Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)

[secondcor521]

I will quit my job on Jan. 2 , 2018 but since my boss is super-ultra nice, I don΄t know how I will do it (speech line I will use)...

Keep it short and to the point:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_of_resignation#/media/File:Letter_of_Resignation_of_Richard_M._Nixon,_1974.jpg

No explanations, no bullshit, no long goodbyes.

Hahahahaha, that's awesome. I'm going to resign as soon as my new position is signed and sealed. Now I'm googling famous resignation letters and I think I might just copy and paste.

I just realized that letter is really good reason to never give more than 2 weeks notice.  I mean, the President left his job without even 2 weeks' notice.  (Yeah, I know the writing was on the wall, but still....)

[chaskavitch]

I have three credit cards with decent referral bonus programs, for both myself and the person being referred. I don't know anyone (in person) who likes to juggle credit card rewards like I do, so the few people I've mentioned it to say things like "Oh, no, I only use one credit card so I don't get myself into trouble", or "That's way too many things to remember - why do you use different cards for groceries, restaurants, and everything else?".  Le sigh.  Why wouldn't you want a free $250 on $1000 of purchases AND 6% back on groceries?

[TomTX]

I have three credit cards with decent referral bonus programs, for both myself and the person being referred. I don't know anyone (in person) who likes to juggle credit card rewards like I do, so the few people I've mentioned it to say things like "Oh, no, I only use one credit card so I don't get myself into trouble", or "That's way too many things to remember - why do you use different cards for groceries, restaurants, and everything else?".  Le sigh.  Why wouldn't you want a free $250 on $1000 of purchases AND 6% back on groceries?

Blue Cash Preferred or something else? AF? If it is an Amex, is it a charge card, or credit card?

My MPP is getting close to the limit on the # of credit cards Amex will let me have. Need to shift over to charge cards so that I can get more juicy signup bonuses.

[chaskavitch]

I have three credit cards with decent referral bonus programs, for both myself and the person being referred. I don't know anyone (in person) who likes to juggle credit card rewards like I do, so the few people I've mentioned it to say things like "Oh, no, I only use one credit card so I don't get myself into trouble", or "That's way too many things to remember - why do you use different cards for groceries, restaurants, and everything else?".  Le sigh.  Why wouldn't you want a free $250 on $1000 of purchases AND 6% back on groceries?

Blue Cash Preferred or something else? AF? If it is an Amex, is it a charge card, or credit card?

My MPP is getting close to the limit on the # of credit cards Amex will let me have. Need to shift over to charge cards so that I can get more juicy signup bonuses.

The grocery card is a Amex Blue Cash Preferred credit card, yeah - $75 for me for every person referred.  My Discover It card has a $50 bonus for both of us and they match reward points 1:1 at the end of the first year.  I definitely got a referral from someone on the forums for that one :).  Chase Freedom Unlimited is $100 for me, $150 on $500 in spending for them. 

DH is resistant to opening up new cards or bank accounts for bonuses, so I kind of do it slowly.  I've got a First Bank Anytime account that I need to close this month with a $200 bonus, and I'm just going to shift it all to a Blue Federal Credit Union account that returns 5% on up to $1000.  Why not?  Otherwise it is going to sit in our checking account, or at best in Ally at 1.2% interest.

[zolotiyeruki]

I have three credit cards with decent referral bonus programs, for both myself and the person being referred. I don't know anyone (in person) who likes to juggle credit card rewards like I do, so the few people I've mentioned it to say things like "Oh, no, I only use one credit card so I don't get myself into trouble", or "That's way too many things to remember - why do you use different cards for groceries, restaurants, and everything else?".  Le sigh.  Why wouldn't you want a free $250 on $1000 of purchases AND 6% back on groceries?

What credit card do you use to get 6% on groceries?  Asking as a father of six...

[chaskavitch]

I have three credit cards with decent referral bonus programs, for both myself and the person being referred. I don't know anyone (in person) who likes to juggle credit card rewards like I do, so the few people I've mentioned it to say things like "Oh, no, I only use one credit card so I don't get myself into trouble", or "That's way too many things to remember - why do you use different cards for groceries, restaurants, and everything else?".  Le sigh.  Why wouldn't you want a free $250 on $1000 of purchases AND 6% back on groceries?

What credit card do you use to get 6% on groceries?  Asking as a father of six...

American Express Blue Cash Preferred (say, I've got a referral if you want it :). 

