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I guess I'll contribute my short story. In November last year I bought a brand new snowboard for $700 because I thought I'd go snowboarding at least 5-10 times. We usually only go like 3-4 times. I thought it would be more cost efficient that way so I wouldn't have to rent every time. We only went once. Then I decided that since I was too scared to go on the jumps or try any rails with my new park board I bought $150 in protective gear because surely I wouldn't be scared to try them now. Oh well. It's a sick board, though. Fun to look at, at least.
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Mar 26, 2014 15:35
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seacat posted:How did you manage to spend $1500 on a head gasket? it's not that hard a fix if the engine is still in good shape On Subaru's you have to pull the engine. They had a run from 97 - 04 ish where the head gaskets corroded extremely fast and it wasn't until the 05 models that they had a new head gasket that doesn't implode.
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Mar 26, 2014 16:24
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Faded Sloth posted:I guess I'll contribute my short story. In November last year I bought a brand new snowboard for $700 because I thought I'd go snowboarding at least 5-10 times. We usually only go like 3-4 times. I thought it would be more cost efficient that way so I wouldn't have to rent every time. We only went once. Then I decided that since I was too scared to go on the jumps or try any rails with my new park board I bought $150 in protective gear because surely I wouldn't be scared to try them now. Hang it up on the wall and it can become a fancy wall decoration/conversation piece. Me, I'm the one with no impulse control. I have no debt, a bunch of savings, decent retirement savings, and a few investments. But every time I see a sale on shell cordovan shoes or bike parts, I have a huge urge to spend spend spend. I bought 4 pairs of shoes recently and they're super nice, but they're going to end up being the only shoes I'll ever own since they also last forever.
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Mar 26, 2014 16:45
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CitizenKain posted:On Subaru's you have to pull the engine. They had a run from 97 - 04 ish where the head gaskets corroded extremely fast and it wasn't until the 05 models that they had a new head gasket that doesn't implode. Many head jobs fall between 6-10hr (or more, depending on car) so $540-900 in labor, and $2-400+ easily in parts, and $3~600 in a head rebuild... Skip doing the timing belt on time and it may wind up closer to the $3-5k mark. 1.8t valves are very expensive, so much that a reman head and rebuilding a head is dollars apart.
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Mar 26, 2014 16:52
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Faded Sloth posted:I guess I'll contribute my short story. In November last year I bought a brand new snowboard for $700 because I thought I'd go snowboarding at least 5-10 times. We usually only go like 3-4 times. I thought it would be more cost efficient that way so I wouldn't have to rent every time. We only went once. Then I decided that since I was too scared to go on the jumps or try any rails with my new park board I bought $150 in protective gear because surely I wouldn't be scared to try them now. This isn't bad as long as you didn't miss your car payments for it. I mean you can also just sell the thing.
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Mar 26, 2014 17:01
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The $1500 mentioned was to fix my civic with a hosed head gasket and a cracked cylinder head. The forester fix is mentioned at $2k. Both of those repairs are well within median price range for "paying a not shady mechanic to fix a thing you can't fix yourself in a time limited fashion"
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Mar 26, 2014 17:30
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Vox Nihili posted:The immediate assumption that a girl was given special treatment due to her attributes as a woman rather than the economic and social conditions surrounding her suggests a certain thought pattern. It seemed especially odd given the context of the story, which described her family as hooking her up. haha.
