Overheard at Work

[iris lily]

Ok, this is not heard at work, but my sister adds 20 minutes each way to an otherwise 90 minute RT commute to take her dog to her MILs house for doggy daycare.

awww, I like that, good for doggie.

[jordanread]

Maybe you could make your own album at Shutterfly or something similar.

Nope. Photographer owns the copyright. You can't print your own albums unless they let you, in the contract you signed.

$850 is rather a lot. The justification is the quality difference, which really is massively different - trust me, if you hold just one, you won't see it, but if you hold both and compare, you won't be able to go back. The reason the photographer wants it (apart from a few extra bucks in their wallet) is so that their work isn't tarnished by shitty $5 prints. The second reason is that a photographer able to charge top dollar is also able to own the 'artistic vision', if you will; the people willing to pay top dollar do so because they put their trust into the guy with the camera and don't micromanage. Being a budget photographer is a pain in the ass because the people who want to save a buck on one thing also want to save a buck on everything else, which means a lot of back and forth and annoyance.

Is it worth it? You decide, you're the customer. It's obvious why the photographer wants it, in addition to a fat paycheck. If you want to pay, pay, if you don't, don't, but read the contract carefully and ask the right questions before you sign and find out you want the album but can't afford / don't want to pay for the album. Got questions? Ask online in a photographer forum. They'll be biased but you know their bias; they will also be knowledgeable to tell you about potential pitfalls, issues, and things that might not be obvious. Like that you can't just print your own albums or canvas prints unless the contract specifically allows you to. Not legally, anyways, and no high-quality shop will let you because it's not worth the trouble to them.

I wouldn't pay $850 for an album, but if wedding photos were extremely important to me, I wouldn't budget shop. If they weren't very important, I'd just hire a student with a promising portfolio and pay for any rental gear they might want to step up their game. (Or lend some of mine, which is getting to the point where that might be useful.)

When I wind up getting married, I was thinking about making it a Google Event or something like that. Everyone just checks in on their phones, and all photos wind up in a community album. I'd take the best ones, and put those in a special album. I had a friend who did something like that (pre-cell phones), and everyone got a disposable camera at the door, took pictures, and dropped them off on the way out. Turned out pretty good for him.

[dragoncar]

correct funny ... not rude... sorry if it was misconstrued  ...

I definitely got "rude" out of that, mostly due to the use of the word "asshole." thanks for clarifying :)

oh the peddling his link so he can get a free service that can be done with knowledge of excel to rope someone else into a monthly payment no matter how small was meant as a dickish statement ... the rest was meant in humor...

I don't want to resurrect the dead horse or anything, but it's definitely more than an excel spreadsheet. I won't peddle my link though. I kind of liken it to a diet vs. an actual lifestyle change. YNAB was a lifestyle change for my wife and I, and it helps us do our planning much better than in the past. This is the first system that stuck with me (spreadsheet, pear budget, mint) and actually made me plan better in the future. Obviously, YMMV though. And for $60 (generally $30 on black friday), it's well worth it in my opinion.

I kind of liken it to telling a skinny person to buy a pedometer when they complain that lunch wasn't served at the time promised.

 
Yep doing a patio would definitely be on my DIY approved list.  Its not like you might mess up your one bathroom and have to shower outside under a hose for two weeks.  Only thing I would hesitate on but probably still do would be a big deck, have heard the wood working/framing can take some experience to do right.  Still youtube and a long weekend, or you know if you dont finish the following weekend.

How do you feel about skylights?  Considering doing that myself, but would make sure they for between  existing beams so no structural analysis needed.

[former player]

Re wedding photos:  a lot of happily married people I've known had no wedding photos at all, because they married during the war and couldn't get them, or didn't think photos were important.

Long term there are likely to be only two wedding photos which matter: the newlyweds on their own, and a group shot of everyone present.  Every other photo will likely start gathering dust within the year and will eventually go out with the clutter.  (I seem to have made an involuntary hobby of clearing out the houses of dead relatives.  There are difficult choices to be made in what to keep, but chucking out the wedding album turns out to be a no-brainer.)

[Donovan]

I finally have something for this thread!

I was talking to a co-worker about houses (he is buying one right now, and my wife and I have been looking).  The talk turned to budgets and the general size of houses, and it turns out that the one he is buying is 3100 sqft., and cost $250,000.  This is a 25 year old man with not girlfriend, no pets, and no plans to rent out some part of the house. His justification: "Yea, to live in a 'nice' neighborhood you always have to buy a bigger house."

