Overheard on Facebook

[Well Respected Man]

I just saw an interesting one on the facebook for sale group I am in.  Nearly new sectional.  Asking $500 paid $1700.  Just wanting to change things around.  My jaw dropped but it was a nice sectional.

There also seems to be a preponderance of tattoo kits and vape items.  Like at least one newer tattoo kit per week being sold for $300 or so dollars.

Hardly sat on?

"Brand spanking new" is the phrase on my local "high end" yardsale group. The seller is offering a sectional sofa from Bob's Discount Furniture for $1100, when it cost $1299, but they don't like the color. 75 comments, but no takers (shocker!). Lots of pictures of nice color combos, other peoples' sectionals (?), disparaging comments about Bob's, including "Cheap man pays twice."

[Metric Mouse]

I just saw an interesting one on the facebook for sale group I am in.  Nearly new sectional.  Asking $500 paid $1700.  Just wanting to change things around.  My jaw dropped but it was a nice sectional.

There also seems to be a preponderance of tattoo kits and vape items.  Like at least one newer tattoo kit per week being sold for $300 or so dollars.

Hardly sat on?

:D Iseewhatyoudidthere....

[I'm a red panda]

I think a lot of people on facebook sale groups don't understand how facebook sales work...


"Brand new. I paid $50, only looking to get back what I paid!"

Um, if you want what you paid back, return it.  Garage sale groups are for discounts (or rare items, which go for a premium.)

[4alpacas]

A friend is planning a trip to Vegas for her 30th birthday in September and just put out an event invite on Facebook. One of her friends commented "Oh girl, I would freaking love to party with you! However, after spending 1600 some odd dollars on my car, there's no way I can afford that. Especially in such short notice! Have the best time and know I'm with you in spirit!"

I feel like 6 months isn't "such short notice"

The friend might just want to get out of the trip and figured everyone understands car maintenance.  Maybe she's a mustachian who has a really old car.  :)

[MightyAl]

I just saw an interesting one on the facebook for sale group I am in.  Nearly new sectional.  Asking $500 paid $1700.  Just wanting to change things around.  My jaw dropped but it was a nice sectional.

There also seems to be a preponderance of tattoo kits and vape items.  Like at least one newer tattoo kit per week being sold for $300 or so dollars.

Hardly sat on?

I think it was mostly sat on.  The rest you don't want to know about.

[4alpacas]

A friend is planning a trip to Vegas for her 30th birthday in September and just put out an event invite on Facebook. One of her friends commented "Oh girl, I would freaking love to party with you! However, after spending 1600 some odd dollars on my car, there's no way I can afford that. Especially in such short notice! Have the best time and know I'm with you in spirit!"

I feel like 6 months isn't "such short notice"

The friend might just want to get out of the trip and figured everyone understands car maintenance.  Maybe she's a mustachian who has a really old car.  :)

I completely get coming up with an excuse to not go, ours is that we'll have just driven 600 miles away to see family the week before. We could still go but neither is interested in Vegas so we'll act like its stopping us. But calling 6 months "short notice" seemed like a reach for a mustacian excuse

Maybe she doesn't have time to travel hack?

I would do/say almost anything to get out of a trip to Vegas!  :)

[4alpacas]

A friend is planning a trip to Vegas for her 30th birthday in September and just put out an event invite on Facebook. One of her friends commented "Oh girl, I would freaking love to party with you! However, after spending 1600 some odd dollars on my car, there's no way I can afford that. Especially in such short notice! Have the best time and know I'm with you in spirit!"

I feel like 6 months isn't "such short notice"

The friend might just want to get out of the trip and figured everyone understands car maintenance.  Maybe she's a mustachian who has a really old car.  :)

I completely get coming up with an excuse to not go, ours is that we'll have just driven 600 miles away to see family the week before. We could still go but neither is interested in Vegas so we'll act like its stopping us. But calling 6 months "short notice" seemed like a reach for a mustacian excuse

Maybe she doesn't have time to travel hack?

I would do/say almost anything to get out of a trip to Vegas!  :)

Lol. I wish I could be that optimistic about people's financial acumen.

I never understood the appeal of Vegas. We stopped there once during a road trip and I still don't understand the appeal

I like to hope for the best...even in the lives of others. 

I went to a few shows in Vegas that I LOVED!  But I don't think there is much else I would want to do.  Maybe the buffet at the Wynn. 

[MgoSam]

Vegas can be fun. Some people like gambling or the glitz of it, so it can be good for them. I grew up going to Vegas so it isn't anything special for me, but I remember how much fun I had when I first was able to gamble and drink after having come for so many years as a teenager. Now I really dislike needing to go to Vegas...I go for work and after a long day at a convention I generally only want to go back to my hotel room and watch TV (and I'm an extrovert).

