
Besides, the gas is nothing in the scope of utility waste. Someone ordered the wrong stuff? Throw that in the dumpster (non-returnable) and we'll order the right stuff. Oops, this was supposed to be stored inside? Someone marked it outside, $100k in electronics is corroded junk. Makes you sick until you realize that their ineptitude is what keeps your paychecks coming.

At  $2.40 a gallon, getting 15 mpg, 240 miles a day, 5 days a week,  That's over $10,000 a year. That would be a nice raise vs just burning it.

[ringer707]

My boss bought her son a $150 Xbox controller that professional gamers use. The OEM controller that comes with the system is pretty solid. I can't imagine why he NEEDED it. Also this kid has never held a job and just got done with his freshman year of college. She foots the bill for EVERYTHING. It's nuts, but he is her baby boy.

I wonder if your boss didn't really understand what it was. At my previous job (in the court system), we had a parent file a petition on behalf of her minor child asking to access his trust to get money to buy him a laptop for high school. She had copied down what the kid had said he needed, which was a totally top of the line Alienware laptop. After we had a good laugh and told the judge it was a laptop for gaming, and way above and beyond what you need for any high school scenario, the judge informed the mother, who was not amused that her son had been less than forthcoming about what kind of laptop he really needed for 9th grade earth science.

[MrMoogle]

My boss bought her son a $150 Xbox controller that professional gamers use. The OEM controller that comes with the system is pretty solid. I can't imagine why he NEEDED it. Also this kid has never held a job and just got done with his freshman year of college. She foots the bill for EVERYTHING. It's nuts, but he is her baby boy.

I wonder if your boss didn't really understand what it was. At my previous job (in the court system), we had a parent file a petition on behalf of her minor child asking to access his trust to get money to buy him a laptop for high school. She had copied down what the kid had said he needed, which was a totally top of the line Alienware laptop. After we had a good laugh and told the judge it was a laptop for gaming, and way above and beyond what you need for any high school scenario, the judge informed the mother, who was not amused that her son had been less than forthcoming about what kind of laptop he really needed for 9th grade earth science.

I'm guessing it is something like one of these:
http://www.madcatz.com/products/console/

[MgoSam]

My boss bought her son a $150 Xbox controller that professional gamers use. The OEM controller that comes with the system is pretty solid. I can't imagine why he NEEDED it. Also this kid has never held a job and just got done with his freshman year of college. She foots the bill for EVERYTHING. It's nuts, but he is her baby boy.

I wonder if your boss didn't really understand what it was. At my previous job (in the court system), we had a parent file a petition on behalf of her minor child asking to access his trust to get money to buy him a laptop for high school. She had copied down what the kid had said he needed, which was a totally top of the line Alienware laptop. After we had a good laugh and told the judge it was a laptop for gaming, and way above and beyond what you need for any high school scenario, the judge informed the mother, who was not amused that her son had been less than forthcoming about what kind of laptop he really needed for 9th grade earth science.

I'm pretty sure she knows what she bought him because I told her the controllers that come with the Xbox are pretty nice.

She had a worse story where she found out her depressed 15 yo daughter bought 1000 dollars worth of who knows what from the iTunes store this month. I'm like why do you let your kids use your credit card on their iTunes account?  My coworker told me this same thing happened on their Kindle before where 200 was charged to amazon for app store crap. I would be making my kid get a job if they did that shit.

I'm really glad I didn't get into video games, especially now that things are moving towards a monthly fee instead of forking done some cash and getting a hundred hours of entertainment as a result. Now I can't even get into most games and have much better things to do with my time.

[MgoSam]

My boss bought her son a $150 Xbox controller that professional gamers use. The OEM controller that comes with the system is pretty solid. I can't imagine why he NEEDED it. Also this kid has never held a job and just got done with his freshman year of college. She foots the bill for EVERYTHING. It's nuts, but he is her baby boy.

