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One thing I would like to point out in Tuyop's defense with the laptop is that he has a serious back injury and books weigh a ton. I have most my books in both digital AND paper format these days, which frequently costs me more. Why? My back can't carry 2 text books and my 6.5lb Lenovo (~$400 new, in late 2009). I often can get the digitals for free :cough: but I am someone who doesn't like reading text books digitally at all, so I need both copies. I read the paper copy, and then carry digital to reference in class. If I had to pay for all digital books, I'd either not have reference material in class, or a Ultrabook. I've done a fair bit of research into what I need in a Ultrabook. A refurbished MBA 13" with upgraded memory and AppleCare is by far the way to go. Downside: lovely lovely low res gloss screen. Being I'm a broke student, I'm hanging onto my old rear end laptop, but I will likely get a matte screen 1080p Asus Ultrabook down the road. They can be had for $6~900 on various deal sites. I don't think they're as durable, but I freaking hate gloss screens and you all should too. And I also hate over spending when I can get a comparable computer for 2/3 or less. The Lenovo x1 Carbon's also offer matte screens but they're a lot more money, as I've never found a refurb. Tuyop, check out passwird and similar places. If you aren't in a huge rush you can find a better Ultrabook for under a grand. Also keep in mind class10 (iirc) SDCard's are freaking fast, and a cheap way to increase storage.
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Aug 19, 2013 01:25
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FrozenVent posted:Does an education student need that kind of specs, though? gently caress no. The most demanding thing he might run is the Office suite. Oh absolutely, your typical student really probably does not need that kind of a laptop - my point was mostly that if you're talking about spending a thousand bucks, apple laptops are not completely stupid to look at. Whether someone should spend a thousand bucks on a laptop, of course, is a matter that has nothing to do with who made the thing. As for travel in Canada? Jesus. I've flown coast to coast in the US (SFO to BOS) on short notice for like, $600 roundtrip.
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Aug 19, 2013 01:30
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cstine posted:As for travel in Canada? Jesus. I've flown coast to coast in the US (SFO to BOS) on short notice for like, $600 roundtrip. Well it is a holiday week, for one. But yeah, travel in Canada is expensive as all heck. You wanna laugh? Check out our cell phone plans.
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Aug 19, 2013 01:38
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FrozenVent posted:Well it is a holiday week, for one. But yeah, travel in Canada is expensive as all heck. You wanna laugh? Check out our cell phone plans. You aren't kidding - I just looked at prices on southwest for visiting the FIL in Miami (1,300 miles) and the week of christmas? Like $600/person/roundtrip. Do it a week earlier/later? $300/person/roundtrip.
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Aug 19, 2013 01:39
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Main Paineframe posted:Two days on a train isn't that bad. I've done a day and a half by Greyhound. If you only have limited time off, losing four days to travel is kind of a big deal. Also, I just looked it up and taking the train home, economy fare, would be a $992.25 round trip. So flying is actually cheaper by about $100.
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Aug 19, 2013 01:46
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Giant Goats posted:If you only have limited time off, losing four days to travel is kind of a big deal. I messed around on the Via website and I got train at $900 round way next week, but it's probably going to be higher during the holidays. Excluding time in connection (The schedule I managed to get involved 24 hours in Toronto for some reason), we're looking at roughly 88 hours of train. So you know, about three and a half days one way. Excluding connections. Goddamn this country is big. Tuyop, you should do like most of us and stick to the Windsor - Quebec corridor.
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Aug 19, 2013 01:56
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HookShot posted:Yeah, going from Edmonton to Nova Scotia by bus sounds like its own special circle of hell. Going from anywhere in Nova Scotia to anywhere else in Nova Scotia is its own special circle of hell. You really don't need to be dropping over $3000 to visit family for a week. The wedding is next weekend in Nova Scotia, isn't it? Do you really need to spend that much cash at Christmas because you haven't seen your families in 4 months? Do you plan on doing this flight every single year, 'cause I really don't see Air Canada dropping their ticket prices any time soon. Also if I were a newlywed and wanted to go on a flight in the middle of a Albertan winter, I wouldn't be flying to loving Nova Scotia. That's a possible honeymoon down south you're throwing away.
