Author Topic: This is not an 'investment'. Stop using that word.  (Read 21610 times)

pbkmaine

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This is not an 'investment'. Stop using that word.
« Reply #50 on: May 21, 2016, 02:14:14 AM »
Fake breasts are quite the investment for some women.

I once knew a stripper who was saving for implants. She said most of her coworkers made back the cost of theirs within two months...

Well, a friend of mine spent 600$ on a custom leather corset. Which sounds RIDICULOUS, until you realize that she was making 200$/hour and it was 'work clothes'.

I mean, in that sense, work clothes can be KIND OF an investment. But they have to be linked to a return that you wouldn't otherwise get.

A leather corset is work clothing for your friend?  Uhm, what kind of work does she do?

She's a dominatrix. It is totally appropriate work clothing for her line of work. ;)

I think we need to know more about your friend and her line of work.

Metric Mouse

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Re: This is not an 'investment'. Stop using that word.
« Reply #51 on: May 21, 2016, 05:42:10 AM »
Fake breasts are quite the investment for some women.

I once knew a stripper who was saving for implants. She said most of her coworkers made back the cost of theirs within two months...

Well, a friend of mine spent 600$ on a custom leather corset. Which sounds RIDICULOUS, until you realize that she was making 200$/hour and it was 'work clothes'.

I mean, in that sense, work clothes can be KIND OF an investment. But they have to be linked to a return that you wouldn't otherwise get.

A leather corset is work clothing for your friend?  Uhm, what kind of work does she do?

She's a dominatrix. It is totally appropriate work clothing for her line of work. ;)

I think we need to know more about your friend and her line of work.

I know women who dress that way for much less than 200 USD/hour. Please don't tell them they're charging under the market rate! :D

Us2bCool

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Re: This is not an 'investment'. Stop using that word.
« Reply #52 on: May 21, 2016, 08:13:38 AM »
Allen Edmond's is great for DH, but what about me? Any high quality, decade lasting women's shoes?

(And thanks for the heads up. He wears through dress shoes at an alarming rate.)

I'm on my second pair of Munros. I got the first pair on sale, and they lasted over ten years.

jinga nation

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Re: This is not an 'investment'. Stop using that word.
« Reply #53 on: May 22, 2016, 07:13:43 PM »
Saw these signs in two women's clothing stores, over the weekend.
« Last Edit: May 22, 2016, 09:06:35 PM by jinga nation »

MrsPete

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Re: This is not an 'investment'. Stop using that word.
« Reply #54 on: May 23, 2016, 03:36:07 PM »
"A good buy" is a better phrase. 

For example, back when my kids still wore school uniforms, I once went into Kohls and found that they'd marked their uniform shorts down to .99/pair.  I bought the whole rack -- every pair in my kids' sizes PLUS every pair in every larger size.  As long as my kids were in school uniforms, I never had to buy shorts again.  Those shorts didn't increase in value, but they did save me money in the long run because I wasn't buying full-priced shorts in future years. 

They were a good buy, but not an investment.

Kaspian

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Re: This is not an 'investment'. Stop using that word.
« Reply #55 on: June 20, 2016, 02:35:17 PM »
Saw these signs in two women's clothing stores, over the weekend.

ERSH!!!  I'm getting really sick of being slapped with weird slogans everywhere.  It's like they've taken Facebook memes and now applied them to everything.  It used to be a business would have one slogan--one tag line.  Now they use new simpleton sayings on a monthly basis.  My grocery store's current promotion is, "I want it all," and it makes me sick every time I read it--plastered everywhere throughout the store.  Talk about a bullshit, spoiled, entitled attitude.


Hunny156

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Re: This is not an 'investment'. Stop using that word.
« Reply #56 on: June 20, 2016, 03:53:20 PM »
"A good buy" is a better phrase. 

For example, back when my kids still wore school uniforms, I once went into Kohls and found that they'd marked their uniform shorts down to .99/pair.  I bought the whole rack -- every pair in my kids' sizes PLUS every pair in every larger size.  As long as my kids were in school uniforms, I never had to buy shorts again.  Those shorts didn't increase in value, but they did save me money in the long run because I wasn't buying full-priced shorts in future years. 

They were a good buy, but not an investment.

Exactly!  I live in a warm climate, and I wear flip flops around the house.  But I can't stand those thong-style ones, so when I find a deal on basic slides, I pick up a few pairs.  The last time I ran out, I went to the outlets, and had a hard time finding anything that wasn't thong-style.  The single pair I did find, on clearance, was still $15, and it was the last pair, so I begrudgingly bought them, and made a note to keep an eye out for the next good buy.

