Overheard at Work

[RetiredAt63]

My workmate had just spent close to $400 on her daughter’s Irish dancing classes, (had to pay for the 10 classes upfront); and also paid $1000 for her daughter’s dance costume for her end of year Irish dancing recital…

What made it even worse was that after her second dance lesson, her daughter decided that she did not like the classes and did not want to attend them anymore.

Former Feis Mom here.  I don't think much of that school.   Beginners usually rent school dresses from the school for recitals, or wear a simple skirt and blouse.   Plus usually a beginner can try a class or two for free, just to see if they really do like it. 

On the other hand, paying for a season of lessons is standard in just about any activity.  The fixed costs don't change just because little Fiona decides to not go that week.

[TheGrimSqueaker]

My workmate had just spent close to $400 on her daughter’s Irish dancing classes, (had to pay for the 10 classes upfront); and also paid $1000 for her daughter’s dance costume for her end of year Irish dancing recital…

What made it even worse was that after her second dance lesson, her daughter decided that she did not like the classes and did not want to attend them anymore.

Former Feis Mom here.  I don't think much of that school.   Beginners usually rent school dresses from the school for recitals, or wear a simple skirt and blouse.   Plus usually a beginner can try a class or two for free, just to see if they really do like it. 

On the other hand, paying for a season of lessons is standard in just about any activity.  The fixed costs don't change just because little Fiona decides to not go that week.

When I taught music, I got a month's worth of lesson fees in advance, less any vacations scheduled in advance. The time is still blocked out and cannot easily be sold to another student. Even in a class situation where there are multiple students, there are a maximum number that can be accommodated before the quality of the service starts to deteriorate. I once did try a cafeteria style "pay as you go" approach but it ended up losing me money so I dropped it.

[dragoncar]

My wife keeps in touch with former coworkers wife (I don’t cause I’m antisocial)

We got some baby clothes somewhere reasonably priced but not even used.  apparently the ex-coworker wife scoffed “oh you buy clothes THERE?  But it’s not ORGANIC!”

Bitch, your new Audi ain’t organic either

Rant over

Edit: to be honest I don’t know what organic clothes are, and am already grumpy about the term because it’s super nonspecific and dumb

[merula]

My wife keeps in touch with former coworkers wife (I don’t cause I’m antisocial)

We got some baby clothes somewhere reasonably priced but not even used.  apparently the ex-coworker wife scoffed “oh you buy clothes THERE?  But it’s not ORGANIC!”

Bitch, your new Audi ain’t organic either

Rant over

Edit: to be honest I don’t know what organic clothes are, and am already grumpy about the term because it’s super nonspecific and dumb

Organic clothing means made with material (typically cotton) grown using USDA Organic criteria.

The problem, though, is twofold: (1) clothing doesn't have to be 100% organically grown to be labelled organic, and (2) cotton is an energy and water intensive crop. This makes organic clothing a particularly meaningless virtue symbol.

"Organic", to me, is like "modern". You have to know the context to know whether someone is talking about the past year, past century or past 100,000 years. And people often don't know enough about what they're saying to provide that context.

[dragoncar]

My wife keeps in touch with former coworkers wife (I don’t cause I’m antisocial)

We got some baby clothes somewhere reasonably priced but not even used.  apparently the ex-coworker wife scoffed “oh you buy clothes THERE?  But it’s not ORGANIC!”

Bitch, your new Audi ain’t organic either

Rant over

Edit: to be honest I don’t know what organic clothes are, and am already grumpy about the term because it’s super nonspecific and dumb

Organic clothing means made with material (typically cotton) grown using USDA Organic criteria.

The problem, though, is twofold: (1) clothing doesn't have to be 100% organically grown to be labelled organic, and (2) cotton is an energy and water intensive crop. This makes organic clothing a particularly meaningless virtue symbol.

"Organic", to me, is like "modern". You have to know the context to know whether someone is talking about the past year, past century or past 100,000 years. And people often don't know enough about what they're saying to provide that context.

What's better?  Hemp?  Synthetic fibers?  Synthetically grown cotton?  Organically grown rayon?  Used clothing from goodwill?

