You Know You Are Old When

[MossRoad]

YKYAOW the hardware in your spine cost more than you paid for your house and several vehicles combined.

 

[masseyrider]

YKYAOW the hardware in your spine cost more than you paid for your house and several vehicles combined.

YKYO when the 1st house I bought was a 3 bedroom brick bungalow with double garage on a large lot in a nice hood cost less than an entry level SUV.
I was 21 and friends thought I was nuts taking on that much debt while still in school.
It was paid off in less than 5 years.

 

[WinterDeere]

YKYO when the 1st house I bought was a 3 bedroom brick bungalow with double garage on a large lot in a nice hood cost less than an entry level SUV.

With the rate at which vehicle prices have been climbing the last 20 years, you don't even need to be that old to find this, anymore!

 

[Jstpssng]

With the rate at which vehicle prices have been climbing the last 20 years, you don't even need to be that old to find this, anymore!

I always get a kick out of these discussions. Last year I found an old check stub from 1982, when I was 2 years out of college. I pay more in taxes now than I made back then.

 

[NoTrespassing]

My wife was the same way, Drank like a villain when she was young and quit because the hangovers when in her forties. I never minded a hangover much. It was a sort of badge of honor working through it. We were usually well enough in the afternoon to start again.

A bad hangover can last 2 or 3 days now after a 12-hour bender on Memorial Day, Independence Day, or Labor Day. I think it's more about what I'm drinking than how much. Straight tequila doesn't hurt as bad as cans of premixed margaritas.

 

[masseyrider]

I always get a kick out of these discussions. Last year I found an old check stub from 1982, when I was 2 years out of college. I pay more in taxes now than I made back then.

Forget income taxes.
My property tax is more quarterly than I made in my first full year working.

 

[NoTrespassing]

I've never told anyone what I make other than "average wages", which is true. It's none of their business.

I had a coworker in IT that snooped into the accounting system to see what another coworker of ours was making. When he found out, he got highly offended and started complaining.

What he failed to grasp is that the higher paid coworker had a college degree, 20 years of experience in IT, 15 of which were at a steel mill and 5 as the director of IT at a local college, and he was hired in as management, while his resume was a high school diploma and silo construction. Nothing to do with IT. He was strictly for wire pulling and desktop support.

Didn't help that he constantly told everyone he was going to quit and open a shaved ice stand in Florida with his wife as soon as possible. So the company never invested in him. He could have taken advantage of the education benefit they offered (I did many times), but he didn't.

Anyhow, finding out what your coworkers make seems like a major pastime for many folks at about every place of employment.

Some of my wife's coworkers at the VA were discussing salaries. My wife didn't join in the conversation but figured out that she was making almost as much as the RNs with her LPN position. She had considered going back to school to get the RN degree but has thought better of it now. She has less responsibility for almost the same pay.

 

[masseyrider]

Some of my wife's coworkers at the VA were discussing salaries. My wife didn't join in the conversation but figured out that she was making almost as much as the RNs with her LPN position. She had considered going back to school to get the RN degree but has thought better of it now. She has less responsibility for almost the same pay.

Way back a girl friend accepted a promotion to manger. Real good money compared to the hourly people.
What she didn't realise was she was on salary and not paid overtime.
With the extra hours most weeks, especially around holidays, and responsibilities she was making less hourly than an entry level shlub.

 

[Alan46]

YKYO when the 1st house I bought was a 3 bedroom brick bungalow with double garage on a large lot in a nice hood cost less than an entry level SUV.
I was 21 and friends thought I was nuts taking on that much debt while still in school.
It was paid off in less than 5 years.

YKYO when the 1st house I bought was a 3 bedroom brick bungalow with double garage on a large lot in a nice hood cost less than an entry level SUV.
I was 21 and friends thought I was nuts taking on that much debt while still in school.
It was paid off in less than 5 years.

I just checked on Zillow, my first house I bought @21 in Milpitas ca. in 1967 was $24,500 check out the price now and the property tax is over 20 large! WOW

 

[NoTrespassing]

Way back a girl friend accepted a promotion to manger. Real good money compared to the hourly people.
What she didn't realise was she was on salary and not paid overtime.
With the extra hours most weeks, especially around holidays, and responsibilities she was making less hourly than an entry level shlub.

When I was hired at my current job of 33 years they offered me salary. I explained to the owner and his right-hand man that I could go down the street and make more by getting a little overtime as an hourly employee.

They left and went into another room to discuss the situation. A few minutes later they came back and offered me more money at an hourly rate than the previous salary offer. I never figured out what was said in the other room, but I took their offer. I still hear complaints to this day from salaried workers at this company.

