Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)

[MM_MG]

I exceeded the $54,000 cap to 401K contributions in 2017 and need to figure out how, and then proceed to correct it.   Sigh.

for three people?

$54k is the maximum total contributions allowed to a single 401k in 2017 (including employer matching and non-deferred contributions). $18k is the limit for employee contributions that can be tax deferred. I assume MM_MG is talking about the former.

I did not realize that, now I am sad that my employer doesn't contribute 36k to my 401k. :p

Just saw these posts.  To clarify, my employer does not contribute that much to my 401K either...

$18K pre-tax contributions
~$13,500 employer match
~22,500+ post-tax contributions that I made and will roll into the Roth IRA

To make this a little more convoluted, my employer has my contributions in 2017 as just under the limit, and Vanguard says I contributed just over the limit.  I'm a little concerned that there is a disconnect.  LOL!

I'm sure it will get straightened out in the next couple of weeks. 

[Jsn]

I called out the checkout clerk at my local Safeway today. He was ringing up green onions at $1.28 a bunch, and I marched back to the produce section to retrieved the 99 cent price tag. He was so startled by my attention to the price of every item, he decided to give me the onions for free.

I mention it because of what DIDN’T happen. My 12-year-old son was with me, and despite the hormone levels attendant to that age he was NOT discomfited or embarrassed by my actions, instead taking them in stride. On the way into the store, we’d talked about vacationing in Paris this summer. On the way out, we talked about automated pricing systems and whether consumer inattention was built into them. They were aspects of the same conversation, in that the central topic was feeling empowered to make informed, intelligent choices. Pretty happy that my values are becoming family values.

[Linea_Norway]

My mustachian people problem: my neighbors think I'm never home. For the longest time I couldn't figure out why they always thought this, but I've come to the conclusion it's because:
1. My garage isn't filled with crap, so I park my car in it. I've noticed most of my neighbors use their garage for storage and park in the driveway.
2. I don't leave lights on in rooms I'm not in, so my house must look dark from the outside.

The result is that whenever I see my neighbors they always say, "Hey! When did you get back in town?" And awkwardness follows...

Same for my house. We only light up the living room if we are there. And we park both cars in the garage. In the summer when the lights in the living room are not on, people think we are not home.

[LennStar]

My mustachian people problem: my neighbors think I'm never home. For the longest time I couldn't figure out why they always thought this, but I've come to the conclusion it's because:
1. My garage isn't filled with crap, so I park my car in it. I've noticed most of my neighbors use their garage for storage and park in the driveway.
2. I don't leave lights on in rooms I'm not in, so my house must look dark from the outside.

The result is that whenever I see my neighbors they always say, "Hey! When did you get back in town?" And awkwardness follows...

Same for my house. We only light up the living room if we are there. And we park both cars in the garage. In the summer when the lights in the living room are not on, people think we are not home.

For whom would you light the rooms if you are not in them? Mice? Burglars?

[misshathaway]

I called out the checkout clerk at my local Safeway today. He was ringing up green onions at $1.28 a bunch, and I marched back to the produce section to retrieved the 99 cent price tag. He was so startled by my attention to the price of every item, he decided to give me the onions for free.

I mention it because of what DIDN’T happen. My 12-year-old son was with me, and despite the hormone levels attendant to that age he was NOT discomfited or embarrassed by my actions, instead taking them in stride. On the way into the store, we’d talked about vacationing in Paris this summer. On the way out, we talked about automated pricing systems and whether consumer inattention was built into them. They were aspects of the same conversation, in that the central topic was feeling empowered to make informed, intelligent choices. Pretty happy that my values are becoming family values.

I did this recently for a 15 cent bottle return slip that was not rung up. Most stores have a customer service desk so you don't have to hold up other people. I examine my receipt while I'm still in the market and since the start of the new year there has been something incorrect on it, in the store's favor, every other trip. I do face some eye-rolling at the desk, but I like to think I am making this sort of thing more expensive for the store in cost of labor.

[Rural]

I called out the checkout clerk at my local Safeway today. He was ringing up green onions at $1.28 a bunch, and I marched back to the produce section to retrieved the 99 cent price tag. He was so startled by my attention to the price of every item, he decided to give me the onions for free.

