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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monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

Surely the guy with the medical degree from the University of American Samoa (go Landcrabs!) can get a job as a researcher or something.

# ¿ May 2, 2017 06:04

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 05:21

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

Weatherman posted:

On that note, let me post three of the four best BWM-related SA threads of all time.

4. Scammed by dealership, and I'm taking it to the news, wherein a dumbass teenager hotfoots it to his local Nissan dealership and signs a contract he neither read nor understands and that he trusted the dealer to explain to him.

3. Decreasing credit lines, increasing interest rates, and bankruptcy., wherein a dumbass alcoholic college student explains why bankruptcy is the most appropriate course of action and why won't you mean goons stop telling me I'm a drunk?

2. Can't find a link, but it's zaurg's first thread.

1. YEAR, n. A period of three hundred and sixty-five disappointments (zaurg's second and ultimately fatal thread). Seriously, you have to just spend a weekend reading through it.

Honourable mention: The Cornholio Thraed, wherein a BWM goon sees the light and makes a full conversion to GWM status and forum legend.

The totally legit goon-run BoxMystery is also a classic BWM thread.

# ¿ May 2, 2017 15:58

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

Hyrax Attack! posted:

I�m Renting a Dog?

(https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-03-01/i-m-renting-a-dog)

Old and also RIP Wags Lending: https://www.inforuptcy.com/filings/nvbke_362954-3-17-bk-50480-wags-lending-llc

# ¿ May 2, 2017 16:30

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

ate all the Oreos posted:

I'm pretty sure Amazon could absolutely do something about fraudulently obtained Amazon gift cards if they weren't directly profiting off them (and also if they gave a gently caress)

"We even received what we thought were order confirmations from Amazon but when we called amazon to confirm all this they had no record" makes me think they didn't actually buy Amazon gift cards.

# ¿ May 2, 2017 17:27

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

ate all the Oreos posted:

Yeah that part seemed extra weird, like the whole point of buying Amazon giftcards is to kinda-sorta launder money, why would you fake buying them

To get their credit card number/CVV when they enter it on the phishing site?

# ¿ May 2, 2017 17:31

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

Tiny Brontosaurus posted:

The best part is when the backlash started and used DVDs started showing up in the boxes, because the owner was clearly just grabbing poo poo off his living room floor.

No the best part was this in their FAQ:

quote:

What if don�t like what comes in my box?

a. If for some reason you are not happy with your box, feel free to order another. Each box has different items that are randomly selected. We do not offer any type of exchange or returns due to the nature of this being a mystery.

If you think your box is crappy, order another :downs:

# ¿ May 2, 2017 17:37

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

Ashcans posted:

A lot of those boxes were barely $5, much less $10 or $15. I that guy had primed the pump by actually sending out decent stuff at first, he probably could have cleaned up pretty well on the second wave of repeat/recommendation buyers.

A lot of people are totally fine with paying for the anticipation or possibility of getting something great, but likely getting nothing worthwhile. That's basically the entire premise of a lottery, after all, it's just that the mystery boxes cost a lot more and the baseline is somewhat higher than nothing.

The alarms should have gone off when he listed a $30K+ boat as a possible prize. Even if that was the only big prize - ignoring claims of prizes like vacations, a motorcycle, iPad, etc. - you should be able to sit down and figure out that there's no way they are selling enough boxes of crap to be able to buy a boat to give away, and I don't think prize insurance covers stuff like this.

# ¿ May 2, 2017 18:05

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

Hoodwinker posted:

She should start a business called "Snake Box" and sell snake boxes and the only thing in the boxes is snakes.

I was going to suggest a box for the official animal of the BWM thread but http://www.ahorsebox.com/

Fake edit: oh so many horse boxes https://boxes.hellosubscription.com/subscriptions/equestrian-subscription-boxes/

# ¿ May 2, 2017 18:31

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

I'm gonna run away and ~~join the circus~~ become a ski bum

https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/68v9zj/just_resigned_help_with_some_obvious_rookie/ posted:

Just resigned, help with some obvious rookie mistakes? (self.financialindependence)

Hi all, I just resigned from my office job that was a major contributing factor to my clinical depression and in taking the advice of the stickied post, I'm working to build the life I want.

