Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)

[Linea_Norway]

not so humble brag......my raise and bonus this year were enough to research if there is a $ limit to my employer match on my group RRSP (Canadian version of a 401K).   I know there are folks on this forum that make way more than I do, but I recognize that I make really good coin doing a job I enjoy.

my first MPP - there is no one besides my spouse I can tell.  Given how we live - people would be shocked at what I make.  And I like the stealth wealth.

my second MPP is now I have to decide where/how to invest that extra money.  What a wonderful first world problem to have.  And having the ability to recognize what a gift it is.  Because other than a replacement iPad for my 8 year old iPad, I can't think of a single thing I need/want to buy.   And the urge to buy the iPad isn't that strong, I'll wait until this one freezes once too many times in a day and accidentally gets thrown across the room.

Congratulations!  That is a great problem to have.  You're right--lots of other people would assume that you would, of course, spend the entire raise and bonus.  What else would you do with it??  :P

Here's hoping the iPad does not get thrown, accidentally or otherwise.

Those older iPads can survive being thrown across the room.

Or dropped on a concrete floor...

I was thinking tile......or giving it to my very elderly mother to see if she could manage facetime.....I imagine it would be dropped within the first 24 hours.

Be careful not to crack your floor tiles. That might be difficult/expensive to repair.

[The Keen Saver]

In Ireland at the moment bank interest rates are terrible and trying to find a bank account that has a savings rate of 1.5 - 2 % is not easy and then most of them are capped at a certain contribution a month such as €1000. Then once you go over a certain number such as €10,000 the interest drops to something like 0.2%. Makes saving money for a house down payment difficult since its basically depreciating wherever I put it. The only option is to open a string of savings accounts and spread the money out over multiple banks. Except that some of the banks only offer those average rates if you also have a current account with the bank and deposit X amount each month.

[radram]

In Ireland at the moment bank interest rates are terrible and trying to find a bank account that has a savings rate of 1.5 - 2 % is not easy and then most of them are capped at a certain contribution a month such as €1000. Then once you go over a certain number such as €10,000 the interest drops to something like 0.2%. Makes saving money for a house down payment difficult since its basically depreciating wherever I put it. The only option is to open a string of savings accounts and spread the money out over multiple banks. Except that some of the banks only offer those average rates if you also have a current account with the bank and deposit X amount each month.

That is "interesting"(see what I did there). Here in the states, a higher balance can often earn a higher yield. What is the reasoning for decreasing the yield? Why do they want to discourage saving?


I am visiting Ireland this summer. We are really looking forward to it.

[LennStar]

That is "interesting"(see what I did there). Here in the states, a higher balance can often earn a higher yield. What is the reasoning for decreasing the yield? Why do they want to discourage saving?

Probably the same as in the other countries too: What should the bank do with all that money?
They don't want to lend it to anything that has any risk. So they don't do it. Which means that the central banks keep printing money in the hope of banks lending money. Which they still don't do.
Which means the main rate is still at 0% and banks still have to PAY money if they want to put their stash into the central bank.

Or, as I like to say it, there is simply too much money sloshing around in the system.

e.g. Modern Monetary Theory could very simply explain to you why there is no inflation even though money supply is increasing far faster than real economy growth for decades now - but since MMT is "socialist", every US citizen is forbidden to read about it! HARHARHAR!

(hint: The money is mostly owned (and even worse nearly exclusivly going to) by people who have far more than they use for consuming. So they don't use that money. And if nobody is consuming, no growth.
That is part of the reason for the consumer frenzy everywhere in the economic circles. (We need to consume more!!)
btw. We mustachians are, albeit nearly from the other side, part of the same "problem".)

[I'm a red panda]

In Ireland at the moment bank interest rates are terrible and trying to find a bank account that has a savings rate of 1.5 - 2 % is not easy and then most of them are capped at a certain contribution a month such as €1000. Then once you go over a certain number such as €10,000 the interest drops to something like 0.2%. Makes saving money for a house down payment difficult since its basically depreciating wherever I put it. The only option is to open a string of savings accounts and spread the money out over multiple banks. Except that some of the banks only offer those average rates if you also have a current account with the bank and deposit X amount each month.

That is "interesting"(see what I did there). Here in the states, a higher balance can often earn a higher yield. What is the reasoning for decreasing the yield? Why do they want to discourage saving?


I am visiting Ireland this summer. We are really looking forward to it.

I've actually seen quite a few situations like what was described here. We have a rewards checking account that is 2% up to $25,000 and then drops to 0.1%.

[Imma]

I'm actually jealous. I get 0,03% over my savings and 0,04% over the money that's in my account for more than a year. Those are normal rates over here. You can do your research and find banks that offer slightly more but it's hardly worth the hassle. It's not like you'd get 0,5% there.

[radram]

In Ireland at the moment bank interest rates are terrible and trying to find a bank account that has a savings rate of 1.5 - 2 % is not easy and then most of them are capped at a certain contribution a month such as €1000. Then once you go over a certain number such as €10,000 the interest drops to something like 0.2%. Makes saving money for a house down payment difficult since its basically depreciating wherever I put it. The only option is to open a string of savings accounts and spread the money out over multiple banks. Except that some of the banks only offer those average rates if you also have a current account with the bank and deposit X amount each month.

That is "interesting"(see what I did there). Here in the states, a higher balance can often earn a higher yield. What is the reasoning for decreasing the yield? Why do they want to discourage saving?


I am visiting Ireland this summer. We are really looking forward to it.

I've actually seen quite a few situations like what was described here. We have a rewards checking account that is 2% up to $25,000 and then drops to 0.1%.

I've been really interested in CitBank. Currently a tiered rate (only 2 tiers) of 1.17%, and 2.45% if over $25,000. Anyone have good or bad to say about them?

https://www.cit.com/cit-bank/tiered-savings-account-savings-builder-direct/#savingsbuilderfaq

I assume there are rules that prohibit foreign investment correct?

