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Yeah you're right, but I feel like this is a pretty exceptional situation. I'm literally task-free for sixteen hours a day. I seriously think this is a great way to figure out your values and poo poo, find a way to pare down everything so that you have the bare minimum sources of communication and entertainment in your life and see how long you go before the sheer inconvenience and emptiness of it starts to wear on you. I've spent a few of those days just hanging out in a tent in the woods listening to and watching nature, or reading in a lunch room, or chatting with my friends (how I spend most of my time but they actually have jobs so), all that stuff. I end up walking a couple of hours a day or longer because there's no reason to move any faster. And it's all great and free and whatever, but it's not very useful and the days are LONG. Just got an in at a volunteer opportunity, so we'll see how that goes. This is on top of my normal pseudo-triathlon training and powerlifting routine that is falling apart because I'm sleeping on floors and living on whey and broccoli, so my existence isn't very goony. I'm getting a sick tan, at least. Also I don't even know if there's space for anything in the budget because my budget is on a computer in Alberta.
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Jul 6, 2013 03:42
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Hey, there's this kinda retro analog smartphone-type device going around, maybe you've seen it? If nothing else, you should be able to get some hipster cred by using one. More seriously, you really should get a notebook and always carry it around with you. Not just for notes or to-do lists, but for your budgets, expenses, thoughts, fears, dreams, fiction attempts, poetry, sketches, etc. Write down what you see, what you think, what you feel, what you want to be, whatever. But write! It sounds dumb, but it isn't. Not only will it occupy a lot of your time somewhat productively, but by having to write things down longhand you are forced to both slow and organize your thoughts, which is pretty drat useful to someone in the throes of a hypomanic episode. Or if you're depressed, writing down your problems and breaking down their solutions logically helps make them look less scary and overwhelming. Try it - you may be pleasantly surprised by not only how cheap it is, but also how effective. Think of it as $3.95 therapy!
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Jul 6, 2013 04:56
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tuyop posted:Yeah you're right, but I feel like this is a pretty exceptional situation. it doesn't seem very exceptional to me? You dont need it to work on a resume for a job or look for easy job postings 24/7 or anything. You just want it because you're bored. It seems very unexceptional actually and not at all like an emergency in the slightest, and it seems like a temporary inconvenience that's only going to last for a month, which isn't long at all. This need for a computer also seems to go against your goals in life to live simply so it seems like something to resist even regardless of money.
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Jul 6, 2013 07:51
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Neophyte posted:Hey, there's this kinda retro analog smartphone-type device going around, maybe you've seen it? Hey I carry one of those everywhere for work. That's how I've been managing things, it's not like an iphone though. I might get a slimmer one from the dollar store for my non-work clothes... And I just mean exceptional in that I don't think most people have to fill their days without a place to live or work unless they're homeless. "It's just a month, princess." Just feels like it's coming from someone who doesn't know how long a day can be when you spend it just wandering around.
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Jul 6, 2013 12:32
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Most people also dont spend so much and budget so poorly for most of their adult lives that they find themselves in a situation where they are spending a month in between homes and cars.
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Jul 6, 2013 12:36
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tuyop posted:And I just mean exceptional in that I don't think most people have to fill their days without a place to live or work unless they're homeless. "It's just a month, princess." Just feels like it's coming from someone who doesn't know how long a day can be when you spend it just wandering around. Seriously, suck it up. It's a month, and you made the decision to handle your move this way. You have computer access for essentials. Laptop needs to wait until you have knowledge of your income and cashflow in your new situation, and until you know what kind of setup would be best for school. If you're aimless, find some project. Start writing a book, or volunteer your time to a charity that could use it, or build something, or handmake decorations for your wedding or whatever the gently caress. Whiling away the hours with Netflix on a laptop is going to bore you after two days anyway.
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Jul 6, 2013 13:58
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tuyop posted:And I just mean exceptional in that I don't think most people have to fill their days without a place to live or work unless they're homeless. "It's just a month, princess." Just feels like it's coming from someone who doesn't know how long a day can be when you spend it just wandering around. Most people aren't temporarily homeless by choice, and would bust their rear end to find some sort of stable interim housing. You have these bizarre ideas about frugality, overshoot, whine about it, then binge spend for some kind of cathartic release. This experience should temper some of your dreams to live in a yurt and poo poo in a bucket, but I don't think the lesson will stick.
