Author Topic: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)  (Read 508048 times)

Kitsune

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #150 on: December 19, 2016, 08:49:34 AM »

 They commute in separate SUVs.  So where are they looking?  In the only HCL area, which is 30 miles south of here.  So they are going to force an extra 60 miles a day for each of their commutes.  I mentioned this, but got blown off because they don't consider it a problem.  I continue to be boggled... 
I live 2 miles from my work, 30 miles would be a big deal to me.
 You might suggest they take 5 business days and drive a 30 mile route to work and home.
If they say, they don't want to waste the gas, you can laugh!

I'm thinking along the same lines.   Maybe because they are young they just don't realize what a drag it is to make that drive every single day - twice.  They probably only drive that far when they're going on a road trip somewhere fun.

60 miles a day EACH??? Like, not even intending to carpool?

Ok... look. I live 30 miles from work. Husband works less than a mile from where I do. So we both have partial work-from-home arrangements and we carpool in together 2-3 days per week (which, really, is a nice opportuity to spend an hour and a half that day chatting and planning stuff, so it's cool).

Commuting that 5 days/week in SEPARATE cars?? Gotta be nuts.

And frankly: we considered moving closer to the city... but country living has HUGE advantages for us (multiple acres of land, big house for the cost of a tiny city house, I look out my window and there are 2 houses between us and the horizon, we're next to a lake and can have chickens and rabbits and sheep and (eventually!) goats and an aquaponics set-up, large gardens and peace and quiet and we live super near family and everyone important to us, and, frankly, we leave here to go to work and do groceries on the way home and that's IT, it's where we actually want to be, we don't leave), which are worth the 120 miles/week. I can't imagine signing up for 2-3x that commute in order to leave near neighbors and need to go out to do anything anyway, wtf. If you're gonna sign up for living near people and not needing space to do everything you wanna do, at least do that near work!
Ya gotta quote the whole thing.  Here's the whole quote.
This continues...The builder now says it will be $296k to build the house.  To their credit they decided to look elsewhere.  One works in town; the other works about 40 miles north of here.  They commute in separate SUVs.  So where are they looking?  In the only HCL area, which is 30 miles south of here.  So they are going to force an extra 60 miles a day for each of their commutes.  I mentioned this, but got blown off because they don't consider it a problem.  I continue to be boggled...  This will no doubt continue because I'm sure they won't be able to afford a house in the HCL.
Note that one works north of here and one works here.  Her current commute is ~15 minutes and will go to ~50 minutes.  His goes from ~50 minutes to ~80 minutes.  They can't carpool because they work different times and in different towns.  They aren't moving to the country, but are moving to our HCL area, so no country benefits, just more houses, and maybe some shopping.

... some people just be nuts. Plain nuts.

Stachey

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #151 on: December 19, 2016, 03:58:02 PM »
I used to work with a guy who was constantly bragging about how much house he was able to buy half an hour outside of town.  So with the traffic congestion his commute to work would be at least an hour one way.

But wait it gets better!  His wife worked about 7 city blocks away from where he did.  So what do you think they did...that's right...they each would drive gas guzzling trucks to work each day.

But wait it gets even better!  This oh so great community where he could buy a starter castle for half of what it would cost in the city had ZERO amenities.  No grocery store.  No schools.  Nothing.  I don't think it even had a gas station.  So these people had to drive constantly for every little thing. 

Kitsune

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #152 on: December 19, 2016, 05:19:23 PM »
But wait it gets even better!  This oh so great community where he could buy a starter castle for half of what it would cost in the city had ZERO amenities.  No grocery store.  No schools.  Nothing.  I don't think it even had a gas station.  So these people had to drive constantly for every little thing.

Which is basically like where I live - nearest gas station and grocery store are 25km away, in the nearest town. The nearest actual city is 50km away, and is where we work.

