Blow That Dough! -2021

[Finance Dave]

I've been blowing that dough at my new/old Florida townhome.

Here is the buy list after 4 months:
- New manufactured oak flooring in the upstairs two bedrooms. Paid to have this installed. It looks great.
- All new wood trim, door hardware and paint in the upstairs rooms, and lower half bath. Including ceilings and woodwork. (My labor).
- A bunch of furniture. Most used, but some nice new rugs, chairs, beds and lighting.
- I'm paying to have the sun deck and flat roof replaced. This one was tough, because I think I could have done this myself, but it is being hired out.
- New AC/Heating system.
- New impact windows and upper slider with the reflective glass are on order. I have 3 lower level sliders that I'm not replacing for now. Those babies cost about $3k each, and I am cheap. They are also protected by a 3 season porch, and the tile covered concrete floors on the lower level should be fine if some water manages to get in.
- New landscaping in the garden, with a fancy wall trellis on order for the bougainvillea plants.
- New kitchen cabinets, sink, faucet and countertops were ordered today. I'm going to assemble and install them, replace the back wall sheetrock, and do the backsplash tile.

I have plans to update the two bathrooms next year. They were both repainted with new baseboard trim for now.

I also have a damaged 3 season porch ceiling that needs repairs, or to be covered with some type of material. I'm thinking about a metal or wood ceiling in there.

Wow, we been busy, and we have been blowing that dough.

Take care, JP

Need to see a photo!

 

[Finance Dave]

This was some time ago, but finally applied finish to some apothecary drawers in hickory for my office to fill the open holes I had designed in the cabinetry. Can keep small items in these.

 

[Sue J]

Today we bought DH a new (to us) vehicle. It's a 2017 Nissan Rogue Sport with 38,000 miles. This will replace our 2003 Toyota Camry with 94,000 miles. We bought that Camry in 2005 and it was my car until 2017, then I passed it on to DH. He would keep it forever but it's now 18 years old and needs some expensive repairs so he's ready to let it go.

We've never had a Nissan, we've been Toyota devotees. When DH was making trips to Denver to see his Mom before she passed he'd fly out and get a rental. A couple of times it was a Nissan Rogue Sport and he kept it in mind for when he'd need his next car. Until we started shopping I didn't know the difference between a Rogue and Rogue Sport, but the Sport is a smaller version. We found this one at a local Nissan dealer and test drove it last Friday and again today and this time we took the checkbook!

PAID IN FULL and this should last us for a long time. He's retired and I have very small part time job. We could be a one car family if we wanted but we're just not ready for that yet.

Feels good to have it in our garage. I'd post a pic but it was too dark when we got home.

 

[Finance Dave]

Feels good to have it in our garage. I'd post a pic but it was too dark when we got home.

Congrats Sue!

I favor Toyota/Lexus also...but we've had a Nissan and it was good (not great, but good). It was a Sentra. Had some issues with some of the engine control system modules after warranty...cost us about $800.

Buying a few years old is a smart financial decision. I must admit we buy brand new but that's just because I was an auto mechanic, I'm meticulous about our cars, do my own maintenance, and don't want to inherit anyone else's poor maintenance schedule or other issues.

 

[Sue J]

I don't know how long car dealers have been doing it, but now they post the original window sticker (derived from the VIN) along with the CarFax when they post the car online. Very interesting how much all the extra features add to the original price. Our goal was under 5 years and under 40,000 miles so this one fit our need. The car had one previous owner for a 3 year lease. Just what we were looking for.

 

[CardsFan]

Today we bought DH a new (to us) vehicle. It's a 2017 Nissan Rogue Sport with 38,000 miles. This will replace our 2003 Toyota Camry with 94,000 miles. We bought that Camry in 2005 and it was my car until 2017, then I passed it on to DH. He would keep it forever but it's now 18 years old and needs some expensive repairs so he's ready to let it go.

We've never had a Nissan, we've been Toyota devotees. When DH was making trips to Denver to see his Mom before she passed he'd fly out and get a rental. A couple of times it was a Nissan Rogue Sport and he kept it in mind for when he'd need his next car. Until we started shopping I didn't know the difference between a Rogue and Rogue Sport, but the Sport is a smaller version. We found this one at a local Nissan dealer and test drove it last Friday and again today and this time we took the checkbook!

PAID IN FULL and this should last us for a long time. He's retired and I have very small part time job. We could be a one car family if we wanted but we're just not ready for that yet.

Feels good to have it in our garage. I'd post a pic but it was too dark when we got home.

Regarding Nissan's:

In the past 20 years we have owned 4. 3 Altimas, and one Pathfinder.