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Aug 19, 2013 02:29
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Do both you and Toeshoes' family live in the same place? Is it cheaper to visit one vs the other? If so, pick the cheaper family to visit. Or maybe everyone could come visit you this year? Your family should understand that you just moved, that you're now in school, and that you just had a wedding and that you may be a little tight on cash for the holidays. I dont really understand why it would upset them terribly if you came to visit at a different time of year when it wasn't so expensive.
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Aug 19, 2013 02:55
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tuyop posted:
You didn't know about Christmas ahead of time? Come on, dude. If your family cares about you at all, they'll understand your situation and that you just got married and that it's not a good time. Skype them on Christmas and have a quiet holiday at home, just the two of you. In fact, you have the perfect excuse NOT to go - "It's our first Christmas as a married couple and we want to start our own traditions!"
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Aug 19, 2013 03:09
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My family is very tight knit but also large. The locals get together, the distant family Skype's. Back in the day when I was a kid, they would send letters (still do that, but different now) and slide reels and speaker phone. I should mention these distant family members are quite well off and don't have kids; it just doesn't make sense to come home EVERY year. We see them every few years, and via Skype and such more often. Your family (families) should be able to accept this, or help you pay for that trip.
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Aug 19, 2013 03:57
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Tuyop, I hope you understand that all of this isn't because we want you to be unhappy. Buying a Macbook Air is kind of a slippery slope that also demonstrates that you don't quite fully get it yet. I make a bit less than what you're receiving in a country where that's a respectable amount of money and have in savings what you owe in student loans. You know what's my personal laptop? ThinkPad T61 that I got (used) for $50 form work. I know you said you don't like them and I actually enjoy the clit mouse, but it's irrelevant because I got it for FIFTY BUCKS. Another benefit with the TPs is that nobody will be able to tell that you're using a 5-10 year old model. I'm sure you could get something comparable, even from HP or Dell if you like, for less than what Applecare would cost alone. The upside of being such a cheap bastard is that I get to fly across the loving ocean and spend a month exploring the US, then fly back to a third country to spend a week with my grandparents, and then fly back via a fourth country (because it's cheaper and I get to spend a day in a new city) all without significantly denting my savings or getting into any debt. You've been doing well overall, based on the charts, you just need to cut down on the luxury "want"s to get your poo poo sorted ASAP.
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Aug 19, 2013 12:43
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While I think being (temporarily) unhappy and debt free would be better than being happy and burried under a pile of IOUs, I'd much prefer it if you were both happy and debt free, and a key to this is being comfortable with what you have. Try thinking more about what is important in your life, what you truly want from life, and what you already have. It's a good way I can control my own spending habbits, because I think more along the lines of what I have and want out of my life, and less time thinking about what random products I want.
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Aug 19, 2013 15:05
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What is important in tyuop's life is the little thrill he gets from buying stuff.
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Aug 20, 2013 02:53
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Clean slate. Good time to dump 1/8 of my yearly income into a 1 week trip and a computer.
No Wave fucked around with this message at 03:53 on Aug 20, 2013 |
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Aug 20, 2013 03:51
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We have savings enough to go from Ontario to Halifax for Christmas, and pay for presents. We just recently found out that we were going to be living in Edmonton (Juneish) and the wedding took priority over our savings. We really just hadn't thought about a second trip home. The families are understanding. They lived in Alberta when they first got together and had to skip Christmas. My parents have a sort of adopted family in a village in Cuba that they visit 1-2 times a year* and they brought up using that as a potential replacement for Christmas. We'd just wait until next April when toeshoes gets more vacation and go to Cuba with them at some point. Maybe. * Airfare from Halifax to Cuba is often 350/person on last-minute charter flights. It's absurd. I get that you guys are concerned that I'll buy a MBA, like the taste of a little shopping, and just go hog wild and BAM spend 40k in pent-up consumerist avarice. I guess we'll see, but I know myself and I can't think of anything in my past that matches that behavior. THINGS aren't my gazingus pin, it is/was travel, and that's not really an option for the next little while.