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Jul 6, 2013 15:13
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tuyop posted:And I just mean exceptional in that I don't think most people have to fill their days without a place to live or work unless they're homeless. "It's just a month, princess." Just feels like it's coming from someone who doesn't know how long a day can be when you spend it just wandering around. You make it sound like computers and smartphones have always existed and nobody has ever been able to go without such a convenience. As someone who's been unemployed for over a year, I think you're vastly overestimating how much a computer will help ease your boredom, personally -- And how productive you'll feel if you just sit around playing Skyrim for a month. Being forced to get out of the house and do something and stay active is actually good for you. And If you're homeless and have to wander around all day, would a computer really be that useful? I mean is having to take a computer to Starbucks $500 more convenient than going to the library and using theirs? You want to be an high school teacher, you're getting married - it seems like there are some things related to both of those things that could easily fill a month. Tracking is more annoying with pen and paper but ultimately, it should actually be more time consuming to do it that way than with the computer so it should fill in more boredom time. Either way, you said your dad has some extra laptops so I guess your problem is solved.
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Jul 6, 2013 15:18
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If you have $500 to spare, I think a short-term apartment rental or some decent food or a psychiatrist is a better priority than buying a new laptop. If you don't have $500 to spare, don't buy a laptop. Also, if you live in a tent, wouldn't you just need to go hang out somewhere to charge your laptop? Don't you have a phone, anyway? Saeku fucked around with this message at 15:35 on Jul 6, 2013 |
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Jul 6, 2013 15:32
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Tuyop, do you have any volunteer opportunities locally? It'd give you something to do and it'd be free if you rode your bike there. E: Hell, if you wanna do school teaching can you volunteer at an after school program thing to help kids out with school subjects? Fluffy Bunnies fucked around with this message at 16:57 on Jul 6, 2013 |
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Jul 6, 2013 16:55
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Not a whole lot of after school programs going on at this time of year, though. I'm sure if you look hard enough you'll find something to do in the community, if that's what you feel you need.
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Jul 6, 2013 17:02
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:Tuyop, do you have any volunteer opportunities locally? It'd give you something to do and it'd be free if you rode your bike there. There are also a ton of other things to do if you're just willing to take a minute and look into some free community resources(your local visitor center would have pamphlets for these, and the library might have them too): -Go admire some outdoor art installations. Even a small town will have a sculpture or two hanging around many of their parks. -Attend a free outdoor concert. It might not be your favorite genre, and it almost certainly won't involve a band you've heard of, but it'll expand your horizons and give you a chance to meet some new people. -Help out a community garden. I know you're limited by your back, but surely there's some low-intensity stuff you could do. -Attend free days at local museums & other attractions, if they have them. -Check out free(or cheap, since we'd rather see you spend $20 on a cooking class than $500 on a laptop you don't need) classes for skills you're interested in. -Attend free events you see on your local community calendar. It's summer, so there's bound to be several.
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Jul 6, 2013 17:30
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Hey tuyop, two years ago, you'd have financed a Macbook already (along with all the accessories) and everyone would be yelling at you. Just wanted to point out that you're doing better and shouldn't gently caress it up now.
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Jul 6, 2013 18:46
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Please don't take this the wrong way, but have you considered buying a yo-yo and maybe a deck of cards or maybe a very cheap harmonica or something?
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Jul 6, 2013 19:56
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Guys he already said:tuyop posted:Just got an in at a volunteer opportunity, so we'll see how that goes.
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Jul 7, 2013 00:07
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Tuyop, you could use this time to write and reflect on what it's like to essentially go retro - like how it was back in the day. I'm 40 so I remember such a time without computers, but it would be a real struggle for me to go without one now. It would be an interesting experiment for you to try if you're feeling adventurous. This guy went without the internet for a year. The results might surprise you: http://theverge.com/2013/5/1/4279674/im-still-here-back-online-after-a-year-without-the-internet Nether Postlude fucked around with this message at 03:16 on Jul 7, 2013 |
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Jul 7, 2013 03:13
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tuyop posted:And I just mean exceptional in that I don't think most people have to fill their days without a place to live or work unless they're homeless. "It's just a month, princess." Just feels like it's coming from someone who doesn't know how long a day can be when you spend it just wandering around. And yet again, you put yourself in a stupid position that everyone told you was stupid, and once you've ended up there, you find out that hey, this is stupid and you want to go buy something. This SINGLE THING RIGHT HERE is why you're still 'broken' with regards to finance - you see that you can save $100 if you don't do x, so you don't do x. And then once you're there, you find out that x was a bad idea, but if you went and got y, which is twice what just doing x in the first place would have cost you'll be okay! Then you post, and make passive-agressive statements about how YOU JUST DONT KNOW MAN YOU'RE NOT HERE as justification as to why a laptop is a good idea, while you're homeless (or that you don't like your job, or your bed, or your bike, or....) - which you are entirely by choice. You're going to cycle through this until you have the self-realization to realize YOU KEEP PUTTING YOURSELF IN THESE PLACES. Your actions and decision process are hosed up - you think being homeless for a month to SAVE MONEY is a good idea, but wait this is bad, I need a laptop. In short - STOP loving DOING THIS TO YOURSELF BECAUSE IT'S DUMB AND MAKES YOU LOOK DUMB.