So: you bike around the lake (to see friends/family/go swimming/go hiking/go to the canoe dock), and use a small gas-efficient car to go into the city twice a week (negotiate partial wfh arrangement - important!) and do groceries and get gas on the way home (no unnecessary trips, that shit wastes both time and gas). Then, you have a garden/fish/chickens/etc so that your grocery needs are minimal, you can fish out of that lake, spend a lot of time outside hiking and swimming and playing, and generally have a pretty great life. All it takes is some planning and liking solitude.

... I'm pretty sure that someone who drives a gas-guzzler 7 city blocks to work doesn't do that kind of life planning though.

zephyr911

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #153 on: December 21, 2016, 11:01:45 AM »
This one is not comedy, but definitely shameful. Just across the street and down one door:

- One elderly woman I've never met, who owns the house.
- Her adult children, at least 2, possibly more... I've met one, around 50, who is nice enough, but said his family is full of addicts and crazy people. His sister has knocked over at least one mailbox while DUI on our street, and been taken away by both cops and EMTs at some point.
- At least one young couple around age 20, one of them (I'm assuming) being a grandchild... the girl is pregnant and recently was brought back from a party after she OD'd, so they could call 911 without implicating her friends.

This entire sad family is now being evicted and moving out, just days before Christmas, because someone bought the house at a tax auction for like $20K, and gave them the boot.

AlanStache

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #154 on: December 22, 2016, 11:14:23 AM »




Sorry man, I saw a big fat underhand-pitched softball and decided to swing for the fence.

Joggernot

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #155 on: December 22, 2016, 01:16:25 PM »
Daughter (28) of a neighbor is going to buy a house with her boyfriend.  They each make about $32k; drink like fishes; and spend on whatever comes by.  The house they have chosen is a new house they will build on the largest lot in the newest subdivision.  Cost will be $230k plus the cost of the lot, but I expect it to go up from there.  There are lots of excellent remodeled homes in the $170k range that they could buy and modify, but they insist on new.  This will be a two-story, 3000 sq. ft. home with his Man Cave, two master bedrooms, another guest bedroom, and space for four vehicles.  She says “he has two cars, so I get two cars!”  They are planning on spending another $30k just for new furniture for the living room and dining room because what they have “isn’t good enough”.  She used his money to pay off her credit cards so they could apply for the house loan.

Sorry, but I just don’t understand this thinking.
This continues...The builder now says it will be $296k to build the house.  To their credit they decided to look elsewhere.  One works in town; the other works about 40 miles north of here.  They commute in separate SUVs.  So where are they looking?  In the only HCL area, which is 30 miles south of here.  So they are going to force an extra 60 miles a day for each of their commutes.  I mentioned this, but got blown off because they don't consider it a problem.  I continue to be boggled...  This will no doubt continue because I'm sure they won't be able to afford a house in the HCL.
Well, they bought the largest lot in the HCL that is 30 miles farther from each of their work locations.  I talked with her about the commute because she currently doesn't leave for work until 15 minutes before sign-in.  She doesn't think it will be so bad.  I don't believe she is even considering that she will lose 1.5 hours from her day just in the commute, let alone the $.54/mile cost of running her vehicle ($32+/day extra for each of them).  The house is currently slated to cost $230k to build plus the cost of the lot, but they are going to pick their options on Friday and get the final cost.  Update on Saturday, if I remember.

Warlord1986

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #156 on: December 22, 2016, 01:32:18 PM »




Sorry man, I saw a big fat underhand-pitched softball and decided to swing for the fence.

Sorry man, I lived in the largest city in Virginia for twenty-plus years. Shit like that goes down everyday. It's not unique to Alabama.

AlanStache

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #157 on: December 22, 2016, 01:56:58 PM »
...
Sorry man, I saw a big fat underhand-pitched softball and decided to swing for the fence.

Sorry man, I lived in the largest city in Virginia for twenty-plus years. Shit like that goes down everyday. It's not unique to Alabama.

