Author Topic: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?  (Read 245913 times)

MLKnits

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 276
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #600 on: April 28, 2015, 01:16:36 PM »
Happily going OT to talk wheels.

Ah, you're getting me all excited to dive back into spinning when I retire. There's a reason that--despite my yen for destashing--I've held onto my production wheel and my best spindles, and it's not just because they're gorgeous.

maco

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 418
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #601 on: April 30, 2015, 01:21:04 PM »
I'm new here. Started reading MMM last week.

Last month, I bought a brand new Prius. My previous car (which was paid off) was totaled when a drunk driver ran a stop sign, and insurance gave me $7000.

I don't think the Prius in general was a stupid idea (only $4k more than a used Prius, and with 0% APR, where the used would've had interest because I didn't have enough cash to fill the gap (without damaging the 6-month-fund), since I wasn't expecting to replace my car for another 5-10 years), and I spent $100 less on gas this month than usual....BUT...I put $7000 down on a 0% APR financing. I have student loans at 3%. Clearly I should've put the $7000 dent in the 3% not the 0%!

mtn

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1343
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #602 on: April 30, 2015, 03:29:39 PM »
I just spent $400 on two Blackhawks playoff tickets. And I am really, REALLY happy that I did it. Carpe Diem.

Cue Chelsea Dagger

MgoSam

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3684
  • Location: Minnesota
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #603 on: April 30, 2015, 03:36:09 PM »
I just spent $400 on two Blackhawks playoff tickets. And I am really, REALLY happy that I did it. Carpe Diem.

Cue Chelsea Dagger

Shame, cause the Wild are going to totally rock them. And no, I did not say that last year, nor the previous year....

mtn

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1343
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #604 on: April 30, 2015, 03:56:50 PM »
I just spent $400 on two Blackhawks playoff tickets. And I am really, REALLY happy that I did it. Carpe Diem.

Cue Chelsea Dagger

Shame, cause the Wild are going to totally rock them. And no, I did not say that last year, nor the previous year....

Does the mental ward know you escaped? :P

This is, IMHO, the only series left until the Canadiens. This is really, really going to be a great one. I think it is going to come down to four things: 
1: Can the Hawks crack Dubnyk? 
2: Which Crawford shows up? 
3: Does playoff Bickell show up?
4: Can the Wild 4th line hold up?

Obviously the goalies are well known. Edge (cliff? and I like Crawford) Wild.
Defenses are both extremely good, maybe a slight edge overall to the Wild.
The top 2 lines I'll give an edge to the Blackhawks, but not a comfortable one.
The third lines, I'm giving the edge to the Hawks. Unless Coyle's stats turn out to be like what I perceive him to be--I always think he should be better than his stats show every time I see him play, despite the fact he did have his best year. Otherwise, Vermette is starting to play decent, Teuvo is back in (the guys creativity is out of this world), and Sharpy is on fire right now. Edge to the Hawks, no question.
The 4th line though... I have a lot of faith in the Hawks, and little to none in the Wild's. And Cooke is an asshat.

As an aside, a Mikko and a Nino on the same line? What a world! I predict Hawks in 6, with 3 overtimes.

Sam E

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 173
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #605 on: May 02, 2015, 07:39:36 AM »
The most antimustachian thing I've ever done is also just about as antimustachian as you can get: I bought a $10,000 used Subaru on loan out of the fear of doomsayers telling me how bad this past winter was going to be.

Two years ago I sold my car and opted to bike everywhere, even in Michigan winter, and did it without batting an eye or missing a day of work. Last winter (2013/2014) had a couple particularly bad weeks where wind chill dropped to -30F or lower and I had to bum rides because I didn't have the arctic-level clothing required to be outside in those temperatures for 40+ minutes.

So anyway, all the weathermen and people around me kept telling me how this past winter was going to be even worse than that one. 2013/2014 was the worst winter in years, and the next one is going to be EVEN WORSE?! I guess I need all-wheel drive now, even if it throws me into years of debt! That ate up my budget for refreshing my winter biking gear (base layer clothing needed replacement and some other things) and even though 2014/2015 was actually WAY more tame than last year I couldn't bike it because of the damn car. More recently it's cost me an additional $3500 in repairs. It just goes to show that if you make hasty decisions out of pessimism/fear it will come back to bite you again and again.