[Alfred J Quack]

not so humble brag......my raise and bonus this year were enough to research if there is a $ limit to my employer match on my group RRSP (Canadian version of a 401K).   I know there are folks on this forum that make way more than I do, but I recognize that I make really good coin doing a job I enjoy.

my first MPP - there is no one besides my spouse I can tell.  Given how we live - people would be shocked at what I make.  And I like the stealth wealth.

my second MPP is now I have to decide where/how to invest that extra money.  What a wonderful first world problem to have.  And having the ability to recognize what a gift it is.  Because other than a replacement iPad for my 8 year old iPad, I can't think of a single thing I need/want to buy.   And the urge to buy the iPad isn't that strong, I'll wait until this one freezes once too many times in a day and accidentally gets thrown across the room.

Congratulations!  That is a great problem to have.  You're right--lots of other people would assume that you would, of course, spend the entire raise and bonus.  What else would you do with it??  :P

Here's hoping the iPad does not get thrown, accidentally or otherwise.

Those older iPads can survive being thrown across the room.

Or dropped on a concrete floor...

I was thinking tile......or giving it to my very elderly mother to see if she could manage facetime.....I imagine it would be dropped within the first 24 hours.

Be careful, she might start using it as a cutting board.

But we had a colleague come in with a defective iPad. It was bent at a 20 degree angle. Appearently, the had it in a speaker system which was pulled down by her daughter and the force of it was enough to bend the thing. I didn't ask about the floor though, whether it was cracked or not :P

[KathrinS]

My main MPP is that I have to smile and nod and look inconspicuous whenever people start to whine about the 'cost of living' in my area. The other day I was speaking to someone who's interested in freelancing. I mentioned that people in full time employment probably only need 3 months' emergency expenses, but in self employment, 6 months are recommended. His response: 'Hmm, 3 months.. I do have savings, but not THAAAT MUCH.'

[Wrenchturner]

Not sure if this is a MPP or something else. I love walking to work. It is about 5.5 km which takes me less than 40 mins to walk. I do it every work day regardless of the weather. I put on a podcast and enjoy the walk. And nobody seems to understand. They all say why don't you get the Luas (tram) which goes directly from my house to work. My response is that it costs about 5 euro a day and is packed like a tin of sardines during rush hour. Why don't you get the bus? I walk faster than the bus which also costs about 5 quid a day and is packed full of people too.

I could cycle too which I used to do a lot but I work in the city center and the roads are awful for cyclists and I can't listen to my podcasts on the bike. No one seems to understand that I actually enjoy walking to work and have no problem walking in the cold for 40 minutes in the morning. I don't have to wait around on some one else's  schedule (bus or tram) to get to work, I don't have to rush to catch the bus if I'm running late. I leave when I want and I get to work at the same time because I set my own schedule.

Is it because there is an element of hardship that people can't relate? If it rains I wear my waterproofs, if it snows I wear my hiking boots, if its sunny out I'm already wearing shorts. It just seems like a no brainer. It's the cheaper, healthier and faster than public transport yet I am the odd one out.

Joe Rogan: You're used to doing that: get in your car, sit down.  Drive to the office, sit down. Go to lunch, sit down.  Go to the board meeting, sit down. Get in your car on the way home, sit down. Get home in front of the TV, sit down.  Then go to the gym...? F*ck off!

Podcasts are great for this kind of stuff!

[The Fake Cheap]

Not really a problem but I thought I would share anyway.

My paycheque was screwed up a while back, so I only got paid about half of my normal pay.

I emailed my supervisor about it and she told me to go see her so she could find out more about it.

After we we done talking about the missing pay, she said she was a bit releived that I wasn't super upset about the missing money.  She thought I would be pissed because she has heard that "I was careful with my money".

I replied that "Things like this are the reason I'm careful with my money...so I don't have to worry about money."

[Wrenchturner]

Not really a problem but I thought I would share anyway.

My paycheque was screwed up a while back, so I only got paid about half of my normal pay.

I emailed my supervisor about it and she told me to go see her so she could find out more about it.

After we we done talking about the missing pay, she said she was a bit releived that I wasn't super upset about the missing money.  She thought I would be pissed because she has heard that "I was careful with my money".

I replied that "Things like this are the reason I'm careful with my money...so I don't have to worry about money."

I think FU money exists on a spectrum.  This event is on that spectrum.  I took last November off to go to Asia and my HR person was concerned about my $80 benefits payment... it really made no difference to me when it would be deducted and I was a bit unnerved to find out that people are that tight on cash.

Sometimes glitches and malfunctions just happen.  If I'm going to be pissed at my managers, I'd like to ensure it's for a reason they can control. 

[BTDretire]

Hurricane back in Oct. pushed in a brick wall. I ordered 1500 brick  to repair it.
 The rep said they sent the order a little short, you only got 1484 brick, and that's
what the invoice billed 1484 brick @ $0.3999. Because of my vehicle, I had to make two
trips to carry all the brick. When I stacked the first load, I noted it was short, so I counted
what was left at the dealer, it was also short.
 I said to the dealer that I was short 28 brick, "he said what do you want me to do", I said,
 "just credit my credit card for the difference."
 The secretary was there and he said, credit his card and add a $25 handling fee!
 He was pissed, and said nobody ever counts* their brick.
 I told him to just forget it, and he did, so MPP, I had to pay $11 for something I didn't get.

*ya, contractors never count brick, they always order extra, they have plenty, the consumer pays the bill, and ever one is happy. Especially the brick manufacturer that, from "my experience" sends short pallets.

[mustachepungoeshere]

My main MPP is that I have to smile and nod and look inconspicuous whenever people start to whine about the 'cost of living' in my area.

For me it's power bills!

Energy prices are under scrutiny in Australia, with stagnant wage growth, the closure of some coal-fired power stations, and a state and federal election around the corner.

I'm a member of a couple of money-saving groups on Facebook, and every week someone asks which energy provider is the cheapest.

But the conversation rarely gets to the question of usage.

My last power bill was $229 for the quarter, the lowest it's been in five quarters.

Want to spend less on your energy bill? Step one has to be: use less!

