Bad w/ Money: I just paid for a fat bitches Electric Cock Zapping Sex Toy in Kentucky

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melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

dreesemonkey posted:

Bad with money:

My boss and his wife make $150k/year (and this is in a low cost of living area) or more and they never have money. He has multiple loans against his 403b and probably a HELOC... In the last few years they've gone through about 5 brand new cars. One car they had for a month before they decided they hated it, and traded it back in. After that, the wife really liked my boss' new car, so she started driving that (she travels A LOT, probably 1000+ miles a month in work travel) and then they bought ANOTHER new car for him. Another car was totaled in there somewhere and they had to replace it.

The wife travels so much and gets ~$.50/mile compensation, but can't be bothered to submit her expense forms. So her hubby has to get on her case quarterly to get her to do them, which ends up being thousands of dollars that she just claims is "too much work".

I used to work as an account manager at the bank I'm currently employed at, and I was never been able to figure out the clients who had high incomes but terrible spending habits. I've seen people clearing $200K-$300K a year before bonuses, but their accounts were always overdrawn, their HELOC's were on the tipping point, and they had zero savings. And if you ever suggested setting aside part of their paycheque, even a small amount like 5-7% to start off, they scoff at you like you're the biggest dummy and say, "No, we're fine. We've got real estate. :smug:

" .... while completely ignoring the collapse of the real estate industry that happen just 5 years ago.

You can't bring your house to the grocery store, buddy. And after you've paid off your HELOC, credit cards, and that car loan for the nice Jag you financed, will you really have that much money left?

melon cat fucked around with this message at 05:17 on Aug 31, 2013

# ¿ Aug 31, 2013 05:13

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# ¿ May 16, 2024 02:15

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Zero One posted:

How about financial professionals who are bad with money? Or sometimes other people's money.

Heh, interesting that you mention that. In my line of (previous) work I found that financial "professionals", from Accountants, to advisors, to fellow account managers, actually had the worst personal finance habits. The worst part of it all is that many of them were giving people advice on how to handle their money.

I once overheard a colleague of mine do an application for a line of credit for a client. I'm quoting him verbatim here: "Now that we've set you up with this HELOC, I'd definitely recommend putting it into the stock market."
Then I heard another one say to a client, "I think the Facebook IPO will be a great buy", and he wasn't being sarcastic at all. :negative:

melon cat fucked around with this message at 23:27 on Aug 31, 2013

# ¿ Aug 31, 2013 22:47

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

canyoneer posted:

Uhm, I'm going to agree with the wife (for different reasons). Telling someone who has no idea what they're doing to buy individual stocks is the very definition of "bad investment advice".

I wouldn't say that he gave them "bad" investment advice (but it wasn't good, either). Any investment advice you receive from any non-professional advisor is always buyer-beware. Heck, his friends are also at fault for impulsively acting on an investment tip because their friend told them to. Back when I was an advisor, more people took investment advice from "a friend of mine" than they did from our company, and it always bit them in the rear end. I'm not saying that our advice was 100% fool-proof, but we were at least in a position to suggest investments that were in-line with the client's expressed risk tolerance, time horizon, etc.

quote:

Content: I was a retail slave a few years ago with a guy who was in his late 50's. He would always boast about how he is such a savvy investor, and he's making all kinds of money with his side business and his investment portfolio, blah blah blah.

I find that the people who constantly boast about how great their investment choices will only tell you about their gains. Never their losses. And believe me- they always have losses.

The stock market is a wild creature. This is why big-shot investment firms have all sorts of neat tools available to them which those hacks who pretend to be investment geniuses don't, ie. sophisticated forecasting software, market analysts who spend every hour of their working days scrutinizing securities' potential, leveraged trades, positions set to offset other positions that might be in the red, $millions in assets at their disposal, etc. And even then, these large investment firms experience losses in their portfolios (some lasting several quarters) very frequently. So whenever I hear some hack spewing out bad investment advice because "I just made $x dollars on my last trade! Trust me when I say that stock x is a good buy" my bullshit detector starts going off instantly.

Sorry to go off on a rant, there. I just hate those Jim Cramer-wannabes who strut around their workplaces pretending to be investment gurus.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 23:13 on Sep 14, 2013

# ¿ Sep 14, 2013 16:06

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Scaramouche posted:

I know this guy, really nice guy pretty well together, has a successful job. Since I've known him he has:
- Signed up for a Forex trader program, set up a website to sell the software for it, and has started bidding on the incredibly competitive cpc keywords for forex. Like $20 cost per click. He hasn't converted once and has lost a lot of money speculating on currency.
- Because of the above he decided to get some quick cash by setting his commercial truck (which he uses for aforementioned successful job) on fire to collect insurance on it. Insurance guys saw through this pretty transparently and he's currently negotiating a settlement that hopefully doesn't involve jail time.
- He makes over $100,000/yr and is currently borrowed $$$ up to the gills from everyone willing to lend to him

It's like watching a car crash in slow motion.