Bardo

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 212
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #606 on: May 02, 2015, 08:09:27 AM »
Well, there's this antique Eames lounge chair..

mtn

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1343
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #607 on: May 07, 2015, 11:18:58 PM »
I just spent $400 on two Blackhawks playoff tickets. And I am really, REALLY happy that I did it. Carpe Diem.

Cue Chelsea Dagger

Shame, cause the Wild are going to totally rock them. And no, I did not say that last year, nor the previous year....

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WCvvwoFsMzw

MgoSam

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3684
  • Location: Minnesota
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #608 on: May 08, 2015, 09:08:23 AM »
I just spent $400 on two Blackhawks playoff tickets. And I am really, REALLY happy that I did it. Carpe Diem.

Cue Chelsea Dagger

Shame, cause the Wild are going to totally rock them. And no, I did not say that last year, nor the previous year....

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WCvvwoFsMzw

Yeah, could have done for a more competitive series..., and now I need to send a few of Betty's Pies to a customer of mine (friendly wager).

Joshua.Snider

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 10
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #609 on: May 12, 2015, 03:51:30 PM »
6 figure shopping spree in Paris

wait what

Did you buy a damn house??

We need details, OP!

pdxbator

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 229
  • Location: Portland, Oregon
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #610 on: May 12, 2015, 04:36:25 PM »
I occasionally do unmustachian things. Most recently I paid a bill where a check was cut from my online banking account. I didn't really pay attention to which account I had selected for this bill to be paid, and so I overdrafted that account. Got hit with $30 fee. Dumb and annoying.

Redstone5

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 510
  • Location: BC
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #611 on: May 12, 2015, 05:26:07 PM »
Mostly taking expensive vacations that were amazing and having a third kid, who is also amazing, so it's hard to regret those decisions even though we've had to work super hard to get back on track.

I'm not sure this counts, but before I found this forum I was just two months away from starting another 4 year degree in a new field because my current job is really boring. The loans would have totalled about 80k with no guarantee that I'd make more money once I finished. I've decided just to find another job that's not boring and I feel like I've dodged a bullet :) I can't believe I thought that would have been a good idea.

MgoSam

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3684
  • Location: Minnesota
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #612 on: May 13, 2015, 11:01:52 AM »
The loans would have totalled about 80k with no guarantee that I'd make more money once I finished. I've decided just to find another job that's not boring and I feel like I've dodged a bullet :) I can't believe I thought that would have been a good idea.

Yikes, so glad that you decided not to do this. I had an aunt who told me that I should go to law school and demanded (not asked) to know why I didn't go. "It's 100k and 3 years for something that I may not want." Her response, "How will you know until you do it?" My initial response was going to be 'I haven't snorted cocaine, but I'm pretty sure it's something I wouldn't enjoy,' but instead said, "It's too much money to do on a whim," and when she retorted that my parents would pay for it, I wanted to retort with, 'if you're so sure it's an investment, will you fund it?,' but instead bit my tongue and walked away.

Something to note is that her mother is insanely wealthy and subsidizes them to the point where they live in a $1.5M house, all 4 of their children go to an expensive private school, have a maid and Au Pair, and send their kids to private colleges...and to my knowledge. The oldest is 23, and I believe is going back for another degree because she isn't sure what she wants to do.

Redstone5

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 510
  • Location: BC
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #613 on: May 13, 2015, 11:13:12 AM »
It's so hard to make a good decision about education spending and student loans. I work for a university and we spend tons of money, like every school does, encouraging students to take programs that they might never use to get a real job. It's hard to know what stats to trust when it comes to making a good educational investment. I know many unemployed teachers, engineers and lawyers.

RunHappy

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 560
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #614 on: May 13, 2015, 11:44:38 AM »
The most Antimustachian thing I have ever done was lease a new Lexus.  This was before I found MMM but was starting my minimalism phase.  I turned it back in after the lease was up.

I let myself be talked into it because everyone kept telling me "I deserved it".  It was a nice car and smooth ride, but I much prefer my hatchback which I paid cash for.

mtn

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1343
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #615 on: May 13, 2015, 12:22:08 PM »
I'm potentially looking at cutting my/our retirement and student loan savings from approximately 26-46% (depending on how you calculate it) to about 15%.

I suppose that it should be mentioned that the reasons behind this decision are pretty mustachian--we're weighing commutes, how big of an apartment (600sq ft vs 1200 sq ft) and happiness at jobs. But it still would hurt to bring down the savings rate that far, even if only for a short time.

sol

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8433
  • Age: 47
  • Location: Pacific Northwest
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #616 on: May 13, 2015, 12:39:36 PM »
observer that she wasn't really into me, just getting off on the money and the attention.
Live and learn, they say.
*facepunches self*

All of my most anti mustachian decisions have been related to women in one way or another.

