Author Topic: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?  (Read 245951 times)

Just Joe

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #650 on: March 14, 2019, 07:34:59 AM »
Plans? People have plans? I was so stupid back then (and only marginally better now) that the only reason I don't have student debt is because I couldn't figure out where to sign up for it. /s j/k

Cool Friend

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #651 on: March 14, 2019, 07:44:45 AM »
Plans? People have plans? I was so stupid back then (and only marginally better now) that the only reason I don't have student debt is because I couldn't figure out where to sign up for it. /s j/k

I lol'd.

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #652 on: March 14, 2019, 09:03:42 AM »
1. In 1987, in my 4th year of university, a salesman came to our fraternity to sign upperclassmen to join a buyer’s club (CBN: The Computerized Buying Network) for all sorts of household goods. For the bargain price of a $1,000 lifetime membership, we were assured of dramatically reduced prices on furniture, major appliances, kitchen wares, you name it.

The pitch went something like, “You guys will be graduating from school and starting to earn some real money, and you’ll be moving out of University housing so you’ll need to furnish an apartment/house soon.” And we were like, “Hell yes, we’re about to be making bank; this totally makes sense; we would be stupid NOT to join.”

A dozen of us signed contracts and started making monthly payments. Immediate regret. Especially for me because I wouldn’t be graduating for another year (and my first post-college job would end up paying $5/hour), so $1,000 was a shit ton of money for me at the time. One of my classmates actually did start at a well-paying job and went to place an order for furniture: “Ok, your couch and chairs will be delivered in 24 months.”

2. Several years into my next job, my salary had increased quite a bit. I bought a house (just paid it off last year—no regrets!) and was tired of parking my big-ass Ford F150 pickup. My girlfriend (now wife) had finished her master’s degree and wanted to upgrade from her utilitarian and rattling Toyota 4Runner, so we both went to the Infiniti dealership. Ugh. I got a black FX35 SUV (because at my salary, I deserved it and could afford it [face punch] and she got a red G35 sport coupe. Each about $40,000 at the time. At least we both got 0% financing. I bet the salesman went out for a celebratory dinner that night. I have to credit the FX35 for making me realize that owning expensive shit wasn’t improving my hate for my well-paying job and what I really wanted was freedom from the obligation to work. I traded it in for a Subaru Outback which I still happily drive 12 years later. As for the G35, it was a blast to drive and it looked very sexy. When we got it home we discovered that it sat so low that the undercarriage scraped the driveway! She had to back it in (after I took a grinder to the cracked high spot of concrete!). The proverbial last straw came when she went to replace the thin, wide sport tires –designed to wear quickly for maximum traction -- and shelled out about $2,500.

I’m happy to report that today I am debt free and about 7 months from fat FIRE.

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #653 on: March 14, 2019, 09:47:07 AM »
I hired (and still do) someone to come in every 2 weeks and clean the house.

And honestly I have no regrets. Among other things, it's eliminated about 80% of the arguing between my spouse and I, and the cleaner is cheaper than therapy.

Do you mind if I ask how much you spend on this, and how many bd/br your house is?

I don't mind. :) We have a reasonably large house (the joys and restrictions of country living...), and don't use/clean the basement regularly. The top 2 floors is 3 bedrooms, 1 full bathroom and 1 half-bath, a very large kitchen/dining area, large living room, library/play area, and entryway. Getting that reasonably clean takes me 6 hours and takes my housecleaner 4, and runs 70$CAD every 2 weeks (roughly 50$ for americans).

Honestly: every week would be overkill, but with 4 people and a cat, by the time she comes, it NEEDS cleaning - visibly.

... and to be blunt: the cleaning has to happen (well, I guess living in filth is an option, but not one I can deal with), and my options are either to do it while we're at home with the kids (... um, I wanna spend time with the kids, or with the husband), cut my hours at work by a half-day and do it myself (I HATE it, and make more than I pay her for that half-day of cleaning so it would be a stupid financial move), or outsource it. Given our income... this works for our family as the best of all options.

$100 USD/month for someone else to keep your house clean? That actually sounds so nice.

