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Dead Pressed posted:Goodwill, basically. It's what they do with the stuff thy can't sell. It also gets shipped overseas! I've come across old shirts for 5K Fun Runs in my hometown in the US at secondhand clothing shops out in rural Japan 
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Jun 12, 2015 01:43
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Do we have an Uber thread? My fiancee's work visa is in bureaucracy hell and she might not get it in time to get paid next month, and we need money to make next month's rent. I have lots of free time right now as I'm unemployed (but I had an interview yesterday and one on Monday and hopefully one of them bites on me  ) and I live downtown in a somewhat large metro area, so I figure if I drive it for a few weeks I can build up enough money to stay in our apartment until work things fall into place for both of us.
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Jun 12, 2015 03:24
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C-Euro posted:Do we have an Uber thread? My fiancee's work visa is in bureaucracy hell and she might not get it in time to get paid next month, and we need money to make next month's rent. I have lots of free time right now as I'm unemployed (but I had an interview yesterday and one on Monday and hopefully one of them bites on me Theres an uber thread in A/T but me and a few other people sufficiently shitted it up at this point. I think the overall point is go for it, but trust the company about as far as you could throw it. Also don't ever lease or buy a new car through them..then they've got you. And commercial drivers insurance would be a real good idea, don't trust their "in excess of" insurance bs.
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Jun 12, 2015 04:04
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Tautologicus posted:Theres an uber thread in A/T but me and a few other people sufficiently shitted it up at this point. I think the overall point is go for it, but trust the company about as far as you could throw it. Also don't ever lease or buy a new car through them..then they've got you. And commercial drivers insurance would be a real good idea, don't trust their "in excess of" insurance bs.
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Jun 12, 2015 05:00
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Since mortgage rates went bananas just in time for my refi, I decided to wait on it. I'm now contemplating selling the house for a hefty profit and renting until the market is less crazy.
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Jun 16, 2015 04:15
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Interest rates are sinking for me which is making my fixed rate mortgages look like overkill in the next year. Will refinance one mortgage from 5.95% to what will probably be 4.5%. There's another 0.5% reduction coming in the official rate in NZ. My bank allows for increased payments until the end of the fixed term. So for my highest rate I may just boost the payments to transfer the principal into my floating rate account to keep the interest paid down. So my refinancing will all fall into place. However I found a million dollar apartment going cheap and I know what the issue is. Of course I'm one of the few people that could resolve the issue, it would be a good way to pick it up for $600k but I would have to sell my house to finance it. A lost opportunity from my perspective. I'll just have to get my net worth in place to take advantage of the next opportunity that I find.
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Jun 16, 2015 06:28
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What's the goto websites for finding a job in London? Specifically as a Sr. SW engineer, ideally in mobile games, but other things could be cool too.
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Jun 16, 2015 09:42
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Hey BFC - I have a car issue, and am trying to figure out the best way to go. I currently live in ATL, GA and have a 2003 Accent that I paid cash for a couple years ago. It's not pretty but it runs fine and until recently was a good car. The a/c and heat stopped working, and I took it in for an a/c charge but apparently there is a leak in the compressor and condenser, so it is $700-$800 to fix. It's getting stupid hot here now and sitting in ATL's lovely traffic with no a/c sucks. In any other situation, I would just go ahead and buy a new car. BUT, my company wants me to move to company HQ in Paris (pretty soon - Oct timeframe). It's not that I don't want to spend money - I don't want to buy a new(er) car and then get screwed when I have to get rid of it in a few months. I'm also hesitant about putting $800 into a car with almost 200k miles on it - the chance of something else expensive breaking would be high. Any ideas, suggestions? Could I try to include the car sales as part of a relo package?
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Jun 16, 2015 13:56
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a battery powered fan(s) attached to blow air right at your face, and a small cooler with ice packs to put on your neck. Maybe you could figure out a way to freeze a honeycomb shaped, liquid filled bag of some sort. Then have the fan blow air through the frozen honeycomb thing, cooling the air so you've got a nice cold breeze. buy one of those race car suits that pumps ice cold water around your torso, cooling you down. maybe they make cheap versions of this? alternatively wrap yourself in fish-tank hose and pump ice water through it somehow. you could freeze a giant sheet of ice and when you get hot put it on like some kind of reverse ice blanket. If you use any of these ideas make sure to use as much duct tape as possible, and please post pics it will make me smile. the fan alone would probably work fine though, depending on how much of a pussy you are
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Jun 16, 2015 14:31
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How long is your commute? I think that's the most important question. Consider working 6am - 3pm and dodging traffic regardless.
