Knyteguy's Finances: More harebrained schemes than a sitcom dad

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Knyteguy's Finances: More harebrained schemes than a sitcom dad

«‹›4 »

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Knyteguy posted:

What should our priorities be from here though? Like if we work at it and reign in our spending hard core, what do we do with the extra money? Do we stash it all away in an emergency fund? Do we spend every extra dollar on paying off our debts (we're going to pay off the truck first)? Our long term goals are opening a Vanguard Total Stock admiral fund, but obviously that's a little ways off. When do we start saving for our house? For retirement?

If your employer does 401k matching, you should be saving up to the match yesterday. Past that, for retirement and a house, you should probably start once you're out of debt. Effective 'returns' from removing debt are generally much larger and virtually always more dependable than returns you get from investing or appreciation on property. I mean just look at your car loans, you're not going to find anywhere that can dependably get you 11%/17% returns with minimal effort.

Have you tried reading frugality/financial independence blogs like Mr. Money Mustache? While I wouldn't expect you to go as extreme as he does to get out of debt, these kinds of blogs can provide some useful insight and perspective. For example: News Flash: Your Debt is an Emergency!!

# ¿ Nov 20, 2013 21:01

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 11:30

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Knyteguy posted:

One concern of ours is Christmas. There's already been tension from some in my wife's family about us suddenly making a lot more money.

This is probably none of our business, but tension because of making more money? That sounds weird. "I can't believe they got a better-paying job, those dicks!"

edit: is your wife's family all devout marxists?

# ¿ Nov 21, 2013 19:22

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Also, if you have a smartphone, you could use Pandora with an FM transmitter or male-to-male audio cable.

# ¿ Nov 25, 2013 22:07

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Knyteguy posted:

Really though since my wife drives the car she should be the one to make the decision. My truck doesn't even have a radio at the moment (really the past 6 months). I'm sure she'll be amicable about it unless she just really likes it.

Do financial expenditures only impact her? No? Then it's a decision for both of you.

# ¿ Nov 26, 2013 05:06

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Saving 550 for one pay period is great, but if you want to wipe out your debt and save 20k in 2 years, that's a little over $2,000/month you need to save, right?

# ¿ Dec 2, 2013 00:50

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Also: free-to-play games. There are some pretty good ones out there. Pretty much anything popular is going to be at least decent: League of Legends, Dota2, Hearthstone, World of Tanks, Planetside 2, Path of Exile, Team Fortress 2, Mechwarrior Online, etc.

# ¿ Dec 3, 2013 09:14

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

canyoneer posted:

This is a joke, right?
You got beat up so badly in the thread for buying a PS4, and you bought a $1,000+ TV to match it while you are $30k in debt and have credit card accounts going to collections?

Dude, you're poor.
You used to be broke, when you were a student. Broke is a status. Poor is a lifestyle.
Poor people can never out-earn their spending. And saying we NEEDED a second television for my new PS4 is like, beyond pathetic.
How many weeks of making homemade bread and putting stuff in the chest freezer will it take to pay for that $1000+ impulse purchase?

Perhaps you should try reading the first sentence of the next paragraph.

# ¿ Dec 8, 2013 08:57

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Knyteguy posted:

We'll try to make room in the budget for her to get an SA account so she can start posting some time this month.

Too late.

# ¿ Jan 8, 2014 01:48

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Ask relatives who are done having kids for baby stuff. Look on craigslist for baby stuff. It will be many years before your kid cares that stuff is used or not.

# ¿ Jun 11, 2014 23:44

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

$460 on 'entertainment' that's in addition to $300 on restaurants? Did you buy season tickets to the opera? :v:

# ¿ Jun 12, 2014 23:09

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Knyteguy posted:

et tu, Cicero?

Heh it's ok, I have my own frivolous purchases. From this last weekend, for example:

Now I just have to wait for Elite: Dangerous to come down in price from its current $150!

quote:

My wife is kind of bad with categorization sometimes. I bought a 22 rifle from a pawn shop and a scope so I could go shoot targets with some old friends. Everything else entertainment wise was less than $100. I'm thinking about selling the gun when we move. Only reason I say think is because I don't think I'll get anything near what I paid, and I'd also like to have it for next time. The maintenance and cost to shoot it will be tens of dollars a year at the most.