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #654 on: March 14, 2019, 02:09:45 PM »
I hired (and still do) someone to come in every 2 weeks and clean the house.

And honestly I have no regrets. Among other things, it's eliminated about 80% of the arguing between my spouse and I, and the cleaner is cheaper than therapy.

Do you mind if I ask how much you spend on this, and how many bd/br your house is?

I don't mind. :) We have a reasonably large house (the joys and restrictions of country living...), and don't use/clean the basement regularly. The top 2 floors is 3 bedrooms, 1 full bathroom and 1 half-bath, a very large kitchen/dining area, large living room, library/play area, and entryway. Getting that reasonably clean takes me 6 hours and takes my housecleaner 4, and runs 70$CAD every 2 weeks (roughly 50$ for americans).

Honestly: every week would be overkill, but with 4 people and a cat, by the time she comes, it NEEDS cleaning - visibly.

... and to be blunt: the cleaning has to happen (well, I guess living in filth is an option, but not one I can deal with), and my options are either to do it while we're at home with the kids (... um, I wanna spend time with the kids, or with the husband), cut my hours at work by a half-day and do it myself (I HATE it, and make more than I pay her for that half-day of cleaning so it would be a stupid financial move), or outsource it. Given our income... this works for our family as the best of all options.
+1

We finally pulled the trigger when kid #1 was a year old (he's 13 now).  Husband was resistant, but we were both fucking exhausted.  And we finally found someone recommended highly.  Until then, my friends say "she's great but has a long wait list" or "she's great but doesn't do DEEP cleaning".  Um...I want deep cleaning?

12 years later, small house (1100 sf, or thereabouts, 1 bath) and we still have the service.  $75 every 2 weeks.  Has never ever gone up.  I think she loves us because we kept going during the downturn (because of course we did, we had a second kid and were even more exhausted!)

Mr.GrowingMustache

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #655 on: March 14, 2019, 03:03:15 PM »
ever... probably buying a $21.5k used car.... before my mustachian days.

In 2013 I decided to "upgrade" my 2005 Galant with 100k miles for a 4 year old fully loaded Nissan Maxima. It was mint condition 27k miles from a private/original seller. Rear camera, panoramic roof, leather seat, cooled and heated driver seat, memory seats that move in and out as you get in, keyless entry... fast!

I loved the car (still do) but in 2015 after I "rediscovered' MMM and got myself together I began slowly regretting the decision. I went to CarMax a few times and saw my car's value depriciate like a rock over a few years. I decided to "keep" the car until it dies since, you know.... I already lost like $10k value over 3 years, and the car was rather reliable. Ove the years it kept grinding me that I spent sooo much, and it uses premium fuel @ mediocre 20-21mpg. I really wanted to get a Wagon! Then BAM one day I got rear ended. Not only my baby took a hit, so did it resale value :(

Last year I finally decided to pull the trigger, if I found a great deal on a wagon I would go for it and sell the Nissan for what it's worth.

Got myself a 2016 Golf Sportwagen with 67k miles for $8.8k, a great deal. I couldnt bear to sell the Nissan to another person so I will sell it to my parents. The bonus they are getting is that I already did $800 worth of DIY maintenance (trans fluid, break fluid, coolant, break pads, rotors) and repairs(suspension front and back, camshaft sensor) to make sure that they dont have to touch anything on it for a while.

js82

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #656 on: March 14, 2019, 03:47:07 PM »
The > $15k vacation.

Granted, it lasted 2+ weeks, took me to the other side of the globe, and included multiple bucket list items(including scuba at the Great Barrier Reef), but still... that's a lot of money, to the tune of ~$1k/day.  Could have done most of it at much less expense, but I wasn't the one planning.

Probably the only time in my life I've had sticker shock associated with a particular expense.

Off the Wheel

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #657 on: March 14, 2019, 09:49:05 PM »
I LOVE my cleaning lady and would never give her up. $120 every two weeks but it keeps me happy in my home and in my marriage.

I once bought a $1200 silk jumpsuit because I was ending a chapter in my life and it felt like a fitting farewell. 7 years later, I've worn it three times.