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Aug 20, 2013 14:24
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You still don't need a MBA. You still can't afford a MBA.
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Aug 20, 2013 14:53
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tuyop posted:THINGS aren't my gazingus pin, it is/was travel, and that's not really an option for the next little while. Aren't you the guy who had to have $100 underwear? And a car that is ridiculously impractical, that you are still underwater on two years into the thread? Maybe it was someone else that had to buy a bike, then spend a stupid amount on upgrades for it. Or who moved into an apartment, then immediately ran out and bought a bunch of new poo poo for it, while their old poo poo is in storage somewhere. Totally not the actions of someone who doesn't like to buy THINGS.
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Aug 20, 2013 15:17
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April posted:Aren't you the guy who had to have $100 underwear? And a car that is ridiculously impractical, that you are still underwater on two years into the thread? Maybe it was someone else that had to buy a bike, then spend a stupid amount on upgrades for it. Or who moved into an apartment, then immediately ran out and bought a bunch of new poo poo for it, while their old poo poo is in storage somewhere. Totally not the actions of someone who doesn't like to buy THINGS. My car is pretty excellent, I've lived in it for weeks at a time. It's even on MMM's non-stupid car list! We have very few belongings, except for the couch and coffee table and other stuff we bought used, everything fits into my car. The stuff that we do have is used every day. As for bikes, over the life of this thread I've biked nearly 1800 kilometers and spent literally 650 dollars on bikes and stuff for bikes. I'm out of control! And I understand that this all sounds like justification from a shopping addict or something to you guys, but consider that we live in tiny apartments and don't spend most of our income and have had roommates. You can only buy so much stuff that you don't need in situations like ours.
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Aug 20, 2013 20:45
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Didn't you spend $200 on a bike and break it immediately? What was the other $450?
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Aug 20, 2013 20:47
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Me in Reverse posted:Didn't you spend $200 on a bike and break it immediately? What was the other $450? It's been 3 bikes, hasn't it?
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Aug 20, 2013 20:49
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tuyop posted:My car is pretty excellent, I've lived in it for weeks at a time. It's even on MMM's non-stupid car list! I'm fairly certain that the MS3 would not be on that list. I think the base 4-banger is probably what is considered a smart buy, not the tire-destroying MS3.
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Aug 20, 2013 21:05
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tuyop posted:And I understand that this all sounds like justification from a shopping addict or something to you guys, but consider that we live in tiny apartments and don't spend most of our income and have had roommates. Because it is. tuyop posted:You can only buy so much stuff that you don't need in situations like ours. This is so wrong that I'm having difficulty creating a lovely hyperbolic response to it.
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Aug 20, 2013 22:08
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haplesscardsharp posted:This is so wrong that I'm having difficulty creating a lovely hyperbolic response to it. This one sentence describes most of my time browsing these forums. Tuyop, don't buy a MacBook Air. Don't buy any Apple products ever, you are paying a premium for a brand logo on your computer.
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Aug 20, 2013 22:20
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Hey, dude, I know you don't know me, so you'll probably be flippant with me and disregard my advice... You're rationalizing and justifying. And hey, that's cool, I've done it plenty in my life, which is why I've been lurking in here. But that's what you're doing. It's comical how much you can't (or won't) see it. You remind me a lot of me, actually. If you're not willing to listen to people here and make difficult sacrifices in the short term so that you can create a better life for yourself... well, what's the point of this thread?
