Bad With Money 2018: When I die, bury me in the blockchain.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Bad With Money 2018: When I die, bury me in the blockchain.

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ma i married a tuna: Apr 24, 2005; Numbers add up to nothing; Pillbug

GoGoGadgetChris posted:

Favorite part:

"I�ve done the math and in order for me to make enough to live on my own, pay the current bills that I have, and set aside $500 a month to pay towards my debt (which at that rate would take a little over 7 years to pay off) I would need to make $22.12/hr for a 40/hr work week for the full 52 weeks of each year.

That currently seems insane to me."

Get a job paying $46,000 a year? Insane!!!

It kind of is, for an ex-con with (I'm assuming) no real marketable skills or education, whose ability to get to work and keep showing up without getting arrested is tenuous at best.

While that dude is definitely making some bad decisions, the story just makes me sad because it's essentially poverty trap.txt. It's someone without the wherewithal and resources to do much better in a system that'll keep grinding until there's nothing left.

# ? Sep 21, 2018 01:35

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# ? May 14, 2024 15:27

Droo: Jun 25, 2003

I was almost feeling kind of bad until I saw the bold part.

quote:

THORNTON, Colo. -- A woman with an aggressive form of multiple sclerosis is desperate to find her life savings, which was stored in her freezer, after she says she exchanged the freezer for a new one from Costco.

"I had it in the freezer because if the house burned down, the freezer stuff doesn't burn," Renee Reese said.

As bizarre as it may sound, she said it's no joke. Reese has been pressuring Costco since the beginning of June to help track down the actual cold, hard cash and anyone who may have come in contact with it.

She estimates she had stored in upwards of $35,000, in large denomination bills, in the freezer. She said they were in a Ziploc bag and wrapped in white paper towels, which blended in with the freezer door when Costco's subcontracted delivery workers arrived to exchange her old refrigerator and freezer for a new set.

"The financial strain has devastated me and because I'm so sick I don't have any way to recover it," Reese said.

Her multiple sclerosis has increasingly destroyed her mobility. That's why she wanted a new refrigerator and freezer combo, with dual French doors, so she could more easily access the contents inside.

"[If] you're pulling out a large item with a disability, the doors need to stay open," Reese said while explaining that she needed to make the exchange after the first new refrigerator and freezer combo she purchased had a design defect in the doors.

She said she used her freezer as a temporary, would-be bank for her small business deposits and savings to limit the number of trips she needed to take to her real bank.

"It was a safe place to put it in case there was a fire," Reese said. "Because I had no need to get in it for any reason other than to deposit it."

She said Costco's subcontracted delivery people arrived at her home for the exchange with little notice, after she hardly slept the night before while mourning a longtime friend. In the process of hurriedly clearing out the defective refrigerator and freezer combo, she overlooked the bag of money.

"I thought my daughter had grabbed it, she thought I had grabbed it, then when I went to look for it to put it back, it wasn't there," Reese said.

She filed a report with Thornton police after tearing apart her house in search of the money. She also opened a claim with Costco. She said the company tracked down the old unit but said the money was not inside.

Reese is concerned about the type of people hired by the subcontracted delivery companies and questions how thoroughly Costco and other retailers perform background checks of those people.

"Who's checking these people? What if they're rapists or pedophiles? I mean, nobody knows anything and you can't talk to them, at least through the experience I've had," she said.

A company spokesperson said the company is looking into the matter once more, but has not yet completed the work. The company has not yet responded to questions about its background check process.

"There's a thousand reasons why I couldn't get to the bank. I wasn't physically able to," Reese said in an effort to stave off critics.

The small delivery company that handled the refrigerator exchange at Reese's home said it also has not seen Reese's money.

# ? Sep 21, 2018 02:02

FrozenVent: May 1, 2009; The Boeing 737-200QC is the undisputed workhorse of the skies.

That money�s in a dump somewhere, or someone bought a second hand freezer and hit the jackpot.

# ? Sep 21, 2018 02:07

KYOON GRIFFEY JR: Apr 12, 2010; Runner-up, TRP Sack Race 2021/22

yeah shes racist

# ? Sep 21, 2018 02:07

Raldikuk: Apr 7, 2006; I'm bad with money and I want that meatball!

Droo posted:

She said she used her freezer as a temporary, would-be bank for her small business deposits and savings to limit the number of trips she needed to take to her real bank.

This is a bit interesting of an excuse. What small business does she run where storing $35k in cash in your freezer is just to help limit the number of trips to the bank? Does she only go every few years?