Yep, people I last lived across the street from had 3 or 4 generations under one roof and nothing but raised SUV's with fancy rims and big TV's in every room.  I do very much live in the south, and there definitely are "Picard Facepalm" families in every state. 

chouchouu

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #158 on: December 22, 2016, 11:20:44 PM »
I live in an apartment with some interesting neighbours. Last year an apartment was flipped and the new buyers bought it for over 200k more than it had sold for less than six months earlier. The only renovations had been painting, laminate flooring and a new kitchen, I'm guessing they own the Porsche parked in the garage. Another couple moved in upstairs and have a daughter the same age as my twins so we have arranged play dates. We went to a public water park last week and the daughter started crying when my daughters pulled out their packed lunch and she had to eat McDonalds instead since her mother doesn't pack lunches. The mother told me how they moved here because her husband didn't want her living close to a shopping centre since it "caused him a lot of problems!" When she "had to keep up with all the mothers from playgroup" He had once been amazed I walk to do the grocery shopping, which is ten minutes away. They have both boasted to me how they would only ever live in a penthouse. Her DH heads the strata and another tenant had brought a case against the strata for 10k damage to property caused by builders, so her DH hired a barrister to fight the case in the local court because he has a grudge against the other tenant who is actually very mustachian and retired although at least 20 years younger than the DH. I think it really annoys the penthouse dwellers that mr moustache spends half the year travelling around the world and the other half gardening and bicycling around the neighbourhood.

Playing with Fire UK

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #159 on: December 23, 2016, 12:00:33 AM »
We went to a public water park last week and the daughter started crying when my daughters pulled out their packed lunch and she had to eat McDonalds instead since her mother doesn't pack lunches.

This is sad. How long before daughter is of an age to pack a lunch?

Playing with Fire UK

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #160 on: December 23, 2016, 12:03:32 AM »
The mother told me how they moved here because her husband didn't want her living close to a shopping centre since it "caused him a lot of problems!" When she "had to keep up with all the mothers from playgroup"

Wait what?! Were these loan shark type problems. Does she not recognise that the issue doesn't reside solely in the head of the husband.

Had to. Haha. I choose to believe this was said in self-aware irony because anything else makes my head spin.

chouchouu

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #161 on: December 23, 2016, 03:41:40 PM »
The mother told me how they moved here because her husband didn't want her living close to a shopping centre since it "caused him a lot of problems!" When she "had to keep up with all the mothers from playgroup"

Wait what?! Were these loan shark type problems. Does she not recognise that the issue doesn't reside solely in the head of the husband.

Had to. Haha. I choose to believe this was said in self-aware irony because anything else makes my head spin.

She is really quite bizarre, she went on and on how rich the mothers were in her previous neighbourhood and how she spent so much shopping to make sure she could fit in. I just can't imagine it, who keeps tab on whether a baby has a new outfit each week? I didn't mention I actually used to live in her previous area and the richest people are as cheap as chips, so she was probably hanging around a bunch of nouveau riche insecure types who have to conspicuously consume to make themselves more class secure but I was definitely thinking it!

Her daughter is almost five so could probably make herself a sandwich but you need to have a lunch box to put it in, I'm guessing she'll probably be buying lunch next near when she starts school.

ender

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #162 on: December 23, 2016, 03:53:03 PM »
This makes me wonder what our neighbors think.

We bought a nice house (most expensive one on the block basically, best lot and everything) and a new car this year and are pretty obviously in our 20s.

lol.

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #163 on: December 23, 2016, 04:55:15 PM »


Her daughter is almost five so could probably make herself a sandwich but you need to have a lunch box to put it in, I'm guessing she'll probably be buying lunch next near when she starts school.

Five years is old enough to make your own box.  In some more advanced countries, children that age make cell phones!

