Blow that Dough 2024

[Route246]

I have a very old Weber Genesis, (made in USA, amazingly) and it still cooks very well. I replaced the grates and flavorizer bars and it truly does feel like a new grill just like yours. I also had to replace the gas regulator as the old style is no longer made for newer tanks.

Yeah, a couple of years ago I got new grates, new knobs and new flavorizer bars for my 10 year old Weber Genesis, which probably cost under $700 back in 2011, and it still feels like a new grill!

 

[LateToFIRE]

How much dough we all have varies. I’m newly retired. Due to some issues with kids still on college financial aid we are planning to draw the bare minimum from our 401k for the next two years.

I was trying to decide which gas grill would complete my outdoor kitchen. It was down to the Weber Genesis for about $1400 or the Summit for about $3500. My final decision? New grates for my old grill should suffice for the next year at least.

$3500?

That's a lot of meat you can buy for that money.

Lot of filet mignons.

Yeah, a couple of years ago I got new grates, new knobs and new flavorizer bars for my 10 year old Weber Genesis, which probably cost under $700 back in 2011, and it still feels like a new grill!

I was fortunate to "inherit" a big ole Weber Summit six burner with sear station, rotiserrie, smoke box, etc. It came with the vacation house we acquired 10 years ago. That grill must be about 20-25 years old and still going strong. I was pretty stoked it came with the house! Of course, let's not talk about how much paid for the house, speaking of BTD.

 

[LateToFIRE]

I have a very old Weber Genesis, (made in USA, amazingly) and it still cooks very well. I replaced the grates and flavorizer bars and it truly does feel like a new grill just like yours. I also had to replace the gas regulator as the old style is no longer made for newer tanks.

Similar experience with very old Weber Summit. I think it may outlast me.

 

[DrRoy]

We got a 4 burner Weber Genesis last year at Costco for $800.

 

[MBAustin]

After losing ~50% of our tree cover through two ice/snow storms in the past 3 years, we decided to spring for a total makeover. Rip out and replace the (poorly built) patio, new wheelchair ramp, rebuild our 12 year old little fish pond, add stabilized gravel paths and lots of new bird/butterfly friendly plants. Don't have the final $$ yet but it will probably be over $50K. But it will be worth it to be able to enjoy the nice space we have that is truly butt-ugly right now.

 

[Midpack]

I will probably never BTD like we could/should (on paper), but we have spent a little more, and I've reached a small epiphany that will help a little. We only travel a couple times a year, but we have continued to stay at cheap hotels, Hampton Inn or equivalent usually. But we've stayed at some nicer places the last few times, and I guess I've decided life is too short to stay in average hotels. So I expect we'll be spending 2 to 5 times as much per night from now on when we travel. Why not...baby steps.

We just spent over $4K on landscaping that was totally unnecessary IMO, but DW wanted it, good enough for me.

 

[RobLJ]

17k on a heatpump and high efficiency furnace (after the 2k fed tax credit). Long story but current furnace coil in the attic was installed when the house was built in 2005) without a drip pan and on days over 96-98 the condensation drips on the ceiling of the top floor and on the stairs. 2k or so to get a drip pan installed didn't make much sense given that half of the ACs on the block were replaced last summer or summer before.
Also 8k for 1st class tickets to Scotland for the June hike. First time I've flown 1st class (wife used to fly business class to go to London/Portugal when she had to fly for business).

 

[Sunset]

After losing ~50% of our tree cover through two ice/snow storms in the past 3 years, we decided to spring for a total makeover. Rip out and replace the (poorly built) patio, new wheelchair ramp, rebuild our 12 year old little fish pond, add stabilized gravel paths and lots of new bird/butterfly friendly plants. Don't have the final $$ yet but it will probably be over $50K. But it will be worth it to be able to enjoy the nice space we have that is truly butt-ugly right now.

Aren't the gravel pathways difficult to navigate in a wheelchair ?

 

[audreyh1]

But we've stayed at some nicer places the last few times, and I guess I've decided life is too short to stay in average hotels. So I expect we'll be spending 2 to 5 times as much per night from now on when we travel. Why not...baby steps.

That is what it comes down to. Life keeps getting shorter and able bodied to travel life shorter than that!