However, I know for a fact that I'm making some obvious errors with how I have my finances structured to help sustain my journey for as long as possible while I build up my income streams.

I've saved nearly all of my EoY bonus (~$20k) in cash and I have some investment accounts and IRAs not fully invested (50/50 stocks and cash because I wanted to be able to speculate a little when I was freed from employment restrictions on stock ownership). I also have ~50k in my 401k that I'm not sure if I should take more direct control of.

Because I'm income free for now, I'm concerned about putting that cash to work immediately when I don't know how long I'm going to need to sustain myself on it, and I consider myself fairly concerned with a sharp market correction in the time I might need to get set up. Should I be looking into getting an LLC of some form for all future income for tax purposes?

My rent is currently ~$600/mo through the end of July and after that I may move home but will eventually be looking to live in/near a west coast ski mountain to pursue a ski-bum esque lifestyle. Should I be planning to rent or looking to get property near one of those mountains?

As of right now my insurance is going to be through my COBRA benefits, but should I be looking into Medicare or ACA (I'm 24 so I could ask to be shifted back to my parents insurance for a little while)

# ¿ May 2, 2017 20:47

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

Tiny Brontosaurus posted:

Yeah it should be a mandatory class your final semester of senior year, and they should do a refresher workshop all four years in college. Credit card companies would riot though.

Our class was optional but it was a pretty full-fledged personal finance class, we even talked about how stocks worked.

# ¿ May 3, 2017 20:39

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

pig slut lisa posted:

ehhh nm

I liked the story :colbert:

EDIT:

https://np.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/68dp0w/is_this_illegal/ posted:

So recently I was hired to process payroll for an employer but via telecommute and money orders. 1) Is this legal if the payment is in form of a payroll check from the client for me to cash and distribute to employees. 2) If the payroll check processes through my bank and is cleared am I responsible for those funds after the bank has verified the funds to me as available if a month down the road the payroll check is contested by issuer for whatever reason. If one of you legal eagles could answer this question I would be grateful.

So everyone says it's a well-known scam, but then OP says:

quote:

I could totally see how this would be seen as a scam but the legality is what I was asking. I use to work for a roofing company years ago and my boss would write me a check from the business account to pay employees on the crew.

But it is an ILLEGAL scam? :smug:

monster on a stick fucked around with this message at 21:16 on May 3, 2017

# ¿ May 3, 2017 21:12

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/681yam/daily_fi_discussion_thread_april_28_2017/dgvhx81/ posted:

Just overheard a fun conversation in the break room...

Lady is complaining about how her daughter is getting married but "wants to do everything her own way" (which, from what I gathered, meant the daughter wanted to have a small wedding). So she took money out of her 401k so she could pay for the wedding, so that her daughter "will do things my way."

There are so many things wrong here on so many levels...

UPDATE

https://www.reddit.com/r/financialindependence/comments/696u49/daily_fi_discussion_thread_may_04_2017/dh4pfqw/ posted:

Today, I overheard her complaining about how she didn't know there was an early withdrawal penalty on the 401k funds.

# ¿ May 4, 2017 18:56

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

Krispy Kareem posted:

Do they at least take some of that money when you withdraw or are you on the hook for everything the following year? Because she's in for a lot of pain if she withdrew 20k and spent all 20k.

I cashed out my first 401k (yeah yeah, I know) - but I was young, the amount was relatively small, and I don't recall a bad tax hit the following year.

I believe the 10% penalty and some of the (now due) income tax is automatically withheld, but then she may also have to pay additional tax when she files her return. :allears:

# ¿ May 4, 2017 21:47

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

Tiny Brontosaurus posted:

Here's an It Came From Reddit that made me break out into a cold sweat:

Unable to match after med school, 260k in debt

Over a quarter million dollars on a degree he can't use. Serious question, is there anything he can do besides, like, fake his own death?

