Disposable Income

[Diapered Jason]

Rusty, if you can't afford a better car, your driving a beater with over 200k miles or not driving at all, but agree 6 or 7 years old is ideal, because you can save quite a bit of money. If you can get 3k together, you can buy a 6 or 7 year old car. I got my 2013 hyundai accent for $2900. Great commuter call, gets 40 miles to the gallon. All it needed was a new ac compressor when I got it. Not a problem. Easy fix because the engine is so small and simple, you can get to all the bolts no problem.

The other car I have is a 2006 chevy uplander that I purchased for $1200. It leaked oil, but honestly, what chevy doesn't. Other than that, there was nothing wrong mechanically and is a great workhorse vehicle for what I do. The engine is not very fun to work on though.

I have no money tied up in my cars and have plenty of money aside to replace them if I get tired of them, which admittedly, is coming soon for the Chevy, because it is a beater. Insurance is cheap and I don't really care what happens to them.

I'm not saying to not buy a new car, but I am saying buy it with cash or not at all. If you take the loan, you are leaving so much money on the table, it is insane. The depreciation is irrelevant, because a car is not an asset, it is a liability. If it takes more than 40% of your yearly income to buy this car, then you have no business owning it.

[2sail2]

On 10/21/2020 at 11:10 PM, dlinmsp said:

I have run a business.  Do you all realize that expenses far outweigh what you think you are worth.  How much do I have to make for you to earn $15 dollars an hour to wash dishes or wait tables.  Depending upon the business your value is very minimal.  All you are is someone to fill a time slot on a schedule and actually hope that you show up to work.  You think that you are so valuable, depending upon the business, how much do I have sell to let you make $15 dollars per hour.  

  

I don't know, kind of depends on the industry...I saw a report once how much each employee brings in.  It was around $280,000.  

Don't get me started on internet / cable tv.  I pay $213 and get 200 mbps.  I also have netflix, amazon and philo.  Well, netflix I froze for a while.  You can freeze it for up to 10 months (if I recall). 

[AwakenEvil]

3 hours ago, 2sail2 said:

I don't know, kind of depends on the industry...I saw a report once how much each employee brings in.  It was around $280,000.  

Don't get me started on internet / cable tv.  I pay $213 and get 200 mbps.  I also have netflix, amazon and philo.  Well, netflix I froze for a while.  You can freeze it for up to 10 months (if I recall). 

I have 200mb and only pay $44 a month from Charter Spectrum. Are you getting cable with that and all the extra pay channels like HBO Etc?

[rusty pins]

19 hours ago, Diapered Jason said:

Rusty, if you can't afford a better car, your driving a beater with over 200k miles or not driving at all, but agree 6 or 7 years old is ideal, because you can save quite a bit of money. If you can get 3k together, you can buy a 6 or 7 year old car. I got my 2013 hyundai accent for $2900. Great commuter call, gets 40 miles to the gallon. All it needed was a new ac compressor when I got it. Not a problem. Easy fix because the engine is so small and simple, you can get to all the bolts no problem.

The other car I have is a 2006 chevy uplander that I purchased for $1200. It leaked oil, but honestly, what chevy doesn't. Other than that, there was nothing wrong mechanically and is a great workhorse vehicle for what I do. The engine is not very fun to work on though.

I have no money tied up in my cars and have plenty of money aside to replace them if I get tired of them, which admittedly, is coming soon for the Chevy, because it is a beater. Insurance is cheap and I don't really care what happens to them.

I'm not saying to not buy a new car, but I am saying buy it with cash or not at all. If you take the loan, you are leaving so much money on the table, it is insane. The depreciation is irrelevant, because a car is not an asset, it is a liability. If it takes more than 40% of your yearly income to buy this car, then you have no business owning it.

No way would I ever spend 40% of my yearly income on a car!  My point is, I would not buy a new car unless I could afford it, and that would happen after 40 years of work, savings and having spent money on the more important essentials like home and family.  I would also not spend money on a car so old I might get 2 years out of it before junking it, and after having to keep pouring money into it to keep it running.  I paid $5,000 for my latest used vehicle in excellent condition (having my mechanic first go over it with a fine tooth comb).  I paid for it with money from my investments.  When I got my next two quarterly statements, I not only had recouped that $5,000 from money made from my investments, I gained even more!  I basically got a free vehicle because I invest wisely and have a well funded retirement account.  Even so, if I had to take out a loan for that amount from a bank, I would have taken out a 2 or 3 year loan and paid it off in half the time.  Sometimes in life you have to have a balance between what you want to spend for a much better vehicle if you can afford it or getting something at the end of it's useful life for less money.  It can be a bit of a gamble as long as you know your finances and limitations.  Paying a modest interest rate could be worth it in the eyes of many for getting something decent that will last many more years with less money for repairs and maintenance that getting a beater car that you junk in a couple years after putting money into it to keep it running.  The many more years you can keep a good vehicle with less money spent for repairs might very well offset any interest you would pay on the loan instead of having to pay money to get a new beater every 2 or 3 years, not to mention what you would be paying to keep such an old car running.  There is a balance everyone has to take into account. 

