vexed's ERE journey from the very beginning!

Where are you and where are you going?
vexed87
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Re: vexed's ERE journey from the very beginning!

Post by vexed87 »

@Did, I suppose one of the benefits of the written report, is that if the surveyor omits any critical information they (or their insurer) are liable. Having it in writing helps in this regard. Also, with the extent of the work that needed doing on the last property, we really needed to chew through the finer details of the report, before going back to the surveyor with informed questions, oral may have lead to information overload! :)

halfmoon
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Re: vexed's ERE journey from the very beginning!

Post by halfmoon »

vexed87 wrote:@Did, I suppose one of the benefits of the written report, is that if the surveyor omits any critical information they (or their insurer) are liable. Having it in writing helps in this regard.
It's probably different everywhere, but in this US state (Washington), a written inspection can be given to the seller along with a counter-offer. The seller then must disclose the inspection details to any prospective buyer. Our buyer's agent taught us this when we bought our rental property, and it saved us $10,000 on the purchase price because the inspection uncovered roof issues that might inhibit another buyer. We used the $10,000 to replace the roof with a much better one.

The inspection cost us $250, which I would call a good deal. :)

vexed87
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Re: vexed's ERE journey from the very beginning!

Post by vexed87 »

@Halfmoon, yes, if the valuation comes in at under the accepted offer, we would be in a position where we would want to negotiate, particularly as we are taking on a mortgage. As we have a larger deposit than most, we could still go ahead, but where is the sense paying more than the house is worth? You might have to in a seller's market, but with brexit and recession on the horizon, I'm sure we'll be seeing a buyers market soon. Also the rate on our mortgage is calculated on the ratio of Loan to Value, so if the value drops at valuation, the interest rate goes up. For the last property, we were looking at change from 1.4% for 3 year fix, to 1.8%, it adds up!

vexed87
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Re: vexed's ERE journey from the very beginning!

Post by vexed87 »

I feel I may have neglected this journal lately, I guess that's because not much interesting has happened around here. DW and I have been saving diligently, I have been contributing ~25% income to retirement fund since my last financial update and ~50% to the house deposit fund. Savings however dropped to 0% last month due to xmas gift giving and my new bike project, which I finally finished.

Well, here it is!

Image

Edit, more pictures here with rack and new dynamo hub wheel I built:
https://imgur.com/a/UBePF

It's a surly disc trucker, I picked up the frame on ebay, fitted it with 9 speed XT drivechain, with dura-ace bar end shifters (which are weird with me being used to STI levers). So far they are proving really reliable shifting which is nice. I also added a Tubus Logo Classic rack and two Ortlieb Plus Roller Panniers since the photo was taken, so now I'm finally able to do some serious shopping trips, something I have been dying to try for a while. I'm going to take it on its virgin shopping trip into the city this weekend to hit up the produce market, hopefully some photos incoming! Also, I'm pretty excited that I can finally lug beers home without the use of a motor, the rack can support up to 40kg in total, and the MTB gearing will help me tackle the local hills.

I spent a lot on this bike, if I had to give a figure, it would be around £1300 all in, but I lost track some time ago. That said, I haven't compromised on the parts, and the build is much nicer than the surly complete build, I bought all the parts in sales etc, so saved a smallish fortune. I wasn't fussy about mixing brands either and got a couple of parts used, namely the stem, seat post and pedals. The bike frame should last a long time, steel being pretty durable. The wheels are hand built and bomb proof too. Building from scratch was invaluable experience, and I'm a heck of a lot more confident about finding a bicycle mechanic side gig if I ever need extra income.

In other news, DW and I had a offer accepted on another house, we are going through the motions again, all subject to contracts/survey's, and to avoid another disappointment, I am doing my best to curb any excitement, but we can't help being pretty upbeat about this house which is ready to move in without any major work, it's a new(ish) build, similar area to the last, built in 2001 and really energy efficient too, although the boiler needs replacing. Hopefully we won't have all the problems we experienced last time as that house was ~100 years old. We are dropping 20% deposit on this to get the best rate we can at the moment. The plan is to fix in for a couple of years at 1.94%, gambling that base rates will stay low and we negotiate to a better rate once the fix expires, since we're first time buyers, there's a premium which we can wiggle out of. I see interest rates rising markedly in the long run, but I'm hopeful they'll hold out just a couple more years.

