What are your next major purchases?

[Matrix]

I'm glad the British Indian Ocean Territory is managing to leverage their resources into a financial benefit.

Oh ya, they are making a killing. I think it is one of their main exports

It is super hot domain ending right now, since in .com you got zilch for any good name (like 1 word or 3 letter .com will cost you a small or big fortune depending on the name) any decent 3 letter is upward of 50-100k. And one word... forget about it.
While in .io you can snag some for few hundred to couple of k in price for 1 word or 3 letter on after market auctions. I bought a name for around 700 , and two month later had opening offer of 2500 (which i turned down as its more of long term buy), and they were considering 10k range. Not sure if it will go there, but it is a right direction... So ya Indian Ocean is having a ball with renewalls (which are around 50 per year)

[morlac]

I think I might grab a Nintendo switch today. I'm frustrated with work so the wife said go buy yourself a present. I figure daughter will play it more but i haven't gotten a console since my ps3 slim. I might grab the ps4 pro instead but with a gaming pc the switch makes more sense + 8 year old daughter.

Trigger pulled on the Switch.

Now I need to buy a big block of free time so I can actually play it, who's selling?

[Jag]

I think I might grab a Nintendo switch today. I'm frustrated with work so the wife said go buy yourself a present. I figure daughter will play it more but i haven't gotten a console since my ps3 slim. I might grab the ps4 pro instead but with a gaming pc the switch makes more sense + 8 year old daughter.

Trigger pulled on the Switch.

Now I need to buy a big block of free time so I can actually play it, who's selling?

I've got a limited stock of 5,10 or 30 minute increments. I also have about an hour a night, late night, but that's not for sale

[Kurth]

Just bought a new car. Kind of a long story.

Years ago, we bought a new 2012 Chevy Traverse when my wife couldn't stand driving our Honda Odyssey any more. She was sick of driving a mini-van, and it was terrible in Boston winter weather. We went with the Traverse because it was the only SUV we could find with decent third row seating with captain's chairs in the second row. That car was a lemon. Plagued by issues and in the shop all the time. We ended up being convinced that our 2012 was just a dud, and we traded it in for a 2014. That one was even worse, with a check engine light that would randomly come on and stay on no matter how many times we took it back to the dealer. A year in, GM comped us an extended warranty for all our trouble, but the problems continued. My wife elevated our complaints up to some senior GM people. They wouldn't agree to buy the car back from us, but they gave us a voucher for $4K towards any new GM vehicle. My wife had had it, though, so we traded in my nice, reliable Honda CRV and she got herself a zippy little Honda HRV and saddled me with the Traverse, which is just the kind of beige-ish color to bring to mind a Mary Kay car.

The trade in value on the 2014 Traverse is still pretty good, so I started looking around for a new SUV with third row seating and captains chairs. I was looking at the Honda Pilot, but it's definitely on the small side, and they only put the captains chairs in as an option on the highest trim level, starting out at $45K, which is more than I want to spend.

So what did I end up doing? I bought a new 2018 Chevy Traverse. This is my third one now, and I'm really hoping three's a charm. In the end, the $4K GM voucher was too enticing to pass up. I'm probably a sucker, but I admit that I'm really liking the car so far. It's totally redesigned, with a new body style and a bunch of nice features (Apple Car Play FTW). Fingers crossed this one doesn't end up a lemon, too.

[Sectoid]

I just made 2 major purchases.
#1 - Invisalign. I have had crooked teeth my whole life and thanks to my stubbornness as a child, I never got braces. My father offered to pay for them when I was a pre-teen and I refused. Such decisions should not be left to a pre-teen. So, I pulled the trigger on them at the age of 42. Haven't received the kit yet, because some other dental work needs to be finished first. I did have molds made and my dentist sent everything in. I'm excited.

#2- Alienware laptop. I have always wanted one and finally have the means to purchase it. I know there are better options out there, but they offered me the best price with the equipment I wanted plus, I love the brand. Should get it tomorrow. Can't wait to play graphics-intensive games on Ultra again.

[stessier]

I just made 2 major purchases.
#1 - Invisalign. I have had crooked teeth my whole life and thanks to my stubbornness as a child, I never got braces. My father offered to pay for them when I was a pre-teen and I refused. Such decisions should not be left to a pre-teen. So, I pulled the trigger on them at the age of 42. Haven't received the kit yet, because some other dental work needs to be finished first. I did have molds made and my dentist sent everything in. I'm excited.