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Jun 16, 2015 14:44
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Back when I was in high school I had a lovely '91 Civic that eventually lost A/C capabilities. I seem to remember being able to get a quick fix for a few months with some sort of sealant that cost like $5 at an auto parts store. I think it was called "stop leak" or something. No idea if the problem I had was the same as yours, but maybe worth looking into?
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Jun 16, 2015 14:46
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Anyone donate a car recently? I'm doing a long distance move and want to get rid of my old car, but I don't want to go through the hassle of cleaning it and putting it up on craigslist. According to KBB, it's worth about $2000. As I understand it, you can't deduct the full market value for cars anymore in most instances, only what they auction it off for. However, this site says that you can deduct the full value because they sell it to low income individuals. Seems legit to me, but I'm not very experienced in this area.
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Jun 16, 2015 14:49
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ufsteph posted:Hey BFC - I have a car issue, and am trying to figure out the best way to go. Spend the $800. Consider the difference between trying to sell a 2003 Accent with 200k miles with AC and without in ATL. You're not going to get a ton of money for it regardless, but if it is in running condition with AC, someone will buy it. $800 is only 2-3 months of a car payment. You could also try to do it yourself. I'm not familiar with the Accent's engine bay, but watch a YouTube video of someone doing it before deciding to pay someone. Replacing discrete components like that is often easier than you'd expect. Grumpwagon fucked around with this message at 15:00 on Jun 16, 2015 |
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Jun 16, 2015 14:56
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Shop around, see if a repair place will put in a used parts that you can source cheaply from a junkyard. You might be able to get the job done for under $500, which would be well worth it as we're going through a nasty heat wave right now.
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Jun 16, 2015 15:30
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Grumpwagon posted:Spend the $800. Consider the difference between trying to sell a 2003 Accent with 200k miles with AC and without in ATL. You're not going to get a ton of money for it regardless, but if it is in running condition with AC, someone will buy it. $800 is only 2-3 months of a car payment. I'm not super concerned with the sale price, I have definitely gotten my money's worth after buying it for $2000. If I was leaving tomorrow I would donate it or give it to someone who needed a vehicle with no hesitation. I would be ok with spending the $$ to fix the ac if I knew there wouldn't be any other major problems - but no one can guarantee this on a car with so many miles. Fixing it myself is a no-go. I don't have any kind of tools and don't know anyone here who does. I think replacing a whole a/c system (compressor/condenser) is a fairly major job that is best left to someone who knows what they are doing. Also, I believe the fluids involve in a/c systems are not available to just anyone. I think I will take it to another shop for a quote and also a general inspection. The first quote was from Firestone which is fine for minor stuff like oil changes but seems to be on the higher end for repair work. I really hate that its so hard to find someone trustworthy to work on your car. Grr.
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Jun 16, 2015 15:47
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ufsteph posted:Hey BFC - I have a car issue, and am trying to figure out the best way to go. 1. Cut off the roof and make a convertible. 2.  3. Use junkyard parts and pay a friend a case of beer to fix it
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Jun 16, 2015 16:02
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DNK posted:How long is your commute? I think that's the most important question. Commute isn't too bad (20-30 min), I go mainly against traffic. If the car is moving it is fine. Getting around town here is the worst part - the city planning is ridiculous, lights aren't timed and people turning left back everyone else up on small streets.
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Jun 16, 2015 16:08
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Best to avoid garage chains like Firestone and the like in my experience. Try to find a smaller shop. Ask around for recs. Hell, I bet someone in Automotive Insanity can give you a name or two.
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Jun 16, 2015 16:38
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Do you have any mechanical inclination? I literally just finishing replacing my AC components (all but the lines and the evaporator itself) and it cost me ~$250 in parts from RockAuto. It's important that you flush the lines out with solvent (use acetone or AC flush solution) if your compressor spewed black death up in there, but all in all it wasn't a ridiculously difficult job on my 1999 Honda Accord. Obviously, your Hyundai might be different than mine. You're probably best off taking it to a shop because they will warranty the work and they will know what they're doing.
