Overheard at Work

[pancakes]

I overheard a co-worker who is always complaining about CC debt (but unwilling to take any serious steps to pay it back quickly) chatting this week about how a sibling returned a car they had been borrowing.

I chimed in to ask if this was a second car and the answer was yes. I suggested selling one of the cars to pay back some of the debt and it was explained to me that this was a terrible idea because:

1. the car is worth $1000-$1500 and this is "not enough to make it worth selling"
and
2. a second car is needed to transport pets around so that pet hair doesn't get in the primary car.

Apparently everyone else in the office agrees that the above are valid points.

A good news update on this one.

My co-worker has kept their second car but I've been helping them out putting a plan together to pay off the CC debt aggressively and next month they will be debt free! They are beyond thrilled as from age 18 they've always been in credit card debt and this will be the first time they've cleared it without their mother stepping in to help out.

Not only that but they now seem to be planning financially beyond the next luxury purchase or holiday and thinking about investments for the future as well.

[lemanfan]

Go Pancakes!

I sort of follow this thread out of interest, but my colleagues are quite sensible for the most part. :)

[tbone]

Nonsense.  Any 51R would do fine in an 08 Fit. 

[/quote]

We had to replace the battery in our 2008 Honda Fit for the first time this winter. It's a teeny tiny battery, but it lasted through almost 7 winters before starting to have trouble starting the car in the cold.  It gets really cold here too, usually below -40 several times throughout the winter.  Only complaint is Honda uses a proprietary battery for this car, so we had to pay a bit more than I'd have liked. Still cheaper than having a bigger car, though!
[/quote]

[Comar]

Not actually overheard. I bring my own lunch to work every day. It's always the same stuff, a mix of vegetables, cottage cheese, almonds and beans. This is way cheaper than buying food at work and also a very healthy meal. People aren't exactly saying much about it besides something like "beans today huh? surprising..." but some of them I can kinda feel they are annoyed by this habit of mine. Might also be all in my head.

[Papa Mustache]

To be fair, I'd put down $0 if I could!  Either you believe the finance rate is less than your investment rate or you pay all cash.  It's those 50% down people that baffle me

I want the mortgage paid off. The markets could tank ala 2008 and the (not-so) Great Recession and I could wind up out of work. Those investments might be worth 30% of their pre-recession value.

Now if the perfect storm happens - there is no income, no investments (not much anyhow) and no job. Still - you need a place to live and to keep the rain off of your head and those of your family.

Anybody can keep the taxes paid on an average house even with a minimum wage job which I'm confident I could get in hard times. Engineer vs high school grad. Which one do you want working for you? There are probably examples of employers who'd want the lower educated fellow but I'd still wager the college educated jack of all trades (me) wins the interview.

I want to be mortgage free more than the big investments. I have enough money now that if I do work until I'm 65 - we'll be living comfortably. Anything I accumulate between now and then just either helps us retire earlier or more comfortably. 

[Papa Mustache]

uhm.  inheritance?

Usually people at this income level who can "save up" this kind of money don't go spending it on toys.
Just sayin.'

Heard a story at work about a man of modest means lost a spouse suddenly to illness. Received $250K life insurance policy. Within about 18 months or so he has spent nearly all of it car hopping. I mean he bought the best Ford p/u and a smaller commuter car for his daughter. Then after a year and less than a couple of oil changes he trades up or down - down on his truck and up on her car? Don't remember the details. He is rumored to be in deeper debt now than he was before his wife passed away.

All I could think of was pay off the house, make some repairs, perhaps take the grown children with him on a simple beach vacation where they can spend time together for a week or ten days and mourn her passing but spend time together consoling each other.

Then when he reached an old age and could not care for himself he'd be able to afford to live in an assisted living / retirement village or put himself a small house behind one of his children's house where he could be on his own but have help nearby.

That could be a grand solution or not - another couple of folks I know put a new house on an acre or two at the edge of of his or her mother's land. Split it off and put it in their name. Now she comes over multiple times per day, let's herself in sometimes very early on weekends to drop off coupons or magazines or what-not and tracks their every arrival and departure. MAYBE not quite ideal. ;) Good money saver though over buying a lot somewhere.

[Psychstache]

To be fair, I'd put down $0 if I could!  Either you believe the finance rate is less than your investment rate or you pay all cash.  It's those 50% down people that baffle me

I want the mortgage paid off. The markets could tank ala 2008 and the (not-so) Great Recession and I could wind up out of work. Those investments might be worth 30% of their pre-recession value.

Now if the perfect storm happens - there is no income, no investments (not much anyhow) and no job. Still - you need a place to live and to keep the rain off of your head and those of your family.

Anybody can keep the taxes paid on an average house even with a minimum wage job which I'm confident I could get in hard times. Engineer vs high school grad. Which one do you want working for you? There are probably examples of employers who'd want the lower educated fellow but I'd still wager the college educated jack of all trades (me) wins the interview.

I want to be mortgage free more than the big investments. I have enough money now that if I do work until I'm 65 - we'll be living comfortably. Anything I accumulate between now and then just either helps us retire earlier or more comfortably.