Aside from normal maintenance (battery, oil, tires, wipers, etc.) our OOP expense for all 4 has been ZERO. Even brakes (we only put about 60-80k miles on each vehicle).

DW just sold the Pathfinder and bought a new Lexus, but I am looking at a Murano for my next car.

 

[2017ish]

Last week paid final $$ for April-May trip to Jordan and Egypt. 1 week driving around Jordan, one week Red Sea Aggressor diving, and one week sailing on the Nile and antiquity-tourism. Can't wait!

E.T.A.--pending country specific restrictions, of course.... (and hoping no enforced mask regulations on either of the ships...)

 

[Winemaker]

One of our best memories from Kauai - Hanalei Bay, specifically - is visiting a fish shop on the bay front and talking to the fish monger. He invited us back to see the fish locker, and he had a whole ahi tuna, a whole mahi-mahi and a whole opah suspended from the ceiling by their tails. They were all huge. And colorful. It was quite an experience. DH has photos somewhere - pre digital cameras.

There was a small fish shack in a strip mall in Kauai we visited in 2005 and in 2009, it served fish of all kinds. We would go there in the late afternoon for some great ahi, their husbands fished in the mornings, then worked at the hotels in the evenings.

When we visited the last time, we killed some time at the fishing docks outside of Kona. There had been a fishing tournament and the boats were bringing in their catches, while the locals merchants were bidding for the ahi and mahi-mahi as it hung. They were taking the small core samples and yakking up a storm. We had such a great time.

 

[RobLJ]

I bought a Silverado Z-71 4 years ago to use on long camping trips, with rough roads. MrsRobj doesn't like the size of it, particularly in town shopping (understandably). I also like poster above couldn't convince her to try a trailer and that was part of the rationale, although about once a year it did get us through a very rough dirt road to get to a camping area that we otherwise might not have tried.
So we're selling it to the oldest son the winemaker (two babies and may want a camping trailer) and getting a RAV4 hybrid Prime, since we can use the solar panels for 40 miles battery driving in town and get great gas mileage for the long camping trips. Apparently it goes 0-60 in 5.6 seconds, although I don't intend on trying that out.

I'll post a picture if/when we pick it up; we're babysitting for the winemaker this weekend and will stop at a dealer on the way who just got one, so will pick it up this weekend if available but we may have to wait another week.

The Z-71 kept almost 80% of its value (we're selling it for 60% to the son) and the RAV qualified for the 7500 rebate, so it's not as much of a blow the dough as I thought it would be. I'm getting a loan for 1/3 of the cost, but will pay it off next year since I'll be getting a sh**-ton of taxes back.

 

[DrRoy]

We have been quite happy with our 8 year old, 55 in. plasma TV. On Monday, it stopped receiving video signal from any source, to any connection port. Bummer. After checking out the current TV tech, we bought a latest model, 65 in. 4K OLED. The picture is mind blowing . At $2000 it's the most we have even spent on a TV, but we did get it from our local appliance store for $200 under Amazon. It delivers tomorrow.

 

[audreyh1]

You’ll love it! We also switched from a plasma.

And a good thing you’re having it locally delivered, because these large thin-screened units are easily damaged when individually shipped. Be sure to check it well before accepting the delivery.

Our first 4K OLED arrived with some kind of strange screen warping down to the base even though the box appeared undamaged. Luckily we noticed it wasn’t straight. Shipper reported the damage to B&H and they had to send out another. Fortunately the replacement unit was in excellent condition.

 

[finnski1]

This was some time ago, but finally applied finish to some apothecary drawers in hickory for my office to fill the open holes I had designed in the cabinetry. Can keep small items in these.
View attachment 37948

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Beautiful work and love the wood tones.

 

[finnski1]

PAID IN FULL and this should last us for a long time. He's retired and I have very small part time job. We could be a one car family if we wanted but we're just not ready for that yet.

Feels good to have it in our garage. I'd post a pic but it was too dark when we got home.

We tried to be a one car family last year. It lasted about 9 months. We are both retired and still had difficulty. My wife missed her car and we only had a pick up truck as our one vehicle. So 2 months ago we went shopping.
She's very happy with her new to us Subaru Outback(our 3rd one) and if she's happy, I'm happy.

We have tried various similar vehicles (RAV4, CRV, Toyota Highlander etc)a few times but always are sold on the Subaru AWD system which is very important in NH and our steep driveway.

 

[JP.mpls]

You’ll love it! We also switched from a plasma.

And a good thing you’re having it locally delivered, because these large thin-screened units are easily damaged when individually shipped. Be sure to check it well before accepting the delivery.