I'd be interested in what you think of them. I've been told I should correct my teeth alignment and this is possibly an option. How much more expensive is it than normal braces? If the wires are cheap enough and take less time, I might find that hard to pass up.

[Sectoid]

I'd be interested in what you think of them. I've been told I should correct my teeth alignment and this is possibly an option. How much more expensive is it than normal braces? If the wires are cheap enough and take less time, I might find that hard to pass up.

From the literature, it takes different time for different circumstances. My teeth are pretty damn crowded. Not crowded enough to have teeth removed, but close. In my case, they are saying about 1-1.5 years in total. That time could shorten or lengthen depending on how diligent I am and how my teeth respond. I didn't price out traditional braces because I don't think I could deal with that personally. From what I've been told, by parents who are getting braces for their kids, the cost is about $10k+ with all the orthodontic visits, etc. The Invisalign cost me less, about $7k all said and done. You have to pay it up front, though. Whereas traditional braces depend on the doctor's office policies. Some want a hefty deposit, others want you to pay-as-you-go. I can give updates as I go, if you are interested. Right now, I am waiting for a crown to come in to my dentist's office before we can start the process.

[naednek]

you'd think a washer and dryer would be enough for the wife... NOPE. got 832 sqft of pergo being installed in a few weeks...

[Isgrimnur]

$700 for new tires, oil change, and inspection, so I can pay the state $80 for registration renewal. And $400+ for a new bed frame w/ padded head- and foot boards for the wife’s birthday.

After the $300 for the Cirque du Soleil tickets, of course. Front row.

[FishPants]

I just made 2 major purchases.
#1 - Invisalign. I have had crooked teeth my whole life and thanks to my stubbornness as a child, I never got braces. My father offered to pay for them when I was a pre-teen and I refused. Such decisions should not be left to a pre-teen. So, I pulled the trigger on them at the age of 42. Haven't received the kit yet, because some other dental work needs to be finished first. I did have molds made and my dentist sent everything in. I'm excited.

I'd be interested in what you think of them. I've been told I should correct my teeth alignment and this is possibly an option. How much more expensive is it than normal braces? If the wires are cheap enough and take less time, I might find that hard to pass up.

I had a similar story as Sectoid except I only waited until I was around 34 to do it. My dentist was newly certified and needed practice patients - she told me 12 months, and if it went longer all treatment was free. Well.. it took like 3 years. But to be able to pop the things out to eat, brush, floss - amazing. Most of my delay was rotating a tooth down, otherwise the majority happened fairly quickly.

My advice -do it, same cost as reg braces and you can eat whatever and properly brush and floss.

[McNutt]

I bought a 2015 Toyota Sienna. We needed another car that could carry all three kids. Yes, it's a minivan, but it's awesome. I regret nothing.

[hitbyambulance]

I'd be interested in what you think of them. I've been told I should correct my teeth alignment and this is possibly an option. How much more expensive is it than normal braces? If the wires are cheap enough and take less time, I might find that hard to pass up.

From the literature, it takes different time for different circumstances. My teeth are pretty damn crowded. Not crowded enough to have teeth removed, but close. In my case, they are saying about 1-1.5 years in total. That time could shorten or lengthen depending on how diligent I am and how my teeth respond. I didn't price out traditional braces because I don't think I could deal with that personally. From what I've been told, by parents who are getting braces for their kids, the cost is about $10k+ with all the orthodontic visits, etc. The Invisalign cost me less, about $7k all said and done. You have to pay it up front, though. Whereas traditional braces depend on the doctor's office policies. Some want a hefty deposit, others want you to pay-as-you-go. I can give updates as I go, if you are interested. Right now, I am waiting for a crown to come in to my dentist's office before we can start the process.

i wasn't told before i was made to get braces that i'd have to wear a retainer for the rest of my life...

[dbt1949]

Just made my next major purchase.....new tires for my truck. A 2002 Dodge Ram with the original tires on it. They finally rotted off. Truck only has 60,000 miles on it and I have put less than 10,000 miles on it since I bought it some 10-12 years ago.

[Zenn7]

Do medical expenses count? Wife managed to max her out of pocket for the year ($5350). 2 separate 5 day hospital stays, 1 additional ER visit, max (20 I think) PT for the year, counseling, too many meds, Doc visits, lab work, couple xrays...

By the time we got to the 2nd 5 week hospital stay we were almost to the OOP max, so I was relieved to know that one would be much cheaper.

Fortunately we max ($2600) flex spending (FSA?).