There are plenty of nice neighborhoods around here with ~$100,000 or less houses that are big enough to raise a family in, much less house a single male.

This sounds so harmless... CW just bid 930k (>100k over ask) on a small house (1000 sq ft maybe?) with 21.5ft of frontage. And she got outbid by one of the 5 other bids. Also got outbid on another one since then. The hunt continues.

Where I live, 930K will buy you a mansion fit for a successful CEO.  My main O.O point of this was the ridiculous size of the house for a single occupant, and his reasoning behind the purchase.  I'm pretty sure this gives him the biggest house out of the people on our team, despite the fact that he is the only one who is not married with (or planning for) kids.

[Rezdent]

I finally have something for this thread!

I was talking to a co-worker about houses (he is buying one right now, and my wife and I have been looking).  The talk turned to budgets and the general size of houses, and it turns out that the one he is buying is 3100 sqft., and cost $250,000.  This is a 25 year old man with not girlfriend, no pets, and no plans to rent out some part of the house. His justification: "Yea, to live in a 'nice' neighborhood you always have to buy a bigger house."

There are plenty of nice neighborhoods around here with ~$100,000 or less houses that are big enough to raise a family in, much less house a single male.

This sounds so harmless... CW just bid 930k (>100k over ask) on a small house (1000 sq ft maybe?) with 21.5ft of frontage. And she got outbid by one of the 5 other bids. Also got outbid on another one since then. The hunt continues.

Where I live, 930K will buy you a mansion fit for a successful CEO.  My main O.O point of this was the ridiculous size of the house for a single occupant, and his reasoning behind the purchase.  I'm pretty sure this gives him the biggest house out of the people on our team, despite the fact that he is the only one who is not married with (or planning for) kids.

Wow.  He might be in a very different place in a year - wonder if all that empty space will attract a wife with existing kids or plans for kids?  Because, you know,  nature abhors a vacuum...

[eyePod]

Oh, all the house talk reminded me of this one.

I'm inheriting a project from this lady. I was talking to her about project metrics and how they developed the data for their baseline that they use in the calculations.

She then went on to describe what a baseline is and how, since I just purchased a house, she would use that as an example.

Her - "Let's say that you figure out your baseline is 500k. But then when you really start looking, you realize you under-guessed. So now you end up buying a house for 600k. That's what happened to us! I'm sure the same thing happened to you when you bought your house.

Me - "Nope, I don't know what you mean. We came in 2k under our house target."

Look, I get dropping an extra 5-10k for that dream home, but 100? That's just ridiculous. I'm sure she's making well over 100k, but still seemed ridiculous.

And I know what a damn baseline is. I didn't need to be patronized, but that's a separate issue.

[fartface]

Yeah - my single neighbor (age 25 -30 and a local cop). Lives next door. Homes in my neighborhood range $350,000 - $500,000. I'd say his is closer to $350,000 but STILL. He is single and in a four bedroom home like me and my family of five. I think WTF, on a cop's salary and you're under 30? At least I put $200,000+ down on my place when we purchased it- though I'll admit it's a fancy pants house and I could be happy in far less... Sheesh. I'm sure he's still paying PMI...

[horsepoor]

Oh, all the house talk reminded me of this one.

I'm inheriting a project from this lady. I was talking to her about project metrics and how they developed the data for their baseline that they use in the calculations.

She then went on to describe what a baseline is and how, since I just purchased a house, she would use that as an example.

Her - "Let's say that you figure out your baseline is 500k. But then when you really start looking, you realize you under-guessed. So now you end up buying a house for 600k. That's what happened to us! I'm sure the same thing happened to you when you bought your house.

Me - "Nope, I don't know what you mean. We came in 2k under our house target."

Look, I get dropping an extra 5-10k for that dream home, but 100? That's just ridiculous. I'm sure she's making well over 100k, but still seemed ridiculous.

And I know what a damn baseline is. I didn't need to be patronized, but that's a separate issue.

Her "baseline" didn't "happen to" her, she created it with ridiculous expectations.  When we were shopping for our first house in Idaho, we did look at some that were above our original budget (but still well under what we could "afford"), and the realtor was all "Oh, I knew you'd want a more expensive house once you started looking" but then we bought one for $8K under the original budget.  So much for her theory.

