Blow That Dough! -2021

[doneat54]

What was the name of the place?

Was it tasting menu or a la carte?

Included wine?

Ai Fiori

The wine the Sommelier recommended was $175 for the bottle. We know our wines, this was a French Chablis, and it paired very well with our entrees. No regrets. Menu was a l carte.

 

[RobbieB]

There are costs and overhead involved.

You don't trailer boats like this. They reside in slips or berths or mooring buoys (yes you pay to bow line to a floating buoy in the bay get to shore on your own) and upkeep. The slip the 42 resides in costs $450 / mo. Sorta like the mobile home parks. So you have 6 grand a year just to park the yacht.

People get old, run out of dough, get feeble, get other interests. And the fiberglass hulls last forever. From time to time they need to get hauled (big bucks) and serviced out of water at the boatyard, but not that often and usually because of some accident like grounding or hitting big debris in the water. Not to mention styles change and people like new stuff.

You can get a lot in 30 year old boats because of the depreciation.

 

[OverThinkMuch]

I like cereal, and everywhere near me seems to be out of the stuff... so I'm paying $200 to have pounds of it shipped to me. The cereal is only $80, with the rest being shipping and a surprisingly high import fee. Not exactly caviar... but at these prices, close?

 

[Koolau]

There are costs and overhead involved.

You don't trailer boats like this. They reside in slips or berths or mooring buoys (yes you pay to bow line to a floating buoy in the bay get to shore on your own) and upkeep. The slip the 42 resides in costs $450 / mo. Sorta like the mobile home parks. So you have 6 grand a year just to park the yacht.

People get old, run out of dough, get feeble, get other interests. And the fiberglass hulls last forever. From time to time they need to get hauled (big bucks) and serviced out of water at the boatyard, but not that often and usually because of some accident like grounding or hitting big debris in the water. Not to mention styles change and people like new stuff.

You can get a lot in 30 year old boats because of the depreciation.

All this talk of boats takes me back to my introduction to this Forum. One of the things that attracted me was participation by dory36 who full-timed on a, well, Dory 36. IIRC he was a or the founder of the forum and developer of FIRECalc.

dory36's stories were always entertaining. Even though I never had an interest in boats, I lived vicariously through his adventures. Hope the trawler works out for you RobbieB. I need a "boat story fix."

 

[Dtail]

Ai Fiori

The wine the Sommelier recommended was $175 for the bottle. We know our wines, this was a French Chablis, and it paired very well with our entrees. No regrets. Menu was a l carte.

DGF and I ate there years ago and second the great food.

 

[street]

NW-Bound, that is true! I love to boat but have not owned anything but a small aluminum fishing boat.
I always look for a great deal and if I can make value go up by fixing it up, it might be a diamond in the rough.

 

[Another Reader]

A Rolls won't fit in my garage. I will have to move to an upscale neighborhood nearby, where homes there have a 4-car and 5-car garage. The homes go for a few $M, are on 1/2 to 1-acre lot, and that gives me more land to plant veggie and also erect solar pergolas. Yes, I will need lots of solar juice to cool these 7000-8000 sq.ft. homes.

My WR jumps up big, because the home operating cost is higher while my stash shrinks after paying for the home. I will be fretting whenever the market hiccups. Life is no longer easy, but stressful. I will now trade options like mad, out of necessity instead of for fun. I will no longer be able to go on trips, because I am now a full-time trader. I may take on too much risk and start to lose money instead of making money. I will start to guzzle Fireball Whisky by the gallon instead of sipping XO Cognac. I will start smoking again.

I will stop posting here, and y'all will wonder what happens to NW-Bound, where he has gone.

If you want to stay in the Mesa area, how about this one? https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/3535-E-Grandview-St_Mesa_AZ_85213_M12053-22754

 

[street]

^ that is a beautiful home.

 

[Letj]

A Rolls won't fit in my garage. I will have to move to an upscale neighborhood nearby, where homes there have a 4-car and 5-car garage. The homes go for a few $M, are on 1/2 to 1-acre lot, and that gives me more land to plant veggie and also erect solar pergolas. Yes, I will need lots of solar juice to cool these 7000-8000 sq.ft. homes.