I mention it because of what DIDN’T happen. My 12-year-old son was with me, and despite the hormone levels attendant to that age he was NOT discomfited or embarrassed by my actions, instead taking them in stride. On the way into the store, we’d talked about vacationing in Paris this summer. On the way out, we talked about automated pricing systems and whether consumer inattention was built into them. They were aspects of the same conversation, in that the central topic was feeling empowered to make informed, intelligent choices. Pretty happy that my values are becoming family values.

I did this recently for a 15 cent bottle return slip that was not rung up. Most stores have a customer service desk so you don't have to hold up other people. I examine my receipt while I'm still in the market and since the start of the new year there has been something incorrect on it, in the store's favor, every other trip. I do face some eye-rolling at the desk, but I like to think I am making this sort of thing more expensive for the store in cost of labor.

If that's actual eye rolling, you definitely need to complain to a supervisor about the customer service... Or you would here in the south. That may reflect cultural norms, but here it's beyond the pale and would likely be indicative of other problems.

[NoVa]

I called out the checkout clerk at my local Safeway today. He was ringing up green onions at $1.28 a bunch, and I marched back to the produce section to retrieved the 99 cent price tag. He was so startled by my attention to the price of every item, he decided to give me the onions for free.

I mention it because of what DIDN’T happen. My 12-year-old son was with me, and despite the hormone levels attendant to that age he was NOT discomfited or embarrassed by my actions, instead taking them in stride. On the way into the store, we’d talked about vacationing in Paris this summer. On the way out, we talked about automated pricing systems and whether consumer inattention was built into them. They were aspects of the same conversation, in that the central topic was feeling empowered to make informed, intelligent choices. Pretty happy that my values are becoming family values.

I did this recently for a 15 cent bottle return slip that was not rung up. Most stores have a customer service desk so you don't have to hold up other people. I examine my receipt while I'm still in the market and since the start of the new year there has been something incorrect on it, in the store's favor, every other trip. I do face some eye-rolling at the desk, but I like to think I am making this sort of thing more expensive for the store in cost of labor.

If it were random chance it wouldn't always be in the store's favor.

[kanga1622]

I love that at HyVee when I bring up that something didn't ring up correctly they have a policy to give it to the customer for free. :) Doesn't happen often but it is a nice little benefit to paying attention.

I use an app on my phone to put together a grocery list. It has a price list and calculates tax on my overall expected spending as well. This is a great way to spot errors of more than a few cents.

[dragoncar]

I called out the checkout clerk at my local Safeway today. He was ringing up green onions at $1.28 a bunch, and I marched back to the produce section to retrieved the 99 cent price tag. He was so startled by my attention to the price of every item, he decided to give me the onions for free.

I mention it because of what DIDN’T happen. My 12-year-old son was with me, and despite the hormone levels attendant to that age he was NOT discomfited or embarrassed by my actions, instead taking them in stride. On the way into the store, we’d talked about vacationing in Paris this summer. On the way out, we talked about automated pricing systems and whether consumer inattention was built into them. They were aspects of the same conversation, in that the central topic was feeling empowered to make informed, intelligent choices. Pretty happy that my values are becoming family values.

This is actually safeway policy assuming the price rang up incorrectly - free first item under $5, otherwise $5 off.  I believe they lost a class action suit because they were consistently overcharging customers

Not everyone there knows the policy though, or maybe just too lazy to enact it

[dragoncar]

My mustachian people problem: my neighbors think I'm never home. For the longest time I couldn't figure out why they always thought this, but I've come to the conclusion it's because:
1. My garage isn't filled with crap, so I park my car in it. I've noticed most of my neighbors use their garage for storage and park in the driveway.
2. I don't leave lights on in rooms I'm not in, so my house must look dark from the outside.

The result is that whenever I see my neighbors they always say, "Hey! When did you get back in town?" And awkwardness follows...

Same for my house. We only light up the living room if we are there. And we park both cars in the garage. In the summer when the lights in the living room are not on, people think we are not home.

For whom would you light the rooms if you are not in them? Mice? Burglars?

Neighbors.  Maybe they want to give you some cookies but thought you weeent home so didn’t leave them.  I’m joking but this has actually happened to me.  I saved about $1 in electricity that year and it cost me priceless cookies

[dragoncar]

My mustachian people problem: my neighbors think I'm never home. For the longest time I couldn't figure out why they always thought this, but I've come to the conclusion it's because:
1. My garage isn't filled with crap, so I park my car in it. I've noticed most of my neighbors use their garage for storage and park in the driveway.
2. I don't leave lights on in rooms I'm not in, so my house must look dark from the outside.