Shalamar

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #164 on: December 28, 2016, 07:56:34 AM »
Our new neighbour just moved in, then we got a blizzard, so my husband and I helped her shovel her driveway.   We learned that she's a divorced mother with one kid and three dogs.   Thing is, the house is huge for her - four bedrooms and three bathrooms.   Why on earth does she need that much space?   She said that she fell in love with the house, will be paying the mortgage for the next 20 years, and won't have it paid off until she's in her sixties.   Yike.

boarder42

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #165 on: December 28, 2016, 09:23:46 AM »
This makes me wonder what our neighbors think.

We bought a nice house (most expensive one on the block basically, best lot and everything) and a new car this year and are pretty obviously in our 20s.

lol.

its how you spend your money not just how you save it. stretching dollars is a way not often spoken of around these parts.

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #166 on: December 28, 2016, 11:04:24 AM »
Posting to follow.  I don't have any specific examples, but I occasionally see requests via the facebook and/or email group for recommendations for tradespeople to do fairly simple work, like recaulking a shower or bathtub, or fixing a leaky toilet.  On the other hand, I also see folks borrowing things (like high chairs or strollers) when they have family in town, and swapping coupons, so there's that.

Catbert

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #167 on: December 28, 2016, 03:50:45 PM »
Posting to follow.  I don't have any specific examples, but I occasionally see requests via the facebook and/or email group for recommendations for tradespeople to do fairly simple work, like recaulking a shower or bathtub, or fixing a leaky toilet.  On the other hand, I also see folks borrowing things (like high chairs or strollers) when they have family in town, and swapping coupons, so there's that.

And they always want someone who will do it for a "reasonable price".

bigalsmith101

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #168 on: December 28, 2016, 09:59:30 PM »
This history is 20 years in the making. I grew up next to a married couple as neighbors my entire life. They were a constant fixture, and yet I had no idea of the calamity behind the scenes! After their sons moved out, it was just the two of them in the house for the last 20 years. They lived in a 3000sqft, 4bd 2.5 bath home on 2.25 acres, alone, until this month when they finally sold and moved. The wife was a home maker, the husband was well employed.

The house sold for $535k, and it was paid off, and so they downsized. Except, they didn't really. They bought a BRAND NEW 1800sqft , 3bed 2bath single level home on a standard city lot in the next town over, for $440k. They sold their home for $180sqft and paid $245/sqft for their new one. They literally paid top dollar at market height for their new home. His commute got 8 minutes longer, but in comparison, that is pretty negligible.

I asked the wife when I saw her packing up the house in preparation for the move if her husband was ready to retire. She laughed a bit and said, "No, no, he wants to work 5 more years, cause you know it's about the money".  He's 67 now, and will be 72 at retirement, hence a larger pension from him employer, and max social security benefits.

In 20 years of living next to them, I've NEVER been in their home. Their children were 10 years older then my siblings and I, and they kept to themselves. The wife was always very friendly, but the husband was not so much. Here comes the mind numbing reality. Their garage was always fully packed with stuff. JUST enough room to pull their cars in, and that's it. Next to their home was a barn that I've NEVER seen inside of. Turns out it was packed full of stuff, a lot of it belonging to their oldest son. Upon their move, the wife noted to my mom that her son had to get a third storage unit to put the stuff in and joked, "We've got enough stuff of our own that we may have to add an addition to our new home! Haha!" (I'm relatively sure she really is joking. But maybe not?)

What is all boils down to is that they could have bought a very nice home in our area for $340k. That would have allowed them to put $200k into a retirement account, netting $8k/year in useable money, and putting them in a position to retire earlier.

It's OMY and TMS syndrome all day long (One more year, Too much shit).

mousebandit

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #169 on: December 28, 2016, 11:11:37 PM »
This history is 20 years in the making.

After their sons moved out, it was just the two of them in the house for the last 20 years.



What is all boils down to is that they could have bought a very nice home in our area for $340k. That would have allowed them to put $200k into a retirement account, netting $8k/year in useable money, and putting them in a position to retire earlier.

It's OMY and TMS syndrome all day long (One more year, Too much shit).

Imagine if they'd sold and truly downsized 20 years ago, and invested the equity plus everything since then, or rented out the big house and made other appropriate housing arrangements.  They'd be sitting very pretty right now.