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Jul 7, 2013 03:33
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Just think of it as an FTX but not as lovely, well maybe. Spend your nights at the gym for a few hours, spend time in the sauna. Get some books from the library, volunteer, study for going back to school, find local things from Kijiji to do, there are plenty of free things you can do to occupy your time. Heck pick up a part time job for the nights if your really bored.
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Jul 7, 2013 03:59
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cstine posted:This SINGLE THING RIGHT HERE is why you're still 'broken' with regards to finance - you see that you can save $100 if you don't do x, so you don't do x. And then once you're there, you find out that x was a bad idea, but if you went and got y, which is twice what just doing x in the first place would have cost you'll be okay! I appreciate your post, but this kind of thing keeps coming up when it seems to me like I haven't bought anything in quite awhile. Like, there was a bicycle, and some brake parts and tools for the brakes that saved me some 300 bucks or whatever. And by not having an apartment now, if you look at a lease costing 28 dollars a day - which is what we're paying for the place in Edmonton - then I've already saved 672 dollars doing this, and will save another 522 dollars by the time I'm done. Not including additional costs like laundry, utilities, and other stuff that toeshoes consumes less of without me.
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Jul 7, 2013 13:51
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See, you're doing it. Look at all the money I'm saving! I deserve a little something. Those expenses weren't a big deal and will save me money in the long run, look how well deviating from the budget turned out in the past! Dude nobody in this thread advocated homelessness as a cost saving measure, and everybody still thinks it's pretty dumb. Spend $500 on renting a room or something, not a goddamn laptop that you don't have a outlet to plug in! Priorities, man!
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Jul 7, 2013 14:03
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tuyop posted:I appreciate your post, but this kind of thing keeps coming up when it seems to me like I haven't bought anything in quite awhile. Like, there was a bicycle, and some brake parts and tools for the brakes that saved me some 300 bucks or whatever. $28/day is a lot, even in Toronto I can find a sublet cheaper than that. Wait, how are you saving on laundry? Just because you live in a tent or whatever doesn't mean you don't need to wash your clothes.
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Jul 7, 2013 14:33
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Saeku posted:$28/day is a lot, even in Toronto I can find a sublet cheaper than that. I have access to free laundry on base. Regarding the cost of an apartment: 825/month is 825/30=27.50/day. That's also about 15% of our income so I thnk it's reasonable for not sharing a place. Please tell me where in Toronto you've found a place for less than 825/month. Edit: and thankfully I found a free laptop solution and still don't have to pay rent! tuyop fucked around with this message at 16:09 on Jul 7, 2013 |
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Jul 7, 2013 16:06
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tuyop posted:I have access to free laundry on base. Sounds good. And everyone I know in the GTA pays in that range or less, my friend's rent is $600 including utilities, although that's hard to find. But limited-term sublets can often be cheaper when the monthly rate is added up, I just checked Craigslist quick and there were a lot of places. I don't think it's unreasonable necessarily for you to spend $825/month in rent but I was under the impression that you were living in your car to save mone on rent so I figured you might want to look into cheaper options. I'm glad you got a laptop.
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Jul 7, 2013 16:14
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You don't need an entire apartment, however. Don't they have boarding houses, or just people renting out rooms around there? Heck isn't there housing on base you could use? That's like saying "I can't afford to eat because a meal at McDonald's is $8."
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Jul 7, 2013 16:29
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Tuyop has this retardation that makes him think about things as all black or all white. Its either a nice apartment or homelessness.