Oh God. Forex. Next to pyramid schemes, it seems to be the next big thing that's attracting a lot of suckers. I once heard some hack talking about it. He said, "Forex is so easy! Once you hold a position, the market can only go two ways- up, or down. If it goes down, you hold. If it goes up, you sell! It's simple!"

:suicide:

I'm 99% sure that he was trying to scam some people into paying for some sketchy Forex course.

Only 15% of Forex traders are profitable. And at the end of the day, Forex is day-trading. Even successful daytraders will tell you that about how difficult (and stressful) any sort of daytrading is. And as an individual Forex Trader, the odds aren't exactly stacked in your favour- you're competing against massive financial institutions that are trying to beat the markets, as well firms that use complicated automatic trading software that detect irregularities (and use said irregularities to turn a profit) and input trades faster than any human possibly could.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 01:23 on Sep 29, 2013

# ¿ Sep 29, 2013 01:14

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

DrAlexanderTobacco posted:

A friend of mine finally managed to pay off his credit card debts. He has just broken up with his GF and is moving across London, and is on ~�18k a year. His gaming PC dies, so instead of diagnosing what was wrong with the PC, he buys a new one outright, straight on the credit card. What's worse is that he doesn't have the money for a copy of Windows yet so is waiting until next month to buy that. So the PC's just going to be sitting there.

Why not just use a free OS like Ubuntu? :psyduck:

Higgy posted:

I have never felt so guilty for asking for all that dumb crap as a kid. If I knew then what I knew now I would have been happy with socks for birthday and Christmas.

Oh come on... you shouldn't feel guilty about a thing like that. Just like you, I came to the same realization that my folks weren't that great with managing their finances (my mom buys a lot of useless widgets, and my dad buys a lot of big-ticket electronics, a new car every few years, etc). But those purchase decision that they made while you grew up were their decisions, and as grown-ups they should know their limit. Part of being a great parent is knowing when to say "No" to your kids.

tuyop posted:

He probably wants to play video games.

Steam's really pulling through for Linux capability, these days. And heck, he can add Ubuntu just to have a functioning PC and when he has enough money to buy a Windows OS he can ditch Ubuntu, or have a Ubuntu/Windows dual bootable PC. Either way, the guy sounds pretty foolish. I just don't see the point in buying a gaming PC that you won't be able to turn on, instead of saving money and waiting until you can get all the components you need at a better price.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 18:16 on Sep 29, 2013

# ¿ Sep 29, 2013 18:06

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

DrAlexanderTobacco posted:

He's just a bit of a silly person.

Just saw this on Reddit:

I feel like this little spiel of his precedes an Amway sales pitch. Either that, or he's about to tell me about a timeshare.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 19:19 on Sep 29, 2013

# ¿ Sep 29, 2013 19:12

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

FrozenVent posted:

The air industry is a huge heartbreaker for a lot of people.

... and on top of that, it's really expensive. And a lot of financial institutions here in Canada (including most provincial student loan bodies) won't issue student loans for pilot training, which forces a lot of students to take out regular loans/credit lines that have higher interest rates than student loans and less favourable repayment terms.

# ¿ Oct 2, 2013 17:03

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

NancyPants posted:

Don't be obtuse. The argument being made is that living like a penny pinching miser is just as unhealthy and pathological about money as it is to spend every dime you get your hands on. [snip] It's like driving 20 minutes out of your way to save 3 cents on gas. Things other than money have value.

That last part is such a great way of putting it. There are so many rear end-backward things that I've seen people do under the guise of "savings money". And holy hell- they're stubborn. Nothing you can say will convince them otherwise. In my previous role as a financial advisor I've seen:

Clients who keep $200K+ in cash savings in a zero-interest chequing account, or literally under their mattress. Reasons cited: "The government's gonna tax my gains and in the end I'll have nothing!" So instead of finding a half-decent investment and get even basic returns on it, they let inflation eat away at it year over year because they think a 100% tax on gains will kick in.
Less-affluent clients who set up multiple accounts with multiple financial institutions because, "What if my main bank goes bankrupt??". These people are willing to pay multiple multiple account fees on multiple accounts, despite the fact that their money is CDIC/FDIC-insured and 100% safe in case of the bank's insolvency. And it also complicates their banking because they end up writing the wrong checks to incorrect accounts, they mix up which transaction's coming out of where, etc.
Clients who keep their only credit card in a safety deposit box because, "Credit cards are dangerous!". Some people purchase SDBs just to keep a single credit card in there. So, not only are they not building their credit by simply paying off their balances, but they're paying an annual fee for this box they're using for a silly reason, and if they run into an "emergency" and the local bank branch is closed they're screwed. And most credit cards go dormant if they're not used for 12 months.