Also lol at the insistence that a refrigerator unit can't catch fire. It absolutely can, and no doubt she had some piece of poo poo made mostly out of plastic that /really/ can catch fire.

I also don't feel bad at all. If you store $35k in cash in your freezer, perhaps make sure your freezer is empty before they haul it away. Wtf is this "short notice" crap too; did she not know she ordered a new freezer?

# ? Sep 21, 2018 02:09

Omne: Jul 12, 2003; Orangedude Forever

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

They cut the sign-on bonus in half, ended a policy of refunding the annual fee if you cancelled, and limited your airline credit to once per card year instead of once per calendar year.

They effectively reduced the value of the sign up bonus by about $2,000 because it was so lucrative to get it and just cancel.

By this do you mean the $300 annual travel credit (which applies to anything travel related), or an airline-specific benefit? I don't see this as a huge change (and as a CSR user, didn't even realize it). It's still $300 in savings for a 12 month period

# ? Sep 21, 2018 02:27

Porfiriato: Jan 4, 2016

I'm pretty sure he means that in the past you could, say, sign up for the card in October, spend $300 on travel and get the credit, then when January rolled around spend $300 more and get the credit again. Now you wouldn't be eligible again until the next October.

Edit: In fact I'm pretty sure I did exactly that when I first got the card, kept it though because the specific benefits are ultimately GWM in my situation (because the hefty annual fee is largely offset by that credit)

# ? Sep 21, 2018 02:50

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; The first thing we do, let's kill all the cars.; Grimey Drawer

So wait... was it her life savings, or was it: "She said she used her freezer as a temporary, would-be bank for her small business deposits and savings to limit the number of trips she needed to take to her real bank?"

It sounds a lot like she's trying to bilk $35,000 out of Costco.

# ? Sep 21, 2018 03:27

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; The first thing we do, let's kill all the cars.; Grimey Drawer

Vox Nihili posted:

This is maybe 30% BWM and 70% BWL but it's crazy enough that I'm posting it anyway:

https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/9hakgy/the_house_i_live_in_is_a_biohazard_if_i_tell_my/?sort=top

I live in Delaware, USA. So, 2 years ago my family moved into a grand old Victorian house. We were specifically told it was bat free. As soon as we moved in, I started hearing a tremendous commotion in the walls and ceiling of the room I was sleeping in. My parents refused to believe me because they were told by the previous owners it was ‘supposed to be bat free’...

Can someone explain this to me? I'm just picturing them looking at buying the house, talking to the agent: "oh, yeah, nice, friendly neighborhood, and good schools. Also, totally and completely bat-free, zero bats to be had. And the water pressure is good, too."

Like... I feel like if someone selling me a house told me there definitely weren't any bats, I'd be 95% sure the place was infested with bats.

# ? Sep 21, 2018 03:30

Lowness 72: Jul 19, 2006; BUTTS LOL; Jade Ear Joe

I thought the money Chase "lost" was just a larger than expected accrual due to people ammassing points but not spending them as fast as forecasted?

# ? Sep 21, 2018 03:34

Motronic: Nov 6, 2009

FrozenVent posted:

That money�s in a dump somewhere, or someone bought a second hand freezer and hit the jackpot.

That money never existed. A 2+ inch stack of bills would not go unnoticed.

# ? Sep 21, 2018 03:44

tomapot: Apr 7, 2005; Suppose you're thinkin' about a plate o' shrimp. Suddenly someone'll say, like, plate, or shrimp, or plate o' shrimp out of the blue, no explanation. No point in lookin' for one, either. It's all part of a cosmic unconciousness.; Oven Wrangler

I think I figured it out...

Vox Nihili posted:

they were told by the previous owners it was ‘supposed to be bat free’.

and my mom refuses to let us try because she ‘likes them’.

She thought they were looking for a bat-free house but her mom was really looking for free bats.

# ? Sep 21, 2018 03:51

Hyrax Attack!: Jan 13, 2009; We demand to be taken seriously

More older Americans are "unretiring"

quote:

Many older Americans who have retired from their previous jobs are returning to the workforce, a process some are calling "unretiring."

The main reason for seniors choosing to return to work is unsurprising--money, according to a survey commissioned by senior care provider Home Instead that drew responses from more than than 1,000 "unretired" people, as well as those nearing retirement, in the U.S. and Canada. But the second-most common reason was fighting boredom, with 44 percent of respondents citing it as the reason they jumped back into employment.