Bloop Bloop

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #658 on: March 15, 2019, 07:20:51 AM »
when I was 25 I spent 1/2 a year's salary on a car ($30k)

Liked it so much when I was 30 I spent 2/3 a year's salary on a car ($100k)

And I'm planning when I'm 38 (in a few years' time) to spend 3/4 year's salary on a car ($200k) - presuming my salary makes it that far. Here's hoping.

However, my fraction skills are not that great and I think that will be the last car I ever purchase. By the way I don't even commute. These cars are just daily/track toys.

I realise this is very face-punchable but frankly, I like my toys, I like my revs and the rest of my finances are well sorted so I don't have much difficulty justifying it. I think everyone ought to be allowed to splurge as long as he/she knows exactly what he/she is sacrificing. In my case, I could have FIRED 3-4 years younger if I never bought and drove the cars I did - and I'm okay with that sacrifice.

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #659 on: March 15, 2019, 07:27:04 AM »
I often buy expensive top of the line drums to only play them for a year or so and them sell them for another drumset. This also includes cymbals and hardware.

I justify my purchases because I typically get paid ~$100 or more when I do play out.

Another expensive habit of mine are luxury cars. I love German engineering.

Askel

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #660 on: March 15, 2019, 04:18:55 PM »
Gah, pretty much anything involving internal combustion engines. 

I dabbled in various forms of auto racing. Then got into motorcycles to "save" money. 

Maybe it's just a thing young men do. 

I think I finally started getting a clue when I shared an elevator ride with two long time competitors and one remarked to to the other: "Man, what if we had put all this money we've spent on racing into property or something?" 

The sad, awkward silence that followed was indeed both sad and awkward. 

Thankfully I found bicycles. While they can still be somewhat spendy, I find them way, way more fun than cars or motorcycles ever were. I wish I had figured that out sooner. 

Alternatepriorities

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #661 on: March 16, 2019, 02:07:54 PM »
I'll offer

The summer I was 14 I worked two jobs and literally tracked my finances to the penny... Then I spent it all on a snowmobile. It was used, I paid cash, and I enjoyed the heck out of it for the rest of high school but I can't pretend it was a wise choice

When I went to college I "invested" in new macbook pro. I seriously considered buying apple stock with the money but still thought investing in stocks was something only rich people did... I'd be completely fired now if I bought the stock.

I stayed on campus for most of college even though it cost twice as much because high speed internet wasn't available anywhere else in the town.

Fortunately I've otherwise been generally frugal and was borderline obsessed with it by the time I finished college. I do wish I'd learned I wasn't the only one sooner.

Wrenchturner

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #662 on: March 16, 2019, 02:37:41 PM »
I bought these when I was in high school.  Not the best use of $1500CAD.  To be fair, I didn't really have anyone around me with financial sense, and I still have those cans, and they've held up beautifully. 

remizidae

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #663 on: March 16, 2019, 03:09:35 PM »
I hired (and still do) someone to come in every 2 weeks and clean the house.

And honestly I have no regrets. Among other things, it's eliminated about 80% of the arguing between my spouse and I, and the cleaner is cheaper than therapy.

Do you mind if I ask how much you spend on this, and how many bd/br your house is?

I don't mind. :) We have a reasonably large house (the joys and restrictions of country living...), and don't use/clean the basement regularly. The top 2 floors is 3 bedrooms, 1 full bathroom and 1 half-bath, a very large kitchen/dining area, large living room, library/play area, and entryway. Getting that reasonably clean takes me 6 hours and takes my housecleaner 4, and runs 70$CAD every 2 weeks (roughly 50$ for americans).

Honestly: every week would be overkill, but with 4 people and a cat, by the time she comes, it NEEDS cleaning - visibly.

... and to be blunt: the cleaning has to happen (well, I guess living in filth is an option, but not one I can deal with), and my options are either to do it while we're at home with the kids (... um, I wanna spend time with the kids, or with the husband), cut my hours at work by a half-day and do it myself (I HATE it, and make more than I pay her for that half-day of cleaning so it would be a stupid financial move), or outsource it. Given our income... this works for our family as the best of all options.