[JetBlast]

Quarterly profit sharing checks came out yesterday. One CW said "I could use it to pay off my credit card, but I think I'd rather go to Cabo. I'll pay off the card next year."

[Ashyukun]

This wasn't quite "overheard at work" but my parents were getting on my case about the need for a wedding album. Just now at work my wife found out what one of these albums would cost from our photographer - $850... and that's not even the most expensive one (some go for $1,500)!!!

Originally last night when this was being mentioned to me I was thinking to myself "okay, one last annoying wedding expense of $50-$100 and we'll be done". Even though I dont even agree that we need one to begin with since we have all the photos digitally, but whatever, one last little hump to get over.

But this got me thinking, there are people who pay hundreds and even THOUSANDS of dollars to have their wedding photos in a fancy album???? That is absolutely insane to me. Once my wife told me the price of the cheapest one I pointed out that at that price we could do a long weekend at Little Cayman or Cayman Brac (our sister islands, which would include airfare and hotel) TWICE.

For our reception (got married at the courthouse, had a nice party for all our friends & family as a reception), we didn't have a photographer- but one of my friends from one of my hobbies, a WAY too nice Japanese woman, brought along her very fancy camera and asked if we minded if she took pictures- and we of course said, "Yes, snap away!" She took lots of incredible pictures and uploaded them for us, and we were thrilled. But then our of the blue at our next club practice she hands me a beautiful custom photo album she'd put together with the best of the pictures- it was by far our favorite present.

[dycker1978]

Quarterly profit sharing checks came out yesterday. One CW said "I could use it to pay off my credit card, but I think I'd rather go to Cabo. I'll pay off the card next year."

Whats wrong with Cabo.  That makes more sense the paying off credit card debt then using the card to go doesnt it... lol

[eyePod]

Oh, all the house talk reminded me of this one.

I'm inheriting a project from this lady. I was talking to her about project metrics and how they developed the data for their baseline that they use in the calculations.

She then went on to describe what a baseline is and how, since I just purchased a house, she would use that as an example.

Her - "Let's say that you figure out your baseline is 500k. But then when you really start looking, you realize you under-guessed. So now you end up buying a house for 600k. That's what happened to us! I'm sure the same thing happened to you when you bought your house.

Me - "Nope, I don't know what you mean. We came in 2k under our house target."

Look, I get dropping an extra 5-10k for that dream home, but 100? That's just ridiculous. I'm sure she's making well over 100k, but still seemed ridiculous.

And I know what a damn baseline is. I didn't need to be patronized, but that's a separate issue.

Her "baseline" didn't "happen to" her, she created it with ridiculous expectations.  When we were shopping for our first house in Idaho, we did look at some that were above our original budget (but still well under what we could "afford"), and the realtor was all "Oh, I knew you'd want a more expensive house once you started looking" but then we bought one for $8K under the original budget.  So much for her theory.

Convenient that the realtor's theory also results in a bigger paycheck...

[BlueHouse]

This is a 25 year old man with not girlfriend, no pets, and no plans to rent out some part of the house. His justification: "Yea, to live in a 'nice' neighborhood you always have to buy a bigger house."

There are plenty of nice neighborhoods around here with ~$100,000 or less houses that are big enough to raise a family in, much less house a single male.

I have a house considered by most to be too large for me. Yes, I could take an entire story off the house and still have more than enough room. I don't really have an excuse other than I really like the neighborhood and I felt this was the best value in the area. I know people judge me for the size and wastefulness but an alternative nearby would be homes that are 120 years older with expensive repairs needed or condos with high fees. There are always other choices, but I like it here and I think it's value will continue to appreciate.   I've been mulling over whether to rent a room out, because it could let me drop another. $1k into mortgage prepayment per month, but I don't really need the money right now and I like my privacy.

[dragoncar]

Oh, all the house talk reminded me of this one.

I'm inheriting a project from this lady. I was talking to her about project metrics and how they developed the data for their baseline that they use in the calculations.

She then went on to describe what a baseline is and how, since I just purchased a house, she would use that as an example.

Her - "Let's say that you figure out your baseline is 500k. But then when you really start looking, you realize you under-guessed. So now you end up buying a house for 600k. That's what happened to us! I'm sure the same thing happened to you when you bought your house.