Perhaps this isn�t a crisis. Maybe the elderly are laboring out of boredom?

quote:

In part, the trend reflects the widespread shortfall in Americans' retirement savings. A recent Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies report estimates that workers' median retirement savings is only $71,000, far short of what experts say is needed to retire comfortably. Only 30 percent report accumulating $250,000 or more. Meanwhile, the number of older Americans filing for bankruptcy has surged fivefold since 1991.

I�m a little surprised that $71k is the average, that seems high. Maybe taking home value into account?

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/more-older-americans-are-unretiring/?__twitter_impression=true

# ? Sep 21, 2018 04:58

Blinkman987: Jul 10, 2008; Gender roles guilt me into being fat.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is basically the yuppie (what do you call 28 - 40 yuppies now?) card of choice and it's probably incredibly difficult to break into that market, so good on Chase. They figured out that everyone in that demo either travels or dreams of it and perfectly positioned their card as the "traveler" card. Yeah some people gamed it and they probably could've avoided that, but they also had everyone talking about their credit card for a few months which is a tremendous achievement.

# ? Sep 21, 2018 06:11

Weatherman: Jul 30, 2003; WARBLEKLONK

Hyrax Attack! posted:

More older Americans are "unretiring"

Perhaps this isn�t a crisis. Maybe the elderly are laboring out of boredom?

What's the overlap between these olds and olds that complain "millennials :argh:

just don't want to work anymore. Who do you see working at McDonald's and supermarkets? All old people, no millennials! Are they too good for minimum wage work or something???!!!??1??"

# ? Sep 21, 2018 11:50

silence_kit: Jul 14, 2011; by the sex ghost

EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:

The "PR firm of the struggling teacher" is the National Education Association. I grew up as the child of a teacher, so I'm not excited to badmouth them, but annualized, $55,000 for 36 weeks of work equates to $1,527 a week, an annualized salary for an individual of $75K. I calculated and this woman's minimum retirement monthly annuity payment is going to be $3,000. She's in better financial shape than 80% of Americans.

Eh, extrapolating a 9 month salary to 12 months is a little unfair, since usually it is difficult to find well-paying part time work. Also, pay/benefits for teachers depends a lot by state. Some states it is not great to be a teacher.

Your point is well-taken though. Teachers like to compare their pay to other jobs and complain that it is low, but often leave out the benefits they get that few other jobs have. For example, my mother lives in low COL area in a blue state (a nice house in a safe neighborhood can be had for as low as 50k!) and knows one teacher there who started collecting a 70k pension in her 50�s after working part time for almost her entire career while she was raising her children. That�s an incredible benefit that few people in the private sector get.

# ? Sep 21, 2018 12:06

silvergoose: Mar 18, 2006; IT IS SAID THE TEARS OF THE BWEENIX CAN HEAL ALL WOUNDS

Blinkman987 posted:

The Chase Sapphire Reserve is basically the yuppie (what do you call 28 - 40 yuppies now?) card of choice and it's probably incredibly difficult to break into that market, so good on Chase. They figured out that everyone in that demo either travels or dreams of it and perfectly positioned their card as the "traveler" card. Yeah some people gamed it and they probably could've avoided that, but they also had everyone talking about their credit card for a few months which is a tremendous achievement.

We've been calling that group yipsters.

# ? Sep 21, 2018 12:18

CheesyDog: Jul 4, 2007; by FactsAreUseless

More stories about boomers who became teachers during the height of American power in wealthy blue states with well-funded schools please, want to share them with my SPED teacher friend who just recently got off food stamps

# ? Sep 21, 2018 12:18

KYOON GRIFFEY JR: Apr 12, 2010; Runner-up, TRP Sack Race 2021/22

a lot of those benefits have been reduced significantly, although you are correct in that generally teachers have received good retirement benefits and good healthcare. teachers coming in to the profession even a decade ago tend to have a vastly different benefit set than those entering now.

my dad retired after an education career and his pension terms were just like, unbelievably good - something like 2/3 of your three highest average years' pay, plus 0.67% additional for each year you worked over I think your 30th year of service.

the terms of the plan now are significantly worse. i forget what it is exactly but i think the expectation is that retiring teachers under the new plan will receive like 25-40% less.

# ? Sep 21, 2018 12:26

EAT FASTER!!!!!!: Sep 21, 2002; Legendary.

