Author Topic: ugh - a very unmastachian spendy week  (Read 10041 times)

mindaugas

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ugh - a very unmastachian spendy week
« on: November 29, 2012, 09:45:21 AM »
Anyone else have these weeks? And why did this have to happen during the uber busy annoying shopping period?

MacBook died, $450 for a new laptop and SSD drive. I can't afford a new MacBook and used ones are ridiculously overpriced.
Power supply in server popped (literally, I jumped in my seat since it was right next to me) and hard drive died. $200 for new psu and drive.
I'm going to have a hefty CC bill at the end of the month and will delay paying off the car :( This seems to reoccur whenever I start heavily saving, something breaks and I have to spend. I can afford it, but it delays debt and gives me a sinking feeling in my gut. The day before all my tech stuff exploded I was thinking about how well I was doing saving, sheesh.

to try and make up for it I am selling stuff. basement firesale! :) No grocery shopping until xmas, we're at least well stocked.

Feel free to share any other suggestions or things you have done when it pours.
« Last Edit: November 29, 2012, 09:51:14 AM by mindaugas »

palvar

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Re: ugh - a very unmastachian spendy week
« Reply #1 on: November 29, 2012, 09:53:03 AM »
Do you need a new laptop?  I've found that after eight hours at the office staring into a computer, I don't really want to look at a screen when I get home.  Can you do whatever necessary online tasks you have at work on your lunch break?

Paul der Krake

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Re: ugh - a very unmastachian spendy week
« Reply #2 on: November 29, 2012, 09:59:20 AM »
Unless heavily in debt, I wouldn't worry about it. There are things that are out of your control- better to acknowledge shortcomings if any (bad brand? previous mistake?), and just move on.

Recurring expenses are the source of all evil. Real emergencies that need being dealt with? Statistically insignificant in the long run.
« Last Edit: November 29, 2012, 10:04:17 AM by Paul der Krake »

mindaugas

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Re: ugh - a very unmastachian spendy week
« Reply #3 on: November 29, 2012, 10:04:58 AM »
Hmm, perhaps I deserve a punch in the face for just going without. Unfortunately no I do need it and use it, I work IT. That sounds like a dumb excuse but it's just a burden of my career. Also, wife is going to stay at home in a couple months and she would appreciate it. We did look for used and also tablets but nothing that was the value this laptop is. I originally got the MacBook for $200 used and at the time was an awesome deal.

I'm not worried about it financially, we'll adjust other areas to keep saving at the same level.

And as a side note, before MMM I would have been spending straight from checking because my savings would be $0 and CC would be maxed. That's really why I feel so guilty because it's like I'm going back to being an idiot. The balance on the CC will be paid off and we should be able to keep the savings level at the same rate.
« Last Edit: November 29, 2012, 10:09:23 AM by mindaugas »

jpo

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Re: ugh - a very unmastachian spendy week
« Reply #4 on: November 29, 2012, 11:13:15 AM »
Hmm, perhaps I deserve a punch in the face for just going without. Unfortunately no I do need it and use it, I work IT. That sounds like a dumb excuse but it's just a burden of my career.
Unless you are freelancing your employer should be providing this.

tooqk4u22

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Re: ugh - a very unmastachian spendy week
« Reply #5 on: November 29, 2012, 11:15:53 AM »
Your not being an idiot and don't feel bad.  This is one of my pet peeves (I have quite a few) when it comes to budgeting and spending and is lost on many of the MMM/ERE type of mindsets.

Bottom line.....shit happens.  This is why my FIRE number includes setting aside each month an estimated amount for home maintenance/repairs, auto maintenance/repairs, and a miscellanous category.  Everything needs to be fixed or replaced at some point - even you.  Your roof may be fine now but in seven year it may not be ($7000 roof that lasts 25 years = $23/month - if your roof is already 18 years old then you should have $5000 set aside for it and pretend it doesn't exist), your computer may be fine now but in 3 years it might not be ($1400 macbook over 36 months =$39/month) - this is just an illustration of why I do it, I don't actually break it down by category like that.


DoubleDown

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Re: ugh - a very unmastachian spendy week
« Reply #6 on: November 29, 2012, 11:32:26 AM »
...setting aside each month an estimated amount for home maintenance/repairs, auto maintenance/repairs, and a miscellaneous category.

I do the same in our budget. You obviously can't budget an exact amount each month since who knows what might come up any given month, but I do my best to have an average amount in mind to cover these various expenses as they come up. We might go 6 months with nothing, then the water heater breaks. It can certainly be frustrating when things go wrong (particularly all at once), but no need to view them as setting back your overall goals. They are a necessary part of the equation, no way to avoid things breaking or various unknown expenses arising. You are still on target with FI goals if you understand that it would be unrealistic to plan a budget that has 0% margin for things needing replacement.