That said, I really don't understand the TMI declination on FB. If you can't come, feel free to just decline. Seriously, how hard is to say, "Thanks but I can't make it. I hope you all have a great time!"

[kelvin]

Layaway is mainly for people that lack the discipline to.save money themselves... They don't trust that they can save $100 by putting $10 a month towards it and hence Walmart and other stores do it for them for a particular item. The janitor at work buys a lot of stuff on layaway and this is his reasoning

I use layaway but not like this.

Sometimes I'm shopping for a major purchase I only make once every few years - the last one was a good winter coat. I was prepared to spend about $300, but at that price it had to be perfect.

I tried on every coat in the mall, and had two set aside on layaway but with a timer. I told the sales rep If I wasn't back by 2pm, assume I wasn't coming back for the coat and put it back on the shelf for someone else to buy.

I ended up spending $150, and I still wear that coat 5 years later.

[FIT_Goat]

A classmate from high school wrote on Facebook today

"Just keep winning free play on our lotto tickets (frowny face), I'd be happy with hundred thou and be out of debt.  Some day I'll win big (smiley face)"

Doubt it.  (Face palm face)

Along those lines, my wife had a patient who told her he was in dire straits (not the band) because of his scratch-off lottery ticket habit. He operates a food truck, and makes between $400 and $800 a day. He keeps $100 for expenses each day, and spends the rest on scratch-off tickets. Yep, up to $700 a day.

He said his wife is ready to leave him, he owes money up the wazoo, and he doesn't know what to do. Hmm.

I worked with someone, when I was working at a gas station, who would spend his entire paycheck on scratch tickets.  He would come in, the evening of payday, buy a 4-pack of "High Life" and all the scratch tickets his remaining money would buy. He would go out, sit in his car, drink, and scratch all the tickets.  Then he would come in with all the winners, cash them in, and buy as many scratch tickets as he could from the winnings.  He'd repeat that until he had no money left.  He did this every payday. And, he'd talk about how one day he would hit it big and finally be able to move out of his mom's house and from under her control.

I tried talking to him about why he didn't just save the money each week until he had enough.  He told me that it would take too long, and he couldn't live off the pay he made even after saving enough to get his own place. This second part was probably true without a roommate.  Working at the gas station didn't really provide a living wage.  Still, he was never going to get anywhere spending every penny on scratch tickets.  When I moved on, to greener pastures, he was still there, scratching his check away every two weeks. It was really depressing.  Other people came and spent lots of money on scratch tickets, but I could pretend they had the income to waste.

My school is a lotto cesspool.  A group of teachers will each contribute $20 a week and pool all the money to buy tickets. Word got around that I play poker, and they came to me assuming that I would want to jump in on their lotto pool.  They told me that it was 25 staff members (at the time).  That's $500 a week they're pouring down the drain.  They "reinvest" any small returns (anything under $500) into the next drawing. To my knowledge, no one has ever seen any return on it.  They're all waiting to hit it big.  $800 a year for 30 years at 7% is something like $82,000 extra they could each have at retirement.

[I'm a red panda]

all the scratch tickets his remaining money would buy. He would go out, sit in his car, drink, and scratch all the tickets.  Then he would come in with all the winners, cash them in, and buy as many scratch tickets as he could from the winnings.  He'd repeat that until he had no money left.  He did this every payday. And, he'd talk about how one day he would hit it big and finally be able to move out of his mom's house and from under her control.

Except for the "whole paycheck" (and drinking, since we were 19) thing  a friend and I did this sort of thing once.  We bought $24 worth of scratch offs, took the winnings, drove to a new gas station bought more, took the winnings, drove to a new gas station, etc.  It kept us busy for about 6 hours, which was good entertainment for a weekend night. Gas was also like 75  cents a gallon then, so just driving around was often a main entertainment feature.

[cheapass]

Along those lines, my wife had a patient who told her he was in dire straits (not the band) because of his scratch-off lottery ticket habit. He operates a food truck, and makes between $400 and $800 a day. He keeps $100 for expenses each day, and spends the rest on scratch-off tickets. Yep, up to $700 a day.

He said his wife is ready to leave him, he owes money up the wazoo, and he doesn't know what to do. Hmm.

Ho-lee shit. Averaging $500/day after expenses... $10,000 a month. Dude needs to invest that instead and he'd be sitting on a cool $2M in 10 years.