Just kidding, of course, I know babies should be kept in my marsupial pouch to avoid clothing alltogether

[AccidentalMiser]

Bitch, your new Audi ain’t organic either

HAHAHAHA!!!  What an awesome line!

[LennStar]

Why wouldn't these end of the world types want their gold coins right next to their ammo and bug out bag? Alot of good paper promises will do a person fleeing a zombie attack. ;)

The reason is because the gold nuts are normally the same nuts that think that The End is Night and that THE GOVERNMENT will come and take away all they have the moment they are no longer allowed to buy an automatic assault rifle in the store next door.

You can easily recognize that type. Just ask them what their assault rifle would do against a tank, if the government really comes after them. If they tell you you are an idiot, you have found one. (oh oops, that wasn't intentional lol)

[Miss Piggy]

Bitch, your new Audi ain’t organic either

HAHAHAHA!!!  What an awesome line!

Yep. Definitely the line of the day!

[force majeure]

A manager at work - age early 40s, good salary, goes out socialising 3 or 4 nights per week. Always buys lunch and takeaway coffees. Never has any money left at end of month, not contributing to company pension to match employers contribution.

She starts talking about her house and the housemates sharing. I always assumed she was the home-owner - no, shes a fellow tenant. I know she has about 90k in savings. Talk about a financial trainwreck.

[Nicholas Carter]

A manager at work - age early 40s, good salary, goes out socialising 3 or 4 nights per week. Always buys lunch and takeaway coffees. Never has any money left at end of month, not contributing to company pension to match employers contribution.

She starts talking about her house and the housemates sharing. I always assumed she was the home-owner - no, shes a fellow tenant. I know she has about 90k in savings. Talk about a financial trainwreck.

If she has no money at the end of month, how does she have 90k in savings?

[economista]

I have a coworker (A) who always wears really high heels, particularly this black leather strappy pair. I always notice when she wears them because I think to myself that my knees would start hurting after about 5 minutes. A few weeks ago another coworker (B) said something along the lines of "how could you wear those all day" and I piped up that she wears them all the time, and I'm super impressed that she's able to walk around like that all day.

Well, Coworker A came into the office the next day and said her husband is going to be very mad at me. Apparently she fixated on what I said and came to the conclusion that she wears that black pair of heels too much so she intended to buy 2 new pairs of shoes and ended up buying 6. Then she needed 2 new outfits to go with 2 of the pairs of shoes.

Last week she said I started her down a bad spiral because over the weekend she went shopping and bought over $1000 of clothes, and now a few outfits need new shoes. Her husband still has no idea she bought any of it because she put it all on her private credit card and hid it all in the back of the closet. Now she says that her husband got a promotion at work and told her over the weekend that when his first new paycheck comes in he wants her to take $1000 and go shopping with it. Instead of telling him she already did, she plans to take the money and spend another $1000. Goodness.

[Stachetastic]

I have a coworker (A) who always wears really high heels, particularly this black leather strappy pair. I always notice when she wears them because I think to myself that my knees would start hurting after about 5 minutes. A few weeks ago another coworker (B) said something along the lines of "how could you wear those all day" and I piped up that she wears them all the time, and I'm super impressed that she's able to walk around like that all day.

Well, Coworker A came into the office the next day and said her husband is going to be very mad at me. Apparently she fixated on what I said and came to the conclusion that she wears that black pair of heels too much so she intended to buy 2 new pairs of shoes and ended up buying 6. Then she needed 2 new outfits to go with 2 of the pairs of shoes.

Last week she said I started her down a bad spiral because over the weekend she went shopping and bought over $1000 of clothes, and now a few outfits need new shoes. Her husband still has no idea she bought any of it because she put it all on her private credit card and hid it all in the back of the closet. Now she says that her husband got a promotion at work and told her over the weekend that when his first new paycheck comes in he wants her to take $1000 and go shopping with it. Instead of telling him she already did, she plans to take the money and spend another $1000. Goodness.

OMG this made me cringe so hard.

[economista]

OMG this made me cringe so hard.