Playing with Fire UK

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #170 on: December 29, 2016, 02:30:21 AM »
This history is 20 years in the making.

After their sons moved out, it was just the two of them in the house for the last 20 years.



What is all boils down to is that they could have bought a very nice home in our area for $340k. That would have allowed them to put $200k into a retirement account, netting $8k/year in useable money, and putting them in a position to retire earlier.

It's OMY and TMS syndrome all day long (One more year, Too much shit).

Imagine if they'd sold and truly downsized 20 years ago, and invested the equity plus everything since then, or rented out the big house and made other appropriate housing arrangements.  They'd be sitting very pretty right now.

They could have been, but I'd put money that in the parallel universe where circumstances forced the same couple to downsize they'd have spent the money filling the next garage.

mm1970

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #171 on: December 29, 2016, 10:20:38 AM »
Posting to follow.  I don't have any specific examples, but I occasionally see requests via the facebook and/or email group for recommendations for tradespeople to do fairly simple work, like recaulking a shower or bathtub, or fixing a leaky toilet.  On the other hand, I also see folks borrowing things (like high chairs or strollers) when they have family in town, and swapping coupons, so there's that.

And they always want someone who will do it for a "reasonable price".
That's legitimate.  Because there's a sliding scale of price, and a sliding scale of quality, and it's hard to tell when they will overlap.

For tradespeople and professionals - we've had good and bad experiences around town with plumbers, heating contractors, and pest control - so it's good to get recommendations.

I see similar requests for child care.  "Not too expensive."  Well, one time I asked "what is too expensive?"  The answer was $1200 a month for 3 days a week.  Ouch.  That is definitely on the  high side, even for this area.  On the other hand, one person posted looking for 4x a week, 9 to 5, for $100 a week.  That's...going to be really hard to find.

Hunny156

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #172 on: December 30, 2016, 02:14:43 PM »
This makes me wonder what our neighbors think.

We bought a nice house (most expensive one on the block basically, best lot and everything) and a new car this year and are pretty obviously in our 20s.

lol.

They think your parents are loaded and are financing the lifestyle!  And if one of you is in sales and gets a brand new (company) car every 18 months, they assume you are drug dealers.

Oh, and if you decide to buy rental properties anytime soon, be prepared for tenants to assume that it's your parents house.

We are 40, but still have baby faces, and people still make these sorts of assumptions about us.  Shake your head and laugh, not much else you can do!  :)

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #173 on: January 01, 2017, 04:33:40 PM »
I was talking to my one of my neighbors mid-summer last year, really good family but all of them have no care about financial management. At all. He was telling me how good of a deal he got on his furniture and I should really look into it, and it would be delivered in a day or two. I wasn't needing anything so I passed and the conversation ended. Fast forward two days and the rent-to-own truck pulled up.... TV delivered, couch, few matching chairs, end tables. Ugh, no! 6 months later half of it was pulled from the house.

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #174 on: January 01, 2017, 10:48:52 PM »
And if one of you is in sales and gets a brand new (company) car every 18 months, they assume you are drug dealers.

...

We are 40, but still have baby faces...

Moved into our apartment building at 25 (now 30, sigh). Husband drives a different new car every day, when he's not jetting around the world. Our neighbours definitely think we're drug dealers. He wants to start buying industrial quantities of foil just to mess with them.

TheGrimSqueaker

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #175 on: January 01, 2017, 10:59:11 PM »
And if one of you is in sales and gets a brand new (company) car every 18 months, they assume you are drug dealers.

...

We are 40, but still have baby faces...

Moved into our apartment building at 25 (now 30, sigh). Husband drives a different new car every day, when he's not jetting around the world. Our neighbours definitely think we're drug dealers. He wants to start buying industrial quantities of foil just to mess with them.