I just bought a bunch of organic/permaculture books used on amazon, mostly around £2.80 each, I want to ramp up the growing again this year, annoyingly with a move on the horizon, a lot of my work might go to waste, so I'm not buying new seeds etc, I'll just use what's left over form last year and hope it all germinates. Because of the move, I'll be taking a no dig/lazy approach as the season changes to spring, who know's when we'll have to up sticks and leave the plot behind.
Last edited by vexed87 on Fri Jun 16, 2017 5:32 am, edited 1 time in total.

Ydobon
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Re: vexed's ERE journey from the very beginning!

Post by Ydobon »

I love the massive resellers on Amazon who are using bots to control the price of their inventories, some of the bargains that can be had are ridiculous if you're patient. As a method of delaying/preventing consumption I use Camel Camel Camel to alert me when a book/CD hits its lowest price ever (usually no more than £2 for 3rd party new, or 50p secondhand). Basically you pay for the postage. It helps to avoid consumption as record low prices usually take several months to come along, allowing me to trim the list as I go.

Fancy looking bike! I had thought about taking up my employer on their cycle to work scheme, but the savings (tax, NI) were marginal, I lack confidence (haven't been on a bike in 20 years!) and roads in Glasgow are in pretty bad condition.

vexed87
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Re: vexed's ERE journey from the very beginning!

Post by vexed87 »

@ydobon, haven't seen you around these parts for some time! Similar strategy here but I only buy the books (save for a few exceptions) when they are 1p plus postage. Mostly older editions of the very same text are at this price point, the trick is looking through al the editions of the book, amazon hides them from product page. I'm surprised these companies make enough profit to remain viable selling their books at a penny, the postage cost must be inflated somewhat to prevent competition with amazon's prime delivery scheme, or they turn over a lot of used books. :lol:

I agree, the C2W scheme isn't usually worth the hassle unless you are a higher rate tax payer, that's when the savings make a real difference. Considering the lead time on generating the voucher (it took 3 months here) and then most bike stores will whack a 10% fee on top of the sale price to cover the margin lost to the C2W scheme company (they charge the bike shop a fee for participating in the scheme). You can get around that fee as some stores who are willing to take the hit, but you're stuck with what the LBS will sell you, not necessarily the frame/model you really want. I think I saved around £100 in tax contributions over the 12 months, but spent £65 on the topping up the retailer, so not really great savings. Had I known this from the start, I would have paid upfront out my own pocket to walk out of the shop with what I want without the paperwork/hassle. On the plus side, the expense was paid montly, so less of a dent in net worth, but a debt liability incurred in the short term regardless. If you leave your job, you have to pay up the balance immediately. Most ERE folk should have the cash lying around to pay upfront, so makes sense just to do that and be done with it.

Thanks for the compliment, I've also had a few at the bike parking shelter at work now too, I'm pretty happy with it so far. Its so damn practical, if a little sluggish on the climbs. I would recommend you give cycling a go, it can be intimidating at first, and everyone thinks their local roads are the most dangerous going, but they're not, most driving is of equally poor standards, and segregated cycling infrastructure in the UK is so badly designed that your better off out in the road anyway. You just need to get used to it, and optimise your route to avoid as many main roads as possible. Where there's will, there's a way!

vexed87
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Re: vexed's ERE journey from the very beginning!