I will however likely sell my other two guns (9mm handgun, AR-15 I don't want), my electronic drum set, my extra dobsonian telescope, a really nice weight set we might be able to make money off of since we got a floor model on clearance, possibly our spare TV, and a few more things like car stereo parts I took out when we sold the truck. I'm also trying to get rid of the PS4 but GameStop quoted me like $240.00 and I think we can do better than that. Really it's just the not spending the cash from all of that stuff that I hope I can manage (I can).

Ok cool. Selling that stuff does sound like a good idea, but as you say, only if you don't immediately turn around and use the money to buy even more stuff.

If I was you though, I might keep the drum set, assuming you are ok for space. That sounds like the kind of thing a toddler would enjoy playing with; I know my son certainly would.

# ¿ Jun 12, 2014 23:29

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Knyteguy posted:

Sweet setup. I hadn't heard of that game but holy crap the trailers look awesome.

Yeah they do. Only problem is that it looks like to get the ~*~full experience~*~ I'd also want to get TrackIR (head tracking) which is another $150. Stupid video games, urgh.

quote:

I hadn't even thought of that regarding the drum set. I'll keep that in mind because that'd be rad. Thanks.

Yeah, certain adult toys hit the holy trinity of [interesting to little kids + won't kill them + hard to break] and I think an electronic drum set would qualify.

# ¿ Jun 13, 2014 00:31

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Knyteguy posted:

I imagine that kids start to get really expensive when they're around 6-7+? That's when they'll start to want expensive electronics, new shoes, and etc.

Kids get expensive when you want them to.

edit: except for medical expenses I guess. Not much choice there.

Cicero fucked around with this message at 04:10 on Jul 7, 2014

# ¿ Jul 4, 2014 23:59

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Knyteguy posted:

So here's a report on a bad financial decision that I'm contemplating.

quote:

All of that stuff you mentioned is true. We have been sacrificing our long term happiness for short term pleasures. 100%.

You have a baby coming. If I was in your position, I would not do this. Maybe you could get into eSports instead? They're usually free to watch online, the Dota2 International that just started even has a newbie viewing stream! :v:

# ¿ Jul 11, 2014 20:44

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT.

edit: with your budgets, of course.

# ¿ Jul 18, 2014 23:36

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

I was gonna say that it might not be fair to Slo Mo for your competition that he's in a much higher cost of living area, but then I realized your discretionary spending will be for two people vs his one, so I guess it evens out.

# ¿ Jul 22, 2014 06:01

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

That just incentivizes them to give themselves a very generous budget.

# ¿ Jul 25, 2014 23:57

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Wait, your current place doesn't have W/D hookups?

n8r posted:

Spending money to save money is not exactly a great strategy.

Sometimes it isn't, sometimes it is. If it saves you money in the long run, then it can actually be a great strategy.

Cicero fucked around with this message at 20:32 on Aug 11, 2014

# ¿ Aug 11, 2014 20:19

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Knyteguy posted:

Correct we've always had hookups as well as the washer/dryer provided for us. I've had to use facilities as a young bachelor before and it wasn't bad, but as a family it does suck a little more.

Oh man, having a baby is gonna SUCK for you. I can't imagine dealing with an infant with no W/D in the house. Talk about pain.

With no washer, you'll have to do disposables too, which is more expensive.

KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:

When I think about affordability, I think about Seattle

Well, it's affordable relative to the bay area.

# ¿ Aug 11, 2014 20:34

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Knyteguy posted:

I see no reason why she would be unable to do contract work with a baby. It may just mean that she starts work after I get home.

So she's gonna spend all day taking care of the baby, then all evening working, and you will spend all day working, then all evening taking care of the baby?

# ¿ Aug 11, 2014 21:49

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Yeah, my cousin had a kid almost the same age as ours, and she was extremely easy to manage as a baby, was perfectly fine sleeping in a crib or wherever by herself, playing by herself, etc. Our son, on the other hand, demanded constant attention. You had to be playing with him or holding him constantly or he'd scream, you had to stay with him for 10-30 minutes before he'd go to sleep, and if he woke up and you weren't there, he'd freak out. Needless to say, it was very exhausting for my wife, even though she was 'just' a stay-at-home mom with only one kid. And it's not that he was unhealthy, he was (and is) an extremely robust and energetic kid.

edit: if you get a kid like this, get a wrap and learn to use it; our son was generally fine being strapped to our back or chest while we did chores.