A few months later I found a deal on Everlast slides.  Retail was $25, they were on clearance for $2.50.  It was online, so I decided to buy 10 pairs.  At the shopping cart, the shipping charge was $15!  Free shipping was $50 or more, so mathematically it made sense to me to pick up 20 pairs instead.  they arrived, they are better quality than I expected, and I figure I can get through at least a decade on this $50 buy.

I mentioned it to some of my friends, and quickly learned not to say anything in the future.  Hoarder, shop-o-holic, you name it.  Joking or not, I pointed out that I paid for 20 pairs what they will likely spend on 1 pair that they toss at the end of the season, but it fell on deaf ears.  Oh well.  I bought them a year ago, and I'm currently using two pairs - one at home, one at work, and seeing no real wear to them so far.  I may still have inventory in 15-20 years at this rate!  guess I'll go hoard the savings and put them into an ETF - an actual INVESTMENT...


MoneyCat

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Re: This is not an 'investment'. Stop using that word.
« Reply #58 on: June 20, 2016, 05:33:24 PM »
Fake breasts are quite the investment for some women.

I once knew a stripper who was saving for implants. She said most of her coworkers made back the cost of theirs within two months...

Well, a friend of mine spent 600$ on a custom leather corset. Which sounds RIDICULOUS, until you realize that she was making 200$/hour and it was 'work clothes'.

I mean, in that sense, work clothes can be KIND OF an investment. But they have to be linked to a return that you wouldn't otherwise get.

A leather corset is work clothing for your friend?  Uhm, what kind of work does she do?

She's a dominatrix. It is totally appropriate work clothing for her line of work. ;)

I think we need to know more about your friend and her line of work.

I know women who dress that way for much less than 200 USD/hour. Please don't tell them they're charging under the market rate! :D

It amazes me that there are so many men out there whose lives are so ridiculously easy that they will actually pay someone to humiliate and hurt them. Human psychology is so interesting.

Kitsune

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Re: This is not an 'investment'. Stop using that word.
« Reply #59 on: June 20, 2016, 05:46:22 PM »
Fake breasts are quite the investment for some women.

I once knew a stripper who was saving for implants. She said most of her coworkers made back the cost of theirs within two months...

Well, a friend of mine spent 600$ on a custom leather corset. Which sounds RIDICULOUS, until you realize that she was making 200$/hour and it was 'work clothes'.

I mean, in that sense, work clothes can be KIND OF an investment. But they have to be linked to a return that you wouldn't otherwise get.

A leather corset is work clothing for your friend?  Uhm, what kind of work does she do?

She's a dominatrix. It is totally appropriate work clothing for her line of work. ;)

I think we need to know more about your friend and her line of work.

I know women who dress that way for much less than 200 USD/hour. Please don't tell them they're charging under the market rate! :D

It amazes me that there are so many men out there whose lives are so ridiculously easy that they will actually pay someone to humiliate and hurt them. Human psychology is so interesting.

Enh. Everyone's got their kinks. You either find someone who matches yours, or explore other avenues. Or don't get what you want, ever, I guess, but that sounds like a crappy way to live.

Stachey

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Re: This is not an 'investment'. Stop using that word.
« Reply #60 on: June 20, 2016, 06:38:25 PM »
I knew a guy who called his teeth whitening an investment.

I guess he thought when he lost his job he could pull one of his teeth out and buy groceries with it.

MgoSam

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Re: This is not an 'investment'. Stop using that word.
« Reply #61 on: June 20, 2016, 06:54:44 PM »
I knew a guy who called his teeth whitening an investment.


It honestly might, though I'm guessing that you know him well enough to suggest that he's completely foolish (and I'm just an idle Internet speculator). There are studies that indicate how attractiveness leads to higher lifetime earnings.

talltexan

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Re: This is not an 'investment'. Stop using that word.
« Reply #62 on: June 21, 2016, 08:53:47 AM »
I think that purses and clothes are "investments" in that the financial outlay is a way of buying social currency among a group of people. Women will accept certain women socially who have the correct purse.

Accepting people based on something they buy is something that should seem strange to followers of the mustache.

JLee

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Re: This is not an 'investment'. Stop using that word.
« Reply #63 on: June 21, 2016, 09:44:38 AM »
Fake breasts are quite the investment for some women.

I once knew a stripper who was saving for implants. She said most of her coworkers made back the cost of theirs within two months...

Well, a friend of mine spent 600$ on a custom leather corset. Which sounds RIDICULOUS, until you realize that she was making 200$/hour and it was 'work clothes'.

I mean, in that sense, work clothes can be KIND OF an investment. But they have to be linked to a return that you wouldn't otherwise get.

A leather corset is work clothing for your friend?  Uhm, what kind of work does she do?

