Minor rant thread. Post your rants o' the day here!

dculberson said:

In reply to GameboyRMH :

I know nothing of that author, and he may very well be a jackass. But for most middle class Americans, it really is the discretionary spending that keeps us living paycheck to paycheck. Plenty of people make good money but blow it all on new cars every three years, lunch and dinner out every day, coffee, etc. They might make $80k/year but don't have two pennies to rub together once the bills are paid. I suspect the "lattes keep you down" is an over simplification intended to turn attention to that fact.

By way of example, I used to eat lunch out every day until I realized that I was blowing a ton of money on that habit. If you can save $10/day on one habit - which you totally can for something like lunch out versus a packed lunch - and you invest that money, at an average 10%/year, that's a half million dollars after 30 years. Actually $592,178.50.

So while cutting avocado toast isn't going to make you a millionaire tomorrow, getting a latte on the way in to work every day and getting lunch and dinner out every day while making payments on a $50k car is absolutely going to keep a middle class person from becoming a millionaire.

It's almost like raging that our grandparents were able to afford a house but ignoring the fact that they didn't pay for internet or cable or any subscriptions apart from a newspaper, ate out almost never, often got by with a single car, patched their own clothes vs. buying new, and a host of other things we all consider necessities. Cut out all the things you pay for that your grandparents didn't have and most of us are looking at $500 a month minimum. It may not be house money, but it's not nothing. 

In reply to Ashyukun (Robert) :

Damn, if they charged your $400 for a cap, I can't imagine what a pound of refrigerant would have cost!  whew!

I absolutely second the above advice:  Those caps are super cheap and super easy to replace.  I've got spares for all my AC units and associated blower fans (I think I've got 4 systems covered with 2 spares) since they're $20 from Amazon and $75 at the local HVAC parts place.

barefootcyborg5000 said:

dculberson said:

In reply to GameboyRMH :

I know nothing of that author, and he may very well be a jackass. But for most middle class Americans, it really is the discretionary spending that keeps us living paycheck to paycheck. Plenty of people make good money but blow it all on new cars every three years, lunch and dinner out every day, coffee, etc. They might make $80k/year but don't have two pennies to rub together once the bills are paid. I suspect the "lattes keep you down" is an over simplification intended to turn attention to that fact.

By way of example, I used to eat lunch out every day until I realized that I was blowing a ton of money on that habit. If you can save $10/day on one habit - which you totally can for something like lunch out versus a packed lunch - and you invest that money, at an average 10%/year, that's a half million dollars after 30 years. Actually $592,178.50.

So while cutting avocado toast isn't going to make you a millionaire tomorrow, getting a latte on the way in to work every day and getting lunch and dinner out every day while making payments on a $50k car is absolutely going to keep a middle class person from becoming a millionaire.

It's almost like raging that our grandparents were able to afford a house but ignoring the fact that they didn't pay for internet or cable or any subscriptions apart from a newspaper, ate out almost never, often got by with a single car, patched their own clothes vs. buying new, and a host of other things we all consider necessities. Cut out all the things you pay for that your grandparents didn't have and most of us are looking at $500 a month minimum. It may not be house money, but it's not nothing. 

Like dad always told me:  It ain't what you make, it's what you spend!

Apparently Blue Crooks Blue Scam heath insurance no longer covers my endocrinologist. 15 years and they decided to pull up stakes.

Now I get to play the BS game of find an endo, get a referral, get a script for insulin. The endo will offer me no advice. I know what I'm doing by now. I'm buying a peice  paper that gives me the privilege of getting to buy something that allows me to live.

Thanks for the support,  shiny happy person.

dculberson said:

In reply to GameboyRMH :

I know nothing of that author, and he may very well be a jackass. But for most middle class Americans, it really is the discretionary spending that keeps us living paycheck to paycheck. Plenty of people make good money but blow it all on new cars every three years, lunch and dinner out every day, coffee, etc. They might make $80k/year but don't have two pennies to rub together once the bills are paid. I suspect the "lattes keep you down" is an over simplification intended to turn attention to that fact.

By way of example, I used to eat lunch out every day until I realized that I was blowing a ton of money on that habit. If you can save $10/day on one habit - which you totally can for something like lunch out versus a packed lunch - and you invest that money, at an average 10%/year, that's a half million dollars after 30 years. Actually $592,178.50.

So while cutting avocado toast isn't going to make you a millionaire tomorrow, getting a latte on the way in to work every day and getting lunch and dinner out every day while making payments on a $50k car is absolutely going to keep a middle class person from becoming a millionaire.

Right, I agree with all of this... But having talked with these people (the multi-millionaires and billionaires), they are not grounded in the reality of the situation. My wife and I spend about $40 a week eating out a week - and that includes everything from pizza on Friday to a coffee when we're running late to a pack of gum that we buy while getting gas. That covers 3-4 people, usually when we're both too tired to cook after full days at work. I drive a car worth about $4k, my wife's car will be paid off in a year. Our student loans have been on pause. We've refinanced our mortgage and we've contested our taxes. We're taking full advantage of tax sheltering to the point that we can afford it. 