$100 USD/month for someone else to keep your house clean? That actually sounds so nice.

Yeah, I'd like to do this, but it would be $150 per cleaning in my area for a two bedroom apartment.

u/Kitsune, did you notice that you didn't even register it as an option that your husband could do the cleaning? I hope you're not passing on this internalized "cleaning is a woman's job" message to your children.

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #664 on: March 16, 2019, 09:29:59 PM »
A leftist.

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done
« Reply #666 on: March 17, 2019, 05:54:00 AM »
I hired (and still do) someone to come in every 2 weeks and clean the house.

And honestly I have no regrets. Among other things, it's eliminated about 80% of the arguing between my spouse and I, and the cleaner is cheaper than therapy.

Do you mind if I ask how much you spend on this, and how many bd/br your house is?

I don't mind. :) We have a reasonably large house (the joys and restrictions of country living...), and don't use/clean the basement regularly. The top 2 floors is 3 bedrooms, 1 full bathroom and 1 half-bath, a very large kitchen/dining area, large living room, library/play area, and entryway. Getting that reasonably clean takes me 6 hours and takes my housecleaner 4, and runs 70$CAD every 2 weeks (roughly 50$ for americans).

Honestly: every week would be overkill, but with 4 people and a cat, by the time she comes, it NEEDS cleaning - visibly.

... and to be blunt: the cleaning has to happen (well, I guess living in filth is an option, but not one I can deal with), and my options are either to do it while we're at home with the kids (... um, I wanna spend time with the kids, or with the husband), cut my hours at work by a half-day and do it myself (I HATE it, and make more than I pay her for that half-day of cleaning so it would be a stupid financial move), or outsource it. Given our income... this works for our family as the best of all options.

$100 USD/month for someone else to keep your house clean? That actually sounds so nice.

Yeah, I'd like to do this, but it would be $150 per cleaning in my area for a two bedroom apartment.

u/Kitsune, did you notice that you didn't even register it as an option that your husband could do the cleaning? I hope you're not passing on this internalized "cleaning is a woman's job" message to your children.

No, no - note that I wrote that WE can clean on weekends (if we give up time together or with the kids - bad bargain).  It's extremely externalized and household work split is something we discuss and actually split 50%. If you mean the option of me working fewer hours vs him : my job is flexible and I could, his is categorically not and not an option. It's a logistics/job issue, not a gender issue.

Though that's worth discussing on its own, mind - because having one partner with a job that flexes means that it's damned easy to flex it into a smaller thing to take on more family work, so resisting that has to be conscious. From both of us.

... and since the people with flexible/perceived flexible jobs tend to be women, in my circles, that's also something I see a lot. We're aware of it and I WON'T (like, if the kids are sick, we trade off on use of sick days, barring extremely important engagements from either of us. That's worked out to an even split, but it would be so easy for me to flex time and cover it all... but it's a shared responsibility and also my work is important so no) but for anyone else, it's definitely something to be aware of.

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #667 on: March 17, 2019, 06:32:38 AM »


I once bought a $1200 silk jumpsuit because I was ending a chapter in my life and it felt like a fitting farewell. 7 years later, I've worn it three times.

Ok. Now I don’t feel quite as bad that yesterday I spent $230 on a white lace jumpsuit from Anthropologie.

Still, not a good decision. I don’t know what I was thinking other than that I’ve finally lost enough weight that I can just walk into an Anthropologie and buy something for the first time in my life. And the salesperson convinced me that if I just dress it down with a denim jacket I could wear it anywhere.

Probably the most antimustachian thing we’ve done is buying the big  loft style condo in the south loop with a $200k mortgage when we had a sweet but much smaller condo  in the near suburbs that was completely paid off. But now we can walk to work and that’s sort of mustachian, right?

Hula Hoop

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #668 on: March 17, 2019, 09:00:29 AM »
Can i just say that I love jumpsuits. The pre-mustachian me would have been all over that white lace jumpsuit.  Although I'd probably also spill someting on it within a week of purchase.

Most of my non-mustachian things were clothing related.  I love clothes but realized that FIRE is more important and I have enough in my closet already. 