[I'm a red panda]

Layaway is mainly for people that lack the discipline to.save money themselves... They don't trust that they can save $100 by putting $10 a month towards it and hence Walmart and other stores do it for them for a particular item. The janitor at work buys a lot of stuff on layaway and this is his reasoning

I use layaway but not like this.

Sometimes I'm shopping for a major purchase I only make once every few years - the last one was a good winter coat. I was prepared to spend about $300, but at that price it had to be perfect.

I tried on every coat in the mall, and had two set aside on layaway but with a timer. I told the sales rep If I wasn't back by 2pm, assume I wasn't coming back for the coat and put it back on the shelf for someone else to buy.

I ended up spending $150, and I still wear that coat 5 years later.

I've never used layaway. I just buy all the ones I think might be options, and then return what doesn't make the final cut!

[rockstache]

Layaway is mainly for people that lack the discipline to.save money themselves... They don't trust that they can save $100 by putting $10 a month towards it and hence Walmart and other stores do it for them for a particular item. The janitor at work buys a lot of stuff on layaway and this is his reasoning

I use layaway but not like this.

Sometimes I'm shopping for a major purchase I only make once every few years - the last one was a good winter coat. I was prepared to spend about $300, but at that price it had to be perfect.

I tried on every coat in the mall, and had two set aside on layaway but with a timer. I told the sales rep If I wasn't back by 2pm, assume I wasn't coming back for the coat and put it back on the shelf for someone else to buy.

I ended up spending $150, and I still wear that coat 5 years later.

Where I'm from that is just called putting something on hold, and most stores will do it for free for 24 hours. Generally with layaway AFAIK, you have to put money down on it.

[MgoSam]

Layaway is mainly for people that lack the discipline to.save money themselves... They don't trust that they can save $100 by putting $10 a month towards it and hence Walmart and other stores do it for them for a particular item. The janitor at work buys a lot of stuff on layaway and this is his reasoning

I use layaway but not like this.

Sometimes I'm shopping for a major purchase I only make once every few years - the last one was a good winter coat. I was prepared to spend about $300, but at that price it had to be perfect.

I tried on every coat in the mall, and had two set aside on layaway but with a timer. I told the sales rep If I wasn't back by 2pm, assume I wasn't coming back for the coat and put it back on the shelf for someone else to buy.

I ended up spending $150, and I still wear that coat 5 years later.

Where I'm from that is just called putting something on hold, and most stores will do it for free for 24 hours. Generally with layaway AFAIK, you have to put money down on it.

Yeah, that's how I understand the term.

2 weeks ago I was visiting a store that I sell to, they had a customer walk in who wanted to "look" at her water pipe. It was a $1500 water pipe!!!! that is on lay-away for her. She was gushing about how she was 2 weeks away from purchasing it, but wanted to come in and hold it. The owner hemmed and hawed about allowing her to touch it "because it has a ton of energy that you want to save for when you first use it," and I had to stifle a laugh, but people believe that about some artisan glass.

[solon]

[Chris22]

The other two numbers I agree with, but what sort of garbage-ass shoes are being bought for $12?  Last pair of shoes I bought were at the Nike outlet, $120 list (or something) paid like $50.  $12 YGBSM.

[mm1970]

The other two numbers I agree with, but what sort of garbage-ass shoes are being bought for $12?  Last pair of shoes I bought were at the Nike outlet, $120 list (or something) paid like $50.  $12 YGBSM.

Yep.  The shoes I wear the most are:
1.  $120 Eccos that I bought >11 years ago (before I had kid #1) that I wear to work
2.  $130 running shoes that I wear for running, and occasionally to work (on biking/ walking days)
3.  $5 flip flops from Kmart

[Dave1442397]

Along those lines, my wife had a patient who told her he was in dire straits (not the band) because of his scratch-off lottery ticket habit. He operates a food truck, and makes between $400 and $800 a day. He keeps $100 for expenses each day, and spends the rest on scratch-off tickets. Yep, up to $700 a day.

He said his wife is ready to leave him, he owes money up the wazoo, and he doesn't know what to do. Hmm.

Ho-lee shit. Averaging $500/day after expenses... $10,000 a month. Dude needs to invest that instead and he'd be sitting on a cool $2M in 10 years.

Yeah, he makes good money, but has mental health issues. Nobody could make him see anything beyond the "big win" that he's sure is coming his way.