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Mar 26, 2014 18:34
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Trilineatus posted:The $1500 mentioned was to fix my civic with a hosed head gasket and a cracked cylinder head. The forester fix is mentioned at $2k. Both of those repairs are well within median price range for "paying a not shady mechanic to fix a thing you can't fix yourself in a time limited fashion" 
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Mar 26, 2014 21:38
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Faded Sloth posted:I guess I'll contribute my short story. In November last year I bought a brand new snowboard for $700 because I thought I'd go snowboarding at least 5-10 times. We usually only go like 3-4 times. I thought it would be more cost efficient that way so I wouldn't have to rent every time. We only went once. Then I decided that since I was too scared to go on the jumps or try any rails with my new park board I bought $150 in protective gear because surely I wouldn't be scared to try them now. I did something similar with an $800 mountain bike. I rarely make big purchases and actually believed that I would use it. I bought more than I needed but at least I now have a bike that will last me for a long, long time. Just look at it as a life long investment.Snowboards don't go bad you can use it for the rest of your life as long as you put a minimal amount of effort into maintaining it after the few times you use it a year. Wipe it down with a rag when you get back from the mountain and let it dry out and it will stay in good condition for years barring any accidents. You can give/sell it to a friend or family member if you ultimately find that you will likely never use it again.
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Mar 26, 2014 23:17
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I didn't mean to start carchat, sorry about that. He didn't mention he had a cracked head which changes things obviously.
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Mar 27, 2014 02:05
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At work today somebody reminded me of a former coworker. For the purposes of this story we'll call him Roger. Now, Roger was a uni student who worked with me when I started out in technical support. One day while at work he started talking about his 'side job' which was entirely online and how he got interviewed over Skype. Curious, I started asking him about it. He said it was just processing paperwork for a business and something about this started making me really suspicious, especially when he mentioned the word 'escrow'. I told him it sounded like those schemes you hear about on CrimeWatch, where some person desperate for a job answers a job ad, gets interviewed online or over the phone then it would later turn out all that 'paperwork' they were processing was accepting deposits of hundreds or thousands into their personal bank account then send it on, not understanding the consequences of what they were doing. He claimed it was a legit business, though, so I figured maybe I was being a bit harsh and it was all on the level. A few weeks later when I asked him how the side job was going, he said that they tried to escrow some money to him on the understanding that he was to escrow it back. He apparently told them that it sounded a bit dodgy and wasn't eager to do it. He said his boss called him a 'pussy who didn't want to make money like a real man' and then blocked him on Skype. I told him to report it to the police because it sounded really suspicious, but he said he didn't want to get in trouble so didn't report it. TL;DR Coworker was hired by money launderers, seems to have gotten "fired" before causing any real damage or getting in trouble. Edit: I am going to put this here because I think this thread should be a friendly warning as well as your daily dose of schadenfreude, but if you (or anyone you know) apply for a job like Roger here did and they want you to 'work from home' by transferring large sums of money it is at best a scam. Read this website for more details. Although it's mostly focused on Australia, all the things listed are almost universally applicable when it comes to online scams.  IF IT'S TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE IT PROBABLY IS!
froglet fucked around with this message at 15:46 on Mar 27, 2014 |
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Mar 27, 2014 15:24
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poo poo
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Mar 27, 2014 17:39
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How do they stop someone from just not forwarding the money back?
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Mar 27, 2014 23:52
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TLG James posted:How do they stop someone from just not forwarding the money back? Depending on the amount of money, it probably falls between "cost of doing business" and "a guy with many scars and no neck shows up at your house to politely ask that you refund the money while he watches"
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Mar 28, 2014 00:07
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Alternatively, the check you got was fake and you're going to be left holding the bag when the bank catches on.
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Mar 28, 2014 00:08
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FrozenVent posted:Alternatively, the check you got was fake and you're going to be left holding the bag when the bank catches on. That's usually it. You're not helping someone get scammed, you are the mark.
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Mar 28, 2014 00:21
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FrozenVent posted:Alternatively, the check you got was fake and you're going to be left holding the bag when the bank catches on. Not necessarily. It could be straight up money laundering, although there's usually other steps (launderer deposits check, withdraws cash, uses cash to buy prepaid cards, gives card info to OG). There are apparently a lot of people who know exactly what these schemes are, and are totally OK with being a part of money laundering.
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Mar 28, 2014 01:24
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Volmarias posted:Not necessarily. It could be straight up money laundering, although there's usually other steps (launderer deposits check, withdraws cash, uses cash to buy prepaid cards, gives card info to OG). I think it has more to do with the scammers actively preying on the desperate. If you've been out of work for a few months or require flexibility in your working arrangements and the perfect position comes along, you probably won't ask too many questions.