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Aug 20, 2013 22:20
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FrozenVent posted:You still don't need a MBA.  Apple , and it won't be cool looking, but you don't need Apple or cool-looking(and as some people pointed out, cool-looking/Apple could be an actively bad idea since those are the laptops thieves will target) - you need acceptable functionality at the lowest price you can find.Tuyop posted:My car is pretty excellent, I've lived in it for weeks at a time. It's even on MMM's non-stupid car list! I won't begrudge you getting a laptop for college, but a Macbook is a needless luxury that you can't afford right now, and you need to get out of the habit of buying needless luxuries you can't afford.
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Aug 20, 2013 22:22
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Nocheez posted:I'm fairly certain that the MS3 would not be on that list. I think the base 4-banger is probably what is considered a smart buy, not the tire-destroying MS3. Tuyop doesn't have an MS3.
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Aug 20, 2013 22:37
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tuyop posted:Also, I bought the loving car. It's a 2010 Mazda 3 Sport GS (not that anybody cares). It's pretty much my dream car for this stage in my life. I financed for 72 months at 372 a month and my insurance is 202. For reference. MMM recommends the Mazda 3, I don't know what's the difference between a 3 and a 3 Sport GS. Edit: Pretty sure he'd recommend buying used, too. FrozenVent fucked around with this message at 22:52 on Aug 20, 2013 |
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Aug 20, 2013 22:48
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You've talked about how it will just decrease your savings by $1,000. Can you show us all this in budget form? I know you've had enough of a major life change that it would be nice to sort of start from the beginning again. What's your income at this point, what are your budgeted expenses in the new place, where are your debts at, what is your savings like (post wedding preferably), etc., etc. No need for fancy charts or graphs or anything showing your progress - just your hard numbers at this point. Then maybe post a link in the OP for easy access. I know you've said you didn't see a problem with budgeting for it but have you actually been budgeting for it? It seems like you're just going to say "Well my savings will be $2,100 vs 3,100 this month to buy the computer" rather than "I've been saving up $100/month earmarked for this computer and now I have $1,299+money for additionals" HooKars fucked around with this message at 23:23 on Aug 20, 2013 |
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Aug 20, 2013 23:08
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My mistake! I can't believe he is spending all that money on a non-mazdaspeed 3.
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Aug 21, 2013 00:47
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Macbook Airs are a decent value compared to other computers at the $1,000 price point. But you don't need a $1,000 computer for college (especially the degree you're looking at). I got through all my schooling with a $200 netbook and an old desktop at home. Used Honda motorcycles are often "good values" too, and you need a motorcycle just as much as you need a $1000 computer.
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Aug 21, 2013 01:19
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Also, why do you need the most expensive model? I can understand the bigger screen but 200 bucks for storage it doesn't seem like you need for any other reason than you're tuyop and this is what you do.
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Aug 21, 2013 01:23
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Tuyop - Check this out: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310723783620&item=310723783620 Yes, its expired/sold out, but its a common deal $wise and as good of a computer as a MBA. Monitor Passwird.com and save yourself a boatload. Yes, it runs Windows. Woot, Windows! $600+Whatever Canada Charges For Duty=A LOT less than a MBA. And they're really nice! Go read some reviews or talk to someone who owns one. One of our fellow Goons' boss has one of these Zenbooks. Said Goon is the most computer-critical guy ever, and even he likes it a TON. And it has a better screen than the MBA - NO GLOSS!!!1! Did I mention its half the price of an MBA? Almost a thousand dollars less once you factor in upgrades and Applecare..
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Aug 21, 2013 02:04
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Wolfy posted:Also, why do you need the most expensive model? I can understand the bigger screen but 200 bucks for storage it doesn't seem like you need for any other reason than you're tuyop and this is what you do. Paying that much more for extra storage is especially stupid when you consider how cheap an external hard drive is from pretty much any computer vendor. Tuyop, have you looked at what Apple has in the way of refurbished laptops on their website? I can tell you right now that lugging around a 2-3 year old MacBook is really not that heavy if you have a decent bag. You could also look into a netbook if this is only for taking notes, email, checking online course content, word processing and that kind of thing. My husband broke his MacBook and used a $300 netbook for the rest of his time in graduate school. Worked just fine for keeping up with the classes he was teaching as well as writing his whole goddamn thesis. You really, really, really don't need a fancy laptop for an education degree.
