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DeathOfRats posted:
That was me, I was Liz Lemoning. I spent the last 3 years living for under $700 a month rent (and a huge chunk at <$500) and figured as long as my balance was in the 5 figures I had nothing to worry about so I didn't overtly save or track anything.  Now my rent is over $1100.
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Aug 23, 2014 00:56
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DeathOfRats posted:My roommate stopped paying his half of the rent and I didn't notice for a year. You're both bad with money!
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Aug 23, 2014 02:04
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rrrrrrrrrrrt posted:You're both bad with money! Well, we don't know what the roommate was doing with that money, maybe they're the ones good with money.
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Aug 23, 2014 04:49
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rear end in a top hat with money at best. I wouldn't call screwing friends over for personal gain good with money, even if you turn a profit on it.
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Aug 23, 2014 10:31
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So, wait, you're not still living with the guy who just stole money from you for a year, right? Or at least, you're terminating your room-mate relationship as soon as you legally can when lease ends?
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Aug 23, 2014 14:57
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quote:Last year, Ted Perry dipped into his 401(k) to buy a $20,000 bicycle. A bike isn't the worst thing you could spend money on, especially if you're doing 150 miles a week. But dipping into your 401(k) for one?
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Aug 23, 2014 15:34
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Enilev posted:Source It's bad with money because he clearly can't afford it. What's he gonna do when someone runs him over? Just be hosed?
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Aug 23, 2014 16:17
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Enilev posted:A bike isn't the worst thing you could spend money on, especially if you're doing 150 miles a week. But dipping into your 401(k) for one? If you're someone who road bikes so much that you can notice the difference between a $5000 bike and a $20000 bike, then 150 miles/week isn't very much.
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Aug 23, 2014 16:37
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Is there such a thing as bicycle insurance? I mean, how much damage can a bike sustain before being totaled?
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Aug 23, 2014 16:40
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HelloIAmYourHeart posted:Is there such a thing as bicycle insurance? I mean, how much damage can a bike sustain before being totaled? You can buy insurance on anything, but you should only do so if you cannot afford to survive the financial consequence of the insured event. If that event is totaling a $5,000 bicycle or even a $20,000 bicycle, you are per se bad with money. (Unless in the case of the $20,000 bike you are a pro rider using the bicycle to make your living)
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Aug 23, 2014 17:07
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Mantle posted:(Unless in the case of the $20,000 bike you are a pro rider using the bicycle to make your living) Pro riders don't buy their own bikes. Even low level pros get sponsored and given their $10k bikes to race with. The only people who buy $10k+ bikes are people who either have a ton of disposable income to burn (where the term "dentist bike" comes from) or people who are bad with money. Like, I'm really into bikes and I "get" why you would want a nice bike but even I would have a hard time justifying spending more than $3-4k tops on a high end road bike - and that's assuming that you can comfortably afford it. And even at that level the difference between a 4k bike and a 2k bike is ultimately not that huge. The marginal improvements get vanishingly small while the price gets exorbitant. Guinness fucked around with this message at 18:58 on Aug 23, 2014 |
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Aug 23, 2014 18:56
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Biking around Austin for a year convinced me that there are two types of bicycles: those that have been stolen, and those that will be stolen. Of course it was Austin but still.
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Aug 23, 2014 20:32
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seacat posted:Biking around Austin for a year convinced me that there are two types of bicycles: those that have been stolen, and those that will be stolen. I don't understand how a bike can get stolen if you have a U-lock. Are they really sawing through the U-lock? edit: I'm really starting to get into cycling, and my plan is to always have a beater bike for commuting to work - which is what I have right now - but I also want to pick up a decent road bike for trekking out to the suburbs to visit my family. If my beater gets stolen, then oh well. Plus it's not likely anyone is going to steal a bike worth $100. Though I paid $50 for it, lock and helmet included. Rick Rickshaw fucked around with this message at 00:52 on Aug 24, 2014 |
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Aug 24, 2014 00:47
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Rick Rickshaw posted:I don't understand how a bike can get stolen if you have a U-lock. Are they really sawing through the U-lock? A u-lock can be defeated in 10 seconds with a thin piece of aluminum like from a pop can. You jam it into the key hole just right and it pops right open.
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Aug 24, 2014 00:52
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NancyPants posted:A u-lock can be defeated in 10 seconds with a thin piece of aluminum like from a pop can. You jam it into the key hole just right and it pops right open. That sounds like way easier said than done.