I could go on and on, but you get the idea. There are healthy savings habits, then there are unhealthy and destructive "savings" habits.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 17:18 on Oct 12, 2013

# ¿ Oct 12, 2013 17:14

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Jeffrey posted:

If you insist on keeping a lot of cash in bank accounts(which I agree is dumb), then it probably is best to keep it in multiple bank accounts. (I'm assuming you have more than the FDIC limit.)

Nah, the clients I knew that kept multiple accounts and multiple banks weren't affluent at all. Just regular retail banking-level clients. I can definitely see why affluent clients would want to do this given the FDIC limits and all, but it makes zero sense if you don't fit this category.

I guess there's just some people who want to look like a hot shot who's got a wallet full of debit cards.

# ¿ Oct 12, 2013 18:35

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Poison Cake posted:

I used to work with someone who kept opening passbook savings accounts. One after the other. Why? I don't know, except I think he really couldn't keep track of different funds unless they were in different bank accounts.

I had several clients who insisted on doing this exact same thing. They told me that they did it because they think it minimizes income taxation. Despite my insistence that it makes no difference, they would just roll their eyes and keep at it.

I'm also pretty sure that they got their tax advice from Joe at the watercooler.

# ¿ Oct 12, 2013 20:18

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

The local news just posted this story. I'm only sharing it because it's a really good portrayal of what I feel is the typical Canadian. "She makes $71,000 a year, but lives paycheque to paycheque.". Some snippets:

quote:

Emily, 28, lives in Toronto and has a good job with the provincial government in the health care field. She earns $71,000 a year, has a full benefits package and her defined benefit pension plan with matching money from her employee is giving her a good head start on retirement.
...
She has debts of $34,000, most of which are student loans and money borrowed to buy a car. She also has a high credit card balance.

I've never understood people like her. They have strong incomes (with full benefits and a sweet pension plan with defined benefits) but are still up to their eyeballs in debt. I've seen people in better shape with half of her income. I've seen similar things with oil rig workers at Fort Mac- they pull in $2500 biweekly paycheques, and their accounts are still overdrawn.

Where the gently caress is their money going. :psyduck:

And this is pretty common in Canada. Our household debt is higher than the U.S.'s national average.

drat Bananas posted:

- dropping out of 3 different schools: Cosmetology ("halfway through it I discovered it wasnt what I was expecting"), wedding planning ("after learning what would all be involved i dropped out"), and medical assistant ("after graduation my school lost its accreditation")

One thing I've noticed is that the grown women who can't hold a regular job go through the same employment cycle. They barely finish high school (if at all), then go to an advertised-on-television college for Cosmetology, then drop out. Then pursue Wedding Planning (I guess they watched a lot of TLC?), then quit halfway. Then pursue practical nursing, then drop out. It's always these same 3 fields. And after going through the gauntlet the bounce around from P/T job to P/T job, while their insane spending habits don't change.

Do they all talk to each other and suggest the same career routes, or something? It's really bizarre.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 13:54 on Oct 17, 2013

# ¿ Oct 17, 2013 13:39

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

HooKars posted:

In the US, $34,000 worth of debt that includes student loans wouldn't be considered that outlandish.

Honestly, this girl doesn't sound like she's doing anything that crazy - she made a mistake in buying an expensive car (a used $17000 car so really not that expensive either) and now it doesn't make much sense to break that agreement and she needs a car of some sort.

In Canada tuition fees are (usually) much lower than U.S. tuition. And if you're taking out a student loan and qualify for the government plan the interest rate is very low. And even if you take out a private loan with a bank their interest rates aren't outlandish, either. If she's 28 and been working full-time for quite a while at anything around that salary, she definitely should've made a bigger dent in her debt.

To be honest, it just sounds like she got comfy with having a good salary, and put debt repayment on the backburner. I know that I'm making a lot of assumptions here, but what she's doing is a really common thing that a lot of Canadians are doing. A lot of people don't realize just how bad Canadians are with debt. I still remember hearing a lot of people during my undergrad years say things like:

"Student debt is good debt!"
"I have a big OSAP loan, but the rates so low, so I can take my time with it."
... and of course:
"I can just roll my student loan into my mortgage. I'm not worried."

And those aren't just one-off quotes. They're really common mindsets among young Canadians (in many cases it's old "wisdom" passed down by their parents). I've even heard career counselors say these things.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 17:16 on Oct 17, 2013

# ¿ Oct 17, 2013 17:05

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Harry posted:

Living in Toronto probably means she's blowing $2000 a month or more on rent.

More like $700 a month. From the article (emphasis mine):

quote:

Tehranchian didn�t find Emily�s budget outlandish. For example, she lives with a roommate, allowing her to split utility costs. One exception is her car. Emily bought a used car for $17,000 and has paid off $5,000 so far. Her monthly payment is $337 with three years left on the 1.9 per cent financing. Emily also spends an additional $363 per month for parking, gas and insurance. That�s nearly as much as her rent.