I consider them all learning experiences, though, necessary steps on the path to marrying someone better.  It's hard to regret bad decisions if they lead you somewhere good.

Lorin

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 27
  • Location: SF Bay Area
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #617 on: May 13, 2015, 01:57:31 PM »
Sushi. Really good stuff, lots of it, sometimes several times a week, with sake. I don't want to do the math on how much we must have spent on it back then.

God I miss those days.

RetiredAt63

  • CMTO 2023 Attendees
  • Senior Mustachian
  • *
  • Posts: 20742
  • Location: Eastern Ontario, Canada
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #618 on: May 18, 2015, 06:18:14 AM »
I may do a bit of destashing at my next guild meeting - and send the money to the Yarn Harlot for this year's fund-raising bike tour.  I have some very nice fibre that is not really the right colours for me, and now that I know the wonderfulness that is out there, I can get wonderful fibres that are also wonderful colours.

I do resist temptation - there were bags of alpaca fleece at our last meeting, really lovely feel and nice colours, and none of it came home with me.

What kind of electric spinner do you have?  If I had no space I would get the Hansen.

Happily going OT to talk wheels.

Ah, you're getting me all excited to dive back into spinning when I retire. There's a reason that--despite my yen for destashing--I've held onto my production wheel and my best spindles, and it's not just because they're gorgeous.
« Last Edit: May 18, 2015, 06:21:47 AM by RetiredAt63 »

MgoSam

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3684
  • Location: Minnesota
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #619 on: May 18, 2015, 11:23:52 AM »
Sushi. Really good stuff, lots of it, sometimes several times a week, with sake. I don't want to do the math on how much we must have spent on it back then.

God I miss those days.

Never been a big fan of sake, but I LOVE sushi and could easily eat it each night. Thankfully been good about not splurging.

OurTown

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1371
  • Age: 54
  • Location: Tennessee
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #620 on: May 28, 2015, 07:52:13 AM »
I bought the DW an I-Phone 6 for Christmas.

Wait for it . . .

She dropped it in the bathtub!

TheBuddha

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 237
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #621 on: June 02, 2015, 09:06:03 PM »
I fell off the wagon today... spent $360 on appliances/electronics, only $80 of which were actually necessary (mini-fridge). The new microwave, ice maker, and 2Tb hard drive not so much.

Also, I gambled away $250 last week. I hadn't gambled since last summer, when it took a lot of self-discipline to stop. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the urge hit me last week. It's self-sabotaging, as I'm five weeks away from being out of debt, which has been a 4-year, $50k journey.

I'm trying to figure out where this urge came from. Astrology, maybe? Right now my natal Mars is sextile to Jupiter, and the new moon is in Sagittarius, my sun sign. Jupiter makes me want to spend money I guess...

Edit: Holy crap, I just threw the online I Ching for this.



« Last Edit: June 02, 2015, 09:11:10 PM by TheBuddha »

Bardo

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 212
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #622 on: June 03, 2015, 06:43:28 AM »
Sushi. Really good stuff, lots of it, sometimes several times a week, with sake. I don't want to do the math on how much we must have spent on it back then.

God I miss those days.

I'm not sure I would consider sushi an indulgence and not a necessity.  When I have the craving I just pick up some from the local supermarket.  It's obviously not as nice as an expensive restaurant, but it's cheap, quick and will do in a pinch for an occasional lunch.

SemiFruggal

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 12
  • Age: 59
  • Location: Maynard, MA USA
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #623 on: June 03, 2015, 07:28:55 AM »
"This can't miss," my cousin said.  "Tech stocks are booming, and my company's router is better than Cisco's." 

You know where this is going.  I had not a whole lot of money at the time, but I found $10,000 to buy 100 shares of the IPO.  And the stock shot up, nearly doubling in the first week.  And thank God none of my friends listened to my advice to buy, buy, buy.  Cause it came down, and in a hurry.  And a couple years later, I had lost 99% on my first major investment.

An expensive lesson, but one well worth learning.

lifeinhd

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 55
  • Location: Austin TX
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #624 on: June 03, 2015, 01:37:18 PM »
Fortunately I've never been so clueless with money to get myself into any real trouble, like credit card debt or financing a new car, but two mistakes stand out:

1. Since I was in HS, I wanted an electric car, so I decided to build one. I spent about a month and $9500 (almost all the money to my name at the time) building it, then ran out of interest and decided to sell it off. I sold the half-converted car for $1250.