[MandalayVA]

2 weeks ago I was visiting a store that I sell to, they had a customer walk in who wanted to "look" at her water pipe. It was a $1500 water pipe!!!! that is on lay-away for her. She was gushing about how she was 2 weeks away from purchasing it, but wanted to come in and hold it. The owner hemmed and hawed about allowing her to touch it "because it has a ton of energy that you want to save for when you first use it," and I had to stifle a laugh, but people believe that about some artisan glass.

$1500 for a BONG?!?!?!?  :O

[AlanStache]

2 weeks ago I was visiting a store that I sell to, they had a customer walk in who wanted to "look" at her water pipe. It was a $1500 water pipe!!!! that is on lay-away for her. She was gushing about how she was 2 weeks away from purchasing it, but wanted to come in and hold it. The owner hemmed and hawed about allowing her to touch it "because it has a ton of energy that you want to save for when you first use it," and I had to stifle a laugh, but people believe that about some artisan glass.

$1500 for a BONG?!?!?!?  :O

Yeah right!  That is like half a weeks worth of scratch off lottery tickets.

[MgoSam]

2 weeks ago I was visiting a store that I sell to, they had a customer walk in who wanted to "look" at her water pipe. It was a $1500 water pipe!!!! that is on lay-away for her. She was gushing about how she was 2 weeks away from purchasing it, but wanted to come in and hold it. The owner hemmed and hawed about allowing her to touch it "because it has a ton of energy that you want to save for when you first use it," and I had to stifle a laugh, but people believe that about some artisan glass.

$1500 for a BONG?!?!?!?  :O

Yeah right!  That is like half a weeks worth of scratch off lottery tickets.

Well it's a "one of a kind," item, and some people collected them.....

[markbike528CBX]

2 weeks ago I was visiting a store that I sell to, they had a customer walk in who wanted to "look" at her water pipe. It was a $1500 water pipe!!!! that is on lay-away for her. She was gushing about how she was 2 weeks away from purchasing it, but wanted to come in and hold it. The owner hemmed and hawed about allowing her to touch it "because it has a ton of energy that you want to save for when you first use it," and I had to stifle a laugh, but people believe that about some artisan glass.

$1500 for a BONG?!?!?!?  :O

Yeah right!  That is like half a weeks worth of scratch off lottery tickets.

Well it's a "one of a kind," item, and some people collected them.....

Yeesh, maybe that $$$ might seem OK immediately after a reeeely aaawwesum "test drive"...

[kayvent]

My school is a lotto cesspool.  A group of teachers will each contribute $20 a week and pool all the money to buy tickets. Word got around that I play poker, and they came to me assuming that I would want to jump in on their lotto pool.  They told me that it was 25 staff members (at the time).  That's $500 a week they're pouring down the drain.  They "reinvest" any small returns (anything under $500) into the next drawing. To my knowledge, no one has ever seen any return on it.  They're all waiting to hit it big.  $800 a year for 30 years at 7% is something like $82,000 extra they could each have at retirement.

The lottery makes (some) sense as an individual but not in such a large collection. Say they hit it big.....what's the winning split twenty-five ways? A few hundred thousand? The absolute odds for winning barely rise yet they forfeit 96% of the winnings. Grumble. They should just make their own lottery so they at least break even and people get the thrill of winning.

[JAYSLOL]

I've been noticing more than one person on the Facebook buy and sell group for my town posting REALLY expensive remote control cars for sale.  Like $2000+.  Used.  I thought one was a joke, because it looked just like any other rc toy truck, and the guy wanted $2000 for it and said he "invested" (wrong word) $3000+, but he was dead serious.  I realize that the sky's the limit as far as pouring money into any hobby, but for me I'd have to have the most insane surplus of money before I felt like buying toys like that... and I got the sense this person didn't.

[dandarc]

The lottery makes (some) sense as an individual but not in such a large collection. Say they hit it big.....what's the winning split twenty-five ways? A few hundred thousand? The absolute odds for winning barely rise yet they forfeit 96% of the winnings. Grumble. They should just make their own lottery so they at least break even and people get the thrill of winning.

Depends which game and draw they play.  Ex.  Powerball is up to $140 million for Saturday's draw.  If this group had a winning ticket, and there was 1 other winning ticket out there, they'd ultimately have around $46 million to split (cash payout is roughly 2/3 of advertised jackpot based on what I'm seeing in the Florida Lottery records).  Even split 25 ways, and after tax, that would be enough for most on this forum to retire.  Probably not enough for your average lottery-pool regular participant, but still you're talking 7 figures after tax.  Double if  they've got the only winner.  Even more if the jackpot is larger.

Doing this with the FL-Lottery makes less sense - $2 million jackpot that doesn't often grow to more than about $15 million.