Yes, but putting 50% down doesn't help you with that, which is what JA was confused by. If you lose your job, having 50% equity doesn't help.

I think the only options for a down payment that make some kind of sense are 0% (take advantage of some other investing options), 20% (ease of conventional mortgage, avoid PMI), or 100% (own it free and clear, reduce risk). The other options don't make much sense to me.

[seanc0x0]

Nonsense.  Any 51R would do fine in an 08 Fit. 

Not without modifications on the battery holder. 

[Papa Mustache]

It's great if you can make the timing work. I got laid off last summer. They telegraphed it so far in advance that on the day they laid me off I already had a lunch interview scheduled - my third with that company. Signed the papers for new job 5 days after getting laid off. I did take a few weeks of "paid vacation" in between jobs, though.

It still amuses me to think about the manager apologetically telling me they'd have to let me go - and then looking confused about why I was practically laughing in his face.

I haven't been out of work in 25 years. Never left one job before I had something new lined up. Now some of these jobs were "little jobs" i.e. not professional jobs and thus somewhat easy to get but always enough to pay the bills. Always baby steps forward too.

I too have watched people in our social circle get laid off and then flounder - no planning, no spare cash, no spending cutbacks until the last second, etc. Divorces for some have been equally financially devastating some of those very same folks. Complete start over.

That said, one I know always lands on their feet. Drop them on the moon and they'd probably be making bank in a month or so. Crazy... for them it was just the frequency of the restarts that made life tough. Multiple marriages, multiple careers, etc. Always interesting to visit and see what's new.

[coffeehound]

Not actually overheard. I bring my own lunch to work every day. It's always the same stuff, a mix of vegetables, cottage cheese, almonds and beans. This is way cheaper than buying food at work and also a very healthy meal. People aren't exactly saying much about it besides something like "beans today huh? surprising..." but some of them I can kinda feel they are annoyed by this habit of mine. Might also be all in my head.

It's not entirely in your head - I get the same sorts of responses to my delicious lentils and veggies with curry sauce. None of those people will be retiring early, though.......

[Scandium]

If you are having trouble with sticking on cast iron you might also need to look at how you clean the pan.  I never use water or (god forbid) soap.  To clean a cast iron pan put a little oil and table salt in the pan, maybe a tablespoon or so of each depending on the size of the pan.  Warm up the pan to loosen up everything and scrub it with a paper towel* using the salt as an abrasive.  Once everything is loose, dump out the dirty salt/oil mixture and wipe the pan clean with a new paper towel*.  Done!

*Feel free to use cloth towels if you prefer but this is one place where paper is better IMO.

I need to look into cleaning cast iron. My wife keeps saying not to use soap and water, but this sounds like bunk to me. Clean dishes = soap and water. I mean how else would I make it clean?! Then there will be gross old fat and crap stuck to it. Eww! And we would eat food from this? This makes no sense to me. I've been cleaning our cast iron pan with soap+water for years. And often let it soak with soap water, which you're also not supposed to do? It seems fine, so what will happen to it?

[Papa Mustache]

But sometimes I don't feel like being polite. I wasn't to the female panhandler yesterday, hanging around the gas station.

That's me with a local panhandler that I see around town. I would love to help but she's stood on a street corner for two and half weeks now. Is less than a mile from a shelter.

In that amount of time surely she could have found legit work???

I'm sure there are contributing reasons she doesn't have any money. Who knows - drugs, mental illness, etc. Hard to know though whether I'd be feeding a dependence or financing an escape from poverty.

[Threshkin]

If you are having trouble with sticking on cast iron you might also need to look at how you clean the pan.  I never use water or (god forbid) soap.  To clean a cast iron pan put a little oil and table salt in the pan, maybe a tablespoon or so of each depending on the size of the pan.  Warm up the pan to loosen up everything and scrub it with a paper towel* using the salt as an abrasive.  Once everything is loose, dump out the dirty salt/oil mixture and wipe the pan clean with a new paper towel*.  Done!

*Feel free to use cloth towels if you prefer but this is one place where paper is better IMO.

I need to look into cleaning cast iron. My wife keeps saying not to use soap and water, but this sounds like bunk to me. Clean dishes = soap and water. I mean how else would I make it clean?! Then there will be gross old fat and crap stuck to it. Eww! And we would eat food from this? This makes no sense to me. I've been cleaning our cast iron pan with soap+water for years. And often let it soak with soap water, which you're also not supposed to do? It seems fine, so what will happen to it?

What happens is that you get the iron really clean.  The soap will remove all of the seasoning.  At that point you will have to recreate the seasoning by baking oil back into the pan.  What the seasoning does is fill in the pores in the iron and creating a smooth, non-stick surface. 

Washing a cast iron pan with water alone will not damage the seasoning but you do run the risk of the pan rusting.  Just dry the pan well after you wash it. 

But don't just take my word for it.  Google "How to clean cast iron"

I just did this search myself and read some posts that said it is okay to use dish soap but that you should not let it soak in water.  That makes sense to me but I have been very happy just using salt and oil to clean my pans.