 

[marko]

. But we've stayed at some nicer places the last few times, and I guess I've decided life is too short to stay in average hotels. So I expect we'll be spending 2 to 5 times as much per night from now on when we travel. Why not...baby steps.

We just spent over $4K on landscaping that was totally unnecessary IMO, but DW wanted it, good enough for me.

That is what it comes down to. Life keeps getting shorter and able bodied to travel life shorter than that!

+100. Mom always said " if you're not good to yourself, who's going to be?"
See my signature below.

 

[sengsational]

Still looking to BTD on a charter from Charlotte to Indiana on 4/8, but no takers. This despite the scads of posts in the 'first million...' thread with million crossing dates as long as you arm.

 

[wannabefire]

Picked up a new gravel race bicycle for this coming season. This year’s ride has more flex in the frame and can handle wider tires with lower air pressure to take the edge off of the bumps and washboards …. this makes endurance races on rough gravel roads so much easier on my 59 year old body. Less post-race Advil will be needed!

Biggest gravel race I have on the schedule this year so far is a one-day 100 miler with 8k feet of elevation gain. Will be filling up my race calendar with similar events soon.

Wasn’t a large BTD event, but more than I usually spend on a race bike.

Seems that nobody cares about your new gravel race bike. I do though!

What did you get? Do you like it? And what 100 mile gravel race are you doing with 8k of vert?

 

[Montecfo]

I have a very old Weber Genesis, (made in USA, amazingly) and it still cooks very well. I replaced the grates and flavorizer bars and it truly does feel like a new grill just like yours. I also had to replace the gas regulator as the old style is no longer made for newer tanks.

Mine is circa 2000. the bottom tray has some rust and I need a new igniter and regulator. I may spring for grates.

Still works fine.

 

[pacergal]

Scheduled a family adventure for our Hawaii trip in July with kids/grands--swimming with dolphins: $2000.
Grandsons are so excited!

 

[marko]

That is what it comes down to. Life keeps getting shorter and able bodied to travel life shorter than that!

I've mentioned here a few times about an old guy I met in a tavern, 12 years ago.

He said: "You're 60? You need to realize that even if you live to 90, you've only got 15 good years, 18 at best, where you'll want to do things. After that, you're either unable or unwilling to travel, be active, go out etc. You lose interest in things. All you'll want to do is stay home and read a book".

I saw this with my own, very active mother. Once she hit around 85 she just stopped wanting to do things. She was still quite alert and physically able but mostly spent her days reading and watching TV. She passed at 93 but by then I had to practically drag her to Florida each year. She just didn't want to be bothered.

 

[athena53]

Just got back from a round trip from DSM to Chicago with my son, DIL and the grandkids. I'd taken the 2 older girls (now 7 and 10) a few times but this time their brother (4 1/2) and parents joined us. It was the little one's first flight, first subway, and first visit to the Children's Museum, which I HIGHLY recommend. The oldest has probably been there 6 times and loves it.

Had to stay at the Hilton O'Hare, runway view- girls will NOT be talked into staying downtown. The oldest is now using FlightAware to track flights around ORD and look up airport codes. The place is a ripoff- has only location going for it and no decent food options in the vicinity outside and the Hilton food is expense-account prices. We took Uber back from the museum- pricey but it was cold and nasty and the bus to the subway stop we needed just left as we got out of the museum Worth it-driver was a nice guy form Mongolia. The girls also love Uber because we typically get a friendly driver from someplace interesting. I got adjoining rooms but told DS and DDIL it wouldn't be romantic- they had company in the king-size bed in their room!

Oh- I think now I gotta renew my Dreadfully Expensive AA MasterCard. They like the Admiral's Club.

Watching all of them have fun and discover things, watching my son and DIL enjoy their kids' experiences, watching DDIL so excited over the plane ride she took videos during takeoff and landing- priceless.

 

[DrRoy]

I will probably never BTD like we could/should (on paper), but we have spent a little more, and I've reached a small epiphany that will help a little. We only travel a couple times a year, but we have continued to stay at cheap hotels, Hampton Inn or equivalent usually. But we've stayed at some nicer places the last few times, and I guess I've decided life is too short to stay in average hotels. So I expect we'll be spending 2 to 5 times as much per night from now on when we travel. Why not...baby steps.