There is a $95/yr fee, but if you max out the grocery rewards with $6000 of grocery purchases a year, it is definitely worth it to pay the fee over getting 3% on the regular (free) Blue Cash card.  After that first $6000, you still get 1% back. 

Make sure your most-used store is included - they don't count stores like Target and Walmart and Costco.  King Soopers, Sprouts, Trader Joes, Safeway, etc, are all definitely categorized as "grocery".  We don't have Aldi here, so I can't tell you one way or the other.  Also make sure your store takes AmEx.

[zolotiyeruki]

I have three credit cards with decent referral bonus programs, for both myself and the person being referred. I don't know anyone (in person) who likes to juggle credit card rewards like I do, so the few people I've mentioned it to say things like "Oh, no, I only use one credit card so I don't get myself into trouble", or "That's way too many things to remember - why do you use different cards for groceries, restaurants, and everything else?".  Le sigh.  Why wouldn't you want a free $250 on $1000 of purchases AND 6% back on groceries?

What credit card do you use to get 6% on groceries?  Asking as a father of six...

American Express Blue Cash Preferred (say, I've got a referral if you want it :). 

There is a $95/yr fee, but if you max out the grocery rewards with $6000 of grocery purchases a year, it is definitely worth it to pay the fee over getting 3% on the regular (free) Blue Cash card.  After that first $6000, you still get 1% back. 

Make sure your most-used store is included - they don't count stores like Target and Walmart and Costco.  King Soopers, Sprouts, Trader Joes, Safeway, etc, are all definitely categorized as "grocery".  We don't have Aldi here, so I can't tell you one way or the other.  Also make sure your store takes AmEx.

Ah, good to know.  Most of our groceries come from Walmart, although ever since they ended their price matching policy, we've been getting our produce from Aldi (which is right across the street).

[firelight]

I got a merchandise return card from target for returning a gift for my kid's birthday. The value is $60 but I don't have much to buy in Target. So I'm not sure how long I should keep this card to use up that $60.

I can't transfer or sell or cash it out.

[SwordGuy]

Just today, convo was talking about a normal size house in the HCOL area on the west coast is like $1M. So, into the calc is goes...

1,000,000 @ 30 years @ 4%
= $4774.15/mo payment, make min payments and pay an extra $718,695.06 in interest!!!
= If round up to an even $5k/mo, it saves you $68,000 and knocks 2.5 years off the loan.

1,000,000 @ 15 years @4%
= $7,396.88/mo payment, pay saves $387,257 in interest!

Damn, I simply cannot imagine paying that kind of money for a house - much less borrowing it and paying interest!

I must be spoiled because I can buy a nice house for less than $80k (retail price), and a really nice one for less than $230,000.

That $387,257 saved in interest in the example above?  That's less than the SUM of 5 of the 6  houses I've bought in my city. 

[Fresh Bread]

That blows my mind Swordguy. Is it nice where you live? Stuff to do, low crime etc? You can't get a parking space in Sydney for 80k!

[LennStar]

That blows my mind Swordguy. Is it nice where you live? Stuff to do, low crime etc? You can't get a parking space in Sydney for 80k!

Come to eastern Germany. Low crime yes, stuff to do... well...

But here you might get a castle for 80K ;)

[gaja]

That blows my mind Swordguy. Is it nice where you live? Stuff to do, low crime etc? You can't get a parking space in Sydney for 80k!

Come to eastern Germany. Low crime yes, stuff to do... well...

But here you might get a castle for 80K ;)

The maintenance on a castle is not cheap. Come to rural Norway, where you can get a farm for 80k: https://www.finn.no/realestate/homes/ad.html?finnkode=96725057&fks=96725057

It is in the middle of the forest, so zero crime unless you commit it yourself. Plenty of stuff to do: it is not easy to grow anything on these farms, so you'll never run out of work. Plenty of parking space too.

[Fresh Bread]

That blows my mind Swordguy. Is it nice where you live? Stuff to do, low crime etc? You can't get a parking space in Sydney for 80k!

Come to eastern Germany. Low crime yes, stuff to do... well...

But here you might get a castle for 80K ;)

The maintenance on a castle is not cheap. Come to rural Norway, where you can get a farm for 80k: https://www.finn.no/realestate/homes/ad.html?finnkode=96725057&fks=96725057

It is in the middle of the forest, so zero crime unless you commit it yourself. Plenty of stuff to do: it is not easy to grow anything on these farms, so you'll never run out of work. Plenty of parking space too.

The picture is amazing.

[zolotiyeruki]

Just today, convo was talking about a normal size house in the HCOL area on the west coast is like $1M. So, into the calc is goes...