[Bloop Bloop]

My main MPP is that I have to smile and nod and look inconspicuous whenever people start to whine about the 'cost of living' in my area.

For me it's power bills!

Energy prices are under scrutiny in Australia, with stagnant wage growth, the closure of some coal-fired power stations, and a state and federal election around the corner.

I'm a member of a couple of money-saving groups on Facebook, and every week someone asks which energy provider is the cheapest.

But the conversation rarely gets to the question of usage.

My last power bill was $229 for the quarter, the lowest it's been in five quarters.

Want to spend less on your energy bill? Step one has to be: use less!

I used to share with a room-mate who would regularly set the thermostat to 27 degrees celsius on winter nights. As a result our monthly power bill was about $220.

Since he's left and it's now just me and my partner, our winter power bill is about $90 per month and summer power bill $40 a month. In winter when my partner (who is more cold sensitive) than me is here I set the thermostat to 21 degrees and when it's just me I set it to 17 degrees. I have natural cold resistance - when it's 25 degrees indoors I stroll around in my underwear, so I'm not bothered by cold.

It does help that I got a 25% reduction in rates from my energy supplier after complaining and taking them to the Ombudsman for bait and switch tactics, but man, "regular people" use a shit ton of energy.

[mustachepungoeshere]

I used to share with a room-mate who would regularly set the thermostat to 27 degrees celsius on winter nights.

I'm pretty sure that would make me feel ill!

[Trifele]

In Ireland at the moment bank interest rates are terrible and trying to find a bank account that has a savings rate of 1.5 - 2 % is not easy and then most of them are capped at a certain contribution a month such as €1000. Then once you go over a certain number such as €10,000 the interest drops to something like 0.2%. Makes saving money for a house down payment difficult since its basically depreciating wherever I put it. The only option is to open a string of savings accounts and spread the money out over multiple banks. Except that some of the banks only offer those average rates if you also have a current account with the bank and deposit X amount each month.

That is "interesting"(see what I did there). Here in the states, a higher balance can often earn a higher yield. What is the reasoning for decreasing the yield? Why do they want to discourage saving?


I am visiting Ireland this summer. We are really looking forward to it.

I've actually seen quite a few situations like what was described here. We have a rewards checking account that is 2% up to $25,000 and then drops to 0.1%.

I've been really interested in CitBank. Currently a tiered rate (only 2 tiers) of 1.17%, and 2.45% if over $25,000. Anyone have good or bad to say about them?

https://www.cit.com/cit-bank/tiered-savings-account-savings-builder-direct/#savingsbuilderfaq

I assume there are rules that prohibit foreign investment correct?

Another option -- Ally has 2.2% with no lower or upper limits on their savings accounts now.

[TomTX]

I've been really interested in CitBank. Currently a tiered rate (only 2 tiers) of 1.17%, and 2.45% if over $25,000. Anyone have good or bad to say about them?

https://www.cit.com/cit-bank/tiered-savings-account-savings-builder-direct/#savingsbuilderfaq

I assume there are rules that prohibit foreign investment correct?

Another option -- Ally has 2.2% with no lower or upper limits on their savings accounts now.

If you would like to peruse a large list of options:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/high-interest-savings-to-get/

It appears the highest "no hassle" rate is 2.75%

[Seadog]

Not sure if this is a MPP or something else. I love walking to work. It is about 5.5 km which takes me less than 40 mins to walk. I do it every work day regardless of the weather. I put on a podcast and enjoy the walk. And nobody seems to understand. They all say why don't you get the Luas (tram) which goes directly from my house to work. My response is that it costs about 5 euro a day and is packed like a tin of sardines during rush hour. Why don't you get the bus? I walk faster than the bus which also costs about 5 quid a day and is packed full of people too.

I could cycle too which I used to do a lot but I work in the city center and the roads are awful for cyclists and I can't listen to my podcasts on the bike. No one seems to understand that I actually enjoy walking to work and have no problem walking in the cold for 40 minutes in the morning. I don't have to wait around on some one else's  schedule (bus or tram) to get to work, I don't have to rush to catch the bus if I'm running late. I leave when I want and I get to work at the same time because I set my own schedule.

Is it because there is an element of hardship that people can't relate? If it rains I wear my waterproofs, if it snows I wear my hiking boots, if its sunny out I'm already wearing shorts. It just seems like a no brainer. It's the cheaper, healthier and faster than public transport yet I am the odd one out.

Very Mustachian people problem!

You could just tell 'em you like walking.

I've tried that too, but it seems nobody likes walking to and from work. If you like walking you book package holidays in other countries where you walk from hotel to hotel and have your luggage transported.

Recently came home from an overseas trip, flights got all messed up due to weather, and a friend could no longer pick me up at the airport. The airport is far away, so taxis are like $75, which I feel as a mustachian is too much - so I took the bus. The blessing in disguise is that my luggage was also lost.

So I spent 90 minutes on the bus, then walked a km home from the terminal. My luggage then got dropped off the next day by a guy in a van. I told my friend this and he retorted "Wait, so let me get this straight, your luggage gets better transportation than yourself?"

[Seadog]

Yes. It seems that walking is something that shouldn't be seen as a mode of transport but a pastime...

Haha, at my last job I spent a month working in small town Colorado. Great place, but I would always walk the 2.5 miles to the grocery store or where ever else, along side some pretty epic hikes in the hills there, which also required a 2+ mile walk to the trail head.

I never understood the idea of spending money to drive to the exercise place.

Anyways, really friendly small town of maybe 15k, and at least 2-3x per week I'd have people stop and offer me lifts. Wondering why some strange guy was *walking* a mile out of town. He clearly must have had a breakdown or something.

[radram]

I've been really interested in CitBank. Currently a tiered rate (only 2 tiers) of 1.17%, and 2.45% if over $25,000. Anyone have good or bad to say about them?

https://www.cit.com/cit-bank/tiered-savings-account-savings-builder-direct/#savingsbuilderfaq

I assume there are rules that prohibit foreign investment correct?

Another option -- Ally has 2.2% with no lower or upper limits on their savings accounts now.