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Aug 24, 2014 00:56
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NancyPants posted:A u-lock can be defeated in 10 seconds with a thin piece of aluminum like from a pop can. You jam it into the key hole just right and it pops right open. Or you do what happened to my bike and steal everything not attached to the U lock
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Aug 24, 2014 00:58
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Magic Underwear posted:That sounds like way easier said than done. Obviously it takes practice but the keyhole is the weakest point on those locks, not the u bar. You can also do it by using it as a shim on the locking mechanism itself, where the bar meets the body of the lock. That way is considerably easier.
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Aug 24, 2014 00:59
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Magic Underwear posted:That sounds like way easier said than done. It is. A U lock with a lovely lock mechanism could be defeated that way. Many cheap U-locks, pretty much anything you buy at Walmart or places like that, sure. Any U-lock with a long enough portion of the lock hanging out past the U-shackle can have a pipe put over that part and be levered off. A U-lock with a lovely hinge could also just have a pipe put inside the shackle and have the hinge pin broken. Cheap U-locks can be hack-sawed. You could also hit the hinge with a hammer until it breaks on some exceptionally cheap locks. Good U-locks don't have hinges or overhangs, and are hardened steel. They can only (with exceptions like that Kryptonite lock which could be opened with a Bic pen) be defeated by either skilled lockpicking or angle grinders. Oh, and a single U-lock isn't going to prevent part theft. Where I grew up it was common to have wheels stolen. When I lived in China, I kept having lights stolen until I wired them on with baling wire. (Not impossible to defeat, just too much hassle for a cheap light.) If you want to keep your bike, use at least two locks, with different types of shackles (a U and a cable or a U and a chain) and with different lock mechanisms (either completely different kinds of keys, or a key and a combo). At least one of those should be a high-quality lock. Most bike thieves aren't going to carry the tools or knowledge to handle EVERY kind of lock. Cables are less susceptible to leverage and such, but can be cut like butter, and U locks vice versa.
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Aug 24, 2014 01:37
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Rick Rickshaw posted:I don't understand how a bike can get stolen if you have a U-lock. Are they really sawing through the U-lock? Me neither, till I came back one day and found nothing but my U-lock, still sadly attached to the bike rack. I am still utterly confused as to how they did it, and then just to be dicks, re-attached the lock to the rack.
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Aug 24, 2014 02:36
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I understand why people commit all sorts of thieving crimes, except: 1. Stealing a cheap bike 2. Breaking one of those small triangular windows (a ~$200 repair) in order to jack a car stereo worth $20 gently caress you if you do either thing. I've had a car stolen and an iPod stolen on top of the previous two things and neither made me as mad. I guess it just is more infuriating if the crime costs you way more that the benefit gained by the thief. Also one time I got a credit card stolen and used to buy premium gasoline before it was turned off. I'd have been a lot less pissed off if you had just filled your car with regular, rear end in a top hat
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Aug 24, 2014 04:31
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Cheap bikes getting stolen might just be a convenience thing. Thieve needed to be somewhere else, there was a bike. As to the window vs value of the stereo, the thief has no way to monetize your window repair, and it's twenty bucks for not a whole lot of effort.
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Aug 24, 2014 04:40
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Cordless circular saw and a carbide blade. Makes quick work of most steel. Locks included.
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Aug 24, 2014 07:14
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SiGmA_X posted:Cordless circular saw and a carbide blade. Makes quick work of most steel. Locks included. Also makes a lot of noise, which is why it's not all that common in most places for thieves to use them. I've got a total overkill 5+ pound motorcycle lock that would probably run down the battery or dull the blade before they got through it...I bought it because some son of a bitch almost got through my cable lock...probably got interrupted or something.
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Aug 24, 2014 09:10
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oxsnard posted:I understand why people commit all sorts of thieving crimes, except: There was a post quite a way back on SA by a guy who used to break into cars when he was younger. One thing he said is never leave anything of value visible in a vehicle, they'd break into a car if they saw a quarter on the dash.
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Aug 24, 2014 14:05
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oxsnard posted:I understand why people commit all sorts of thieving crimes, except: I'm not an anti drug crusader at all in all way shape or form, don't support criminalization of all but the most serious drug offenses, and never will.. But my guess is most people who steal your $50 poo poo bmx bike with and smash your windshield for the a buck in change in the ashtray are probably high/trying to scrape up money to get high. A hit can be surprisingly cheap if you're drinking Listerine and/or smoking crack. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOdLJCDW4A0 Or more sadly they are genuinely mentally ill with no access to any sort of treatment. I just leave the doors in my lovely 15 year old car unlocked. The average window repair can be 100-300$ even if you do ir yourself and the combined value of everything that can be quickly removed from it is like $100... that's good with money right? 