1,000,000 @ 30 years @ 4%
= $4774.15/mo payment, make min payments and pay an extra $718,695.06 in interest!!!
= If round up to an even $5k/mo, it saves you $68,000 and knocks 2.5 years off the loan.

1,000,000 @ 15 years @4%
= $7,396.88/mo payment, pay saves $387,257 in interest!

Damn, I simply cannot imagine paying that kind of money for a house - much less borrowing it and paying interest!

I must be spoiled because I can buy a nice house for less than $80k (retail price), and a really nice one for less than $230,000.

That $387,257 saved in interest in the example above?  That's less than the SUM of 5 of the 6  houses I've bought in my city.

And those numbers are conservative.  Usually interest rates on 15-year mortgages are lower than those on 30-year mortgages.

[Imma]

That blows my mind Swordguy. Is it nice where you live? Stuff to do, low crime etc? You can't get a parking space in Sydney for 80k!

Come to eastern Germany. Low crime yes, stuff to do... well...

But here you might get a castle for 80K ;)

I have travelled a few times in the area roughly between Berlin and Prague and it was very, very tempting to buy there. I would love to live somewhere rurally with not that much to do. I have always loved Germany. But that was mostly dreaming. In reality, if we ever move to Germany it will probably be to Niedersachsen (I'm Dutch). Maybe not as cheap, but still a lot of value for your money compared to the NL. What we are looking for in the future is a property with a bit of land and land is extremely expensive in here.

[Linea_Norway]

The maintenance on a castle is not cheap. Come to rural Norway, where you can get a farm for 80k: https://www.finn.no/realestate/homes/ad.html?finnkode=96725057&fks=96725057

It is in the middle of the forest, so zero crime unless you commit it yourself. Plenty of stuff to do: it is not easy to grow anything on these farms, so you'll never run out of work. Plenty of parking space too.

Including a spelling mistake in the title of the advertisement.

But this is exactly what we are planning to to after FIRE. Move out into the country to some really cheap place. Preferably somewhere near the ocean. But we count on being able to buy a decent house for 30% of what our current house costs.

[pdxmonkey]

Just today, convo was talking about a normal size house in the HCOL area on the west coast is like $1M. So, into the calc is goes...

1,000,000 @ 30 years @ 4%
= $4774.15/mo payment, make min payments and pay an extra $718,695.06 in interest!!!
= If round up to an even $5k/mo, it saves you $68,000 and knocks 2.5 years off the loan.

1,000,000 @ 15 years @4%
= $7,396.88/mo payment, pay saves $387,257 in interest!

Damn, I simply cannot imagine paying that kind of money for a house - much less borrowing it and paying interest!

I must be spoiled because I can buy a nice house for less than $80k (retail price), and a really nice one for less than $230,000.

That $387,257 saved in interest in the example above?  That's less than the SUM of 5 of the 6  houses I've bought in my city.

And those numbers are conservative.  Usually interest rates on 15-year mortgages are lower than those on 30-year mortgages.

If by conservative you mean those numbers look high....yeah. Rates on a 15 are closer to 3.125 than to 4. APR is going to be a bit higher than 3.125. 30 year APR is still under 4.

[zolotiyeruki]

Just today, convo was talking about a normal size house in the HCOL area on the west coast is like $1M. So, into the calc is goes...

1,000,000 @ 30 years @ 4%
= $4774.15/mo payment, make min payments and pay an extra $718,695.06 in interest!!!
= If round up to an even $5k/mo, it saves you $68,000 and knocks 2.5 years off the loan.

1,000,000 @ 15 years @4%
= $7,396.88/mo payment, pay saves $387,257 in interest!

Damn, I simply cannot imagine paying that kind of money for a house - much less borrowing it and paying interest!

I must be spoiled because I can buy a nice house for less than $80k (retail price), and a really nice one for less than $230,000.

That $387,257 saved in interest in the example above?  That's less than the SUM of 5 of the 6  houses I've bought in my city.

And those numbers are conservative.  Usually interest rates on 15-year mortgages are lower than those on 30-year mortgages.

If by conservative you mean those numbers look high....yeah. Rates on a 15 are closer to 3.125 than to 4. APR is going to be a bit higher than 3.125. 30 year APR is still under 4.

Sorry, I meant that the $387,257 is smaller than reality. 

[pdxmonkey]

OK, right, that makes sense. Given a 30 yr at 4% the 15 would likely be lower and in the comparison it isn't.