If not, how about car repairs? Fortunately, neighbor is a mechanic who works out of his garage, so he doesn't mark up parts and takes good care of us. (So good they come over to our house to pick up/drop off the cars - even dropped one off when I wasn't around to pay them because I was at the hospital - her first week in). But even with that boon, have still spend $3-4K+. 2003 Toyota Corolla (needed new struts, some new tires, fuel leak repaired, few other things - still got a rock solid engine and overall great car) and 2008 Honda Odyssey (A/C had a leak, think there was something else plus the usual basic oil change and think it needed new brakes). Just finished paying for Odyssey (bought it 2-3 years used) and Corolla has been paid for since 2009 I think (bought that one brand new).

New Dryer a couple weeks ago. Might need a new washer (fixed a part that broke early this year (during the winter) - the adjitator motor coupler. Relatively cheap part (5-7$ from Amazon or Wal-Mart online - not so cheap in the local (20-30 miles away) - 15-20 for the further away one; 28 for the closer one). Got smart this time and ordered 2 so we'd have a spare. But now it's got a funny smell when we run it - something burning like smell (not a bad/nasty smell though, more like something baking/cooking).

Had to replace stove and refrigerator within the last 2-3 years. Actually fridge was this year too.

If I had the money though, deck has uneven boards and not looking good and has no railing - need to replace (or at least repair and get a railing added) and we've needed to replace the carpeting in the house since we moved in 14.5 years ago - and there's some unevenness in the floor, including area warped by water damage. So the new carpeting will require some significant sub-floor work.

We tend not to buy high end stuff usually. Went for more basic models of replacement appliances, most from Best Buy as we can use our credit card points for BB GC's. Dryer was a little more affordable when points paid for $100 of it.

Even with the van paid off, our savings are going down far faster than we can replace them.

Oh, and kid's graduating, going to college next year. Wanted to try and help her some w/ that (if she goes to a closer University - help is probably going to consist of giving her the Corolla, paying for the insurance/maintenance/repairs (it's nearing 200k miles, it's going to keep needing maintenance/repairs) and buying me a new car).

Did buy myself a new PC this year (haven't bought a new PC for 3-4 years at least - last was my wife's which we ended up swapping when my now 6-7 year old PC burned out the video card I had added; onboard video still worked and pc was more than adequate and still Win7 (her new PC has Win 8, she didn't like it). But that new PC has overheating issues or something and randomly powers off (not real frequently, didn't happen every day I used even; but it was frustrating, so kid has that one now, I got brand new one as PC is my main toy - wife lives on the TV).

Overall though, life it too friggin' expense.

[stessier]

Thank you for all you do to keep our economy humming!

[Jeff V]

My wife wound up buying a Nordictrack treadmill from a co-worker for $800. The thing is a beast, planning to pick it up Sunday with the help of a friend but it might not fit in his SUV. The weight is listed at 230 lbs on the spec sheet.

[Isgrimnur]

Hiring a guy in Jersey to sabotage a septic system.

[Smoove_B]

It's easy if you know how.

My rates are quite reasonable too.

[naednek]

you'd think a washer and dryer would be enough for the wife... NOPE. got 832 sqft of pergo being installed in a few weeks...

[Carpet_pissr]

Fridge and dishwasher. Replacing Samsung pieces of shit with anything but that brand. Both those caused me nothing but problems for past 2 years. And now my Samsung TV has 3 massive vertical lines going through the middle. Needless to say I won’t be buying anything Samsung anytime soon. Anecdotal, I know, but a trifecta of shitty appliances from the same manufacturer is not sitting well with me right now. And not low end stuff either these were higher end models of their respective lines.

[Isgrimnur]

New furnace on Thursday. The guy that came out today was nice enough to sell me the replacement board for ~$1100, which he will apply to the cost of the new furnace when he takes the board back. $3600.

[Kraken]

I took the first baby steps to hiring someone to rewire our 103-year-old house, and started making a room-by-room list of all the outlets and switches and light fixtures that need upgrading or replacing. The biggie is changing the fuse box into a circuit panel. The wiring probably dates to the 1940s (it's not knob-and-tube, but there is some cloth insulation and mostly ungrounded outlets) and it actually prevented me from switching insurance companies last fall.

I expect bringing it up to modern codes to be expensive and disruptive and time-consuming, and when all's finally said and done we will have an invisible improvement that's hard to get enthused about. There are other projects I'd much rather do, but this one seems foundational, so it must come first.

