I’ve written several times about luxury cars being a guilty pleasure of ours. I’ve also written about my aversion to subscription-based payment schemes. So why am I so delighted with our monthly car wash subscription at the local gas station? Our monthly car wash subscription costs $30. That’s the equivalent of 2.7 ‘Works’ washes at our local station. $12 for each car wash seems ridiculously … Continue reading Taken To The Cleaners With Car Washes?
A friend of mine’s daughter got married last summer and I was shocked to hear that the wedding was costing $35,000. It turns out that is close to the average cost of a wedding in 2016 according to a website called, TheKnot.com. I don’t remember how much our wedding cost 28 years ago, but while it was a beautiful day, we certainly didn’t break the … Continue reading Financial Analysis: How Many Years of Work Does A Wedding Cost?
If there was ever a poster child for modern society’s affluenza of over-consumption, it would have to be self storage garages, right? People have SO much stuff that they can’t fit it into their homes – despite the average living space doubling over the last 40 years. A friend and I met for lunch recently at a wickedly greasy steak place and he talked about … Continue reading The World of Self Storage Garages
We made it to Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis yesterday and the experience was absolutely electric. Having the NFL’s biggest event hosted in your own hometown is an incredible experience and we enjoyed all of the week’s activities – concerts, exhibits, celebrity sightings, and the big game itself (which USA Today is calling the best Super Bowl ever!). If you are a sports fan, this … Continue reading Super Bowl Indulgence & Everyday Frugality
Our son headed back to college this weekend – ending our ‘No Responsibility January’ – and starting his Spring Semester. Among other things, this means we need to call our insurance agent this morning and take the car insurance off the vehicle that he drives when he is home. Car insurance runs about $900 annually for the 2004 Acura TSX that he drives when he … Continue reading Car Insurance Rising Fast
We love to go to the movies and probably catch a showing every other week (in addition to movies at home). Increasingly, we catch shows on $5 Tuesdays. This past Tuesday, we caught the original White Christmas (in VistaVision!) on the big screen at the theater near us that features the reclining, first class airline-style seats. Tomorrow, we’ll be back to see Star Wars: The … Continue reading Sneaking In Movie Theater Snacks
This week – the second week of December – is a great time to start Christmas shopping, by my reckoning. We’ve nabbed a couple holiday deals since Black Friday, but I like to get out in the stores when everything is ‘on’. Lights on, music on, and sales on. It’s more fun to shop when the stores are decked out in all of their Christmas … Continue reading Christmas Shopping – Deck the Malls
We used the extra time we had this weekend when our son was home from college to put up our Christmas tree. We go all out when it comes to our Christmas tree and have a big collection of colorful, mercury glass ornaments. Our ceilings are 12 foot high, so it takes a big tree to ‘fit’ the room and hold all the ornaments. We … Continue reading Christmas Trees By The Numbers
I’m continuing the discussion from my last post on the cost of vehicles by looking at the differences in the total cost of ownership for different models – basic transportation and luxury vehicles – over time. In April, I analyzed the impact of luxury homes on the number of years someone needs to work and reached the conclusion that trading up to a luxury home … Continue reading Financial Analysis: How Many Years Of Work Would A Luxury Vehicle Cost You?
We have had a BAD run of luck when it comes to car repairs this year. In the last 90 days, we have tallied close to $5,250 on our highly-engineered, but aging SUV and Sedan. They are nice models – a 2011 BMW X5 and a 2012 Mercedes 300C – but now that they have celebrated their 6th and 5th birthdays, they are heading to … Continue reading The Cost Of Keeping Cars Grows More Visible As Time Goes On
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