The math for quitting FedEx to go to United

[WacoFan]

Not the same as owning a truck but...this came immediately to mind.

Note: I want a society where you don't need to have such a contraption in order to live a decent life, and I can't blame Americans for having to react to the fact that the automobile has ruled since the '50s. I do blame them for furthering policy that entrenches car dependency, however.


Used responsibly and not frivolusly debt is fine. (I have a separate savings account I call the Frivolity Fund.) I just got a HELOC because it's time to do some renovations at the house and because doing so improved my cash position. I could pay out of pocket, especially once I'm off first year pay, but I decided I'd rather borrow (and repay ahead of schedule).

Though I also am still driving my RJ copilot car ('14 Impreza hatch, paid for since 2019) and have no intention of buying a new grocery-getter anytime soon; see above commentary about car-free or car-light life.

I forget what his name is, but there's a financial "influencer" who thinks all debt is automatically bad. It isn't. Sometimes you can't get along without it. Sometimes it is the right tool (as student loans were for me in graduate school). Turns out some of the poorest people I know are adherents of his ideology too.

Though I'll admit auto loans are (expletive) stupid.

Debt is fine as long as the after-tax cost is less than the after-tax return on whatever you invest it in is. Borrow $10k at 8% but the interest is deductible and instead invest the $10k in something that pays greater than that post-tax and you're winning.

 

[WacoFan]

I mean, in fairness, you get used to doing stuff a certain way for so long, then going back to older ways will just seem unfamiliar and hence, uncomfortable. Nothing wimpy about that.

The flip side of the coin is someone like me, who is too dumb to realize when I need to be scared, and still flies a single engine helo low level in middle of nowhere darkness, low Wx, and into mountain terrain. At least getting paid for it, so there is that. Haha

I think more importantly - because you're getting paid someone else is also getting paid for maintaining the machine on a regulated schedule (in theory) which tends to provide some piece of mind (in theory).

 

[zmiller4]

This is the only photo I have. Sorry. It's nothing special. Very stock 75 Cherokee 140/160. Garmin 430 WAAS. 2300 hours on the engine. 35K. I knew it had been well taken care of the last 5 years. Figured even if don't fly it much for a while I couldn't go wrong at that price knowing the background of the plane. Eventually would like to use it for IFR training and commuting between homes in WA. It's still running great and on an oil analysis program. Day VFR only over flat land with it since flying big jets made me a little scared of where I'll go in single engine planes. I'm a wimp.

Awesome!

My brother in law paid $35k for an older (1969, but newer engine, no 430) 140/160…in 2009. Even if you put a new motor in it I think you got a great deal. I was assuming those would be double what you paid.

100% understand the wimpiness. Going from flying 70+ hrs a month in a modern jet to a lot less than that in an old airplane makes you do a lot of thinking about mechanical and pilot based risk.

 

[Boris Badenov]

*looks at the keys for his six vehicles, in various stages of disrepair and crisis* This thread...isn't for me, is it?

 

[zmiller4]

*looks at the keys for his six vehicles, in various stages of disrepair and crisis* This thread...isn't for me, is it?

6 cars? You need to move to where they’re building one of these…

Luxury Garage Suites You Own! | Garages of America

garagesofamerica.com

There’s a reason they’re building one a few miles from IAH terminal W…

 

[Boris Badenov]

6 cars? You need to move to where they’re building one of these…

Luxury Garage Suites You Own! | Garages of America

garagesofamerica.com

There’s a reason they’re building one a few miles from IAH terminal W…

Nah, 3 cars, 3 bikes. Also I'm neither a Communist nor a member of Y'all Quaeda. *Disappears in to the mist*

 

[///AMG]

Not the same as owning a truck but...this came immediately to mind.

Note: I want a society where you don't need to have such a contraption in order to live a decent life, and I can't blame Americans for having to react to the fact that the automobile has ruled since the '50s. I do blame them for furthering policy that entrenches car dependency, however.


Used responsibly and not frivolusly debt is fine. (I have a separate savings account I call the Frivolity Fund.) I just got a HELOC because it's time to do some renovations at the house and because doing so improved my cash position. I could pay out of pocket, especially once I'm off first year pay, but I decided I'd rather borrow (and repay ahead of schedule).

Though I also am still driving my RJ copilot car ('14 Impreza hatch, paid for since 2019) and have no intention of buying a new grocery-getter anytime soon; see above commentary about car-free or car-light life.