2. As you can imagine, it took a while to sell the half-converted electric vehicle, even with 95% of the parts included. So while it sat in my mother's garage, I continued to drive my old inherited Corolla that was in good condition and consistently got 33-35 MPG, no matter how much I abused it (51 when I really pushed it). Being a car guy, I hated that car, and secretly wished someone would rear end me so I could collect the insurance money and replace it with something more fun. As it turned out, an errant shift to 2nd gear at 85 MPH did the trick, necessitating a $2200 engine replacement. I elected to scrap the car and borrowed $1k from my mom (I had spent almost all my money on the electric car, remember?) to buy a 21-year-old, 19 MPG Volvo 940. While I liked that car, I only had it for one summer because it was nothing but constant problems-- I was at the pick-a-part yard almost every weekend getting parts to fix it. Sold it for $400 when the cat went out.

So to replace it, I bought a $1600 Buick Park Avenue Ultra. This was the first car I owned I freaking adored. I could just stare at that thing for hours. Unfortunately, it was shortly after this time I started reading MMM, and began to see the folly of owning such an impractical, luxurious, 240 HP monster that ate premium fuel at a rate of 16 MPG (with mild hypermiling!). So I sadly traded it in for a $2500, 202k mile Scion xB, which is my current car. Mild hypermiling gets me 36-37 MPG, and normal driving yields 30-32, which is plenty adequate.

But between these two mistakes, I estimate I'm out about $16k. Not nearly as bad as some of the stories here, but I could be so much better off right now if only I'd never started the EV conversion and never destroyed the Corolla. Live and learn I suppose.

Embok

  • CMTO 2023 Attendees
  • Magnum Stache
  • *
  • Posts: 3357
  • Location: So Cal
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #625 on: June 05, 2015, 10:01:16 AM »
Bought a Worldmark timeshare that we have never made time to use.  Extremely stupid; trying to figure out how to sell it now.  I regret that decision.

We also restored and repowered an old 1970s vintage coastal flybridge cruiser.  However, though unmustachian, both Hubby and I love it, and use it a lot - going out for day cruises, mostly, sometimes just as a tiny waterfront venue to sit and relax with a glass of wine.  So I don't regret the boat.


Migrator Soul

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 145
  • Age: 32
  • Location: Texas
  • The sooner you realize life is hard, the better.
    • Cerebral Combatant
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #626 on: June 09, 2015, 03:57:25 PM »
After my divorce, I walked out, plunked 7 grand down on a brand new Mercedes Benz..

I have since sold that thing.. But hey, I thought I "deserved something nice after my divorce"

Terrible logic indeed. The leather was soooooo comfy though... >.>

grantmeaname

  • CM*MW 2023 Attendees
  • Walrus Stache
  • *
  • Posts: 5960
  • Age: 31
  • Location: Middle West
  • Cast me away from yesterday's things
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #627 on: June 21, 2015, 09:52:27 AM »
I'm planning an antimustachian thing right now.

Here in Columbus, right across the street from campus, there was a beautiful burrito place called La Bamba that made these terrific dirt cheap burritos that were much closer to what you'd get out of a truck in San Diego than what you'd get from Chipotle and its imitators. It was run by a nice bunch of actual Mexicans who let me order in midwestern high school spanish every time, they had delicious horchata and free refills if you asked them how their day was going. Plus they had a mural of the 2002 national championship football team with burrito heads, a bit like this mural from Lousiville. Man I loved that place.

So of course it closed my second year on campus. Turns out they still exist in Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. So on my drive to Wisconsin for vacation next month I'm driving like half an hour out of the way to buy a fast food burrito. An hour of my time + SWMBO's time + $10 of gas. It's absolutely ridiculous and probably facepunch worthy, but it feels so worth it I might go again on the drive back home!

forummm

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7374
  • Senior Mustachian
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #628 on: June 21, 2015, 10:46:51 AM »
Having a kid. Not only is it a definite increase in expense, but it's an increase in expense of unknown quantity and uncertain timing and duration. Generally a goal of financial planning is to minimize the unknowns so they can be more easily accounted for. At this point I know it delays my time to FI, but I don't know by how much. And I don't even know how the non-monetary benefits and costs will line up afterwards. So I'm definitely paying a lot for a whole lot of hassle, stress, etc. But maybe the kid will be wonderful enough to make up for it. Some day.