We used to try and keep lodging below $150/night, but now days we will go up to $300 occasionally. Some years ago we dreamed about owing a log home, but in the end we remodeled the one we have, thinking that we could rent a log place some time. We finally tried that 2 years ago in the Colorado mountains. It was $1500 for three nights, but we really loved it, and that was sure far less than buying our own. We have another one this summer.

 

[Koolau]

We used to try and keep lodging below $150/night, but now days we will go up to $300 occasionally. Some years ago we dreamed about owing a log home, but in the end we remodeled the one we have, thinking that we could rent a log place some time. We finally tried that 2 years ago in the Colorado mountains. It was $1500 for three nights, but we really loved it, and that was sure far less than buying our own. We have another one this summer.

When "on the road" I hate spending a lot just to sleep for 7 hours. Staying in one place for a few days, I'm much more willing to BTD to have a "place" to stay that isn't just a bed and a shower. YMMV

 

[audreyh1]

We are totally BTD on hotels in 2024 for our upcoming AZ road trip, then a long Europe trip, and later Grand Teton NP including a few nights at Jenny Lake Lodge.

Not counting the one nighter locations, just the destination locations. That’s where we BTD.

 

[ksr]

I just started a BTD project. My kitchen is original to the house (40 years). The refrigerator was 40 years old and the stove was 33 years. I hung on as long as I could but the stove finally gave up. I went ahead and bought new fridge, stove and dishwasher and just had them delivered on Friday. Honestly I felt a little sad about the still-functional refrigerator, and I am sure the new one won’t last nearly 40 years.

Anyway, this was Part 1. Part 2 will be new countertops and tile backsplash. I’m kind of pushing myself to do this as I find home projects pretty stressful.

 

[Koolau]

I just started a BTD project. My kitchen is original to the house (40 years). The refrigerator was 40 years old and the stove was 33 years. I hung on as long as I could but the stove finally gave up. I went ahead and bought new fridge, stove and dishwasher and just had them delivered on Friday. Honestly I felt a little sad about the still-functional refrigerator, and I am sure the new one won’t last nearly 40 years.

Anyway, this was Part 1. Part 2 will be new countertops and tile backsplash. I’m kind of pushing myself to do this as I find home projects pretty stressful.

Yes, kitchen remodels are, by definition, BTD! But, enjoy the process and the finished project.

 

[CardsFan]

When "on the road" I hate spending a lot just to sleep for 7 hours. Staying in one place for a few days, I'm much more willing to BTD to have a "place" to stay that isn't just a bed and a shower. YMMV

I hear you about on the road, but we finally upgraded our overnights to/from FL from Quality Inns to Springhill Suites. Maybe $30-$50 more per night, but more consistent. QI was more hit or miss with quality. Springhill seems to be a little nicer and consistent. Or, maybe we just got lucky on the last trip.

 

[audreyh1]

We pretty much do Hilton or Marriott on our one-nighter road segments these days. Pretty reliable and generally consistent. Where we live it generally takes us one night just to get out of Texas and often another night to reach our first destination by car.

 

[folivier]

We've used Hampton Inn's for years but since covid we find that they're more expensive and many need updating. So we started using Best Western's and have been pleasantly surprised at the quality. On our last trip back from the cabin we stayed twice at two different BW's and hit a promotion for one free night. We'll use that one for our stay in Raton, NM where the BW is higher than the others.
We also have doctor's appointments once or twice a year in Salt Lake City and have been staying at Springhill Suites. Nice upgrade since we're there a couple days. Also my Marriott credit card gives me 1 free night each year so we use it there.

 

[street]

I just started a BTD project. My kitchen is original to the house (40 years). The refrigerator was 40 years old and the stove was 33 years. I hung on as long as I could but the stove finally gave up. I went ahead and bought new fridge, stove and dishwasher and just had them delivered on Friday. Honestly I felt a little sad about the still-functional refrigerator, and I am sure the new one won’t last nearly 40 years.

Anyway, this was Part 1. Part 2 will be new countertops and tile backsplash. I’m kind of pushing myself to do this as I find home projects pretty stressful.

Yes, kitchens do qualify for BTD. I did a complete remodel from floors to everything in kitchen last year. I did all the remodel myself or it would have been tripled in cost to do. I did get a quote and it was unreal what labor was to do the remodel.