Despite all of that, despite our making good money, between the rising cost of food, gas, cost of daycare, and the HUGE cost of healthcare - we're looking at moving to a cheaper suburb with worse schools. We're already in a 1,300 sqft house that will be torn down when we sell it. Can't really go anywhere else in this town. It is either that or reduce our retirement savings to a number I'm just not comfortable with (and give the government a bigger cut).

In 1999 it was a fine sentiment. In 2022, it shows how out of touch people are. 

GameboyRMH said:

“ the ridiculous idea that you can make a major difference to your finances buy avoiding a daily coffee.

My Mom would laugh when reminding me how I used to explain that the reason I didn't stop for that coffee and muffin every day on the way to work was because it cost X dollars per day, which is XX dollars per month and in a year, XXX dollars. Do you know what I can do with that money?

She wasn't laughing at me, she was laughing with me. Because I got it from her. It's a philosophy that, if done properly adds up, and with smart investing can become a significant amount of money over time. We were always a single income family, I never made good money until about 20 years ago, but could have retired at 50 with no debt and lot's of money in the bank. And my Mom, who didn't start working until 40 has more money than she'll ever need or spend.

When I see people ordering overpriced food from the delivery services that are so popular these days, I just shake my head. They're pissing that money away for a little convenience, and who knows? Probably ordering a Latte.

wae said:

In reply to Ashyukun (Robert) :

Damn, if they charged your $400 for a cap, I can't imagine what a pound of refrigerant would have cost!  whew!

I absolutely second the above advice:  Those caps are super cheap and super easy to replace.  I've got spares for all my AC units and associated blower fans (I think I've got 4 systems covered with 2 spares) since they're $20 from Amazon and $75 at the local HVAC parts place.

They didn't charge him $400 for a capacitor.  They also diagnosed and installed it, and had the knowledge, and the van, and the gasoline to drive to the house, plus they didn't electrocute themselves.

Streetwiseguy said:

wae said:

In reply to Ashyukun (Robert) :

Damn, if they charged your $400 for a cap, I can't imagine what a pound of refrigerant would have cost!  whew!

I absolutely second the above advice:  Those caps are super cheap and super easy to replace.  I've got spares for all my AC units and associated blower fans (I think I've got 4 systems covered with 2 spares) since they're $20 from Amazon and $75 at the local HVAC parts place.

They didn't charge him $400 for a capacitor.  They also diagnosed and installed it, and had the knowledge, and the van, and the gasoline to drive to the house, plus they didn't electrocute themselves.

Right, but it's the most common and most easily fixed issue with AC systems. There's nothing wrong with paying someone to come out and diagnose it the first time it happens to you, but after that you should learn how to fix it yourself. There are tons of YT videos on how to diagnose and replace it.

In reply to CAinCA :

Of course. The guys that nuke themselves are too dead to post their videos. 

Streetwiseguy said:

wae said:

In reply to Ashyukun (Robert) :

Damn, if they charged your $400 for a cap, I can't imagine what a pound of refrigerant would have cost!  whew!

I absolutely second the above advice:  Those caps are super cheap and super easy to replace.  I've got spares for all my AC units and associated blower fans (I think I've got 4 systems covered with 2 spares) since they're $20 from Amazon and $75 at the local HVAC parts place.

They didn't charge him $400 for a capacitor.  They also diagnosed and installed it, and had the knowledge, and the van, and the gasoline to drive to the house, plus they didn't electrocute themselves.

My point is that a couple pounds of refrigerant would be even more expensive than the capacitor.  And then they'd charge all that other stuff on top of that.

Appleseed said:

Apparently Blue Crooks Blue Scam heath insurance no longer covers my endocrinologist. 15 years and they decided to pull up stakes.

Now I get to play the BS game of find an endo, get a referral, get a script for insulin. The endo will offer me no advice. I know what I'm doing by now. I'm buying a peice  paper that gives me the privilege of getting to buy something that allows me to live.

Thanks for the support,  shiny happy person.

Insurance and diabetes is a demented game. We got a bill today for the endo appointment last month $400 because the appointment was 2 months and 28 days since the previous one, not 3 months. Second butt kick in that. Asked the endo to write a script for Omnipod 5 and they are "reluctant " because they haven't been trained in it yet. Well shiny happy person we did our homework and got the insurance to approve and did the legwork with Insulet so just write the script and keep being my insulin dealer. 

In reply to NY Nick :

Oh, an insulin pump is a distant ,  distant  dream. I can only imagine how hard insurance companies hold on to "their" money when a pump is involved.

Swmbos kid has a move out date. She also has a lot of E36 M3. Too much E36 M3. She's going to fly out with clothes and "ship" stuff later. Swmbo thinks we're going to either rent a truck or I'm going to own one by then, and we're going to road trip it to her.  