Reminds me of when I spent a season in landscape construction. My crew I would make up the most ridiculous stories about who lived in some of the big, swanky houses and how they came by the money. This one's a drug dealer, that one's a pimp, the other one owns the patent on Astro-glide. It was all in good fun.

BlueHouse

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #176 on: January 03, 2017, 02:40:53 PM »
This makes me wonder what our neighbors think.

We bought a nice house (most expensive one on the block basically, best lot and everything) and a new car this year and are pretty obviously in our 20s.

lol.

They think your parents are loaded and are financing the lifestyle!  And if one of you is in sales and gets a brand new (company) car every 18 months, they assume you are drug dealers.

Oh, and if you decide to buy rental properties anytime soon, be prepared for tenants to assume that it's your parents house.

We are 40, but still have baby faces, and people still make these sorts of assumptions about us.  Shake your head and laugh, not much else you can do!  :)
I've seen many people who would assume that this is a normal lifestyle for 20-something year-olds and if they don't have it, it's because the system has robbed them of what they deserved. 


Travis

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #177 on: January 03, 2017, 04:42:59 PM »
OK, so here's my neighbor contribution.  My old neighborhood, our lovely next door neighbors.  Hubby has some medical issues, so I can tell he can see the value in being frugal.  He was always interested in our side hustles and our aggressive FIRE plan.  Wife would seem bored.  One time, he looked hopefully at his wife and asked her "Honey, when will we be starting our early retirement savings plan?"  Her response was quick and cool.  "But we like to buy things, dear!"  Ouch.

Wow, I particularly like that there is no grey in this: buying things or savings plan. Pick one and only one.

At least she was honest about it. This forum is full of stories of people who spend every dime they find, but just can't understand why they can't save.

Travis

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #178 on: January 03, 2017, 05:03:34 PM »
I mentioned this in my journal, but posting it again here seemed appropriate. DW's best friend and husband (2 adults and a toddler) are renting out their house in our hometown (Sacramento) and buying his childhood home in San Jose.  They work in S.F. and own a condo there, but have been renting it out for years.  Essentially they live in San Jose, commute to SF, and the house in Sac is a weekend/holiday home.  I'm not quite sure why they bought this house (5 bed, 2 bath, 3000+ square feet) which is literally next door to their BIL's family.  During a visit this summer DW's friend lamented that the house allowed her husband's parents to come up from the Bay Area constantly to babysit BIL's three kids from their house and practically raise them which meant this monstrous house effectively subsidized her BIL's child care for the past 8 years.  I got the feeling this situation was simply taken in stride by the BIL without fully acknowledging what his brother and wife were providing.  The local market won't allow them to sell it right now, so they're hoping to get enough to cover the mortgage for a couple more years until the market looks brighter.

former player

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #179 on: January 04, 2017, 01:42:45 AM »
OK, so here's my neighbor contribution.  My old neighborhood, our lovely next door neighbors.  Hubby has some medical issues, so I can tell he can see the value in being frugal.  He was always interested in our side hustles and our aggressive FIRE plan.  Wife would seem bored.  One time, he looked hopefully at his wife and asked her "Honey, when will we be starting our early retirement savings plan?"  Her response was quick and cool.  "But we like to buy things, dear!"  Ouch.

Wow, I particularly like that there is no grey in this: buying things or savings plan. Pick one and only one.

At least she was honest about it. This forum is full of stories of people who spend every dime they find, but just can't understand why they can't save.
It might have been honest with a change in pronoun "But I like to buy things, dear".

Playing with Fire UK

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #180 on: January 04, 2017, 03:06:13 AM »
OK, so here's my neighbor contribution.  My old neighborhood, our lovely next door neighbors.  Hubby has some medical issues, so I can tell he can see the value in being frugal.  He was always interested in our side hustles and our aggressive FIRE plan.  Wife would seem bored.  One time, he looked hopefully at his wife and asked her "Honey, when will we be starting our early retirement savings plan?"  Her response was quick and cool.  "But we like to buy things, dear!"  Ouch.
Wow, I particularly like that there is no grey in this: buying things or savings plan. Pick one and only one.
At least she was honest about it. This forum is full of stories of people who spend every dime they find, but just can't understand why they can't save.