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Aug 21, 2013 03:31
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Skinny King Pimp posted:Paying that much more for extra storage is especially stupid when you consider how cheap an external hard drive is from pretty much any computer vendor. My wife got her bachelors in nursing through an on-line course. She almost exclusively used an Asus netbook that cost around $330 when they first came out.
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Aug 21, 2013 13:42
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Wow, you guys really sperg out about laptops. We've been through it, again, I don't need a laptop at all. Somehow people got higher educations for hundreds of years without laptops, and I have access to all the free computers and a desktop and laptop already. The discussion isn't which laptop I should get, or need, or whether I need a laptop at all, it's really about whether I should buy something that I want. Imagine that this is instead a vacation to Hawaii for a week and we're getting a sick deal and only spending 1200 bucks. Or I'm just setting the money on fire or something. The object of my purchase is inconsequential. The budget! Take-home Income: 5480 Home Rent: 825 Renter insurance*: 25 Fun money (includes sports and whey protein, cigarettes (toeshoes), drinks, movies and restaurants): 400 Bills Groceries*: 300 Laundry: 12 Phone: 50 Internet: 46 Power*: 50 Netflix: 8 Auto and Transport Fuel: 250 Buses: 30 Maintenance*: 100 Tires*: 70 Insurance: 193 Payment: 375 (I've been counting this as savings because it's nearly all principal) * These are revolving funds that pay for irregular highs and lows in expenses. Balance: 3121 The balance gets split into various savings goals that will change now. We need to figure out where that's all going.
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Aug 21, 2013 17:48
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As for the other questions: I have a 2010 Mazda 3 Sport GS with the 2.5L 6-speed option. It's not specifically on the MMM not-retarded car list because of the 2.5, but it's close! The bicycle expenses are including the 125-dollar bicycle I bought last year, 60-something worth of repairs I get it going for my 70k daily commute, 300 for bike shoes and pedals  , and the 250-dollar bike I just bought (and then broke the front shifter on but it still works!), minus 85 dollars that I made selling the old bike's wheels, tires, cassette and other stuff.
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Aug 21, 2013 17:48
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I thought Toeshoes quit smoking. :/
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Aug 21, 2013 18:10
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Nether Postlude posted:I thought Toeshoes quit smoking. :/ She's no quitter! We're working on it. She bought one of those ecig things that should at least reduce the damage, in theory.
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Aug 21, 2013 18:13
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So the only debt youre paying off now is the car? And I think you mentioned you have $15,000 in savings in addition to savings marked for the wedding, Christmas, etc (think I read that in a previous post)? I don't think it's a wise purchase but it does seem like you can afford it. If you're really getting the MacBook Air you mentioned, it's probably going to be $1299 plus more if you're going to get AppleCare. Not sure why you keep rounding down to $1200.
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Aug 21, 2013 18:14
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HooKars posted:So the only debt youre paying off now is the car? And I think you mentioned you have $15,000 in savings in addition to savings marked for the wedding, Christmas, etc (think I read that in a previous post)? I don't think it's a wise purchase but it does seem like you can afford it. If you're really getting the MacBook Air you mentioned, it's probably going to be $1299 plus more if you're going to get AppleCare. Not sure why you keep rounding down to $1200. No, the savings went into paying off the student loan. We currently have about 3000 in cash for intermittent bills and the final wedding expenses, and 1000 I used to start an RRSP with. Our net worth is about 0 right now depending on how much my car is worth. That's not including my pension value and severance which is about 53500 and split basically in half between locked-in and not locked-in amounts. I have 21800 in available RRSP contribution room.
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Aug 21, 2013 18:27
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