[Lassr]

Just finished subway tile back splash & paint in the kitchen. Next is painting and tiling the laundry room and then install new water heater.

[em2nought]

And not low end stuff either these were higher end models of their respective lines.

See, that right there is the problem. Stick with the older tried but true models that don't have fancy electronics. Give me good old rheostats and switches. If you look at the stack models that get bought by apartment complexes you'll notice that they're old school still. There's a reason. Here's an example https://www.lowes.com/pd/Whirlpool-Elec ... 1000373021 I prefer Whirlpool personally.

My next major purchase is an IRA to offset the capital gains from my rental property. lol

[Zenn7]

Do medical expenses count? Wife managed to max her out of pocket for the year ($5350). 2 separate 5 day hospital stays, 1 additional ER visit, max (20 I think) PT for the year, counseling, too many meds, Doc visits, lab work, couple xrays...

By the time we got to the 2nd 5 week hospital stay we were almost to the OOP max, so I was relieved to know that one would be much cheaper.

Fortunately we max ($2600) flex spending (FSA?).

If not, how about car repairs? Fortunately, neighbor is a mechanic who works out of his garage, so he doesn't mark up parts and takes good care of us. (So good they come over to our house to pick up/drop off the cars - even dropped one off when I wasn't around to pay them because I was at the hospital - her first week in). But even with that boon, have still spend $3-4K+. 2003 Toyota Corolla (needed new struts, some new tires, fuel leak repaired, few other things - still got a rock solid engine and overall great car) and 2008 Honda Odyssey (A/C had a leak, think there was something else plus the usual basic oil change and think it needed new brakes). Just finished paying for Odyssey (bought it 2-3 years used) and Corolla has been paid for since 2009 I think (bought that one brand new).

New Dryer a couple weeks ago. Might need a new washer (fixed a part that broke early this year (during the winter) - the adjitator motor coupler. Relatively cheap part (5-7$ from Amazon or Wal-Mart online - not so cheap in the local (20-30 miles away) - 15-20 for the further away one; 28 for the closer one). Got smart this time and ordered 2 so we'd have a spare. But now it's got a funny smell when we run it - something burning like smell (not a bad/nasty smell though, more like something baking/cooking).

Had to replace stove and refrigerator within the last 2-3 years. Actually fridge was this year too.

If I had the money though, deck has uneven boards and not looking good and has no railing - need to replace (or at least repair and get a railing added) and we've needed to replace the carpeting in the house since we moved in 14.5 years ago - and there's some unevenness in the floor, including area warped by water damage. So the new carpeting will require some significant sub-floor work.

We tend not to buy high end stuff usually. Went for more basic models of replacement appliances, most from Best Buy as we can use our credit card points for BB GC's. Dryer was a little more affordable when points paid for $100 of it.

Even with the van paid off, our savings are going down far faster than we can replace them.

Oh, and kid's graduating, going to college next year. Wanted to try and help her some w/ that (if she goes to a closer University - help is probably going to consist of giving her the Corolla, paying for the insurance/maintenance/repairs (it's nearing 200k miles, it's going to keep needing maintenance/repairs) and buying me a new car).

Did buy myself a new PC this year (haven't bought a new PC for 3-4 years at least - last was my wife's which we ended up swapping when my now 6-7 year old PC burned out the video card I had added; onboard video still worked and pc was more than adequate and still Win7 (her new PC has Win 8, she didn't like it). But that new PC has overheating issues or something and randomly powers off (not real frequently, didn't happen every day I used even; but it was frustrating, so kid has that one now, I got brand new one as PC is my main toy - wife lives on the TV).

Overall though, life it too friggin' expense.

My endeavors to continue keeping the economy humming along -

I did end up getting a new washer.

Then there was the car crash the week after the last post - new (used 2017 w/ 30k miles) car.

And it's a new year, so racking up medical expenses again. <sigh>

[Kasey Chang]

My next major purchase will be a new gaming PC. My current PC is my Dell XPS laptop circa 2010.

[Kraken]

I, too, listed a new gaming PC when I posted a year ago, because my current machine also dates to 2010. I should have bought one when I had the money. (I put it toward my car instead). The big contract I got last March was done in-house this year because the client's grant fell through. So "new gaming PC" is still on my list, but it's going to require landing another major project...date TBD. Next time I have money I will not be deterred.

I should find out this weekend if we're getting a tax refund or paying out this year.