I like this too.

Metric Mouse

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #181 on: January 04, 2017, 03:42:11 AM »
This makes me wonder what our neighbors think.

We bought a nice house (most expensive one on the block basically, best lot and everything) and a new car this year and are pretty obviously in our 20s.

lol.

They think your parents are loaded and are financing the lifestyle!  And if one of you is in sales and gets a brand new (company) car every 18 months, they assume you are drug dealers.

Oh, and if you decide to buy rental properties anytime soon, be prepared for tenants to assume that it's your parents house.

We are 40, but still have baby faces, and people still make these sorts of assumptions about us.  Shake your head and laugh, not much else you can do!  :)
I've seen many people who would assume that this is a normal lifestyle for 20-something year-olds and if they don't have it, it's because the system has robbed them of what they deserved.

I see these sentiments all the time on Facebook. Even on this forum!

Linea_Norway

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #182 on: January 04, 2017, 07:43:09 AM »
And if one of you is in sales and gets a brand new (company) car every 18 months, they assume you are drug dealers.

...

We are 40, but still have baby faces...

Moved into our apartment building at 25 (now 30, sigh). Husband drives a different new car every day, when he's not jetting around the world. Our neighbours definitely think we're drug dealers. He wants to start buying industrial quantities of foil just to mess with them.

I used to have a neighbour living in a very cheap house, but who regularly came home driving a new Ferrari or other new sports car. I just assumed he worked at a car company or had something to do with importing such cars.

But later we saw 2 men at his house standing beside very big plastic water tanks (the size used for cattle), tapping fluid out of the big tanks into smaller handy size tanks. My DH and I assumed that neighbour was into distributing illegal booze. Norway is a very expensive country for alcohol, so it is a likely scenario.

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #183 on: January 04, 2017, 08:43:07 AM »
My neighbors keep throwing out furniture--i.e., leaving it on the landing for facilities to come pick up and take... wherever it goes. Granted, some is broken down crap, but some of it could be Craigslisted! They're just throwing money away!

My gain--I now have a nice club chair, a nice glass coffee table, and some extremely dilapidated but mostly functional balcony furniture. I'm almost seriously considering going furniture scavenging to see what I can find and craigslist. 80 floors combined between both buildings--also a great workout!

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #184 on: January 04, 2017, 09:09:27 AM »
My neighbors keep throwing out furniture--i.e., leaving it on the landing for facilities to come pick up and take... wherever it goes. Granted, some is broken down crap, but some of it could be Craigslisted! They're just throwing money away!

My parents used to do that... 'too much hassle' to sell things on Craigslist, dontcha know. So I started putting dibs on whatever I wanted.

Antique iron bed frames? 3 of them. Which sell for 500$+ around here. ARGH. (I claimed 2, my sister claimed 1, and my parents are happy to see them gone. I don'T understand... )

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #185 on: January 04, 2017, 10:58:37 AM »
...
Sorry man, I saw a big fat underhand-pitched softball and decided to swing for the fence.

Sorry man, I lived in the largest city in Virginia for twenty-plus years. Shit like that goes down everyday. It's not unique to Alabama.

Yep, people I last lived across the street from had 3 or 4 generations under one roof and nothing but raised SUV's with fancy rims and big TV's in every room.  I do very much live in the south, and there definitely are "Picard Facepalm" families in every state.
Y'all crack me the F up.

Another sad thing is how much they had to leave behind and how badly they seem to have lived. At least a dozen storage containers have been hauled to the curb, already picked over by the cleaning crew, along with the rotten old carpet and the remnants of a decrepit shed from the backyard. Having peeked in some of the windows, I'm sure the drywall will follow (there are random holes in the walls), and probably some fixtures.