Speaking of stuff breaking, it never hurts to call the manufacturer even when old stuff breaks that's technically no longer under warranty (like the laptop manufacturer in this case). Sometimes they will fix things for you or offer a discount on a new replacement, it never hurts to ask. And if I expect any big things to be at the end of their lifespan, like major appliances, HVAC, etc., I consider starting a homeowner's warranty that will cover the cost of replacement.

Jamesqf

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Re: ugh - a very unmastachian spendy week
« Reply #7 on: November 29, 2012, 11:36:18 AM »
MacBook died, $450 for a new laptop and SSD drive. I can't afford a new MacBook and used ones are ridiculously overpriced.

What died?  Can you fix it?

Quote
Feel free to share any other suggestions or things you have done when it pours.

Credit card offers with X months 0% interest, as for instance this one: http://promo.bankofamerica.com/ccsearchlp7/?code=VABMID&channel=s&cm_mmc=Cons-CC-_-Google-PS-_-bank%20of%20america%20credit%20card-_-Brand%20Credit%20Card%20HV%20Broad 

Or for home maintenance/repairs/project stuff, I keep a Home Depot account, that usually offers 0% for six months to a year or more on purchases over $300.  Saves time, too.  I used to go in every few weeks for some small purchase, now I try to buy everything I'll need for a few months in one trip.

mindaugas

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Re: ugh - a very unmastachian spendy week
« Reply #8 on: November 29, 2012, 12:07:17 PM »
Hmm, perhaps I deserve a punch in the face for just going without. Unfortunately no I do need it and use it, I work IT. That sounds like a dumb excuse but it's just a burden of my career.
Unless you are freelancing your employer should be providing this.

They do, but it's not easy to take home. I'm a gov't contractor. Plus, no one in IT uses their computers purely for their current job. To be on top of my game I have to be constantly tinkering, playing, discovering, learning. Just like a musician doesn't have one trombone, they have a bass trombone, valve, etc. Or an artist has one set of colored pencisl, brushes, etc, etc.

I've seen the replace this funds before and I love the idea. Right now though we are focusing on paying off debt, after that it will be easy to set aside money in different funds.

hdd and dvdrw died. I didn't know at the time they can boot off external dvd, which I do now and have since replaced the drive and rebuilt it. After I confirm it's working without other issues I'll see what I can get for it. Cosmetically it is horrible and Mac lovers hate ugly macs. It's also the older Core duo so it won't run anything above 10.6 and only takes 2GB ram max.

I'm just gonna pay the credit card off and avoid the interest :)

strider3700

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Re: ugh - a very unmastachian spendy week
« Reply #9 on: November 29, 2012, 12:22:40 PM »
Shit happens.  That's why I have an emergency fund.  I do my best to budget this stuff into the jars (I do almost all cash) but sometimes you've only got $100 in the household jar and a hotwater heater starts leaking...

unpolloloco

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Re: ugh - a very unmastachian spendy week
« Reply #10 on: November 29, 2012, 12:38:14 PM »
Can you fix the macbook?  Even if you can't, you should still be able to get a bit of cash for it on Ebay unless it's from 1995.

chucklesmcgee

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Re: ugh - a very unmastachian spendy week
« Reply #11 on: November 29, 2012, 02:01:23 PM »
MacBook died, $450 for a new laptop and SSD drive. I can't afford a new MacBook and used ones are ridiculously overpriced.

Huh, well you could get a real computer instead that's not ridiculously overpriced. Or just keep buying into Apple's brainwashing campaign that their laptops are pretty and special and different and magical and that you're a better human being for owning one.

mindaugas

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Re: ugh - a very unmastachian spendy week
« Reply #12 on: November 29, 2012, 02:03:32 PM »
MacBook died, $450 for a new laptop and SSD drive. I can't afford a new MacBook and used ones are ridiculously overpriced.

Huh, well you could get a real computer instead that's not ridiculously overpriced. Or just keep buying into Apple's brainwashing campaign that their laptops are pretty and special and different and magical and that you're a better human being for owning one.

Go back and re-read what I wrote ...

Jamesqf

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Re: ugh - a very unmastachian spendy week
« Reply #13 on: November 29, 2012, 04:37:48 PM »
hdd and dvdrw died. I didn't know at the time they can boot off external dvd, which I do now and have since replaced the drive and rebuilt it. After I confirm it's working without other issues I'll see what I can get for it. Cosmetically it is horrible and Mac lovers hate ugly macs. It's also the older Core duo so it won't run anything above 10.6 and only takes 2GB ram max.

Linux could be your friend here.  And what do you need more than 640 K 2 GB of RAM for anyway?  I get along pretty well with 2 GB...

Quote
I'm just gonna pay the credit card off and avoid the interest :)

Well, sure.  The point I was trying to make is that it's handy to have cards where you can take up to 6 months to a year to do that.  I mean, even if I'm making only 4% by keeping the money my investment account, it's still free money :-)

mindaugas

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Re: ugh - a very unmastachian spendy week
« Reply #14 on: November 29, 2012, 07:16:37 PM »
Linux could be your friend here.  And what do you need more than 640 K 2 GB of RAM for anyway?  I get along pretty well with 2 GB...

