What is your financial Achilles' heel?

[travelover]

Great idea. I love these little nuggets of wisdom. Thanks.

Yea, sure. Now misshathaway doesn't get to buy a cool tool.

 

[Quacker]

Re post #41

moemg: i read your post this afternoon, got right up and prepared a spray bottle with your special recipe (yeah/yeah, i need to get a life)...but, you are so right....IT WORKS!!! How i made it to wayyyy the far side of half a century old without knowing about this amazing Dawn/vinegar magic is beyond me - thanks so much for sharing, this is BIG!

 

[sengsational]

Ultra micro (UMX) radio control model aircraft. I think I have about twelve now and two on backorder.

Pretty cheap, though. With me, it's UAV's. Last count, I had purchased six X5C's. Two still in the flight box, one on the shelf, one in the tree (I can see it), and two gone, gone. But they're only $21 from Hong Kong. I buy two at a time...who knows what tree will reach out and grab one!

 

[Scuba]

I am a sucker for animals too)

Me too! We spent $25K trying to save our previous dog and he didn't make it. Cancer was too aggressive.

 

[Ready]

Anything made by Apple.

Otherwise, not much really.

 

[atmsmshr]

Keeping all my mega corps matching stock in the 401k for NUA tax break when I turn 59.5.

Its been a sweet ride so far, beating S&P 500 by a wide margin.

Anyone remember Enron?

 

[Moemg]

moemg: i read your post this afternoon, got right up and prepared a spray bottle with your special recipe (yeah/yeah, i need to get a life)...but, you are so right....IT WORKS!!! How i made it to wayyyy the far side of half a century old without knowing about this amazing Dawn/vinegar magic is beyond me - thanks so much for sharing, this is BIG!

You are welcome ! I just found this cleaning secret this year after years of trying everything .It works and if you use it weekly or every other week you will never scrub your shower again.I also use it on shower doors .

 

[FIREd]

I'm not worried about spending I can control. My achilles heals are health insurance and possibly having to support an aging parent.

That sums it up for me.

 

[Lsbcal]

You are welcome ! I just found this cleaning secret this year after years of trying everything .It works and if you use it weekly or every other week you will never scrub your shower again.I also use it on shower doors .

Is it going to work on 6 months between cleanings.

 

[steadystate]

Gadgets. Just ordered brushes that you can attach to your hand-held drill for scrubbing the shower.

That is hands down the most exceptionally silly answer! But ... wait a minute ... tell me where I can buy some!

 

[Moemg]

Is it going to work on 6 months between cleanings.

Yes , It cleaned my soap scum that had been building for eons .

 

[MrLoco]

Poker

 

[Winemaker]

Fresh, ripe vitis vinifera grapes from California. Was able to snag about 750# quality cab sauv, petite syrah, and sangiovese. However, I am looking for some different varieties of local apple juice/cider for my yeasties to consume!

 

[Amethyst]

Glad to hear that some CA grapes survived the wildfires. I wonder if the mature (25-80 years old) vines are tough enough to get through the fires and go back to producing.

Fresh, ripe vitis vinifera grapes from California. Was able to snag about 750# quality cab sauv, petite syrah, and sangiovese. However, I am looking for some different varieties of local apple juice/cider for my yeasties to consume!

 

[kcowan]

Anything made by Apple.

Otherwise, not much really.

getting our 8 Plus today! We do not consider this an Achilles heal. Just a good device choice.

 

[Lsbcal]

getting our 8 Plus today! We do not consider this an Achilles heal. Just a good device choice.

I've been looking at this too. Comparing it to Pixel 2 XL which is similar sized. Google is well ahead in it's voice recognition which makes me hesitate on the iPhone 8 Plus. But I read that the Google Assistant can be loaded onto the iPhone 8. I guess the Google software (like Google Maps) is available on the iPhone so not really an issue.

On my iPad, I notice some voice recognition problems but am unclear if this is partly a microphone issue that is maybe better on an iPhone. To me, voice recognition is really key as typing on a tiny keyboard is a pain (maybe not for teenagers).

During the recent fires in our area, the smartphone was our only communication source (web and TV were out). This is a really important point that I would urge others to think about. And remember to buy a car phone charger and test it. And remember to upload some critical docs to the cloud storage.

 

[rodi]

Health insurance.

This sums it up for me. I worry about the hyper inflation of health care costs... Seems like premiums going up 25%/year is unsustainable... But what are you going to do?