The result is that whenever I see my neighbors they always say, "Hey! When did you get back in town?" And awkwardness follows...

What gets me I when I see on nextdoor “someone broke into my truck today parked in my driveway.  Nothing was stolen”

And I want to tell them to just park it in their 3 car garage.  Like, I get that you keep your unused canoe and treadmill in there, but maybe if someone keeps breaking into your truck you shouldn’t keep putting it there

[FireHiker]

What gets me I when I see on nextdoor “someone broke into my truck today parked in my driveway.  Nothing was stolen”

And I want to tell them to just park it in their 3 car garage.  Like, I get that you keep your unused canoe and treadmill in there, but maybe if someone keeps breaking into your truck you shouldn’t keep putting it there

There was a round of this on the neighborhood facebook group this morning. A woman was rattling off the list of stuff (with fancy schmancy designer names) that had been stolen from her car, totaling (her math) $7000. Who has $7000 worth of designer crap sitting in their car parked on the street?! My car isn't even worth $7000. But it's parked in my garage!

[EngineeringFI]

My mustachian people problem: my neighbors think I'm never home. For the longest time I couldn't figure out why they always thought this, but I've come to the conclusion it's because:
1. My garage isn't filled with crap, so I park my car in it. I've noticed most of my neighbors use their garage for storage and park in the driveway.
2. I don't leave lights on in rooms I'm not in, so my house must look dark from the outside.

The result is that whenever I see my neighbors they always say, "Hey! When did you get back in town?" And awkwardness follows...

What gets me I when I see on nextdoor “someone broke into my truck today parked in my driveway.  Nothing was stolen”

And I want to tell them to just park it in their 3 car garage.  Like, I get that you keep your unused canoe and treadmill in there, but maybe if someone keeps breaking into your truck you shouldn’t keep putting it there

You just perfectly described my neighbors: 3 car garages filled with crap they never use, so they have to park in the driveway.

I also figured out another reason my neighbors think I'm never home: my trashcans/recycling aren't often on the curb on trash day. I read on my city's website that they ask you not to put them out unless the bin is more than 1/3rd full. It's just me, and I don't make much trash, so I usually wait a few weeks for my trashcan to fill up before I put it out. Not surprisingly, the houses with overflowing 3-car garages also have overflowing trashcans every week.

[gypsy79]

My mustachian people problem: my neighbors think I'm never home. For the longest time I couldn't figure out why they always thought this, but I've come to the conclusion it's because:
1. My garage isn't filled with crap, so I park my car in it. I've noticed most of my neighbors use their garage for storage and park in the driveway.
2. I don't leave lights on in rooms I'm not in, so my house must look dark from the outside.

The result is that whenever I see my neighbors they always say, "Hey! When did you get back in town?" And awkwardness follows...

What gets me I when I see on nextdoor “someone broke into my truck today parked in my driveway.  Nothing was stolen”

And I want to tell them to just park it in their 3 car garage.  Like, I get that you keep your unused canoe and treadmill in there, but maybe if someone keeps breaking into your truck you shouldn’t keep putting it there

Hahahahaha! We had a rash of car burglaries recently, and the neighborhood was riled up on Facebook talking about various ways to prevent this and scheduling resident patrols through the middle of the night, etc. NOT ONE PERSON in this hundreds-long message chain suggested simply cleaning out garages and parking in them . . . until I came along. It didn't make me very popular. :-)

[SwordGuy]

Hahahahaha! We had a rash of car burglaries recently, and the neighborhood was riled up on Facebook talking about various ways to prevent this and scheduling resident patrols through the middle of the night, etc. NOT ONE PERSON in this hundreds-long message chain suggested simply cleaning out garages and parking in them . . . until I came along. It didn't make me very popular. :-)

What is it about logic that gets Americans so riled up?

[Uturn]

I don't know if I would go as far a getting riled up, but I would not like someone telling me to park in my garage to stop thieves. 

1.  I am not in the wrong for not parking in my garage, the thieves are in the wrong and are being scummy people.
2.  My garage is a woodshop.  It is the main reason why I live in a house instead of an apartment. 
3.  Few things are worse than being a thief.

[BDWW]

I don't know if I would go as far a getting riled up, but I would not like someone telling me to park in my garage to stop thieves. 