Me - "Nope, I don't know what you mean. We came in 2k under our house target."

Look, I get dropping an extra 5-10k for that dream home, but 100? That's just ridiculous. I'm sure she's making well over 100k, but still seemed ridiculous.

And I know what a damn baseline is. I didn't need to be patronized, but that's a separate issue.

Her "baseline" didn't "happen to" her, she created it with ridiculous expectations.  When we were shopping for our first house in Idaho, we did look at some that were above our original budget (but still well under what we could "afford"), and the realtor was all "Oh, I knew you'd want a more expensive house once you started looking" but then we bought one for $8K under the original budget.  So much for her theory.

Could just be a terminology issue.  I "targeted," say, 1x for a house which could be called a "budget" but I could "afford" 3x, which could also be called a "budget".  In other words, anything under 3x helps me retire faster, and I preferred 1x.  But after looking at 1x houses, we realized we couldn't get what we wanted, and ended up with a 1.5x house.  So did we overshoot our budget or undershoot our budget?  We certainly overshot our original target, but that doesn't make the home unaffordable.

[horsepoor]

I read that more as "baseline" being minimum acceptable or expected home size/location/amenities/fanciness, and what that equates to in dollars in the market the person is buying into.  So the realtor wants to move the client's baseline up the scale so that they will only consider a home with more amenities, space, or fanciness than they originally thought they needed/wanted.  Watching House Hunters shows this pretty clearly - oh, we must have dual vanity sinks, granite countertops, real hardwood, and 17 bedrooms with walk-in closes.  No, I won't consider this plebian 1,500 square foot house with normal fixtures just because it's in my original price range.  Time to stretch the budget!  Ratcheting the baseline expectations back results in the same or more happiness for much, much less money.

[Nords]

I have a house considered by most to be too large for me. Yes, I could take an entire story off the house and still have more than enough room. I don't really have an excuse other than I really like the neighborhood and I felt this was the best value in the area. I know people judge me for the size and wastefulness...

Our daughter graduated from college in May and has started her Navy career.  (Not only will she not be home for at least couple of years, but we probably won't even meet up with her for another six months.)  Now that we're empty nesters, we have at least two bedrooms that we don't use-- let alone need.  It makes me a little nervous to have so much space when there's even the slightest chance of a boomerang young adult a few years down the road... or any of her good friends passing through the islands.

However the house is in a fantastic location in a great school district, with the best views ever.  If the biggest drawback is that we're wasting space, then I can grit my teeth and pay my (higher) property taxes. 

I think the size of the house is also directly correlated to the standoff distance from the neighbors and their noisy power tools.  I'd hate to live in a small house in a tight neighborhood or (even worse) a townhouse/condo quadruplex.

[Cassie]

"I'm also in the Chicago area due west of the city, and in addition to the guys who drive up from Indiana, a number of them drive down from Wisconsin. It blew my mind when two different new coworkers moved back to the USA from international assignments into new houses... in Wisconsin approximately two hours away."   


     I spent years living in Wis and the reason many from Chicago moved there is that houses are so cheap compared to Chicago.  Also depending on where you work in Chicago it is only an hour drive for many people.  They also have a computer train that you can take.    The small town living is also a lot nicer then the city & bigger yards, etc.  BTW: Wis people hated the fact that Chicago people were moving in because it raised the cost of everything, brought crime in, etc.                                                             

[SwissMiss]

I work for a Swiss bank.

Two CWs go out for lunch (at a local restaurant, at least USD 45 each).
One CW’s tie falls into the soup and is now smudged.
He goes out and buys a new tie.

From Hermès, because he “always buys his ties at Hermès”. Costs over USD 200.

[moneydummy]

Overheard at work today from a man who makes approximately $40k/year: "My rule is a new cell phone every six months.  They really need to make them less expensive though, $700 every six months is pretty rough."

what. the. fuck.

This description accurately describes a significant percentage of people of my generation. I personally know a couple who don't make half of the quoted 40k salary.
[/quote]

Jesus.  I just got smartphone (my first, republic wireless) six months ago.  Two months ago I dropped the thing on the ground, smashing the screen.  No way in hell I'm replacing it when it's just got a little cracked glass.  New phone every 6 months... what a tool.

[Zikoris]

I work for a Swiss bank.

