Overheard on Facebook

[I'm a red panda]

Old washers were made to be fixed. New ones are made to be replaced.

I like that the new ones use so much less electricity and water, but since they will have such a short lifespan, I wonder what the actual energy savings is...

I disagree with this.  I have a "new" front load set.  I bought them in 2006 new and have had to replace the door latch($55) and the main PCB ($75) in the washer.  They are both going strong, and I will repair them until I can no longer get parts for them, which is unlikely soon, they are still using the same parts in new ones. 

Of course I did the repair myself so that saved money on the labour.  The new machines are so simple to fix, just need to watch a you tube video.

Ours thankfully haven't broken yet- but so much relies on computer parts- that is what I think isn't fixable.  A door latch is nothing if the circuit board is fried.

[greenmimama]

Old washers were made to be fixed. New ones are made to be replaced.

I like that the new ones use so much less electricity and water, but since they will have such a short lifespan, I wonder what the actual energy savings is...

I disagree with this.  I have a "new" front load set.  I bought them in 2006 new and have had to replace the door latch($55) and the main PCB ($75) in the washer.  They are both going strong, and I will repair them until I can no longer get parts for them, which is unlikely soon, they are still using the same parts in new ones. 

Of course I did the repair myself so that saved money on the labour.  The new machines are so simple to fix, just need to watch a you tube video.

Ours thankfully haven't broken yet- but so much relies on computer parts- that is what I think isn't fixable.  A door latch is nothing if the circuit board is fried.

Yes, that is why this Staber is so great, after I bought it they went up in price by quite a bit, I noticed all appliances did, it's crazy jut how fast that happens.

[Helvegen]

One of my friends that is beyond his eyeballs in debt and frequently behind on bills just posted a pic of a new grill he bought. Got a good deal, only $300 put on a 0% interest card for 6 months. He thinks he should be able to pay it off by then.

[Elderwood17]

One of my friends that is beyond his eyeballs in debt and frequently behind on bills just posted a pic of a new grill he bought. Got a good deal, only $300 put on a 0% interest card for 6 months. He thinks he should be able to pay it off by then.

I hope so because if not that interest bite that occurs if you miss paying it off during the grace period can be tough!

[zephyr911]

Old washers were made to be fixed. New ones are made to be replaced.

I like that the new ones use so much less electricity and water, but since they will have such a short lifespan, I wonder what the actual energy savings is...

I disagree with this.  I have a "new" front load set.  I bought them in 2006 new and have had to replace the door latch($55) and the main PCB ($75) in the washer.  They are both going strong, and I will repair them until I can no longer get parts for them, which is unlikely soon, they are still using the same parts in new ones. 

Of course I did the repair myself so that saved money on the labour.  The new machines are so simple to fix, just need to watch a you tube video.

Fine print: results not typical

[fantabulous]

One of my friends that is beyond his eyeballs in debt and frequently behind on bills just posted a pic of a new grill he bought. Got a good deal, only $300 put on a 0% interest card for 6 months. He thinks he should be able to pay it off by then.

Related to the overheard at work thread: Please let us know if he posts any pictures from a grill your own steak restaurant.

[Pooperman]

One of my friends that is beyond his eyeballs in debt and frequently behind on bills just posted a pic of a new grill he bought. Got a good deal, only $300 put on a 0% interest card for 6 months. He thinks he should be able to pay it off by then.

Related to the overheard at work thread: Please let us know if he posts any pictures from a grill your own steak restaurant.

Lets combine these threads into "Overheard at WorkBook"

[Helvegen]

One of my friends that is beyond his eyeballs in debt and frequently behind on bills just posted a pic of a new grill he bought. Got a good deal, only $300 put on a 0% interest card for 6 months. He thinks he should be able to pay it off by then.

I hope so because if not that interest bite that occurs if you miss paying it off during the grace period can be tough!

There is no way this is getting paid off before then. He is a good example of poor decision making snowballing out of control.

[secondcor521]

One of my friends that is beyond his eyeballs in debt and frequently behind on bills just posted a pic of a new grill he bought. Got a good deal, only $300 put on a 0% interest card for 6 months. He thinks he should be able to pay it off by then.

Related to the overheard at work thread: Please let us know if he posts any pictures from a grill your own steak restaurant.

Lets combine these threads into "Overheard at WorkBook"

Or "Overheard at Fork" :-)

[Latwell]

Facebook post, "Just found out I can graduate in two years!!!!!"