My WR jumps up big, because the home operating cost is higher while my stash shrinks after paying for the home. I will be fretting whenever the market hiccups. Life is no longer easy, but stressful. I will now trade options like mad, out of necessity instead of for fun. I will no longer be able to go on trips, because I am now a full-time trader. I may take on too much risk and start to lose money instead of making money. I will start to guzzle Fireball Whisky by the gallon instead of sipping XO Cognac. I will start smoking again.

I will stop posting here, and y'all will wonder what happens to NW-Bound, where he has gone.

This is so funny. Thanks for the laughs.

 

[explanade]

I like cereal, and everywhere near me seems to be out of the stuff... so I'm paying $200 to have pounds of it shipped to me. The cereal is only $80, with the rest being shipping and a surprisingly high import fee. Not exactly caviar... but at these prices, close?

What kind of cereal?

Yeah I noticed that cereal prices are up.

Some places are out.

 

[aja8888]

I don't know anything about boats, but have seen used boats at such appealing prices. But then, who knows what repair work these boats need?

It's the same with used luxury foreign cars. Why do they depreciate so much, with such low mileage? It makes me suspicious.

Here's the only thing you have to remember about boat ownership:

B.O.A.T. (bring out another thousand)

LOL

 

[Rocky mtn high]

Is that the same with airplane ownership? Friend wants to buy one.

 

[RobbieB]

A grand only gets you a parking spot for 2 months.

 

[Rocky mtn high]

And of course , he wonders if I want to contribute, it would be a good tool for us.

 

[Koolau]

Is that the same with airplane ownership? Friend wants to buy one.

As a former aircraft owner, I can confirm. Aircraft are extremely expensive to care for and feed. Only an individual can decide if it is worth it. YMMV

 

[RobbieB]

Yeah Baby!

Ground vehicles are cheap. Lot's of them, lot's of service places, easy to store (driveway)

Marine and aircraft? Whole different picture. Limited storage, limited service and limited access. Can't pilot boats on land and can't land airplanes on the highway.

Easy. Open your wallet -

 

[Souschef]

Is that the same with airplane ownership? Friend wants to buy one.

A while ago I did an analysis of renting vs owning. I considered cost of tie down, insurance, annual inspection, engine reserve, and fuel for 50 hrs a year. It came out within a couple of dollars an hour of rental. And that did not consider the opportunity cost of the money to buy the plane.

When I rent, I park the plane, and the rental place takes care of everything.

 

[skyking1]

I am paying a relatively low ~320 a month for a county hangar plus storage room, but they are putting on new doors and it will go to 400+
An annual inspection could be as little as 1500, to <the sky is the upper limit> depending on the condition and any Airworthiness Directives (AD) that might crop up.
For example, there is an AD for the propellers that we have to get done every 5 years. It has historically gone 2000~3000.
It might not be do-able any more, and a pair of new featherable props is ~15K.

 

[jollystomper]

Our current top 5 non-travel related "blow that dough" plans for 2021 - lets see if I can actually achieve them:

1. Renovate our 1/2 bathroom. Good news is, it is a small job - bathroom is only 4' x 5', no changing of the plumbing which was redone last year. Just tear out and replace existing toilet, wall and floor tile (and redo drywall behind the 4' high wall tile), and vanity. We already have the tile, enough from what was left from renovating our other 2 bathrooms. The bad news, it is a small job; my contractor friend who redid the previous 2 bathrooms (and a GREAT job) is my preference but he is busy so may be a challenge to get on his schedule. I am willing to be his "demo" assistant and help tear out and haul away the existing stuff, so we'll see.

2. Get a fireplace insert. Our existing fireplace is nice, but burning wood is more decorative than efficient. As a result we have not used it much, and not at all for over 5 years and not since we last had it cleaned. So time to make use of it and getting an insert installed (as well as a new chimney liner) is on the table.

3. Better golf clubs. My current ones are a "beginners" set (Callaway Strata) and are 8 years old. Since retiring I have been playing a lot of rounds with them so they are getting a beating. Right now I am considering going the full lessons + fitting route at one of the nearby chains to at least identify the best type of clubs for me.