Well, here's a possible update: https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/699gan/my_brother_killed_himself_what_happens_to_his/ :smith:

# ¿ May 4, 2017 23:11

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

SweetSassyMolassy posted:

I mean... Rising pension costs a growing problem in budget-weary Fairfax County

That doesn't mean that pension isn't sweet though. 0.02 x creditable service x average highest pay x 1.03 seems really good. I'm amazed at how many games you can play with pension numbers from different places that offer pensions. I also am amazed that I searched for and read the handbook to a pension plan to a county I've no interest in working for. I suppose I'm technically old now.

Worse would be Puerto Rico which the NY Times described as a Ponzi scheme:

quote:

In Puerto Rico, for instance, the pension funds are so short of cash that money contributed by working teachers basically flows straight out to retirees. None of Puerto Rico�s current teachers can expect to get their money back, because the fund is due to run out of money in 2018, long before they retire.

PR is bankrupt now so RIP everything.

# ¿ May 5, 2017 00:00

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

Uncle Enzo posted:

Just pointing out that the G fund isn't T bills, it's a special interest-bearing security issued by the Treasury only to the G fund.

I've heard the G fund is actually a pretty nice option as far as bond holdings, it's just not something you want to put everything into.

# ¿ May 5, 2017 02:57

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

Cold on a Cob posted:

I've been lead to believe if you're going to trade in every few years you should just lease instead. I don't know if that's true or not though.

Or buy a Toyota/Honda which keep their value to an absurd extent, judging from used car prices.

# ¿ May 5, 2017 17:19

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

Uterine Lineup posted:

4) https://www.wired.com/2014/06/wuwt-traffic-induced-demand/

https://www.wired.com/2016/04/widening-highways-never-fixes-traffic-darnit-texas/

# ¿ May 5, 2017 18:03

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

Speaking of park and rides

https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/69evwg/we_decided_not_to_buy_a_bearded_dragon/ posted:

We decided NOT to buy a bearded dragon.

My wife and I were looking at getting a bearded dragon for our son for his birthday. A young beardie is only about $60. So we set aside $200 in our budget counting on buying a reptile aquarium and some incidentals.

Then we learned it needs expensive UV bulbs that last about 6 months and are about $40 each. Also the electricity cost the run this heat 24 hours can be a drain on the electric bill.

Also the beardie needs to go to the vet every 6 months for a checkup. And finally, food. They have a very diverse diet and can eat up to $15 per week in foods. So I did a total cost analysis for a beardie that lives 12 years and it turned out to be a whopping $10,000

Life pro tip, do a total cost analysis on pets before deciding to purchase. Even free pets are absurdly expensive. In 12 years both of my kids are going to be in college and I will desperately need $10,000 then. I will not need an aging lizard.

Which is GWM and GWL except then people started freaking out because Reddit thinks denying your kid a bearded dragon is child abuse for reasons

quote:

Edit: For everyone giving me poo poo about my poor son, don't pity him. First he didn't know about the beardie. Second we are taking that $200 and taking him to an amusement park. He's fine.

Edit 2: This post is not about "don't buy pets, they're expensive." The post is about "make sure you're aware of the full cost of something before making a decision." Yes we have kids and dogs. Yes they're more expensive than lizards, but for us well worth the cost. A reptile, not so much.

Edit 3: Thank you all for the "you're way overestimating" and the "you're way underestimating" posts. The accuracy of the cost really isn't the issue. The issue is we were expecting something minimal and almost made a big mistake. The point is, we did the research and it was way more than we were expecting and wanting to pay. To us, it wasn't worth it. We have other pets. We aren't frugal, but we are smart with our money. I am simply encouraging others to do cost analysis. And at the end of the day if a bearded dragon is worth 10k to you, awesome! Do it.

# ¿ May 6, 2017 02:18

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

Tiny Brontosaurus posted:

My mind is blown by someone in the comments suggesting the pet rabbit was purchased as part of a con where you move some clothes and a pet you'd "have to come back for" into an apartment and then persuade your new roommate to rent you a car to steal.