This is fantastic news.... until you get to know this person.

1. Literally has finished one college course so far (which didn't even give credit because it's an introductory course).
2. When accepted to this online college, they told me they'll have $90k in student loans when they're done. I swore up and down and yelled at them to not take that much student loans for a job that they have no idea about being able to get in the end. See #3 for reason of not being sure of being able to get a job.
3. Can hardly get a driver's learning permit. We live in an area where having a license is absolutely necessary if you want to live in this area with the type of job they are going to school for (gaming graphic design). Currently her grandmother drives her everywhere.
4. Person has been working since 16, is now 28 and longest held job was 6 months.
5. I almost forgot all about this one.... has already gone to numerous "colleges" for multiple types of education. She wanted to be a vet assistant at one point (this one is what she should have stuck with because it suited her perfectly). She had paid two different illegitimate colleges already (a couple grand each; the money came from her grandmother).

[SpicyMcHaggus]

Facebook post, "Just found out I can graduate in two years!!!!!"

I dont know where you are exactly, but in my state (WI), you can take gen ed at the tech college and transfer most of it to any of the state universities. to compete with this, many of the private schools have followed suit.

Pay-to-play colleges are a sham, most people in business know this and joke about ITT, univ phoenix, rasmussen, everest, etc. They are private college expensive without the reputation or quality of education. I would say they provide a 2-yr tech school level education, make you take 4 year Bachelors time to do it, and charge you for a masters.

[dandarc]

Pay-to-play colleges are a sham, most people in business know this and joke about ITT, univ phoenix, rasmussen, everest, etc. They are private college expensive without the reputation or quality of education. I would say they provide a 2-yr tech school level education, make you take 4 year Bachelors time to do it, and charge you for a masters.

When I was close to graduating from Michigan State with two bachelors degrees in Computer Science and Accounting, my mom happened to be in the hospital.  I think this was the time she got a flesh-eating bacteria - very serious / scary at the time, but she came out of this ok.  So anyway I'm at the hospital visiting mom, and a nursing assistant comes in and my mom says "<Nursing assistant's name>, this is my son DanDarc - he's graduating Michigan State soon with a Computer Science degree."  Response - "You could probably get into ITT with that!"  Good chuckle after she had left the room.

[dycker1978]

Old washers were made to be fixed. New ones are made to be replaced.

I like that the new ones use so much less electricity and water, but since they will have such a short lifespan, I wonder what the actual energy savings is...

I disagree with this.  I have a "new" front load set.  I bought them in 2006 new and have had to replace the door latch($55) and the main PCB ($75) in the washer.  They are both going strong, and I will repair them until I can no longer get parts for them, which is unlikely soon, they are still using the same parts in new ones. 

Of course I did the repair myself so that saved money on the labour.  The new machines are so simple to fix, just need to watch a you tube video.

Fine print: results not typical

I ran an appliance repair center for 7 years.  the new machines are easier and cheaper to fix than the old ones most of the time.  I choose the brand I choose because research told me they sill make 100% of their parts, and they reuse these parts in several models. 

Trust me when I say that these are simpler than the old ones.  Most is ran off a PC board, which I had to replace once... but it was $75.  Not what I would call major expense.

[gimp]

Interesting, dycker.

I'm going to start off saying I know nothing about appliances.

With that said, it is obvious that entire industries - automotive, appliance, etc etc - are moving from relatively complex designs using many simple components to relatively simple designs using one or very few complex components. In other words, instead of 50 resistors, capacitors, relays, diodes, inductors, and so on on and so on, we get one PCB with a microcontroller that's wired up to your inputs (hopefully through a wiring harness.)

The benefit of this is obvious. It's much easier to engineer (most simple appliances have a PCB that can be designed and manufactured by a first-year college student or your average hobbyist), reduces diagnostics (you don't have to figure out which component is broken, you just figure out that the PCB is at fault and replace it entirely), can probably be re-used between appliances (same PCB, eight slightly different models of dryer), can be upgraded silently and invisibly to the consumer (same input/output interface and behavior, new design, to avoid end-of-life parts or to reduce cost or whatever).