1.  I am not in the wrong for not parking in my garage, the thieves are in the wrong and are being scummy people.
2.  My garage is a woodshop.  It is the main reason why I live in a house instead of an apartment. 
3.  Few things are worse than being a thief.

Ah you beat me to it. I judge people who park in the garage. Where do you put your table saw, welder, engine hoist, et al? You just have an entire building just to put a car in? What a waste.

[ketchup]

I don't know if I would go as far a getting riled up, but I would not like someone telling me to park in my garage to stop thieves. 

1.  I am not in the wrong for not parking in my garage, the thieves are in the wrong and are being scummy people.
2.  My garage is a woodshop.  It is the main reason why I live in a house instead of an apartment. 
3.  Few things are worse than being a thief.

Ah you beat me to it. I judge people who park in the garage. Where do you put your table saw, welder, engine hoist, et al? You just have an entire building just to put a car in? What a waste.

Nah man, the garage is for the chest freezers, squat rack, and dog grooming table.

[Bracken_Joy]

I don't know if I would go as far a getting riled up, but I would not like someone telling me to park in my garage to stop thieves. 

1.  I am not in the wrong for not parking in my garage, the thieves are in the wrong and are being scummy people.
2.  My garage is a woodshop.  It is the main reason why I live in a house instead of an apartment. 
3.  Few things are worse than being a thief.

Ah you beat me to it. I judge people who park in the garage. Where do you put your table saw, welder, engine hoist, et al? You just have an entire building just to put a car in? What a waste.

Nah man, the garage is for the chest freezers, squat rack, and dog grooming table.

Replace dog grooming table with bicycles, and we have the same garage =P Well, those and the gymnastics rings.

[Linea_Norway]

I don't know if I would go as far a getting riled up, but I would not like someone telling me to park in my garage to stop thieves. 

1.  I am not in the wrong for not parking in my garage, the thieves are in the wrong and are being scummy people.
2.  My garage is a woodshop.  It is the main reason why I live in a house instead of an apartment. 
3.  Few things are worse than being a thief.

Ah you beat me to it. I judge people who park in the garage. Where do you put your table saw, welder, engine hoist, et al? You just have an entire building just to put a car in? What a waste.

Nah man, the garage is for the chest freezers, squat rack, and dog grooming table.

Replace dog grooming table with bicycles, and we have the same garage =P Well, those and the gymnastics rings.

Our double garage has an extra room beside it, my guess is 6 x 2,5 m2. That is where we keep some of the bicycles and all the technical tools. Our garage doesn't have finished inner walks. So we keep the chain saw and some other stuff in corners.

No, thiefs have no business stealing your car of your bicycle, no matter whether it is parked inside or outside.

[dragoncar]

I don't know if I would go as far a getting riled up, but I would not like someone telling me to park in my garage to stop thieves. 

1.  I am not in the wrong for not parking in my garage, the thieves are in the wrong and are being scummy people.
2.  My garage is a woodshop.  It is the main reason why I live in a house instead of an apartment. 
3.  Few things are worse than being a thief.

Ah you beat me to it. I judge people who park in the garage. Where do you put your table saw, welder, engine hoist, et al? You just have an entire building just to put a car in? What a waste.

Nah man, the garage is for the chest freezers, squat rack, and dog grooming table.

Literally have all these things in my garage and it only takes 1 out of the 3 spaces.  Haven't even filled the rafter space yet, and I'm already embarrassed by the amount of hoarding I do

I agree that people should feel safe to park in their driveway.  That doesn't make it a smart thing to do, especially with old junkers that don't have an ignition interlock (these are orders of magnitude greater targets for theft/joyriding)

Before you say, "well you just have a big garage," all my neighbors have similar sized garages so I can judge them.  Many have three cars parked in the driveway in front of their three-car garage, plus or minus something on the street.  Sorry, you have too much consumer bullshit.  Don't forget which site you are on.

[EngineeringFI]

I don't know if I would go as far a getting riled up, but I would not like someone telling me to park in my garage to stop thieves. 

1.  I am not in the wrong for not parking in my garage, the thieves are in the wrong and are being scummy people.
2.  My garage is a woodshop.  It is the main reason why I live in a house instead of an apartment. 
3.  Few things are worse than being a thief.

Ah you beat me to it. I judge people who park in the garage. Where do you put your table saw, welder, engine hoist, et al? You just have an entire building just to put a car in? What a waste.