[Papa Mustache]

I've seen a few guys selling things like Cutco knives who do the "let me practice me sales pitch on you" approach with their friends. And I've also seen guys fall into the "essential oils" MLMs.

I can't stand the thought of trying to sell stuff to my neighbors almost as much as the thought of a neighbor trying to sell things to me.

Visiting with neighbors at a cookout? That would be fun occasionally.

Our kids' schools tries to sell stuff, we are involved with BSA and they want to sell stuff, etc.

We send the school supplies that the school requests - though we're scaling it back b/c the school is starting to stock pile it b/c they ask for so much and use so little (or get wasteful). I have also written a check to a fund raiser occasionally b/c I found out when the school sells things - the school sometimes only sees some small portion of the profits - the rest going to some company selling high priced cookie dough or similar.

When I was a kid I was a big seller of magazines to raise money for the school. My big prize for selling more mag subscriptions than most of the kids in my grade one year was a little Instamatic 126 film camera that I wanted so badly but did not even work right from the first picture. The lens was not very clear and it was out of focus (a fixed focus camera though). I could have purchased that camera for $7.50 at KMart at the time and earned the money much, much quicker. It was my first realization that I was being suckered by adults. I've educated my kids past falling for that and we don't participate in the selling stuff drive. My youngest wants to participate b/c that child loves the sense of being part of the crowd (herd). Finally starting to think for himself. Finally.

We live in a pretty ordinary part of the USA. Our neighbors aren't rich (or mostly don't conspicuously  spend like they are rich). I feel really odd encouraging my kids to try to sell overpriced stuff to these neighbors.

Again - with the scouts I give my time, my gas money (transportation for trips), teach badges, and occasionally make cash (by check) donations directly to the troop. Fortunately we have some very money savvy parents who are sensitive to wasting money.

[Papa Mustache]

First post to defend Heballfe?      Do I detect a schill?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbalife#Pyramid_scheme_allegations

[Scandium]

If you are having trouble with sticking on cast iron you might also need to look at how you clean the pan.  I never use water or (god forbid) soap.  To clean a cast iron pan put a little oil and table salt in the pan, maybe a tablespoon or so of each depending on the size of the pan.  Warm up the pan to loosen up everything and scrub it with a paper towel* using the salt as an abrasive.  Once everything is loose, dump out the dirty salt/oil mixture and wipe the pan clean with a new paper towel*.  Done!

*Feel free to use cloth towels if you prefer but this is one place where paper is better IMO.

I need to look into cleaning cast iron. My wife keeps saying not to use soap and water, but this sounds like bunk to me. Clean dishes = soap and water. I mean how else would I make it clean?! Then there will be gross old fat and crap stuck to it. Eww! And we would eat food from this? This makes no sense to me. I've been cleaning our cast iron pan with soap+water for years. And often let it soak with soap water, which you're also not supposed to do? It seems fine, so what will happen to it?

What happens is that you get the iron really clean.  The soap will remove all of the seasoning.  At that point you will have to recreate the seasoning by baking oil back into the pan.  What the seasoning does is fill in the pores in the iron and creating a smooth, non-stick surface. 

Washing a cast iron pan with water alone will not damage the seasoning but you do run the risk of the pan rusting.  Just dry the pan well after you wash it. 

But don't just take my word for it.  Google "How to clean cast iron"

I just did this search myself and read some posts that said it is okay to use dish soap but that you should not let it soak in water.  That makes sense to me but I have been very happy just using salt and oil to clean my pans.

Yeah after I posted I read a howto on cast iron cleaning. Still doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but whatever. Smearing something with fat is the opposite of "cleaning" in  my mind! Making food in 3 week old bacon fat doesn't sound very appealing. I've probably scrubbed away the seasoning long ago, but food  doesn't seem to stick to it that much? So not sure how important it is.

Maybe I'll just use our cast iron pan less, as it just seems like a lot of work for no benefit. We have a full set of stainless steel pans which are awesome. No nonstick nonsense and clean up perfect every time, without waxing with lard or other crazyness.

[SomedayStache]

My method for using cast iron has worked for years and consists of:
To clean: Wash with water and friction.
To season: Just use the pan to cook food.

It's easy.  I can flip an over-medium egg on our skillet.  We use solely cast iron and 2 pans live on our stove top at all times because they are used 2-3 times a day.  The other 3 pans get stacked on the microwave and are within easy reach.

I've never cleaned cast iron with salt (too much effort)- I use a green scrubby pad and some hot water, sometimes scrubbing with a butter knife if things are hard to get off.  That's it - water and elbow grease.  There's been a time or two that I have soaked a pan with water in it and I've also been known to re-use a soapy dish cloth.  Both these things are supposedly a no-no (soap? NO! soaking? NO!) - but on very rare occasions hasn't hurt. 

And then everyone is scared of seasoning.  I guess some pans come with a seasoning on them?  And people are deathly afraid of ruining that seasoning because then they'd have to work black magic to season the pan again.  Just don't worry about it.  You season a pan every time you use it.  If some of the seasoning wears off you might have a spot that sticks for a bit, but soon enough you will have seasoned the pan simply through use.  Why try harder?