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Jul 7, 2013 16:31
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tuyop posted:I appreciate your post, but this kind of thing keeps coming up when it seems to me like I haven't bought anything in quite awhile. Like, there was a bicycle, and some brake parts and tools for the brakes that saved me some 300 bucks or whatever. How long it's been since the last time you bought something is irrelevant, that shouldn't even be coming up unless you think you deserve to be able to make a wasteful, needless big purchase without even looking at your actual situation if you spend enough time being responsible. What matters is whether you actually need it and whether you have room in your budget for it - and last month, when you had access to your computer and all your budget charts, you said that neither of those were true. Now, I'm not a spartan, a little money spent on a little entertainment here and there is fine. So go to the movies or something, go out more, put a few dozen bucks into a hobby or something, find things to do that don't add up to $500 over the course of a month. How much you've saved with your self-deprivation doesn't matter either, unless you're looking at that $672 as windfall money that doesn't exist in your budget - another thing you shouldn't be doing. Instead of looking at it like extra money unaccounted for that you can spend on whatever you want, consider putting it toward your debts, or maybe putting it aside in anticipation of big costs like your wedding and the upcoming tuition bill you still don't know the size of. Yes, congratulations, you've saved a thousand bucks. That doesn't mean you get to waste as much money as you want as long as your total bill comes out to under a thousand. If you're even thinking like that, you haven't internalized the right attitudes toward money.
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Jul 7, 2013 16:46
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How are your parents with money, Tyuop? I mean, you obviously didn't learn the basics; I wonder if its your fault for not learning or your parent's fault.
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Jul 7, 2013 16:54
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tuyop posted:I appreciate your post, but this kind of thing keeps coming up when it seems to me like I haven't bought anything in quite awhile. Like, there was a bicycle, and some brake parts and tools for the brakes that saved me some 300 bucks or whatever. It isn't that you've bought anything or not - the fact that you try to use the 'I saved money by doing x, therefore spending x on something else is fine!' logic a lot. Enough that I'm not the only one that's noticed it. You shouldn't be viewing ANY "saving" you do from line items on the budget as money you can just blow on whatever (a laptop, a new bike, a vacation, or a pony) you should instead be viewing it as extra debt payments or savings - don't buy poo poo with money you come in on under budget until you don't owe people anything, you've got six months or a year of living expenses saved up, your retirement accounts are maxed out and you're not having over-runs in other areas of your budget. At *that* point, I don't think anyone here would say one drat thing if you told them that you were taking this $1000 you didn't spend and buying a Macbook Air.
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Jul 7, 2013 18:01
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The problem is that I do, in fact, have an apartment. In Edmonton, Alberta. (I also have a wife there) The apartment costs $825. Because the army is a ridiculous organization of silliness, I have to live in Fredericton, New Brunswick until July 25th, when I will be free to drive to Edmonton on my own dime and get on with my life. Ordinarily, this situation would be covered under a benefit called "imposed restrictions" and the army would basically cover one of the spouse's living expenses. However, computer said no because of a technicality so we get nothing and are expected to pay for two apartments because the army separated us. The good news is that I don't have to pay an apartment's $28/day, or the Legion's $30/day, or the base's $35/day, because I have friends, a car, and a tent and don't need nice things for a month. This doesn't mean I don't want nice things or get bored with the way I'm living, but it does mean that instead of ~1600 on housing this month, we'll only be spending 825. I never said, "Hey guys, I'm not living anywhere therefore I can afford a laptop now!" cstine said, "Why aren't you paying rent anyway?" (well, "It's pretty retarded that you're not paying rent", actually) I said, "Because rent costs this much and if I go without, here is how much I stand to save. Isn't that great?" I only bring up the "I haven't bought anything in awhile" because I'm being told pretty regularly here that I simply don't get it. And "not getting it" doesn't seem to be reflected by anything concrete like purchasing things, which is what I would assume. Also, this is pretty funny: cstine posted:You shouldn't be viewing ANY "saving" you do from line items on the budget as money you can just blow on whatever (a laptop, a new bike, a vacation, or a pony) you should instead be viewing it as extra debt payments or savings - don't buy poo poo with money you come in on under budget until you don't owe people anything, you've got six months or a year of living expenses saved up, your retirement accounts are maxed out and you're not having over-runs in other areas of your budget. Baloogan posted:Tuyop has this retardation that makes him think about things as all black or all white. Its either a nice apartment or homelessness. I wonder why I would feel that way! 