If you would like to peruse a large list of options:

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/high-interest-savings-to-get/

It appears the highest "no hassle" rate is 2.75%

thank you for the link. I will take some time to look at a few more, but the 2.75% rate is for 1 year, that then reverts back to current rates. Their best "regular" rate is 1% at present. I would prefer 2.45% that is not a "teaser" over the 2.75% that reverts.

[TomTX]

thank you for the link. I will take some time to look at a few more, but the 2.75% rate is for 1 year, that then reverts back to current rates. Their best "regular" rate is 1% at present. I would prefer 2.45% that is not a "teaser" over the 2.75% that reverts.

The 2.45 isn't guaranteed either. Rates change all the time.

[radram]

thank you for the link. I will take some time to look at a few more, but the 2.75% rate is for 1 year, that then reverts back to current rates. Their best "regular" rate is 1% at present. I would prefer 2.45% that is not a "teaser" over the 2.75% that reverts.

The 2.45 isn't guaranteed either. Rates change all the time.

Very true, but the introductory rate is virtually guaranteed to fall after 1 year. Almost 67% at current rates. I'll take my chances. In fact, when I first started looking into CITBank, the rate was 2.41%.

[dragoncar]

not so humble brag......my raise and bonus this year were enough to research if there is a $ limit to my employer match on my group RRSP (Canadian version of a 401K).   I know there are folks on this forum that make way more than I do, but I recognize that I make really good coin doing a job I enjoy.

my first MPP - there is no one besides my spouse I can tell.  Given how we live - people would be shocked at what I make.  And I like the stealth wealth.

my second MPP is now I have to decide where/how to invest that extra money.  What a wonderful first world problem to have.  And having the ability to recognize what a gift it is.  Because other than a replacement iPad for my 8 year old iPad, I can't think of a single thing I need/want to buy.   And the urge to buy the iPad isn't that strong, I'll wait until this one freezes once too many times in a day and accidentally gets thrown across the room.

Congratulations!  That is a great problem to have.  You're right--lots of other people would assume that you would, of course, spend the entire raise and bonus.  What else would you do with it??  :P

Here's hoping the iPad does not get thrown, accidentally or otherwise.

Those older iPads can survive being thrown across the room.

Or dropped on a concrete floor...

I was thinking tile......or giving it to my very elderly mother to see if she could manage facetime.....I imagine it would be dropped within the first 24 hours.

Be careful, she might start using it as a cutting board.

But we had a colleague come in with a defective iPad. It was bent at a 20 degree angle. Appearently, the had it in a speaker system which was pulled down by her daughter and the force of it was enough to bend the thing. I didn't ask about the floor though, whether it was cracked or not :P

Work great as a plate too! https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.reddit.com/r/WeWantPlates/comments/76lym2/selfaware_absurdity_apple_pastry_desert_served_on/

[dragoncar]

Hurricane back in Oct. pushed in a brick wall. I ordered 1500 brick  to repair it.
 The rep said they sent the order a little short, you only got 1484 brick, and that's
what the invoice billed 1484 brick @ $0.3999. Because of my vehicle, I had to make two
trips to carry all the brick. When I stacked the first load, I noted it was short, so I counted
what was left at the dealer, it was also short.
 I said to the dealer that I was short 28 brick, "he said what do you want me to do", I said,
 "just credit my credit card for the difference."
 The secretary was there and he said, credit his card and add a $25 handling fee!
 He was pissed, and said nobody ever counts* their brick.
 I told him to just forget it, and he did, so MPP, I had to pay $11 for something I didn't get.

*ya, contractors never count brick, they always order extra, they have plenty, the consumer pays the bill, and ever one is happy. Especially the brick manufacturer that, from "my experience" sends short pallets.

How about I do a chargeback and the dealer gets to pay a $25 chargeback fee?

[gaja]

not so humble brag......my raise and bonus this year were enough to research if there is a $ limit to my employer match on my group RRSP (Canadian version of a 401K).   I know there are folks on this forum that make way more than I do, but I recognize that I make really good coin doing a job I enjoy.

my first MPP - there is no one besides my spouse I can tell.  Given how we live - people would be shocked at what I make.  And I like the stealth wealth.

my second MPP is now I have to decide where/how to invest that extra money.  What a wonderful first world problem to have.  And having the ability to recognize what a gift it is.  Because other than a replacement iPad for my 8 year old iPad, I can't think of a single thing I need/want to buy.   And the urge to buy the iPad isn't that strong, I'll wait until this one freezes once too many times in a day and accidentally gets thrown across the room.

Congratulations!  That is a great problem to have.  You're right--lots of other people would assume that you would, of course, spend the entire raise and bonus.  What else would you do with it??  :P

Here's hoping the iPad does not get thrown, accidentally or otherwise.

Those older iPads can survive being thrown across the room.

Or dropped on a concrete floor...

I was thinking tile......or giving it to my very elderly mother to see if she could manage facetime.....I imagine it would be dropped within the first 24 hours.

Be careful, she might start using it as a cutting board.

But we had a colleague come in with a defective iPad. It was bent at a 20 degree angle. Appearently, the had it in a speaker system which was pulled down by her daughter and the force of it was enough to bend the thing. I didn't ask about the floor though, whether it was cracked or not :P

Work great as a plate too! https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.reddit.com/r/WeWantPlates/comments/76lym2/selfaware_absurdity_apple_pastry_desert_served_on/

Just sold my 7-8 year old iPad for $50. Maybe a more boring solution than the other mentioned above, but the savings account appriciated it. Apparently that is the going price here for old electronics; we got the same price for a couple of old psions from the 90s.

The MPP: people who buy old electronics tend to pay in cash. The Norwegian Bank has recently changed the design of our 50 NOK bill, and the old bill will stop being legal currency in October. If we forget to spend them before that, we'll have to go to the bank and exchange them for new ones. We spend so little cash that this feels a bit stressful. The design of the 100 NOK bill changed last year, and we had the same issue then. Luckily we found some charity to give the old money to - that will be the backup plan for this money too.