[mm1970]

Not actually overheard. I bring my own lunch to work every day. It's always the same stuff, a mix of vegetables, cottage cheese, almonds and beans. This is way cheaper than buying food at work and also a very healthy meal. People aren't exactly saying much about it besides something like "beans today huh? surprising..." but some of them I can kinda feel they are annoyed by this habit of mine. Might also be all in my head.

It's not entirely in your head - I get the same sorts of responses to my delicious lentils and veggies with curry sauce. None of those people will be retiring early, though.......

Ha!  I have a coworker who eats beans and rice for breakfast almost every day, and I tease him about it.

But of course, I bring lunch every day.  And since we've had 3 layoffs in 1.5 years, most people bring their lunch now.  This particular coworker goes through phases where he will go out a lot or bring lunch (leftovers or sandwiches).  But anyway, my teasing is good natured because I eat a lot of beans and rice, plus his girlfriend is vegan (and he's not).

[theadvicist]

Ha!  I have a coworker who eats beans and rice for breakfast almost every day, and I tease him about it.

But of course, I bring lunch every day.  And since we've had 3 layoffs in 1.5 years, most people bring their lunch now.  This particular coworker goes through phases where he will go out a lot or bring lunch (leftovers or sandwiches).  But anyway, my teasing is good natured because I eat a lot of beans and rice, plus his girlfriend is vegan (and he's not).

Everyone who teases thinks it's good natured (and I'm sure that is your intention). But actually, commenting on what people are eating over and over is just really annoying, in my experience. Especially if you are saying the same things. I heard you the first 100 times you said it! I know I am eating rice and beans they are in front of me! /rant

[retireatbirth]

My boss (megacorp mid-manager) joined a country club.

[bb11]

Oh... my... word... My coworker wants the new Iphone because she is "out of space" on her old phone and it "runs slow" (it's an iPhone 4). She said she can't take any more pictures, so it's like she can't even hold onto memories. I asked if she's gone through the pictures and deleted old ones, she says yes but most of them she wants to keep. So I asked why she didn't put them on Facebook. She said she doesn't want to share them all with other people.

Me: Well you could just set them to private. Then Facebook acts as free picture storage.
Her: Yeah that's true...

It gets worse. With a discount she gets the new Iphone for $165, but still wants to put it on payments. And this after we just talked about having the freedom/flexibility for extended travel and she said she really needs to win the lottery. Smh.....

[Pooperman]

Oh... my... word... My coworker wants the new Iphone because she is "out of space" on her old phone and it "runs slow" (it's an iPhone 4). She said she can't take any more pictures, so it's like she can't even hold onto memories. I asked if she's gone through the pictures and deleted old ones, she says yes but most of them she wants to keep. So I asked why she didn't put them on Facebook. She said she doesn't want to share them all with other people.

Me: Well you could just set them to private. Then Facebook acts as free picture storage.
Her: Yeah that's true...

It gets worse. With a discount she gets the new Iphone for $165, but still wants to put it on payments. And this after we just talked about having the freedom/flexibility for extended travel and she said she really needs to win the lottery. Smh.....

Google also has unlimited photo storage. Mention that to her. It's a new thing so you may not have heard of it yet.

[mm1970]

Ha!  I have a coworker who eats beans and rice for breakfast almost every day, and I tease him about it.

But of course, I bring lunch every day.  And since we've had 3 layoffs in 1.5 years, most people bring their lunch now.  This particular coworker goes through phases where he will go out a lot or bring lunch (leftovers or sandwiches).  But anyway, my teasing is good natured because I eat a lot of beans and rice, plus his girlfriend is vegan (and he's not).

Everyone who teases thinks it's good natured (and I'm sure that is your intention). But actually, commenting on what people are eating over and over is just really annoying, in my experience. Especially if you are saying the same things. I heard you the first 100 times you said it! I know I am eating rice and beans they are in front of me! /rant

Personally it's funny, because a few years ago when everyone else was eating out more (before the layoffs), he was one of the guys who said "beans and rice again??"

[arebelspy]

Oh... my... word... My coworker wants the new Iphone because she is "out of space" on her old phone and it "runs slow" (it's an iPhone 4). She said she can't take any more pictures, so it's like she can't even hold onto memories. I asked if she's gone through the pictures and deleted old ones, she says yes but most of them she wants to keep. So I asked why she didn't put them on Facebook. She said she doesn't want to share them all with other people.

Me: Well you could just set them to private. Then Facebook acts as free picture storage.
Her: Yeah that's true...

It gets worse. With a discount she gets the new Iphone for $165, but still wants to put it on payments. And this after we just talked about having the freedom/flexibility for extended travel and she said she really needs to win the lottery. Smh.....

Google also has unlimited photo storage. Mention that to her. It's a new thing so you may not have heard of it yet.

There's a cap on the storage size per photo/video though.  Most people won't hit it, but if you will, Flickr's free 1TB is probably the better route.  Either option is really good though.