Post by vexed87 »

Quick update; Our house purchase is proceeding well, we are likely to exchange contracts next week with a view to complete by the first week of May. We are almost home-owners... GULP! :shock:

Sorry if I already mentioned this, didn't have time to re-read my recent posts, but for the benefit of UK readers we made use of the Help To Buy ISA scheme which I thoroughly recommend, it has a generous 25% bonus on saving contributions (contributions are limited to £1000 in the first month, then £200 every month thereafter), so between DW and I, we have a nice healthy return on our small chunk of our savings. It almost feels criminal. Between us we have pocketed almost £2500 of tax payers money (clearly an attempt by the gummit' to prop up the housing market). This however is fortunate as our expenses are about to go through the roof. Even excluding the 20% we have put down on the house, we now need to buy a sofa, fridge/freezer, washing machine, dresser/cabinets, drawers, dining table and chairs, and dry wall the en suite.

DW is getting excited and dragged me around various paraphernalia shops yesterday seeking various useless items that women seem to be driven to adorn their homes with. Luckily we left empty handed, the first 'shopping' trip I have been on in months only cost me two cups of coffee. We went to new John Lewis department store, the place seems to be devoid of any soul, and everyone was fake and plastic. I don't miss those places. Probably because they don't sell bikes. DW is now planning curtains and matching cushion covers, I'd like to leave her to it, but I was reading JMGs Green Wizardry again the other day and have to start thinking practically about insulation, and DIY curtains are on his checklist..., watch this space.

I can't blame DW for getting a little carried away, all I can think about is finally getting my hands on a garden and planning a permaculture oasis of my own, then subsequently filling the garage/shed with my bike and gardening tools! :lol: Saving continues with a 25% contribution to my pension fund, and 50% to house/furniture purchase fund. After a few months I expect expenses to settle down and I can get retirement saving back into full swing. In the mean time, I have been working on my bikes A LOT.

The road bike needed an overhaul after the winter months. The bottom bracket on my road bike has been creaking for a while, and that started around about the same time as my front derailleur began playing up. I decided to replace both last week. I had a big hassle with the bottom bracket. I swapped it out myself, but didn't save a penny because I fucked up and installed the wrong size on the first attempt, which took me about 1.5 hours to extract with a hammer and chisel. I learned the hard way to double check the model before buying parts (£25 down the drain, idiot tax). The shifter/derailleur was relatively easy to swap out, I picked up a used shifter for £20 on eBay. They are £170 for the pair new online. These will keep me going a little longer, until I swap out for the new 11 spd 105 groupset, but that's £350 I don't want to spend right now, as tempting as it is.

The Surly LHT pictured above also needed emergency surgery as I installed the disc on the hub improperly which was resulting in rubbing against the brake pads with every revolution, annoying! When removing the disc I rounded off one of the T25 bolt heads and had to take the electric drill to extract it, in the process I ruined the hub with metal shavings and bent it our of shape by physically yanking the disc from under the stuck bolt, I had tried patience, but it just wouldn't budge. I had to rebuild the wheel, in the end that debacle cost me £80 (more idiot tax) for a new rim, spokes and a disc. Luckily I had a spare hub to use, but it required a different number of spokes, which is why I needed a new rim. Well, that will do for a spare wheel for a project another day. I need to stay away from my bikes for a while because they are costing me a small fortune lately. DW was not impressed with my latest card statement with all the bike parts, and now has a free pass to buy lots of home paraphernalia. Can I complain? :lol:

vexed87
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Re: vexed's ERE journey from the very beginning!

Post by vexed87 »

Moved Home, Super Long June 2017 Update

It has been hectic since my last post, we moved in the first week of May as planned. The house is a 101sq meter, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom + downstairs toilet (yeah, I know, but I didn't build the house). The move only adds 5 minutes to my cycle commute which is ideal, and it's 30 minute ride from the inner city, yet surrounded by farmland and green space, so ideal for dog walking and a eventually, maybe even a child. The house was built in the early 00's, it's reasonably modern in appearance, although most of the paint colour and fittings are not to our taste, for example:

Image

Every room needs some work, but it's perfectly livable, so there's no pressure to get it all done right away, that toilet being the only exception :lol:. The house really just needs our stamp, or should I say, a dash of minimalism and white paint.

Jobs done so far:

*I oiled all door hinges, it's beggars belief than anyone can put up with literally every single door creaking. The previous occupiers were clearly not DIYers.

