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.

Mantle posted:

Last week a coworker came to me for advice in a panic because he needed to come up with $20k to finish the last year of his M.Ed, otherwise he wouldn't be able to graduate or he'd lose all his credits or something. He couldn't get a HELOC because the other joint owner of his house refused to agree. The consequences were dire and I felt really bad for him.

Today he bought a puppy. I guess he was able to find that $20k.

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

He's got a high income and (except for a decent mortgage) not much debt.

But just lol at the idea that he needs to buy a lot because he'd rather have his kid and his friends play kickball there instead of his backyard.

And to try and justify it by saying that he doesn't have a lot of market exposure to real estate.

Guest2553 posted:

quote:

nuttydave127 3 points 1 day ago
Why can't you keep it?
The market is only heating up hang on for a few months and you can probably make a few grand atleast and walk away ahead sir !

EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:

According to Title 7 of the CRA of 1964, federally protected classes include race, color, religion, sex and national origin. Age and disability were specifically added by later individual statutes. Some states add language specifically relating to sexual orientation/gender status. You're also protected from discrimination on the basis of family responsibilities because of the equal pay amendment.

Unless you can make the case that your status is a protected class of the variety discussed above (I'm looking at you, poverty), it's not illegal for employers to discriminate against you. Felons, for instance, aren't a "protected class" from discrimination so long as you're not ALSO specifically discriminating by race (or some wonky state law prevents discrimination by felony status).

I can ask you how you got to the interview, and then when you tell me you don't have a car and have to take the bus every day, make the decision not to hire you on that basis. I can ask where you live and make the decision not to hire you on that basis, provided my decision can't be framed as being explicitly racist.

This bullshit about "can't ask about whether I live or have a car" has literally no basis in reality, and people are readily discriminated against for socioeconomic status every single day with zero legal ramifications.

Sex? National origin? You have a case, and a discrimination attorney will HAPPILY dive in.

Jack2142 posted:

PEOPLE HATE PAYING TAXES TO THE POINT THEY ACTIVELY WASTE MONEY TO AVOID PAYING LESS IN TAXES THAN THE MONEY THEY WASTE.

Its insanely frustrating and honestly really retarded to the point where a couple of my friends spend ~ 2 hours a day commuting to Portland from Vancouver so they dont have to pay state income taxes. if you take the cost of running the car alone, not to mentioned wasted time it would just be easier to pay your drat taxes. The fact one of these people is an accountant makes it extra hilarious to myself.

ate all the Oreos posted:

Yes for some reason the neighbors call it the crack house, just as a fun nickname!

EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:

The Millionaire Next Door - one of the best personal finance books in my opinion, especially because it focuses in laser close on spending - makes a really compelling case that paying for the best school your kids can get into is a really great way of keeping your family wealthy over generations. Forcing your kids to "BOOTSTRAPS!" all over again because you're too cheap to save for their education seems to me to be a decidedly counterproductive way to ensure success for your children, your grandchildren and beyond.

Zo posted:

lol taking out a loan for university is now "bootstraps"? has the word lost all meaning now?

anyway im a fan of the hands off safety net style, for university at least (grade school is a different issue and the responsibility there is entirely ​with the parents obviously). and you're always there to catch them if they run into bad luck like medical issues or whatever.

Zo posted:

i think I'm finally getting old enough to lose my grasp on new technology because i have no idea what that person is buying in that post and how time/area factors into Snapchat filters

DarkHorse posted:

crazypeltast52 posted:

I have friends that will spend forever looking for free parking if we go to meet somewhere that requires parking. I know some of them don't make a ton and therefore it makes sense that they aren't going to pay for parking. Friends that do make enough money though I think are cheap.

This story would be like one of my friends who always spent forever finding parking was actually making a bunch more than me, at which point I would probably have to recognize where I stood relative to them paying for parking.

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

quote:

I guess I should mention I could ask for a delay, and to be pushed back in line, but I want to get the car prior to the end of 2017 so I can immediately take the tax credit, and move somewhere across the country, using that $7500 tax credit as a down payment for a house.

KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:

haha this is truly excellent jesus christ

Inept posted:

more banal wedding cost debates please


Here's the photographer for your $100k wedding!

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

Another "useful" piece of advice from someone who is paid to be a financial advisor:


Hello! I'm a financial advisor. If you pay $10,000 of extra interest each year, then you can make back nearly $2,500 in taxes!

canyoneer posted:

https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/6k2dap/us_tx_dad_53_is_about_to_do_something_that_might/
Insurance(US TX) Dad (53) is about to do something that might get him killed, told me to look into life insurance "just in case" (self.personalfinance)
submitted 2 hours ago by Marin993


In all the years of life insurance being sold, surely this has never come up before and the insurance providers do not have a plan for it!

https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/6k19mj/former_heroin_addict_now_with_85k_i_want_to_start/
Former Heroin Addict now with $85K. I want to start flipping (self.personalfinance)
submitted 5 hours ago * by gchbsf


Hmm, taking $85k of cash into real estate flipping with two friends that definitely aren't just trying to offload risk, what could go wrong?

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

Someone at work got in trouble for using the "ALL" email address to send this out to several hundred people.

I have never met this guy before.

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

Government agency. All food and non-work events have to come 100% from voluntary employee contributions.

We do two events per year. Our Summer event this year is to drive ourselves to a national park that is an hour and 45 minutes away (with free admission, but they are buying some food) on a Friday afternoon.

I'm taking a hard pass on the 3 hour and 30 minute round trip on a Friday afternoon for 2 Tacos from Moe's and my choice of a bottle of water or a can of Pepsi.

John Smith posted:

I am a hardliner. You all know that. Am I not entitled to express my hardliner views? Unless the mods explicitly state that all responses here must be supportive and nurturing, otherwise I shall consider not.

Why is it that when somebody does something reckless, SA rarely holds them accountable for their own actions? Sure, you may be entitled to shout "gently caress you" to the armed mugger holding you up, but is that a wise choice? Just because you ***can*** do something, doesn't mean you ***should*** do something. Keep your mouth shut and move out when you are 18. Never look back.
Come on. This is already the better case scenario. And this is extremely bad. How did she think she is going to make it as a 16 years old girl out on the streets? I would say the exact same sentiment for this.

Breetai posted:

I'm amazed at how remarkably even-handed some of those rulings are as well. You get things like "Appellant freely admits to massive bongrips of jazz cabbage in college, but no longer associates with his friends of that time in his life and hasn't lit one up since, clearance granted" but then you'll see a similar situation where the appellant has been evasive about their past actions and they get a great big NOPE for their troubles.

Volmarias posted:

It's not about the money, it's the deterrent effect on the defendant. Class action lawsuits can cause actual financial damages and make a company think twice, because the $30 damage is now multiplied by a million, which will (hopefully) cost them more than their bad behaviour. This isn't always how it works out (my favorite being Sony giving their customers $0.50 coupons in exchange for intentionally installing malware on their customers computers) but it's the intent.

As the vice article mentions, no one except a crazy person or a very angry person will sue over $30. Requiring forced arbitration all but removes the ability of the aggrieved party to do anything about it.