The real downside is when the customer has no choice but to replace it. Now, let's say you have a $400 washing machine and a $5 PCB malfunctions. The worst-case scenario is that you spend $400 on a new machine. Therefore, the ceiling to the repair cost is probably $200 or so before your average person figures that they're better off just buying a new one (partially to avoid future problems with more malfunctions.) Great. But let's say your $20,000 car has a $5 PCB malfunction. The manufacturer can charge $1000 for it because fuck you, that's why. In real terms, they're almost unlimited in the cost they can charge, especially if it's a complex component that can't be ripped out and replaced. If the design was discrete, composed of many simple components, then the cost would be bound by labor to diagnose and replace a failed relay ($5 part from a hundred different manufacturers.) Your car's navigation/entertainment system fails, that'll be four thousand dollars please, yes we know it only costs us $50 to make it but fuck you that's why.

And the other real downside is when the manufacturer makes repairs impossible (see above: fuck you, that's why.) They can refuse to sell replacement PCBs or they can make it take two hours of labor to get up into them on cheap appliances. Then again, the latter thing can be done with a discrete design as well.

[jda1984]

Along the appliance repair topic, we recently had an experience.  We had a fire in January 2014.  The physical damage was constrained to the laundry room in an unfinished portion of the basement.  Smoke went everywhere, but not a terrible deal as far as fires go.

We got a new washer dryer set covered by insurance.  It generally worked just fine.  About 1-2 weeks out of the one year warranty it started tripping the GFCI outlet it was plugged into during the rinse cycle.  I called the OEM to see if we could get a concession on the warranty since the behavior literally manifested less than 2 weeks out of the warranty.  Eventually they came around and offered the concession.  So their tech comes out and tells us not to plug it into a GFCI.  Thanks, but that didn't fix the issue.  I need a GFCI by code (unfinished space, I could finish it, but even then since I have a laundry sink within 6' I still need a GFCI.  I could take out the sink and finish, but that's a lot of work and I like having a laundry/utility sink for cleaning up other messy things too).  Obviously the problem is still there.  I decide to replace the GFCI with a better (more reputable brand) GFCI.  The problem is still there.

I document the continuation of the issue.  If I ran an extension cord to a non-GFCI outlet, the machine would loop (i.e. restart the spin cycle indefinitely trying to finish the cycle.  I once let it run for about 6 hours).  I call the tech back and he says he can replace the main board.  He comes out a few days later and does this and then tells my wife their service is complete.  I think I'll be the judge of that.  If you actually fixed it, yes, your service is complete.  If not, then no, you still need to fix this.  Anyway, the first load works fine, subsequent loads have the same issue with the looping at the spin cycle and/or tripping the GFCI if plugged into that outlet.

I document some more and call the tech back.  He says he'll have to talk with the OEM engineering department.  I get a call back a few days later saying he has a couple ideas (replace rods/damper and maybe something else).  He wants to pickup the machine and bring it to his shop to diagnose/repair.  He says he'll need some help getting it out.  Okay, we set up a time for him to come pick it up.  On the appointed day we load up the machine.  As we tip it back into his van he asks if we have had other repair work done as the pump is moved to a new location (apparently this was a known issue) and the cable ties were different.  I said no, we bought what was represented to us as a new unit.  I also asked about his arrangement with the OEM since his shop is about 80 miles away and is the only one that services our area.  The shop has two techs who are partners and one office guy.  He informed me that he gets $80 per call/workorder from the OEM.  If he doesn't fix it the first time, it's all on his dime.  I start to feel a little bad for him, but he didn't do a very good job the first time as he didn't do any real diagnostics or anything.  A little later he tells me that it costs him $200 to come out to my place each time.  At this point, I don't know which part to not believe because obviously someone won't agree to be paid $80 for something that costs them $200, even if he fixes it the first time.  I'm guessing he has a flat fee arrangement with the OEM for diagnostics and labor, maybe it's $80 maybe it's something more, but I don't really care at this point.

A few days later he calls and we set a time for him to return the machine.  Again he needs some help getting it down the stairs.  As we unload he says he replaced the rods and the motor and things are working fine now.  We get it installed and everything has so far been working fine (it's been about a month since we got it back).

So, in total the tech made four trips and put in two boards (the main PCB and some other one), replaced the rods/dampers, and the motor.  I don't think I could have diagnosed these issues or procured the parts cost effectively enough to not outsource this work.  Worst case scenario would have been to take the OEM up on their extended warranty for $350 (on a machine I paid ~$800 for new), but even that was close to too much.  I could have sold this machine to someone on CL for a couple hundred to repair and then bought an old Kenmore or Maytag that is easier to fix.