*I swapped out numerous dead or halogen and incandescent lighting to edison style LEDs, I think I will leave the existing CFLs in place, because they are still pretty efficient, but it takes a while to reach full light output, which I find irritating coming from a fully LED lit apartment, which is instant on. I may change the CFLs out in frequently used rooms for now, and leave the CFLs for hallway and guestroom.

*I also weeded plant beds, cut back overgrown hedges, the lawn has been left by the previous occupiers in a dire state, not much I can do about this now, so will have to wait until September, there are more weeds and moss than grass. I transplanted the few veg annuals that I had from the old place.

*Began prepping living room for painting, removed nails and screws from plaster and took down the old broken curtain rails, filled in holes and cracks, swapped out hideous light fixtures for nice new copper pendants, sanded and cleaned the walls, then...

... I was struck down with a Peritonsular Abscess, I've been bed ridden all week. It's the most horrific pain, I was lucky I went to the GP when I did to get antibiotics, I was told by the GP that it could lead to obstruction of airways or sepsis. Thankfully, the pain and swelling has receded and I'm out of bed again. I think I took too much on, on top of the house move, I have been training for a triathlon, swimming and running 3 times a week, cycling at least 20 miles every day. Think I just need to take it a bit easier with the extra swimming/running for a bit. Happily, DW and I are taking a trip to Cyprus next week to soak up some sun, drink some beer and get away from the chaos of the new home, so I'll have plenty of time to relax and pick up a book again.

When we return, we will resume with some more technical DIY challenges, namely plaster boarding the en suite, installing new cermaic fittings, tiling, grouting and repairing the shower, currenty the faucet only spews scalding hot water, I imagine this is a thermostat failure, possibly a job for a professional plumber. I’ll also need to buy some ladders so I can clear the house guttering, treat and repaint the facias, as well as do some work on the garage roof. All the outdoor wooden furnishings, doors, and fences need attention too. We also need to get someone to in to lop conifer trees on the property, which so big they are over shadowing our living room and making it dark in the morning and early afternoon.

I need to work up some plans for the garden, this is the job I'm most excited about, DW doesn't see it as a priority, but I want it to supply most of our food in the long run, which may be possible, but I'm considering getting a local allotment plot to supplement this. I have been dreaming about having my own garden for a LONG time. I cannot wait to put a lot of the theory I have been reading in permaculture books into practice, I hope to establish
fully fledged permaculture food forest. I am under no illusion that this is quick job, deftinely more of a long term vision, possibly 5+ years away from completion. I need to get on with planning where my fruit tree's will work best etc. There's currently a cherry tree and stawberries in the garden so far, everything else is simply decorative in nature, so a lot of it may yet have to be sacrificed to the compost heap!

On the spending front, as one might imagine, fixing up a new home is expensive, but I would consider most of the stuff as one off purchases, as for furniture, we’ve opted for mostly used/reclaimed or new solid wood pieces. We deliberatly went for solid wood items, for durability and optionality (i.e. sanding, repaiting etc). So as long as DW doesn’t change her mind and begin to demand new furniture to stay ‘on trend’ most of what we have bought can be considered BIFL stuff, so hopefully won’t have to deal any of that expense again, otherwise I may well be forced out of early retirement as soon as I get there! :twisted:

Discretionary spending has plummeted out of necessity since we have been unsure how much exactly everything was going to cost us, we needed as much padding in our accounts as possible. I think we have had one take out meal on the day we moved, and we have eaten out twice since April, which is pretty good going for us. I have bought a couple beers recently, but we have been so busy moving house thst there has been no time to spend money. We are pretty much cash flowing everything at this point, with no debt being carried on credit cards, which I’m very happy with. I haven't made any contributions to my investment accounts this month, and possibly won't do for the next few months while we rebuild our cash savings funds back up.

Mortgage payment is roughly £300 each, over 28 years, we'll be overpaying by quite a lot, at least £200, maybe more. It's been a while since I had to pay housing so I will be caerfully monitor spending over next few months to ensure I am being good!

cmonkey
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Re: vexed's ERE journey from the very beginning!