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Jun 16, 2015 17:51
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Ask local people on facebook or whatever if they have a preferred local shop. Word of mouth is the best way to find good people. My mechanic isn't the cheapest by any means, but they do good, fast work and at this point I'm willing to pay extra to know it's done correctly.
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Jun 16, 2015 17:54
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Wickerman posted:Do you have any mechanical inclination? I literally just finishing replacing my AC components (all but the lines and the evaporator itself) and it cost me ~$250 in parts from RockAuto. It's important that you flush the lines out with solvent (use acetone or AC flush solution) if your compressor spewed black death up in there, but all in all it wasn't a ridiculously difficult job on my 1999 Honda Accord. None whatsoever. I live in a high-rise apt where working on my car in building's garage would not be appreciated and I don't have any tools or equipment anyway. It's not that I can't afford the work, I'm just questioning if putting money into the stupid car is worth it. Right now it looks like the lessor of two evils. quote:Ask local people on facebook or whatever if they have a preferred local shop. Word of mouth is the best way to find good people. My mechanic isn't the cheapest by any means, but they do good, fast work and at this point I'm willing to pay extra to know it's done correctly. Unfortunately I haven't lived here very long and no one at work seems to know anyone - which is why I went to Firestone in the first place. I know they aren't the cheapest but I also know they guarantee their stuff and if they messed up I could get their corporate office to fix it.
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Jun 16, 2015 18:03
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http://www.cartalk.com/mechanics-files This is an invaluable resource for finding a reliable mechanic in your area.
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Jun 16, 2015 18:24
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Grand Theft Autobot posted:Since mortgage rates went bananas just in time for my refi, I decided to wait on it. I'm now contemplating selling the house for a hefty profit and renting until the market is less crazy. Nocheez posted:Shop around, see if a repair place will put in a used parts that you can source cheaply from a junkyard. You might be able to get the job done for under $500, which would be well worth it as we're going through a nasty heat wave right now. ufsteph posted:I'm not super concerned with the sale price, I have definitely gotten my money's worth after buying it for $2000. If I was leaving tomorrow I would donate it or give it to someone who needed a vehicle with no hesitation. Ronald McReagan posted:Back when I was in high school I had a lovely '91 Civic that eventually lost A/C capabilities. I seem to remember being able to get a quick fix for a few months with some sort of sealant that cost like $5 at an auto parts store. I think it was called "stop leak" or something. 
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Jun 16, 2015 18:26
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Nocheez posted:http://www.cartalk.com/mechanics-files Thanks. Looking at it though, it seems to be a lot of shops with one rating of 5 stars. Wish the search results showed how many ratings. quote:Also this. Or a craigslist mechanic or something. I charge $60/hr, when I have time to take on work from friends. (I'm also an expired certified ex-professional mechanic, and I pay taxes on my LLC earnings!) With CL, there is a chance that I might save a little bit of money. I think there is a bigger chance of scammy, unreliable work with no guarantee. I'm willing to pay a fair price for good work, its annoying that it is so hard to find a place I am confident in.
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Jun 16, 2015 18:43
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ufsteph posted:None whatsoever. I live in a high-rise apt where working on my car in building's garage would not be appreciated and I don't have any tools or equipment anyway. It's not that I can't afford the work, I'm just questioning if putting money into the stupid car is worth it. Right now it looks like the lessor of two evils. My car is worth about the same as yours and I did replace it. To me, it was worth not being miserable (since the summer is only just beginning.) Yeah, it's sad that you might be leaving/selling the thing soon, so suffer through this summer if you wanna save the cash but if it's not going to break the bank then I'd probably do it for the quality-of-life factor.
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Jun 16, 2015 19:00
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You could have a squirt bottle in the car with you. That can work pretty good to cool you off if you don't have AC.
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Jun 17, 2015 15:06
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In a twist, my A/C also stopped working this week. I drive a Miata so that means putting top-down in near 100 degree heat, wheee! As Rick said, keep a bottle of ice water in your car when you go anywhere. It makes things a lifesaver when you are stopped in traffic.