[Alfred J Quack]

My main MPP is that I have to smile and nod and look inconspicuous whenever people start to whine about the 'cost of living' in my area.

For me it's power bills!

Energy prices are under scrutiny in Australia, with stagnant wage growth, the closure of some coal-fired power stations, and a state and federal election around the corner.

I'm a member of a couple of money-saving groups on Facebook, and every week someone asks which energy provider is the cheapest.

But the conversation rarely gets to the question of usage.

My last power bill was $229 for the quarter, the lowest it's been in five quarters.

Want to spend less on your energy bill? Step one has to be: use less!

I have that discussion with several people since we swapped out heating with a heat pump. Everyone so far is against it due to negative news (they use a lot of electric, the house won't get warm, lots of noise etc.).
My electrical usage for the heat pump has been 1400kWh extra, or thereabouts. Price is €0,23 per kWh, so about 20,- per month over the full year. Everyone who asks has googly eyes because it's expensive and blah blah. But then I tell them that I don't have to pay the 70,- per month of the previous heating. They keep falling back on the extra 20 and not the 50 saved in total...

I also have a green contract which means that all kWh are generated by non pollution like solar, wind or other sources. The previous heating was supplied by waste heat from a coal powerplant, and additionally heated by a bio-gas burner (aka methane and such produced from green waste).

I also have a problem though. About 10 years ago I bought a boatload of boxershorts when a local retailer had a bankruptcy sale. Something like 2 euro for a boxer. Nice thick cotton and very comfy. They are falling apart on me so I'm looking for new ones.
Fashion appearently changed and nearly all boxers are now elastic tight fitting ones. I don't like those, but the non elastic version is a rarity and most are both expensive and thin cotton. I can find some versions online but are I can't tell if the cotton is reasonable quality and returns aren't free. Prices start at 12 for a single boxer, I think that's insanity... I even saw boxers that go for 50+, I'm flabbergasted...

[Imma]

I can see where some people are coming from re: heat pump criticism. I've done my research as well because we were interested in maybe getting one, but it seems it's mainly interesting if your use of natural gas / heating is pretty high and your house is quite big. In our case we calculated that we'd save €75/year while investing €4500 (hybrid installation) up front + we'd have to sacrifice most of a bedroom. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with heat pumps, I just think they are not particularly suitable for the most common type of house in NL.

Radically cutting down on energy use can be very effective in lowering bills and carbon pollution and is zero waste. I think this should be promoted much more. All I hear about now are EV's and heat pumps.

[Alfred J Quack]

I can see where some people are coming from re: heat pump criticism. I've done my research as well because we were interested in maybe getting one, but it seems it's mainly interesting if your use of natural gas / heating is pretty high and your house is quite big. In our case we calculated that we'd save €75/year while investing €4500 (hybrid installation) up front + we'd have to sacrifice most of a bedroom. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with heat pumps, I just think they are not particularly suitable for the most common type of house in NL.

Radically cutting down on energy use can be very effective in lowering bills and carbon pollution and is zero waste. I think this should be promoted much more. All I hear about now are EV's and heat pumps.

This is actually dependent on your heating system. I have a normal sized house (100m2/300m3) with radiators and I could have done with a 5kW heatpump which cost about 4500 and I receive 2000 in subsidies. Savings then would have been a lot more than my current heatpump (which is bigger and more expensive due to some assumptions I made early on).

If you have underfloor heating you can generally replace a natural Gas heater quite easily because its already suitable for the output temperatures of a heatpump.

On an enthusiasts forum we use a formula to calculate which size heatpump is appropriate (considering only heating the unit and not tapwater, also continuous heating and no lowering the temperature during the nights):
m3 gasusage per annum x 8 KW heat (which is easily possible in most heaters from 1 m3 of gas). Divide this by 1650 and round up to the nearest whole number.

Example: 1100m3 gas is 8800 / 1650 = 5.33, round up = 6kW sized heatpump.

[edit]
Disclaimer: This calculation is based on -10^oC in dutch weather (often windy.
Natural Gas I indicated is low calory NG, do not compare with other types of combustibles. If needed, calculate by kWh in stead but take note of the temperature!

[Imma]

Thanks for your long reply! From what I remember the issue was that for older homes, hybrid systems are best and those generally don't heat tap water. Since typical Dutch homes have neighbours attached on both sides, your house is partially heated by their warmth, so a relatively large amount of total gas use is for tap water and cooking instead of heating (I think about 50% in our case) . What we took away is that a heat pump is mainly interesting if you can get off the gas completely or heating is your main use of gas, for example if you have a detached house.


Our house is slightly smaller than yours, but not a massive difference. 75m2/265 m3. We use about 800m3 of gas and 400m3 is supposed to be for tap water and cooking.

[Fomerly known as something]

Not sure if this is a MPP or something else. I love walking to work. It is about 5.5 km which takes me less than 40 mins to walk. I do it every work day regardless of the weather. I put on a podcast and enjoy the walk. And nobody seems to understand. They all say why don't you get the Luas (tram) which goes directly from my house to work. My response is that it costs about 5 euro a day and is packed like a tin of sardines during rush hour. Why don't you get the bus? I walk faster than the bus which also costs about 5 quid a day and is packed full of people too.

I could cycle too which I used to do a lot but I work in the city center and the roads are awful for cyclists and I can't listen to my podcasts on the bike. No one seems to understand that I actually enjoy walking to work and have no problem walking in the cold for 40 minutes in the morning. I don't have to wait around on some one else's  schedule (bus or tram) to get to work, I don't have to rush to catch the bus if I'm running late. I leave when I want and I get to work at the same time because I set my own schedule.

Is it because there is an element of hardship that people can't relate? If it rains I wear my waterproofs, if it snows I wear my hiking boots, if its sunny out I'm already wearing shorts. It just seems like a no brainer. It's the cheaper, healthier and faster than public transport yet I am the odd one out.

Very Mustachian people problem!

You could just tell 'em you like walking.

I've tried that too, but it seems nobody likes walking to and from work. If you like walking you book package holidays in other countries where you walk from hotel to hotel and have your luggage transported.

