Blow that Dough! - 2018

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danmar actually the LBYM thing was getting a little old no? This is a refreshing change. But I don’t think it will last long.

I agree it is refreshing.

Maybe it will last longer. Hopefully folks have extracted a bit extra from the recent bull run and won’t be scared out of spending it.

[DrRoy]

Travel, baby, travel. Splurging big this year on a guided photo tour of Patagonia.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcowan After 15 years, I only have to survive another 15 to go to validate FireCalc! So far, it seems to be wrong.

In my case, only on the 6th year of retirement but I see it would be difficult to prove FIRECalc wrong. The range of outcomes is so huge that at my demise my stash should fall somewhere in that range.

Of course WWIII may break out, then all bets are off.

[calmloki]

When I die, bury me in my straight-leg britches
Put on a box-back coat and a Stetson hat
Put a twenty-dollar gold piece on my watch chain
So you can let all the boys know I died standing pat

[audreyh1]

iTunes gift card deal at Costco.com - additional 10% off what already is discounted 5-7.5% (depending on how large a card). Comes out to 17.5% off on the $200 gift card, a bit less on the smaller denominations.

This is how I load up my iTunes store credit which covers my streaming subscriptions, music and iBooks.

[GravitySucks]

Imma gonna turn the heat back down to 67.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GravitySucks Imma gonna turn the heat back down to 67.

[JoeWras]

That was fun for a little while...

[Milton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound Of course WWIII may break out, then all bets are off.

"Don't be afraid of buying on a war scare": Philip Fisher, Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits (1958).

[NW-Bound]

Depends on where you are.

If you were too busy dodging bullets and bombs, or evacuating from the advancing enemy like much of the world in WWII, you forgot to buy stocks, even if the exchanges were still open.

[HFWR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound Depends on where you are. If you were too busy dodging bullets and bombs, or evacuating from the advancing enemy like much of the world in WWII, you forgot to buy stocks, even if the exchanges were still open.

The internet was down...

[copyright1997reloaded]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTFan You've got that right, truck prices are insane. Can't believe that the $12k Frontier I had 20 years ago is double that price now. Yeah it's a bigger truck but it's not any nicer, just twice as much. I need to replace my 15-year old car too but am having a hard time pulling the trigger even though I have plenty of money to buy anything I want. LBYM got me to FIRE and it's still grabbing me hard 3 years after I ER'd. Plus I'm not even putting 200 miles a month on my old dog which makes it even harder to justify when the old dog won't die.

I bought a F150 a couple years ago, the most expensive vehicle I've ever bought. Then again, I lost more $ on both Friday and today than what the truck cost me....and then some.

[Turboslacker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister I'm in this game too. Finally decided I was old enough to treat myself to a high end car and I'll be going to Sweden next month to pick up a new Volvo XC60. We'll drive it around western Sweden for a bit, then turn it in and let them ship it home for me. Volvo's Overseas Delivery (OSD) program is really amazing. Not only do they give you a sizable discount from MSRP, you also get two free SAS tickets to Sweden and a night in a top hotel. Plus the free shipment and no dealer prep charge. We'll be spending a few days in each of Copenhagen, Gothenburg, and Stockholm, so it'll be a fun trip, even in March. But the "blow that dough" aspect is that it will be roughly twice what my last car cost. Doesn't bother me a bit, since I feel I've reached the age when I'm allowed to do what I want.

Very cool

[kevdude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Finance Dave We are going to San Fran and Phoenix this fall. We are Oakland Raiders fans and have a tradition of going to 2 games/year at away cities. Our goal is to see them play at every NFL city. We have been to 19 cities, and after this year it will be 21. I enjoy hi-performance cars...so while in San Fran I'm considering one of the ultra-exotic car drive experiences. There are two basic flavors: 1) YOu get to drive a few exotic cars on city streets for about 30 minutes each...trading cars with others in your "group" so you each get to drive all the cars. Upside is that you get to try 3-4 cars, downside is that you don't get to accelerate or attain high speeds. 2) YOu can pick one car and drive it at sustained high speeds around a track designated for the event. Upside is that you get to "race" the car and experience the full potential. Downside is you only get a few laps, in one car...and the whole thing is over in about 30 minutes. Which would you do and why? That's going to be my "blow the dough" for 2018...either event costs about $1,200-$1,500. Not super expensive, but certainly not a necessity.

I participated in something very similar to #1 back in 2007. I was invited by a company I did business with to an event in Santa Fe, NM, which included a 1/2 day of driving a Lambourghini, Ferrari, Mercedes SLR, and a couple of others that escape me now. We drove through the mountains outside of Santa Fe. The company that provided the vehicles (IIRC it was called Ultimate Driving Experience) had a lead car and a tail car looking out for highway patrol, so we could drive pretty fast (I was over 100 mph a few times), subject to the curves of the mountain highway, which certainly added to the exhilaration. That was one of the funnest days I've had in a long time. We drove in pairs and switched off after about 20 minutes or so.

I also attended the Skip Barber Racing School at Laguna Seca, which was a two-day course. It was probably the most exciting two days I can remember having. That was a Christmas present from DW prior to the birth of our first child.

Back to your question, based on my Santa Fe experience I would go with #1, even if its only on city streets.

[kevdude]

I have teenage kids...Blowing the dough seems like a never-ending ordeal...

[NW-Bound]

Wait until you get to blow your dough on college costs.

[kevdude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound Wait until you get to blow your dough on college costs.

Not looking forward to it. Our son is a sophomore and at this point wants to go to Berkeley as a non-resident. Ouch...

[MichaelB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevdude Not looking forward to it. Our son is a sophomore and at this point wants to go to Berkeley as a non-resident. Ouch...

Ouch is right. Good luck with that.

[braumeister]

Sounds like a nice place, and convenient to all parts of the greater NYC area. Tuition shouldn't be outrageous, either.

Quote:

Berkeley College has campuses in New York, New Jersey, and online.

College Degrees | NJ & NY Degree & Certificate Programs | Campus or Online at Berkeley

[kcowan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcowan After 15 years, I only have to survive another 15 to go to validate FireCalc! So far, it seems to be wrong.

I have earmarked $15k for improvements to our snowbird condo and some expensive side trips. Probably going to outstrip last year's budget by 30 % or so. And then there is the corrections to make it look worse!

OTOH that mortality assumption might be wrong too. 15 more years would take me to 90!