That's probably true. Your new roommate could have nothing in the apartment but if your "pet" is there, then you are 100% trustworthy and will come back.

# ¿ May 6, 2017 18:07

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

Maybe the rental car place is in on the con :aaaaa:

# ¿ May 6, 2017 18:56

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

Well I'm glad the Huffington Post is bringing awareness of the ability for MLMs to empower women to the masses.

# ¿ May 7, 2017 04:14

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

olylifter posted:

that's gotta be the follow-up, right?

I posted that days ago :colbert:

https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3819120&pagenumber=7&perpage=40#post472025149

It may be the followup, the timing is almost perfect though, the follow-up was two days after the initial post and said the body was found two days earlier by a park ranger, so literally the person would have had to post and then go buy some rope.

or it's an elaborate troll

# ¿ May 7, 2017 05:02

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

ate all the Oreos posted:

So is there an investment vehicle I can dump a bunch of money into that will pay out big once canada's housing bubble inevitably pops and ruins the entire economy again, might as well make money off it since it's so glaringly obvious

You can short the Canadian economy because it will probably go bust.

# ¿ May 9, 2017 07:07

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

Vox Nihili posted:

poo poo, that sucks. Sorry to hear that. Did you try calling them back?

Make sure to mention that you mom advised you to make the counter-offer and you won't listen to her again.

# ¿ May 9, 2017 19:18

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

Virtue posted:

I wasn't aware the Canadian bubble was this bad. Very interesting stuff. I still don't get what changed so suddenly between buying the house and whenever the dude decided he wanted out.

Maybe the ywas "house poor" and realized that they couldn't afford to even pay the mortgage?

# ¿ May 9, 2017 19:38

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

Virtue posted:

Seems like something you would realize during the process of getting the mortgage though

You sweet summer child :allears:

# ¿ May 9, 2017 19:47

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

Doc Hawkins posted:

That's true. You'll find I said more true things about the incident a little further in my post.

I can't imagine any employer would want to deal with someone who mentions "my mother" during salary negotiations.

"I'm sorry, no promotion this year because - "
"MOM!"
---
"Can you fill out these TPS reports? As you know..."
"MOM!"
---
"We're having a team lunch and..."
"MOM!"
etc.

# ¿ May 9, 2017 21:20

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

Inept posted:

A horse of course

He can fix the fiance thing pretty easily

# ¿ May 9, 2017 22:02

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

GoGoGadgetChris posted:

Personal Anecdote I am so sorry

At my old company, I sat in on an interview where the hiring manager asked the female applicant, "This job probably won't be worth it to you if you are going to take any significant time off in your first 3 years. Do you plan on having kids any time soon? "

Applicant: "I... don't think you're supposed to ask that kind of question."

Manager: "I did, though. Do you have an answer?"

Applicant: "I don't want to answer that"

He did not hire her. Eye opening though to see how the law doesn't actually do poo poo when people can just do whatever they want anyway.

Did she contact a discrimination attorney?

# ¿ May 9, 2017 22:25

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

GoGoGadgetChris posted:

She was told "the position has been filled by a more qualified candidate" which was true. If she had sued, they would have denied saying it, and their hire was a pro pick so there was no reason to suspect she was passed over because she was a woman or wanted to have kids.

This kind of "Company first, the law second" was one of many reasons that I left the job. I was constantly stressed that she would sue and my employer would ask me to lie.

That they hired a pro pick isn't relevant, she almost certainly had a good case against the company especially if they found a pattern of this (which it sounds like they would have if they had been asking many women the same question.)

# ¿ May 9, 2017 22:39

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

GoGoGadgetChris posted:

Yeah... they didn't interview many women. This girl probably got in by accident with a gender/race neutral name on her resume.

Even better. Discrimination attorneys love that stuff, the only thing worse than rejecting all the women after an interview is obviously rejecting them based on their name.

# ¿ May 9, 2017 22:59

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

GoGoGadgetChris posted:

I always assumed they were untouchable for this. How would you prove that they received applications from a diverse pool of genders/races but only considered white males?