Our first 4K OLED arrived with some kind of strange screen warping down to the base even though the box appeared undamaged. Luckily we noticed it wasn’t straight. Shipper reported the damage to B&H and they had to send out another. Fortunately the replacement unit was in excellent condition.

Audrey,
We bought a small Samsung TV for our livingroom. We were going to not have one there, but changed our minds.

Then we decided to mount it on a small wall in that area.

I got the mounting bracket all setup, and was about to put the brackets on the TV, and I lightly bumped the nearby TV with my elbow. It tipped over, almost in slow motion, and hit the edge of the wicker table it was on.

It severely cracked the display. The new TVs look great, and are amazingly priced, but they are also extremely delicate. Not a great way to blow that dough.

JP

 

[corn18]

You’ll love it! We also switched from a plasma.

And a good thing you’re having it locally delivered, because these large thin-screened units are easily damaged when individually shipped. Be sure to check it well before accepting the delivery.

Our first 4K OLED arrived with some kind of strange screen warping down to the base even though the box appeared undamaged. Luckily we noticed it wasn’t straight. Shipper reported the damage to B&H and they had to send out another. Fortunately the replacement unit was in excellent condition.

This is a good PSA. LED TV's are less delicate because they have a solid frame/box around the whole TV. The OLEDs are weird with the really heavy base and very flimsy tops. It was challenging getting it out of the box and hung due to it's weird configuration. I scared myself a couple of times when I started to pick it up like a normal LED TV and the screen flexed. They are amazing, though.

 

[audreyh1]

It’s a good idea to have two people working on unpacking, moving and hanging these units!

 

[Finance Dave]

We have been quite happy with our 8 year old, 55 in. plasma TV. On Monday, it stopped receiving video signal from any source, to any connection port. Bummer. After checking out the current TV tech, we bought a latest model, 65 in. 4K OLED. The picture is mind blowing . At $2000 it's the most we have even spent on a TV, but we did get it from our local appliance store for $200 under Amazon. It delivers tomorrow.

Wow, hope you enjoy it! Sounds like you got a good deal.

We have a 58" plasma...was expensive back in the day. Ours is about 15 years old.

 

[Koolau]

Wow, hope you enjoy it! Sounds like you got a good deal.

We have a 58" plasma...was expensive back in the day. Ours is about 15 years old.

Friend at w*rk got one about 15 years ago. I think it cost $10K. His mantra was that he had many chronic diseases and he would die young - so BLOW THAT DOUGH but while he was still w*rking. He would then launch into that song "I'm going to live, live, live until I die" but substituted "w*rk" for "live." He's almost 70 now, still "enjoying" ill health and still buying every toy. It's not my way, but who's to say it's wrong for him? YMMV

 

[Leo1277]

Those of you who fancy cool cars: don't let yourself be pulled into racing with some like-minded friends. In Germany, recently a Ferrari fan club went for a spin on the Autobahn, where there are no speed limits, and this is what happened. This is a way to blow that dough really really quickly.

 

[ls99]

^ Boys and their broken toys.....

 

[Chuckanut]

Friend at w*rk got one about 15 years ago. I think it cost $10K. His mantra was that he had many chronic diseases and he would die young - so BLOW THAT DOUGH but while he was still w*rking. He would then launch into that song "I'm going to live, live, live until I die" but substituted "w*rk" for "live." He's almost 70 now, still "enjoying" ill health and still buying every toy. It's not my way, but who's to say it's wrong for him? YMMV

I like that song.

Here's another one with the same message:

You work and work for years and years, you're always on the go
You never take a minute off, too busy makin' dough
Someday, you say, you'll have your fun, when you're a millionaire
Imagine all the fun you'll have in your old rockin' chair

 

[PandaBear]

Let’s see.....this month is bringing:
1. Helping my daughter with a down payment on a house.
2. We underpaid our taxes this year, so owe (oops!)
3. Cataract surgery for me.....$4000 for better lenses.
4. A trip to Hawaii next month.
5. Planning a front yard and backyard side yard remodel.

Our bank account is taking a hit!

 

[Finance Dave]

Hawaii was great for us. Double sided rainbows and whales.

 

[Dtail]

Those of you who fancy cool cars: don't let yourself be pulled into racing with some like-minded friends. In Germany, recently a Ferrari fan club went for a spin on the Autobahn, where there are no speed limits, and this is what happened. This is a way to blow that dough really really quickly.

Is that an F355 in the top of the crash picture?

 

[Leo1277]

Is that an F355 in the top of the crash picture?

I don't know, if I remember correctly they only said it was a bunch of Ferraris. Here is another picture that may show that particular car more clearly. There were also some "lesser" cars involved, some of which can be seen in the second picture I am attaching here.