Just Joe

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #669 on: March 17, 2019, 12:24:59 PM »
White clothes, white upholstery, white carpet, white car interiors - nope 'cause white is like a dirt magnet. My touch or ownership may multiply the magnetic effect. Not sure.

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #670 on: March 19, 2019, 06:45:52 PM »
First class plane tickets from east coast US to Australia for my teenage daughter and me. Because we are worth it. Maximally un-mustachian. Definitely delayed FIRE a teeny bit.

And now I want to fly first class every time I go overseas, so I upgraded first class on the way to Europe this summer.

I suck.

ny ny

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #671 on: March 26, 2019, 12:02:51 PM »
To celebrate breaking 6 figures of cash in the bank, I furnished my living room  with a ton of expensive furniture. Between the lounge chair, shelves, couch, rug and coffee table, I spent about $30,000 altogether.

Never again. I love my space and think it looks cool, but probably wouldn’t have the nerve to do it again knowing how much better it would be to invest it.

GreenToTheCore

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #672 on: March 26, 2019, 09:54:04 PM »
White clothes, white upholstery, white carpet, white car interiors - nope 'cause white is like a dirt magnet. My touch or ownership may multiply the magnetic effect. Not sure.

Agreed. It's one reason why I was hesitant to buy an ipod in the beginning. The charger cable and the ear buds are white and you want how much for them???

Just Joe

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #673 on: March 27, 2019, 07:54:24 AM »
And apparently one version of the device doesn't necessarily work with another version of the earbuds so says my DW.

A generic 1/8" stereo jack along with generic bluetooth audio is better... Something proprietary is better for Apple.
« Last Edit: March 28, 2019, 08:46:12 AM by Just Joe »

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #674 on: March 27, 2019, 06:56:30 PM »
I bought a 2019 Toyota 4 Runner 6 months ago.  With cash.  I've been retired for 12+ years.  The 30k+ won't have any impact on my lifestyle.   I've driven beaters nearly all my life.  This should last me a year or two.

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #675 on: March 28, 2019, 07:14:20 AM »
I bought a 2019 Toyota 4 Runner 6 months ago.  With cash.  I've been retired for 12+ years.  The 30k+ won't have any impact on my lifestyle.   I've driven beaters nearly all my life.  This should last me a year decade or two.

FTFY.

JanetJackson

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #676 on: March 28, 2019, 08:00:02 AM »
Welp, ok I'll bite.
Mine is antimustachian, yes - but worth it.

I am a low-income earner who optimizes most/all other areas, yet I go to a Crossfit gym. YUP, I do. 

I hack the heck out of my membership, paying for it yearly for the biggest discount (vs. monthly), with a card for cash back, and negotiating an extra month into every annual package I buy, yet it's still about $82/month and it is so so so so so so so so so....so so so so so so (<---wanted to ad a few more there...) worth it for me. :p  I would say broken down weekly, it brings me 40-50% of my joy for the week, plus I get to have a community, work on my health, and I can carry a dresser for my elderly neighbor by myself in a pinch (last weekend). 
Être fort pour être utile and all that, you know?

DadJokes

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #677 on: March 28, 2019, 10:37:18 AM »
I joined the military to get the GI Bill to finish school. During my six-year contract, I had paid-for housing (awful as it was), an additional stipend for food half the time (and free awful food the other half), lived less than ten miles from where I worked, and had two years of untaxed income (and huge pay raises) thanks to a couple deployments. Out of that (I estimated $150k before taxes), all I had to show for it was a nice motorcycle, $20k in debt paid off, and about $6k invested. I knew that I should be investing, but just didn't care.

Just Joe

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #678 on: March 28, 2019, 12:46:56 PM »
Investing? When I was in the military (pre-internet) I barely knew what the word meant. I had some savings bonds that I later cashed out to buy my first motorcycle post-military. Not smart.

Six years of stupidity but I was alot smarter going out than I was going in. All relative right?

Over the next few years it dawned on me that I needed to make smarter choices in order to get ahead otherwise face just scraping by forever.

