pet peeves...

rpludwig

rpludwig

.
May 23, 2016
1,024
Catalina 22 #12502 BSC
perhaps these have been covered here, but if not, some random unrelated items under my craw:

1. Cutting the cable...sick, really sick & tired of high price, ever escalating cable tv and isp costs. We have only one monopolizing vendor (Suddenlink), modem speed is sporadic and service generally sucks and reviews are horrible. So what have y'all done to address this, and how has it worked out?

2. Keurig - buy the machine, buy the overpriced pods, all cuz we're too friggin lazy to brew the old fashioned way. The machines last a year or two at best, recently latched on to a Bunn single cup brewer, no pods required, good for coffee, tea, etc., one cup at a time, so far so good and convenient. (after trashing our 3rd Keurig machine).

3. Cell phone costs...stupid.

4. Medical, another whole can of worms...I find myself avoiding some (necessary in the past) doctor & dentist visits, due to the crazy costs.

Older we get, retired/fixed income, costs we've been paying for some things are unsustainable. I'm looking at every expense in a different way these days and getting more cost conscious in all respects....so for those in a similar situation, what can/have your done to trim the bills, knowing sailors are better than most at it! (short of living off the grid on the boat).

Rant over, thoughts?
 
D

dlochner

.
Jan 11, 2014
12,109
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
rpludwig said:
1. Cutting the cable...sick, really sick & tired of high price, ever escalating cable tv and isp costs. We have only one monopolizing vendor (Suddenlink), modem speed is sporadic and service generally sucks and reviews are horrible. So what have y'all done to address this, and how has it worked out?
Click to expand
We sort of did this. Here in Syracuse, NY we have 2 choices (besides satellite) Verizon FIOS and Spectrum (formerly Charter, formerly Time Warner Cable) The NY AG is investigating Spectrum's business practices and threatening to throw them out of the state. We have FIOS and I tried to cut the cable and just stick with their good internet service, but it was cheaper to have basic cable and internet, so just got rid of the all the premium channels. We also have Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu. We had Netflix and Amazon before so the only additional cost was Hulu. For internet and basic cable the cost is ~ $80.

rpludwig said:
2. Keurig - buy the machine, buy the overpriced pods, all cuz we're too friggin lazy to brew the old fashioned way. The machines last a year or two at best, recently latched on to a Bunn single cup brewer, no pods required, good for coffee, tea, etc., one cup at a time, so far so good and convenient. (after trashing our 3rd Keurig machine).
Click to expand
I never owned a Keurig. Just didn't make sense and then there is the environmental impact. Too much plastic already floating loose around the world. We save a little because we don't have to use paper filters, we have one of those gold tone screens.

rpludwig said:
3. Cell phone costs...stupid.
Click to expand
Got rid of the landline 15 years ago. My wife and I each have iPhones with basic data plans. We use them a lot for data and web searches. Check your cell phone provider, many of them quietly offer discounts for certain groups. We get a discount because I work(ed) in education. When we bought my wife's phone, she got a discount from Apple because they offered her employer a discount. They weren't huge discounts, but every little bit helps.

rpludwig said:
4. Medical, another whole can of worms...I find myself avoiding some (necessary in the past) doctor & dentist visits, due to the crazy costs.
Click to expand
Interesting question to raise on election day. It is pretty undebatable that medical costs in the US are too high when compared to other developed countries. We have the opportunity today to elect some representatives who might help reduce those costs. Delaying or avoiding medical costs can be a case of being penny wise and pound foolish. It is probably a poor idea to avoid necessary medical care, but it may be possible to stretch out the intervals between appointments. Probably don't need to see the dentist twice a year, once a year maybe enough. Doing things to keep healthy can also help.