Even the financial planner in article comments that her monthly budget isn't outlandish. It honestly sounds like her priorities weren't in the right place for quite a while. All you need to do is make one silly decision before it puts you into debt. And taking out a $17 000 car loan while you're paying off a student loan isn't what I'd call a good idea. Heck, even if she took out $10 000 instead it would've been a better decision.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 17:40 on Oct 17, 2013

# ¿ Oct 17, 2013 17:27

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

johnny sack posted:

Having just spent a few days in Las Vegas, I've seen more bad money decisions in these 72 hours than I have in the rest of the year.

[snip]

Heh, that's the funny thing about about people and casinos. Everyone who goes to the casino thinks that they can beat the system. Everybody. I've had clients call me late at night to increase their overdraft limit/daily withdrawal limit because "I feel my luck turning around!" then flip their poo poo when I decline them/refuse to add additional overdraft. It's like watching a drug addict go through withdrawal.

The lesson: The House always wins.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 17:10 on Oct 18, 2013

# ¿ Oct 18, 2013 17:06

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

asdf32 posted:

A co-worker a few years ago took out like a $30k home equity line to renovate the house. The project got delayed about a month so naturally he wanted to find a safe short term place to park his borrowed money - he decided to use it all to buy company stock.

The stock tanked and he was forced to sell at less than 2/3 original value then he had to borrow more to pay for the project.

Hahaha. Ouch.

I had a client who did something similar. I completed a student loan application for him. It was a tough application- had to get his parents to co-sign, and his interest rate pretty high because his co-signors weren't exactly solid applicants.

Long story short, he opted to buy risky mutual funds with the student loan funds. Their value dropped, and when he sold the units he not incurred a loss, but also short-term trading fees since he held the funds for less than 30 days.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 19:47 on Dec 7, 2013

# ¿ Dec 7, 2013 19:32

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

tuyop posted:

I've heard of a few grad students making tidy returns doing the same thing with individual stocks. There are worse things to do with your student loan than gambling. (See: buying consumer poo poo and drinking)

No. It's a stupid thing to do given that most of the people applying for student loans are 19-23 years old, most of whom have next to zero knowledge about the markets. They're going in blind, and since most student loan applicants have co-sgnors they're not just putting their own creditworthiness at risk. And investing on margin is inherently very risky, because if your investment tanks you're not only out the money you spent, but you're also paying interest on it.

Besides, if they really knew what they were doing, they'd apply for an RSP Loan instead (RSP = Canadian equivalent of 401K for those who don't know) and use THAT for investing. Not only is it tax-deductible, but the interest rates are much lower. The repayment terms are also more favourable since that's specifically what they're designed for.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 19:56 on Dec 7, 2013

# ¿ Dec 7, 2013 19:50

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Stealth Tiger posted:

The head of the HR department at my work set up a lunch seminar a couple weeks ago. My company brought in a financial adviser who went through setting up a budget, making smart choices with your money, and talked a bit about credit card debt. Out of the ~60 people who work in our office, the only people that showed up were the head of HR who set the thing up, the two girls who work directly under her, and me. The adviser and her shared stories about people who take out loans against their 401Ks or just straight up withdraw from them.

We all agreed the next seminar should be mandatory for all employees.

The problem with personal finances is that everyone thinks they're "doing it right". And yes, this includes the chump that's currently paying interest only on multiple credit cards. As well as the guy who takes out a home equity credit line to pay for that shiny new car he doesn't really need. In my past role as an Advisor, I had several clients with atrocious personal finance habits. If you give them any financial advice- even common sense poo poo like "Don't rely on promotional balance transfer rates as a means of paying off your debt", they scoff, roll their eyes, then tell you something along the lines of, "I can handle things just fine. :rolleyes:

# ¿ Dec 12, 2013 04:16

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Isentropy posted:

A request: does anyone remember a Yahoo Finance article about a woman and her husband who, having paid off their mortgage, refinanced for over 100,000$ to make renovations and pay for vacations?

YES! I remembered that. I had to resist the urge to tear out my hair after reading each line of that article. But in all fairness, those people can't beat Sharon Tirabassi, a local woman here who won a $10.5 million lotto pick, and went from dirt poor, to wealthy, straight back to dirt poor due to being incomprehensibly-stupid with her money. Some highlights:

quote:

She took friends on wild, all-expenses-paid trips to Cancun, Florida, Las Vegas, California, the Caribbean.
She bought a house, and married Vinny. They eventually had three children.

In 2006, the newlyweds and blended Tirabassi family moved to a massive $515,000 home in Ancaster. Despite the lottery win, Tirabassi took out a $360,000 mortgage on the house.

