LBYM Culture Shock

[lightspeed]

Sure it might be LBYM for them, but even if it was, life would be very complex and high maintenance with all that stuff.

[Animorph]

I like the house and TV's, but I'd also be turning off the lights out of habit. No sense in waste.

[unclemick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lightspeed Sure it might be LBYM for them, but even if it was, life would be very complex and high maintenance with all that stuff.

I think Al has the right idea - I remember what I liked about nice boats - you visited, enjoyed and then went home - while your neighbor took care of HIS boat.



heh heh heh -I became a non boat owner very early in my er - frugal period. .

[travelover]

My next door neighbor has a mini estate that he has dumped $2M into. They have so much "stuff" that it is like living next door to a business - there is a constant traffic of house cleaners, yard and pool maintenance people, repairmen and assorted other delivery people. It makes me tired just watching all the activity.

[CuppaJoe]

Flat screen as LBYM!? SO and I are w*rking on turning both of our TVs into non-cable rabbit ear gadgets, retro chic. I could tell the cable TV company to [delete] um, go away. Currently, we have only one set of rabbit ears but we get a clear digital image on both “fat-back” TVs. We are convinced that people are throwing rabbit ears out left and right, and are keeping an eye out for one in a “free box.” I don’t mind living 10-15 years or more behind the times. I’ve got Dickens’ “Hard Times” queued up on the ole Kindle. Uh, make that one year behind.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover My next door neighbor has a mini estate that he has dumped $2M into. They have so much "stuff" that it is like living next door to a business - there is a constant traffic of house cleaners, yard and pool maintenance people, repairmen and assorted other delivery people. It makes me tired just watching all the activity.

Trickle down economy... Keep it trickling down... You can't take it with you...

In my case, I doubt I will have much left to worry about leaving it behind. Like Haha said, horses for courses. But this horse is off the course, wandering on the prairie... Life is (still) good.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TromboneAl 1.3 million would be a bargain elsewhere, but prices are lower here in the boondocks of far northern California.

1.3M is no small change. For that money, a couple of months ago, I saw a couple of houses listed, that were on Bainbridge Island, opposite the bay from Seattle, with some view of the Space Needle. The houses are no McMansions, but good enough for most people. They are gone now.

[Nords]

For $1.3M they better be able to walk to the surf break.

[FANOFJESUS]

I know what you mean TromboneAl I have only been in a 400k house but that is in the midwest so that would be over 1 M on the coast. I have also been in homes that cost 5k so I like to keep an eye on both ends for the fun of it.

[aaronc879]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rec7 I know what you mean TromboneAl I have only been in a 400k house but that is in the midwest so that would be over 1 M on the coast. I have also been in homes that cost 5k so I like to keep an eye on both ends for the fun of it.

The nicest home i've ever been in is only worth $150,000 in small town midwest. I live in a different world than most people on this board. My condo is worth $43,000 and it seems pretty nice to me with an in- ground pool and large deck.

[FANOFJESUS]

I am in a town of over 1M people.

[FANOFJESUS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaronc879 The nicest home i've ever been in is only worth $150,000 in small town midwest. I live in a different world than most people on this board. My condo is worth $43,000 and it seems pretty nice to me with an in- ground pool and large deck.

I did not know Wisconsin was a good deal like that. But I am guessing that the winter is also built into that price.

[BunsGettingFirm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOL! You can't judge a house by flat-screen TVs anymore. They are dirt cheap nowadays. An outstanding Sony 52" is less than $1800. A Samsung is under $2000. You can pay more, but why would you? Even welfare moms have these TVs nowadays, so if you don't have one, then you are not LBYM --- you are doing something else altogether.

I don't have one, and I'm not a future antique collector. I just updated 5 years ago to a 27" TV from an old 19" TV from 1983.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TromboneAl Went to a dinner party at a 1.3 million dollar house. Super fancy throughout, overlooking the Pacific. Probably at least 120 lights on at all times. They had the largest flat screen TV I've seen in the living room, and down the hall, in the den, there were two more, side by side. "So I can watch two football games at once," he said.

You had dinner with Al Gore? Were all 120 lights CFLs? (sorry, couldn't resist, I'm still having some Soap-Box withdrawal issues).

It is a bit disconcerting though, to think about how some of us are monitoring our stuff with Kill-a-Watt meters, turning out lights, keeping the thermostat at the edge of our comfort levels, etc, and other people can wipe out those efforts ten times over.


It got me thinking though, I'm not ever really seriously jealous of people's "stuff" (I could be jealous of a great view though), but sometimes I get a bit jealous thinking that some people can just decide to take a first-class vacation, pay to have the house watched & maintained, and it just isn't a financial concern at all, they don't even give it a thought. That would be nice, but not nice enough for me to keep working, since I didn't

And to put it in perspective, even the most frugal among us is living like royalty compared to so many in this world. They would probably look at us with the same wonderment.


-ERD50

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaronc879 The nicest home i've ever been in is only worth $150,000 in small town midwest. I live in a different world than most people on this board. My condo is worth $43,000 and it seems pretty nice to me with an in- ground pool and large deck.

Houses on the two coasts are expensive, and people there make more money too, but the cost of living is also high. In the final analysis, who can say they are happier than others?

And speaking of TV, I bought a big screen TV quite early (in 2002), but once the novelty wore off, I found I could enjoy a movie just as much on my smaller bedroom TV, while laying in bed. You see, I like to watch drama, and also the classics on DVD. I pay more attention to the storyline and the acting than the in-your-face stunts and earth-shattering surround sound effect. A lousy movie seen on a big TV is still lousy.

[Jeb-NY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOL! You can't judge a house by flat-screen TVs anymore. They are dirt cheap nowadays. An outstanding Sony 52" is less than $1800. A Samsung is under $2000. You can pay more, but why would you? Even welfare moms have these TVs nowadays, so if you don't have one, then you are not LBYM --- you are doing something else altogether.

Boy dirt is expensive where you live.

Jeb

[kcowan]

I went through that period 25 years ago. Four cars, acreage, 5000sq.ft house, pool, jacuzzi, billiard room. Every Saturday was devoted to maintenance. That stuff owns you.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOL! Even welfare moms have these TVs nowadays, so if you don't have one, then you are not LBYM --- you are doing something else altogether.

Now I know the reason I don't have one - I'm not a welfare mom. Mystery solved...

[aaronc879]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeb-NY Boy dirt is expensive where you live. Jeb

My thoughts exactly. The most i've ever spent on a tv is $3xx. It'll be many years before i'd even consider spending near 2 grand for a tv.

[FUEGO]

TV prices are all relative. I remember going TV shopping with my parents in the early 1990's. A 27" color tv was $700 out the door. Today, that would get me a cutting edge 40+" HD tv that is much more energy efficient and more compact, without saying anything about quality of image. Not dirt cheap, but not exactly expensive. That is the typical person's salary for a week. Maybe two weeks for a low income person. Maybe three weeks for a welfare mom (or dad, don't want to be sexist after all).

And what is the big deal with the lights? I keep most of mine turned off, and when I leave the room I turn them off. We also use CFLs. But if I'm entertaining, I have the lights on. 120 lights at average consumption of 60 watts/bulb (incandescent) and $0.10 per kWh electricity equals $0.72 per hour. $0.16/hr if CFL's. There's cheap and then there's frugal. Not turning lights on when company is over is cheap IMHO. Especially if you need to show off your $1.3 million mansion. After all, if others can't enjoy the opulence, what is the point of owning that sucker?