[With This Herring]

That blows my mind Swordguy. Is it nice where you live? Stuff to do, low crime etc? You can't get a parking space in Sydney for 80k!

Come to eastern Germany. Low crime yes, stuff to do... well...

But here you might get a castle for 80K ;)

The maintenance on a castle is not cheap. Come to rural Norway, where you can get a farm for 80k: https://www.finn.no/realestate/homes/ad.html?finnkode=96725057&fks=96725057

It is in the middle of the forest, so zero crime unless you commit it yourself. Plenty of stuff to do: it is not easy to grow anything on these farms, so you'll never run out of work. Plenty of parking space too.

I like this idea!  I can just picture an old farmer talking to his great-grandchildren:
"Back in my day, we walked uphill to school both ways, through driving snow!  And civilization was so far away that if we wanted crime we had to commit it ourselves!  We were told that crime in this area was to be one occurrence per hundred people per year, so every New Year's Eve I would go steal your great-uncle Bob's prize pig, and on New Year's Day he would come take it back.  Times were hard."

[gaja]

That blows my mind Swordguy. Is it nice where you live? Stuff to do, low crime etc? You can't get a parking space in Sydney for 80k!

Come to eastern Germany. Low crime yes, stuff to do... well...

But here you might get a castle for 80K ;)

The maintenance on a castle is not cheap. Come to rural Norway, where you can get a farm for 80k: https://www.finn.no/realestate/homes/ad.html?finnkode=96725057&fks=96725057

It is in the middle of the forest, so zero crime unless you commit it yourself. Plenty of stuff to do: it is not easy to grow anything on these farms, so you'll never run out of work. Plenty of parking space too.

I like this idea!  I can just picture an old farmer talking to his great-grandchildren:
"Back in my day, we walked uphill to school both ways, through driving snow!  And civilization was so far away that if we wanted crime we had to commit it ourselves!  We were told that crime in this area was to be one occurrence per hundred people per year, so every New Year's Eve I would go steal your great-uncle Bob's prize pig, and on New Year's Day he would come take it back.  Times were hard."

Usually, in those mountains, they stuck to making moonshine. Everybody knew about it, and not even the police cared unless you started peddling bad product to underage kids (younger than 14). I'm certain the buyer of that farm will find some weirdly bent metal pipes in the basement or barn.

[Freedomin5]

That blows my mind Swordguy. Is it nice where you live? Stuff to do, low crime etc? You can't get a parking space in Sydney for 80k!

Come to eastern Germany. Low crime yes, stuff to do... well...

But here you might get a castle for 80K ;)

The maintenance on a castle is not cheap. Come to rural Norway, where you can get a farm for 80k: https://www.finn.no/realestate/homes/ad.html?finnkode=96725057&fks=96725057

It is in the middle of the forest, so zero crime unless you commit it yourself. Plenty of stuff to do: it is not easy to grow anything on these farms, so you'll never run out of work. Plenty of parking space too.

I like this idea!  I can just picture an old farmer talking to his great-grandchildren:
"Back in my day, we walked uphill to school both ways, through driving snow!  And civilization was so far away that if we wanted crime we had to commit it ourselves!  We were told that crime in this area was to be one occurrence per hundred people per year, so every New Year's Eve I would go steal your great-uncle Bob's prize pig, and on New Year's Day he would come take it back.  Times were hard."

Usually, in those mountains, they stuck to making moonshine. Everybody knew about it, and not even the police cared unless you started peddling bad product to underage kids (younger than 14). I'm certain the buyer of that farm will find some weirdly bent metal pipes in the basement or barn.

That area is gorgeous! I can totally see turning one of those farms into a working farm/retreat centre/bed and breakfast. Unless it's like, an 8-hour drive away from civilization or something...which I can't tell because I don't know Norway's geography at all.

I guess that illustrates my MPP - other people find it annoying when I automatically try to optimize any situation. Live in an out of the way, rural place with gorgeous scenery? Start an AirBnB business! Complaining about low paying job? Get a side hustle tutoring wealthy kids!

[Fresh Bread]

When people try to book me via my business (offering clown like outsourced services to the wealthy) I often point them to lower cost solutions that don't involve paying me $$$$.

[Luckyvik]

I walked past a car show room yesterday and I have no desire for one as I know most people driving new cars have car payments


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[LennStar]

I always get angry when I find advertisement in the post, because A) I won't buy anythign of that anyway, so it is wasting my time, and B) all the trees! All the color! Poor little earth!!!