Vinny says they owned four vehicles: a bright yellow Hummer, a Mustang, a Dodge Charger and a $200,000-plus, souped-up Cadillac Escalade, Tirabassi�s baby. The vanity licence plate read �BABIPHAT,� after one of her favourite designer clothing lines.

By 2007, according to a Hamilton Spectator interview at the time, Tirabassi had already blown through half of her winnings, and was living off interest from investments on the other $5 million.
That year, Vinny crashed the Mustang.

She is now so broke that she has to take the bus to get around. And the pi�ce de r�sistance:

quote:

Asked about how life turned out for them, Vinny shrugs, smoking a cigarette in the doorway of their home.
"I lived like this my whole life, I never was rich,� he says. �We grew up like this, so we�re used to it."

"So what if I'm dirt door again? We were always dirt poor!"

:allears:

melon cat fucked around with this message at 23:15 on Jan 3, 2014

# ¿ Jan 3, 2014 23:06

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Rick Rickshaw posted:

So he gets hired and proceeds to buy another brand new Nissan Altima before his first paycheque comes in, because well hey, he needs to be able to drive to client's houses to sell them insurance!

I find that this is a really common excuse that wreckless people use to justify an ill-thought out car purchase. Instead of paying $10K or less for a decent, used vehicle, they pay double that. Sometimes triple.

"Because I have to visit clients!"

And then they finance 100% of the entire purchase. :psyduck:

Foxhound posted:

I know it's not strictly in line with the thread, but here's a video of some idiot who tries to push MLM on Dragon's Den. The interesting/horrible bit is how convinced he seems to be that it's a solid idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrwwC6KuS7Y

When I saw the cards with one person under the other, I just knew the way we were heading into pyramid scheme territory. Good grief, that was painful to watch.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 08:24 on Jan 9, 2014

# ¿ Jan 9, 2014 08:20

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

FrozenVent posted:

Isn't that one of the few cases where it makes sense to lease a car?

Definitely. And if your employer is so hung up on their employees having nice, shiny cars when visiting clients the company should cover most, if not all, of the costs of owning that vehicle. Most companies do exactly this if they're concerned about the image their employees' cars present.

Say Nothing posted:

I went to an MLM seminar once out of curiosity. The only other people were a couple who had invested in it and were there to complain about how they were being ripped off.

Heh, awesome. What kind of canned rebuttals did the MLM guys give them?

"Well if you think about it all companies' hierarchies are pyramid-shaped. Even Walmart's!"
"You're not networking enough!"
etc.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 18:42 on Jan 9, 2014

# ¿ Jan 9, 2014 18:05

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Jastiger posted:

Content: I routinely see and hear folks that have a Costco/Sams Club membership and then buy tons of everything there because "it must be cheaper its in bulk and at Costco/Sams Club!". Not always the case! Often times yes, and especially when its on sale, but come on buddy, you never used to eat organic tofu for lunch or drank fair trade coffee by the gallon and you still haven't. Just because its there doesn't mean you need to buy a ton of it that'll probably go bad before you even get half way through it.

It's a really common misconception that Costco is "cheaper". They aren't. Not by a long shot. I love shopping there, but I'll be the first to say that. Even when you take the bulk sized of the purchase into account they're not the cheapest. The quality of the merchandise and food they sell is usually much better (and not to mention their return policy is among one of the most generous in the market) and that's what you're really paying for.

Dijkstra posted:

I know a young lady who is married, both she and her husband have shiny newish SUVs, they have a kid, dog, go on crazy trips to weddings in Napa California etc. They both have MBAs from one of the top schools, wear all the nice clothes etc. etc. They spend a fortune keeping up with their friends from college/grad school but their dirty secret is that they are loving slaves to debt.

Oh, man... the stories I could tell you about this after managing accounts at a bank. I'll see so many people with really nice-paying jobs pulling in ~$2500 biweekly. But then you take a look at their accounts, and they're deep in the loving red. They always seem to be spending more than what they have. 10% payraise? They'll increase their spending habits by +15%. Got a $10K bonus from work? They'll go on a nice vacation, then take out a new lease on a shiny new car. And they almost always have a home equity credit line that's maxed out, and every time they pay off a bit of the principal on their mortgage they re-borrow it immediately after. A lot of them are also bouncing credit card balances from one credit card to the next. They are so hosed if those '1.99% balance transfer' promos disappeared.

The worst part is their attitudes towards making changes to personal budgeting. You can suggest changes that'd really help out their situation, but they always blow you off like you're the dummy. And long term savings isn't even something they'll look at. They're all relying on real estate (almost always their primary home) to fund their retirement. Don't know how they'll pull that off- you've got to live somewhere.