Me too! I told her that my husband has to almost force me to buy new clothes, and he recently pointed out that I need new underwear because mine are starting to fray, but I'm just going to stick it out because they are still doing their job.

Also, I couldn't hide new purchases in my closet because it is sparse enough that any new additions would be very visible (and I feel like I have more than enough clothing right now - I'm definitely not deprived).

[Stachetastic]

I was just speaking with a coworker about retirement plans, and referenced our deferred comp. He's been here 10 years and had no clue what I was talking about. Like, even after I described it, insisted he had never heard of such a thing. Dude's in his 40s and should probably get on board quick! When I encouraged him to look into it ("It's pre tax! You won't even miss the money!"), he was all, "Nah" and walked away shaking his head.

[mm1970]

OMG this made me cringe so hard.

Me too! I told her that my husband has to almost force me to buy new clothes, and he recently pointed out that I need new underwear because mine are starting to fray, but I'm just going to stick it out because they are still doing their job.

Also, I couldn't hide new purchases in my closet because it is sparse enough that any new additions would be very visible (and I feel like I have more than enough clothing right now - I'm definitely not deprived).

Ah ha ha.  I was trying to figure out why my foot felt weird/ sticky this morning, while dropping off kids at school/camp.  Get to work and...massive hole in the heel of one sock.  So I feel ya.

[honeybbq]

I have a coworker (A) who always wears really high heels, particularly this black leather strappy pair. I always notice when she wears them because I think to myself that my knees would start hurting after about 5 minutes. A few weeks ago another coworker (B) said something along the lines of "how could you wear those all day" and I piped up that she wears them all the time, and I'm super impressed that she's able to walk around like that all day.

Well, Coworker A came into the office the next day and said her husband is going to be very mad at me. Apparently she fixated on what I said and came to the conclusion that she wears that black pair of heels too much so she intended to buy 2 new pairs of shoes and ended up buying 6. Then she needed 2 new outfits to go with 2 of the pairs of shoes.

Last week she said I started her down a bad spiral because over the weekend she went shopping and bought over $1000 of clothes, and now a few outfits need new shoes. Her husband still has no idea she bought any of it because she put it all on her private credit card and hid it all in the back of the closet. Now she says that her husband got a promotion at work and told her over the weekend that when his first new paycheck comes in he wants her to take $1000 and go shopping with it. Instead of telling him she already did, she plans to take the money and spend another $1000. Goodness.

The most head scratching part of this, to me, is that somehow this is YOUR fault.

[economista]

The most head scratching part of this, to me, is that somehow this is YOUR fault.

I know! I actually apologized to her and let her know that I wasn't making a disparaging comment at all, since she obviously really took it to heart. Now that I'm thinking about it, who knows what she thinks of me and my shoes - for the past year I only had 2 pairs that I wore at work, and now I only have 3.

[Just Joe]

Why wouldn't these end of the world types want their gold coins right next to their ammo and bug out bag? Alot of good paper promises will do a person fleeing a zombie attack. ;)

The reason is because the gold nuts are normally the same nuts that think that The End is Night and that THE GOVERNMENT will come and take away all they have the moment they are no longer allowed to buy an automatic assault rifle in the store next door.

You can easily recognize that type. Just ask them what their assault rifle would do against a tank, if the government really comes after them. If they tell you you are an idiot, you have found one. (oh oops, that wasn't intentional lol)

I always remind the anti-gov't gun enthusiasts of Waco and Ruby Ridge. If the gov't wants a person, the gov't is going to get them. A 30-06 hunting rifle or AR-15 vs Special Forces? Vs a tank like you said. Vs a drone attack?

The gov't will always win sooner or later - even if they just have to lay siege to the family "compound". The hothead will get hungry eventually.

Of course Trump might pardon them thus rendering it all moot... ;)

[SynestheticSymphony]

CW1: "CW2, I did something stupid yesterday."

CW2: "What?"

CW1: "I bought $70 worth of comic books."

CW2: "I wish I had $70 to spend on comic books."


I held my tongue, but I sure wanted to butt in with "I have $70 to spend on comic books because I don't go and spend $70 on comic books!"