[Lassr]

Purchased airline tickets and room for the week in Barcelona Spain for my wife & son. His HS graduation gift a year late. He's going to see Barca & Messi playing futbol against Real Sociedad.

[Lorini]

Buying this camera. I've been interested in photography and want more than what my Google Pixel XL2 can do, so this one seems like the best for good pics vs convenience. If I have to carry around a bunch of stuff and invest much money in the lenses I want, I'm very unlikely to pursue this hobby. This camera seems to give me what I want.

We will be going to San Diego for three days next month and San Francisco/Big Sur for four days in June, so hopefully by then I'll have the $$ for the camera .

[malchior]

Think I'm going to have to do a rip and replace on my front steps so I'm guessing a few thousand at least. Might have them to the driveway at the same time. I'd like a drain to be installed since the driveway slopes down towards the house and it always pools right in front of the garage. I still have to also deal with several thousand dollars of recent storm damage to trees but haven't had the time due to work. Going to do some of the work myself to cut costs. That involves carving up two trees that fell and one that is badly damaged and might need to fall in back of my house.

[Octavious]

My cars brakes started to fail AGAIN for the 3rd time in the last 16 months. Nobody can figure out what the problem is between multiple mechanics. Everything was replaced and the issue came back again in the last couple of weeks. Instead of dumping more money into the car I checked and I was due money if I traded it in. In under a day I decided to ditch the car, picked the car and price I wanted and bought the car.

Grabbed a Honda Civic EX-T. What a beautiful car at a super great price. I traded in a 2013 Sonata. It was a great car until the whole mystery brake issues. Dealership test drove it and didn't notice, so good luck to them on that. It's probably something dumb, but man I don't want to deal with it. The Honda should last a LONG time and has every feature I would ever want. Except power seats, because apparently you have to buy the super duper loaded one to get that. Remote start? Sure... Turbo? Sure... Moon roof? Sure.. Heated seats? Sure... Cameras all over the place? Sure... Power seats? Lets not get greedy here people.

[dbt1949]

Dryer died. Four months ago it was the washer. Earlier last year it was the fridge.
Dishwasher died about 3 years ago but we can live without a new one of those.

[Isgrimnur]

What was her name?

[dbt1949]

Dave

[Newcastle]

Dave

Dave's not here.

[Jeff V]

Dave

I met a woman named Dave once. She weighed a good 500 lbs and wasn't terribly far from you (Memphis). I'd only be surprised she lasted until 3 years ago.

[dbt1949]

Was that you!

[Daehawk]

Tomorrow a set of front tires. Worst time ever to need them but ive run them bald and the right front goes flat in 2 or 3 days so constantly reinflating it. Its dangerous. Also they discontinued the type I have so the front will be different el cheapo brand than the old rear el cheapo brand.

Each trip will be an adventure.

[Zenn7]

Dryer died. Four months ago it was the washer. Earlier last year it was the fridge.
Dishwasher died about 3 years ago but we can live without a new one of those.

Hell, if we're going back 3 years, I've since acquired a new stove and a new fridge. Oh, forgot to mention wife bought a table at a thrift store that was too big, we both didn't really like after we got it in and the chairs were huge heavy things, wrought (sp?) iron maybe? So we had to buy a new table and chairs a couple months ago when I finally broke down and decided new was required before she'd ever find a better one at a thrift store.

Did I mention we'll probably be buying a new bed cause she doesn't like the one we got a few years ago from Art Van that we paid $1200-$1400 for that has a 25 year warranty with plenty of time left on it (20 year full replacement, last 5 is decreasing % of replacement)? Since she was unhappy, even though we did the sleep test and I generally liked the bed (it's saggy, we can probably get it replaced now, but then we'd have a good new mattress for a few more years at the least), suggested she look into one of those adjustable firmness ones just to see how much they cost. This is with her knowing I'm unhappy we spent so much money the bed and are likely to just chuck it. "Don't rashly throw it out of hand, they start at about $2000, the one I think would be best for us is well over $2000." Why would I rashly throw out the idea of buying a mattress that's 1/2 again more than the last one we paid a high price for that you want to throw out already? Considering we used it for maybe as long as the cheap mattress we bought before that (that paid less than 1/2 the price for).

I don't have a problem necessarily with the idea that better quality costs $. But I'm not happy paying $$ to get the same effective life span and it does encourage me to want to spend $$$ on the next one.

[Zarathud]

Have to fix the passenger side rear door on my car but we're committing to do the minimum repairs necessary to sell our house in July. Buying a new one at the same time could get interesting with low inventory.