Us Canadians are specially bad when it comes to debt.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 16:21 on Jun 6, 2014

# ¿ Jun 6, 2014 16:11

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

oxsnard posted:

Yeah it's terrifying the disconnect from people's salary to car price. I make six figures and it still scares me that I bought a 12k Kia.

Many years back, I used to work some entry-level position that paid about ~$35K. A lot of my co-workers who earned the same amount of money as I did drove leased/financed Audis and Bimmers because they thought it made them look like bigshot bankers. One of them even bought a Cadillac CTS. And when it was lunch time they'd buy a coffee for lunch because it was all that they could afford.

Their car purchasing decisions were 100% about their image. It was ludicrous. And to make things worse they were all young, dumb drivers with terrible driving records, which meant that their insurance was sky-high to begin with.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 03:25 on Aug 19, 2014

# ¿ Aug 19, 2014 03:14

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

canyoneer posted:

Any adult* knocking on doors selling things is selling a scam, no exceptions.

Our townhouse complex is a magnet for door-to-door salespeople. I think the townhouse layout is more efficient for them- they can knock on more doors, with less walking. And because of this we get everything- religious zealots, energy salespeople, real estate agents, etc.

Recently some young guy came to our door asking us if we wanted some "free-range, organic steaks, completely free of charge". I declined his generous offer, but my neighbour didn't. It turns out that in order to get the "free" meat, you had to buy a year's supply.

Who the heck accepts "free" meat from some stranger who knocked on your door. :confused:

quote:

*This of course excludes kids doing fundraisers for their school or dance team or whatever.

I still remember the chocolate almond fundraisers our elementary school made us do. If you didn't participate, the teachers would reprimand you (they were obviously competing with each other for stupid, superficial reasons). Looking back, the companies that the school partnered up with were always these shady, pyramid-scheme types that sure as hell have no business recruiting children as their salespeople.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 21:04 on Aug 26, 2014

# ¿ Aug 26, 2014 20:25

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

HelloIAmYourHeart posted:

People who don't have $600.

But here's something I don't understand- they're apparently too broke to pay $600 for a phone, but they're prepared to pay $142/month for it? I don't know about you guys, but $142/month is nothing to scoff at, and I say that as a guy with a decent income.

I just don't get it. :psyduck:

# ¿ Aug 30, 2014 04:36

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

thegreatcodfish posted:

Maybe I should call some credit card companies:

I've always wondered about this sort of thing. I see retailers doing it all of the time, ie. "Credit card only accepted for orders over $30." What are credit card holders rights when they run into this sort of thing? Usually I have to spend several minutes strong-arming them into accepting my payment via credit card if it doesn't meet their arbitrary threshold. I'm pretty sure that their made-up rules violate their merchant agreement with Visa/Mastercard.

# ¿ Sep 2, 2014 20:18

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Droo posted:

Why don't you just carry some cash around

Because if I lose/misplace the money it's gone forever and I'm a cheapskate. Also, paying with my credit card gets me travel points. :tipshat:

# ¿ Sep 3, 2014 02:01

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Cicero posted:

I believe Hack Reactor is one of the more reputable coding bootcamps, so at least that's good, I guess?

Yikes! It's $17,780 for a 12-week course?

:psyduck:

# ¿ Sep 3, 2014 16:51

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

rrrrrrrrrrrt posted:

When I read things like this I can't help but think that the writer is lying to themselves about how much they make from their condo or would make selling their house. OP says they come out $250 "ahead" on their condo, but whenever someone says that I think bullshit, they're probably not really accounting for their expenses appropriately.

That, and a lot of people have really unrealistic opinions on how much their home is worth. To them it's always, "Our neighbour's house sold for $x, but our house is sooo much nicer, so ours will sell for at least $x + more!"

I can't tell if they're truly delusional, or just trying to convince themselves that they aren't completely screwed.

# ¿ Sep 6, 2014 03:27

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

pathetic little tramp posted:

So I checked my checking account and when I expected to see around 2500 I saw around 760,000! I know it was a mistake. But I transferred 20,000 to an external account that isnt the same institution. If they fix the error but don't do anything about the 20,000, am I ok?

Edit location? Usa...

They will take the money back, even if it means overdrawing your account. I would highly recommend moving it back.

# ¿ Sep 6, 2014 15:27

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

HystericFactor posted:

For those decrying the cost of big weddings, there's also the issue of wedding gifts that offset the final result.

With my friends and family, it's a social norm for us to give monetary gifts instead of physical gifts at weddings. We didn't need money given to us to afford our wedding, but we ended up receiving around 70% of the cost of our wedding back in cash. We also give monetary gifts whenever possible for weddings, and account for the money spent as part of our entertainment budget. We'll adjust the amount given based on perceived wedding cost, and how close of friends or family we are.