Recently came home from an overseas trip, flights got all messed up due to weather, and a friend could no longer pick me up at the airport. The airport is far away, so taxis are like $75, which I feel as a mustachian is too much - so I took the bus. The blessing in disguise is that my luggage was also lost.

So I spent 90 minutes on the bus, then walked a km home from the terminal. My luggage then got dropped off the next day by a guy in a van. I told my friend this and he retorted "Wait, so let me get this straight, your luggage gets better transportation than yourself?"

I booked a holiday where I walked from hotel to hotel and had my luggage delivered last summer.  I drive to work, but work provides me the vehicle.  This did factor a bit into my housing choices, I live 10 miles from work instead of less than 5 miles.

[kelvin]

I can see where some people are coming from re: heat pump criticism. I've done my research as well because we were interested in maybe getting one, but it seems it's mainly interesting if your use of natural gas / heating is pretty high and your house is quite big. In our case we calculated that we'd save €75/year while investing €4500 (hybrid installation) up front + we'd have to sacrifice most of a bedroom. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with heat pumps, I just think they are not particularly suitable for the most common type of house in NL.

Radically cutting down on energy use can be very effective in lowering bills and carbon pollution and is zero waste. I think this should be promoted much more. All I hear about now are EV's and heat pumps.

This is actually dependent on your heating system. I have a normal sized house (100m2/300m3) with radiators and I could have done with a 5kW heatpump which cost about 4500 and I receive 2000 in subsidies. Savings then would have been a lot more than my current heatpump (which is bigger and more expensive due to some assumptions I made early on).

If you have underfloor heating you can generally replace a natural Gas heater quite easily because its already suitable for the output temperatures of a heatpump.

On an enthusiasts forum we use a formula to calculate which size heatpump is appropriate (considering only heating the unit and not tapwater, also continuous heating and no lowering the temperature during the nights):
m3 gasusage per annum x 8 KW heat (which is easily possible in most heaters from 1 m3 of gas). Divide this by 1650 and round up to the nearest whole number.

Example: 1100m3 gas is 8800 / 1650 = 5.33, round up = 6kW sized heatpump.

[edit]
Disclaimer: This calculation is based on -10^oC in dutch weather (often windy.
Natural Gas I indicated is low calory NG, do not compare with other types of combustibles. If needed, calculate by kWh in stead but take note of the temperature!

Thanks for the calculation!

I've been told that heat pumps do not function well below -10C, is this true?

For years, Ottawa had artificially cheap electric power. Huge swaths of the city have electric baseboard heaters, and nothing else, when winters are regularly below -30C. Some of the newer homes have natural gas, but anything more than ten years old, or worth $300,000 or less, probably has electric. Some folks are installing the heat pumps for use most of the year, and leaving the electric in as backup during the coldest months. It's something I'm keeping an eye on for when I'm able to buy in a few years.

[Linea_Norway]

I've been told that heat pumps do not function well below -10C, is this true?

Air-to-air heat pumps work less efficiently the colder it gets. When  the outside temp is +5C, you put in 1kW and it produces 3,5 kW of electricity. When it is -10C, you put in 1 kW and it produces warmth for maybe 1,5 kW. At a certain point it will not produce more than the 1 kW that you put in.

If you winters are mostly very cold, you could consider another type of heat pump, like one that is based on groundwater. Such a pump produces about 5 kW for each 1 kW you put in the whole winter.

We in South Norway have had an air-to-air pump for many years. Our winters are sometimes -10C a great part of the winter. But most of the time, the winters have milder temperatures. In addition come the spring and autumn that are milder. We saved about 1/3 of our energy bill. We had a wood stove as well that we could use on the coldest days (with free wood from the garden).

[zolotiyeruki]

I've been told that heat pumps do not function well below -10C, is this true?

I keep hearing people say that more modern air-source heat pumps are effective down at those temperatures, but it's true that they become less efficient.  Ground source heat pumps don't have that problem, but are a lot more expensive to install because of the cost of burying the loops horizontally or drilling multiple wells for vertical loops.

[Slow&Steady]

I've been told that heat pumps do not function well below -10C, is this true?

I keep hearing people say that more modern air-source heat pumps are effective down at those temperatures, but it's true that they become less efficient.  Ground source heat pumps don't have that problem, but are a lot more expensive to install because of the cost of burying the loops horizontally or drilling multiple wells for vertical loops.

We have a geothermal heat/air system and I just installed an outdoor wood-burning boiler because our winter electricity usage was 3x what our summer usage was.  I don't like to be cold but I am more than happy to use a blanket so our thermostat is set to more eco-friendly temperatures/schedule.  We have had our system checked out and everyone says that it is in great working condition and that the increased usage should be expected due to the below freezing temperatures.  The wood boiler was installed in early December and our electric usage for this winter is now inline with our electric usage for summer.  We are also planning to try to add additional insulation this year but it isn't like this is an area that is extremely lacking currently, our house is an earth contact (berm, underground, whatever your region calls it) home, 3 sides are concrete walls that are buried. 

[Alfred J Quack]

I can see where some people are coming from re: heat pump criticism. I've done my research as well because we were interested in maybe getting one, but it seems it's mainly interesting if your use of natural gas / heating is pretty high and your house is quite big. In our case we calculated that we'd save €75/year while investing €4500 (hybrid installation) up front + we'd have to sacrifice most of a bedroom. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with heat pumps, I just think they are not particularly suitable for the most common type of house in NL.

Radically cutting down on energy use can be very effective in lowering bills and carbon pollution and is zero waste. I think this should be promoted much more. All I hear about now are EV's and heat pumps.

This is actually dependent on your heating system. I have a normal sized house (100m2/300m3) with radiators and I could have done with a 5kW heatpump which cost about 4500 and I receive 2000 in subsidies. Savings then would have been a lot more than my current heatpump (which is bigger and more expensive due to some assumptions I made early on).

If you have underfloor heating you can generally replace a natural Gas heater quite easily because its already suitable for the output temperatures of a heatpump.