[grandep]

I held my tongue, but I sure wanted to butt in with "I have $70 to spend on comic books because I don't go and spend $70 on comic books!"

I love this line because you burn both of them at the same time. Very efficient.

[Debts_of_Despair]

Why wouldn't these end of the world types want their gold coins right next to their ammo and bug out bag? Alot of good paper promises will do a person fleeing a zombie attack. ;)

The reason is because the gold nuts are normally the same nuts that think that The End is Night and that THE GOVERNMENT will come and take away all they have the moment they are no longer allowed to buy an automatic assault rifle in the store next door.

You can easily recognize that type. Just ask them what their assault rifle would do against a tank, if the government really comes after them. If they tell you you are an idiot, you have found one. (oh oops, that wasn't intentional lol)

One hasn't been able to buy an automatic rifle for over 30 years, FYI.

[dragoncar]

Why wouldn't these end of the world types want their gold coins right next to their ammo and bug out bag? Alot of good paper promises will do a person fleeing a zombie attack. ;)

The reason is because the gold nuts are normally the same nuts that think that The End is Night and that THE GOVERNMENT will come and take away all they have the moment they are no longer allowed to buy an automatic assault rifle in the store next door.

You can easily recognize that type. Just ask them what their assault rifle would do against a tank, if the government really comes after them. If they tell you you are an idiot, you have found one. (oh oops, that wasn't intentional lol)

One hasn't been able to buy an automatic rifle for over 30 years, FYI.

Not from a Jedi

[reeshau]

Why wouldn't these end of the world types want their gold coins right next to their ammo and bug out bag? Alot of good paper promises will do a person fleeing a zombie attack. ;)

The reason is because the gold nuts are normally the same nuts that think that The End is Night and that THE GOVERNMENT will come and take away all they have the moment they are no longer allowed to buy an automatic assault rifle in the store next door.

You can easily recognize that type. Just ask them what their assault rifle would do against a tank, if the government really comes after them. If they tell you you are an idiot, you have found one. (oh oops, that wasn't intentional lol)

I always remind the anti-gov't gun enthusiasts of Waco and Ruby Ridge. If the gov't wants a person, the gov't is going to get them. A 30-06 hunting rifle or AR-15 vs Special Forces? Vs a tank like you said. Vs a drone attack?

The gov't will always win sooner or later - even if they just have to lay siege to the family "compound". The hothead will get hungry eventually.

Of course Trump might pardon them thus rendering it all moot... ;)

"The flamethrower. Because we have them. Well, *we* don't have them, the army has them. That's right. We don't have any flamethrowers. I'd say we're f***ed if we have to go up against the army, wouldn't you?" - George Carlin

[LennStar]

Why wouldn't these end of the world types want their gold coins right next to their ammo and bug out bag? Alot of good paper promises will do a person fleeing a zombie attack. ;)

The reason is because the gold nuts are normally the same nuts that think that The End is Night and that THE GOVERNMENT will come and take away all they have the moment they are no longer allowed to buy an automatic assault rifle in the store next door.

You can easily recognize that type. Just ask them what their assault rifle would do against a tank, if the government really comes after them. If they tell you you are an idiot, you have found one. (oh oops, that wasn't intentional lol)

One hasn't been able to buy an automatic rifle for over 30 years, FYI.

And your point is?

I didn't write about what you can or cannot, I wrote about a mindset.

And btw. why do I read that you can buy them in (some) US states again and again?
google

Well, this guy sounds like he knows what he is talking about and he says you can.
https://www.quora.com/Is-it-legal-for-a-normal-citizen-to-buy-a-military-grade-fully-automatic-assault-rifle-in-the-US

The only point is that gun must be older then 1986, which is maybe where your 30 years are coming from?

[Rural]

Can we please debate the second amendment elsewhere?

[zolotiyeruki]

Can we please debate the second amendment elsewhere?

Yes, please.  There are a few very thorough threads over in the Off-topic subforum.

[dragoncar]

Can we please debate the second amendment elsewhere?