The house originally had central air, but even with no mortgage, the owner couldn't afford to fix it, so they had retrofitted a bunch of crappy window units (only house on the street with them). I'm sure that'll be rectified too. I'm glad for my property value but still sad for the loss of the family. Some bad choices in there, but I still feel for them.

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #186 on: January 04, 2017, 02:48:14 PM »
Not exactly a neighbor, but I went to visit a very old friend for the first time in ~8 years during the holidays. I was shocked to find him and his wife living absolutely at their means, when both of them have great jobs and bring in high salaries.

We were hanging out in his partially finished basement, and him and his wife got in an argument over what to do with the TV we were watching  (a very nice 40"+ TV) since they planned on buying an even bigger 65"+ TV the following week.

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #188 on: January 04, 2017, 05:35:18 PM »
That looks like a very pretty version of a gym shower. Pass!

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #189 on: January 04, 2017, 11:08:23 PM »
That looks like a very pretty version of a gym shower. Pass!

Pass?  I mean, I'd take it if it were free. 

MrMoogle

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #190 on: January 05, 2017, 09:12:04 AM »
That looks like a very pretty version of a gym shower. Pass!

Pass?  I mean, I'd take it if it were free. 
Look at all that stuff to clean!  I like being able to wipe down my shower in 10 minutes.

Just Joe

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #191 on: January 05, 2017, 10:04:56 AM »
Had a giggle at this. An artist poking fun at lavish showers.

http://upshout.net/rich-people-showers/?utm_content=inf_11_3298_2&utm_source=TSE&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=tse&tse_id=INF_9cf592c0d2d711e6a03c354c456e1db2

Yeah - the military has those open showers too. Always fun to know your co-workers REALLY well.

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #192 on: January 05, 2017, 10:30:33 AM »
That looks like a very pretty version of a gym shower. Pass!

Pass?  I mean, I'd take it if it were free. 
Look at all that stuff to clean!  I like being able to wipe down my shower in 10 minutes.

I think the easiest way to clean all that would be to use a garden hose with bleach in a liquid weed-n-feed dispenser (after you take the wooden ladder out of shower).

Just Joe

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #193 on: January 05, 2017, 01:04:39 PM »
10HP Pressure washer....

Quidnon?

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #194 on: January 05, 2017, 01:06:40 PM »
That looks like a very pretty version of a gym shower. Pass!

That's an orgy shower.

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #195 on: January 05, 2017, 01:33:42 PM »
That looks like a very pretty version of a gym shower. Pass!

Pass?  I mean, I'd take it if it were free. 
Look at all that stuff to clean!  I like being able to wipe down my shower in 10 minutes.

The shower part is still small enough to wipe down in 10 min.  Even less, since there are no walls/doors to get scummy.

Everything else... just don't get it dirty?

joleran

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #196 on: January 05, 2017, 02:34:07 PM »
The shower part is still small enough to wipe down in 10 min.  Even less, since there are no walls/doors to get scummy.

Everything else... just don't get it dirty?

I don't think you have much experience with orgy showers.  It can get pretty messy.

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #197 on: January 05, 2017, 03:36:22 PM »
10HP Pressure washer....

This is why the next time I clean the shower will be the last time my wife allows me to clean the shower!  LOL, I don't enjoy the job and would absolutely do it with the pressure washer (if I wasn't worried about the grout holding up).

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #198 on: January 05, 2017, 03:39:07 PM »
The shower part is still small enough to wipe down in 10 min.  Even less, since there are no walls/doors to get scummy.

Everything else... just don't get it dirty?

I don't think you have much experience with orgy showers.  It can get pretty messy.

You don't charge a cleaning fee for your orgies?

Quidnon?

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Re: Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)
« Reply #199 on: January 05, 2017, 03:39:46 PM »
The shower part is still small enough to wipe down in 10 min.  Even less, since there are no walls/doors to get scummy.

Everything else... just don't get it dirty?

I don't think you have much experience with orgy showers.  It can get pretty messy.

True,  but it's all water soluble.