I earned an engineering degree using my GI Bill. Met DW. We worked alot of odd jobs. DW earned two more degrees.

DW and I have been gaining momentum ever since. She helped set me straight.

The next time I'm 25 years old, I have a few things to do right but sooner like learning about compound interest....

Tyson

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #679 on: March 28, 2019, 01:19:49 PM »
Got divorced and kept the house.  Ouch.

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #680 on: March 29, 2019, 05:58:19 PM »
For me, my most anti-mmm purchases would be related to my car hobby, particularly my current "toy". I'm not sorry I bought it but it wasn't a great financial decision.

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #681 on: March 30, 2019, 05:42:11 AM »
Got divorced and kept the house.  Ouch.
got divorced and kept the mortgage....

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #682 on: April 01, 2019, 11:43:18 PM »
Mine is antimustachian, yes - but worth it.

I am a low-income earner who optimizes most/all other areas, yet I go to a Crossfit gym. YUP, I do.

Nah man, a gym membership doesn't have to be antimustachian. You can get a lot of value out of a membership. Just look at the guys who live in vans and shower at their gym. The gym membership you don't use is antimustachian.

JanetJackson

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #683 on: April 02, 2019, 07:23:07 AM »
Mine is antimustachian, yes - but worth it.

I am a low-income earner who optimizes most/all other areas, yet I go to a Crossfit gym. YUP, I do.

Nah man, a gym membership doesn't have to be antimustachian. You can get a lot of value out of a membership. Just look at the guys who live in vans and shower at their gym. The gym membership you don't use is antimustachian.

Thank you. :)
I've also been trying to shower there whenever I don't have to go back to work asap (the water savings vs going back to work favors going back to work, unless I'm off for the rest of the day). 
I've tried to think of every possible way to hack it so that I can enjoy it relatively guilt free.  :)

ambimammular

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #684 on: April 03, 2019, 08:18:38 PM »
We just got back from Disney World. Stayed on the property, got the meal plan.
But at least I wasn't one of the folks walking around with $40 mouse ears that I'll never wear after going back home.

Goldielocks

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #685 on: April 04, 2019, 12:00:38 AM »
We just got back from Disney World. Stayed on the property, got the meal plan.
But at least I wasn't one of the folks walking around with $40 mouse ears that I'll never wear after going back home.
Hey, you can buy the mouse ears at the thrift store for $5 before you go, and wear them at the property.

« Last Edit: April 04, 2019, 06:15:31 PM by Goldielocks »

dignam

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #686 on: April 04, 2019, 06:47:05 AM »
Buying a new car (~$21k) in 2014 from a brand that had a reputation of abysmal resale.  I had no business taking on debt at that time in my life either.  Car itself only had one problem in the first year (clutch master cylinder covered under warranty) and was reliable overall and kinda fun, but final straw was when the company killed off that model, foiling my plans to do some tinkering to it.  After 4 years it had lost about 65% of its value.  There are some regrets with that purchase.

Last year I traded it for a 5 year old certified pre-owned 335i; paid about $14k after trade.  I'm earning substantially more than I was in 2014, with only one debt left (mortgage).  The 335i had already lost the bulk of its value before I purchased (and has barely depreciated at all over the last year); freaking love that car.  One of the fastest cars I've ever driven, really comfortable and fun to drive and just feels solid; gets a very respectable 33ish mpg on the highway for a turbo 6 cylinder.   Not mustachian at all but no regrets with this one.  Cue the BMW haters; and for the record I've had 0 issues with it which is already ahead of the brand new car I bought in 2014.

Goldielocks

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #687 on: April 04, 2019, 06:17:49 PM »
Buying a new car (~$21k) in 2014 from a brand that had a reputation of abysmal resale.  I had no business taking on debt at that time in my life either.  Car itself only had one problem in the first year (clutch master cylinder covered under warranty) and was reliable overall and kinda fun, but final straw was when the company killed off that model, foiling my plans to do some tinkering to it.  After 4 years it had lost about 65% of its value.  There are some regrets with that purchase.