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Aug 24, 2014 14:19
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Leaving your door unlocked doesn't help, apparently. My car doesn't have power locks, so it's not that uncommon for the passenger door to get left unlocked if someone's riding with me. I stupidly left my GPS in the window one night and came out to find my window smashed in. Yep, the door was unlocked. The worst of it was that it happened on a Sunday morning, so there were no glass shops open - and I'd been planning on driving 6 hours away for a vacation that day. No way I was going to do that with a busted window, so I ended up having to leave for my vacation a day late after getting the window repaired first thing Monday morning.
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Aug 24, 2014 14:45
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Nobody leaves their doors unlocked in this day and age, thieves kind of want to get away fast so... They're not going to waste time trying.
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Aug 24, 2014 14:55
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Scapegoat posted:There was a post quite a way back on SA by a guy who used to break into cars when he was younger. One thing he said is never leave anything of value visible in a vehicle, they'd break into a car if they saw a quarter on the dash. It's not even visible things. I came to my car one day to find the ashtray ripped out of my dash. It's where I was storing quarters, and I didn't leave it open.
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Aug 24, 2014 16:50
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Of all the Goon Strategies for saving money in this thread, I think that "leave your car unlocked so that conscientious thieves will be able to take your poo poo without causing property damage as well" is my favourite.
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Aug 24, 2014 23:44
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It's actually pretty common. A guy I knew used to work in a lot of lovely areas. He left nothing of value in the car but they would still break the windows to rummage around. So he started leaving it unlocked. He figured if they were going to steal the car, they'll just break the window anyway. But if they were just looking for poo poo to sell, this leaves his windows intact.
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Aug 25, 2014 00:02
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A friend of mine bragged on Facebook about how he does this, but I cautioned him that his insurance policy is based on the fact that his car has functional locks. If your car got stolen and your insurance company knew and could prove you didn't lock your doors, couldn't they deny coverage? The true BFC answer is to drive old enough cars that no one is going to steal anyway, but this guy has a 2012 Altima.
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Aug 25, 2014 01:20
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Rick Rickshaw posted:A friend of mine bragged on Facebook about how he does this, but I cautioned him that his insurance policy is based on the fact that his car has functional locks. When my car stereo was stolen from an old car that had barely functional windows, the cop added it to the report and told me the claim would probably be denied on those grounds. So I think so, yes. As to the older cars, the most stolen cars in the US are late nineties Hondas and Toyotas because they still have serviceable parts and they don't have ignition locks. If I remember correctly, mid-2000s is when the ignition lock became universal.
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Aug 25, 2014 01:50
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Lowness 72 posted:It's actually pretty common. A guy I knew used to work in a lot of lovely areas. He left nothing of value in the car but they would still break the windows to rummage around. So he started leaving it unlocked. Soo... unless it's raining roll your windows down?  It really gets kinda ridiculous to decide what to do at times.
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Aug 25, 2014 02:48
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Carry $0 glass coverage... Simple. The ~<$30 a year I pay for my 3 cars is easily worth it. Especially when a windshield is $550-800, and they seem to get cracked every few years...
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Aug 25, 2014 03:36
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Dang. No one in my family has ever needed a windshield, and we're talking 12 cars over 30 years.
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Aug 25, 2014 03:56
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MickeyFinn posted:When my car stereo was stolen from an old car that had barely functional windows, the cop added it to the report and told me the claim would probably be denied on those grounds. So I think so, yes. Wait wait wait. You mean ignition locks as in "insert the key and turn to unlock the steering wheel and start the car"? And cars didn't have them in the 90s? What a strange country you live in. My parents's car from 1979 and every single car I've ever seen, let alone driven, since then has had either a mechanical or electronic ignition lock. How the hell do you keep the car secure otherwise?
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Aug 25, 2014 06:31
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Rick Rickshaw posted:The true BFC answer is to drive old enough cars that no one is going to steal anyway, but this guy has a 2012 Altima. "Drive old cars" is great advice until you get into a car accident and shatter your pelvis and have to spend a bunch of money learning to walk properly again.
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Aug 25, 2014 06:51
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Weatherman posted:Wait wait wait. You mean ignition locks as in "insert the key and turn to unlock the steering wheel and start the car"? And cars didn't have them in the 90s? What a strange country you live in. My late 90s accord was stolen by putting a flathead screwdriver in the key slot and turning.
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Aug 25, 2014 07:10
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slap me silly posted:Dang. No one in my family has ever needed a windshield, and we're talking 12 cars over 30 years. I don't know what it is abvout the east coast, but I was going through a windshield every other year or so. MA mandates full glass coverage as part of any policy, and you can see the difference compared to people in RI where it's optional. It seems like everyone in RI has spiderwebs of cracked windshields.
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Aug 25, 2014 13:03
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Side from the obvious concern over driver's visibility and safety due to cracked glass, I wonder if any part of that mandate is also due to broken windows theory.
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Aug 25, 2014 13:22
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