Yes, please.  There are a few very thorough threads over in the Off-topic subforum.

Seriously, this space reserved for discussions of the third amendment, for which we have offensively few threads

[solon]

Can we please debate the second amendment elsewhere?

Yes, please.  There are a few very thorough threads over in the Off-topic subforum.

Seriously, this space reserved for discussions of the third amendment, for which we have offensively few threads

Dang soldiers. Always wanting quarter in my house.

[SynestheticSymphony]

As the geeks around me reminisce about when and why they had to get smartphones for their kids, I am happily texting my wife using T9 on my $25 flip phone.

[Raymond Reddington]

As the geeks around me reminisce about when and why they had to get smartphones for their kids, I am happily texting my wife using T9 on my $25 flip phone.

I'm still rocking an LG exalt. My work phone is a smartphone but not my personal.

[Slow&Steady]

We make our 13 year old use a flip phone, we are the most evil parents known to man. 

I will eventually get him a cheap (prepaid) smart phone but not until he proves that he can take care of the flip phone. 

[elliha]

We plan to get another cellphone and get a very simple phone and use that instead of a home phone. Occasionally when our daughter will need phone she will get to use it as cellphone too but this way we can hopefully delay her having permanent access to one and be able to let her stay at home sometimes in a year or two.

[SynestheticSymphony]

We plan to get another cellphone and get a very simple phone and use that instead of a home phone. Occasionally when our daughter will need phone she will get to use it as cellphone too but this way we can hopefully delay her having permanent access to one and be able to let her stay at home sometimes in a year or two.

That's roughly what my parents did when I was a teenager. Any of us kids who needed a phone when we went somewhere just took one of the cheapie Tracfones that were kept around for such occasions. It was much cheaper, and my parents did not have to worry about the kids being left alone with the entire Internet without any supervision.

[Just Joe]

We make our 13 year old use a flip phone, we are the most evil parents known to man. 

I will eventually get him a cheap (prepaid) smart phone but not until he proves that he can take care of the flip phone.

I see what you did there. And because the flip phone is in good condition there is no reason to get a smart phone until the flip phone dies and because flip phones are immortal, your offspring will have to wait to buy themselves a smart phone in 2038 or thereabouts... Smart! ;)

[SynestheticSymphony]

We make our 13 year old use a flip phone, we are the most evil parents known to man. 

I will eventually get him a cheap (prepaid) smart phone but not until he proves that he can take care of the flip phone.

I see what you did there. And because the flip phone is in good condition there is no reason to get a smart phone until the flip phone dies and because flip phones are immortal, your offspring will have to wait to buy themselves a smart phone in 2038 or thereabouts... Smart! ;)

Even worse: Go on eBay and get him one of those old, indestructable bricks from Nokia. He'll never get to upgrade!!!! Insert evil cackle here

[peregrine]

Overheard inside the gas station near my work, on the rougher side of town.  Both ladies are employees of the gas station.

Lady 1: (shouting across the small store) Did I tell you I totaled my Escalade?
Lady 2: Oh no! What happened?
L1: (still shouting) Some idiot ran the stop sign and hit me in the side. He was going, like, 55. On my kid's birthday weekend, too!
L2:  Did you get a new car?
L1:  No, I can't afford it.  That's why I'm quitting this job.
L2:  You got another job?
L1:  No, but I'm tired of walking to work.

I bought my snacks and left.  There was so much wrong with this conversation, I won't even start here.

[Raymond Reddington]

We make our 13 year old use a flip phone, we are the most evil parents known to man. 

I will eventually get him a cheap (prepaid) smart phone but not until he proves that he can take care of the flip phone.

I see what you did there. And because the flip phone is in good condition there is no reason to get a smart phone until the flip phone dies and because flip phones are immortal, your offspring will have to wait to buy themselves a smart phone in 2038 or thereabouts... Smart! ;)

Even worse: Go on eBay and get him one of those old, indestructable bricks from Nokia. He'll never get to upgrade!!!! Insert evil cackle here

*Diabolical evil laugh*...better yet, remember these?

[FindingFI]

We make our 13 year old use a flip phone, we are the most evil parents known to man. 