Overall, I try to be efficient in managing my expenses. I've been semi-retired now for over 4 years. Little things, like combining trips for errands and planning the route to reduce gas costs. Watching the food budget. Anchor out more than staying marinas. I've also looked for other sources of income. One of my favorites is scrapping. About once a year I manage scrap up enough metal to make a trip to the junk yard. Typically bring home about $40, not much, but it will buy a couple of cases of beer. :beer:
 
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Justin_NSA

Justin_NSA

.
Jul 7, 2004
8,440
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
A lot of 1st world problems or peeves can be solved by changing our habits. Step away from the TV and visit the outdoors. Go for walks. Ride a bike. Take up a hobby, like woodworking perhaps. Read. Dare I say it, talk to your significant other. Kuerigs just cater to our "convenience" lifestyles. Resist. We insist on being connected 24/7 so everyone must have a cell phone. Even in the movie theater. And of course everyone around needs to hear your conversation. I honestly believe that most, not all medical issues can be avoided with proper diet and exercise.

My pet peeve is too many beers to choose from. How's a fella to know what to pick??
 
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kloudie1

kloudie1

.
Nov 6, 2006
9,984
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
Cable... We have ATT and COX.. ATT just started optical high speed internet service in our neighborhood .. so we are going to go with high speed internet (10 X faster than current ) and streaming and VOIP landline (that number goes to everyone but friends, so the marketers and other pests call it) .. Current internet plus cable plus phone is $230.. new cost will be about 100.. which will about pay for the monthly on the boat slip..
Just bought the "over the air" antenna, but have not installed it yet..We have many stations within range .. I have a window "leaf" antenna in mom's room at nearby nursing home that picks up 34 channels, so I won't have problems with network TV and local news.
 
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Maine Sail

Maine Sail

.
Feb 6, 1998
11,689
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
We have not had cable or satellite TV since 2005. We cut the cable before Netflix even existed. When Netflix launched we got that and then Hulu and now we also get Amazon Prime. Between those three we have more than enough to watch so I guess we pay about $20.00 per month for TV because the Prime Membership comes with Prime TV and we more than use our shipping allotment with Prime. We no longer watch any professional sports, the NFL was the final straw for us on that front. The news was also less than useless, so we don't miss TV at all. We do read a lot though and listen to lots of music.

Where we really save money is on vehicles. My brother, a close friend and I have had a gentleman's competition going on for over 30 years now to see who can run the lowest cost of ownership for vehicles. The price cap is 10K for purchase and you must keep it at least two years. Funny thing is all three of us have landed on Honda or Toyota made products (inclusive of Acura or Lexus) in order to be competitive. It did not start out that way.

Buying cars has literally turned into a hobby / art form with all three of us. Because my brother and I live in Maine, and rust is the big killer, we are usually flying to rust free areas where Honda and Toyota products don't hold value as well and driving them back home. Our friend Jon lives in CO and has little to worry about in regards to rust. We have friends in Delaware and North Carolina who helps us out and they are both excellent areas to find virtually rust free vehicles. The net-net is that we are usually buying 5 year old + cars with a minimum of 100K miles and we let some other sucker take the value hit. Once vehicles hit 100k+, especially Honda and Toyota the depreciation slows dramatically. Here's a few....

2003 Honda Pilot
Purchase Price $9750.00 with 121k (North Carolina purchase)
Sold Price $10,350.00 with 197k (sold it for $600.00 more than we paid)
Total non routine maintenance during 3 years of ownership = $312.00 (front motor mount)

2005 Honda Pilot
Purchase Price $9350.00 with 136k (North Carolina purchase)
Totaled by insurance company (daughter accidentally left a bag of live clams in it - could not get smell out)
Total non routine maintenance during 1 year of ownership = $0.00

2006 Honda Pilot
Purchase Price $9600.00 with 132k (North Carolina purchase)
Sold Price $9750.00 with 204k (sold it for $150.00 more than we paid)
Total non routine maintenance during 2.75 years of ownership = $239.00 (sway bar links and broken rear seat latch)

2009 Acura MDX (glorified Honda Pilot) (Delaware)
Purchase Price $8900.00 with 166k
Still own it with 249k on the ODO
Total non routine maintenance during 4 years of ownership = $512.00 (front struts & sway bar links)