Post by cmonkey »

You should make the most of that toilet.


Congrats on the new house! You sound like my friend here, so many "need to dos" ; just remember most of those are actually "wants". ;)

vexed87
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Re: vexed's ERE journey from the very beginning!

Post by vexed87 »

Hah, that decal might just finish me off. :twisted:

vexed87
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Re: vexed's ERE journey from the very beginning!

Post by vexed87 »

Where did the summer go? Sheesh. Sorry about the long ramble that follows...

First the bad news;

I have got into a bad habit of buying lunch at work, not every day, but way more often that I'd like. £50 of our food budget has been spent on mediocre meal-deal sandwiches with a 500ml serving of diet cola, urgh. I may need a MMM facepunch. I should get more organised and prepare a pack-up the evening before rather than leave it until the last minute in the morning. I've set myself a goal for September to do 100% pack-ups, because this is an inexcusable waste of money, I should know better.

There's not much to add on the investing front, the PP is still doing it's job and my money is still safe despite all the brexit turmoil. As ever, I'm enjoying watching the dividends role in. Sadly, I have saved nothing since our move in May. I sort of feel like I don't belong on the ERE forum right now. Not sure what I have to show for the lack of saving, except...

My 2014 model road bike got an expensive upgrade, it's now running the latest and greatest shimano 105 11 speed groupset, £290 down the drain.
£60 to replace worn out bib shorts, plus a new rear wheel also for the road bike as I trashed my last one on a pot hole, another £70 down the drain.
My 2010 desktop PC's GPU died, so I got a modern equivalent, £280 down the drain.
A 2TB hard drive died, luckily I had a spare, back up your stuff people, lots of data, mostly priceless pictures, down the drain, luckily I'm not sentimental about these things.
I bought a bunch of books, and quite unlike me 3 new video games, £100 down the drain.
I had a couple of ridiculous close calls whilst riding the bike so I decided to get an action cam and associated bicycle mounting paraphernalia, next time I'll have footage to show the police, but... another £100 down the drain.
>£6,000 spent on furnishing and decorating the new place since May, technically not down the drain, because DW and I both really really wanted this stuff to make our home comfortable and bring it up to date.

Total spend >£6900, savings rate -50% :cry:

Most of this stuff was wants, but hasn't made me any happier, or safer, not sure why I got suckered into buying it all. Feeling rather stupid now I'm totalling it all up. Regarding the GPU, I haven't been into gaming since 2012. Not sure why I didn't just call it quits and strip the PC for saleable parts, for the most part I'm content with the Mac Air I bought in 2015. I don't need the extra muscle for anything but gaming. For some reason, I got an urge to play video games again, yet I can't manage an hour or so before I get bored. Reason kicks in and points out it's a pointless waste of time which could be spent more productively. I may just end up putting my PC for sale/auction and recoup what I can, but depreciation is a killer when it comes to 2010 CPUs and Mobos, the sunk cost fallacy bites quite hard. That said, I have quite enjoyed playing Player Unknown's Battlegrounds with VOIP with my old college buddies, the jury is still out here, we will see. I suppose we have to have some fun some of the time.

As for spending on cycling, here we go again, I admit it, I have a problem. Whilst my groupset was really worn and causing me untold grief, it could have been fixed for a lot less if I had stuck with the old 10 speed setup and replaced a few individual components. That said, once I got out on the bike, I forgot all about how much I had spent, I really liked the new 5800 model groupset, shifting is just so much smoother and the improved braking was also impressive. Still, when I think about it, it sure wasn't worth shelling out £290 for. :oops:

I really need to learn to curb my wants better right now, particularly as we have a bathroom to renovate still, and likely various shit to buy for other rooms in the house. I really let DW down by spending this much on my personal wants, whilst she's scrimping to pay for our furnishings, I have been buying bike parts and action cams. The guilt is killing me, I confessed my spending to her, she was ok about it, but can't help but feel like I was selfish. I need to do much better this month and resume my saving for our retirement. This is an ERE forum after all.