I don't think it's fair to consider all big expensive weddings as people being bad with money. Sure we could have had simple wedding that didn't cost a bunch of money, but to us it seemed everyone enjoyed themselves in a big social and cultural event and it seemed like everyone was willing to pay a premium for it. The picture for us didn't turn out as simple as "we paid this much money, had a party and got a certificate at the end".

But if you recoup 70% of the cost of a wedding (and there's no guarantee that you'll be that lucky), that still leaves 30% that you have to pay out of pocket. On a $35,000 wedding that's $10,500.

And sometimes you don't get that 70% back. Sometimes your guests get you that cheap-o toaster that was on sale at Walmart. or that really tacky, single-use kitchen tool from Williams Sonoma. And I'm not shaming them for doing that, because it's not like they told you to splurge on a wedding.

Now, don't get me wrong- if you're loaded and have a lot of money sitting around, sure. Go ahead. Go crazy on your wedding day. But if you're not part of that crowd (and who're we kidding- most of us aren't) an extravagant wedding is a very silly thing to spend money on. At the end of the day, it's usually families just trying to show off and one-up each other. I've done credit applications for people who wanted to take out $20,000 credit lines for weddings. I've even had clients cash out their retirement savings early (with hefty penalties) to help cover the cost of their lovely daughter's wedding at the local winery. That's bananas.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 07:47 on Sep 18, 2014

# ¿ Sep 18, 2014 07:42

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

HelloIAmYourHeart posted:

Good god, this woman is in charge of money for a living?

When I worked with client accounts I learned one thing- accountants have the worst financial habits (next to oil rig workers). Part of the big problem is that they think they're financial geniuses because, you know, "I'm an Accountant". So they develop these unhealthy spending habits and refuse to listen to anyone who tries to give them advice. It's the Dunning-Kruger Effect in full-force.

# ¿ Sep 21, 2014 17:15

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

NancyPants posted:

Moral of the story: carry as much loving uninsured motorist auto coverage as you can buy. These assholes are everywhere.

Ain't that the truth. And they aren't always driving around beat-up crapboxes. I was rear-ended in a parking lot by a woman who drove a shiny, new Range Rover. Surprise! She didn't have insurance. I was also witness to a horrendous rear-ending, whereas a young guy driving a Mustang was showing off to some high schoolers he was driving past, but was unable to stop for slowing traffic in time. Big crash. The car he hit was written off. Again, Mr. Mustang had no insurance. $5000 fine for driving uninsured, and the people they crashed into must now sue for the money since they didn't have insurance.

Sometimes people want to have that nice, flashy car without the expenses they come along with. gently caress those people.

CountOfNowhere posted:

Similar, this one on Craigslist is a bit older and significantly less baller - it's only a V8, not a twin turbo v12!

The part that cracks me up was the guy that bought it on credit and now has to sell for way more than its worth to pay off the loan. Not to mention his estimate of $1500 for parts and labor seems hilariously low.

You're correct to think that. There's no such thing as an "inexpensive" repair for a Merc. Especially when it's a 13-year old S500 that's obviously been driven into the ground. And there's no way in hell that the "air suspension work" is the only major problem. I wouldn't walk away from that car- I'd run.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 07:37 on Oct 1, 2014

# ¿ Oct 1, 2014 07:28

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

RandomBlue posted:

My wife was rear-ended by a guy in a Cadillac Escalade... no insurance. Not having insurance is bad with money and bad at life.

Ugh... that sounds pretty bad. It really makes you wonder, though. How bad are these people's personal finances that they can (somehow) afford their expensive car's payments and maintenance costs, but not pony up enough cash to pay insurance? And how can they ever weigh the risk of driving uninsured when doing so carries a massive fine? Here in Ontario it's about ~$5000 minimum.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 21:06 on Oct 1, 2014

# ¿ Oct 1, 2014 20:48

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Rick Rickshaw posted:

I just learned that you can discharge student loans via bankruptcy here in Canada as long as you declare at least 7 years after the point at which you ceased to be a student.

So 14 years after you graduate, your life can get on track!

Keep in mind that declaring bankruptcy in Canada isn't the same thing as it is in the U.S. The process is a lot more arduous and difficult here in Canada, and you lose everything by declaring bankruptcy.

# ¿ Oct 2, 2014 15:53

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

quote:

Doing all the technical analysis involved to turn a profit is itself work, it ain't easy to say the least. But it's what I like to do, and I'm passionate about it, and I have what it takes to be successful. I've been successful at it before many times especially in forex. We just need to see a change in seasons as far as bitcoin markets go.

Oh God. Forex.

Forex is what dummies do after their other 'Get Rich Quick' Schemes have failed them.