I wonder if your boss didn't really understand what it was. At my previous job (in the court system), we had a parent file a petition on behalf of her minor child asking to access his trust to get money to buy him a laptop for high school. She had copied down what the kid had said he needed, which was a totally top of the line Alienware laptop. After we had a good laugh and told the judge it was a laptop for gaming, and way above and beyond what you need for any high school scenario, the judge informed the mother, who was not amused that her son had been less than forthcoming about what kind of laptop he really needed for 9th grade earth science.

I'm pretty sure she knows what she bought him because I told her the controllers that come with the Xbox are pretty nice.

She had a worse story where she found out her depressed 15 yo daughter bought 1000 dollars worth of who knows what from the iTunes store this month. I'm like why do you let your kids use your credit card on their iTunes account?  My coworker told me this same thing happened on their Kindle before where 200 was charged to amazon for app store crap. I would be making my kid get a job if they did that shit.

I'm really glad I didn't get into video games, especially now that things are moving towards a monthly fee instead of forking done some cash and getting a hundred hours of entertainment as a result. Now I can't even get into most games and have much better things to do with my time.

I switched to PC gaming and it is so much cheaper, no monthly fee crap plus better graphics.

Fair enough. I should consider it, especially for times when I'm on the road. The main concern I have is that I would need to upgrade my laptop...not a deal-breaker (I usually buy cheap laptops with the idea to upgrade every few years if I need to, so mine wouldn't have the graphics required).

[nobody123]

Overheard at dinner with neighbor. Ok, it was my neighbor...

Guy just lost his job a month ago, but he's not in panic mode, since he seems to have it together for the most part.  Small home, recently downsized, Older CRV, and his wife drives an older van that they own.

Over dinner he says he landed a job.  Great news!  But this is what made my jaw drop:  it comes with a monthly stipend of 800.00, with a separate gas card.  He nonchalantly mentions that his CRV payment is just under 400.00 a month, so they're looking to replace his wife's van with something much newer, like a 2012 Honda Odyssey.  Jesus. 

This guys no spring chicken, and I can't help but think how fast I could stuff that money into anything other than another car...

Is this a stipend for a vehicle?  If so, isn't it probably a "use it or lose it" scenario?

He's probably using the $800 for his company car lease then trading in the CRV and van to upgrade his wife's vehicle and end up with the same payment.  I can't imagine that the company just hands him $800 cash each month and hopes he spends it on a car.

[RyanAtTanagra]

Fair enough. I should consider it, especially for times when I'm on the road. The main concern I have is that I would need to upgrade my laptop...not a deal-breaker (I usually buy cheap laptops with the idea to upgrade every few years if I need to, so mine wouldn't have the graphics required).

There's no correlation between graphics and playability/fun, imo.  There's a gaming thread floating around, I think in Off Topic.  I could post a couple suggestions, but don't want to derail this thread when there's already a dedicated one :-)

[I'm a red panda]

Fair enough. I should consider it, especially for times when I'm on the road. The main concern I have is that I would need to upgrade my laptop...not a deal-breaker (I usually buy cheap laptops with the idea to upgrade every few years if I need to, so mine wouldn't have the graphics required).

There's no correlation between graphics and playability/fun, imo.  There's a gaming thread floating around, I think in Off Topic.  I could post a couple suggestions, but don't want to derail this thread when there's already a dedicated one :-)

Having a computer that will support the graphics of the game you want to play definitely correlates to playability.

[RyanAtTanagra]

Fair enough. I should consider it, especially for times when I'm on the road. The main concern I have is that I would need to upgrade my laptop...not a deal-breaker (I usually buy cheap laptops with the idea to upgrade every few years if I need to, so mine wouldn't have the graphics required).

There's no correlation between graphics and playability/fun, imo.  There's a gaming thread floating around, I think in Off Topic.  I could post a couple suggestions, but don't want to derail this thread when there's already a dedicated one :-)

Having a computer that will support the graphics of the game you want to play definitely correlates to playability.