Last year I traded it for a 5 year old certified pre-owned 335i; paid about $14k after trade.  I'm earning substantially more than I was in 2014, with only one debt left (mortgage).  The 335i had already lost the bulk of its value before I purchased (and has barely depreciated at all over the last year); freaking love that car.  One of the fastest cars I've ever driven, really comfortable and fun to drive and just feels solid; gets a very respectable 33ish mpg on the highway for a turbo 6 cylinder.   Not mustachian at all but no regrets with this one.  Cue the BMW haters; and for the record I've had 0 issues with it which is already ahead of the brand new car I bought in 2014.
How much do you budget annually for routine maintenance?   I agree that 3-5year BMWs coming off lease have a huge depreciation pre-built in... but before I almost bought one, I did a double take on the oil change / routine maintenance costs, even just parts costs, so  I would love your input here.

dignam

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #688 on: April 05, 2019, 07:16:43 AM »
Buying a new car (~$21k) in 2014 from a brand that had a reputation of abysmal resale.  I had no business taking on debt at that time in my life either.  Car itself only had one problem in the first year (clutch master cylinder covered under warranty) and was reliable overall and kinda fun, but final straw was when the company killed off that model, foiling my plans to do some tinkering to it.  After 4 years it had lost about 65% of its value.  There are some regrets with that purchase.

Last year I traded it for a 5 year old certified pre-owned 335i; paid about $14k after trade.  I'm earning substantially more than I was in 2014, with only one debt left (mortgage).  The 335i had already lost the bulk of its value before I purchased (and has barely depreciated at all over the last year); freaking love that car.  One of the fastest cars I've ever driven, really comfortable and fun to drive and just feels solid; gets a very respectable 33ish mpg on the highway for a turbo 6 cylinder.   Not mustachian at all but no regrets with this one.  Cue the BMW haters; and for the record I've had 0 issues with it which is already ahead of the brand new car I bought in 2014.
How much do you budget annually for routine maintenance?   I agree that 3-5year BMWs coming off lease have a huge depreciation pre-built in... but before I almost bought one, I did a double take on the oil change / routine maintenance costs, even just parts costs, so  I would love your input here.

Sure - as far as routine maintenance so far, I've only had to do brake fluid change on the 335.  That was ~$140, and only done every 24 months I believe (but it's the CBS system so YMMV).  I actually will spend the same, if not more on oil changes on my 15 year old beater Jeep (~$70 per 12 quart case of dinosaur oil, each change taking 6 quarts + plus filter) doing it myself since that has to be changed every 3k miles.  The 335 can go 10-12k between changes (or more), albeit much more expense; probably $130.  I put about 8k miles on the BMW each year.

So as far as maintenance budget goes: I expect to spend a few hundred a year on maintenance on the Jeep + 335.  I do the majority of the work myself, which as of now is almost all Jeep stuff.  I won't touch the 335 myself until it's out of CPO warranty.  I am reasonably confident working on vehicles myself; yes I know BMW is its own world of maintenance, but youtube is your friend.

MustacheBeginner

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #689 on: April 12, 2019, 08:08:27 AM »
In 2011 when I moved back to the US I bought a used Audi A4 for $28.500 in full. Will never do that again. I wised up in the meantime, also thanks to MMM.
At least I am still driving it and plan to do so until it can’t crawl anymore.
The now realized opportunity cost makes me a bit dizzy :)
But wait, there is more!
I had a 6 figure sum saved in 2011 and just didn’t know what to do with it so I just let it sit on my bank account for like forever. Simply moving it into a Vanguard index fund would have put me lightyears ahead by now. Oof! Being uneducated costs a lot of money, here’s the proof!

boyerbt

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #690 on: April 12, 2019, 08:10:28 AM »
when I was 25 I spent 1/2 a year's salary on a car ($30k)

Liked it so much when I was 30 I spent 2/3 a year's salary on a car ($100k)

And I'm planning when I'm 38 (in a few years' time) to spend 3/4 year's salary on a car ($200k) - presuming my salary makes it that far. Here's hoping.

However, my fraction skills are not that great and I think that will be the last car I ever purchase. By the way I don't even commute. These cars are just daily/track toys.