Nocheez fucked around with this message at 15:28 on Jun 17, 2015 |
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Jun 17, 2015 15:23
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ufsteph posted:Hey BFC - I have a car issue, and am trying to figure out the best way to go. http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3616944 Describe your issue more fully in that thread and us AI goons (black thumbs) Could help you out. For a car that old, has it ever had a recharge? R134a refrigerant leaks through the hoses on cars over time and if it's never been recharged, it will stop working. It's possible that's all you need, but if you aren't educated on how AC systems work, mechanics can break out the plunger handle on you. I would hazard a guess you need about $25 of r134a and borrow some manifold gages from autozone. But other goons like motronic could help you better than I 
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Jun 17, 2015 17:52
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BloodBag posted:http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3616944 Yes, I brought it in for a charge a month ago and it lasted less than 24 hrs. They used the dye and were not able to see a leak, which they said means it is either the compressor or condenser. Had another place take a look this morning and they said it was most likely the compressor. $1000. New car shopping time.
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Jun 17, 2015 19:15
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ufsteph posted:I'm not super concerned with the sale price, I have definitely gotten my money's worth after buying it for $2000. If I was leaving tomorrow I would donate it or give it to someone who needed a vehicle with no hesitation. In the Atlanta area, you can get a used compressor and condenser for about $100 total. Then you just have to find a friend that can install them, and pay a little to recharge the system.
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Jun 17, 2015 19:58
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DJCobol posted:In the Atlanta area, you can get a used compressor and condenser for about $100 total. Then you just have to find a friend that can install them, and pay a little to recharge the system. If anyone here would like to volunteer to help, that would be cool. I moved here 6 months ago and don't really have anyone that can do that for me.
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Jun 17, 2015 20:15
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I started a "vent about my spouse" post in the 2015 financial update thread and decided it would fit better here On the whole I think we're doing ok adjusting to 2 kids in daycare now, but we just don't seem to be doing anything but tread water. I have to keep in mind daycare is now ~20% of our takehome pay, which is as much as our mortgage. Our health insurance is also changing (for the worse) so my checks will be going down slightly and our exposure will be greatly increased, which adds to my general financial anxiety. I think starting to use YNAB this year was a godsend because I honestly thing we'd be up poo poo creek if we didn't take a more active role in planning. e/n: Let me first say that I'm not trying to blame it all on my wife because I have no problems ignoring YNAB category balances when it's things like booze or food for entertaining or "hey let's redo the landscaping in the front yard on a whim" to the tune of $1000. What is frustrating though, is that any YNAB category that she does the primary spending in (personal stuff for like haircuts/shampoo/conditioner/lotion, or anything with the kids - their needs or "entertainment") is always gone or in the red. Months ago she was saying about how we should get a double stroller to which I replied "let's save for it", well wouldn't you know she found a "great deal" on one this month, and we bought it, but didn't have the money set aside for it and had to pilfer it from another category. "But I needed a haircut and color" seems like something that should be predictable and planned for. We're currently over in "Kids Needs" because she bought our son new shoes though his haven't fallen apart yet (only a matter of time, to be fair). In April she decided she wants a cleaning lady for her b-day/mother's day so we're now paying someone to come and clean our house once a month, which lasts all of 2 days before it's a mess again. I don't mind cleaning at home, in fact I kind of enjoy it, but I can't do it all by myself and it's not a priority for her so it's not sustainable. Like I said, my wife is great. She puts up with me and is (claims) to be fine with whatever budget stuff I propose, but I think I need to do a better job of including her and reminding her that we need to plan and agree to that plan and carry out that plan. Part of me says I should just loosen up a little bit, we're not living hand to mouth. We have no consumer debt, just a mortgage and it's a 15 year. We have a brand new car that is paid for. We have almost $30k liquid in the bank for our everyday spending/expenses/emergencies so we're not living paycheck to paycheck, I think we just need to re-adjust our financial expectations and spending now that we have another kid. The "extra" ~$700/mo of a new kid has taken away most of our comfortable "do whatever" budgeting buffer we had been enjoying in the past.
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Jun 19, 2015 15:50
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Maybe adjust the numbers in your budget to reflect those overages?