[Helvegen]

One of my friends that is beyond his eyeballs in debt and frequently behind on bills just posted a pic of a new grill he bought. Got a good deal, only $300 put on a 0% interest card for 6 months. He thinks he should be able to pay it off by then.

I hope so because if not that interest bite that occurs if you miss paying it off during the grace period can be tough!

There is no way this is getting paid off before then. He is a good example of poor decision making snowballing out of control.

I didn't have to wait long to update this. Today posted that his car needs tires. He definitely knew there was a problem before buying the grill, but these things can wait right? It definitely can't wait anymore.

[dycker1978]

Along the appliance repair topic, we recently had an experience.  We had a fire in January 2014.  The physical damage was constrained to the laundry room in an unfinished portion of the basement.  Smoke went everywhere, but not a terrible deal as far as fires go.

We got a new washer dryer set covered by insurance.  It generally worked just fine.  About 1-2 weeks out of the one year warranty it started tripping the GFCI outlet it was plugged into during the rinse cycle.  I called the OEM to see if we could get a concession on the warranty since the behavior literally manifested less than 2 weeks out of the warranty.  Eventually they came around and offered the concession.  So their tech comes out and tells us not to plug it into a GFCI.  Thanks, but that didn't fix the issue.  I need a GFCI by code (unfinished space, I could finish it, but even then since I have a laundry sink within 6' I still need a GFCI.  I could take out the sink and finish, but that's a lot of work and I like having a laundry/utility sink for cleaning up other messy things too).  Obviously the problem is still there.  I decide to replace the GFCI with a better (more reputable brand) GFCI.  The problem is still there.

I document the continuation of the issue.  If I ran an extension cord to a non-GFCI outlet, the machine would loop (i.e. restart the spin cycle indefinitely trying to finish the cycle.  I once let it run for about 6 hours).  I call the tech back and he says he can replace the main board.  He comes out a few days later and does this and then tells my wife their service is complete.  I think I'll be the judge of that.  If you actually fixed it, yes, your service is complete.  If not, then no, you still need to fix this.  Anyway, the first load works fine, subsequent loads have the same issue with the looping at the spin cycle and/or tripping the GFCI if plugged into that outlet.

I document some more and call the tech back.  He says he'll have to talk with the OEM engineering department.  I get a call back a few days later saying he has a couple ideas (replace rods/damper and maybe something else).  He wants to pickup the machine and bring it to his shop to diagnose/repair.  He says he'll need some help getting it out.  Okay, we set up a time for him to come pick it up.  On the appointed day we load up the machine.  As we tip it back into his van he asks if we have had other repair work done as the pump is moved to a new location (apparently this was a known issue) and the cable ties were different.  I said no, we bought what was represented to us as a new unit.  I also asked about his arrangement with the OEM since his shop is about 80 miles away and is the only one that services our area.  The shop has two techs who are partners and one office guy.  He informed me that he gets $80 per call/workorder from the OEM.  If he doesn't fix it the first time, it's all on his dime.  I start to feel a little bad for him, but he didn't do a very good job the first time as he didn't do any real diagnostics or anything.  A little later he tells me that it costs him $200 to come out to my place each time.  At this point, I don't know which part to not believe because obviously someone won't agree to be paid $80 for something that costs them $200, even if he fixes it the first time.  I'm guessing he has a flat fee arrangement with the OEM for diagnostics and labor, maybe it's $80 maybe it's something more, but I don't really care at this point.

A few days later he calls and we set a time for him to return the machine.  Again he needs some help getting it down the stairs.  As we unload he says he replaced the rods and the motor and things are working fine now.  We get it installed and everything has so far been working fine (it's been about a month since we got it back).

So, in total the tech made four trips and put in two boards (the main PCB and some other one), replaced the rods/dampers, and the motor.  I don't think I could have diagnosed these issues or procured the parts cost effectively enough to not outsource this work.  Worst case scenario would have been to take the OEM up on their extended warranty for $350 (on a machine I paid ~$800 for new), but even that was close to too much.  I could have sold this machine to someone on CL for a couple hundred to repair and then bought an old Kenmore or Maytag that is easier to fix.

On that note, when I was in business the OEM flat rate per work order, if you did not fix it the first time it was on your dime.  The flat range was 80-100 depending on OEM.  They also paid millage for anything that was outside of the first 10km on way. 

Your issues was not common, in fact I never ran into this the whole time I was in business.  99% of the time it was the main OCB, or a door lock sensor, or the pump.  Sometimes machines just get gremlins that take a while to solve.