[Just Joe]

I've been noticing more than one person on the Facebook buy and sell group for my town posting REALLY expensive remote control cars for sale.  Like $2000+.  Used.  I thought one was a joke, because it looked just like any other rc toy truck, and the guy wanted $2000 for it and said he "invested" (wrong word) $3000+, but he was dead serious.  I realize that the sky's the limit as far as pouring money into any hobby, but for me I'd have to have the most insane surplus of money before I felt like buying toys like that... and I got the sense this person didn't.

Have you seen these things?

50+ mph / 4WD / working suspension / camera mounts / apparently unbreakable

Very interesting but not spending money on that. Not saying I think they are worth the cost to me but one evening while slipping down the rabbit hole that is YouTube - I got a good look at the hobby. Its a long, long ways from a couple kids playing with a $25 toy running on $5 worth of AA batteries.

[MightyAl]

I've been noticing more than one person on the Facebook buy and sell group for my town posting REALLY expensive remote control cars for sale.  Like $2000+.  Used.  I thought one was a joke, because it looked just like any other rc toy truck, and the guy wanted $2000 for it and said he "invested" (wrong word) $3000+, but he was dead serious.  I realize that the sky's the limit as far as pouring money into any hobby, but for me I'd have to have the most insane surplus of money before I felt like buying toys like that... and I got the sense this person didn't.

Have you seen these things?

50+ mph / 4WD / working suspension / camera mounts / apparently unbreakable

Very interesting but not spending money on that. Not saying I think they are worth the cost to me but one evening while slipping down the rabbit hole that is YouTube - I got a good look at the hobby. Its a long, long ways from a couple kids playing with a $25 toy running on $5 worth of AA batteries.

I thought I saw a few years ago a track R/C car that could do 100mph for $1100 RTR.  I almost bit on one of those.

[Exprezchef]

I've been noticing more than one person on the Facebook buy and sell group for my town posting REALLY expensive remote control cars for sale.  Like $2000+.  Used.  I thought one was a joke, because it looked just like any other rc toy truck, and the guy wanted $2000 for it and said he "invested" (wrong word) $3000+, but he was dead serious.  I realize that the sky's the limit as far as pouring money into any hobby, but for me I'd have to have the most insane surplus of money before I felt like buying toys like that... and I got the sense this person didn't.

Yes, this hobby can get expensive very quickly. Many, many years ago a friend introduced me to indoor RC car racing that uses a carpet track. It looked like a lot of fun and decided to jump in and give it a shot. Holly crap it got way too expensive very quickly. I purchased a used car with some basic tools and a ton of used extra parts. I quickly realized that in order to be competitive, you need to dump a ton of money into your car (motors, gears, batteries, bodies, speed controllers, new tires, servos, etc) as well as the extra expense of using the track on non-race days. Before I knew it, I was easily into the $2-3 thousand range for my "investment". About 6 months later I had had enough. I was able to sell the car with all of the goodies I bought and luckily only took a small loss. I guess any hobby can quickly get out of control if your are not careful.

[marielle]

I've been noticing more than one person on the Facebook buy and sell group for my town posting REALLY expensive remote control cars for sale.  Like $2000+.  Used.  I thought one was a joke, because it looked just like any other rc toy truck, and the guy wanted $2000 for it and said he "invested" (wrong word) $3000+, but he was dead serious.  I realize that the sky's the limit as far as pouring money into any hobby, but for me I'd have to have the most insane surplus of money before I felt like buying toys like that... and I got the sense this person didn't.

Yes, this hobby can get expensive very quickly. Many, many years ago a friend introduced me to indoor RC car racing that uses a carpet track. It looked like a lot of fun and decided to jump in and give it a shot. Holly crap it got way too expensive very quickly. I purchased a used car with some basic tools and a ton of used extra parts. I quickly realized that in order to be competitive, you need to dump a ton of money into your car (motors, gears, batteries, bodies, speed controllers, new tires, servos, etc) as well as the extra expense of using the track on non-race days. Before I knew it, I was easily into the $2-3 thousand range for my "investment". About 6 months later I had had enough. I was able to sell the car with all of the goodies I bought and luckily only took a small loss. I guess any hobby can quickly get out of control if your are not careful.

Well, to be fair you were being competitive. I think any hobby that you take to a competitive level will be expensive. Except maybe like...chess or something unless you have to travel a lot. Some hobbies/sports you may be able to compete with cheap equipment, but the more expensive stuff makes it easier and a lot of times is necessary.