[ValentinesStuff]

10 hours ago, 2sail2 said:

I don't know, kind of depends on the industry...I saw a report once how much each employee brings in.  It was around $280,000.  

 

Bahahahahahahahaha.

 

I've worked at businesses that barely made three times that in gross revenues. They had a lot more than 3 employees. 

[Dubious]

Tools aren't really disposable income if you need the tools.. 
I still have the drill I bought 20 years ago and I kinda want a new one, but I don't need it, and if I buy a new its disposable income 

I bought a impact wrench 3 or so years ago to change wheels on 2-3 cars, which paid it self the first year
Before it was a hassle to change on just my car and was considering getting someone else to do it
Now its easy and fun

[AwakenEvil]

3 hours ago, Dubious said:

Tools aren't really disposable income if you need the tools.. 
I still have the drill I bought 20 years ago and I kinda want a new one, but I don't need it, and if I buy a new its disposable income 

I bought a impact wrench 3 or so years ago to change wheels on 2-3 cars, which paid it self the first year
Before it was a hassle to change on just my car and was considering getting someone else to do it
Now its easy and fun

I have some Snap-On tools and a lot of craftsmen hand tools which are all likely 10 to 15 years old that honestly will never likely need to be replace but the 10mm, them fuckers get up and walk away at any given opportunity. I can say anyone buying tools is always an investment. I know everything I bought for home repairs have paid for the themselves in the last 5 years of home ownership.

[hungsmall]

Tools are definitely an investment, if well cared-for and care taken that they not “walk away.” i have one small set of common items for lending and a more complete set kept locked up. It’s a great feeling to be able to put my hands on just the right tool for a task.

[Dubious]

My chair is 30 years old, cause I have the tools to repair it every year..
I have owned it for 20 years, before that it was my dads and I should replace it, but I can't find anything new that is a s good as this beaten old chair

[Crinklz Kat]

On 10/22/2020 at 1:50 PM, DiapersOfTheStorm said:

That there kinda sounds like the Concorde fallacy to me. 

Anyway, you will always lose money on a car.

 

 

 

Not entirely true.   My "new" car (now 3 years old - hard to believe that) I managed to buy at such a discount I could have sold it at a substantial profit just a couple of months later.  It's fairly rare so even now, they're holding value very well and if I were to sell, I'd only be out about 10 grand all in (that's including gas and insurance) for the past 3 years.   But that's a rare exception for a "common" car.  Buy something like a Ferrari or Lamborghini and they'll go up in value simply because there are so few of them and so many want one.   But who among us here can afford anything like that? 

 

On 10/22/2020 at 10:44 PM, AwakenEvil said:

This. This. This. People in city of St. Louis started whining about $15 an hour, and they got it. Now when ever I go into one of several restaurants I am no longer greeted by a human being, but a goddamn terminator from Skynet asking if I want pickles on my double cheese... This is what you get when unskilled people demand more money... Fucking Skynet

$15/hr is more than I made starting out in my profession after getting 2 college degrees!  Granted, that was 25 years ago, but what would that equate to today?   And yet, I still managed to pay off my college debt in just 7 years.

[deewet]

To quote a sports figure Cris B, "come-on man"

Lets take a breath and face reality here. 

I have worked for, managed, and retired from technical business and can tell you that the "entry level" salary's do not dictate sales levels, those are based on the technical level and managerial positions.  Engineers, Sales managers, Division managers are all hired and retained on their performance ability, entry level positions are not!  This is still America, and you are typically paid on what you can do.  Not only  is this true in sectors like I came from but also in sports, the arts, and even media.  Why do you believe coaches get let go so easily?  When have you last paid top dollar to go see a low ratings show, or go to a rock concert featuring an unheard of group?

We are not a socialist society  yet, where everyone is paid the same so they say? (how is that working for some of our neighbors to the south)  We are still an outcome oriented group, and have been best example of that so far as I know, reason we have so many attempting to come here I believe? 

In any case, back to the entry level wage earners.  Keep in mind, that is not expected to be a livable wage for a family, simply not true.  This is again an entry level wage, something for those just starting out to learn and advance from.  Unfortunately it is not looked at that way by many.  For organized labor, it is often used as a benchmark to set skilled rates from, IE; when min wage goes up, everyone gets a raise.  Family's or individuals with little or no marketable skills, have many other means in our society to gain adequate resources to live from, ranging from subsidies for almost everything they need to federal income refunds above tax paid.  If you want to make comparisons, how about how much a person gets in return from subsidies for a $12/hr or about $25k/yr job.  I have seen many sound estimates that you would have to make at least twice that in earned salary without the assistance to be equitable in real livable standards so what's all this about how poor off these folks are with no skills to offer?