[Uturn]

Last week I sold my truck for $10k, and my car for $9k, then bought a used crossover that combines the features that I need from both.  I now have only one vehicle and pocketed some cash, but I still feel like I just spent $15k. 

[kaypinkHH]

I have no errands to run at lunch time because I don't have anything I need to buy, so I stay on my computer over lunch break, instead of actually leaving the office.

[solon]

I have no errands to run at lunch time because I don't have anything I need to buy, so I stay on my computer over lunch break, instead of actually leaving the office.

+1000

I'm stuck at work, behind a desk, while all my co-workers head to Wendy's, Subway, Chipotle, Carl's Jr, etc. I don't spend any money, but don't get much exercise either :(

[Dicey]

I have no errands to run at lunch time because I don't have anything I need to buy, so I stay on my computer over lunch break, instead of actually leaving the office.

Hmmm, could you increase your fitness by taking a walk/run/quick workout? Could you provide comfort by using the time to compose a letter to someone who's lonely? Could you call a friend or relative just to chat? There probably are many things you could do that involve little or no money, brighten your outlook and make you more productive at work. For some reason, your reply just strikes me as sad.

[kaypinkHH]

Oops, sorry didn't mean it to be sad. You are totally correct, I could go for a walk (although I will admit an industrial park with no sidewalks takes some motivation...and I'm extra lazy today), it was more so that I saw all my coworkers leaving the office to BUY things (lunch/coffee/household items), that I have no need to buy! I used my lunch break to get caught up on forums and chat with some friends via google hangouts. It was lovely.

[Sibley]

Last week I sold my truck for $10k, and my car for $9k, then bought a used crossover that combines the features that I need from both.  I now have only one vehicle and pocketed some cash, but I still feel like I just spent $15k.

Technically, you did. In accounting terms, that was 3 separate transactions. Sale of the truck, sale of the car, and purchase of the crossover. Congrats on the net cash out :)

[Free Spirit]

Captain's Log:

Thursday, 26th of October, 2017

Current Weather: Sunny and full of false hope.

Alert Status: Defcon Pumpkin Spice

The situation has turned dire. Temperatures have dropped below the 70 degree point and are declining rapidly. I fear the crew may stage a mutiny.

Actions:

The kettle has been switched to: ON

I've begun my research into all recipes requiring at least a 400 degree oven.

All fuzzy slippers have been properly Febreezed.

I have a snuggie in my Amazon shopping cart.

Notes:

  I can hear the faint song of the siren space-heater calling to me, promising warmth and comfort but I must resist...
                                                 
                              the sound grows louder with each passing moment...
                     
                                                        it won't be long now....

[With This Herring]

Current Weather: Sunny and full of false hope.

*snickers*

[FI4good]

Been frugal with the town gas and electricity and had forgotten to adjust my hastily guessed direct debit amount with a new supplier in june.
I have just submitted utility readings and now i'm £500 in surplus. Oops ! 

[Linea_Norway]

I have a snuggie in my Amazon shopping cart.

There I learned about a new object today.

Personally I use a very thick old fashioned blanket when I am cold in the living room. That makes me warm in no-time.

[RWD]

I have a snuggie in my Amazon shopping cart.

There I learned about a new object today.

Personally I use a very thick old fashioned blanket when I am cold in the living room. That makes me warm in no-time.

My parents got each other Snuggies for Christmas several years ago. I've never seen them use them.

[Bracken_Joy]

So I've truly never understood... why not just turn a robe around? Then tada, you have a blanket with sleeves. Am I missing something? I've had friends with snuggies (and they both also owned fluffy robes). I just don't get it.

[Free Spirit]

I bought my little brother a snuggie one year as a joke (mostly out of curiosity on my part) and yeah, I don't get it. It was funny for about 5 minutes but that's probably because the commercials were so ridiculous. I tried it on and immediately had a claustrophobic attack so I won't really be buying one. ;)

[solon]

A bet a two-person snuggie would be a lot of fun. Might even forget about the claustrophobia.

[Playing with Fire UK]

A bet a two-person snuggie would be a lot of fun. Might even forget about the claustrophobia.

Can confirm the first part. I'm not claustrophobic though.

[shelivesthedream]

A bet a two-person snuggie would be a lot of fun. Might even forget about the claustrophobia.

Can confirm the first part. I'm not claustrophobic though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHj32IQmAd8

[Imma]

I have home made quilts to keep me warm during winter. Gets you warm much quicker than heating up the room does. I also wear a knitted poncho around the house. I think my neighbours think I'm kinda weird. But at least debt collectors never show to my door. I had €250 in surplus at the electricity and gas supplier too.