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Mar 28, 2014 02:24
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froglet posted:I think it has more to do with the scammers actively preying on the desperate. If you've been out of work for a few months or require flexibility in your working arrangements and the perfect position comes along, you probably won't ask too many questions. It's not just that. I wish i remember the paper, but some researchers (with the guidance and blessing of the FBI) put up those "work from home" advertisements and an email address for people to contract. Some of the people who responded were clueless, but a few pretty much called called it out as laundering and then said that they were OK with it, saying they've done it before.
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Mar 28, 2014 02:52
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Volmarias posted:It's not just that. I wish i remember the paper, but some researchers (with the guidance and blessing of the FBI) put up those "work from home" advertisements and an email address for people to contract. Some of the people who responded were clueless, but a few pretty much called called it out as laundering and then said that they were OK with it, saying they've done it before. That's not surprising, considering white collar criminals like inside traders are often seen as "less harmful" than drug dealers or burglars, despite the fact the cost of their crimes is often significantly higher and can cause more misery than your average criminal.
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Mar 28, 2014 05:22
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froglet posted:That's not surprising, considering white collar criminals like inside traders are often seen as "less harmful" than drug dealers or burglars, despite the fact the cost of their crimes is often significantly higher and can cause more misery than your average criminal. You mean to say the legal system in your (and many other) countries favors the rich that can afford expensive lawyers? My bad with money story is that I took up collecting fountain pens for no reason other then to have them. It can be an inexpensive hobby if you get nice ones online, but I know myself and will likely get carried away. Also this week my car got towed because I was to lazy to park it in a designated spot while taking my kid to daycare.
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Mar 28, 2014 11:08
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Yeah I got one of those money mule "jobs" sitting in my inbox right now. I immediately reported it to the authorities since I couldn't think of any way to mess with the person who sent it to me.
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Mar 28, 2014 17:41
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Someone I work with who has about $90,000 in student loan debt plus god knows how much in credit card and auto loan did something really stupid that I just found out about. He went to a convention that talked him into buying a $2,800 10 piece kitchen set. Yup, you read that correctly. $2,800 of pots and pans. But wait! He gets a free 5 day bahama cruise and a coupon book with $2,000 of savings!! Totally worth it right??
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Mar 28, 2014 18:20
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That Bahamian cruise is going to be a terrible nothing included (e.g you have to pay for food) on a converted car ferry, by the way. Oh and it's not free, they'll charge him the port fees. Wish I could remember the name of the boat, it's hilarious. That's a really old scam, too.
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Mar 28, 2014 22:30
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FrozenVent posted:That Bahamian cruise is going to be a terrible nothing included (e.g you have to pay for food) on a converted car ferry, by the way. Oh and it's not free, they'll charge him the port fees. Wish I could remember the name of the boat, it's hilarious. As long as it's the bad with money thread... Yahoo Answers posted:I received a call stating I had won a 3 day 2 night cruise for 2 to the bahamas leaving out of Florida. I had signed up for this to be silly at a stand in the mall one day saying I never get lucky to win these things, but they called and said I won. The lady I spoke with gave me all the details and did her best to make it sound like the best cruise you will ever have...then she wanted me to pay 118 for port taxes.. 59 per person. I got skeptical and told her that I haven't reserved anything and that I wasn't prepared to make a payment today...she kept trying to fight it saying I would lose this deal if I did not pay now.. She then transferred me to another lady. She talked me into it (I'm probabaly stupid, yes I know)...I had to get back to work so she said she would call me a little after 5.. she called back (to my shock) and said that the authorization was processing and that I was offerred a VIP package from them for only 798 dollars for an extended package with everything paid for.. 3 days 2 night in Orlanda and and extended 3 days 2 nights in the Bahamas (plus the 3 day 2 night cruise). I explained that I could not pay that money and just wanted the cruise that was supposed to be free for me that I won. She then kept going down in price..including meals paid for, resort paid for, a 2 for 1 air-fare voucher, rental car for 7 days for only 398. I told her again that I really couldn't pay that today.. I was transferred to the "General Manager" He said he would give me the 3 day 2 night stay in either Orlando FL or Ft Lauderdale FL, with the air voucher (1 free round trip), rental car for 7 days unlimited mileage, hotel Ramada Inn Resort paid for with free meals while in Florida..plus the 3 day 2 night cruise for just an additional 100 today and the remaining 187 could be paid at time of booking or 30 days after the registration...Sooo I agreed to this after I had made sure I had NO other charges. Which he explained there is $9 per day for a person and 0-12 dollar fuel charge a day ONLY WHEN YOUR ON THE SHIP. I was ok with this...So I have spent 218 with 187 and a round trip ticket left to pay for... I've been doing research online. It looks like a real deal..it just is not an extravagent trip or ship... Please someone give me information on this. I am really still unsure. Thanks!