I forget what his name is, but there's a financial "influencer" who thinks all debt is automatically bad. It isn't. Sometimes you can't get along without it. Sometimes it is the right tool (as student loans were for me in graduate school). Turns out some of the poorest people I know are adherents of his ideology too.

Though I'll admit auto loans are (expletive) stupid.

If debt were bad, wealthy people wouldn't use it as an opportunity cost to build businesses or personal wealth. But unfortunately for most, the proper use of debt is not sexy or glamorous in the way most people want it to be.

 

[roundout]

I had an American pilot get into my face about flying “his” regional jet for $8 an hour (it was $27, thanks…woohoo) when I was on a hotel van in the Eagle days. Never mind it was his stupid scope clause that made it so I made so little and had no real shot at career progression except for the abstract promise of a flow someday.

Did it give you any street cred when you were in that sacrificial furlough class?

“How do ya like me now????”

 

[derg]

Oddly enough, Spirit Airlines was a literal trucking company that bought airplanes, so

Well, and UPS....

 

[derg]

I figure do what you want. But if you feel the need to justify doing what you did, well, give it a second thought.

--Bought an EV, didn't ask the internet before doing it.

 

[Autothrust Blue]

If debt were bad, wealthy people wouldn't use it as an opportunity cost to build businesses or personal wealth. But unfortunately for most, the proper use of debt is not sexy or glamorous in the way most people want it to be.

I mean I’d love for it to all be for frivolity too but that requires way more wealth accumulation than I actually have.

 

[Cherokee_Cruiser]

Nah, 3 cars, 3 bikes. Also I'm neither a Communist nor a member of Y'all Quaeda. *Disappears in to the mist*

Any manuals?

 

[WacoFan]

Any manuals?

I'm pretty sure all the cars and bikes have parts manuals and owners manuals for the cars at least.

 

[WacoFan]

I am assuming none of Boris's bikes have automatic transmissions. Which are apparently a thing now which is surprising but I haven't been on a bike since the late 80's.

 

[Pilot Fighter]

Nah, 3 cars, 3 bikes. Also I'm neither a Communist nor a member of Y'all Quaeda. *Disappears in to the mist*

I’ve culled the herd, down to two cars and two bikes. Both cars are 2006, both bikes are 2003. The new BMW cruiser has my attention.

 

[Boris Badenov]

Any manuals?

Ever ridden a motorcycle? Sitting on your wife's lap doesn't count.

 

[Boris Badenov]

I am assuming none of Boris's bikes have automatic transmissions. Which are apparently a thing now which is surprising but I haven't been on a bike since the late 80's.

AFAICT, slushboxes on bikes were a flash in the pan. You still see a few here and there, but like what kind of person wants to ride a motorcycle but is flumoxed by a clutch? No one I want to rub elbows with, that's for sure.

 

[Boris Badenov]

I’ve culled the herd, down to two cars and two bikes. Both cars are 2006, both bikes are 2003. The new BMW cruiser has my attention.

Well, you're like a thousand years old, so at least it's not a Harley. I have an F800ST, and aside from the infuriatingly stupid BMW turn-signal-actuation situation, it's a great bike. Fast enough, comfortable enough, nice-looking enough. Sounds like a lawn-mower with the stock exhaust-torpedo, but that has been remedied.

 

[Pilot Fighter]

Well, you're like a thousand years old, so at least it's not a Harley. I have an F800ST, and aside from the infuriatingly stupid BMW turn-signal-actuation situation, it's a great bike. Fast enough, comfortable enough, nice-looking enough. Sounds like a lawn-mower with the stock exhaust-torpedo, but that has been remedied.

F800ST is a nice bike.

I’d buy a Harley if they were 10k cheaper and strangers with Harley’s didn’t want to talk about Harley’s with me. I’d be interested in talking about real performance mods but don’t care about the shiny or blacked-out stuff you bolted on your Road King. It’s kinda like paying a grand for an Allegiant ticket. When I fly Allegiant, I keep my sunglasses on, ear buds in, and wear a mask - all to avoid talking about your Disney vacation.
Have you seen the new Buell cruiser? 175hp, stock.

 

[SteveC]

...
Have you seen the new Buell cruiser? 175hp, stock.

Pretty.

Don't let your chaps get sucked into that chain...