Yeah let me be 100% clear - the person I'm ridiculing is the 55 year old boomer who can't make ends meet despite her $1500 a week salary and the fully sick pension she's going to acquire at retirement.

I don't envy teachers starting out, who the NEA has sold into the caste of the working poor.

# ? Sep 21, 2018 12:46

Krispy Wafer: Jul 26, 2002; I shouted out "Free the exposed 67"
But they stood on my hair and told me I was fat; Grimey Drawer

Teaching was never a well paying job. Right out the gate a 21 year old teacher did pretty good compared to their peers, but you quickly get outpaced by other professions. The kicker was whether it fit your lifestyle (lots of vacation, working with kids, etc) and the benefits/retirement. But all those benefits have taken a hit since 2008 and the job is no longer recession proof, so it's just a pretty nasty gut punch all around.

But if you don't live in a garbage state it's still not bad. It's just not what it used to be. Teachers in garbage states run by garbage people have it real rough.

# ? Sep 21, 2018 13:05

CheesyDog: Jul 4, 2007; by FactsAreUseless

I live in a garbagey state and there's a teacher shortage in part because teachers are literally telling their student teachers to change majors or move away while they can

# ? Sep 21, 2018 13:09

KYOON GRIFFEY JR: Apr 12, 2010; Runner-up, TRP Sack Race 2021/22

most teachers aren't entering at 21 in part because of degree requirements

for a job that requires a master's, the financial compensation is a bit below average and is getting worse - and the other benefits have gotten a lot worse

# ? Sep 21, 2018 13:47

Krispy Wafer: Jul 26, 2002; I shouted out "Free the exposed 67"
But they stood on my hair and told me I was fat; Grimey Drawer

KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:

most teachers aren't entering at 21 in part because of degree requirements

for a job that requires a master's, the financial compensation is a bit below average and is getting worse - and the other benefits have gotten a lot worse

Around here it's just a bachelor's + 3 month unpaid student teaching internship and a certification exam. Some states require a Masters, but I'm not sure how well that's working out for them. Maybe those states pay more and there's more demand for those teaching jobs.

The moment there's a shortage, those kinds of requirements are the first to go. Like in 2011 you had to have a teaching certification to get a job substituting at $69 a day. Now they'll let pretty much anyone who passes the background check substitute because there's no longer an abundance of desperate unemployed educators.

# ? Sep 21, 2018 13:55

Zauper: Aug 21, 2008

Krispy Wafer posted:

Around here it's just a bachelor's + 3 month unpaid student teaching internship and a certification exam. Some states require a Masters, but I'm not sure how well that's working out for them. Maybe those states pay more and there's more demand for those teaching jobs.

My BIL got a masters in teaching because it was required in his state. He decided he didn't like teaching, so now he's back in school getting his 2nd and 3rd masters. Library science and I don't remember the third. He won't enter the workforce until he's 30+.

# ? Sep 21, 2018 13:57

Hyrax Attack!: Jan 13, 2009; We demand to be taken seriously

KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:

my dad retired after an education career and his pension terms were just like, unbelievably good - something like 2/3 of your three highest average years' pay, plus 0.67% additional for each year you worked over I think your 30th year of service.

There�s something insane like that regarding highest average years pay in Washington State, so sometimes employees nearing retirement start getting big raises to boost their pensions. They went too far with three fire managers and the state stepped in.

quote:

Former Lakewood fire officials Bob Bronoske and Mike McGovern will be asked to repay excess payments of $12,800 and $6,700, respectively, state retirement managers said. The $12,800 in extra payments that went to Greg Hull are billed to the city of DuPont, Pierce County. DuPont has been asked to cover more than $500,000 in his pension payments after the state determined he was improperly classified as a contractor when the city hired him out of retirement.

Along with that immediate collection of money, the state projects that the pension system will save more than $140,000 in future years from permanent reductions in each of their pension values.

Even with the reductions, Hull, Bronoske and McGovern will still have some of the most valuable pensions in the entire state � each of them more than $150,000 per year.

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/state-to-reduce-pensions-of-3-ex-firefighters/

# ? Sep 21, 2018 14:15

BEHOLD: MY CAPE: Jan 11, 2004

KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:

most teachers aren't entering at 21 in part because of degree requirements

for a job that requires a master's, the financial compensation is a bit below average and is getting worse - and the other benefits have gotten a lot worse

Also your profession is a huge political football and being actively undermined in all 50 states by charter/voucher school proponents, and promised benefits and job security are always at long-term risk due to budget cuts and pension shortfalls. In short, it's not hard at all to see why there is a big teacher shortage let alone in places where nobody wants to live in the first place.