[dandarc]

I've been noticing more than one person on the Facebook buy and sell group for my town posting REALLY expensive remote control cars for sale.  Like $2000+.  Used.  I thought one was a joke, because it looked just like any other rc toy truck, and the guy wanted $2000 for it and said he "invested" (wrong word) $3000+, but he was dead serious.  I realize that the sky's the limit as far as pouring money into any hobby, but for me I'd have to have the most insane surplus of money before I felt like buying toys like that... and I got the sense this person didn't.

Yes, this hobby can get expensive very quickly. Many, many years ago a friend introduced me to indoor RC car racing that uses a carpet track. It looked like a lot of fun and decided to jump in and give it a shot. Holly crap it got way too expensive very quickly. I purchased a used car with some basic tools and a ton of used extra parts. I quickly realized that in order to be competitive, you need to dump a ton of money into your car (motors, gears, batteries, bodies, speed controllers, new tires, servos, etc) as well as the extra expense of using the track on non-race days. Before I knew it, I was easily into the $2-3 thousand range for my "investment". About 6 months later I had had enough. I was able to sell the car with all of the goodies I bought and luckily only took a small loss. I guess any hobby can quickly get out of control if your are not careful.

Well, to be fair you were being competitive. I think any hobby that you take to a competitive level will be expensive. Except maybe like...chess or something unless you have to travel a lot. Some hobbies/sports you may be able to compete with cheap equipment, but the more expensive stuff makes it easier and a lot of times is necessary.

So I should buy those roller-flys then?

[JAYSLOL]

I've been noticing more than one person on the Facebook buy and sell group for my town posting REALLY expensive remote control cars for sale.  Like $2000+.  Used.  I thought one was a joke, because it looked just like any other rc toy truck, and the guy wanted $2000 for it and said he "invested" (wrong word) $3000+, but he was dead serious.  I realize that the sky's the limit as far as pouring money into any hobby, but for me I'd have to have the most insane surplus of money before I felt like buying toys like that... and I got the sense this person didn't.

Yes, this hobby can get expensive very quickly. Many, many years ago a friend introduced me to indoor RC car racing that uses a carpet track. It looked like a lot of fun and decided to jump in and give it a shot. Holly crap it got way too expensive very quickly. I purchased a used car with some basic tools and a ton of used extra parts. I quickly realized that in order to be competitive, you need to dump a ton of money into your car (motors, gears, batteries, bodies, speed controllers, new tires, servos, etc) as well as the extra expense of using the track on non-race days. Before I knew it, I was easily into the $2-3 thousand range for my "investment". About 6 months later I had had enough. I was able to sell the car with all of the goodies I bought and luckily only took a small loss. I guess any hobby can quickly get out of control if your are not careful.

Yeah, i can see how quickly that could add up, but it seems like for almost the same kind of money I could buy an actual, decently fast go-kart and race it around instead, right?  I would much prefer that option if i had the time, a ridiculous net-worth and was laking in hobbies.

[AlanStache]

...
Yeah, i can see how quickly that could add up, but it seems like for almost the same kind of money I could buy an actual, decently fast go-kart and race it around instead, right?  I would much prefer that option if i had the time, a ridiculous net-worth and was laking in hobbies.

TopGear boys did that, bought and fixed up cars to race for (I think) 2000£.  One down side there is that you need to store a full sized car; even a go-kart is not small.  There are some go-kart tracks near me where you rent the karts; have always thought it would be fun to get into a league but I just cant see spending real money on it every month.

[ginastarke]

As  for what kind of shoes you can get for $12:

Kmart Athletech Men's Dax 2. Ugly? yes.  However, they're been ridiculously comfortable and don't get destroyed by my bicycle pedals. They're $10.

[Metric Mouse]

...
Yeah, i can see how quickly that could add up, but it seems like for almost the same kind of money I could buy an actual, decently fast go-kart and race it around instead, right?  I would much prefer that option if i had the time, a ridiculous net-worth and was laking in hobbies.

TopGear boys did that, bought and fixed up cars to race for (I think) 2000£.  One down side there is that you need to store a full sized car; even a go-kart is not small.  There are some go-kart tracks near me where you rent the karts; have always thought it would be fun to get into a league but I just cant see spending real money on it every month.

I've never heard of go-kart racing leagues! Interesting. Maybe something to try on dirt-bike off season.

[Digital Dogma]

...
Yeah, i can see how quickly that could add up, but it seems like for almost the same kind of money I could buy an actual, decently fast go-kart and race it around instead, right?  I would much prefer that option if i had the time, a ridiculous net-worth and was laking in hobbies.