Haha, well yea, no argument there.  For any given computer, choose games that it can properly run, or it'll just be an exercise in frustration and disappointment.

[MgoSam]

Fair enough. I should consider it, especially for times when I'm on the road. The main concern I have is that I would need to upgrade my laptop...not a deal-breaker (I usually buy cheap laptops with the idea to upgrade every few years if I need to, so mine wouldn't have the graphics required).

There's no correlation between graphics and playability/fun, imo.  There's a gaming thread floating around, I think in Off Topic.  I could post a couple suggestions, but don't want to derail this thread when there's already a dedicated one :-)

Having a computer that will support the graphics of the game you want to play definitely correlates to playability.

Haha, well yea, no argument there.  For any given computer, choose games that it can properly run, or it'll just be an exercise in frustration and disappointment.

Sorry I should have been more clear. There's a particular game that I've been wanting to play since it came out two years ago. It's a continuation of a game series that I loved growing up, but was shut down on a cliffhanger...the creator's bought out the rights to the game and crowdsourced funding for it to get it released and I've been wanting to play it for a while. I'm actually checking now to see if I can play it, I wanted to play it when it first came out but was busy and forgot about it until this thread mentioned video games.

If I can't play that, I'm going to see what other games that are out there and will work on my laptop. I don't think I'll buy a new laptop just to play this game.

[MgoSam]

Talking about stupid game expenses, a young coworker (21ish maybe) just bought not one but two of those super expensive Xbox controllers.  They were $190 each and he  got one for himself and his girlfriend. 

Apparently he's really good at a particular FPS game and wants to start making $$ by posting YouTube videos of his gameplay but why not just use the original controller and then get the fancy one, after you make some $$??

I suppose that's good money if you can get it. Plus his first $390 can be deduct from his taxes!

[MrDelane]

No comedy in this one... in fact, it kind of bummed out my whole day.
Cleaning up the office today I picked up a receipt off the floor (thinking it was a business expense that needed to be kept track of).  I looked at the receipt and found that it belonged to a coworker.  It was from repayment of a loan from a pawn shop.  Apparently they had pawned a belonging of theirs for a one month loan at a rate of 128%.

[Luckyvik]

No comedy in this one... in fact, it kind of bummed out my whole day.
Cleaning up the office today I picked up a receipt off the floor (thinking it was a business expense that needed to be kept track of).  I looked at the receipt and found that it belonged to a coworker.  It was from repayment of a loan from a pawn shop.  Apparently they had pawned a belonging of theirs for a one month loan at a rate of 128%.

WTF that's the worst one I've ever heard

[Playing with Fire UK]

Over dinner he says he landed a job.  Great news!  But this is what made my jaw drop:  it comes with a monthly stipend of 800.00, with a separate gas card.  ...

Is this a stipend for a vehicle?  If so, isn't it probably a "use it or lose it" scenario?

He's probably using the $800 for his company car lease then trading in the CRV and van to upgrade his wife's vehicle and end up with the same payment.  I can't imagine that the company just hands him $800 cash each month and hopes he spends it on a car.

My company gives me money in lieu of a company car and can spend it on whatever I like as long as I have access to a car if needed for work (most of my work is overseas so I've done a total of 200 miles in three years.

[zolotiyeruki]

No comedy in this one... in fact, it kind of bummed out my whole day.
Cleaning up the office today I picked up a receipt off the floor (thinking it was a business expense that needed to be kept track of).  I looked at the receipt and found that it belonged to a coworker.  It was from repayment of a loan from a pawn shop.  Apparently they had pawned a belonging of theirs for a one month loan at a rate of 128%.

WTF that's the worst one I've ever heard

Yeah, I have a sister-in-law that works at a pawn shop.  The interest rate they charge, which is pretty typical, is almost 11%...per month.