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My girlfriend's manager must have sucker written on his forehead: A couple of months ago he came back after lunch with a bunch of new suits. He said that on his way back from lunch he ran into a nice gentleman who had to leave town but couldn't take his expensive suits with him so he sold them off at a bargain price (I believe it was $500 or $600?)... they were of course cheap knockoff leather items. After-lunch googling revealed the sad truth: http://scam-detector.com/face-to-face-scams/italian-fashion-man He then admitted that several years back him & his ex-wife had invested 10k into a vending machine scam (http://wellness.hubpages.com/hub/Vending-Machine-Scams). Today at lunch he gave my girlfriend a package on behalf of his current girlfriend - and it was a a package with skin care sample products and an invitation to a hosted party for Arbonne (a MLM where you try to recruit more people - http://arbonne.pissedconsumer.com/how-a-car-presentation-opened-my-eyes-to-the-scam-20130716429916.html) I am certain he makes over 100k a year as well, how can people be such dummies?
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Sep 4, 2015 06:50
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One time my dad was the only one at the house and the doorbell rang and there was a kid (13-14 years old maybe) standing there and my dad asked "How can I help you" and the kid said that he was selling office supplies for a school fund raiser and my dad likes to help out with these kind of things so he said "Sure, I'll buy something, what do you have" and the kid open his backpack and there was like a couple rolls of tape in there and a stapler and a hole puncher and my dad said "I'll take the hole puncher" and it was like $12 and the kid only took cash and he didn't have a form to fill out or anything so my dad just gave the kid $12 and thanked him for the hole puncher and when my mom got home she saw the hole puncher and asked about the hole puncher and my dad told her how he acquired the hole puncher and my mom said "Michael I love you but you're an idiot sometimes." Well that's my story about how some people get scammed, thanks for reading.
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Sep 4, 2015 13:49
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Not a Children posted:Nobody ever went broke taking profits. You did what you had to in order to survive, and came out ahead of what you invested. I'd call that a win. Just contrasting my experiences with someone who, as of last check, has lost $20 in real money (and maybe $500 in paper profits). If you're buying individual shares you will almost never have a perfect trade that gets you out at the peak. We sold some of my wife's stock options this year and the price immediately dropped 10%. I was all like, whoo-hoo-stock-market-wizard. The price then jumped 30% over the last six months. Now it's down below where it was when we sold. You're right in there's no correct profit. It's all profit. Unless it isn't. Then it's a tax deduction.
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Sep 4, 2015 14:16
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Pieces posted:I am certain he makes over 100k a year as well, how can people be such dummies? Krispy Kareem posted:Just contrasting my experiences with someone who, as of last check, has lost $20 in real money (and maybe $500 in paper profits). If you're buying individual shares you will almost never have a perfect trade that gets you out at the peak. We sold some of my wife's stock options this year and the price immediately dropped 10%. I was all like, whoo-hoo-stock-market-wizard. The price then jumped 30% over the last six months. Now it's down below where it was when we sold. Anyone who tells you to "time" the market has never managed their own investments before. Because unless you've got a crystal ball you sure as heck can't "time" something that you're unable to predict. And whenever that chump at the office brags about how much money he made on his last trade, remember one thing- a gambler will only tell you what he's won, never what he has lost. melon cat fucked around with this message at 16:16 on Sep 4, 2015 |
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Sep 4, 2015 16:05
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melon cat posted:And whenever that chump at the office brags about how much money he made on his last trade, remember one thing- a gambler will only tell you what he's won, never what he has lost. Hey, I worked with "that guy" too. The guy was a late-50's retail clerk, working full time lousy retail hours surrounded by college students. I find it hard to believe that anyone would work that kind of job unless they actually needed the money.
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Sep 4, 2015 17:15
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canyoneer posted:Hey, I worked with "that guy" too. The guy was a late-50's retail clerk, working full time lousy retail hours surrounded by college students. Our "That Guy" was in his late 30s with a double History and Poli Sci degree, and loved talking about his boutique bank. He was trained alongside 19 year old me to move the Costco shopping carts, and evaded every safety feature on the cardboard baler to almost lose a finger. He got canned for yelling at a customer.
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Sep 4, 2015 17:31
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melon cat posted:It isn't just dumb people who get caught up in obvious scams- greedy people are also susceptible. Several years back a number of lawyers lost a lot of money in a penny stock scam. They basically received a call from someone they never knew who worked for an organization they never heard of, and bought a bunch of stocks that were essentially worthless (the scammer immediately sold them off when the lawyers pumped up the price). People love looking back and saying "I should have bought at [exact bottom price], it went up to [exact top price]"... I thought that catching 60% of the movement (in either direction depending on if you're long or short) was supposed to be a 'good' metric. Same thing happens with (bad / fishy) poker players as well - they love to tell bad beat stories or about their winning sessions but not the big picture. Leaving emotions out of investing is just the hardest thing for people to do.