[cripzychiken]

Oh... my... word... My coworker wants the new Iphone because she is "out of space" on her old phone and it "runs slow" (it's an iPhone 4). She said she can't take any more pictures, so it's like she can't even hold onto memories. I asked if she's gone through the pictures and deleted old ones, she says yes but most of them she wants to keep. So I asked why she didn't put them on Facebook. She said she doesn't want to share them all with other people.

Me: Well you could just set them to private. Then Facebook acts as free picture storage.
Her: Yeah that's true...

It gets worse. With a discount she gets the new Iphone for $165, but still wants to put it on payments. And this after we just talked about having the freedom/flexibility for extended travel and she said she really needs to win the lottery. Smh.....

Google also has unlimited photo storage. Mention that to her. It's a new thing so you may not have heard of it yet.

There's a cap on the storage size per photo/video though.  Most people won't hit it, but if you will, Flickr's free 1TB is probably the better route.  Either option is really good though.

Or just move all the photos to your computer.  You can then back them up somewhere else as a 2ndary safety (burn to a dvd, store them on a thumbdrive, etc).  I do this once a year during the December holiday shutdown at work.  It's always a nice way to remember all the great (and sometimes stupid) stuff I did the last year.  Plus it keeps my phone clear so I can always have enough space.

[WerKater]

Oh... my... word... My coworker wants the new Iphone because she is "out of space" on her old phone and it "runs slow" (it's an iPhone 4). She said she can't take any more pictures, so it's like she can't even hold onto memories. I asked if she's gone through the pictures and deleted old ones, she says yes but most of them she wants to keep. So I asked why she didn't put them on Facebook. She said she doesn't want to share them all with other people.

Me: Well you could just set them to private. Then Facebook acts as free picture storage.
Her: Yeah that's true...

It gets worse. With a discount she gets the new Iphone for $165, but still wants to put it on payments. And this after we just talked about having the freedom/flexibility for extended travel and she said she really needs to win the lottery. Smh.....

Google also has unlimited photo storage. Mention that to her. It's a new thing so you may not have heard of it yet.

There's a cap on the storage size per photo/video though.  Most people won't hit it, but if you will, Flickr's free 1TB is probably the better route.  Either option is really good though.

Or just move all the photos to your computer.  You can then back them up somewhere else as a 2ndary safety (burn to a dvd, store them on a thumbdrive, etc).  I do this once a year during the December holiday shutdown at work.  It's always a nice way to remember all the great (and sometimes stupid) stuff I did the last year.  Plus it keeps my phone clear so I can always have enough space.

This. Frankly, I always assumed that everyone does this. Isn't it the most obvious solution?

[arebelspy]

It's easier for me to backup online than on the computer (automatic transfer from phone and camera straight to online service), but to each his own.  I'd do both if they're important--you never know when an online company that's hosting them will go out of business, and you never know when a hard drive might fail.  :)

[Pooperman]

It's easier for me to backup online than on the computer (automatic transfer from phone and camera straight to online service), but to each his own.  I'd do both if they're important--you never know when an online company that's hosting them will go out of business, and you never know when a hard drive might fail.  :)

Gotta RAID your drives, print things in triplicate, and take out multiple life insurance policies because you never know.

[Redstone5]

Ha!  I have a coworker who eats beans and rice for breakfast almost every day, and I tease him about it.

But of course, I bring lunch every day.  And since we've had 3 layoffs in 1.5 years, most people bring their lunch now.  This particular coworker goes through phases where he will go out a lot or bring lunch (leftovers or sandwiches).  But anyway, my teasing is good natured because I eat a lot of beans and rice, plus his girlfriend is vegan (and he's not).

Everyone who teases thinks it's good natured (and I'm sure that is your intention). But actually, commenting on what people are eating over and over is just really annoying, in my experience.
Especially if you are saying the same things. I heard you the first 100 times you said it! I know I am eating rice and beans they are in front of me! /rant

This is a huge pet peeve of mine. Even if it's a compliment, I just don't like people commenting on what I'm eating. It feels like an invasion of privacy or something. I don't know why it bugs me, but I eat at my desk to avoid the comments. I hate when people smell my food. *shrug*

[Cressida]

This is a huge pet peeve of mine. Even if it's a compliment, I just don't like people commenting on what I'm eating. It feels like an invasion of privacy or something.

I agree. My choice of food shouldn't be a source of entertainment for others.

[dragoncar]

This is a huge pet peeve of mine. Even if it's a compliment, I just don't like people commenting on what I'm eating. It feels like an invasion of privacy or something.

I agree. My choice of food shouldn't be a source of entertainment for others.

Sounds like something a dirty soup-eater would say.

[Melody]

Best quote of the day. Me too!

[Skalm]

I'm still slogging through the first few pages of this thread, so apologies if I'm butting in the middle of a conversation, but I have another story of anti-Mustachian behavior.

So my job hires temps during the summer and puts the full-time workers over them while we do projects. One of my guys, let's call him Jim, was astoundingly careless with his money.