[merula]

I have a great one from yesterday:

Friend: "So it seems my boys will have to be separated for day care. What works for one doesn't work for the other. Problem is that there are almost no places with infant openings and hiring a nanny means I would be working just to pay the nanny. Daycare can't afford to have it and can't afford to not have it."

Later: "My day just got better" [pic of a LootCrate box]

Also, from her husband "Early birthday present" [picture of new golf club set with a custom bag]

[Sofa King]

Jesus, of all the FB bitching in this thread, this is the post that gets jumped upon? Just to put an end to the whole "but what about the children?!?!?" crap going on here:

I concur.

But that is the "go to" line for ALL!!!  As soon as there is something in society that is not G rated or not "safe" or if it can abused then the "WHO WILL THINK OF THE CHILDREN" line is used and if you disagree with it the YOU are the bad person.  It really has gotten out of hand with this shit. How about we just sanitize the whole planet so "THE POOR POOR CHILDREN" can be safe from any "evils" in the world!!!! 

[gimp]

I didn't have to wait long to update this. Today posted that his car needs tires. He definitely knew there was a problem before buying the grill, but these things can wait right? It definitely can't wait anymore.

Betcha he gets them on store credit. Chain auto shops seem to love pushing their store credit cards. When I got my new tires, I heard the guy offering credit to the couple before me; when it came to be my turn, I handed him my card before he could get to it.

In seriousness, that stuff would be a lifesaver in an emergency for some people, but that's why we have a buffer in our budget and emergency savings.

When I lived in Portland, I heard a few times people use the excuse that "tires are expensive" when someone brought up shitty rain drivers who kept slipping all over the road and/or driving way too slow. Please. It rains for a third of the year there. If you can't afford new tires, you can't afford to drive, just like if you can't afford gas or brakes or to keep your car moderately safe.

[RunHappy]

My area has a FB page for people wanting to sell stuff, like a local Craigslist.  I just saw someone post an ad to sell an RV for $19k.  Someone replied back asking if they would take monthly payments.

[Khaetra]

My area has a FB page for people wanting to sell stuff, like a local Craigslist.  I just saw someone post an ad to sell an RV for $19k.  Someone replied back asking if they would take monthly payments.

/facepalm

Every time I think I've heard/seen it all, posts like this remind me that no, I haven't.

[gimp]

Dude, browse craigslist for cars. So many of the ads have a line line this: "Local buyers only. Cash only. Will not do payment plans." Apparently it's common enough that people have to say no up-front to save time.

[cavewoman]

Old washers were made to be fixed. New ones are made to be replaced.

I like that the new ones use so much less electricity and water, but since they will have such a short lifespan, I wonder what the actual energy savings is...

I disagree with this.  I have a "new" front load set.  I bought them in 2006 new and have had to replace the door latch($55) and the main PCB ($75) in the washer.  They are both going strong, and I will repair them until I can no longer get parts for them, which is unlikely soon, they are still using the same parts in new ones. 

Of course I did the repair myself so that saved money on the labour.  The new machines are so simple to fix, just need to watch a you tube video.

I was starting to wonder if I was the only once who hasn't had problems with modern appliances I couldn't fix myself/cheaply.  Just fixed my fridges water dispenser for a few bucks.  Even if I didn't, it's just equivalent to an older fridge with no dispenser.  An escalator doesn't break, man, it just temporarily becomes stairs.  Water dispenser out of service: sorry for the convenience

Rip Mitch.

[horsepoor]

Dude, browse craigslist for cars. So many of the ads have a line line this: "Local buyers only. Cash only. Will not do payment plans." Apparently it's common enough that people have to say no up-front to save time.

Yeah, on  19k vehicle that doesn't surprise me at all.  I was selling a $3500 horse trailer and someone wanted to borrow it first to "see if my horse likes it " (hint, no horse likes any trailer, they just learn to tolerate them), and then make payments. Maybe even contingent on selling her old trailer.  I told her to ask the credit union about a loan.  If they wouldn't loan her money, why would I?

[Latwell]

My area has a FB page for people wanting to sell stuff, like a local Craigslist.  I just saw someone post an ad to sell an RV for $19k.  Someone replied back asking if they would take monthly payments.

Funny, someone just posted on my area's FB group saying, "ISO reliable car and willing to accept biweekly payments."