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Jul 8, 2013 03:34
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quote:Blah blah blah The point that everyone is making is if you feel like "I'm living in a ditch for a month so that means I have an extra $825, I should spend it on a laptop!" instead of "I'm living in a ditch for a month so that means I have an extra $825, I should spend it on [shelter, debt repayment, savings]!" which is loving stupid. Self-quoting as always: Me in Reverse posted:You are the same guy who is martyring himself out of a microwave, but you *WANT* a fancy chef's knife, so you'll spend more on that than the microwave you won't buy. You keep doing this poo poo. You're *toughing it out* and not having a place to live like a normal loving human, but you'll spend that money on a laptop BECAUSE you're ~toughing it out~ and ~deserve something to make that better~. NOBODY here would be giving you poo poo for blowing your budget on a temporary residence until you move. Your priorities are hosed, that's the issue. lament.cfg fucked around with this message at 12:53 on Jul 8, 2013 |
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Jul 8, 2013 12:50
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and justification bullshit
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tuyop posted:Edit: and thankfully I found a free laptop solution and still don't have to pay rent! Is there any chance you could offer your dad a [less than the cost of a normal laptop] amount of money to buy the laptop from him since you think you're going to want one shortly in the future for school anyway? While nobody here thinks you should spend $500 on a new laptop, if this is a chance to get a used laptop from a family member for cheap, I would say you should go for it since almost certainly, you're going to end up justifying a full price one as soon as you start school.
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Jul 8, 2013 13:33
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Me in Reverse posted:The point that everyone is making is if you feel like "I'm living in a ditch for a month so that means I have an extra $825, I should spend it on a laptop!" instead of "I'm living in a ditch for a month so that means I have an extra $825, I should spend it on [shelter, debt repayment, savings]!" which is loving stupid. Yeah except I didn't say that, and I'd have to actually buy something for the second part to be true. HooKars posted:Is there any chance you could offer your dad a [less than the cost of a normal laptop] amount of money to buy the laptop from him since you think you're going to want one shortly in the future for school anyway? While nobody here thinks you should spend $500 on a new laptop, if this is a chance to get a used laptop from a family member for cheap, I would say you should go for it since almost certainly, you're going to end up justifying a full price one as soon as you start school. I'm also not going to do that. This is a laptop for an architectural firm. It's a 17" behemoth and not at all what I'm looking for for school. In the worst case (living on toeshoes' income, using savings for tuition), we can probably still afford a laptop. It would need to be looked at at that point.
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Jul 8, 2013 14:26
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tuyop posted:Yeah except I didn't say that, and I'd have to actually buy something for the second part to be true. It's possible for people to analyse your behaviour without you saying everything explicitly.
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Jul 8, 2013 14:35
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Yeah there is this little thing: a 90 page thread all about you and how you make poor decisions.
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Jul 8, 2013 15:40
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Listen, fucklechucks, maybe when you all suffer the indignity and humiliation of being the world's first person to go 30 days without a computer (apart from all those times you get to use a computer) you'll have the right to make judgements!!!
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Jul 8, 2013 23:43
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I've never seen a computer in my life.
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Jul 9, 2013 00:22
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I say get the MacBook Air. It's probably the last thing you'll ever want, so why not.
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Jul 9, 2013 00:53
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BossRighteous posted:I say get the MacBook Air. It's probably the last thing you'll ever want, so why not. This is terrible advice, don't listen to this advice. I just want to say congrats on your latest set of charts and I look forward to "just a little trip" to your next destination. I won't be happy unless it involves you getting wrapped up in a tale of espionage, adultery and you wracking up an additional $1.5M in debt because you accidentally started a war or something with Greenland (but it's not your fault because).
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Jul 9, 2013 02:50
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 June Update Yay content!  The most pertinent item here is savings. Up 2k! (Please note, that with the exceptional resolution on a Retina Macbook Pro - which I could finance on a CANEX plan for $0 and 0% interest - I would be able to provide a much more beautiful graph)  Woo the insanity ends!  - Auto and transport is like, high because I dropped some 250 bucks on tools and parts. - "Travel" and "Food & Dining" are high because we booked my flight for the wedding from Edmonton to Halifax (650) and because we stayed in Toronto for a weekend on the army's dime (400-something plus like a month's worth of meals, who knows!  ).- Uncategorized is because toeshoes had to pay $220 in cash for something but can't really remember what it was right now. I'd put the net worth graph from Mint here but it's not accurate because a $2000 transfer to our daily CC hasn't completed on the CC's end. It's nearly $0, though! Edit: Speaking of "a little trip", I am jonesing for a terrible all inclusive resort vacation to somewhere after all this stress of the separation, the windfall of the pension payout, and the weddding.
tuyop fucked around with this message at 03:02 on Jul 10, 2013 |
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Jul 10, 2013 02:57
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tuyop posted:- Uncategorized is because toeshoes had to pay $220 in cash for something but can't really remember what it was right now. Good job getting rid of almost half your debt! Bad job on spending $220 on something that can't be remembered. If you don't know what you spent something on, you probably didn't need it. Also stop trolling your own thread.
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Jul 10, 2013 03:27
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