Thinking about dropping the $230/mo crashpad expense...

[surreal1221]

I don't know josh, another one of your posts I completely agree with! What the heck?!?!

I never thought I'd say this, but you have a couple of beers coming your way Surreal for some good posts!!! One of these times I'll have more than a 45 minute layover in ATL!!

Josh is 2 for 2...

Well guys, I don't know what to say.

But, Stone, I'll gladly take as many beers as you want to send my way. Even if it's Miller or Bud Light. Don't hesitate to sound the alarm when you're expected in Atlanta.

 

[ladder360]

I don't get it. You have a 2 bedroom apt., why not get a roommate & you'd have enough $$ for a crashpad. You'd hardly see the roommate so if I were you, do it & you'll save some extra money. You seem to have a lot of discretionary spending & maybe it's time to be a little frugal.

I think Jace does have a room mate. If I remember right, it's his brother - although I could be wrong.

His Achilles Heel is that he wants to live in one of the most expensive places in the country. My interpretation is that folks here are saying "That's fine and all, but don't gripe about being monetarily challenged. Particularly when you have options."

 

[Stone Cold]

Well guys, I don't know what to say.

But, Stone, I'll gladly take as many beers as you want to send my way. Even if it's Miller or Bud Light. Don't hesitate to sound the alarm when you're expected in Atlanta.

I'm on a sprint through ATL 30 Jun, if the schedule holds, in the evening. I think I'm supposed to have an hour or so, as long as there are no delays in JFK!!:rotfl: Do you have a couch I can crash on???:insane::beer:

I'll let you know more as the time nears...

 

[surreal1221]

Couch, nah. I'm 30 minutes south of the airport. You guys use Atlantic?

 

[Stone Cold]

Couch, nah. I'm 30 minutes south of the airport. You guys use Atlantic?

Uh, this time I'm using Delta airlines. Sometimes I just overfly it on Jetblue and head straight for JFK.

I am no longer in the US charter business, so no I do not use Atlantic. When I was US charter, we used PDK or some other airports, not ATL. As a freight dawg, yes, I flew into ATL a few times.

The couch comment was a joke about my company using short layover times between JFK and ATL. Stupid, but they will foot the bill for the hotel if I have to use one!!

 

[surreal1221]

ah ha! I see man. Forgot about you being out of the domestic game. Well, when the time calls. . .don't forget those beers.

 

[kosmotheoria]

Seriously I cringed reading your post. Doing a tran-con commute is brutal (done it) but even worse when you have little to show for it. By that I mean living pay check to pay check.

If you have another job you could move to close by (flying or not) I'd go for it.

As for having a car to crash in at LGA...You'd have to buy it, insure it, register it etc...Cars are a big expense. Maybe less than a crashpad but still you'd be paying $$. And what are you going to do in winter when it gets dark at 4:30pm and the temperature drops into the 20s?

To Jace:

Good point quoted above. Plus, New York is very tough on stuff like that. They don't like freeloaders. Take it from someone who knows NY. You're better off snoozing in the pilot lounge.

 

[kellwolf]

I think Jace does have a room mate. If I remember right, it's his brother - although I could be wrong.

His Achilles Heel is that he wants to live in one of the most expensive places in the country. My interpretation is that folks here are saying "That's fine and all, but don't gripe about being monetarily challenged. Particularly when you have options."

I do have to say he's paying less in rent in SAN than I was for a 1 brdm/1bath in MCO.

 

[ladder360]

That's surprising! Actually, it's not his rent that is ridiculous. Like I mentioned in a previous post, it's the other living expenses that really really start to add up. Fuel is 20-25% more expensive (Thanks CA EPA!!)than most other places in the country, they just doubled (yeah, DOUBLED!) registration fees for cars, food is out of hand expensive and between the state and county, you can't sneeze without paying a tax for it (and the tissue you sneezed into). For a time, they were even contemplating either banning altogether, or taxing higher, cars that are painted black! Crazy state.