My table saw is right next to the drill press and the shelf with the rest my tools. On the other side of the garage is my workbench and bicycle rack. And right in the middle is my car! In fact, everything in my garage has something in common: I spent hard earned money on it, and don't want it to be stolen or damaged. The welder lives at my friend's house, because it's his, and he lets me use it because I let him use my table saw/drill press/sander/etc. Same goes for pretty much every other tool I don't own...

[Freckles]

Do you like living in Tucson, EngineeringFI? I grew up there, but I moved away.

[Imma]

We're in the middle of a storm and the fences on both sides of the garage have come down already. The fence on one side is from wood and it's easy to fix - it has fallen over several times already. The neighbour on that side prefers to spend his money on weed instead of on his garden. The other one was from concrete and I don't think it's fixable. The neighbour on that side also likes to have a neat-looking garden, so it looks like we're going to have to spend money on a garden fence.

[LennStar]

I don't know if I would go as far a getting riled up, but I would not like someone telling me to park in my garage to stop thieves. 

1.  I am not in the wrong for not parking in my garage, the thieves are in the wrong and are being scummy people.
2.  My garage is a woodshop.  It is the main reason why I live in a house instead of an apartment. 
3.  Few things are worse than being a thief.

Ah you beat me to it. I judge people who park in the garage. Where do you put your table saw, welder, engine hoist, et al? You just have an entire building just to put a car in? What a waste.

Nah man, the garage is for the chest freezers, squat rack, and dog grooming table.

Replace dog grooming table with bicycles, and we have the same garage =P Well, those and the gymnastics rings.

Ha????

You park your bikes in your basement, so you have a healthy warm-up exercise every time you take them out!

[EngineeringFI]

Do you like living in Tucson, EngineeringFI? I grew up there, but I moved away.

It has its pros and cons just like anywhere I guess. I grew up in Colorado, so I admit I miss having actual seasons. Tucson has plenty to do outside and is good cycling weather for almost the entire year (you just have to get out early in summer). I wish our roads were in better condition and the city is working hard to fix that. Tucson did go through a pretty rough period with the 2008-2009 real estate bubble, and is arguably still recovering from that, but it gets better every year. I don't think I'll stay here once I reach FIRE because the summers are just too hot for me and I need to see snow once in awhile. I'll probably give Flagstaff a try for a few years if I don't immediately move back to Colorado.

[Sibley]

We're in the middle of a storm and the fences on both sides of the garage have come down already. The fence on one side is from wood and it's easy to fix - it has fallen over several times already. The neighbour on that side prefers to spend his money on weed instead of on his garden. The other one was from concrete and I don't think it's fixable. The neighbour on that side also likes to have a neat-looking garden, so it looks like we're going to have to spend money on a garden fence.

Wait, how does a concrete fence fall down? I'm picturing basically a concrete wall, and it would have to be pretty bad to fall over in a storm.

Please send said storm my way - I need to do something about my fence, and would much prefer insurance to pick up the cost.

[Imma]

We're in the middle of a storm and the fences on both sides of the garage have come down already. The fence on one side is from wood and it's easy to fix - it has fallen over several times already. The neighbour on that side prefers to spend his money on weed instead of on his garden. The other one was from concrete and I don't think it's fixable. The neighbour on that side also likes to have a neat-looking garden, so it looks like we're going to have to spend money on a garden fence.

Wait, how does a concrete fence fall down? I'm picturing basically a concrete wall, and it would have to be pretty bad to fall over in a storm.

Please send said storm my way - I need to do something about my fence, and would much prefer insurance to pick up the cost.

It was the heaviest storm in 30 years over here. It's a fence like this   and one panel just completely fell out. There's a 1 - meter wide gap in the middle of our fence now. The first time the other, wooden fence came down we claimed it on insurance and they paid €50, I'm not sure what they're going to pay for this one. We've talked to that neighbour and we're going to replace it together in spring, now we just need to g talk to the other neighbour. He has a large dog so waiting until spring is not an option.

You can absolutely have the storm, I'm tired of the bad weather we've had for weeks. Three people died today from the weather. My s/o probably isn't going to make it home tonight because so many trees came down there are no trains anywhere in the country. He's 4 hours from home for work so unless he can hitch a ride to our city, he's going to sleep on a friend's couch. Well, at least he's in a place where we have friends. The roof of my mum's porch was ripped off and severely damaged the rest of her roof (but that will be covered by insurance).

