Awesome Craigslist post: YOUR TOYS.

[Diggler]

http://providence.craigslist.org/wan/554551884.html

Wanted: YOUR TOYS

You: an average American. You are deeply in debt and still continue to borrow every day to feed your habit. You walk into Wawa and, for a measly $2.99 coffee and breakfast sandwich, you rip out the credit card because you have no cash (that’s me behind you in line). The concept of buying only those things you can actually afford is foreign to you. You feel that a $500k home with a big screen TV and BMW in the driveway are entitlements you deserve … even though you never finished college and earn about $45k/year. Going back to school … improving your skills … these are also distasteful to you. Math was not your favorite subject and, when the mortgage brokers told you that you could borrow your way to riches, you bit hook, line and sinker. Your mortgage rate has reset …you’re on the verge of foreclosure, making minimum payments on your credit cards and the Yellow Pages book on your kitchen table is opened up to “Bankruptcy Attorneys”. Gas prices and utility bills are killing you. Your job is not as secure as you thought. You are panicked. You are desperate. And the liquidation of assets (toys) such as your Beemer, your Big Screen, your fancy electronic toys, your Sea Doo, that nice new diamond ring bought with home equity cash … is going to be necessary to buy food and heat.

Of course, it’s all someone else’s fault. That someone else is …

Me: I sold my home at in late 2005 knowing full well that this massive housing bubble was unsustainable (I was a math major – that geeky guy you hated and despised in high school). And, no, you can’t copy my test answers. I put over half a million in the bank (less than $100k in any one bank to have complete FDIC insurance coverage). I didn’t have a mortgage because I always spent less than I earned and aggressively paid off my mortgage in just 7 years. I also didn’t pay a Realtor commission when I sold – who needed a Realtor to sell ANYTHING in 2005. I could have sold an outhouse for $250k to you dopes back then. I am a renter and I rent a 3-bedroom home cheap ($1600/mo) because the landlord has no pricing power. Rents are going to get even cheaper as more housing supply comes on the market and desperate flippers will rent at almost any price to soften the negative cash flow a bit. While you were buying your McMansion, I paid cash for everything, have no debt whatsoever and SAVE almost $30k/year. I don’t own a big screen TV or a boat. I have never bought a new car and I never will (not an investment – a depreciating asset). I am clearly *NOT* doing my part to support the US economy and you can blame me all you want for not pulling my weight. I am going to be a homeowner again but not for a few years. Housing is going to take a 50%+ haircut no matter what “stimulus” Bush provides in the form of rebates and regardless of whether Bernanke cuts interest rates to ZERO. The bond market will negate any interest rate reduction in hours or minutes. That ¾ point cut last week was swallowed up by the bond market in just 3 hours. It won’t matter a whit as there is too much debt and leverage in play for this not to unwind very painfully. I am not in the stock market either as that haircut will be equally painful. In the meantime, I want to enjoy life so I’m in the market for a few toys; specifically *your* toys (I don’t pay retail for anything). At the right price, my son would love to watch sports on a nice big screen. I’m thinking of riding your jet skis this summer (cheap, of course). I met a wonderful woman this past autumn and we are hitting it off amazingly. She and I are like-minded with regard to the above. So, she would not mind at all wearing that nice diamond ring even if it’s second hand (she’d probably **** in her panties if she knew I got it for dimes on the dollar). My Jetta still runs nice but your BMW would be a great addition to my driveway. I don’t care what you owe on it – I’m not paying that much. But I am paying CASH. What have you got?

Time to pay the piper!

[Relic]

NICE

[Mon Rominee]

B-U-T-full.

[Tony G]

Funny stuff, but it makes me feel a little guilty for stopping after my A.S. degree and not getting my B.S. degree......

[Mon Rominee]

right, but you don't need a degree for common sense living...

but shows that showcase the wares of the well to do make so many people feel the need to keep up with the Jonses...I just don't get it... my toys come after the kids are grown.

[Tony G]

Originally Posted by Mon Rominee

right, but you don't need a degree for common sense living...