I need it for all my browser toolbars in internet explorer and aol said I need 4 keelo bitz of cpu for the next upgrade.

Paul der Krake

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Re: ugh - a very unmastachian spendy week
« Reply #15 on: November 29, 2012, 07:54:51 PM »
Linux could be your friend here.  And what do you need more than 640 K 2 GB of RAM for anyway?  I get along pretty well with 2 GB...

I need it for all my browser toolbars in internet explorer and aol said I need 4 keelo bitz of cpu for the next upgrade.
Your prayers have been answered.

strider3700

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Re: ugh - a very unmastachian spendy week
« Reply #16 on: November 30, 2012, 01:16:53 AM »
I can't tell if that's a joke site or a spam/infect your PC site for morons.

Jack

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Re: ugh - a very unmastachian spendy week
« Reply #17 on: November 30, 2012, 05:42:25 AM »
Linux could be your friend here.  And what do you need more than 640 K 2 GB of RAM for anyway?  I get along pretty well with 2 GB...

Personally, I need more than 2 GB of RAM because Firefox is easily capable of using the entire amount ("Hello, my name is Jack and I'm addicted to tabs...").

mindaugas

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Re: ugh - a very unmastachian spendy week
« Reply #18 on: November 30, 2012, 06:47:14 AM »
they're all pretty bad actually.


Jamesqf

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Re: ugh - a very unmastachian spendy week
« Reply #19 on: November 30, 2012, 11:09:41 AM »
Personally, I need more than 2 GB of RAM because Firefox is easily capable of using the entire amount ("Hello, my name is Jack and I'm addicted to tabs...").

Perhaps your problem is not lack of RAM, but superfluity of browser?  As I look at this page, my browser (Opera) is at 192 MB resident + 20 MB shared.  And to be honest, I can't understand what in the world it's doing with all that memory.

James

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Re: ugh - a very unmastachian spendy week
« Reply #20 on: November 30, 2012, 11:38:33 AM »
Linux could be your friend here.  And what do you need more than 640 K 2 GB of RAM for anyway?  I get along pretty well with 2 GB...

I need it for all my browser toolbars in internet explorer and aol said I need 4 keelo bitz of cpu for the next upgrade.

That's just awesome...  :D

Sorry about the big spending month, been there and it hurts.  But awesome to hear you are on the right track and keep it up!

dragoncar

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Re: ugh - a very unmastachian spendy week
« Reply #21 on: November 30, 2012, 12:12:36 PM »
Modern browsers will basically scale their RAM usage to fill available space (essentially reserving the RAM), and release it when needed for other applications.  Just because task manager says Firefox is using X GB doesn't mean it really needs X GB.

That said, RAM is pretty damn cheap.  Most laptops can't handle more than $50 worth, right? (haven't looked into this in a while, but my laptop is limited to like 4 GB). 

Anyways, if I needed a new laptop on a budget, I'd try a netbook out to see if I really miss the high-powered experience.

mindaugas

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Re: ugh - a very unmastachian spendy week
« Reply #22 on: November 30, 2012, 12:29:27 PM »
That said, RAM is pretty damn cheap.  Most laptops can't handle more than $50 worth, right? (haven't looked into this in a while, but my laptop is limited to like 4 GB). 

yeah, that reserved RAM doesn't help my VMs though. :) The new laptop I have takes 16GB and you can get that for about $60 I think. I just got 16GB for my server for $54. Yes, it's cheap provided you are getting newer stuff. DDR2 and below is more pricey.

strider3700

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Re: ugh - a very unmastachian spendy week
« Reply #23 on: November 30, 2012, 02:07:24 PM »
I just set my VM's to reserve as much ram as they'll need, XP gets 2GB, everything else gets 4gb each.  I fully agree ram is cheap. I'm arguing to get 64 in our main server just so that I can stop caring about it and juggling vm's that are using up the 16 it currently has.  less then $200 for me to not even need to think about it is a great use of money in my mind

venkol

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Re: ugh - a very unmastachian spendy week
« Reply #24 on: December 03, 2012, 09:09:30 AM »
PSUs are cheap, you can decent brand (OCZ, Crosair, Antec, etc), low power ones for under $50 after mail in rebate.  They are not meant to power high end video cards, but you don't mention that as an issue.

Hard Drives should run you under a $100, during the Holiday season 3 TB drives were right around $100.  Shop around a bit and you could get a 1 TB for $60-70.

That's $110 to $120 for the repair instead of $200.

Laptops are dirt cheap, you should be able to find a replacement for $250-$300 if you just need an internet machine.  Netbooks start closer to $200 and under if you can get away with that.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!