And the good news, luckily there is some:

My best man from my wedding day, and life long friend has moved to my village, just two streets over. I haven't lived in close proximity to a real friend since early childhood, even through university. It's doing my social life wonders as I now have someone other than DW for casual hangouts. It's cool to have someone to go to the local pub with (DW isn't a fan of ale!) While it can be pricey pastime, it's nice to have someone to have a couple of real ales with and just chat about guy stuff.

DW and I haven't eaten out in what feels like forever. We've only had 3 take out's since we moved in May, despite finding arguably the world's best pizza place down the road. I may have to concede, their pizza is better than my own DIY effort, not quite as cheap though. :twisted:

Energy consumption at home is still very modest. I bought one of the those wattage meters that records kWh and calculates the running cost of appliances. I've had fun comparing energy usage for items around the house. I found it has made me more conscious about leaving stuff in standby mode, when I go to bed now the only things drawing juice from the mains are the house fire alarm system, fridge, wifi router, and the timer for the hot water system. Our bills were so low, despite already being on a low user tariff, my provider called me to suggest I made an error when providing the meter readings. It makes you wonder how people waste so much energy. :D

Jason

Re: vexed's ERE journey from the very beginning!

Post by Jason »

I have to say that watching someone else piss their money down the drain is much easier to see than one's own pissing their money down the drain. But at least you are acknowledging your issues.

I still battle the lunch out issue. What I realize is that the food tastes different so I think there is an addiction element to it. So its both a food and drug thing.

wolf
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Re: vexed's ERE journey from the very beginning!

Post by wolf »

vexed87 wrote:
Fri Sep 01, 2017 8:45 am
Energy consumption at home is still very modest. I bought one of the those wattage meters that records kWh and calculates the running cost of appliances. I've had fun comparing energy usage for items around the house. I found it has made me more conscious about leaving stuff in standby mode, when I go to bed now the only things drawing juice from the mains are the house fire alarm system, fridge, wifi router, and the timer for the hot water system. Our bills were so low, despite already being on a low user tariff, my provider called me to suggest I made an error when providing the meter readings. It makes you wonder how people waste so much energy. :D
Hi vexed87. Some years ago, I have also used a wattage meters to record the energy consumption of appliances. It was surprising. In the end I shut down my fridge. :) I have understood, that it only was 25% full and it costs me only money. Since then, I buy my groceries fresh and more often during the week. Well, I guees, I could have only done that because I lived as a single and alone in my appartement.
Would be interesting to read in some of your next journals about your findings regarding the wattage meters. Maybe you would like to share that. I'm sure you will have some findings and hints. BTW: my energy consumption of the last year was 203kwh. Well, the wattage meters has done a good job. :)

vexed87
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Re: vexed's ERE journey from the very beginning!

Post by vexed87 »

@jason, it can be tempting to withhold our indiscretions to minimise feelings of shame, but I can't because otherwise I might find it too easy to brush these behaviours under the carpet. Being honest about it here has really helped put my focus back in check by re-aligning spending with my values (saving more). Over the the last 7 days I haven't bought anything but perishable foods. Looks like I'm back on the horse ;)

@MDFIRE, I'll consider logging some data in a spreadsheet and see what I can do to analyse it. I was already half tempted to do it because for a short while I was thinking about the practicalities of installing a small DIY solar array for internal lighting and basic appliances, similar to this arrangement: http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2016/05/ ... tment.html

We don't have an tiny apartment though, we have a 3 detached house so I'm thinking about offsetting my lighting, and computing only. Your total usage is mighty impressive, I don't think we will come close to that. Is that electricity only, do you use natural gas too? How are you heating or cooling your home?

wolf
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Re: vexed's ERE journey from the very beginning!

Post by wolf »

vexed87 wrote:
Mon Sep 04, 2017 4:14 am
Your total usage is mighty impressive, I don't think we will come close to that. Is that electricity only, do you use natural gas too? How are you heating or cooling your home?
I should have been more precise. It is only electricity without any heating or cooling.