Cicero fucked around with this message at 23:30 on Aug 11, 2014

# ¿ Aug 11, 2014 23:25

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Knyteguy posted:

I was going to say it's a little too late for a wrap but then I Googled baby wrap.

That's neat.

Yeah they're pretty cool. There's a bit of a learning curve because they're so flexible in use, but that also means, well, there's lots of different ways to use them (they can even double as an improvised blanket!), moreso than conventional modern baby carriers like the baby bjorn.

I never got the hang of them because I was lazy and I suck at knots and knotlike things, but my wife used it all the time and still does every once in a while, and sings their praises every chance she gets.

# ¿ Aug 12, 2014 00:51

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Knyteguy posted:

Are you being facetious? Poe's law and all.

Yeah I can't tell either. In any case a good daycare is a very reasonable expense.

# ¿ Aug 14, 2014 01:25

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

moana posted:

Your child isn't born and you're talking about spending extra money on high-end daycare so that years from now they can do music and language lessons and have computers with learning programs. Am I the crazy one here? Really? I get it if the other daycare was run by methheads, but the only differences you've mentioned have been fancy bells and whistles that a two-year old would turn away from in favor of a cardboard box.

I think it's more that those things are examples of how it's a higher-quality daycare in general, not that he's deadset on a newborn having music lessons and computers.

# ¿ Aug 14, 2014 02:01

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

il serpente cosmico posted:

I shudder to think how much money goons have spent collectively on steam games they've never even installed.

But...they were on sale! :downs:

# ¿ Aug 14, 2014 05:19

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Bugamol posted:

To be fair to Knyteguy on this one he did back out of getting cable (I think?). I don't think it's unreasonable for him to want to spend $130 to have access to quality games on demand without having to worry about lovely streaming speeds and quality.

The alternative is spending $100+ a month on cable which he isn't doing.

Yes, but the other other alternative is not spending money on either option. I mentioned watching eSports for free on twitch as an option a while back and he seemed amenable to the idea.

# ¿ Aug 14, 2014 20:29

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Bugamol posted:

I still think since I believe his original plan was to get cable TV + the football package and he's "compromised" to just getting the streaming package online it's pretty reasonable.

I would agree that it's reasonable, except that in his case he's in debt and expecting a kid that will probably drastically cut his income while increasing expenses, and his own plan is to save a huge amount of money by the birth, which won't happen unless he doesn't make these kinds of purchases.

KnyteGuy, I know you've talked about reading MMM before, maybe you should read this again? http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/04/18/news-flash-your-debt-is-an-emergency/

# ¿ Aug 14, 2014 21:01

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Bugamol posted:

Then, with no experience, why are you telling someone who clearly has a spending problem to "just get over it bro"?

...are you suggesting KnyteGuy is so addicted to spending he just can't stop himself? I think the fact that he already has cut their expenditures quite a bit would indicate otherwise.

It's like a class. If you dick around the first half of the semester, you're going to have to work harder than even the A+ students in the second half to pull out a decent grade. Being in big debt for a car with little savings means you've done the dicking around bit, so now if you want to catch up in time* you have to try unusually hard, moreso than even superfr�gs.

Keep in mind we're talking about the savings targets that KnyteGuy has set for himself here, not ones we're trying to unilaterally impose on him. He's trying to save $15,000 in 7 months. That's a very aggressive goal!

* in this case, the deadline is the birth, and maybe whatever his grandma said about the extra money she was gonna give them

Cicero fucked around with this message at 23:59 on Aug 15, 2014

# ¿ Aug 15, 2014 23:47

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

It's fine to think about buying (dumb) stuff, I do it all the time. I kind of use it as a filter; if the idea of buying a particular thing pops up repeatedly, then it's probably worth thinking more seriously about getting it. If it pops up once or twice and I never think about it again, well, guess I didn't really need/want it.

I don't really know anything about running a business but $200 to 'go legit' sounds fine if you're really confident your business can generate serious money.

# ¿ Aug 16, 2014 07:05

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Yeah spending a little money on rapport is definitely worth it imo. Some people use it as a flimsy excuse for indulging themselves ("I need this leased BMW to fit in at work!") but I don't think that'll be a problem for you.

# ¿ Aug 22, 2014 21:12

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Veskit posted:

Why are you thinking ahead way into the future.