[Freckles]

Do you like living in Tucson, EngineeringFI? I grew up there, but I moved away.

It has its pros and cons just like anywhere I guess. I grew up in Colorado, so I admit I miss having actual seasons. Tucson has plenty to do outside and is good cycling weather for almost the entire year (you just have to get out early in summer). I wish our roads were in better condition and the city is working hard to fix that. Tucson did go through a pretty rough period with the 2008-2009 real estate bubble, and is arguably still recovering from that, but it gets better every year. I don't think I'll stay here once I reach FIRE because the summers are just too hot for me and I need to see snow once in awhile. I'll probably give Flagstaff a try for a few years if I don't immediately move back to Colorado.

Flagstaff is lovely. A little more Colorado-like. I think it can be hard to find a job there, but that matters not if you are retired. My aunt and uncle live in Flagstaff. I love to visit them there, but it's been a while. All their kids ended up moving to Phoenix or out of state once they were finished with school and needed jobs. That my be why I have the impression there is not a lot of work there.

[Bracken_Joy]

I don't know if I would go as far a getting riled up, but I would not like someone telling me to park in my garage to stop thieves. 

1.  I am not in the wrong for not parking in my garage, the thieves are in the wrong and are being scummy people.
2.  My garage is a woodshop.  It is the main reason why I live in a house instead of an apartment. 
3.  Few things are worse than being a thief.

Ah you beat me to it. I judge people who park in the garage. Where do you put your table saw, welder, engine hoist, et al? You just have an entire building just to put a car in? What a waste.

Nah man, the garage is for the chest freezers, squat rack, and dog grooming table.

Replace dog grooming table with bicycles, and we have the same garage =P Well, those and the gymnastics rings.

Ha????

You park your bikes in your basement, so you have a healthy warm-up exercise every time you take them out!

I live in Oregon. We don't *do* basements here. The water level is approximately 0.5" below ground ;) Basements are a leaking, cracking, mold NIGHTMARE here, and are quite uncommon. (Bedrock is very far down, a lot of areas are historically marshy, so settling is a big issue here too). At least, that's what I've been told the reason for no basements are by family members who do general contracting work.

[ketchup]

I don't know if I would go as far a getting riled up, but I would not like someone telling me to park in my garage to stop thieves. 

1.  I am not in the wrong for not parking in my garage, the thieves are in the wrong and are being scummy people.
2.  My garage is a woodshop.  It is the main reason why I live in a house instead of an apartment. 
3.  Few things are worse than being a thief.

Ah you beat me to it. I judge people who park in the garage. Where do you put your table saw, welder, engine hoist, et al? You just have an entire building just to put a car in? What a waste.

Nah man, the garage is for the chest freezers, squat rack, and dog grooming table.

Replace dog grooming table with bicycles, and we have the same garage =P Well, those and the gymnastics rings.

We've actually got our bicycles in the garage too.  Sadly no gymnastics rings though.  (One-car garage by the way.)

[kaypinkHH]

Had a new MPP last night:

Watching a youtube video about meal prep, but when the vlogger's total bill was $100+ (USD) a week for M-F meals (3 meals a day, 1 snack, and 1 dessert), for ONLY ONE PERSON, I felt disappointed.

More generic version of this MPP: You can't appreciate semi good concepts online because you have seen a better/more optimized concept here.

[ketchup]

Had a new MPP last night:

Watching a youtube video about meal prep, but when the vlogger's total bill was $100+ (USD) a week for M-F meals (3 meals a day, 1 snack, and 1 dessert), for ONLY ONE PERSON, I felt disappointed.

More generic version of this MPP: You can't appreciate semi good concepts online because you have seen a better/more optimized concept here.

Ha!  I know the feeling.  When someone at work mentions proudly turning the thermostat down to 70 to save money, it's hard not to think "do u even lift bro?"

[kaypinkHH]

@ketchup, actually LOL'd. Thank you.

[dragoncar]

Had a new MPP last night:

Watching a youtube video about meal prep, but when the vlogger's total bill was $100+ (USD) a week for M-F meals (3 meals a day, 1 snack, and 1 dessert), for ONLY ONE PERSON, I felt disappointed.

More generic version of this MPP: You can't appreciate semi good concepts online because you have seen a better/more optimized concept here.