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Mar 28, 2014 23:00
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pathetic little tramp posted:As long as it's the bad with money thread... That person is going to get what they paid for, the scam part is everyone "wins" the cruise. They basically signed up at the mall to be put on the call list to be sold a cruise. This ($119-149 per person per night) is the normal website price for a cruise before taxes from the Celebration. Royal Caribbean started at $159 a night. The bad with money part is they weren't planning on going on a cruise, it's probably going to be a lovely time of year, and they're going to be in a lovely room.
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Mar 29, 2014 00:15
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Dumb with housing: A family member bought a foreclosure 3 years ago in a major municipal area in a western state that got hit hard by the housing crash. This house is a 1500sq ft 5br/2ba built in the 80's, in a run-down neighborhood about a mile from downtown and two miles from the university. It backs up almost against a major cross-country interstate, and you can hear traffic all day. They bought it for super cheap, about $60k, and got all kinds of great incentives from the state and government for first time homebuyers contingent on living there for 5 years. They also could not be talked out of a 15 year mortgage. "But the interest rate is 1% lower! And I'll pay less than half the interest compared to a 30 year loan over the life of the loan!" With a 30 year mortgage, you can always make double payments toward principal, but with a 15 year mortgage you can never make half payments when money is tight. What happens if you lose your jobs or have a baby? (both of these things happened and caused financial disaster). They also wiped out almost all of their savings on a 30% down payment. What's even worse than the house is their motivation for buying. Renting is "throwing money away", "we can rent it out later", "great time to buy", "fixer-upper", etc. The trouble is, the neighborhood is *really* bad. As in, if you look at one of the crime maps for a quarter mile radius, you get more than 300 police reports for a 14 day period. Including some homicides and sex crimes  Many of the neighbors have 8 foot fences, large dogs, or both.Even their realtor begged them not to buy it. But buy it they did, and the renovations begin! The linoleum was torn out of the kitchen, living room, and hallway and the bare concrete was painted instead. One of the bedroom had its walls demolished to extend the living room (removing a bedroom almost never adds value to a home for the next buyer). They also demolished one of the two bathrooms to extend one of the bedrooms. So now they have a four bedroom home/one bathroom home, and to get to the only bathroom you have to go through the master bedroom. That only bathroom is a 3/4 bathroom. Sink/shower/toilet. There is no bathtub remaining in the home, which makes bathing the baby harder than it needs to be. Try to find renters that want a four bedroom house and are totally OK with having the only bathroom accessible by walking through the master bedroom. They had a lot of tools and building materials including aluminum siding stolen off of their porch by their neighbor's drug addict grandson who just got out of prison. They started to run out of money for materials, and ended up having to postpone a lot of their renovations after having done a lot of demolition. Any other house they would have bought at the very bottom of the housing depression in that market would have doubled in value by now. I think they'll be lucky to break even on this thing when they are finally free of it.