Two CWs go out for lunch (at a local restaurant, at least USD 45 each).
One CW’s tie falls into the soup and is now smudged.
He goes out and buys a new tie.

From Hermès, because he “always buys his ties at Hermès”. Costs over USD 200.

This doesn't surprise me. I stopped in Zurich a few weeks ago while traveling across Europe and my god, everyone looked like they stepped off a fashion runway. I loved how perfectly put together and fashionable everyone looked - people don't really do that in Vancouver, especially guys, so it's nice to look at.

[Albert]

This doesn't surprise me. I stopped in Zurich a few weeks ago while traveling across Europe and my god, everyone looked like they stepped off a fashion runway. I loved how perfectly put together and fashionable everyone looked - people don't really do that in Vancouver, especially guys, so it's nice to look at.

Really? You wouldn't say that had you traveled through Milan as well. :)

[Zikoris]

This doesn't surprise me. I stopped in Zurich a few weeks ago while traveling across Europe and my god, everyone looked like they stepped off a fashion runway. I loved how perfectly put together and fashionable everyone looked - people don't really do that in Vancouver, especially guys, so it's nice to look at.

Really? You wouldn't say that had you traveled through Milan as well. :)

I haven't been to Milan, but I've been to Paris, London, Vienna, Budapest, Marseille, Nice, and smaller villages in France and Italy - Swiss people were above and beyond the best dressed! I have a great appreciation for well-dressed guys, because it is SO rare here - most Vancouver guys live in beach shorts or sweatpants with ratty tank tops or t-shirts, and flip flops to finish the look. "Dressing up for a night out" here means wearing jeans that don't have holes in them (or have "fashionable" holes").

[Gin1984]

Overheard at work today from a man who makes approximately $40k/year: "My rule is a new cell phone every six months.  They really need to make them less expensive though, $700 every six months is pretty rough."

what. the. fuck.

This description accurately describes a significant percentage of people of my generation. I personally know a couple who don't make half of the quoted 40k salary.

Jesus.  I just got smartphone (my first, republic wireless) six months ago.  Two months ago I dropped the thing on the ground, smashing the screen.  No way in hell I'm replacing it when it's just got a little cracked glass.  New phone every 6 months... what a tool.
[/quote]
Which is my I stay with my dumb phone.  I can drop that thing and nothing bad happens.  I don't the iPad and had to replace the screen, then buy a otter case to protect it.  I miss the old bricks of cell phones.

[Albert]

This doesn't surprise me. I stopped in Zurich a few weeks ago while traveling across Europe and my god, everyone looked like they stepped off a fashion runway. I loved how perfectly put together and fashionable everyone looked - people don't really do that in Vancouver, especially guys, so it's nice to look at.

Really? You wouldn't say that had you traveled through Milan as well. :)

I haven't been to Milan, but I've been to Paris, London, Vienna, Budapest, Marseille, Nice, and smaller villages in France and Italy - Swiss people were above and beyond the best dressed! I have a great appreciation for well-dressed guys, because it is SO rare here - most Vancouver guys live in beach shorts or sweatpants with ratty tank tops or t-shirts, and flip flops to finish the look. "Dressing up for a night out" here means wearing jeans that don't have holes in them (or have "fashionable" holes").

Funny how different people see it differently. Maybe that's because I'm looking at girls instead and they are neither particularly pretty nor well dressed here...

[Lis]

Which is my I stay with my dumb phone.  I can drop that thing and nothing bad happens.  I don't the iPad and had to replace the screen, then buy a otter case to protect it.  I miss the old bricks of cell phones.

One of my old old phones was indestructible, I tell you. I used to be a camp counselor to 6 year olds and would forever entertain them by throwing that thing up in the air as far as I could and catching it. Inevitably, I would miss sometimes, and that thing would come crashing hard into the ground. Had a couple of scratches on it, but that thing never stopped working. Try doing that with an iPhone... ha!

(Note: I was a dumb 13 year old who didn't know the value of money then. I'm smarter now, promise!)

[puetzk]

Jesus.  I just got smartphone (my first, republic wireless) six months ago.  Two months ago I dropped the thing on the ground, smashing the screen.  No way in hell I'm replacing it when it's just got a little cracked glass.  New phone every 6 months... what a tool.