She's a dominatrix. It is totally appropriate work clothing for her line of work. ;)

I think we need to know more about your friend and her line of work.

I know women who dress that way for much less than 200 USD/hour. Please don't tell them they're charging under the market rate! :D

It amazes me that there are so many men out there whose lives are so ridiculously easy that they will actually pay someone to humiliate and hurt them. Human psychology is so interesting.

Enh. Everyone's got their kinks. You either find someone who matches yours, or explore other avenues. Or don't get what you want, ever, I guess, but that sounds like a crappy way to live.

^^

Yep.

Papa Mustache

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Re: This is not an 'investment'. Stop using that word.
« Reply #64 on: July 06, 2016, 08:49:33 AM »
I think that purses and clothes are "investments" in that the financial outlay is a way of buying social currency among a group of people. Women will accept certain women socially who have the correct purse.

Accepting people based on something they buy is something that should seem strange to followers of the mustache.

The same thing happens with guys with their vehicles, clothing and leisure time activities.

If you are going to hang with people for whom sameness is important then you have to play the game, buy the stuff, etc. I left a job where management saw sameness to be representative of a team mentality.

Sameness was more important than even the quality of a person's work but that was directly attributable to some of the management personnel.

Personally, DW and I are contrarians... ;)
« Last Edit: July 06, 2016, 08:53:46 AM by Mybigtoe »

mtn

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Re: This is not an 'investment'. Stop using that word.
« Reply #65 on: July 07, 2016, 10:19:55 AM »
I am looking to get a good Oxford, how much should I be looking to spend on a pair of Allen Edmonds? I know little of shoes and my nature is to buy something comfortable at a low cost. I have a pair of Rockports that I wear after buying 3 years ago and I wear them to work and am on my feet all day (standing desk), so I am starting to appreciate having quality.

Go to a Nordstrom or somewhere that sells them and find a pair that fits you. Copy down the size and the model. Look up the last that it is on, and find all the shoes with that last. Then go on the Shoe bank website (shoebank.com) and enter the size and last into the search bar. A good price is between $200 and $300. Shoebank is Allen Edmonds factory second store. You won't find the defect.

If you’re standing all day though, they might not be the best option. And they’ll be uncomfortable for a few weeks until you break them in.

FWIW, I have about 7 pairs of real Allen Edmonds (not AE’s, their lower end stuff—although I do have a few of those too). I bought 2 new, the rest are inherited from my dad or grandpa. One of them is about to be tossed; to our best estimation that pair is 30 years old and has been resoled 4 times.

Cellista

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Re: This is not an 'investment'. Stop using that word.
« Reply #66 on: July 07, 2016, 04:17:46 PM »
Allen Edmond's is great for DH, but what about me? Any high quality, decade lasting women's shoes?

(And thanks for the heads up. He wears through dress shoes at an alarming rate.)

I'm on my second pair of Munros. I got the first pair on sale, and they lasted over ten years.

Seconding Munros.  I am still wearing the Cindi pair I bought three years ago on a near-daily basis.  They are super comfortable - great support. Expensive but worth it.  And they go with EVERYTHING.

http://testn.imgix.net/Zoom/19/_5216319.jpg?fit=fill&bg=FFF&fm=jpg&q=60&trim=color&trimcolor=FFF&trimtol=20&w=860&h=1318

Chaplin

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Re: This is not an 'investment'. Stop using that word.
« Reply #67 on: July 11, 2016, 11:02:50 PM »
...I live in a warm climate, and I wear flip flops around the house.  But I can't stand those thong-style ones...

Footwear only becomes a thong when you kick ass.

Metric Mouse

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Re: This is not an 'investment'. Stop using that word.
« Reply #68 on: July 12, 2016, 12:44:49 AM »
...I live in a warm climate, and I wear flip flops around the house.  But I can't stand those thong-style ones...

Footwear only becomes a thong when you kick ass.

Iseeewhatyoudidthere...

dachs

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Re: This is not an 'investment'. Stop using that word.
« Reply #69 on: July 19, 2016, 05:39:29 AM »
According to Wikipedia: "To invest is to allocate money (or sometimes another resource, such as time) in the expectation of some benefit in the future."

So what could that benefit be for different "investments"?

If you "invest" in professional massage you will probably feel relaxed afterwards. So you pay money first (investment) and get a good feeling (benefit) in the future. Isn't that an investment, too? The only problem I see with that is that there are lot's of better (cheaper) investments for the same benefit. A transportation company could also buy a bunch of Ferraris in order to transport rocks. That might somehow be effective (gets the job done) but nowhere near efficient.