[RunHappy]

My area has a FB page for people wanting to sell stuff, like a local Craigslist.  I just saw someone post an ad to sell an RV for $19k.  Someone replied back asking if they would take monthly payments.

Funny, someone just posted on my area's FB group saying, "ISO reliable car and willing to accept biweekly payments."

I can't wrap my head around that.  Crazy!

[Helvegen]

I didn't have to wait long to update this. Today posted that his car needs tires. He definitely knew there was a problem before buying the grill, but these things can wait right? It definitely can't wait anymore.

Betcha he gets them on store credit. Chain auto shops seem to love pushing their store credit cards. When I got my new tires, I heard the guy offering credit to the couple before me; when it came to be my turn, I handed him my card before he could get to it.

In seriousness, that stuff would be a lifesaver in an emergency for some people, but that's why we have a buffer in our budget and emergency savings.

When I lived in Portland, I heard a few times people use the excuse that "tires are expensive" when someone brought up shitty rain drivers who kept slipping all over the road and/or driving way too slow. Please. It rains for a third of the year there. If you can't afford new tires, you can't afford to drive, just like if you can't afford gas or brakes or to keep your car moderately safe.

Tires are expensive and I have a small car. It is part of what makes me glad to have a small car.

It reminds me of a YT video I watched of a mechanic's rant. The mechanic worked in a BMW dealership. One day he had a lady come in with a late model BMW SUV. It needed new upper and lower ball joints. The price to fix it was $$$ and the woman threw a fit saying she couldn't afford it and can't he just fix half the problem and she come back some other time, etc, etc. He eventually said basically "Yes, I know it is expensive to fix a BMW. That is exactly why I DON'T have a BMW. I don't want to have to take out a second and third mortgage to fix the thing every time something goes wrong. If I can't afford to fix it, I can't afford to drive it."

[No-stache]

From my very best friend on car shopping:

"God. Just did my budget w/car payments & adjusting a few things. I'm gonna barf. It's so fucking tight. I'm going to have to reevaluate  everything."

"The problem is anything under 10k is going to be really old and lots of mileage so it's not really worth getting because I'm going to have to put money into it. I'm barely able to find decent cars at 14k. It's just ridiculous how much things are."

She should be getting anywhere from $4500 - $6000 for the car she totaled last Saturday. Thankfully no one was hurt in the wreck. She does keep a "budget" but it's a loose one. She works for a family as a caretaker for their disabled daughter. Some savings, no retirement, Obamacare, etc. I try to help her when she asks but man...sometimes it's hard.

[I'm a red panda]

"The problem is anything under 10k is going to be really old and lots of mileage so it's not really worth getting because I'm going to have to put money into it. I'm barely able to find decent cars at 14k. It's just ridiculous how much things are."

She's not looking very hard.
She could get a NEW Nissan Versa for $12k.

[Hunny156]

OK, I think I just hit the jackpot on this one.  If you have the time to read through the comments, especially the memes generated as a result of this thread, I highly recommend you do so!  Excellent entertainment, & a good example of why so many people are bad with finances.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=849546585092397&set=pcb.849546698425719&type=1&theater

(Summary - lady posts bottles of laundry detergent for sale on FB yard sale page.  $0.35 each, or $12 for a case of 48.  Insanity ensues as multiple people insist she's scamming people, b/c she's really charging $4/bottle.  Page admin chimes in, siding with the math challenged people, and boots her off the page after getting high and mighty on her "power".  FB post goes viral, and word gets out that the admin was recently arrested for scamming an elderly couple out of $1.3 million.)

Can't. Make. This. Sh*t. Up!!!

[dycker1978]

OK, I think I just hit the jackpot on this one.  If you have the time to read through the comments, especially the memes generated as a result of this thread, I highly recommend you do so!  Excellent entertainment, & a good example of why so many people are bad with finances.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=849546585092397&set=pcb.849546698425719&type=1&theater

(Summary - lady posts bottles of laundry detergent for sale on FB yard sale page.  $0.35 each, or $12 for a case of 48.  Insanity ensues as multiple people insist she's scamming people, b/c she's really charging $4/bottle.  Page admin chimes in, siding with the math challenged people, and boots her off the page after getting high and mighty on her "power".  FB post goes viral, and word gets out that the admin was recently arrested for scamming an elderly couple out of $1.3 million.)

Can't. Make. This. Sh*t. Up!!!

OMG... I cant even.  How are people so dumb?