Broken cover glass is generally not that hard/expensive to fix. Many phones takes some special tools to separate adhesive, which is hard to DIY, but it's definitely a thing people do. Check craigslist/classifieds/etc - I bet you can find someone local. Falling that, ebay should have lots of choices.

If your phone isn't glued, it's probably only a $10-15 part. If it is, maybe $75.

[Nords]

This doesn't surprise me. I stopped in Zurich a few weeks ago while traveling across Europe and my god, everyone looked like they stepped off a fashion runway. I loved how perfectly put together and fashionable everyone looked - people don't really do that in Vancouver, especially guys, so it's nice to look at.

Really? You wouldn't say that had you traveled through Milan as well. :)

I haven't been to Milan, but I've been to Paris, London, Vienna, Budapest, Marseille, Nice, and smaller villages in France and Italy - Swiss people were above and beyond the best dressed! I have a great appreciation for well-dressed guys, because it is SO rare here - most Vancouver guys live in beach shorts or sweatpants with ratty tank tops or t-shirts, and flip flops to finish the look. "Dressing up for a night out" here means wearing jeans that don't have holes in them (or have "fashionable" holes").

Funny how different people see it differently. Maybe that's because I'm looking at girls instead and they are neither particularly pretty nor well dressed here...

Every time I see a well-dressed person (of either gender), my initial attraction is tempered by a little flashing yellow light that warns "High maintenance".

I'm typing this in my surf shorts (Goodwill, $3.99) and my ratty tank top (Aloha Stadium Swap Meet, 6 for $20).  And, of course, I wear rubber slippers almost exclusively-- to the point where my feet are at least a size bigger than they were during my dress-code years.  I've happily given up on suits, ties, tie clips, collar stays, vests, overcoats, cuff links, socks, dress shoes, and even dress jackets.

I'm pretty sure I can't pronounce "Hermès" correctly, either...

[iris lily]

...I'm typing this in my surf shorts (Goodwill, $3.99)...

My goal on FIRE next year is to post to my Facebook page: I've worn shorts for 45 days in a row. "45" is an arbitrary, but attractive number to me.

I never post on Facebook and barely read it, but I do believe that news is worthy of posting.

So Nords, how many days have you worn shorts in a row? Probably you measure that in years, not weeks.

[Joggernot]

Every time I see a well-dressed person (of either gender), my initial attraction is tempered by a little flashing yellow light that warns "High maintenance".

I'm typing this in my surf shorts (Goodwill, $3.99) and my ratty tank top (Aloha Stadium Swap Meet, 6 for $20).  And, of course, I wear rubber slippers almost exclusively-- to the point where my feet are at least a size bigger than they were during my dress-code years.  I've happily given up on suits, ties, tie clips, collar stays, vests, overcoats, cuff links, socks, dress shoes, and even dress jackets.

I'm pretty sure I can't pronounce "Hermès" correctly, either...

Yep.  Shorts and t-shirt from Castaways thrift shop, flip-flops as I type.  I, too, see high maintenance every time and after talking with them learn that first impressions are normally right.  One woman has a mani-pedi, hair color and style, and spa treatment once a month and I didn't have the nerve to ask the cost.

Hermès is that guy on Futurama, for those who have tv.

A bit ironic is my 78 year old friend who is now going on cruises with his spouse due to her receiving a large inheritance.  Seems she is making him buy dress clothes and even a tux just to go on the cruises.  He normally wears his old "work" clothes around town.  He even had to buy a pair of leather shoes!!  Aaaarrrgggghhhh.

[Travis]

This doesn't surprise me. I stopped in Zurich a few weeks ago while traveling across Europe and my god, everyone looked like they stepped off a fashion runway. I loved how perfectly put together and fashionable everyone looked - people don't really do that in Vancouver, especially guys, so it's nice to look at.

Really? You wouldn't say that had you traveled through Milan as well. :)

I haven't been to Milan, but I've been to Paris, London, Vienna, Budapest, Marseille, Nice, and smaller villages in France and Italy - Swiss people were above and beyond the best dressed! I have a great appreciation for well-dressed guys, because it is SO rare here - most Vancouver guys live in beach shorts or sweatpants with ratty tank tops or t-shirts, and flip flops to finish the look. "Dressing up for a night out" here means wearing jeans that don't have holes in them (or have "fashionable" holes").