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Sep 4, 2015 17:46
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Yep, the bad poker players I know talk about that big win they had. The good ones talk about how they bumped their hourly earnings up in the last month after taxes and gas expenses.
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Sep 4, 2015 19:25
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pig slut lisa posted:One time my dad was the only one at the house and the doorbell rang and there was a kid (13-14 years old maybe) standing there and my dad asked "How can I help you" and the kid said that he was selling office supplies for a school fund raiser and my dad likes to help out with these kind of things so he said "Sure, I'll buy something, what do you have" and the kid open his backpack and there was like a couple rolls of tape in there and a stapler and a hole puncher and my dad said "I'll take the hole puncher" and it was like $12 and the kid only took cash and he didn't have a form to fill out or anything so my dad just gave the kid $12 and thanked him for the hole puncher and when my mom got home she saw the hole puncher and asked about the hole puncher and my dad told her how he acquired the hole puncher and my mom said "Michael I love you but you're an idiot sometimes." Well that's my story about how some people get scammed, thanks for reading. Ages ago, my grandma had an even more audacious kid try to scam her. She was way upstairs ironing while watching I Love Lucy, and caught a glimpse of one of the neighborhood kids climbing her apple trees and picking apples. She was like, "wtf is Johnny doing sneaking around and picking my apples??" She didn't want to miss the show, so she didn't confront him (I think her plan was to call his mother later). Then not long after, the doorbell rings. It's Johnny, and he's selling apples for a school fundraiser. My grandma smiles and nods as she listens to his spiel, then rips the bags of apples out of his hands, says "Thanks for picking my apples for me, Johnny!" and then slams the door in his face. Bad with scamming: Trying to sell people their own stuff that you stole from their yard.
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Sep 4, 2015 20:02
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Speaking of scams anyone else getting an uptick in police benevolence telemarketing calls? I've seen an overall decrease in telemarketers because we switched to Ooma and use their community block lists - but all of these calls come from local numbers. "Sorry, I don't donate over the phone." "I can send you a packet" <just hangs up anyway>
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Sep 4, 2015 20:47
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Yeah, donating money earns you massive phone/postal/email solicitation volume. Even asking for charitable organization registration number doesn't filter enough of them out.
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Sep 4, 2015 20:58
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Subjunctive posted:Yeah, donating money earns you massive phone/postal/email solicitation volume. Even asking for charitable organization registration number doesn't filter enough of them out. Ain't that the truth. I'm a member of the local art museum and I get tons of mail from every other museum around. Drives me nuts.
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Sep 4, 2015 21:01
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Uh, that's why you donate anonymously through a third-party who handles the payments.
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Sep 5, 2015 06:27
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Yeah I'm not getting some sort of third party involved for my $90/year museum membership. I'm not even sure how I'd receive the benefits if it was anonymous.
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Sep 5, 2015 06:55
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Barry posted:Yeah I'm not getting some sort of third party involved for my $90/year museum membership. I'm not even sure how I'd receive the benefits if it was anonymous. It's not that hard. You pay via PayPal or equivalent and the only thing the museum knows (and needs to know, to give you the benefits) is your name.
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Sep 5, 2015 07:04
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They don't accept Paypal. I also didn't really expect them to sell my info to everyone else in town.
Barry fucked around with this message at 07:19 on Sep 5, 2015 |
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Sep 5, 2015 07:15
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enraged_camel posted:Uh, that's why you donate anonymously through a third-party who handles the payments. Given the amounts in question, I tend to want a tax receipt.
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Sep 5, 2015 11:30
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After I donated to a friend's leukemia bike race I started getting solicitation envelopes with address labels and a guilt nickel inside. I've made at least 25 cents since that donation, not including all of the money I've saved on return address labels.
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Sep 5, 2015 11:38
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Subjunctive posted:Given the amounts in question, I tend to want a tax receipt. If you're donating so much that you want a receipt, you can make them sign a paper that says they won't sell your info. Most charities are desperate for donations and they will be happy to comply. I'm speaking from experience here. This may sound like too much work but it's in your best interest to keep your name off of any "People Who Have Money" list.
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Sep 5, 2015 14:44
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enraged_camel posted:If you're donating so much that you want a receipt, you can make them sign a paper that says they won't sell your info. Most charities are desperate for donations and they will be happy to comply. I'm speaking from experience here. Yeah, I guess I'll try to remember to do that.
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Sep 5, 2015 15:13
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oopsie rock posted:After I donated to a friend's leukemia bike race I started getting solicitation envelopes with address labels and a guilt nickel inside. I've made at least 25 cents since that donation, not including all of the money I've saved on return address labels. Charities are often bad with money. I've donated to some who then probably spent twice as much as I originally gave in order to try and get me to give them more. Hey, gently caress you, I saw how you spent the last money I gave you, you're not getting poo poo.
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Sep 5, 2015 16:01
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There aren't many charities I can ethically recommend other than Doctors Without Borders.