Considering I own only a two bedroom town house that doesn't cost anywhere near the $500k McMansion the craigslist post was discussing, I guess I have some common sense, but I'm still battling some debt. I think I'm winning that war, but it's not over yet.

[Mon Rominee]

Originally Posted by Tony G

Considering I own only a two bedroom town house that doesn't cost anywhere near the $500k McMansion the craigslist post was discussing, I guess I have some common sense, but I'm still battling some debt. I think I'm winning that war, but it's not over yet.

Pretty much the same here bro, I can commiserate...but best of luck to you!

[Tony G]

Originally Posted by Mon Rominee

Pretty much the same here bro, I can commiserate...but best of luck to you!

to you as well!

[neurotictim]

Just for fun, I'd like to find out if this guy really is all the talk. Then I want to find out how he gets by, talking down to the world and acting like money is the most important thing.

I have debts. I owe people money, and I don't make enough of it. I have lost sleep at night wondering about my finances.

But I'm surrounded by good people, who are real and aren't after my money. I have a couple of hobbies that make me very happy, and the love of a good woman who doesn't even care about a ring, much less how much I paid for it. I have my health and I have faith, and I believe in the Golden Rule, despite my misgivings about organized religion. Let this guy crow on about how smart he is - in the end, you can't take it with you, and I think I'm richer than him either way.

[Tony G]

Originally Posted by neurotictim

Just for fun, I'd like to find out if this guy really is all the talk. Then I want to find out how he gets by, talking down to the world and acting like money is the most important thing.

I have debts. I owe people money, and I don't make enough of it. I have lost sleep at night wondering about my finances.

But I'm surrounded by good people, who are real and aren't after my money. I have a couple of hobbies that make me very happy, and the love of a good woman who doesn't even care about a ring, much less how much I paid for it. I have my health and I have faith, and I believe in the Golden Rule, despite my misgivings about organized religion. Let this guy crow on about how smart he is - in the end, you can't take it with you, and I think I'm richer than him either way.

+1...Well said.

[mjolnir]

He's got a good message in there somewhere, but mostly I think that's kind of uncalled for.

[Phat Ham]

Kind of an aside and I know it's not really the point of the original post, but it irks me when people assume that paying for something with a credit card means you don't have the money to buy it with cash.

I pay for almost everything I can with a credit card. I am not a dime in debt. Credit cards are convenient and offer rewards. Safer too in some respects.

[Tony G]

Originally Posted by mjolnir

He's got a good message in there somewhere, but mostly I think that's kind of uncalled for.

+1

Originally Posted by Phat Ham

Kind of an aside and I know it's not really the point of the original post, but it irks me when people assume that paying for something with a credit card means you don't have the money to buy it with cash.

I pay for almost everything I can with a credit card. I am not a dime in debt. Credit cards are convenient and offer rewards. Safer too in some respects.

+1....except for the not being in debt part...

[arbitrary]

dudeguy has issues...

[Tony G]

Originally Posted by arbitrary

dudeguy has issues...

I'm trying to figure out that if this ad is truly real, why anyone would want to sell something to such an arrogant jerk who seems like he just wants to rip people off.

[MakiSupaStar]

What a smug chode.

[morf]

Nice find

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

I think the guy just wants to crow and not actually buy anything. But his message carries a lot of serious truths. It was a good read!

[Thor]

Originally Posted by MakiSupaStar

What a smug chode.

I always spelled it 'Choad'. I could be wrong. You are the
English teacher.

So is it chode or choad?

Originally Posted by Bob Lee (QSC)

I think the guy just wants to crow and not actually buy anything. But his message carries a lot of serious truths. It was a good read!

It was except for:

500k does not a McMansion buy in Providence. This I can assure you of;

People who don't use paragraphs need lessons from Maki;

This post has a very large TJQ - Total Jerk Quotient.

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

Originally Posted by Thor

It was except for:

500k does not a McMansion buy in Providence. This I can assure you of;

On my street in Costa Mesa--which cannot be mistaken for nearby Newport Beach--two-bedroom condos were selling for over half a million. At least up until almost a year ago.

I'm not really sure what a McMansion actually is, because I see the term used to describe both new pretentious mansions and smaller houses that seem to wannabe pretentious mansions.