Ha!  I know the feeling.  When someone at work mentions proudly turning the thermostat down to 70 to save money, it's hard not to think "do u even lift bro?"

Of course not, if he lifted his metabolism would be high and he would have to turn on the AC

[TomTX]

My mpp today: Changing my 401k contribution % in preparation of my bonus payment and being disappointed that the limit is 75% of my pay. Every year the same feeling. :(

Fortunately there appears to be no limit on mine - the January paycheck was >90% into the 457.

[Astatine]

@Imma that storm and bad weather sounds scary/bad :( Hope your SO has gotten home safely now.

[halftimer]

I called out the checkout clerk at my local Safeway today. He was ringing up green onions at $1.28 a bunch, and I marched back to the produce section to retrieved the 99 cent price tag. He was so startled by my attention to the price of every item, he decided to give me the onions for free.

Was he startled, or does that store/location have 'Scanning Code of Practice'?  We have that in [some parts of] Canada - if something rings up for too much, you can have it for free up to a max $10 off. In reality, only certain stores follow it and you have to TELL THEM you know about the policy. Otherwise they just fix the price and let you go on your merry way.

From Google: here's the page for BC (not where I live, but the first search hit that matches) https://www.consumerprotectionbc.ca/2014/07/scanning-code-of-practice-what-you-need-to-know/

edit: spelling

[Sibley]

Switched jobs, so have to deal with everything from the previous job. 401k, pension, HSA, etc. 401k is rolled over into Vanguard.

Pension paperwork received, reviewed, and discovered that I can pull the measly $9.5k out and dump it into the IRA. Filled out that paperwork, sent it in, and notified Vanguard that it should be showing up.

But the HSA may be the death of me. I can't figure out if the new HSA allows the old one to be rolled over to it. I also can't figure out if the old one is allowed to be rolled over to a new one. Mostly because the websites are so incredibly unhelpful that I can't find any of the paperwork that would tell me this information, much less how to do it. So I will have to call and ask.

Why is being organized so damn hard?

[LennStar]

Switched jobs, so have to deal with everything from the previous job. 401k, pension, HSA, etc. 401k is rolled over into Vanguard.

Pension paperwork received, reviewed, and discovered that I can pull the measly $9.5k out and dump it into the IRA. Filled out that paperwork, sent it in, and notified Vanguard that it should be showing up.

But the HSA may be the death of me. I can't figure out if the new HSA allows the old one to be rolled over to it. I also can't figure out if the old one is allowed to be rolled over to a new one. Mostly because the websites are so incredibly unhelpful that I can't find any of the paperwork that would tell me this information, much less how to do it. So I will have to call and ask.

Why is being organized so damn hard?

Because they don't want you to leave them and lose the business?

You do know why the complaints form is always the best hidden?

[Imma]

@Imma that storm and bad weather sounds scary/bad :( Hope your SO has gotten home safely now.

We're allright now :) Only a bit of material damage. It's a bit scary though - while storms have always happened occasionally where I live, over the last 10 years it has become notably worse. I'm not even 30 and climate change is going so fast I can see it happening with my own eyes. Temperatures are higher in winter and summer and extreme weather has become a lot more extreme.

[BTDretire]

  On Friday ay 3:00 when the stock market closed, I had $6,501 in stock market gain, my daughter called at 3:05, her tuition payment of $6,278, needs to be paid. Leaving my with $223.00. I didn't even have time to savor the warmth!

[PepperPotts]

My 12 yr old daughter was doing some math problems online just now (ALEKS).  There were some word problems regarding budgeting, to teach finding a percentage.  In one problem, a man made $65000 a year, and spent $7150 on clothing, according to his pie chart budget, but only $4500 on savings.  She had to calculate his savings rate.  She just couldn't believe this dude would spend more on clothing than savings!  "He's stupid!"

[SwordGuy]

  On Friday ay 3:00 when the stock market closed, I had $6,501 in stock market gain, my daughter called at 3:05, her tuition payment of $6,278, needs to be paid. Leaving my with $223.00. I didn't even have time to savor the warmth!

@BTDretire, it could have been worse.  The market could have been down instead!  :)

Back in the 1990s the company I worked for in the state of Georgia hired Blue Cross/Blue Shield (BC/BS) for insurance.  They were awful.  So bad that the employees all asked for something different.  So, a year later, our employer changed insurance companies. 