On an enthusiasts forum we use a formula to calculate which size heatpump is appropriate (considering only heating the unit and not tapwater, also continuous heating and no lowering the temperature during the nights):
m3 gasusage per annum x 8 KW heat (which is easily possible in most heaters from 1 m3 of gas). Divide this by 1650 and round up to the nearest whole number.

Example: 1100m3 gas is 8800 / 1650 = 5.33, round up = 6kW sized heatpump.

[edit]
Disclaimer: This calculation is based on -10^oC in dutch weather (often windy.
Natural Gas I indicated is low calory NG, do not compare with other types of combustibles. If needed, calculate by kWh in stead but take note of the temperature!

Thanks for the calculation!

I've been told that heat pumps do not function well below -10C, is this true?

For years, Ottawa had artificially cheap electric power. Huge swaths of the city have electric baseboard heaters, and nothing else, when winters are regularly below -30C. Some of the newer homes have natural gas, but anything more than ten years old, or worth $300,000 or less, probably has electric. Some folks are installing the heat pumps for use most of the year, and leaving the electric in as backup during the coldest months. It's something I'm keeping an eye on for when I'm able to buy in a few years.

The power output usually drops some as outdoor temperature drops. My air to water has a technical upgrade that keeps the maximum output the same though, at the cost of more electric power. At -28 C it's still rated for 9kW heat output with 4,5kW electric input.

[Just Joe]

Yes. It seems that walking is something that shouldn't be seen as a mode of transport but a pastime...

Haha, at my last job I spent a month working in small town Colorado. Great place, but I would always walk the 2.5 miles to the grocery store or where ever else, along side some pretty epic hikes in the hills there, which also required a 2+ mile walk to the trail head.

I never understood the idea of spending money to drive to the exercise place.

Anyways, really friendly small town of maybe 15k, and at least 2-3x per week I'd have people stop and offer me lifts. Wondering why some strange guy was *walking* a mile out of town. He clearly must have had a breakdown or something.

I went on a group bike ride. Everyone DRIVES to the meeting point and then rides. Not me, I roll up on my bike, ride 18 miles with them and then ride home. I added four miles to my ride b/c no driving to get there.

[Just Joe]

I too have heard modern heat pumps are better at coping with temps below freezing. We bought a hybrid heat pump that allows us to pick a threshold temp where it switches from heat pump to gas. I have that temp set at about freezing. In my part of the country we see alot of day time temps above freezing and night time temps below freezing. It switches back and forth seamlessly.

I also hear lots of people complain about heat pumps making cool air heat but I guess it depends on what a person wants - lower heating costs or genuinely hot heating air. For us as long as the heat pump air isn't blowing directly on us, it is fine. Walking into the house from outside makes it very clear that the house is truly warm. We heat to about 65F-67F. When we have company coming we might bump it up a little higher while they are with us to be nice but I think the additional warm bodies do a fine job warming the house all by themselves. We are also often cooking at the same time and pumping stove heat into the house as well.   

[dragoncar]

Yes. It seems that walking is something that shouldn't be seen as a mode of transport but a pastime...

Haha, at my last job I spent a month working in small town Colorado. Great place, but I would always walk the 2.5 miles to the grocery store or where ever else, along side some pretty epic hikes in the hills there, which also required a 2+ mile walk to the trail head.

I never understood the idea of spending money to drive to the exercise place.

Anyways, really friendly small town of maybe 15k, and at least 2-3x per week I'd have people stop and offer me lifts. Wondering why some strange guy was *walking* a mile out of town. He clearly must have had a breakdown or something.

I went on a group bike ride. Everyone DRIVES to the meeting point and then rides. Not me, I roll up on my bike, ride 18 miles with them and then ride home. I added four miles to my ride b/c no driving to get there.

I bet you’d also run a mile to the gym.  Absolute mad lad

[gaja]

Yes. It seems that walking is something that shouldn't be seen as a mode of transport but a pastime...

Haha, at my last job I spent a month working in small town Colorado. Great place, but I would always walk the 2.5 miles to the grocery store or where ever else, along side some pretty epic hikes in the hills there, which also required a 2+ mile walk to the trail head.

I never understood the idea of spending money to drive to the exercise place.

Anyways, really friendly small town of maybe 15k, and at least 2-3x per week I'd have people stop and offer me lifts. Wondering why some strange guy was *walking* a mile out of town. He clearly must have had a breakdown or something.

I went on a group bike ride. Everyone DRIVES to the meeting point and then rides. Not me, I roll up on my bike, ride 18 miles with them and then ride home. I added four miles to my ride b/c no driving to get there.

I bet you’d also run a mile to the gym.  Absolute mad lad

This article doesn't do very well in google translate, but maybe you can get the gist of it: https://www.nrk.no/sport/lange-skiturer-til-og-fra-skirenn-1.7535356. Please note that a Norwegian "mil" is 10 km. When they are talking about femmila, it is the 50 km ski race, tremila is 30 km. So some of these guys would ski 20-50 km (or up to 200-300 km in the far north) to get to a race, where they would compete in 30-50 km skiing, and ski jumping. Afterwards, they would ski back home.

There is a story about one of these guys, who ended up winning the 50 km race. After crossing the finish line he turned to the silver medalist and said "Hey, that was fun! Do you want to go again?".

[Linea_Norway]

Yes. It seems that walking is something that shouldn't be seen as a mode of transport but a pastime...

Haha, at my last job I spent a month working in small town Colorado. Great place, but I would always walk the 2.5 miles to the grocery store or where ever else, along side some pretty epic hikes in the hills there, which also required a 2+ mile walk to the trail head.

I never understood the idea of spending money to drive to the exercise place.

Anyways, really friendly small town of maybe 15k, and at least 2-3x per week I'd have people stop and offer me lifts. Wondering why some strange guy was *walking* a mile out of town. He clearly must have had a breakdown or something.

I went on a group bike ride. Everyone DRIVES to the meeting point and then rides. Not me, I roll up on my bike, ride 18 miles with them and then ride home. I added four miles to my ride b/c no driving to get there.