He said he needed the two weeks of work that were quasi-guaranteed to be able to pay rent and take care of his pregnant girlfriend, but he spent money on stuff like a Red Bull every day, a WWE PPV over the weekend, eating lunch from a gas station every day (I offered him some cup o noodles and a sandwich but he declined), and bragged about his designer clothes. He begged rides from anyone who drove, claiming that he didn't have the dollar it takes to take the bus that goes right by his area of town.
We ended up letting him go early because his quality of work was below our standards and he kept sneaking off to mess on his phone (a Galaxy S6, with the included smartwatch).

[dragoncar]

I'm still slogging through the first few pages of this thread, so apologies if I'm butting in the middle of a conversation, but I have another story of anti-Mustachian behavior.

So my job hires temps during the summer and puts the full-time workers over them while we do projects. One of my guys, let's call him Jim, was astoundingly careless with his money.

He said he needed the two weeks of work that were quasi-guaranteed to be able to pay rent and take care of his pregnant girlfriend, but he spent money on stuff like a Red Bull every day, a WWE PPV over the weekend, eating lunch from a gas station every day (I offered him some cup o noodles and a sandwich but he declined), and bragged about his designer clothes. He begged rides from anyone who drove, claiming that he didn't have the dollar it takes to take the bus that goes right by his area of town.
We ended up letting him go early because his quality of work was below our standards and he kept sneaking off to mess on his phone.

This is why we need social security, so poor Jim doesn't eventually die in the streets

[Cookie]

Several years ago I overhead a conversation of several coworkers talking about their hour+ commutes. I asked why they didn't just move closer to work. One guy replied that luck would have it that when he moved closer he'd change jobs. I guess the past three years of his job stability were because of his lucky commute.

[Adventine]

This is a huge pet peeve of mine. Even if it's a compliment, I just don't like people commenting on what I'm eating. It feels like an invasion of privacy or something.

I agree. My choice of food shouldn't be a source of entertainment for others.

I've never had a problem with people commenting on my homemade lunch, because I always comment on their lunches too. Seems like harmless lunchtime office conversation to me. I don't know how it can get on some people's nerves. I just smile broadly and say "Yep! Made my own lunch again today. Where'd you buy yours?" and inwardly smile at how expensive their food usually is.

[Insanity]

My father in law commuted more than an hour sometimes longer depending in when he left,  he worked for the same company for 40 years.  He got a huge severance package for an early layoff and a full pension (whose value was changed a couple of times but is still damn good).  By the time the kids were done school, (after college) he was counting down the years to retirement.  My wife still lived at home.  And they liked where they lived.
I had an hour+ because my wife needed the easier commute and we wanted to be closer to friends.  Sometimes there really isn't a choice.  I may be taking a job that will be about an hour commute on a good day.  We can't move right now because my in-laws provide the wife with help during the week and we like the school district. 

There are trade offs, but when you are married that is what it is about.

[I'm a red panda]

Oh... my... word... My coworker wants the new Iphone because she is "out of space" on her old phone and it "runs slow" (it's an iPhone 4).

This is actually something that pisses me off about my Iphone (I got it because I wanted to be able to facetime with my sister and it was the free option with the contract I had at the time.)

With my previous android I could put any memory card I wanted in there.  It was basically impossible to run out of space.  I can't have external memory on the iphone.

So I can understand getting a different phone for this reason.  But certainly not another iphone.

[cripzychiken]

for the work commute issue - another reason is favoring one spouse's work location over another (my wife works 1.2miles away, I work 14.7) as well as schools (schools near my work are levels below the school near my wife's work).  This doesn't even account for housing costs, access to city amenities and other features that are heavily located near my wife's work.

I still hate the commute though.  Can't wait until it is no longer required.

[GuitarStv]

Oh... my... word... My coworker wants the new Iphone because she is "out of space" on her old phone and it "runs slow" (it's an iPhone 4). She said she can't take any more pictures, so it's like she can't even hold onto memories. I asked if she's gone through the pictures and deleted old ones, she says yes but most of them she wants to keep. So I asked why she didn't put them on Facebook. She said she doesn't want to share them all with other people.

Me: Well you could just set them to private. Then Facebook acts as free picture storage.
Her: Yeah that's true...

It gets worse. With a discount she gets the new Iphone for $165, but still wants to put it on payments. And this after we just talked about having the freedom/flexibility for extended travel and she said she really needs to win the lottery. Smh.....

Google also has unlimited photo storage. Mention that to her. It's a new thing so you may not have heard of it yet.

There's a cap on the storage size per photo/video though.  Most people won't hit it, but if you will, Flickr's free 1TB is probably the better route.  Either option is really good though.

Or just move all the photos to your computer.  You can then back them up somewhere else as a 2ndary safety (burn to a dvd, store them on a thumbdrive, etc).  I do this once a year during the December holiday shutdown at work.  It's always a nice way to remember all the great (and sometimes stupid) stuff I did the last year.  Plus it keeps my phone clear so I can always have enough space.

This. Frankly, I always assumed that everyone does this. Isn't it the most obvious solution?

I think people get wayyy to set on preserving photos.  The average person takes thousands of photographs a year.  Typically they go into some gigantic unsorted pile and are ignored.  After a few years of this there's a really really big unsorted pile of photos that is unmanageable without a lot of effort . . . which means it will never be managed.