2010 Prius V
Purchase Price $9875.00 with 129k (North Carolina)
Sold Price $9700.00 with 194K
Total non routine maintenance during 2.5 years of ownership = $0.00

My Brother
2006 Toyota Tundra Limited (North Carolina purchase)
Purchase Price $9995.00 with 158K
Sold Price $12,700.00 with 211k
Total non routine maintenance during 3 years of ownership = $154.00 (sliding rear window broke)

1992 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ62 (cult classic car)
Purchase Price $9500.00 with 191k (Upstate NY)
Sold price $16,700.00 with 243k
Total non routine maintenance during 2.5 years of ownership = $765.00 (vacuum leak, MAF & radiator)

On the flip side another friend was belly aching to me the other day that he is upside down by nearly 30k on his Denali XL and he's "bored with it" but can't trade because he's so upside down. For considerably less than half of what he pays in a single car payment each month, & he has two car payments, my wife and I own a ski-place with my brother and sister-in-law. This is an asset that is going up in value, not down. By the time we sell it all our skiing costs and cost of ownership should be paid back and we'll most likely still have a profit. Can't say the same for the sailboat. They're just a bad investment...

Another way we save money is to buy our cows, chicken and pigs directly from the farmer and use our own butcher to process it. We usually split a cow with my brother and sister-in-law and pigs and chickens we do on our own.. Our last cow cost us $2.84 per pound for the best tasting grass fed beef you can imagine. We also get to choose how the cow is fed or finish fed which can change the way the beef tastes. We usually choose 100% grass as we prefer a bit more of a game / natural beef taste. The grocery store mark-up on this stuff is outrageous and it tastes like crap too. We also buy all our goat cheese & eggs direct from the farm. We are also in a fish co-op for fresh fish once per week.

Don't even get me going on the Keurig. I was listening to a friends wife bitch about straws three weeks ago as she made us a coffee in their Keurig. Not only did it taste like crap she tossed four k-cups in the trash in less than 6 minutes, all while bitching about plastic straws. When I pointed out the hypocrisy I just witnessed she pulled the do as I say not as I do card. She then proceeded to prep her kids school lunches using disposable sandwich bags as opposed to a reusable Tupperware type container for the sandwiches...... Like others have said we use a gold mesh reusable coffee filter.

There are plenty of ways to save money. Owning a boat is not one of them.. (grin)
 
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All U Get

All U Get

.
Oct 2, 2008
3,809
Pearson/ 530 Strafford, NH
Why can't the bread land butter side up once in a while. I'm learning to cope with the rest of the stuff,,,,,,slowly.
 
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C

Calif. Ted

.
Jun 8, 2004
2,901
Catalina 320 Dana Point
Couple weeks ago gas prices caught my attention when a little over half a tank for my pick-up was $80.00 so we've been driving the wife's 10 YO Honda CRV.
Never did the coffee pods, always seemed too much like "instant" coffee, nothing "instant" is good, not coffee, soup, oatmeal, waffles, breakfast etc. etc.
 
Tally Ho

Tally Ho

.
Jan 7, 2011
5,157
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
rpludwig said:
perhaps these have been covered here, but if not, some random unrelated items under my craw:

1. Cutting the cable...sick, really sick & tired of high price, ever escalating cable tv and isp costs. We have only one monopolizing vendor (Suddenlink), modem speed is sporadic and service generally sucks and reviews are horrible. So what have y'all done to address this, and how has it worked out?

2. Keurig - buy the machine, buy the overpriced pods, all cuz we're too friggin lazy to brew the old fashioned way. The machines last a year or two at best, recently latched on to a Bunn single cup brewer, no pods required, good for coffee, tea, etc., one cup at a time, so far so good and convenient. (after trashing our 3rd Keurig machine).

3. Cell phone costs...stupid.

4. Medical, another whole can of worms...I find myself avoiding some (necessary in the past) doctor & dentist visits, due to the crazy costs.

Older we get, retired/fixed income, costs we've been paying for some things are unsustainable. I'm looking at every expense in a different way these days and getting more cost conscious in all respects....so for those in a similar situation, what can/have your done to trim the bills, knowing sailors are better than most at it! (short of living off the grid on the boat).