I realise this is very face-punchable but frankly, I like my toys, I like my revs and the rest of my finances are well sorted so I don't have much difficulty justifying it. I think everyone ought to be allowed to splurge as long as he/she knows exactly what he/she is sacrificing. In my case, I could have FIRED 3-4 years younger if I never bought and drove the cars I did - and I'm okay with that sacrifice.

Just curious, do you mind sharing what the 100k and 200k cars are?

letsdoit

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #691 on: April 12, 2019, 11:15:41 AM »
triathlons.  prob 10k for the gear and the bikes and the races
i only lasted 3-4 years on that hobby, too

Goldielocks

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #692 on: April 12, 2019, 01:47:26 PM »
triathlons.  prob 10k for the gear and the bikes and the races
i only lasted 3-4 years on that hobby, too
Scuba Diving....   I don't think we spent that much (10k) for the lessons and gear, mayber $5k-$8k in today's values...and we did get a lot of experiences out of it, so it is not the worst thing... but it was a spendy thing.

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #693 on: May 03, 2019, 10:02:40 AM »
The most anti-mustachian thing that we have done and continue to do is bike racing.  My two sons and I are all doing it, and we have thousands of dollars tied up in bikes for a 4yo, 6yo and one adult (we will all have two racing bikes each as of a birthday next month).  I got most of the bike parts used or on good sales so theoretically we could sell them to recoup most of the cost, but in practice this is difficult to do.  Mostly we pay about $60 per week to race, but this weekend there are two big races and the cost will be almost $300 for one weekend. 

We did not even know about this sport (racing vs. recreational) a year and a half ago, but my kids were really good riding bikes and I found out about this league.  I took them and after a couple times they were completely hooked and this is all that they want to do, and they are really good at it.  I am not so good, but it's something that we can all do as a family and I think it is actually worth the thousands of dollars per year.  Our house is paid off and we are maxing out all retirement accounts, etc.

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #694 on: May 03, 2019, 10:55:11 AM »
when I was 25 I spent 1/2 a year's salary on a car ($30k)

Liked it so much when I was 30 I spent 2/3 a year's salary on a car ($100k)

And I'm planning when I'm 38 (in a few years' time) to spend 3/4 year's salary on a car ($200k) - presuming my salary makes it that far. Here's hoping.

However, my fraction skills are not that great and I think that will be the last car I ever purchase. By the way I don't even commute. These cars are just daily/track toys.

I realise this is very face-punchable but frankly, I like my toys, I like my revs and the rest of my finances are well sorted so I don't have much difficulty justifying it. I think everyone ought to be allowed to splurge as long as he/she knows exactly what he/she is sacrificing. In my case, I could have FIRED 3-4 years younger if I never bought and drove the cars I did - and I'm okay with that sacrifice.

Just curious, do you mind sharing what the 100k and 200k cars are?

Completely guessing as I'm not the OP but am/was a motorsports guy and did a similar thing.

$100K: M3
$200k: AMG GT/MacLaren 600LT or similar

I went M156 C63 for the street giggles. Previous purchase was an S2000. Still have both. I'd argue the S2000 turned out to be very mustachian.

CindyBS

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #695 on: May 03, 2019, 12:32:14 PM »
In the pre-cell phone days when you would carry around a long distance card like a credit card - I made a $150 long distance call. 

I called from Australia to Africa but it routed through the US.  It was $2.50 per minute and we talked for an hour.   Yikes!!

dragoncar

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #696 on: May 04, 2019, 01:22:31 AM »
In the pre-cell phone days when you would carry around a long distance card like a credit card - I made a $150 long distance call. 

I called from Australia to Africa but it routed through the US.  It was $2.50 per minute and we talked for an hour.   Yikes!!

Did you find out which direction the toilets flush?

AMandM

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Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #697 on: May 07, 2019, 11:33:45 AM »
My husband and I bought a NordicTrack treadmill retail from the NordicTrack store in the mall.
When we were grad students.
We took so long to admit that we weren't going to use it regularly that by the time we were prepared to get rid of it, we'd lost some of the parts. So we couldn't even sell it.