Jason

Re: vexed's ERE journey from the very beginning!

Post by Jason »

I appreciate your transparency.

I'm not a gamer so I can't speak on that. But one of my best stock picks was ATVI which is up like 40%. People love that shit and now its actually considered a sport and they have leagues. The way things are going its eventually going to be an Olympic event which is ok with me because I don't watch the Olympics as I find them disturbing. Most olympians don't look athletic to me. They just looking fucking weird. Especially the gymnasts who look like they're some type of alternate people group that are bred in some David Koresh type compound with totalitarian looking people monitoring the mating process. Being transparent myself here, if you are chick dancing around in a leotard and the thought of having sex with you repulses me, there is something serious wrong because upon recently being asked to compile a list of women I wouldn't have sex with I ran out of names after Barbra Bush (the ex First Lady not the granddaughter, obviously), Grandma Moses and any chick who has, is considering or is slated to appear on The View.

vexed87
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Re: vexed's ERE journey from the very beginning!

Post by vexed87 »

MDFIRE2024 wrote:
Mon Sep 04, 2017 11:50 am
I should have been more precise. It is only electricity without any heating or cooling.
Even so, that's remarkably low.

cmonkey
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Re: vexed's ERE journey from the very beginning!

Post by cmonkey »

For things I "want" I usually give it 6+ months and if I still want it I will go ahead and purchase it. When I do this I don't have any regrets usually. So for example I just ordered a nice pair of over ear headphones after "wanting" it for about 3 years now. If you go with this system, it generally means it's something that is actually going to be useful to you since its been on your radar for so long. Anything that drops off the 6 month radar isn't that useful after all.

For things like video games, I stay behind the curve and only buy used after the "next best thing" has come out. Never take the depreciation hit, although with Nintendo you might never get much of a discount because they hold their value a long time. This is good though because you can always sell it again, possibly for more.

It's the impulse purchases that make me feel sick and regretful and thankfully I haven't had any for a long time.

vexed87
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Re: vexed's ERE journey from the very beginning!

Post by vexed87 »

@cmonkey, thanks, that makes me feel a bit better ;)

Most of these things have been on my wish list for a good amount of time, except the GPU, but my desktop wouldn't function without it, and it just bothered me sitting there out of action. At least with otherwise ERE level spending I could buy the card outright, and not have to sweat it.

I think I sometimes perceive gaming to be a bit of a negative behavior, not because it is fundamentally evil, but because I could get addicted to it at times, often playing to excess. It really dominated my spare time back when I was at Uni, I let it get out of hand and flunked a few exams and had to do resits. My recent encounters have been much more restrained, maybe that's because I'm older I just seem to have that in check, or maybe DW helps in by being there to nag at me to get off the PC when chores need to get done. :lol:

I hear you regarding the depreciation, seen as though I have been out of the 'game' so long, I have a back catalogue to catch up on, I've decided rather than going crazy buying all the new stuff, I'll put a few good titles on my wish list and see what comes up in the sales first, steam is pretty good for this. Sadly with PC titles, there's little option for resale, as the CD-Keys are usually one time uses. I don't have a modern console, because, well they cost more than a new GPU :P

If you mean, playing classics on the SNES/64 etc, I'm shit out of luck because DW often hogs the TV, our living room is a no go zone for gaming. haha

cmonkey
Posts: 1814
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2014 11:56 am

Re: vexed's ERE journey from the very beginning!

Post by cmonkey »

To that extent, yea, gaming is negative but its like anything taken to an extreme. I play fairly sparingly, mostly on holiday time or over winter, but never more than an hour or two at a time. For some reason I can't go that long.

The only time to buy anything on Steam is over their 'holiday sale' time. My rule for buying is that it must be 75+% off and under $10 at the same time. Otherwise, no! I've built up a fair library so far, but I haven't played in a while because DW hogs our desktop. So I know your pain. ;)

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