"Investing" in a purse is still questionable. If you hope that the price for that purse will go up in the future you are rather speculating. And you will probably not land a job or win friends just because of an expensive purse. So I don't see any real benefit of buying it unless your self esteem rises or something like that. However, there are tons of other (and smarter and cheaper) things to do do get the same benefit.

I guess from a consumer point of view investments are things that will increase your productivity in the long run. So for me those are useful tools, education, health etc.

I will probably "invest" in some custom made ear plugs in the future (cost like 100$) even though I could use disposable ones that are much cheaper, but less comfortable. So that would then be an investment in my well being (good sleep, awesome benefit), the environment (no disposable PU earplugs) and might in the long run save me money (not sure about that).
« Last Edit: July 19, 2016, 05:42:42 AM by dachs »

MrsPete

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Re: This is not an 'investment'. Stop using that word.
« Reply #70 on: July 25, 2016, 08:19:25 PM »
Exactly!  I live in a warm climate, and I wear flip flops around the house.  But I can't stand those thong-style ones, so when I find a deal on basic slides, I pick up a few pairs.  The last time I ran out, I went to the outlets, and had a hard time finding anything that wasn't thong-style.  The single pair I did find, on clearance, was still $15, and it was the last pair, so I begrudgingly bought them, and made a note to keep an eye out for the next good buy.

A few months later I found a deal on Everlast slides.  Retail was $25, they were on clearance for $2.50.  It was online, so I decided to buy 10 pairs.  At the shopping cart, the shipping charge was $15!  Free shipping was $50 or more, so mathematically it made sense to me to pick up 20 pairs instead.  they arrived, they are better quality than I expected, and I figure I can get through at least a decade on this $50 buy.

I mentioned it to some of my friends, and quickly learned not to say anything in the future.  Hoarder, shop-o-holic, you name it.  Joking or not, I pointed out that I paid for 20 pairs what they will likely spend on 1 pair that they toss at the end of the season, but it fell on deaf ears.  Oh well.  I bought them a year ago, and I'm currently using two pairs - one at home, one at work, and seeing no real wear to them so far.  I may still have inventory in 15-20 years at this rate!  guess I'll go hoard the savings and put them into an ETF - an actual INVESTMENT...
Yeah, I get it.  Sometimes my daughters and I refer to this as "a present to future me".  Future you probably won't find good flip-flops for $2.50, so it was a good buy. 

Similarly, when my oldest began her college nursing clinicals, she needed good, supportive shoes and had some VERY SPECIFIC requirements.  When we finally found the shoes she needed, the sales girl told us that her mom is a nurse, and because their shoes aren't easy to find, her mom has "a rule" for herself:  She always stays "a pair ahead".  That is, she always has a pair of brand-new nursing shoes in her closet so that she never ends up in a situation where she genuinely NEEDS then and CAN'T find them; when she opens that box, she immediately buys another pair for the closet.  I bought my daughter two pair that day, and now she is also "a pair ahead".  It's not like nursing shoes go out of style.  Present to future her. 

marble_faun

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Re: This is not an 'investment'. Stop using that word.
« Reply #71 on: July 29, 2016, 09:30:52 AM »
I got curious and looked up the etymology of "investment" in the Oxford English Dictionary.

As I suspected, the earliest meaning of "investment" or "invest" does relate to clothing:  "1. The act of putting clothes or vestments on; concr. clothing; robes, vestments. Also fig." 
It comes from the Latin "vestīre" - "to dress, clothe." 

So technically speaking, all those fashion mags may be right! :-)


"Investment" in the monetary sense came later. One of the earliest uses is in regards to the East India trade in the early 17th century.  I think the connection to the earlier meaning may have been metaphorical -- you were "investing" a given venture (say, a ship engaged in trade) with the funds and authority needed -- figuratively garbing it and preparing it with the means to proceed. 

Then it gradually became more common to talk about long-term ways of investing capital.
« Last Edit: July 29, 2016, 09:33:30 AM by marble_faun »

yuka

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Re: This is not an 'investment'. Stop using that word.
« Reply #72 on: August 05, 2016, 08:34:17 PM »
I am looking to get a good Oxford, how much should I be looking to spend on a pair of Allen Edmonds? I know little of shoes and my nature is to buy something comfortable at a low cost. I have a pair of Rockports that I wear after buying 3 years ago and I wear them to work and am on my feet all day (standing desk), so I am starting to appreciate having quality.

I'm not sure that Oxfords are the answer if you're on your feet all day. Having said that, AE oxfords run about $350. If you want to go cheaper (I did), Johnston & Murphy sells their oxfords for ~$175. They're not made in the US (India or Mexico, depending on which color), but the material and craftsmanship seem good to me. I couldn't justify paying so much since I so infrequently have the occasion to wear them.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!