AlanStache

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3175
  • Age: 44
  • Location: South East Virginia
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #629 on: June 21, 2015, 03:17:36 PM »
Having a kid. Not only is it a definite increase in expense, but it's an increase in expense of unknown quantity and uncertain timing and duration. Generally a goal of financial planning is to minimize the unknowns so they can be more easily accounted for. At this point I know it delays my time to FI, but I don't know by how much. And I don't even know how the non-monetary benefits and costs will line up afterwards. So I'm definitely paying a lot for a whole lot of hassle, stress, etc. But maybe the kid will be wonderful enough to make up for it. Some day.

Its not all negative, you can probably get like 700$/month out of a kid once they grow up.

http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/rant-on-family

forummm

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7374
  • Senior Mustachian
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #630 on: June 21, 2015, 05:01:03 PM »
Having a kid. Not only is it a definite increase in expense, but it's an increase in expense of unknown quantity and uncertain timing and duration. Generally a goal of financial planning is to minimize the unknowns so they can be more easily accounted for. At this point I know it delays my time to FI, but I don't know by how much. And I don't even know how the non-monetary benefits and costs will line up afterwards. So I'm definitely paying a lot for a whole lot of hassle, stress, etc. But maybe the kid will be wonderful enough to make up for it. Some day.

Its not all negative, you can probably get like 700$/month out of a kid once they grow up.

http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/rant-on-family

Cool, that's like a pension bump. I'll just have to make sure they don't find this forum or anyone else with any sense that they can talk to.

Threnn

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 15
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #631 on: June 22, 2015, 03:11:49 AM »
I spent $300 on a heart shaped bracelette for my ex, she broke up a month later. That was well spent.... not....

nobodyspecial

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1464
  • Location: Land above the land of the free
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #632 on: June 22, 2015, 08:37:26 PM »
I spent $300 on a heart shaped bracelette for my ex, she broke up a month later. That was well spent.... not....
If that's all it cost you - I would consider that money very well spent !

Amasa

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 23
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #633 on: July 06, 2015, 01:50:18 PM »
I bought a laptop, then bought another one immediately after. I only need one laptop.

jps

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 256
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #634 on: March 08, 2019, 05:22:31 PM »
Anyone want to bring this thread back?

I spent $8K on a one week honeymoon. Worth it.

JAYSLOL

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2137
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #635 on: March 08, 2019, 11:39:49 PM »
Anyone want to bring this thread back?

I spent $8K on a one week honeymoon. Worth it.

Oh man, I totally forgot about this thread. 

Most anti-mustachian would be financing a $10k SUV when we had a kid, should have bought a Toyota Matrix or Prius or something more efficient instead.  The rest of my anti-mustachian tendencies are all "death by a thousand cuts" little things, a bit too much eating out or buying the odd little thing I don't need at a garage sale just because it was a deal, but damn it does tend to add up. 

jinga nation

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2696
  • Age: 247
  • Location: 'Murica's Dong
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #636 on: March 09, 2019, 04:23:56 PM »
After a 6 month long job search, finally landed one in a stable engineering company in summer of 2006. Bought my new wife a brand new Civic. Then she found a full-time job so bought a new Accord, about 6 weeks after the Civic. Both cars had 36-month loans, 20% down. Then I paid for her grad school using 0% credit card offers. Luckily she received an on-campus job as a graduate assistant the next semester which paid 80% of her tuition. I never had that much debt before, but we were both brought up in frugal families, so paid it off pretty fast. So fast that 4 years later we put down 25% on a 200k house. The horror of debt made us save constantly thus 2 years later we bought 2 rental condos, and had only $1000 in a savings account. Again the horrors made us save aggressively and we ended up buying a condo each year until 2015 when prices became stupid on rental units. We were uncomfortable with debt and with too much money in cash.
Accord lasted 11 years until insurance company wrote it off after minor fender bender.
Civic still running. Wife won't part with it, even though Florida Sun/UV is doing its thing on the rubber.

TL;DR: debt forced us to save, savings dumped into properties, rinse and repeat.

Freedomin5

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 6482
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #637 on: March 09, 2019, 04:36:47 PM »
Spent $200k on a cottage that incurs an additional $10k per year in club/resort fees. Oh...and it’s in a different country that involves $5000 in flights (for our family of 3) halfway around the world, so we only visit for a couple weeks each year.