# ? Sep 21, 2018 14:17

Jake Mustache: Feb 7, 2017

You know what also doesn't burn up in a house fire? The bank vault down the street.

# ? Sep 21, 2018 15:48

Inept: Jul 8, 2003

Yeah but when you try to claim that they stole your money they can just tell you to gently caress off and contact their legal department.

# ? Sep 21, 2018 16:00

KYOON GRIFFEY JR: Apr 12, 2010; Runner-up, TRP Sack Race 2021/22

odds of that money ever having existed:

0%

# ? Sep 21, 2018 16:04

BEHOLD: MY CAPE: Jan 11, 2004

The good news is that the odds of that money ever reappearing are also 0% so nothing gained, nothing lost.

# ? Sep 21, 2018 16:14

Ham Equity: Apr 16, 2013; The first thing we do, let's kill all the cars.; Grimey Drawer

Hyrax Attack! posted:

There�s something insane like that regarding highest average years pay in Washington State, so sometimes employees nearing retirement start getting big raises to boost their pensions. They went too far with three fire managers and the state stepped in.

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/state-to-reduce-pensions-of-3-ex-firefighters/

In fairness, this is the same city that decided to indemnify their three cops who shot an unarmed black father in the gut while he was begging them not hurt his child. So, you know, sort of BWM all around.

It's a shitholes' shithole.

# ? Sep 21, 2018 19:48

ma i married a tuna: Apr 24, 2005; Numbers add up to nothing; Pillbug

Droo posted:

I was almost feeling kind of bad until I saw the bold part.

That's amazing. It's clear that she thought "thieves" but then realized that if you leave a wad of cash in your trash, maybe "finders keepers" applies. I have to dock a few points for raising a weird concern about funding rapists and pedofiles. I'm guessing that might have something to do with the ethnicity of the workers, so at least she's firmly committing to maintaining specific hideous racial stereotypes.

# ? Sep 21, 2018 20:52

Sepherothic: Feb 8, 2003

From /r/bestoflegaladvice :

# ? Sep 21, 2018 21:46

Guinness: Sep 15, 2004

Sepherothic posted:

From /r/bestoflegaladvice :

# ? Sep 21, 2018 21:52

Cassius Belli: May 22, 2010; horny is prohibited

Sepherothic posted:

From /r/bestoflegaladvice :

Tangentially, YouTube recommended this to me this morning:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krBJxUpWz0I

I wonder if the tree owner owns the neighbor's house now.

# ? Sep 21, 2018 21:58

FAUXTON: Jun 2, 2005; spero che tu stia bene

KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:

odds of that money ever having existed:

0%

Yeah unless she's got some big ol' wide-rear end doors all over that the fridge can be sent through from start to finish, most of the time the doors have to come off the fridge to fit into/out of the house.

Though I wouldn't be surprised if she's got one of those open plan boonies houses that just throw the kitchen, living room, and dining room into one all-tile contiguous area. The paranoia with more than a whiff of racism sort of points toward living a half hour from civilization.

# ? Sep 21, 2018 22:37

Cacafuego: Jul 22, 2007

Sepherothic posted:

From /r/bestoflegaladvice :

My dad retired within the last few years and picked up hiking as a hobby. Since he was still bored, he volunteered for some Appalachian trail group to help clean up the trail. They asked him to speak to some of the residents whose property backed up to the state owned trail areas and ask them to keep from encroaching on it. Apparently they had slowly started to place sheds, fences, broken down cars, etc closer and closer, and then on this state owned land.

This wasn�t exactly what he had in mind when assisting the trail group, so he told them he was no longer interested, but when he was still actively helping out, a resident had cut down several trees on state owned land because he needed room for junk on his property and either hadn�t noticed, or hadn�t cared that he was cutting down trees that weren�t his. The state intervened and took the resident to court for the tree removal and received a judgement in excess of $40,000.

Tree law is serious business.

# ? Sep 21, 2018 22:50

Moneyball: Jul 11, 2005; It's a problem you think we need to explain ourselves.

Cripes, that's unbeleafable!

# ? Sep 21, 2018 22:52

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# ? May 14, 2024 15:27

Loan Dusty Road: Feb 27, 2007

Really went out on a limb not checking the property lines.

# ? Sep 21, 2018 23:06

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Bad With Money 2018: When I die, bury me in the blockchain.

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