TopGear boys did that, bought and fixed up cars to race for (I think) 2000£.  One down side there is that you need to store a full sized car; even a go-kart is not small.  There are some go-kart tracks near me where you rent the karts; have always thought it would be fun to get into a league but I just cant see spending real money on it every month.

Going to a go-kart track for someones birthday celebration really cured me of that itch. The track was fun, the experience was great, but man the next day it felt like I was in a car crash with a stiff back and neck to the extreme. Don't think I'll be going for the fastest lap time if I ever go back.

[Chris22]

...
Yeah, i can see how quickly that could add up, but it seems like for almost the same kind of money I could buy an actual, decently fast go-kart and race it around instead, right?  I would much prefer that option if i had the time, a ridiculous net-worth and was laking in hobbies.

TopGear boys did that, bought and fixed up cars to race for (I think) 2000£.  One down side there is that you need to store a full sized car; even a go-kart is not small.  There are some go-kart tracks near me where you rent the karts; have always thought it would be fun to get into a league but I just cant see spending real money on it every month.

Actually campaigning a competitive cart is probably going to require something like 3-5x your theoretical $2k budget annually. 

[AlanStache]

...
Yeah, i can see how quickly that could add up, but it seems like for almost the same kind of money I could buy an actual, decently fast go-kart and race it around instead, right?  I would much prefer that option if i had the time, a ridiculous net-worth and was laking in hobbies.

TopGear boys did that, bought and fixed up cars to race for (I think) 2000£.  One down side there is that you need to store a full sized car; even a go-kart is not small.  There are some go-kart tracks near me where you rent the karts; have always thought it would be fun to get into a league but I just cant see spending real money on it every month.

Actually campaigning a competitive cart is probably going to require something like 3-5x your theoretical $2k budget annually.

I looked into it a bit more and turns out that Jeremy Clarkson was only able to get the costs that low by berating spectators and fellow racers into giving him free car parts and fuel.  :-)  http://jalopnik.com/bbc-clarkson-berated-and-assaulted-producer-reported-1693558651

[BDWW]

Mustachian car racing

http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/

[driftxsequence]

Mustachian car racing

http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/

Not exactly as cheap as it may sound. You buy a "$500 car", Spend $2000 plus on safety equipment, then each driver needs about $700+ worth of safety gear. Now you need a truck, a trailer, pay your track fees, gas, spare parts, food etc. And each event can cost about $1000-2000.

RC racing is awesome. It sounds like Exprezchef got caught up with the joneses. I raced electric on-road outdoor with a used car, used everything actually. On a good day I was competitive, others no so much because I did not put in the wrench time others did for the conditions of the day. Yes there was the up front cost of quality running gear to the tune of $1000-1500. But after that, a normal weekend of racing was less than $100 for a day of fun. $25 for a set of tires for the day, $40 for race fees, and the rest was either a body shell I destroy, suspension arm, belts or shafts. I'm gonna make a bold claim that you cant get into a competitive motorsport for cheaper than RC racing.

Plus the community within RC racing is great, its like a great big family no matter where you go. Shame my local track closed down...

[BDWW]

Mustachian car racing

http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/

Not exactly as cheap as it may sound. You buy a "$500 car", Spend $2000 plus on safety equipment, then each driver needs about $700+ worth of safety gear. Now you need a truck, a trailer, pay your track fees, gas, spare parts, food etc. And each event can cost about $1000-2000.

RC racing is awesome. It sounds like Exprezchef got caught up with the joneses. I raced electric on-road outdoor with a used car, used everything actually. On a good day I was competitive, others no so much because I did not put in the wrench time others did for the conditions of the day. Yes there was the up front cost of quality running gear to the tune of $1000-1500. But after that, a normal weekend of racing was less than $100 for a day of fun. $25 for a set of tires for the day, $40 for race fees, and the rest was either a body shell I destroy, suspension arm, belts or shafts. I'm gonna make a bold claim that you cant get into a competitive motorsport for cheaper than RC racing.

Plus the community within RC racing is great, its like a great big family no matter where you go. Shame my local track closed down...

I know, it was in jest. I autocrossed for several years, that's really the cheapest option for people who are into cars.

[AlanStache]

Oh Snap I for got I had something On Topic over the weekend!

FB friend posted about buying a BMW Z4 or Porsche (both two door & bright red & convertible)
"Opinion anyone? Car 1 is waiting for me to pick up, but lately car 2 is on my mind. Car 1 is cheaper, yet car 2 might make the lady carousel spin a little faster over the next ten years. Assume no personality improvement in that time..." <included was pictures of each>   FB friend is doing well but I would guess has a modest savings rate, he can 'afford' either car if he wants-probably.

