Blow That Dough 2025

What an act of Kindness!! Thank You
I don't want to brag, but my DS wanted to buy the car from us so he could give it to his friend. He knows his friend needs help. I don't know the details, but I think his friend has it pretty rough. My DS is in college and works a part time job and doesn't have a lot of extra money. I am really pleased that my DS cares about other's well being. This is more special than a new car. No comparison.
 
I don't want to brag, but my DS wanted to buy the car from us so he could give it to his friend. He knows his friend needs help. I don't know the details, but I think his friend has it pretty rough. My DS is in college and works a part time job and doesn't have a lot of extra money. I am really pleased that my DS cares about other's well being. This is more special than a new car. No comparison.
I'm sure you are justly proud of your son. You can take some credit for his generosity, I'm sure.
 
I am really pleased that my DS cares about other's well being. This is more special than a new car. No comparison.

Absolutely! You are justifiably proud.

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This brought up a couple of memories. I w*rked in construction management for the last several years of my career. Many of my colleagues were 'work-hard-spend-much' types and folks that I'd be glad to have as neighbors (even though I'm not a spend much person :) ).

One colleague rented a place and bought a beater but reliable car (typical). He usually either sold the car to someone else or as scrap after the assignment was finished. In this case his landlady mentioned that her son had fallen on some bad times/companions and was trying to get his life back on track, but lacked a car and the $$ to buy one. My colleague knew and trusted the landlady and asked her, "Is he a good kid in a bad situation, or a bad kid?". She said the first. He handed her the keys to the car. These are the kind of folks I w*rked with: clear-eyed and not easily fooled, but willing to help out other people who were in bad situations through no fault of their own (or their own fault, but willing to change).

My story: I was assured by the project manager that I'd be onboard for at least six months, so I upped the apartment lease for six months. The next month while on vacation I was informed that my services were no longer needed. :( I'd assumed that I would have reasonable notice of being let go, so I was going to post the furniture I'd bought for sale... no time for that, so I did a mass email saying anyone who wanted the stuff and was willing to haul it away had it, first-come-first-serve. Someone accepted the offer - then - another colleague responded and said that she had a friend who had relocated with her young daughter to this state to escape an abusive relationship. She had an apartment, but not a stick of furniture, and no money to buy any. So I told her the furniture was already spoken for, but I'd let the recipient know the circumstances and see if he'd relinquish his claim. He did - and he used his trailer to load and haul the furniture to the friend.

Sometimes people surprise you pleasantly.
 
We just came back from a niece's wedding, stayed 4 nights at the Castle Hill Inn in Newport RI. The room alone was only $1307/night with taxes and fees, more than double whatever is in second place from our past. It was easily the most perfect stay we've ever had down to the smallest detail, and we can afford it on an exception basis, so why not. The included breakfast was the best I have ever had at any hotel/inn - basically anything you want except cocktails, masterfully prepared and served. DW enjoyed the master bath with fireplace and the big clawfoot tub overlooking the ocean. I don't know why we didn't just stay there permanently...

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Congratulations!

Well I was going to say we hadn’t spent that much on a hotel room yet, but then I remembered that we stayed at Jenny Lake Lodge in Grand Teton NP for 3 nights last September that included a great made to order breakfast and an excellent 5 course dinner. Still $$$$. But we enjoyed the whole stay immensely. We had spent one night there over 20 years prior, so it was a lovely return.
 
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74 jet CalSpa sauna, the electrical hookup, fee to move it and of course the $11,000 stamped concrete patio to go under the "spa". It's a luxury item for sure and a good chunk of the yard is tore up.

Grass seed and black dirt and some landscaping around the hot tub along with a small privacy fence, and a spot to store chemicals.

A total BTD moment in our life, and on the heels of the sports car I am building up it wasn't great timing, so for the first time ever I withdrew from our $1mm retirement nest egg we are accumulating.
 
Well, I’m fairly far out in the deep end now. In March, on a BTD trip to Vegas to see the Eagles at the Sphere, DW and were doing some recreational shopping and I saw this very cool blue Jaeger Le Coultre watch. Out of curiosity I asked, and it was $17,500. Well, no way. It stuck with me though, and back home I occasionally looked up blue watches, and a month ago I came across a nice blue Tissot that I got for $600.

I would occasionally discuss the watch thing with DW and kept dabbling. There was a Rolex that came up on FB marketplace at a bargain price (if genuine) but someone got it early. DW said that she had thought that if she were to get me a luxury watch it would be an Omega Speedmaster because that was what the Apollo astronauts wore to the Moon, and I am a big fan of the NASA Moon program.

I started looking into the Omega moon watches, and they have issued different ones over the years. A basic one would be about $6000. However, 10+ years ago, they came out with a Dark Side of the Moon version, all black. 5+ years ago came a special Apollo 8 Dark Side version, as that was the first manned mission to the Moon. Last year, this version was updated to the best one ever. The best price I could find on a new one was $12,000. I put a picture of it on my phone and thought about it for a couple weeks, hinting about it to DW, as my birthday was this month. On Monday, I hit the Buy button.

I had a reaction to this that it wasn’t fair to spend so much $ on myself. Yesterday morning, I went to a particular jewelry store, and ordered DW a ladies Rolex. Hopefully, it will get here for Christmas.
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^^^ Those are some sweet watches! Congrats on a BTD that you 2 will enjoy for the rest of your lives. And on your wrist where you can always see it.
 