I bet you’d also run a mile to the gym.  Absolute mad lad

This article doesn't do very well in google translate, but maybe you can get the gist of it: https://www.nrk.no/sport/lange-skiturer-til-og-fra-skirenn-1.7535356. Please note that a Norwegian "mil" is 10 km. When they are talking about femmila, it is the 50 km ski race, tremila is 30 km. So some of these guys would ski 20-50 km (or up to 200-300 km in the far north) to get to a race, where they would compete in 30-50 km skiing, and ski jumping. Afterwards, they would ski back home.

There is a story about one of these guys, who ended up winning the 50 km race. After crossing the finish line he turned to the silver medalist and said "Hey, that was fun! Do you want to go again?".

Nansen once went on skis from Bergen to Oslo, a several days trip over a mountain plateau. He then jumped in the ski jump competition of the same pair of skis.

That would be on interesting variation on the modern "nordic combination" sport, doing the XC race and the ski jumping on the same pair of skis...

[Just Joe]

Yes. It seems that walking is something that shouldn't be seen as a mode of transport but a pastime...

Haha, at my last job I spent a month working in small town Colorado. Great place, but I would always walk the 2.5 miles to the grocery store or where ever else, along side some pretty epic hikes in the hills there, which also required a 2+ mile walk to the trail head.

I never understood the idea of spending money to drive to the exercise place.

Anyways, really friendly small town of maybe 15k, and at least 2-3x per week I'd have people stop and offer me lifts. Wondering why some strange guy was *walking* a mile out of town. He clearly must have had a breakdown or something.

I went on a group bike ride. Everyone DRIVES to the meeting point and then rides. Not me, I roll up on my bike, ride 18 miles with them and then ride home. I added four miles to my ride b/c no driving to get there.

I bet you’d also run a mile to the gym.  Absolute mad lad

Well there are two details I left out - one I need to lose some weight. The other is my bike has a battery...

[Freedomin5]

My MPP is that people whose support and help I need don’t believe me when I say I have a certain amount to invest.

My mom thought I was lying when I told her we may hit $1M net worth by the end of this year. (Well, to be fair, she had been negatively primed because she just spent several days reviewing the financial books of a company whose GM has been lying to the owner about the company’s financial performance, so she is pretty skeptical about seemingly unrealistic projections).

I need her to know our financial situation because we invest in our home country as non-resident expats, which makes our financial picture complicated and also means that my mom has to help us with some of the stuff.

I had to show her our net worth tracker, along with the amounts in the individual accounts. She then said that I added wrong. I told her, “I don’t do the calculations. The app/calculator does it.” So then she added it up again in her head. And then she said...”I’ve never seen anyone save that much money each month.” LOL! Vindicated!

[BTDretire]

Hurricane back in Oct. pushed in a brick wall. I ordered 1500 brick  to repair it.
 The rep said they sent the order a little short, you only got 1484 brick, and that's
what the invoice billed 1484 brick @ $0.3999. Because of my vehicle, I had to make two
trips to carry all the brick. When I stacked the first load, I noted it was short, so I counted
what was left at the dealer, it was also short.
 I said to the dealer that I was short 28 brick, "he said what do you want me to do", I said,
 "just credit my credit card for the difference."
 The secretary was there and he said, credit his card and add a $25 handling fee!
 He was pissed, and said nobody ever counts* their brick.
 I told him to just forget it, and he did, so MPP, I had to pay $11 for something I didn't get.

*ya, contractors never count brick, they always order extra, they have plenty, the consumer pays the bill, and ever one is happy. Especially the brick manufacturer that, from "my experience" sends short pallets.

How about I do a chargeback and the dealer gets to pay a $25 chargeback fee?

Ya, I suppose I could play some game, but over all we are thrilled, we did a lot of searching to find a brick that matched our 45 yr old house. We did pretty well, even though new modular brick is 1/2 inch shorter than old modular brick, the mason made it all work out. Now if we can get the carpenters back to make their work run straight. :-(

[Andrew9141]

My current employer hands out paper checks instead of direct deposit. I'm constantly being asked if I have received my checks as I am in no rush to cash them in. The benefit of not living paycheck to paycheck.

[Threshkin]

My current employer hands out paper checks instead of direct deposit. I'm constantly being asked if I have received my checks as I am in no rush to cash them in. The benefit of not living paycheck to paycheck.

At my first real job the employer also distributed paper checks.  As I didn't have a car at that time it was a pain to get to the bank.  I could live for a month or more on one check so I didn't cash them regularly.  At one point payroll contacted me at work to make sure I was getting my checks.  I had about 10 in my wallet at the time.

I guess I was mustachian even then!

Notes: 1) Kid, living at home basically no fixed expenses.  2) Soon after I bought a car, so much for extra money!

[LennStar]

My current employer hands out paper checks instead of direct deposit. I'm constantly being asked if I have received my checks as I am in no rush to cash them in. The benefit of not living paycheck to paycheck.

And that is still legal where you live?

[Threshkin]

My current employer hands out paper checks instead of direct deposit. I'm constantly being asked if I have received my checks as I am in no rush to cash them in. The benefit of not living paycheck to paycheck.

And that is still legal where you live?

Why would that be illegal?  Uncommon, sure but illegal?

[dragoncar]

My current employer hands out paper checks instead of direct deposit. I'm constantly being asked if I have received my checks as I am in no rush to cash them in. The benefit of not living paycheck to paycheck.

And that is still legal where you live?

Why would that be illegal?  Uncommon, sure but illegal?

Most enlightened countries outlawed employment years ago.  Ever since the machines took over, a citizens dividend (or equivalent) has been the norm throughout civilization

[Threshkin]

My current employer hands out paper checks instead of direct deposit. I'm constantly being asked if I have received my checks as I am in no rush to cash them in. The benefit of not living paycheck to paycheck.

And that is still legal where you live?

Why would that be illegal?  Uncommon, sure but illegal?

Most enlightened countries outlawed employment years ago.  Ever since the machines took over, a citizens dividend (or equivalent) has been the norm throughout civilization

<Grin> I have been enjoying my unemployment for almost 2.5 years.