I will eventually get him a cheap (prepaid) smart phone but not until he proves that he can take care of the flip phone.

I see what you did there. And because the flip phone is in good condition there is no reason to get a smart phone until the flip phone dies and because flip phones are immortal, your offspring will have to wait to buy themselves a smart phone in 2038 or thereabouts... Smart! ;)

Even worse: Go on eBay and get him one of those old, indestructable bricks from Nokia. He'll never get to upgrade!!!! Insert evil cackle here

*Diabolical evil laugh*...better yet, remember these?

Watched one of those fall down three flights on concrete stairs and land at the button not only fully functional, but without a scratch!

Also had to repair a wall in an apartment in college from a flip phone.  My roommate was having a rough night and threw her flip phone across the room so hard that it punched a hole in the wall.  Phone was fine.

[BTDretire]

 About 2 weeks ago my wife dropped her flip phone in the water.
 It didn't survive.
Many functions worked, but you couldn't call out.

[BuffaloStache]

About 2 weeks ago my wife dropped her flip phone in the water.
 It didn't survive.
Many functions worked, but you couldn't call out.

Flip Phone + waterproofing = truly unstoppable.

[Just Joe]

I really like my smart phone - camera*, password keeper, office functions, email, etc - but this conversation really makes me sentimental for a flip phone. I never even had a flip phone - I was late to the mobile phone thing. DW had one of those Nokia bricks.

*camera - I love having a good camera in my pocket all the time. Inventory at work, pictures of historical markers or museum things to read later, moments of creative photography...

[Sun Hat]

Overheard inside the gas station near my work, on the rougher side of town.  Both ladies are employees of the gas station.

Lady 1: (shouting across the small store) Did I tell you I totaled my Escalade?
Lady 2: Oh no! What happened?
L1: (still shouting) Some idiot ran the stop sign and hit me in the side. He was going, like, 55. On my kid's birthday weekend, too!
L2:  Did you get a new car?
L1:  No, I can't afford it.  That's why I'm quitting this job.
L2:  You got another job?
L1:  No, but I'm tired of walking to work.

I bought my snacks and left.  There was so much wrong with this conversation, I won't even start here.

This boggles my mind. Doesn't she have insurance? Why was she driving an Escalade on a gas station attendant's wages? And the job thing is beyond logic.

[I'm a red panda]

Nothing to do with overheard at work, but related to cell phones.

My husband and BIL stupidly kept their phones in their pockets on a roller coaster this weekend.  The bar came down on them and snapped both of their screens. They both still work fine though.
DH will likely keep the phone despite the crack. BIL is destraught.  His phone (an Iphone X) isn't even paid off yet, he doesn't have insurance on it, and now it is "ruined" and needs to be replaced.  DH shrugged it off. His Android phone cost $70 at Walmart.  As far as we can tell, the phones do basically the same things (the cheapie lacks an internal compass). The Iphone X camera is a bit better- but DH is more of a DSLR guy anyway.

[SynestheticSymphony]

I really like my smart phone - camera*, password keeper, office functions, email, etc - but this conversation really makes me sentimental for a flip phone. I never even had a flip phone - I was late to the mobile phone thing. DW had one of those Nokia bricks.

*camera - I love having a good camera in my pocket all the time. Inventory at work, pictures of historical markers or museum things to read later, moments of creative photography...

I just switched back to a flip phone from a smartphone a couple of months back. It wasn't really for the money, though the drop from $35 a month down to $20 was nice. The primary goal was to reduce my dependence on an outside device in order to function, as well as to stop the constant flow of unfiltered content coming into my brain. It has really helped me to be able to focus.

But yeah, I definitely miss having a good camera on me whenever I need it.

[SynestheticSymphony]

Nothing to do with overheard at work, but related to cell phones.