We just came back from a niece's wedding, stayed 4 nights at the Castle Hill Inn in Newport RI. The room alone was only $1307/night with taxes and fees
"only", hehe! True BTD. I can't imagine a hotel that had anything I want that's worth that much. Exclusivity, I suppose. I'm actually uncomfortable with too much attention from "servants." I stayed at my nieces wedding hotel in Lighthouse Point, but probably 1/3 of $ of the CHI. Even then, quite a few family members stayed across the bridge at 1/10 of the $ of the CHI. That niece's sister has a wedding planned soon, probably the same place. It was kind of fun there because all the beach toys (Hoby Cat, sail board, paddle board, etc) is part of the deal, so I wore myself out at the beach.
 
"only", hehe! True BTD. I can't imagine a hotel that had anything I want that's worth that much. Exclusivity, I suppose. I'm actually uncomfortable with too much attention from "servants." I stayed at my nieces wedding hotel in Lighthouse Point, but probably 1/3 of $ of the CHI. Even then, quite a few family members stayed across the bridge at 1/10 of the $ of the CHI. That niece's sister has a wedding planned soon, probably the same place. It was kind of fun there because all the beach toys (Hoby Cat, sail board, paddle board, etc) is part of the deal, so I wore myself out at the beach.
We have only stayed in $1000/night accommodations twice, but it was in the past year lol! Nice boarding is spendy these days, especially for a good view and convenience.
 
My latest BTD was with BIL as accomplice. We attended the Traveler's Championship on Saturday last weekend. Drove down Friday afternoon, hotel Friday night, all Saturday at TPC River Highlands, hotel for Saturday night and then 3 hour drive home Sunday morning.

Entry and admission to Mohegan Sun pavilion was $170 each but the biggest cost was 2 nights of hotel at $420/night. Total for the two of us, entry, hotel, gas and meals was $728 each. Sorry kids!

We saw all the PGA stars (that made the cut) since it was a Signature Event. The pavilion overlooked the 16th green and was adjacent to the 17th tee. Unlimited food and drink. I had a couple lobster rolls, a couple beers and other snacks but it was so hot! Where we were sitting was perhaps 100' from the 17th tee.
 
Final cost for our 10 day Tennessee trip was 8,500. Most expensive trip on a per day basis.
 
That is serious Blow that Dough!
It really is, including some planned aftermarket add-ons. This will wind down a lot of the unspent funds we have somehow accumulated since 2020.

We decided that we still don’t want to move from this area, and we like our neighborhood. Fortunately there are a few empty lots down the street that can accommodate a larger home.
 
Final cost for our 10 day Tennessee trip was 8,500. Most expensive trip on a per day basis.
Hey, you’re getting there! I hope you had a wonderful time. It’s a beautiful area and great time of year to visit.
 
It really is, including some planned aftermarket upgrades. This will wind down a lot of the unspent funds we have accumulated since 2020.

We decided that we still don’t want to move from this area, and we like our neighborhood. Fortunately there are a few empty lots down the street that can accommodate a larger home.
Just out of idle curiousity, what's the typical cost/sqft in your area. Here in rural MT, it's about $300. Don't answer if that's too personal, and I apologize.
 
Just out of idle curiousity, what's the typical cost/sqft in your area. Here in rural MT, it's about $300. Don't answer if that's too personal, and I apologize.
Well, I don't know. But I can say that in general the cost of housing is low in Texas outside of the largest city centers, and it’s particularly low down here.
 
Bought two Subaru’s in 10 days. One gently used and one brand new. Neither was in the plan, but unforeseen circumstances led to the purchases. One for our son and one for my wife.
A good lesson for our kids about making the effort to be prepared for the unexpected.
 
Well, I don't know. But I can say that in general the cost of housing is low in Texas outside of the largest city centers, and it’s particularly low down here.
Pretty cheap here also - a lot depends on the cost of building materials and labor costs. I remember a few yrs back, a sheet of 3/4 plywood was $92. Makes for expenisve flooring on roofing if they were using that. Frotunatley it's dropped to close to 1/2 of that last I looked.
 
Pretty cheap here also - a lot depends on the cost of building materials and labor costs. I remember a few yrs back, a sheet of 3/4 plywood was $92. Makes for expenisve flooring on roofing if they were using that. Frotunatley it's dropped to close to 1/2 of that last I looked.
Doing a pretty generic search for TX I’m seeing house new construction mid-range $150-$250 per square foot. Around here, premium grade new $140-$170.
 
Hey, you’re getting there! I hope you had a wonderful time. It’s a beautiful area and great time of year to visit.
Thanks. We really enjoyed our time there. Went to Nashville and Dollywood/Smokey Mountains.
 
Doing a pretty generic search for TX I’m seeing house new construction mid-range $150-$250 per square foot. Around here, premium grade new $140-$170.
Made me look...

In my TX zip code I see three newly constructed "upscale" homes for sale ranging in size from 2,200 to 3,200 square feet and the asking price per sq ft is between $320 and $250. All are on one to two acre lots in a gated neighborhood which inflates the price a bit.
 
DH has been bugging me about a bigger house for a while. Well, we just signed a contract for a new, much larger home to be built just down the street. This is going to use up some serious dough!
Wow!! That is very exiting!!!
 
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