 

[MossRoad]

My last job was salaried. I got called a lot, and worked a lot of unpaid overtime. Averaged about 50-55 hours per week over 30 years. However, anytime I wanted, I could take off to go see the kids in academic competitions, sports, awards, speaking at church, etc... I was usually the only dad there, and many times the only parent there. I often helped their school with projects, IT work, light carpentry, groundskeeping. In my case, salary was worth it.

 

[ultrarunner]

25 years salaried and then with new ownership punching a time clock…

It was very difficult for me to transition but I do earn more per hour and after hour calls not as frequent…

In 2017 I was told not to worry… it will all get settled shortly but here we are… night differential, weekend differential, holiday pay, overtime, etc…

 

[2manyrocks]

If only there was extra hourly pay for putting with up with corporate BS.

 

[WinterDeere]

I just checked on Zillow, my first house I bought @21 in Milpitas ca. in 1967 was $24,500 check out the price now and the property tax is over 20 large! WOW

View attachment 3421604

California: $1.4M for a house smaller than my dining room.

I'd say, "at least it's a nice setting", but it looks like it's surrounded by similar ranchers on all sides! Tell me there's not a freeway in the front yard?

I envy their weather, but not their housing!

 

[Alan46]

California: $1.4M for a house smaller than my dining room.

I'd say, "at least it's a nice setting", but it looks like it's surrounded by similar ranchers on all sides! Tell me there's not a freeway in the front yard?

I envy their weather, but not their housing!

The freeway is about 1 &1/2 miles away! The house is 63 years old, someone did a lot of work over the years, we did add a family/ game room! It was a typical tract home, popcorn ceilings dark stained doors and birch cabs. The addition was 5K in the late sixties!

 

[ultrarunner]

90 minutes at home putting out fires because I pick up the phone… need to find the off switch…

 

[ultrarunner]

California: $1.4M for a house smaller than my dining room.

I'd say, "at least it's a nice setting", but it looks like it's surrounded by similar ranchers on all sides! Tell me there's not a freeway in the front yard?

I envy their weather, but not their housing!

The land of million dollar starter homes?

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Here's what I found happens when you get old working on something, and explains why my Dad before he passed at 88 his garage is still waist deep in everything you can (and can't) imagine everything disassembled.
Whatever you're working on if you need something you won't have it. Doesn't matter you can have six tractor trailer loads of hardware you can never find what you need regardless of how many hours you look. What you WILL find is the thing you needed last week but couldn't find but no longer need.
So if you fabricate what you need at the exact point of completion where it needs just a light touch with a grinder or wire wheel it will fly off at Mach 2 into a black hole somewhere never to be seen again, no matter how well clamped it was with Vice Grips.
When you need a Band-Aid, and you WILL, it will be in a tin box you throw away because none will stick they're so old. Later you'll see one like it sold on ebay for $50 as an antique.
I know...because this was how my day went.

Today was a better day. The hardware store had mild steel 1/4" rod, 3ft about $8. I needed it to be 0.235" so not having a lathe years ago figured out chucking it in a drill (3"piece) and gently hold against fine grit grinding stone, both running max speed. It took a couple hours, a little, measure, repeat.
Then fine sandpaper until 0.235".
Torch beat end that was in drill, hammer, punch & drill.
It's for almost 70 yo Zenith carburetor but it's back like original & works ok.

 

[CalG]

Today was a better day. The hardware store had mild steel 1/4" rod, 3ft about $8. I needed it to be 0.235" so not having a lathe years ago figured out chucking it in a drill (3"piece) and gently hold against fine grit grinding stone, both running max speed. It took a couple hours, a little, measure, repeat.
Then fine sandpaper until 0.235".
Torch beat end that was in drill, hammer, punch & drill.
It's for almost 70 yo Zenith carburetor but it's back like original & works ok.
View attachment 3423103View attachment 3423104View attachment 3423105

I've only got four lathes, It would likely have taken me as long to make that part, for I would have dropped a couple in the chip pan and had to look, and look and look before giving up and spinning another. ;-)

 

[Oaktree]

When I was hired at my current job of 33 years they offered me salary. I explained to the owner and his right-hand man that I could go down the street and make more by getting a little overtime as an hourly employee.

They left and went into another room to discuss the situation. A few minutes later they came back and offered me more money at an hourly rate than the previous salary offer. I never figured out what was said in the other room, but I took their offer. I still hear complaints to this day from salaried workers at this company.

I had something similar back in the 80s. I was offered a job with a certain amount salaried exempt or salary non-exempt for ~10% less. I took the non-exempt. Good decision as it turned out as a year or so down the road there was a certain amount of mandatory overtime.

That company had an odd policy...the person I interviewed with (technical interview), and who became my boss was not allowed to discuss compensation. That was a separate negotiation with personnel. Ever heard of that before?
I must have made a good impression at my interview because the guy I talked to in personnel told me he'd been instructed to do what it took to get me on board.