Funny how different people see it differently. Maybe that's because I'm looking at girls instead and they are neither particularly pretty nor well dressed here...

Every time I see a well-dressed person (of either gender), my initial attraction is tempered by a little flashing yellow light that warns "High maintenance".

I'm typing this in my surf shorts (Goodwill, $3.99) and my ratty tank top (Aloha Stadium Swap Meet, 6 for $20).  And, of course, I wear rubber slippers almost exclusively-- to the point where my feet are at least a size bigger than they were during my dress-code years.  I've happily given up on suits, ties, tie clips, collar stays, vests, overcoats, cuff links, socks, dress shoes, and even dress jackets.

I'm pretty sure I can't pronounce "Hermès" correctly, either...

Saw this a couple days ago. Seemed appropriate to the conversation.

[jordanread]

"Dressing up for a night out" here means wearing jeans that don't have holes in them (or have "fashionable" holes").

There's a different way to dress for a night out?

[Albert]

I prefer looking at well dressed women, don't you? :)

[jordanread]

I prefer looking at well dressed women, don't you? :)

I tried writing like 3 different responses to this, but they all made me sound creepy...:D

[marty998]

I prefer looking at well dressed women, don't you? :)

I tried writing like 3 different responses to this, but they all made me sound creepy...:D

I was going to say I prefer undressed but yeah this is going downhill fast :P

[jordanread]

I prefer looking at well dressed women, don't you? :)

I tried writing like 3 different responses to this, but they all made me sound creepy...:D

I was going to say I prefer undressed but yeah this is going downhill fast :P

That was my first try...then it went to something about yoga pants, and then something about the "work around the house stuff" and then something about getting dirty.

[Ralphus27]

I was talking with a coworker about our 401k a few months ago.  He is a pretty smart/nice guy, 25 years old, about to finish his MBA at the local regional university.  He didn't really understand the concept of why you would save money for retirement.  He then explained that he thought you just worked X number of years, retired, and someone kept paying you.  Even after explaining why a 401k is important, I had the feeling that he didn't 100% believe you could work 30-40 years and have nothing other than social security.

I have always had the impression that the guy lives paycheck to paycheck.  He was in a panic after learning he wasn't eligible for our annual bonus (had been hired on full time less than six months prior to date of bonus) because he had already spent the amount he planned on receiving. 

[Gin1984]

I prefer looking at well dressed women, don't you? :)

I tried writing like 3 different responses to this, but they all made me sound creepy...:D

I was going to say I prefer undressed but yeah this is going downhill fast :P

That was my first try...then it went to something about yoga pants, and then something about the "work around the house stuff" and then something about getting dirty.

Lol, well at least you guys knew it sounded creepy, that is a head over some people. :P

[jordanread]

Lol, well at least you guys knew it sounded creepy, that is a head over some people. :P

I still almost said it, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out how to state it positively (a goal of mine here). :-)

Although I've thought about it a bit...Something like:

Ladies out there, just know that you are beautiful. Clothes don't make the woman, the woman makes the woman. Be awesome, and don't give a fuck about what others think about you. That is more attractive than anything else.

Not perfect, but close.

[Nords]

...I'm typing this in my surf shorts (Goodwill, $3.99)...

My goal on FIRE next year is to post to my Facebook page: I've worn shorts for 45 days in a row. "45" is an arbitrary, but attractive number to me.

I never post on Facebook and barely read it, but I do believe that news is worthy of posting.

So Nords, how many days have you worn shorts in a row? Probably you measure that in years, not weeks.

I had to think about that one.  And then my thoughts kept getting interrupted by thinking about looking at well-dressed women.

When we're in the islands, the last time I wore pants all day long was when I was last in uniform:  February 2002, over 12 years ago.  I still have to wear pants a few times a month around town, but I try to minimize the number of times I go to those places.

The last time I had to wear pants all day long was when I was in Colorado in March 2011.  It was freezing, too!

T-shirts are a different story.  I have them in tank tops, cutoff sleeves, short sleeves, and long sleeves.  You know, one type for each of our four seasons...

[fantabulous]

Every time I see a well-dressed person (of either gender), my initial attraction is tempered by a little flashing yellow light that warns "High maintenance".

Now I wonder if I dress nice enough for people to think I'm high maintenance.