 

[seabourne]

ditto on healthcare. Pulling the plug next year at age 39, married no kids, but the 25 year uncertainty in healthcare is possibly the biggest wildcard, only rivaled by potential large investment swings.

 

[Winemaker]

Glad to hear that some CA grapes survived the wildfires. I wonder if the mature (25-80 years old) vines are tough enough to get through the fires and go back to producing.

The biggest threat to these old or ancient vines is the marketplace. Hundreds of acres of old vine zinfandel and other varieties are getting pulled up because of the thirst for Cabernet Sauvignon, which can command prices of $6000/ton, whereas the other varieties may only price at $2,000/ton.

Do you want 20 cent divvy or a 60 cent? It's a shame but money talks.

I do have a 30 gallon barrel of OVZ in storage, aging quite nicely.

 

[RenoJay]

Mine is losing income and j*bs in the past by needing to speak my mind. My unwillingness to suck up is my financial Achilles.

 

[youbet]

Do you have a financial Achilles' heel? For example, I had thought that I was pretty resistant to pleas for money from certain relatives. No, I won't co-sign a loan, no I'm not buying that, you want it you buy it yourself. (I'm not talking about normal expenses when raising a family, and would have kicked in if my or DH's parents needed support - they were good parents and not spendthrifts).

I am the financial hardnose in the family. I reign in DH who has a soft heart and would empty his bank account buying gifts (not necessities) for grown kiddos and me.

Oldest son (an adult) got me though. A call from the vet's office, DGD (grand dog) ate a beer can, not enough money to cover the surgery, put the surgery on parents' card or dog dies. Not to mention the $ we spent (unsuccessfully) trying to save our sweet kitty this month, but I can't regret that.

So, do you have a financial Achilles' heel?

I'm a softie in lots of areas but helping folks who are in financial need due to over-spending on pets is not one of them. After decades of critters around the house, we're now happily FIRE'd and pet-free.

I understand the love and attachment. But I don't understand voluntarily creating the obligation if you can't afford it.

 

[Danmar]

Mine is losing income and j*bs in the past by needing to speak my mind. My unwillingness to suck up is my financial Achilles.

Some people call it sucking up, others might call it being a team player, depends. I also had a reputation for speaking my mind, but always with respect and from managements perspective. Otherwise it’s just complaining. Didn’t hurt my career.

 

[kcowan]

I've been looking at this too. Comparing it to Pixel 2 XL which is similar sized. Google is well ahead in it's voice recognition which makes me hesitate on the iPhone 8 Plus. But I read that the Google Assistant can be loaded onto the iPhone 8. I guess the Google software (like Google Maps) is available on the iPhone so not really an issue.

On my iPad, I notice some voice recognition problems but am unclear if this is partly a microphone issue that is maybe better on an iPhone. To me, voice recognition is really key as typing on a tiny keyboard is a pain (maybe not for teenagers).

During the recent fires in our area, the smartphone was our only communication source (web and TV were out). This is a really important point that I would urge others to think about. And remember to buy a car phone charger and test it. And remember to upload some critical docs to the cloud storage.

Yes I think there is not much to choose anymore. I have a good friend who is an Android bigot and was going on about all the things he could with Google Maps. I said that we had all that function on iPhone with Google.

Paying attention to what is stored in the cloud is crucial.

 

[jollystomper]

Healthcare it is for me as well. While I would get slightly subsided premiums from Megacorp when I retire, it will still be our largest and most unpredictable budget item.

 

[Amethyst]

wow, that is too bad. When we stayed at a winery in Tuscany, the owners (who were no kids themselves) told us that their grandparents had put in the oldest vines which, at 80 years old, were producing some of the best wine on the farm (sangiovese was their specialty). They said that while you can get decent wine from 3-5-year old vines, it really takes 25 years for the vines to get going. It made an impression on me (obviously). They also said the very old vines are not quite as productive in terms of quantity, so I guess that would be additional incentive to pull up old vines to make more room for quantity producers....

The biggest threat to these old or ancient vines is the marketplace. Hundreds of acres of old vine zinfandel and other varieties are getting pulled up because of the thirst for Cabernet Sauvignon, which can command prices of $6000/ton, whereas the other varieties may only price at $2,000/ton.

Do you want 20 cent divvy or a 60 cent? It's a shame but money talks.

I do have a 30 gallon barrel of OVZ in storage, aging quite nicely.