Don't be a photo hoarder.  Nobody (even you) cares about most of the pictures you have.  Your device has more than enough space to keep one of two important photos.  Delete the rest.

[arebelspy]

My wife and I are terrible at taking pictures. We've been together over 10 years, and aside from our wedding photos, there's maybe three or four pictures of us together.

So I like to make sure the photos I do have are backed up decently.

I've lost a lot of data due to hard drive failure, computer crashes, etc.

[Papa Mustache]

I couldn't agree more with these two statements. There are tons of horrible stories of small children being killed by their own parents. Think of a little toddler, running out of the house excited to see daddy, runs behind the car, and daddy backs over her because she is shorter than the window. It can all happen so fast to any parent. Kids are swift little things.

All true. And it's yet another reason to drive something that is a reasonable size. Not saying my smallish vehicles don't have a blind spot but everything is low enough, the windows big enough, and the glass untinted enough to see everything around me pretty good. We've always had kids and critters and had to teach all of them to get out of the way when the engine is running.

A commenter earlier in this thread said that they prefer low tech vehicles and I have to agree.  I don't want to be required to buy a car with more tech than a spaceship. I'm perfectly happy to wear out a car daily with a/c and electric windows and a manual transmission.

Wouldn't mind having the "space ship" car with all the bells and whistles for out of town trips ala a Tesla S or Chrysler T&C minivan, etc. Registration and insurance in my state is cheap enough to garage an occasionally used vehicle while wearing out something more basic and older for daily use.  In reality my nice car would be something with 50K miles and a used car pricetag while I wear out $1500 daily drivers. This was common in southern Italy where I lived for a while. The most basic Fiat with no frills or a/c for daily driving and a Lancia or Alfa Romeo for the weekends.

[amberfocus]

I had to spend a few hours in a car with a colleague traveling for work, and amid all the small talk we engaged in, I was subjected to quite the litany of financial woe.

It started with taxes. Apparently, she pays more than $1000 per month in property taxes for a "modest four bedroom" (to be fair, they are a family of five), but another family member pays the same amount for a "tiny!" 1500 sq ft house. (I mildly commented that my own house is way smaller than 1500 sq ft -- and we don't even use half of it -- and our tax bill is one-fifth of theirs.) And last year, they were hit with an extra tax bill of $13K because "Obamacare", and "somebody has to pay for all those subsidies". I could not for the life of me figure out what this is, because it's not the tax penalty for going uninsured. At first I thought it might be the Cadillac tax, but that doesn't start until 2018?

Then came her kids. Her teenage son plays hockey, which is apparently the most expensive sport outside of equestrian. Last year, he needed new skates that cost $1000, and being only 13, he will probably outgrow them soon. He also needs extra blades for those skate, although she didn't itemize how much those were. The fancy team he plays on cost $6000 to join. He needs private lessons every week to the tune of $100 per hour. To attend his next tournament, they have to travel and stay at a hotel for three nights at $180 per night. Throw in food and other expenses, and it'll be $1000 for the entire affair. And now her other son wants to do crew. She's already shelling out for windbreakers and the like. She better not have to buy him a boat!

Of course the obvious conclusion is that all these taxes and costs are so outrageous that you NEED two incomes just to get by. Throughout all of this, I reacted quite appropriately with grimaces and gasps of horror. It's just that I don't think the horror referred to what she thought it referred to.

[mtn]

I had to spend a few hours in a car with a colleague traveling for work, and amid all the small talk we engaged in, I was subjected to quite the litany of financial woe.

It started with taxes. Apparently, she pays more than $1000 per month in property taxes for a "modest four bedroom" (to be fair, they are a family of five), but another family member pays the same amount for a "tiny!" 1500 sq ft house. (I mildly commented that my own house is way smaller than 1500 sq ft -- and we don't even use half of it -- and our tax bill is one-fifth of theirs.) And last year, they were hit with an extra tax bill of $13K because "Obamacare", and "somebody has to pay for all those subsidies". I could not for the life of me figure out what this is, because it's not the tax penalty for going uninsured. At first I thought it might be the Cadillac tax, but that doesn't start until 2018?

Then came her kids. Her teenage son plays hockey, which is apparently the most expensive sport outside of equestrian. Last year, he needed new skates that cost $1000, and being only 13, he will probably outgrow them soon. He also needs extra blades for those skate, although she didn't itemize how much those were. The fancy team he plays on cost $6000 to join. He needs private lessons every week to the tune of $100 per hour. To attend his next tournament, they have to travel and stay at a hotel for three nights at $180 per night. Throw in food and other expenses, and it'll be $1000 for the entire affair. And now her other son wants to do crew. She's already shelling out for windbreakers and the like. She better not have to buy him a boat!

Oh gawd.

I ref hockey, and have been playing it from age 6 to now. Tell her to go to Play it again sports for the skates. Or Ebay. Or Hockeymonkey.com closeout, or Hockeygiant.com closeout, or... And tell her that the blades that came with the skates are fine. And that he is 13, his slapshot sucks, and he doesn't need the most expensive stick (I can probably guarantee my slapshot is about 4 times as good as his... and my stick cost $30, although those are near impossible to find now).