Bunch of people post back and forth arguing the pros and cons of each including maintenance costs. 

Then about 8hr in to the conversation I post: "What in the fuck shit? Just hang a sign on your neck saying you are some middle aged dumb fuck trying to show off his money for the ladies, who then gets depressed when all the women who talk to him are shallow and only looking at his bank account." 

His reply: "Fucking hilarious. And true"

[joleran]

2 weeks ago I was visiting a store that I sell to, they had a customer walk in who wanted to "look" at her water pipe. It was a $1500 water pipe!!!! that is on lay-away for her. She was gushing about how she was 2 weeks away from purchasing it, but wanted to come in and hold it. The owner hemmed and hawed about allowing her to touch it "because it has a ton of energy that you want to save for when you first use it," and I had to stifle a laugh, but people believe that about some artisan glass.

$1500 for a BONG?!?!?!?  :O

I recently splurged $1500 on a fancy bells and whistles oven to replace my broken 20-year old one (I use it every day and wanted a toy as I'm more or less FI at this point).  So this seems reasonable considering they're probably both excellent at getting things baked in a timely manner.

[ketchup]

2 weeks ago I was visiting a store that I sell to, they had a customer walk in who wanted to "look" at her water pipe. It was a $1500 water pipe!!!! that is on lay-away for her. She was gushing about how she was 2 weeks away from purchasing it, but wanted to come in and hold it. The owner hemmed and hawed about allowing her to touch it "because it has a ton of energy that you want to save for when you first use it," and I had to stifle a laugh, but people believe that about some artisan glass.

$1500 for a BONG?!?!?!?  :O

I recently splurged $1500 on a fancy bells and whistles oven to replace my broken 20-year old one (I use it every day and wanted a toy as I'm more or less FI at this point).  So this seems reasonable considering they're probably both excellent at getting things baked in a timely manner.

[dandarc]

...

Then about 8hr in to the conversation I post: "What in the fuck shit? Just hang a sign on your neck saying you are some middle aged dumb fuck trying to show off his money for the ladies, who then gets depressed when all the women who talk to him are shallow and only looking at his bank account." 

His reply: "Fucking hilarious. And true"

Step 1 is recognizing there is a problem.

[kayvent]

...

Then about 8hr in to the conversation I post: "What in the fuck shit? Just hang a sign on your neck saying you are some middle aged dumb fuck trying to show off his money for the ladies, who then gets depressed when all the women who talk to him are shallow and only looking at his bank account." 

His reply: "Fucking hilarious. And true"

Step 1 is recognizing there is a problem.

Step 2 is ignoring the problem.

[Uturn]

Someone posted a Kureg for sale.  Yay for getting rid of that wasteful thing, but the title caught my eye.  "Stop spending so much money on coffee filters!"

[Hedge_87]

Someone posted a Kureg for sale.  Yay for getting rid of that wasteful thing, but the title caught my eye.  "Stop spending so much money on coffee filters!"

HAHA yea the $0.99 bag of 200 coffee filters a couple times a year is really going to break the bank. vs a stupid disposable cup with just the right amount of coffee measured out for you. Or you could buy a reusable filter for your regular coffee pot and never buy one again.

I have a friend that tells me he likes his because he doesn't want to be wasteful and only drinks one cup in the morning. I tried to explain that you don't have to make a WHOLE pot of coffee with a regular pot and he said that was too much to mess with.

I can't stand Kuregs anyway just from an operational standpoint so my opinion might be a little biased.

[AlanStache]

Someone posted a Kureg for sale.  Yay for getting rid of that wasteful thing, but the title caught my eye.  "Stop spending so much money on coffee filters!"

HAHA yea the $0.99 bag of 200 coffee filters a couple times a year is really going to break the bank. vs a stupid disposable cup with just the right amount of coffee measured out for you. Or you could buy a reusable filter for your regular coffee pot and never buy one again.

I have a friend that tells me he likes his because he doesn't want to be wasteful and only drinks one cup in the morning. I tried to explain that you don't have to make a WHOLE pot of coffee with a regular pot and he said that was too much to mess with.

I can't stand Kuregs anyway just from an operational standpoint so my opinion might be a little biased.

For under 10$ you can get a reusable keurig coffee pod then use normal pre-ground coffee.  I have never used a drip coffee maker to make one cup, might take some work to figure out the right amount of grounds.  I have been using an 8yo 15$ espresso machine to make one cup in the am so long that seems normal to me.

[barbaz]

What if I told you that I just take a cup, put 2 teaspoons of pre-ground coffee in it and the fill it with boiling water?