My prediction- after Forex fails, he's going to get his real estate license. I don't know why, but these days real estate sales seems to be the latest occupation choice among delusional people who think that money grows on trees. Once he gives up on real estate after 2 months, he'll be selling super-juices through Vema.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 20:55 on Oct 5, 2014

# ¿ Oct 5, 2014 20:47

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Velochis posted:

http://forum.thecontrarianinvestor.com/index.php?threads/gt-advanced-technologies-inc-gtat.69/page-501#post-25008

Link to a thread about stock pickers losing everything from the gt advanced technology bankruptcy yesterday. Some of these guys invested their life savings in a single stock that is now worthless. It is a harrowing read. The start of the thread is around two years ago. The stock went up 400% and then down to virtually zero

Holy hell. I nearly had a panic attack when reading those posts. Especially this one:

quote:

This would be my last post on this forum. I am officially signing off. Thanks for all the contributions. I am still in shock and all the money is gone and I owe $107K in margin accounts. I have prepare my profit and loss for filing a case and here the final numbers. This is a lesson for everybody not to be greedy and stupid. These are just stocks, options of around $140K is not in there.

...

Basically my net loss is around $750K in stocks and $140K in options. All my earnings for the past 15 years are gone in one night.

# ¿ Oct 8, 2014 08:12

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

There are people in that same GTAT thread recommending that the other forumgoers short specific stocks. Why, oh why, would you recommend such a thing to someone who just lost their shirt in the market? :psyduck:

"Why restrict yourself to investments that hit zero when you can have investments whose losses can be indefinite??"

# ¿ Oct 9, 2014 06:45

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

manic mike posted:

[Dave story]

Give him about 3 months, and he'll be sending you Facebook message/emails about this new business he's starting that's totally not a MLM scheme.

Rudager posted:

That's basically it, people think they're getting a special card from the banks because the banks think they're "someone".

AMEX customers are the worst with this. Despite how uncompetitive their rewards programs and interest rates usually are (compared to other credit cards in the market), their cardholders are the most smug people I've ever met because, "I'm an American Express MEMBER. :smug:

melon cat fucked around with this message at 15:08 on Oct 12, 2014

# ¿ Oct 12, 2014 15:04

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Haifisch posted:

I got their blue cash card ages ago, and it's kind of hilarious how they tried to make it look fancier than your average card. Translucent plastic, shiny blue square in the middle, and now a chip! (For the zero places that have upgraded their credit card processors to care about chips) It's not made of metal, but I can see more simple-minded people being impressed by it anyway.

Yeah, that's all AMEX really is- an illusion of exclusivity with fancy packaging. High-end, difficult-to-get credit cards do exist, but they don't openly market them. And they sure as hell won't hawk them at your local department store/Costco like AMEX does.

And to top it off, most retailers won't accept AMEX because they charge a stupidly-high merchant fee compared to the other credit card providers.

Guest2553 posted:

Another lesson I've learned while managing client accounts (which involved mortgage applications): when someone says they make "about" $x, there's a very high likelihood that they're lying. "About $50,000" is more like $40,000 before tax. But for some reason they include their benefits, perks, and other imaginary numbers with their salary "calculation".

melon cat fucked around with this message at 16:08 on Oct 12, 2014

# ¿ Oct 12, 2014 16:03

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# ¿ May 16, 2024 02:15

melon cat: Jan 21, 2010; Nap Ghost

Krispy Kareem posted:

My wife's Delta AmEx gets her a free checked bag for every ticket purchased through it. We fly probably twice a year, so that saves us about $400.

AmEx's aren't as exclusive as they once were, but they're still good deals. You get an extra year of product warranties and free rental car insurance also.

The free checked bag perk you mentioned is nice, but the extended warranties and free rental car insurances are both standard across most credit cards (including the ones with no annual fee).

Magic Underwear posted:

You really hate AMEX huh? I like AMEX (ones issued by amex, not just any card with the amex logo) for a few reasons. They have plenty of no-fee cards these days, with average rewards. I don't revolve so APR doesn't matter to me. But the big thing for me is that AMEX has insanely good customer service, and they have a reputation of nearly always siding with the consumer in chargeback situations. I have better rewards cards for everyday purchases, but I use my amex for stuff that looks a little shady. The high merchant fees mean nothing to me, since I don't pay them.

Why would you think I "hate" Amex? :confused:

Simply put, when compared side-by-side with other Visa and MC credit cards in the market, they just aren't that competitive. And add on the fact that Amex isn't widely-accepted by merchants and you'll begin to question how useful the card is. Heck, I have the Costco Amex, and since Costco Canada is dropping Amex, I'll be joining the thousands of cardholders who will be dropping the card at the end of the year.

It's just really silly that Amex puts on this facade of being an "exclusive" card, despite the fact they're just as "exclusive" as any card that you apply for at any department store.

melon cat fucked around with this message at 01:49 on Oct 13, 2014

# ¿ Oct 13, 2014 01:42

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Bad w/ Money: I just paid for a fat bitches Electric Cock Zapping Sex Toy in Kentucky

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