Going from a bad credit score to a good one takes a long time, this seems like a reasonable move to me.

# ¿ Sep 3, 2014 00:41

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Knyteguy posted:

Calm down yea? Talk is cheap but our actions have been solid since we started up again for the most part. Conspicuous consumption is pretty loving ingrained in society, and when I see my peers with all these toys it can be difficult not to want them too, for sure. Logically I know what's up, but emotionally I'm like gently caress those guys my cave will have the shinier poo poo, or "gently caress I haven't ridden a dirt bike in 10 years I miss that a lot." For (some) women it's probably like about purses and big diamonds or something. For real though if you've never been in the same mindset you could never understand. I find it just as frustrating that you can't see my point of view.

Soon this won't be a problem, because you'll be obsessed with getting more sleep instead of more shinies.

# ¿ Sep 4, 2014 04:45

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

My kid is almost 3 and I've been playing NES games with him recently (on original hardware of course). Obviously he's terrible but he still likes playing them, especially Super Mario Bros. 1 and now Kirby's Adventure. But yeah even that will take a while before it's possible.

# ¿ Sep 4, 2014 07:08

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

quote:

Taking a "babymoon" to the SF bay area

Let me know if you want to grab lunch at ~*~Google~*~ while you're down here.

# ¿ Sep 22, 2014 02:36

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

quote:

it takes a lot to not be miserable with 2 dogs, 3 cats, and too much stuff in 800sq/ft

Oh man, how did I not see this before? Knyteguy, dealing with a newborn is painful enough as it is, doing it when you also have 5 pets in a modestly-sized apartment sounds like an absolute nightmare. I agree with April that it sounds like you're using purchases to relieve stress, and an infant is gonna amp up those stress levels enormously. You will get bad sleep and will suddenly be doing twice as many dishes and 2-3x the laundry and frequently cleaning up random messes. And that's not a worst case scenario, it's the average case.

I don't think your purchases right now are all that bad, but beware of the future, friend!

Cicero fucked around with this message at 20:22 on Sep 22, 2014

# ¿ Sep 22, 2014 20:17

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Old Fart posted:

Rule of thumb is to estimate high. You're already planning to bust your budget and you haven't even checked prices. I just did it. Looks like you have your choice of one or two star motels and hostels in Milpitas and San Pablo. Hope you don't get bedbugs. And I'm with ya, I can stay on the cheap. But this poo poo is super easy to get an exact price right now. Do it.

There's also airbnb.

# ¿ Sep 24, 2014 01:16

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Knyteguy posted:

One of the reasons we made such a drastic move towards breaking the lease last night is because my wife was thinking about just how difficult the pets will be once the baby is here.

Man, I don't want to be a downer about this, but it sounds like your pets have become a very expensive lifestyle choice. $300/month to accommodate them is quite a bit for your budget. And that's the low end of the rent increase, doesn't include food, vet bills, kennel/pet-sitting, toys, etc.

Cicero fucked around with this message at 18:19 on Sep 24, 2014

# ¿ Sep 24, 2014 18:16

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Knyteguy posted:

Cicero: pets are generally only $150 a month. That includes 3 bags of food (which they actually only need about ~2.33/mo), cat food, litter, toys, treats, the works. I grew up in just such a heavy pet family that it's nuts to me to even consider getting rid of one.

If you look at the quote I was referencing, I was talking about the rent increase that seems to be driven largely by having such a larger number of pets. Living in a small apartment with 2 adults and a baby with no pets isn't that hard (I'm doing it right now, for example), and you yourself acknowledge the pets pushing this decision along:

quote:

One of the reasons we made such a drastic move towards breaking the lease last night is because my wife was thinking about just how difficult the pets will be once the baby is here.

# ¿ Sep 24, 2014 19:01

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

Knyteguy posted:

Yea we were just thinking we'd be OK without pets in our current place.

Right, which means the true cost of the pets is direct expenses ($150/month) + rent increase ($300-500/month).

# ¿ Sep 24, 2014 19:11

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 11:30

Cicero: Dec 17, 2003; Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.

That's fine, my point wasn't "KnyteGuy you must get rid of all your pets", just that you need to have a realistic view of how much they really cost.

# ¿ Sep 24, 2014 19:35

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Knyteguy's Finances: More harebrained schemes than a sitcom dad

«‹›4 »