[Astromarine]

I've lived in Switzerland 13 years, and I've never heard of anyone being that ridiculously wasteful. Wow. Then again, I work for a software dev (doing banking software, natch. This IS switzerland) rather than a bank.

Was he at least front office? I could see that requiring a change in tie, barely, I guess. Still, 200 bucks. Wow.

[imbros]

Every time I see a well-dressed person (of either gender), my initial attraction is tempered by a little flashing yellow light that warns "High maintenance".

Now I wonder if I dress nice enough for people to think I'm high maintenance.

Honestly, I don't give a flying fuck.. You don't really need to spend $60 for a shirt to dress well in the US. Clothing in the US is way cheaper than Europe, yet your average American dresses worse than an average Swiss, Swede, Norwegian. Levi's jeans you can purchase for under $40 bucks here costs over $100 in Norway..

So, I am a consultant and recently I decided to dress at work like how I would dress if I was in Sweden. It is amazing to see the sharp increase in girls checking you out or staring at you in and outside the office.. Amazing..

[AlanStache]

A bit ironic is my 78 year old friend who is now going on cruises with his spouse due to her receiving a large inheritance.  Seems she is making him buy dress clothes and even a tux just to go on the cruises.  He normally wears his old "work" clothes around town.  He even had to buy a pair of leather shoes!!  Aaaarrrgggghhhh.

Sorry but if I "had" to get a tux I would totally go clean shaving for a week and acquire Walther PPK.

... It is amazing to see the sharp increase in girls checking you out or staring at you in and outside the office.. Amazing..

Try dressing well and carrying a dozen roses down a busy city sidewalk, E-V-E-R-Y woman will turn and look.

[NumberCruncher]

Honestly, I don't give a flying fuck.. You don't really need to spend $60 for a shirt to dress well in the US. Clothing in the US is way cheaper than Europe, yet your average American dresses worse than an average Swiss, Swede, Norwegian. Levi's jeans you can purchase for under $40 bucks here costs over $100 in Norway..

Is the same type of clothing really that much more expensive over there (i.e. same quality fabric/construction)?

 I mean, Levi's are an American brand, so it makes sense that they would be more expensive in Europe, taking into account exporting/importing expenses.

[dorothyc]

I mean, Levi's are an American brand, so it makes sense that they would be more expensive in Europe, taking into account exporting/importing expenses.

The majority of pairs of Levis are made outside the US, so they are imported to the US also.

[Middlesbrough]

Honestly, I don't give a flying fuck.. You don't really need to spend $60 for a shirt to dress well in the US. Clothing in the US is way cheaper than Europe, yet your average American dresses worse than an average Swiss, Swede, Norwegian. Levi's jeans you can purchase for under $40 bucks here costs over $100 in Norway..

Is the same type of clothing really that much more expensive over there (i.e. same quality fabric/construction)?

 I mean, Levi's are an American brand, so it makes sense that they would be more expensive in Europe, taking into account exporting/importing expenses.

Most of the cotton also comes from the South in the U.S.

[msilenus]

Had a meeting with my boss a little while ago.  He'd been lobbying me to become a manager.  "It's not that bad."  His argument in favor was something like: "eventually you're going to look up at the guy above you and realize how much more he's making and how little extra he's doing for it relative to you."

I told him that I don't really measure myself relative to others in that way, think I'm doing well enough on the money front, and that I'd been thinking recently that I might have the best job in the world right where I am.  I point out that I'm high enough up to be taken seriously, "but not so high that you have to be inserting yourself in all sorts of stuff you don't care about" he finishes for me.  Then he starts waxing nostalgic about all the great things about my job that you lose when you get promoted into his.

I sincerely thanked him again for being my boss, and we moved on to technical stuff.

[Zikoris]

I'm picturing our resident Swiss Mustachians being super stylish and beautiful now. Am I right, or do you guys wear flip flops and ratty sweat pants?

[Albert]

I'm picturing our resident Swiss Mustachians being super stylish and beautiful now. Am I right, or do you guys wear flip flops and ratty sweat pants?

:)

I'm not a particularly stylish guy, however I wear no flip flops, sweat pants or old t-shirts except on a beach or while doing sports. I'm usually dressed in jeans (good ones) and a polo shirt while off-work. At work it's some combination of slack pants, jeans, dress shirt and a polo shirt. I spend a lot of time in a lab not in a bank meeting clients so there is no need for a formal wear.