[rant/]
SAN is a cool enough town, but it's not THAT cool. Which is why currently people are leaving at a much higher rate than they are moving here. That's okay though, because they'll just raise fees and taxes on the rest of us to compensate. Which will make more people leave... which will cause a rise in fees and taxes... you get the picture.
[/rant]

 

[surreal1221]

California is cool. . .but. . .just because you work in a profession that offers the opportunity to "commute" to your job site doesn't necessarily mean you should do it. Especially if, over the long term, you can not afford it.

Rational behavior would have indicated a change in living environment closer to your "job site."

 

[amd87]

Good posts surreal.

My opinion is you are simply living beyond your means....I'm currently living on far less money than you and have nothing to my name. These days you need to keep your head down and put your time in, or get out of the game. Things could be worse for you; I'm still earning a pathetic CFI paycheck after doing it for a few years. Then again I didn't bother applying to the airlines a couple years ago with 250TT and take the first offer. Reading this thread was annoying to say the least.

 

[SmitteyB]

Good question, but it would be financially impossible to move. It'd cost around $5000 for a west to east coast move (furniture, piano, cars, etc). The option is to place things in storage for around $100/month and just move my body with a suitcase packed with clothes. But, I don't want to move. I don't mind the commute and I love living in San Diego. Plus, I have a very inexpensive apartment in a high rent city that I can't give up.

I don't know if I'll be furloughed or put on reserve at the end of the year. If I make a move now and get furloughed, I'd be really screwed by being stuck over there. All of my family is in CA and I would prefer not to be away from them when I might need them.

Dude come on!!

Sell your stuff, sublease your place in Cali for $100 more and live with your parents/family. You cannot afford the place in California, this is CLEAR. Do you know how much better your life would be if you didn't HAVE to be spending that money? It's an easy decision!

Bottom line- you're an airline professional, you and I and Rob and everyone shouldn't be living paycheck to paycheck. And you make $5 more an hour than I do.

 

[joliet]

http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc455.html

Moving Expenses

If you moved due to a change in your job or business location, or because you started a new job or business, you may be able to deduct your moving expenses. To qualify for the moving expense deduction, you must satisfy two tests. Under the first test, the "distance test", your new job must be at least 50 miles farther from your old home than your old job location was from your old home. If you had no previous workplace, your new job must be at least 50 miles from your old home.

The second test is the "time test". If you are an employee, you must work full-time for at least 39 weeks during the first 12 months right after you arrive in the general area of your new job. If you are self-employed, you must work full time for at least 39 weeks during the first 12 months and for a total of at least 78 weeks during the first 24 months after you arrive in the general area of your new work location. There are exceptions to the time test in case of death, disability and involuntary separation, among other things.

If you are a member of the armed forces and your move was due to a permanent change of station, you do not have to satisfy the "distance or time tests".

Moving expenses are figured on Form 3903 (PDF) and deducted as an adjustment to income on Form 1040 (PDF). You cannot deduct any moving expenses that were reimbursed by your employer.

For more information on deductible moving expenses, please refer to Publication 521, Moving Expenses.

 

[JaceTheAce]

That's surprising! Actually, it's not his rent that is ridiculous. Like I mentioned in a previous post, it's the other living expenses that really really start to add up. Fuel is 20-25% more expensive (Thanks CA EPA!!)than most other places in the country, they just doubled (yeah, DOUBLED!) registration fees for cars, food is out of hand expensive and between the state and county, you can't sneeze without paying a tax for it (and the tissue you sneezed into). For a time, they were even contemplating either banning altogether, or taxing higher, cars that are painted black! Crazy state.