Those that know me know I can't stand her kid, and want nothing to do with her. I certainly don't want to help her move her E36 M3 across the country for free. I REALLY don't want anything to do with the person she's moving in with, her grandmother on her dad's side. She ranks about #4 in people I'd like to see get bitten by a shark. Swmbos kid largely gets her bs attitude from her grandmother. 

I don't like any of this. 

Don't you just love dogs that were trained by beatniks ? "We tried nothing and were all out of ideas." Oh, they're nice dogs, the beatnik says. Sure, they're not vicious by any means, but nice? No, they're shiny happy people. Even the 2 year old, who absolutely loves dogs, has had enough of the bullE36 M3. berkeley off, mutt.

In reply to Mndsm :

Doesn't your building have a big green or brown shipping container in the parking lot area?

In reply to RevRico :

It does have one of those. Built in compactor for efficiency. 

Mndsm said:

Swmbos kid has a move out date. She also has a lot of E36 M3. Too much E36 M3. She's going to fly out with clothes and "ship" stuff later. Swmbo thinks we're going to either rent a truck or I'm going to own one by then, and we're going to road trip it to her.  

 

Those that know me know I can't stand her kid, and want nothing to do with her. I certainly don't want to help her move her E36 M3 across the country for free. I REALLY don't want anything to do with the person she's moving in with, her grandmother on her dad's side. She ranks about #4 in people I'd like to see get bitten by a shark. Swmbos kid largely gets her bs attitude from her grandmother. 

 

I don't like any of this. 

I get it, but wow - she'll be CLEAR ACROSS THE COUNTRY!

wae said:

Streetwiseguy said:

wae said:

In reply to Ashyukun (Robert) :

Damn, if they charged your $400 for a cap, I can't imagine what a pound of refrigerant would have cost!  whew!

I absolutely second the above advice:  Those caps are super cheap and super easy to replace.  I've got spares for all my AC units and associated blower fans (I think I've got 4 systems covered with 2 spares) since they're $20 from Amazon and $75 at the local HVAC parts place.

They didn't charge him $400 for a capacitor.  They also diagnosed and installed it, and had the knowledge, and the van, and the gasoline to drive to the house, plus they didn't electrocute themselves.

My point is that a couple pounds of refrigerant would be even more expensive than the capacitor.  And then they'd charge all that other stuff on top of that.

True- and now I know about that capacitor and could probably get and replace it myself, but I didn't then and the $400 to have them come out, diagnose, and replace it was worth it to have the house back to normal more quickly and not have a grumpy wife because she was sweating so much in the house without functioning A/C. And I also shouldn't have to worry about that capacitor at least for a few years because they warranty it for 3 years and will come out and replace it if it fails. Though if the A/C stops working again in a similar fashion I'll definitely go out and check and remove any crispy wasps (after pulling the tab that very physically disconnects the power from the unit) and I am going to be putting up a wasp trap over near the compressor. 

I need to leave for work, but the dog has climbed onto the couch and is being cuddly.

Beer Baron said:

I need to leave for work, but the dog has climbed onto the couch and is being cuddly.

We don't have dogs. We have cats but they cause a similar issue.  In our house we call that condition COL (Cat on Lap) as in "Could you bring me a drink?  I have COL" or "I have COL so dinner is going to be late"

In reply to CJ :

Metaphorically. I'm in Florida, she's moving to Winchester Virginia, which she seems to think is a better idea to start her fashion empire. Sure it's about an hour and a half outside of DC, but, she doesn't drive. You do have a point about her being gone though- my side of it was simply, she's managed to make the relationship as strained as humanly possible while also being completely ignorant of how her attitude affects anything, and I'm not doing a damn thing for free. 

In reply to Mndsm :

You aren't doing it for free, the payout is that your relationship will get better and less strained, yeah?

In reply to Mndsm :

Is DC even considered a fashion centric city? I think the closest city that'd be fashion centric would be NYC (though there's something to be said about saturation). 

Holy crap this is insane.

I made an open records request to my city for records on a city project. I already have SOME of the records, but I asked for everything just in case.

Today I got a response that the city has zero records. None. My ORR was closed.

I respond that they might want to rethink that answer because I am already in possession of some records that would fall under my ORR. Hey look at that my ORR request has been reopened!

Part of me REALLY wants to chalk this up as just a stupid mistake. But part of me wants to know what they don't want me to see.

hunter47 said:

In reply to Mndsm :

Is DC even considered a fashion centric city? I think the closest city that'd be fashion centric would be NYC (though there's something to be said about saturation). 

 

Not that I'm aware of. Her original plan was to move to NYC, but she can't get her E36 M3 together enough to pull that move off. Grandma randomly decided to move to Virginia and has been lobbying for quite some time for swmbos kid to move in with her. Somehow the logic of living in bumbleberkeley VA and being closer to NYC physically is better than living in the tourist capital of earth and using vacationer's money to get what you want. She also talked about taking a sewing machine in her checked baggage (one that I've never seen her use) instead of you know....underwear.