Blow That Dough! - 2020

[FlaGator]

Who cares about a declining market? Decided I would not run out of my favorite knives and always be able to keep them ridiculously sharp. Dropped over $1,000 on discontinued pocket knives on eBay and paid up for a new sharpening system. Here's the sharpening system for those interested in a higher level of "sharp" https://www.worksharptools.com/product/ken-onion-edition-knife-tool-sharpener/.

Plus I got married, and the beach wedding wasn't cheap

All worth it, thanks Robbie for showing the way!

 

[Palmtree]

Well, we did a trip through Florida, spending time with friends and family. Normally we are somewhat semi-frugal about vacations but this time we just didn't worry about prices and had a good time. Feeling flush, a niece was between jobs so we helped out and paid their real estate taxes for 2019. (Yes, it's a one time thing) Then, last week we were talking about future travels close to home so we bought a new van to make road trips easier. This is a biggie for us, since we keep vehicles a long time. (10 years old is just getting broken in.) Glad I had pulled the $$ out for the van before the corona-market did a dive!

 

[misanman]

Fun-car Upgrade

Decided to upgrade from the Miata to something a bit more comfortable (and big enough for golf clubs!)

 

[aja8888]

Decided to upgrade from the Miata to something a bit more comfortable (and big enough for golf clubs!)

Nice!!

 

[ugeauxgirl]

Decided to upgrade from the Miata to something a bit more comfortable (and big enough for golf clubs!)

Am in the market for a frivolous car myself. Was thinking about a Miata... What kind is your new ride? It's good to consider all the possibilities...

 

[misanman]

What kind is your new ride?

It's a Mustang. This one was a 2019 demonstrator on sale at the local dealer but the 2020s are nearly the same. I'm really enjoying all the modern features. Debated on manual vs automatic but ended up with automatic which is more enjoyable in many traffic situations.

 

[GravitySucks]

Congrats on the wedding!

Who cares about a declining market? Decided I would not run out of my favorite knives and always be able to keep them ridiculously sharp. Dropped over $1,000 on discontinued pocket knives on eBay and paid up for a new sharpening system. Here's the sharpening system for those interested in a higher level of "sharp" https://www.worksharptools.com/product/ken-onion-edition-knife-tool-sharpener/.

Plus I got married, and the beach wedding wasn't cheap

All worth it, thanks Robbie for showing the way!

 

[RobbieB]

I haven't been to a sushi bar since the lockdown. Ordered up $300 worth of sushi grade goodies from Catalina.

I'm an addict, gotta get my fix!

 

[dm]

Bought a house last week, Punta Gorda Isles. Getting bids for new bathrooms, and kitchen. Also replacing all the flooring. Putting a new dock and lift out back also.

Landscapers are just going to remove all the old plantings for now, the wife did like one palm tree. When the bushes are removed we can get the house painted.

I’m going to be blowing a lot of dough for. Awhile.

 

[dm]

Here is a pic of the front. I’m thinking of having the brick stuccoed over to make it look a little more modern.

This is from a couple of days ago, we had the roof and house power washed and it does look a little better. The roof is actually a cream color.

 

[Ronstar]

^Very nice dm!

 

[W2R]

^Very nice dm!

+1 Nice house, dm!! And yes, a new house can certainly keep a homeowner busy for a little while, and happy too. Enjoy your new home.

 

[socca]

Bought a house last week, Punta Gorda Isles.

Congrats on your new house.

I have only owned two houses in my life, and both happened to be a perfect fit for where I was at that point in my life. The secret to my success? IMO - not using a "buyer's agent" in either case, but doing all of the investigative legwork myself.

Back around 1990 when I bought my first house, the web didn't exist (that's right, millennials - no realtor.com, zillow.com, etc. ). I found a Chicago real estate agent who was willing to give me slightly out-of-date MLS books to search. Those books were THICK! I would spend weekends thumbing through the MLS books searching for houses that fit my criteria, and then drive over to take a look at promising candidates.

I used basically the same strategy five years ago for my latest house, but the web made the job much easier. I looked at probably ~600 houses on the web and ~20 houses in person before making an offer on a house. So far, so good.

 

[dm]

I never had a used house until I moved to Florida 6 years ago. I always had new ones built, my dad was a home builder. But with no contacts and what seemed like very long construction times I bought existing homes down here.

 

[Ronstar]

Went out to the workshop and found my tv not working. Comcast says that it is connected ok. It turns on but turns off by itself after a few minutes of a warming up screen. Could be last night's power outage might have been too much for it.

So I ordered a new 55" tv from Best Buy. I'll pick it up tomorrow - put the new tv in my exercise room and move the exercise room tv to the workshop.

 

[RobbieB]

Landscaping project started Thursday last week. Got a crew of 4 working out there for 3 days now and material is ordered. Twelve grand blown so far.

 

[Sunset]

I never had a used house until I moved to Florida 6 years ago. I always had new ones built, my dad was a home builder. But with no contacts and what seemed like very long construction times I bought existing homes down here.

I always bought existing houses, as that way I could see exactly what it looked like and what was wrong with it.
Plus I avoided the rare situations of putting down a big deposit, only to find the builder bankrupt or delayed a year later.

 

[TrvlBug]

Landscaping project started Thursday last week. Got a crew of 4 working out there for 3 days now and material is ordered. Twelve grand blown so far.

I thought the no landscaping or gardening orders were state-wide, however, appears it is by county. Unfortunately, our landscaping is on hold. Fortunately, we're almost done, with maybe about 3 days left.

 

[RobbieB]

The landscapers here are driving by with their trailers of mowers and tools all the time. It's what is saving my brother in law's business. Which is good three times (us, him and his employees)

 

[audreyh1]

I ordered $200 worth of cheese from igourmet. Good cheese has been keeping us sane, and the stores carrying better cheeses are too far away and in more crowded urban areas, with, yes higher disease statistics.

Oh, I had already ordered the wine!

 

[audreyh1]

Thanks edited to correct.

It’s a one time distribution of multiple gifts. Decided to push it out to this year, but have already planned, reviewed and primed the pump so to speak, so no need to wait. With recent investment highs we feel this is timely.

We’ve been retired over 20 years and that much older, obviously. Doing some early estate planning in that we don’t want to wait to share with heirs until after we’re dead.

BTW that Jan gift turned out to be extremely timely!!! And much needed as it turns out.

 

[Ready]

Bought a new IPad Pro last week and just placed an order for the new Magic Keyboard that was released for purchase today.

Ordered a professional set of hair clippers too, but that’s a bit more of a necessity than a luxury right now.

 

[braumeister]

I ordered $200 worth of cheese from igourmet. Good cheese has been keeping us sane, and the stores carrying better cheeses are too far away and in more crowded urban areas, with, yes higher disease statistics.

That's a remarkable coincidence. I just ordered $186 worth of cheese from the same place.

And I already had plenty of beer to go with it.

 

[audreyh1]

That's a remarkable coincidence. I just ordered $186 worth of cheese from the same place.

And I already had plenty of beer to go with it.

Great palates think alike? Or was it their 10% sale?

 

[JP.mpls]

I love cheese too, but I typically just buy a very good sharp cheddar and blue cheese from local suppliers.

What kind of cheese (cheeses?) Are you two purchasing from this location?

Thanks, JP

Great palates think alike? Or was it their 10% sale?