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Mar 29, 2014 00:24
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Might want to check a mortgage calculator to see the difference between 30 year and 15 year for a loan like that. If you can't make one, you probably aren't going to be able to make the other.
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Mar 29, 2014 06:20
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Why are all these people horrible with money? Schooling failed them? Parents failed them? They're hopeless regardless of the education?
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Mar 29, 2014 07:19
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zaurg posted:Why are all these people horrible with money? Schooling failed them? Parents failed them? They're hopeless regardless of the education? hmm...mmm....mmhmm
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Mar 29, 2014 07:21
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zaurg posted:Why are all these people horrible with money? Schooling failed them? Parents failed them? They're hopeless regardless of the education?
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Mar 29, 2014 07:39
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zaurg posted:Why are all these people horrible with money? Schooling failed them? Parents failed them? They're hopeless regardless of the education? Long time no see. How've you been doing?
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Mar 29, 2014 08:42
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zaurg posted:Why are all these people horrible with money? Schooling failed them? Parents failed them? They're hopeless regardless of the education? Oh poo poo. The man himself. How's life treating you?
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Mar 29, 2014 08:47
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Zaurg unless you're about to describe yourself in your next post here then kindly piss off and start your own thread. Ever since you got gassed the first time, you've wandered into BFC threads and gone "hay guyz itz me" and whatever thread you decided to perch over immediately filled with poo poo and piss. TIA
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Mar 29, 2014 09:06
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My little brother broke his hand (on a punching bag, he tells me, but I'm dubious). He then deliberately sought out a surgeon who wasn't on my dad's health plan, so now he's on the hook for $5000. This kid never went to college, I don't even know if he has a job. Only found out from my dad since he's the insurer and they notified him of the bill. This is why I don't talk to my family much, all the news is always bad news.
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Mar 29, 2014 14:53
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Oxxidation posted:He then deliberately sought out a surgeon who wasn't on my dad's health plan, so now he's on the hook for $5000. Why on earth would he do this
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Mar 29, 2014 15:08
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EugeneJ posted:Why on earth would he do this My guess is to try to escape dad's notice.
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Mar 29, 2014 15:14
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EugeneJ posted:Why on earth would he do this I'm almost positive my mother had something to do with it. Lying to him about the cost, pushing him to do it to spite my dad, something. She's a mentally ill (probably borderline personality disorder) alcoholic living in a house her dead ex-boss bought (and just about every stick of furniture in there that wasn't taken from her last home was bought on credit, so hey, bad with money). Maybe she thinks that by landing him in debt she can keep him from leaving, I don't loving know. Luckily I severed from all that years ago, but the news that still trickles out from that side of the wall twists me.
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Mar 29, 2014 15:17
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sativa dreams posted:Someone I work with who has about $90,000 in student loan debt plus god knows how much in credit card and auto loan did something really stupid that I just found out about. Did this guy happen to get the pots and pans from a guy in Tennessee? The guy I am thinking of gets a table at table days and is basically like the free cruise person, everyone wins (usually he offers to cook a free dinner for the winner). We actually let him cook us the dinner (probably a bad risk in retrospect), and then had to say no to 20 pitches in a row on why we should get the pots today. The good was good, but probably not worth the free dinner.
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Mar 29, 2014 15:19
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Oxxidation posted:My little brother broke his hand (on a punching bag, he tells me, but I'm dubious). He then deliberately sought out a surgeon who wasn't on my dad's health plan, so now he's on the hook for $5000. This kid never went to college, I don't even know if he has a job. At least your dad won't be on the hook for the bill even though he's the policy holder. The surgeon can only bill the person who signs the financial agreement (assuming the patient is an adult). I've had multiple patients at the doctor's office where I do the billing be like, "Oh, please send the statement to my mom, she pays all my bills" or "my ex-wife is supposed to cover all the medical bills for our son so I need you to send her the bill". I don't care who is ~supposed~ to pay this bill, you signed the paperwork and legally accepted the debt. Feel free to tell the collections agency to call your mom, though.
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Mar 29, 2014 17:11
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