If they were sued would they have to produce all the applications they received? And then produce the applications that they moved forward with? What would be the metric used to determine guilt? Indicating that 30% of the applications were female but the interviews were only 10% female?

I don't know the exact number since I'm not an attorney specializing in discrimination law, though something like that, yes. There's a reason a lot of companies have moved to automated resume screeners that filter based on keyword, so they can filter out garbage resumes but not have someone claim they are also filtering out protected classes.

I'm not sure whether you blowing the whistle would count as "retaliation" for legal purposes; the lawyer I know said that retaliation was an even bigger deal than the act of discrimination itself when it came to damages.

# ¿ May 9, 2017 23:25

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

canyoneer posted:

https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/6a59kr/mother_spent_inheritance_money_left_for_college/

Mother spent inheritance money left for college (self.personalfinance)
submitted 9 hours ago by GeneralYorrick

Not only did mom steal from her kids, she spent it on "alternative medicine" magic beans

This happens often enough that if you want to leave money to someone who is still a child and want to make sure they don't spend it on jelly beans or something, you should consider ponying up and getting an actual trustee at a bank or Vanguard or something. (At the very least you can sue the bank.)

There's a fantastic book called Beyond the Grave by Gerald and Jeff Condon that is basically a volume of estate planning horror stories.

# ¿ May 9, 2017 23:48

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

You don't like blueberries? Monster.

I always got kale. Lots of lots of kale. This is before the kale craze where people make kale smoothies, kale chips, kale toast, etc.

# ¿ May 10, 2017 20:51

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

GoGoGadgetChris posted:

Alright here's a food/money question - how the gently caress do those $1/day food budget rice and bean people eat any FRUIT? My coworker is super smug about how he and his wife spend less than $150 a month on food and I have no clue how you would ever consume anything fruit-like on that budget.

Big bags of apples are cheap.

# ¿ May 10, 2017 21:03

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

Sundae posted:

Is there a name for these sorts of places? "Supermarkets with ugly food " doesn't seem like a good search string, and I'd love to find one in the bay area where I live a BWM life.

I'm pretty sure Grocery Outlet does this.

# ¿ May 10, 2017 21:28

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

pig slut lisa posted:

Careful out there, gambling fans:

I was listening to a legal help call-in show, and someone called in with a gambling story. He was staying in a casino with his brother, and he took only a few hundred with him to the gambling floor so he wouldn't lose more than that (which I guess is GWM if you are going to gamble.)

He lost it all, then drunkenly borrowed a few thousand from his brother, even writing an IOU on a napkin. Of course he lost that too. So BWM.

He called the legal show asking if he had to pay back the loan, because after all he was drunk and his brother made good money anyway. Now he's just BWL.

# ¿ May 11, 2017 18:13

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

22 Eargesplitten posted:

Keanu Reeves. No mansion, no Rolls Royce, donated millions to a Leukemia research charity.

Apparently his sister had leukemia

He was her caretaker.

Him doing that is not just GWL, that's being a mensch. :unsmith:

# ¿ May 11, 2017 18:42

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 05:21

monster on a stick: Apr 29, 2013

KingSlime posted:

TB's posting has gotten increasingly lovely over time but I find it's best to just ignore her altogether. I know, it's hard.

A friend of mine moved across the country because there are no "good job opportunities" in Austin, he's currently somewhere in Portland making $14/hr at a call center (no benefits of course).

He is also paying close to $1200 for a 400 sq. ft. apartment! I get wanting to try your luck in other regions of the country, somehow I suspect that his "there are no good jobs in Austin" excuse is just another manifestation of his perpetual incompetence. Don't move cross-country for a call center gig, kids.

I am a bit jealous of his access to dispensaries and all that but he's on his last warning for being too slow on the phone so I guess he should stay drug free for the foreseeable future.

Portland is one of those "in places" where the rent is high but the pay is low (unless you are working at Intel/Nike/government gig.) And people willingly take it because Portland has beer, weed, and Voodoo Doughnuts.

# ¿ May 11, 2017 19:34

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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