The real question here is where is our future going!!!

 

[ValentinesStuff]

1 hour ago, deewet said:

To quote a sports figure Cris B, "come-on man"

Lets take a breath and face reality here. 

I have worked for, managed, and retired from technical business and can tell you that the "entry level" salary's do not dictate sales levels, those are based on the technical level and managerial positions.  Engineers, Sales managers, Division managers are all hired and retained on their performance ability, entry level positions are not!  This is still America, and you are typically paid on what you can do.  Not only  is this true in sectors like I came from but also in sports, the arts, and even media.  Why do you believe coaches get let go so easily?  When have you last paid top dollar to go see a low ratings show, or go to a rock concert featuring an unheard of group?

We are not a socialist society  yet, where everyone is paid the same so they say? (how is that working for some of our neighbors to the south)  We are still an outcome oriented group, and have been best example of that so far as I know, reason we have so many attempting to come here I believe? 

In any case, back to the entry level wage earners.  Keep in mind, that is not expected to be a livable wage for a family, simply not true.  This is again an entry level wage, something for those just starting out to learn and advance from.  Unfortunately it is not looked at that way by many.  For organized labor, it is often used as a benchmark to set skilled rates from, IE; when min wage goes up, everyone gets a raise.  Family's or individuals with little or no marketable skills, have many other means in our society to gain adequate resources to live from, ranging from subsidies for almost everything they need to federal income refunds above tax paid.  If you want to make comparisons, how about how much a person gets in return from subsidies for a $12/hr or about $25k/yr job.  I have seen many sound estimates that you would have to make at least twice that in earned salary without the assistance to be equitable in real livable standards so what's all this about how poor off these folks are with no skills to offer?

The real question here is where is our future going!!!

 

As a single guy with no dependents, I get diddly and squat in subsidies. Last time I checked, I made about $500 too much to get any aid. That aid would have been $10s of dollars a month, a net loss of money for me.

[Cute_Kitten]

On 10/25/2020 at 8:13 AM, deewet said:

This is still America, and you are typically paid on what you can do.  Not only  is this true in sectors

I fucking wish this was true in my particular sector. My job is not entry level. there were educational + techinical requirements. I make below the average for my line of work salary, as do others in my area and instead of relocating and leaving family and friends behind, I'm switching jobs.  My line of work is a small and specialized field, and I work for a large employer (corporation, no room for small business etc in this field).  I entered the field due to "oh, it will get better just needs some time" bullshit, but it's only gotten worse.  Much of it has gone overseas and what's left is a malingering dinosaur. I mentioned raising the minimum wage because that would force the board of directors to finally pony up on the wage increases they've been dangling for a while now to keep people from walking out the door. eta-there's nothing wrong with working a minimum wage job. shit happens, you gotta do what you gotta do, people end up in crappy situations (not always just starting out in life, you can have all your ducks in a row and life goes "lol! yeah right!" and blows those ducks sky high leaving someone up shit creek without a paddle.) 

 

[Cruiser 03]

Disposable income spent on diapers  for incontinent  people becomes practically nothing but a backache for the he garbage man.

 

If you buy disposable diapers wirh 

Keith 

[kasarberang]

My wife and I live below the poverty line, we make a little less than 2 people who work minimum wage would in where we live in California. She makes a bit more than Minimum Wage and I make less than minimum wage (disability)

I have a little spreadsheet setup with sections for income, spending and bills. I put in what we make, put in the bills (which stay the same) and than it outputs how much we have left to spend. With each purchase I add it in the spending section (rounding it up to the nearest dollar) and it keeps updating with how much we have left to spend.

This way I never go over.

Another thing we do is we alternate spending money each month, so I'll get it one month and my wife gets it another month. This keeps things equal in a way that satisfies both of us.

 

I'd love to say we're the most responsible people in the world and we save every spare cent we have, but we don't. We save whatever is most convenient for us at a time, sometimes it's $0 sometimes it's $50 and sometimes it's over $100.

We're still pretty new to this living on our own thing, so far we're doing good and we're living better than my family who owns a 2 story house, simply because we have no debt and we try our best to keep it that way.

[Dubious]

2 hours ago, Cruiser 03 said:

Disposable income spent on diapers  for incontinent  people becomes practically nothing but a backache for the he garbage man.

The garbage man should have a machine that lifts the garbage
Yes, its faster to just throw it in, but sometimes you need the help and not just cause of diapers