Yes, being Mustachian did not factor into the decision making process.

The Keen Saver

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 17
  • Age: 29
  • Location: Dublin, Ireland
  • Striving for FI, no plans to RE yet.
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #638 on: March 11, 2019, 03:38:43 AM »
GF and I spent $800 on a 2 Michelin star dinner for ourselves and best friend when we were out in San Fran last summer. It was a treat for our friend who is an amazing chef and wanted to eat there for months. We justified it as acceptable as he housed us in San Fran for 3 weeks for free so it was a way for us to give back to him.

Also it was hands down one of the best dining experiences of our lives.

Probably wouldn't do it again.

2Birds1Stone

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7915
  • Age: 1
  • Location: Earth
  • K Thnx Bye
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #639 on: March 11, 2019, 04:56:50 AM »
In retrospect, it was purchasing my current vehicle!

Over the past 3 years of ownership it's cost,

$6k in depreciation
$4k in insurance
$4k in premium gas
$1k in maintenance
$15k Total Cost Of Ownership

$5k/yr total.....which is ~25% of my total spending over those years.

zolotiyeruki

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5603
  • Location: State: Denial
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #640 on: March 11, 2019, 06:34:56 AM »
$4k insurance over three years? Holy smokes! Are you a 20-year-old driving a 'vette?

NorthernMonkey

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 199
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #641 on: March 11, 2019, 07:02:44 AM »
I occasionally do unmustachian things. Most recently I paid a bill where a check was cut from my online banking account. I didn't really pay attention to which account I had selected for this bill to be paid, and so I overdrafted that account. Got hit with $30 fee. Dumb and annoying.

I get really annoyed by things like that. 2 weeks ago, I was stuck in Paris airport waiting for a connection. Bought a coffee with the wrong card, which had high foreign transaction fees, instead of the CC with zero fees, and paid more than the cost of the coffee in fees.

2Birds1Stone

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7915
  • Age: 1
  • Location: Earth
  • K Thnx Bye
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #642 on: March 11, 2019, 07:38:18 AM »
$4k insurance over three years? Holy smokes! Are you a 20-year-old driving a 'vette?

Nope, sadly the rate on a RWD sports luxury car in my HCOL area is ~$670/6 months for full coverage. I have an impeccable driving record over the past 16 years, with 0 moving violations, and drive <10k miles a year.

zolotiyeruki

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5603
  • Location: State: Denial
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #643 on: March 11, 2019, 07:44:32 AM »
$4k insurance over three years? Holy smokes! Are you a 20-year-old driving a 'vette?

Nope, sadly the rate on a RWD sports luxury car in my HCOL area is ~$670/6 months for full coverage. I have an impeccable driving record over the past 16 years, with 0 moving violations, and drive <10k miles a year.
Ah, so not a 20-year-old, but driving something more expensive than a 'vette :)

jps

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 256
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #644 on: March 11, 2019, 10:41:16 AM »
GF and I spent $800 on a 2 Michelin star dinner for ourselves and best friend when we were out in San Fran last summer. It was a treat for our friend who is an amazing chef and wanted to eat there for months. We justified it as acceptable as he housed us in San Fran for 3 weeks for free so it was a way for us to give back to him.

Also it was hands down one of the best dining experiences of our lives.

Probably wouldn't do it again.

Sounds amazing. It's always easier for me to blow large amounts of money when I'm being generous with it too, in your case taking your friend out.

Kitsune

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1853
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #645 on: March 11, 2019, 01:44:57 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.

jps

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 256
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #646 on: March 11, 2019, 02:25:11 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?

Julard

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 58
  • Location: Australia
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #647 on: March 13, 2019, 03:42:21 AM »
I was young, stupid, heartbroken, and drunk.  I spent an evening drinking really quite a lot of wine and calling phone psychics, and racked up nearly $400 in calls - pretty much all the money I had when I was an impoverished student.  They said he loved me and we'd be together.  As it turned out, they were wrong and apparently not psychic at all!!

Not a lot of money in the big scheme of things, but surely I'd win some kind of prize for sheer idiocy.  My children can never know it happened.

Kitsune

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1853
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #648 on: March 13, 2019, 07:06:13 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.

Cool Friend

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 535
Re: What's the most Antimustachian thing you've ever done?
« Reply #649 on: March 13, 2019, 07:34:22 AM »
As a teenager, I took on mid-five figures of student debt to get a BA without any viable career plan.