[Redstone5]

My 24 year old niece just posted how happy she is about her new car purchase. Only $45000 at 10% interest. But it was a great deal since they threw in a new ipad.

[Ashyukun]

My 24 year old niece just posted how happy she is about her new car purchase. Only $45000 at 10% interest. But it was a great deal since they threw in a new ipad.

Reminds me of some deal I saw somewhere, I think it was for something relatively big-ticket- they made a big deal about the 'Get a free iPad!' but if you read the fine print, if you got it WITHOUT the iPad you saved the value of the iPad plus about $50- they had just rolled the price of the iPad plus some padding (and since most would finance it, they'd make even more on interest...) into their advertised price. So if you were DEAD SET on having that iPad too, you'd be at least $50 better off getting it independently (if not saving even more and getting a lightly-used one...).

[RunHappy]

My 24 year old niece just posted how happy she is about her new car purchase. Only $45000 at 10% interest. But it was a great deal since they threw in a new ipad.

What 24 year old needs a $45k car?!?

[zephyr911]

OK, I think I just hit the jackpot on this one.
...
Can't. Make. This. Sh*t. Up!!!

I would like to say this about that: @#$%^&*())(*&^%$
These people exist. And they breed! *weeps*

[solon]

OK, I think I just hit the jackpot on this one.
...
Can't. Make. This. Sh*t. Up!!!

I would like to say this about that: @#$%^&*())(*&^%$
These people exist. And they breed! *weeps*

It's so dumb it makes me think it is fake. It's the kind of thing I would make up to see how many times it was forwarded.

[Redstone5]

My 24 year old niece just posted how happy she is about her new car purchase. Only $45000 at 10% interest. But it was a great deal since they threw in a new ipad.

What 24 year old needs a $45k car?!?

That's what I said. Apparently it "makes sense" since she's living at home and has a good job. I asked why she doesn't save her money and buy a house instead but got no reply. 

[Hunny156]

OK, I think I just hit the jackpot on this one.
...
Can't. Make. This. Sh*t. Up!!!

I would like to say this about that: @#$%^&*())(*&^%$
These people exist. And they breed! *weeps*

It's so dumb it makes me think it is fake. It's the kind of thing I would make up to see how many times it was forwarded.

That was my initial reaction too, until I saw it continue to divide people on a few other FB pages.  One teen confidently asserted that you can't divide bigger numbers into smaller ones, that's how it goes.  It was getting a little crazy there too, so the admin deleted the post.

My favorites are the people who are now joining that Yard Sale page, and then post things for sale.  One woman posted a "math for dummies" book for sale.  $5 for 1, $50 for 2! :)

[GuitarStv]

My 24 year old niece just posted how happy she is about her new car purchase. Only $45000 at 10% interest. But it was a great deal since they threw in a new ipad.

What 24 year old need at all is there for a $45k car?!?

FTFY

[AlanStache]

OK, I think I just hit the jackpot on this one.
...
Can't. Make. This. Sh*t. Up!!!

I would like to say this about that: @#$%^&*())(*&^%$
These people exist. And they breed! *weeps*

It's so dumb it makes me think it is fake. It's the kind of thing I would make up to see how many times it was forwarded.

That was my initial reaction too, until I saw it continue to divide people on a few other FB pages.  One teen confidently asserted that you can't divide bigger numbers into smaller ones, that's how it goes.  It was getting a little crazy there too, so the admin deleted the post.

My favorites are the people who are now joining that Yard Sale page, and then post things for sale.  One woman posted a "math for dummies" book for sale.  $5 for 1, $50 for 2! :)

This is a good reminder of why we include units when we do math on stuff.  12$/48 bottles = 0.25$/bottles; might not have help that specific person but still. 

[KCM5]

My favorites are the people who are now joining that Yard Sale page, and then post things for sale.  One woman posted a "math for dummies" book for sale.  $5 for 1, $50 for 2! :)

Now that's some master trolling right there. Impressive.

[MgoSam]

My favorites are the people who are now joining that Yard Sale page, and then post things for sale.  One woman posted a "math for dummies" book for sale.  $5 for 1, $50 for 2! :)

Now that's some master trolling right there. Impressive.

Reminds me of the joke, "there are 10 types of people in the world: those that know binary and those that don't."

[MgoSam]

OK, I think I just hit the jackpot on this one.
...
Can't. Make. This. Sh*t. Up!!!