4. Replace one of our cars. There are no issues with our older cars other than they are 2011 Toyota models that we bought used in 2013. DW will be fully retired as of May, and her Corolla still has less than 60K miles on it; she loves the car so we will stick with this one, though I am seeing very good prices from Carmax on it. The Camry has $126K miles so it is a likely candidate.

5. Replace the carpet in our master bedroom closet area. I replaced the bedroom carpet with laminate flooring and we love it. We had bought enough to do this area but instead decided to do the 2nd floor hallway because it was easier. There is still some left but the area is L shaped with a walk-in closet and 2 other closet, so figuring out the laminate pattern and cutting will be a pain. I am looking at a easier method, maybe vinyl tiles is an option. The area is between our bedroom and the bathroom so something that is good in a damp environment and easy to install is desired.

Final BTD scorecard for 2021:


Completed: items 1, 3.

Will be completed in early 2022: Item 4, but not in the way we intended... Heard from the insurance company, DW"s car is a total loss from her accident in early December. Besides her not being seriously injured, another slight ray of sunshine was the surprisingly large settlement we received for a 10 year old Corolla - the low mileage got us a premium evaluation.

Need to get my butt focused on: items 2, 5. Item 2 I started doing research on but will wait until spring to get serious. Item 5 might be a good project for February, but not being urgent we'll see.

Now to start working on other additions for 2022 BTD...

 

[Koolau]

A while ago I did an analysis of renting vs owning. I considered cost of tie down, insurance, annual inspection, engine reserve, and fuel for 50 hrs a year. It came out within a couple of dollars an hour of rental. And that did not consider the opportunity cost of the money to buy the plane.

When I rent, I park the plane, and the rental place takes care of everything.

All true. However, I always liked the idea that I knew exactly how the aircraft I owned had been used (and cared for.) Good friend was flying a rental from Maui to Oahu and one of the magnetos failed. Not a huge deal since there is a back up, but it's definitely a sphincter tightening experience. Upon checking the logs, he noted that the problem had been endemic with that particular aircraft. As a current A & P mechanic, he red tagged the aircraft which did not sit well with the rental company. YMMV

 

[street]

Yeah Baby!

Ground vehicles are cheap. Lot's of them, lot's of service places, easy to store (driveway)

Marine and aircraft? Whole different picture. Limited storage, limited service and limited access. Can't pilot boats on land and can't land airplanes on the highway.

Easy. Open your wallet -

True! Boats cost money I know that for fact. My son is buying a large storage unit for his boat. He will take ownership in May. It stores 7 boats at the present time for winter storage. It will hold double that he told me and will fill it up when he takes it over for people to store next winter.

 

[NW-Bound]

I don't have any desire to fly a plane, other than thinking flying nap-of-the-earth in a gyrocopter would be a lot of fun, but that seems dangerous like h***.

If I lived near a body of water, I might look into a boat. But then, I remember that I get seasickness easily, so even that may not work.

Anyway, if you can afford these toys and enjoy them, why the heck not? The main thing a guy needs to know is if it works for him. Even with RV'ing, a lot of people buy a new motorhome then sell it cheap when they learn it's not for them. Why not rent one first to see if it works for you?

 

[skyking1]

I had always daydreamed and studied aircraft, but was not committed enough to dive into a career. I had enough cash and my dad basically kicked me in the arse and said " why not go get your license?"
He was right, of course. I had a blast, got a handful of certificates, shared a plane, flew all over and BTD up front as a young guy. It does not bear saying that I would have been FIRED a long time ago but for that diversion.
I have no regrets in that regard. I got to do plenty of nap-of-the-earth and banner towing, which is as close to the barnstorming of the 20's as we get these days. I don't think I could take the G's I put myself through 30 years ago

 

[RobbieB]

Yeah a lot more care needs to be taken with marine and air.

Your car engine sputters and dies, you pull over to the shoulder and call for help. Your plane engine goes, you are in for some thrills. Your marine engine dies, hopefully not during high winds and seas.

On land these problems are annoyances. In air and on water potential fatalities.

 

[skyking1]

I had an engine failure on my first solo cross country flight, with a grand total of 21 hours of training. It was indeed quite thrilling! I was able to land on a soccer field with a ground roll that fit between the goal boxes.