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Sep 5, 2015 17:41
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Any of the top charities from GiveWell are also good.
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Sep 5, 2015 17:48
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Watsi is great.
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Sep 5, 2015 18:08
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I mostly give to local food banks and women's shelters.
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Sep 5, 2015 19:19
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I subscribed to the Economist in the late 90s, and in addition to the flood of charity solicitations that instantly flooded in, I got an actual Nigerian Prince scam letter in the mail, on letterhead.
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Sep 6, 2015 00:01
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Aliquid posted:There aren't many charities I can ethically recommend other than Doctors Without Borders. I gave MSF $20 during the ebola outbreak last year, and they've sent me poo poo every 2 or 3 weeks like clockwork since.
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Sep 6, 2015 05:17
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I donated a bit of spare change during the Japanese Tsunami and haven't heard a peep since apart from a letter about a week afterwards thanking me for donating. Don't know what the difference is there; I was thinking maybe I'm too poor to solicit but there's clearly no such thing.
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Sep 6, 2015 05:57
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uninverted posted:Any of the top charities from GiveWell are also good. Yeah this is the real answer - really them or any other (good) charity evaluator's results are way way better than picking one that sounds nice or has a good sales pitch.
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Sep 6, 2015 08:16
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Phone posted:I gave MSF $20 during the ebola outbreak last year, and they've sent me poo poo every 2 or 3 weeks like clockwork since. I try to donate only biggish sums very occasionally because little amounts get pissed away on envelopes.
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Sep 6, 2015 13:29
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After college I did a dual degree program, earning my JD and a Master of Urban Planning degree. When I was part way through I met Mary, who was beginning the same program. Mary eventually dropped out of one program, then the other (I think she was a semester away from getting the law degree). This was a few years ago now. Every so often she'll post something on facebook about how she's making another grand change in her life. What is it this time, Mary?Mary's GoFundMe page posted:As the saying goes, life happens while you’re busy making other plans. I’ve always been one for planning, but after all my years of dreaming and scheming, at the age of 31 I have nothing to show for any of it but doubt, debt, and disappointment. She's asking for $10,000 
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Sep 6, 2015 17:07
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pig slut lisa posted:After college I did a dual degree program, earning my JD and a Master of Urban Planning degree. When I was part way through I met Mary, who was beginning the same program. Mary eventually dropped out of one program, then the other (I think she was a semester away from getting the law degree). This was a few years ago now. Every so often she'll post something on facebook about how she's making another grand change in her life. What is it this time, Mary?
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Sep 6, 2015 17:45
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The German university system might be free, buy it's not well set up to serve the needs of a lazy American who just 'kept letting things happen and kept taking the path of least resistance.' My guess is she hasn't even glanced at what it takes to get into a physics program there. Research and knowledge = resistance.
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Sep 6, 2015 18:06
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Argh, someone I volunteer with who spent tons of money on a Maleficent dragon statue and something else more recently (I can't remember what, but gave no response when I asked "Oh, how is the repayment on the loans for your new Masters degree going?")... and now she's posted something on her Facebook about having joined Jamberry. One of those cosmetics MLM-like bullshit things where she gushes about the designs on her fingernails. And she's going to hold a Tupperware party-style thing at her place so people can buy in from her. Well thank god I'm a guy and won't be getting any direct harassment, or from my high school friend doing Mary Kay. I haven't seen any posts from her about MK in a while; maybe she finally figured out it wouldn't net her any money.
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Sep 6, 2015 19:50
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The worst part about becoming a single mom is having to sell jamberry.
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Sep 6, 2015 20:33
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Hot Dog Day #91 posted:The worst part about becoming a single mom is having to sell jamberry.
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Sep 7, 2015 00:22
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Hot Dog Day #91 posted:The worst part about becoming a single mom is having to sell jamberry. MLMs are Bad With Money.
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Sep 7, 2015 00:44
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Hot Dog Day #91 posted:The worst part about 
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Sep 7, 2015 01:19
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The UK is pretty sweet when it comes to housing affordability. Although if you're in a low paid job you only have to save for 100-234 years before you can buy your first house (maybe renting is a better plan). http://metro.co.uk/2015/09/06/if-you-have-one-of-these-10-jobs-it-will-take-more-than-100-years-to-save-to-buy-a-house-5377705/
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Sep 7, 2015 04:07
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Devian666 posted:The UK is pretty sweet when it comes to housing affordability. Although if you're in a low paid job you only have to save for 100-234 years before you can buy your first house (maybe renting is a better plan). Not sure about some of those figures, but generally the picture is accurate.  I think this one is pretty enlightening - interactive, using your income see which areas require more (or less) deposit. http://www.theguardian.com/society/ng-interactive/2015/sep/02/unaffordable-country-where-can-you-afford-to-buy-a-house Then again, the UK (Like Canada, NZ and Aus IIRC) is possibly in a house pricing bubble so this could all be 'corrected'...
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Sep 7, 2015 07:58
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