My husband and BIL stupidly kept their phones in their pockets on a roller coaster this weekend.  The bar came down on them and snapped both of their screens. They both still work fine though.
DH will likely keep the phone despite the crack. BIL is destraught.  His phone (an Iphone X) isn't even paid off yet, he doesn't have insurance on it, and now it is "ruined" and needs to be replaced.  DH shrugged it off. His Android phone cost $70 at Walmart.  As far as we can tell, the phones do basically the same things (the cheapie lacks an internal compass). The Iphone X camera is a bit better- but DH is more of a DSLR guy anyway.

Oh yeah. Back when I used to use a smartphone, it was great knowing that I had only paid $70 for my device. If anything happened to it, oh well!

(Which was good, because finding decently protective cases for low-end smartphones can be hard.)

[slugline]

Overheard inside the gas station near my work, on the rougher side of town.  Both ladies are employees of the gas station.

Lady 1: (shouting across the small store) Did I tell you I totaled my Escalade?
Lady 2: Oh no! What happened?
L1: (still shouting) Some idiot ran the stop sign and hit me in the side. He was going, like, 55. On my kid's birthday weekend, too!
L2:  Did you get a new car?
L1:  No, I can't afford it.  That's why I'm quitting this job.
L2:  You got another job?
L1:  No, but I'm tired of walking to work.

I bought my snacks and left.  There was so much wrong with this conversation, I won't even start here.

This boggles my mind. Doesn't she have insurance? Why was she driving an Escalade on a gas station attendant's wages? And the job thing is beyond logic.

The Escalade nameplate has been around long enough where there are plenty of old vehicles out there for hand-me-downs and used vehicle sales. Not mustachian by any means, but as long as the annual mileage is kept down, the costs don't necessarily need to be insane.

[Jouer]

Overheard inside the gas station near my work, on the rougher side of town.  Both ladies are employees of the gas station.

Lady 1: (shouting across the small store) Did I tell you I totaled my Escalade?
Lady 2: Oh no! What happened?
L1: (still shouting) Some idiot ran the stop sign and hit me in the side. He was going, like, 55. On my kid's birthday weekend, too!
L2:  Did you get a new car?
L1:  No, I can't afford it.  That's why I'm quitting this job.
L2:  You got another job?
L1:  No, but I'm tired of walking to work.

I bought my snacks and left.  There was so much wrong with this conversation, I won't even start here.

This boggles my mind. Doesn't she have insurance? Why was she driving an Escalade on a gas station attendant's wages? And the job thing is beyond logic.

She probably had an 84-month loan so was likely upside-down. The insurance wouldn't even pay out enough to pay the rest of her loan.

[Just Joe]

Perfect candidate for a basic ebike/scooter/moped/bicycle.

[wkumtrider]

Reading the above Escalade story reminded me of something similar at work.  A co-worker had to go to one of the company vehicles to get some paperwork.  It is parked in the back lot, about 100 yards from the office.  She got in her car and drove to the company car instead of walking.  She did it twice.  No words.

[frugalfoothills]

I have a coworker who is easily the most Spendy person I know (which is saying something as I have a lot of Spendypants in my life.) Most recently he has been working on refinancing his home (hasn't closed yet) with the intention of taking cash out to do "renovations." I think they are set to close today, but it has been bumped back at least 5 times now, so I'm not holding my breath.

So far, with the "renovation" budget, he has purchased (via financing):

• New flooring for the entire house (okay)
• A thousand dollars in new landscaping materials like plants, rocks, etc. (okay?)
• A new couch from West Elm (not okay)
• A new dining room table from West Elm (not okay)
• Four new accent chairs from World Market (not okay)
• A thousand dollars in patio furniture from World Market (not okay)
• A new washer/dryer set, Apple Watch, laptop, NintendoSwitch from BestBuy (yikes)
• A Peloton indoor stationary bike (this is starting to hurt)
• A new desk and bookcase from West Elm for the "home office" (RIP)
• Is shopping for an Audi SUV despite his 7 year old Nissan working fine (I wish I was joking)

I give him shit for it all the time. He works on the team I previously worked on, and can't be making more than $70K/year (including annual bonus). His partner is a fledgling real estate agent. I found out about the Peloton today and told him "you either need an intervention, or I need to come back to this team for your salary." His response?

"Well next time you refinance, go for the cash out option!"