However, in that year time frame, BC/BS announced they wanted to switch from a non-profit status to a for-profit status.  The only way they were allowed to do it required that they offer current policy holders 5 shares of stock.   They sent us a form to fill out and I did so.   Apparently most people just tossed the form in the trash.  I figured it would be worth enough to buy lunch with or, if I were really lucky, a special dinner date with my wife.

Three years go by.   I've forgotten all about the stock and had never received anything more about it.   I was moving to another state and had to come up with $6000 cash for a down payment on the house and another $6000 in cash to pay the movers.   The first $6000 wasn't a problem, but the 2nd was going to be rough without taking cash out of our 401K and paying the penalty.

Then a check showed up in the mail for $5983 for that BC/BS stock.   It had been held up in the courts for 3 years because the people who didn't fill out the forms were mad they wouldn't get stock.   

Sure made handing the $6000 to the movers easier...

But I'm right there with you on regretting how quickly that cash disappeared!

[LeRainDrop]

Then a check showed up in the mail for $5983 for that BC/BS stock.   It had been held up in the courts for 3 years because the people who didn't fill out the forms were mad they wouldn't get stock.   

Sure made handing the $6000 to the movers easier...

But I'm right there with you on regretting how quickly that cash disappeared!

Awesome story, SwordGuy!  I'm in Georgia but my firm used BC/BS of Illinois :-)

[dragoncar]

That reminds me that I missed out on hundreds in class action settlements for LCD panels and Harbor Freight.  Don't be like me, check a site like http://www.classactionrebates.com/ every once in a while.  I often find settlements that I'm legitimately a part of but wasn't notified

[Astatine]

DH has a credit card (that he had for years before he met me - I've never had one). We use it to smooth out cash flow as it has 55 days interest free, and the rewards are points to spend at Myer (an Australian department store). We have >$100 worth of points to spend at Myer, even after using some points to buy a couple of kid's Christmas presents.

We've twice wandered through two different Myer's shops and have not found anything we wanted to spend the points on. The only things we need to buy (a new kitty litter tray to replace one which has a crack in it, aqua shoes for me to protect my feet at the beach and charger cables) aren't available at Myer.

Yay for switching off our consumerism, boo for Myer not having anything useful for us.

[Fresh Bread]

DH has a credit card (that he had for years before he met me - I've never had one). We use it to smooth out cash flow as it has 55 days interest free, and the rewards are points to spend at Myer (an Australian department store). We have >$100 worth of points to spend at Myer, even after using some points to buy a couple of kid's Christmas presents.

We've twice wandered through two different Myer's shops and have not found anything we wanted to spend the points on. The only things we need to buy (a new kitty litter tray to replace one which has a crack in it, aqua shoes for me to protect my feet at the beach and charger cables) aren't available at Myer.

Yay for switching off our consumerism, boo for Myer not having anything useful for us.

That's a tough one. Do they expire before next xmas? I think I'd maybe stock up on birthday/ occasion cards and see if they've got any fancy foods left from xmas or in for easter. They have xmas hampers and relishes and stuff so at least you could get food. Everything there is so overpriced so it's annoying. I'd get Jockey undies because I like them best but they are quite expensive. Are the points valid in the cafe? Probably not.

[Sibley]

Then a check showed up in the mail for $5983 for that BC/BS stock.   It had been held up in the courts for 3 years because the people who didn't fill out the forms were mad they wouldn't get stock.   

Sure made handing the $6000 to the movers easier...

But I'm right there with you on regretting how quickly that cash disappeared!

Awesome story, SwordGuy!  I'm in Georgia but my firm used BC/BS of Illinois :-)

Fun facts: there's around 37 different companies behind BCBS. It's actually a license. The BCBS Association (in Chicago) sells the licenses to the different companies and oversees various things. BCBSIL is Health Care Service Corp, or HCSC, along with NM, MT, TX, and OK. Anthem Blue Cross is huge, they've got like 17 states.

So it is 100% possible to have really GREAT insurance and service from BCBS. It's also 100% possible to have really terrible service. Just depends on which company your insurance is with. Some of them aren't great.

If you're curious, the Association's website has more info. It might break your brain though.

[Fresh Bread]

@Astatine Can you use the points to buy Coles-Myer gift cards and then spend the points at Coles? And then change credit cards to one that has a better range of rewards!