I would like to say this about that: @#$%^&*())(*&^%$
These people exist. And they breed! *weeps*

It's so dumb it makes me think it is fake. It's the kind of thing I would make up to see how many times it was forwarded.

That was my initial reaction too, until I saw it continue to divide people on a few other FB pages.  One teen confidently asserted that you can't divide bigger numbers into smaller ones, that's how it goes.  It was getting a little crazy there too, so the admin deleted the post.

My favorites are the people who are now joining that Yard Sale page, and then post things for sale.  One woman posted a "math for dummies" book for sale.  $5 for 1, $50 for 2! :)

This is a good reminder of why we include units when we do math on stuff.  12$/48 bottles = 0.25$/bottles; might not have help that specific person but still.

“Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.”
-George Carlin

[RFAAOATB]

My 24 year old niece just posted how happy she is about her new car purchase. Only $45000 at 10% interest. But it was a great deal since they threw in a new ipad.

What 24 year old needs a $45k car?!?

Not one that has to pay 10% interest.  If I was a 24 year old internet tech founder millionaire I might consider it.  Or a baller.  Got to be baller.

[PMG]

PersonA in her mid 20s posted photos of middle school and tagged all of her old middle school friends, jealousy and meanness that ensued... made me want to speak up for my friend Elizabeth Smith.. until she shut it all down nicely herself.

PersonB:  Whose Elizabeth Smith!?!

PersonA: Oh that's, Bethy.  She got married!

PersonB:  Oh, right to that Smithers guy.  His family is loaded, that must be a nice perk.

Elizabeth Smith: actually his family is good at budgeting and I still get up at 6:30 every morning for work.

[DeepEllumStache]

PersonA in her mid 20s posted photos of middle school and tagged all of her old middle school friends, jealousy and meanness that ensued... made me want to speak up for my friend Elizabeth Smith.. until she shut it all down nicely herself.

PersonB:  Whose Elizabeth Smith!?!

PersonA: Oh that's, Bethy.  She got married!

PersonB:  Oh, right to that Smithers guy.  His family is loaded, that must be a nice perk.

Elizabeth Smith: actually his family is good at budgeting and I still get up at 6:30 every morning for work.

+1000 to Bethy... that was extremely well played.

[Apples]

My 24 year old niece just posted how happy she is about her new car purchase. Only $45000 at 10% interest. But it was a great deal since they threw in a new ipad.

The first time I read this I skipped a 0.  I was shocked at just the interest rate.  And that you'd get an ipad with a car.  I'm in my twenties-who the hell gets a $45,000 car?!?  Mine is going strong worth about $6,000, and my friends might have cars worth $25k at the highest end.

[gimp]

"The problem is anything under 10k is going to be really old and lots of mileage so it's not really worth getting because I'm going to have to put money into it. I'm barely able to find decent cars at 14k. It's just ridiculous how much things are."

I looked at C5 corvettes (that's 1997 - 2004 models) for sale on a whim. $14k can buy you a luxury sports car with 70k miles, a 400 horsepower engine, a top that comes off, all of which needs relatively little maintenance. If that's not decent, I don't know what is.

PS, a nissan versa sedan - I drove a lot of shitty econoboxes as rentals for work, and the nissan versa sedan, which is the cheapest new car in the US (or was at the time), was the only fun econobox I drove. Seriously! Only 110 horsepower, but I took that car whipping around mountains. After getting comfortable with it, that thing made tight curves at full speed with no complaint, immediately responsive throttle, and despite driving it like a cunt, a very good fuel efficiency. Now, I like my car more, but my car just can't make turns at those speeds, despite having tires that cost twice as much (and brakes that probably cost 10x as much). Now, I'd rather have a 15-year-old C5 than a brand new versa, but then, if you want new, it's actually a fun car.

PersonA in her mid 20s posted photos of middle school and tagged all of her old middle school friends, jealousy and meanness that ensued... made me want to speak up for my friend Elizabeth Smith.. until she shut it all down nicely herself.

PersonB:  Whose Elizabeth Smith!?!

PersonA: Oh that's, Bethy.  She got married!

PersonB:  Oh, right to that Smithers guy.  His family is loaded, that must be a nice perk.

Elizabeth Smith: actually his family is good at budgeting and I still get up at 6:30 every morning for work.

Mother fucking owned.

[Redstone5]

I have a 98 chevy cavalier that's still running great at 150,000 km. I have no idea why my niece doesn't have better sense. And then I think of my brother's history with cars and I know.