[rant/]
SAN is a cool enough town, but it's not THAT cool. Which is why currently people are leaving at a much higher rate than they are moving here. That's okay though, because they'll just raise fees and taxes on the rest of us to compensate. Which will make more people leave... which will cause a rise in fees and taxes... you get the picture.
[/rant]

Fuel prices? I have a car that I drive 1,500 miles per year that averges 28MPG (I take the bus to and from the airport that's 10 minutes away or have someone take me/pick me up). Even if gas prices were $4/gallon for the entire year, that's $17.87 a month. Insurance on it is $48 a month and the car is now paid off. That expense is minuscule and keeping the car is a requirement if I need to up and move or find another job... or work at a job locally.

Anyway, it's good to hear some suggestions from people. I have other reasons too that require me to stay where I'm at, unless I get displaced and the company is required to pay for my moving expenses... which I'll gladly do. I wouldn't mind sitting on reserve in base even (in any of the other low-cost-of-living bases we have besides LGA) if they force-moved me and paid for my move per contract... quality of life would go up quite a bit, but at this time I can't afford to voluntarily move to another base that prohibits me to commute from San Diego.

 

[kellwolf]

On the tax stuff, I'd talk to a CPA on that one. Most will probably tell you if you're displaced and have to move from being in base, you can deduct it. BUT if you choose to live somewhere OTHER than where you work, it's different. The person that drives to work from Tupelo, MS to Memphis, TN can't deduct their house b/c they choose to live somewhere else. There's a difference b/w your home and your TAX home.

 

[TheShortOne]

Dude come on!!

Sell your stuff, sublease your place in Cali for $100 more and live with your parents/family. You cannot afford the place in California, this is CLEAR. Do you know how much better your life would be if you didn't HAVE to be spending that money? It's an easy decision!

Bottom line- you're an airline professional, you and I and Rob and everyone shouldn't be living paycheck to paycheck. And you make $5 more an hour than I do.

Do you know how much of a hit he'd take selling his stuff? Especially since he'd just have to buy new stuff wherever he ended up? People aren't going to pay him what he paid originally and he'll end up taking a loss on all of it. There's no reason to do that.

His apartment in California isn't expensive at all. We're paying $950/mo in Park City, UT and I've been looking around the Detroit area and we're hard pressed to find something under $700 that's in a decent area.

I do think though, if you can find a roommate to share your rent that'd be good. But to be honest, I'm not really sure where you can cut your costs since I know the two of us are living on about $2000ish/mo and while we're not saving any money, we're not dead broke by the end of the month either, so I'm not sure what you're carrying (finances wise) that makes your situation that much worse than ours.

One thing that has helped us save money is by going to Costco - it's a bit of $ upfront but we've definitely saved in the long term with them. We buy all our paper products (paper towel, toilet paper) ziplock bags, garbage bags, we also buy their frozen chicken breasts (quite good really!) and other things like that there. Shampoo, conditioner, soap, etc.

 

[derg]

Costco, there's on next door to the hotel and I'm craving a hot dog now. Greeeeeeat.

 

[joliet]

If you cannot find $550 for a nice apartment in the Detroit area you are not looking hard enough.

Been there, done that. Go towards Ann Arbor on I94, look around Belleville.

 

[jtrain609]

If you cannot find $550 for a nice apartment in the Detroit area you are not looking hard enough.

Been there, done that. Go towards Ann Arbor on I94, look around Belleville.

We've got some additional requirements that end up boosting the price of an apartment, so $700 has been the bottom end of what we're finding.

 

[Getburned]

Keep the place in San Diego, that costs nothing 650 for rent is cheap as hell. You'd regret it more then anything if you get Furloughed, and don't quit unless you have another job lined up. If you do get furloughed at least you'll have unemployment insurance while you look, which is key, I found a new job in 3 months, but unemployment literally was a life saver for those few months, plus whatever vacation you can get paid out. I've used hostels in the New York area when I was desperate and had to come up early, might want to look into that, after awhile got to know some people and stayed at their places, no reason to pay for a place if you only need it a few times a month. If you're on reserve that's a whole different story, might want to find a cheaper crashpad, I had one for 150 a month, it wasn't the best, no internet or anything, but it had A/C, heat, shower and bed.