Rant over, thoughts?
Click to expand
About the only one I can comment on is the coffee. While I own a Keurig, I don’t use it often. I prefer to make 4-6 cups of Dunkin Donut coffee in my old drip coffee maker with a SST thermal carafe. I make it every day and have my coffee on my 57 mile 1-way commute to work.

I have the other “trappings” you mention in your post. But recently fought to the death with the local newspaper over the price increase and dropped them cold.

My dream is to head out on my boat, drop the health insurance, internet and other trappings of modern life...but don’t see that happening g anytime soon.

Greg
 
JamesG161

JamesG161

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Feb 14, 2014
7,707
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
dlochner said:
Well, it is all about the physics [on the buttered toast comment from @All U Get ]
Click to expand
Boy, just as I was thinking how well @dlochner knew Science.:rolleyes:

It is Murphy's Law!!

And just when you thought physics controlled it, as always butter side down...

Murphy wins again and... butter side up!
_____
Coffee...
I make a pot of coffee, always! Drink and share. After it cools, pour in a sealed container and put in the refrigerator. Pour some over ice for a nice afternoon pick me up. In morning, pour a cold cup and nuke it.
Good for 3 days. Put the grounds in the veggie garden compost pile.;)

_____
Tele-marketers...:mad:

I now get revenge by putting my phone on mute and answer YES. They robotically called me, now I delay their phone lines and live operators.:ass:
_____
Gasoline pricing methods...

$2.35 and 9/10th

Who the heck cares about nine tenths of a penny, when buying gas? Who changes that to, say 4/10?
_______
Four Way Stops...
The car who should go next, waves at me through their tinted glass window to go first. I wait correctly. They now don't move and frantically waves me on. Some times I can't see through their tinted windows.

Jim...

 
WayneH

WayneH

.
Jan 22, 2008
1,076
Tartan 37 287 Pensacola, FL
I get those "Neighborhood calls" where they spoof your first six digits. But no one I know has this neighborhood so I always answer with "This is an illegal phone call. Please stay on the line while we trace the actual number." Usually I hear a click about then but I will just set down the phone without hanging up. ;)

Cell phone costs with Alter Tease & Twerk were ridiculous. We switched to Consumer Cellular. My oldest daughter keeps telling me that Wal-Mart has a "geezer" package but since Sam died and the company went to hell, they can stay there. Steps off soapbox.
 
C

Calif. Ted

.
Jun 8, 2004
2,901
Catalina 320 Dana Point
Last time "Microsoft Windows" called to help fix my computer after a while they called me an A**hole and HUNG UP, didn't help a bit. I swear that's just what he said "This is Microsoft Windows" , idiots.
 
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Maine Sail

Maine Sail

.
Feb 6, 1998
11,689
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Calif. Ted said:
Last time "Microsoft Windows" called to help fix my computer after a while they called me an A**hole and HUNG UP, didn't help a bit. I swear that's just what he said "This is Microsoft Windows" , idiots.
Click to expand
I kept "Joe" from Microsoft Service Center on the line for nearly 30 minutes one day. Just put it on speaker while working and played dumb, waiting for my computer to re-boot etc., etc....

In the end he actually said "you ahr plucking bee-arch". I actually recorded the call, just for fun, and want to make "plucking bee-arch" a ring tone someday. Yes, I do have a twisted sense of humor & less than zero tolerance for scammers... (wink)
 
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jssailem

jssailem

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Oct 22, 2014
21,991
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
I’ve held interesting conversations with callers wanting to help me with my computer problems. Once while trying to resolve the problem with basic on my commodore computer. We spent 10 minutes trying to find the Microsoft Windows button on the keyboard. Still a blank screen. Finally I asked. Should I plug it in?

Laughed when I Watched this discussion with 39 million of my closest friends.
https://www.ted.com/talks/james_veitch_this_is_what_happens_when_you_reply_to_spam_email
 
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