Also tell her that the kid isn't going to make the NHL, or even a decent college team, so pull him out of AAA and go down to AA or A. Private lessons? They're over paying. Because, again, he isn't making the NHL. Put a hockey net in the basement, tell him to shoot for an hour a day aiming at the corners, and give him a golf ball and tell him to stick handle it througha bucnh of pucks for obstacles.

Signed, a guy who could have played club hockey in college but didn't, and a guy who has reffed everything from Club College to Juniors (pre-pro) to semi-pro, and everything below that.

[Cheddar Stacker]

And last year, they were hit with an extra tax bill of $13K because "Obamacare", and "somebody has to pay for all those subsidies". I could not for the life of me figure out what this is, because it's not the tax penalty for going uninsured. At first I thought it might be the Cadillac tax, but that doesn't start until 2018?

It's likely an additional Medicare tax that no married couple pays until after they have > $250K in taxable income. So while it sucks to pay an additional $13K, that equates to a very, very large amount of income so don't get out your violin just yet. The tax is either 0.9% of earned taxable income > $250K, or 3.8% of investment income > $250K. Let's assume it's the higher of the two tax rates. This means in order to pay $13K in additional medicare tax from Obamacare: $13,000 / 3.8% = $342,105 investment income in excess of the $250K taxable income threshold.

So either your CW is lying, confused about exactly where the taxes came from, didn't explain it properly, or made a shit ton of money, like $600K + and can afford to subsidize a few people.

[Redstone5]

This is a huge pet peeve of mine. Even if it's a compliment, I just don't like people commenting on what I'm eating. It feels like an invasion of privacy or something.

I agree. My choice of food shouldn't be a source of entertainment for others.

I've never had a problem with people commenting on my homemade lunch, because I always comment on their lunches too. Seems like harmless lunchtime office conversation to me. I don't know how it can get on some people's nerves. I just smile broadly and say "Yep! Made my own lunch again today. Where'd you buy yours?" and inwardly smile at how expensive their food usually is.

I guess I feel like I need to either explain or justify my food choice to people, or describe the recipe, or defend how easy it was to make, etc. Also, it feels kind of unhygienic to me to have people point at my food or lean over my shoulder to see what I'm eating while I'm eating it.

[Hunny156]

My wife and I are terrible at taking pictures. We've been together over 10 years, and aside from our wedding photos, there's maybe three or four pictures of us together.

So I like to make sure the photos I do have are backed up decently.

I've lost a lot of data due to hard drive failure, computer crashes, etc.

This is totally us too!  We come back from trips with lots of pictures of the scenery, but as a friend once put it, no "proof" that we were actually there.

I just checked my phone, I have exactly 49 pictures on there.  Most of them are cure kitty pics...

[HairyUpperLip]

My wife and I are terrible at taking pictures. We've been together over 10 years, and aside from our wedding photos, there's maybe three or four pictures of us together.

So I like to make sure the photos I do have are backed up decently.

I've lost a lot of data due to hard drive failure, computer crashes, etc.

This is totally us too!  We come back from trips with lots of pictures of the scenery, but as a friend once put it, no "proof" that we were actually there.

I just checked my phone, I have exactly 49 pictures on there.  Most of them are cure kitty pics...

haha, us too. My wife always gets "mad" that I end up with better photos of myself with other women (friends) when we do go to events/functions.

[Chris22]

I'm trying to piece together the puzzle of a client's books and prior year tax return and I get this in response:

"I needed to show a lot of income on the tax return so that we could qualify for a bigger house."

I'm dying here... W... T... F.

In fairness, my broker told me that if I claimed things like significant unreimbursed business expenses, that would decrease my available income that would be used in my D:I metrics for affording my house.  The idea being that you'd have to spend that money every year so it wouldn't be available for mortgage payments.  That did keep my from claiming ~$1000 of mileage from my wife driving back and forth between offices unreimbursed, but I don't think it actually made a tangible difference to either my return or my mortgage qual.

[zephyr911]

I'm trying to piece together the puzzle of a client's books and prior year tax return and I get this in response:

"I needed to show a lot of income on the tax return so that we could qualify for a bigger house."

I'm dying here... W... T... F.

In fairness, my broker told me that if I claimed things like significant unreimbursed business expenses, that would decrease my available income that would be used in my D:I metrics for affording my house.  The idea being that you'd have to spend that money every year so it wouldn't be available for mortgage payments.  That did keep my from claiming ~$1000 of mileage from my wife driving back and forth between offices unreimbursed, but I don't think it actually made a tangible difference to either my return or my mortgage qual.

That probably cost you anywhere from nothing to a few hundred and probably qualified you for 5k more on your loan. Depends on a lot of things.
I've encountered situations where taking full advantage of deductible expenses did hinder me on the DTI calculation, but to be honest, if you're in a marginal scenario you probably shouldn't be trying to qualify for more anyway. (probably being the key word)