Which gets me to my MPP. We are already so careful with our use of gas for heating, that it barely pays off to insulate our old house properly. We got a quote for about €900 to insulate under our floors and €800 to insulate our walls. As our total gas and electricity bill last year was a little under €800, it doesn't really pay off to insulate. We might lower our bill by €100/year if we're lucky.

[mustachepungoeshere]

So I've truly never understood... why not just turn a robe around? Then tada, you have a blanket with sleeves. Am I missing something? I've had friends with snuggies (and they both also owned fluffy robes). I just don't get it.

One of my friends swore by her snuggie for breastfeeding in winter. The baby wouldn't fit inside a backwards robe (she tried), whereas the snuggie was bigger.

[johndoe]

My garage door opener was acting up yesterday so I started researching the issue.  Now I have a little better understanding how the darn thing works.  I wasted what felt like my whole day trying to figure it out...and I only diagnosed a part for repair.  When I called a local shop and they mentioned a $70 service call fee...I almost died.   I guess I'd rather waste time than money.  It's probably less stressful for the average customer...call company, have them fix it, pay whatever they demand.

[EngineeringFI]

My MPP: I travel a lot for work and always refill my "travel size" toothpaste (and other products) with the larger containers I have at home. Well my poor travel toothpaste has been squeeze perfectly flat and refilled so many times that it developed a hole :( I'm really not looking forward to buying another travel-sized toothpaste and using it just for the eventually-empty container.

Other MPP: I received a rather large raise at work a few weeks ago and immediately felt somewhat sick about the strings attached to the new amount of money. I should be excited about how much quicker this will get me to FI, but really I just feel gross knowing it means more working nights/weekends, stress, and pointless bureaucracy.

[Uturn]

My garage door opener was acting up yesterday so I started researching the issue.  Now I have a little better understanding how the darn thing works.  I wasted what felt like my whole day trying to figure it out...and I only diagnosed a part for repair.  When I called a local shop and they mentioned a $70 service call fee...I almost died.   I guess I'd rather waste time than money.  It's probably less stressful for the average customer...call company, have them fix it, pay whatever they demand.

If the door opener was the last mechanical item in your life that is going to break, yes, just call a repair company.  However, for every mechanical thing you figure out, you are building a skill set of how things work and how to troubleshoot and fix them.  As time goes on, you rely on past experience to figure out the next item.  After a while, you don't even think about calling a repair company, you just fix whatever broke, even if you have never seen one before. 

[shelivesthedream]

My MPP: I travel a lot for work and always refill my "travel size" toothpaste (and other products) with the larger containers I have at home. Well my poor travel toothpaste has been squeeze perfectly flat and refilled so many times that it developed a hole :( I'm really not looking forward to buying another travel-sized toothpaste and using it just for the eventually-empty container.

Other MPP: I received a rather large raise at work a few weeks ago and immediately felt somewhat sick about the strings attached to the new amount of money. I should be excited about how much quicker this will get me to FI, but really I just feel gross knowing it means more working nights/weekends, stress, and pointless bureaucracy.

How about buying a stainless steel lip balm tin? Durable, has other uses if you eventually no longer need it for toothpaste, can go through the dishwasher to get old gunky bits out, and ultimately recyclable. You could just smoosh your toothbrush across the top to 'load' it.

[Freckles]

I'm amazed that you could refill a toothpaste tube, especially a little travel-sized one. How on earth do you get toothpaste back into the tube?

[secondcor521]

I'm amazed that you could refill a toothpaste tube, especially a little travel-sized one. How on earth do you get toothpaste back into the tube?

Never done it myself, but I would guess you just take the caps off two toothpaste tubes, one full, one empty that you want full.  Put the two tips together and squeeze the full tube.  Toothpaste should transfer and fill the empty one.  If they stay aligned there is probably not much mess.

[GreenSheep]

I'm amazed that you could refill a toothpaste tube, especially a little travel-sized one. How on earth do you get toothpaste back into the tube?

Never done it myself, but I would guess you just take the caps off two toothpaste tubes, one full, one empty that you want full.  Put the two tips together and squeeze the full tube.  Toothpaste should transfer and fill the empty one.  If they stay aligned there is probably not much mess.

Yep, that's how I do it. Learned it years ago in my pre-Mustachian days from a boyfriend I thought was insane at the time... and now I do it all the time. The idea of having a reusable case is a good one, though. I'd do that if I didn't get freebies of the travel size from my dentist.