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Jun 19, 2015 15:57
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No Butt Stuff posted:Maybe adjust the numbers in your budget to reflect those overages? Do you mean after the fact or "plan better the next month"? I'll assume you don't mean after the fact because would be silly, just a shell game to "see, we stayed in budget". I think we budget correctly, which is "Hey what upcoming purchases are we likely to make this month (or are saving towards) in this category, let's budget that". The problem is we're not planning well enough, I guess. I think my wife forgets that she wants XYZ and we were trying to carry/build a balance in that category for that purchase, and then sees it as free money to spend. Case in point, my wife likes these zippy zip things for our daughter, which are like a sleeping sack/swaddle thing. She wants to by more since little female dreesemonkey is growing, but they're fairly expensive and not an impulse buy. I said our daughter can pay for one out of her blow money and we'll add the cost of the other one (they are ~$35 each) to the kids needs category for next month. Well, I just logged in to my bank to do my daily YNAB reconcile and she just bought shoes for our daughter, who is 7 months and doesn't need shoes, halving the amount she had in her blow category and now doesn't have enough to cover the cost of her zippy zip thing  I'm willing to admit I'm probably being a fair bit overbearing about all this, but this happens a lot.
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Jun 19, 2015 16:20
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dreesemonkey posted:Do you mean after the fact or "plan better the next month"? Presumably you have been with your wife for more than a month, and could look back upon months or years of expenses, and update your budgets to actually reflect it, increasing categories that consistently go over budget.
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Jun 19, 2015 16:47
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dreesemonkey, we had a similar situation with different category biases. I'm more likely to propose spontaneous dates, so I push our family fun into the red, she's more likely to spend on outings and personal fun stuff so her stuff is in the red. It like, magically corrected itself when we traded roles for a few months and she handled all the budgeting and planning for a few months. Maybe try that?
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Jun 19, 2015 17:12
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How do you guys handle the never-ending stream of "one time" expenses? My wife and I do great on the general budgeting, eating out, groceries / shopping / whatevers. What inevitably murders us, or has for the last two years, is travel associated with one-time events like weddings, baptisms, funerals, etc. It's only June and we've attended six weddings out of state already, with three more later this year and several more we know are coming next year but haven't RSVP'd for yet. It seriously adds up in a hurry. We can afford these things (and everyone in our family/social circle knows it, unfortunately), but it's still not Good With Money(tm) to attend them all. Do I just have to start telling people no?
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Jun 19, 2015 17:28
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dreesemonkey posted:Case in point, my wife likes these zippy zip things for our daughter, which are like a sleeping sack/swaddle thing. She wants to by more since little female dreesemonkey is growing, but they're fairly expensive and not an impulse buy. I said our daughter can pay for one out of her blow money and we'll add the cost of the other one (they are ~$35 each) to the kids needs category for next month. Well, I just logged in to my bank to do my daily YNAB reconcile and she just bought shoes for our daughter, who is 7 months and doesn't need shoes, halving the amount she had in her blow category and now doesn't have enough to cover the cost of her zippy zip thing Join a local parenting sales/exchange group. I just unloaded a lot of old zippy zip things for not much.
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Jun 19, 2015 17:36
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Sundae posted:How do you guys handle the never-ending stream of "one time" expenses? My wife and I do great on the general budgeting, eating out, groceries / shopping / whatevers. What inevitably murders us, or has for the last two years, is travel associated with one-time events like weddings, baptisms, funerals, etc. It's only June and we've attended six weddings out of state already, with three more later this year and several more we know are coming next year but haven't RSVP'd for yet. It seriously adds up in a hurry. We have a "misc" category that covers those little things like smaller one-time expenses which is a couple hundred a month. The travel thing is just our budgeted amount, and if you've got lot of wedding invites you might have to decline and just send a check as a gift instead. I live out of state, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to limit myself to one wedding a year. It's getting ridiculous with the number of cousins and family friends.
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Jun 19, 2015 17:52
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Sundae posted:We can afford these things (and everyone in our family/social circle knows it, unfortunately), but it's still not Good With Money(tm) to attend them all. Do I just have to start telling people no? I bit the bullet and started doing this two years ago. I'm 31, and it's been prime time for my friends to get married. I live in CA but grew up in NY, so pretty much every wedding is $1.5-2k for us. Two plane tickets, putting two dogs up at a kennel, etc. It adds up quick. My wife and I have started to say no to some of the weddings. "I'm sorry, but we're saving for when our adoption goes through and can't afford the flight" is an easy out. Also, we've decided that's it's okay for only one of us to go to a wedding sometimes. My wife had a wedding for a high school friend I barely knew, so she flew out for it and I stayed home with the dogs. Inverse Icarus fucked around with this message at 17:56 on Jun 19, 2015 |
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Jun 19, 2015 17:54
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