she is one of them

[97guns]

went shopping with my brother and his girlfriend yesterday and she grabs 4 big bags of bird food at $20 a pop and im like what are those for? she feeds the quail in her backyard and 1 bag lasts 2 weeks. she makes triple figure money but the finances are all screwed up, she's pushin 65 and says she "needs" to work another 5. workin for quail i will not do, if i made triple digits i wouldn't be working.

[photo]

Her heart is in the right place. I'm afraid that I'm not so fond of quail as to spend $40 a month feeding them.

[Slug]

Now, if she's just luring them in with the food and shooting the quail and cooking them up to offset the cost of dining out, that strategy might pay out. You'd have to eat a lot of quail though.

[bjl584]

I've never fed the quail. I'e hunted the quail though. It's challenging and fun. $40 a month to feed quail seems like a lot to feed them though.

[Mr Nice Guy]

I'm sure you have habits and hobbies she wouldn't throw a dime at either

[cypher1]

While I wouldn't pay money to feed the quail or any other animal, I really wouldn't give much thought to it. A friend of mine paid $800+ for some licensed pure bred bull mastiff puppy, which I like to call Mad Dog. His money, his problem. I wouldn't expect him or anyone on this forum to pay $1000 for a used Snap-on tool box. To each their own...

[BuckyBadger]

How does it affect you personally that she spends her money to feed the quail? Why on earth do you care?

[maynard]

By your user name, id guess you have a collection of something that many people would say is excessive. Am I right?

[97guns]

Originally Posted by BuckyBadger

How does it affect you personally that she spends her money to feed the quail? Why on earth do you care?

it doesn't, merely pointing out that frivilous spending will get you nowhere quick and you better realize it.

Originally Posted by maynard

By your user name, id guess you have a collection of something that many people would say is excessive. Am I right?

your absolutely right, my money goes into tangible items that do not depreciate. all you 99 percenters squander your money and make poor decisions then have a sense of entitlement like someone owes you something?

Adam Carolla Rant About the Occupy Mentality.flv - YouTube

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I just read on a survivalist this weekend someone say she had bought bird seed for the purpose of keeping them available for shooting for food. I thought it sounded odd. Eat the darn birdseed if you need the protein.

[97guns]

no her intentions are not to lure them in for food, just pure frivilous spending just like the gov't. and neither are financially stable, its become the way of life to do so. i have a choice to do the same and so does everyone here, the sad part is that 99% of america is feeding their quails, i choose not to work.

[Mr Nice Guy]

Originally Posted by 97guns

your absolutely right, my money goes into tangible items that do not depreciate.

[/url]

Until we get another republican as president lol.

[photo]

Originally Posted by 97guns

all you 99 percenters squander your money and make poor decisions then have a sense of entitlement like someone owes you something?

According to this article below, you're part of the 99%.

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/taxe...cent-earn.aspx

However, I do agree that people can and will justify anything they want, even at the expense of true necessities.

[Shewillbemine]

Wait...this thread was started talking about your bird lady girlfriend-in-law and now it's devolved into a discussion of the Occupy Movement and the 99% vs 1%?

The interwebs is funny.

[Mr Tipps]

haha - i will have to agree with you shewillbemine

[cschin4]

It's a hobby. So what? What do you spend your money on that other people would find ridiculous and vice versa? I see lots of spending i wouldn't do. And, there are lots of things i buy that people would think are ridiculous as well. I have a sis who loves bird watching and it is her thing.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by cschin4

It's a hobby. So what? What do you spend your money on that other people would find ridiculous and vice versa? I see lots of spending i wouldn't do. And, there are lots of things i buy that people would think are ridiculous as well. I have a sis who loves bird watching and it is her thing.

I think a lot of people missed OP's point.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with hobbies, splurges or luxuries. I enjoy casino gambling. I collect Disney memorabilia. We love to travel. We have cable TV and iPhones.

The difference is we can afford it. We live well below our means. We invest at least 25% of our gross income. We have good retirement funds and a college fund for our daughter. We have no debt except our mortgage which is pretty small. We've never carried a credit card balance and never make late payments.

From what OP said, it sounds like this is not the case for this woman who is almost 65 and is unable to retire for at least 5 more years because she isn't financially prepared. Spending $40/month to feed the birds is probably just the tip of the iceberg for her. If she came here and posted her overall spending habits, I'm sure it would be very clear why she "can't" retire at 65. The bird food is just another example of what David Bach calls the "latte factor", those seemingly small everyday expenditures that add up over time to sink your finances.

[Ima saver]

We spend $40 a month on corn to put out for the deer to eat. We enjoy watching them every night. We feed birds too.

[97guns]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

I think a lot of people missed OP's point.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with hobbies, splurges or luxuries. I enjoy casino gambling. I collect Disney memorabilia. We love to travel. We have cable TV and iPhones.

The difference is we can afford it. We live well below our means. We invest at least 25% of our gross income. We have good retirement funds and a college fund for our daughter. We have no debt except our mortgage which is pretty small. We've never carried a credit card balance and never make late payments.

From what OP said, it sounds like this is not the case for this woman who is almost 65 and is unable to retire for at least 5 more years because she isn't financially prepared. Spending $40/month to feed the birds is probably just the tip of the iceberg for her. If she came here and posted her overall spending habits, I'm sure it would be very clear why she "can't" retire at 65. The bird food is just another example of what David Bach calls the "latte factor", those seemingly small everyday expenditures that add up over time to sink your finances.

thanks steve, didn't know how to properly convey the message here but you clarified everything. collectables and tangible items are a totally different thing imo.

she also bought $100 of makeup on this shopping trip, didn't ask how often or question anything about it.

all i see is money circling down the toilet.

[bjl584]

Originally Posted by 97guns

thanks steve, didn't know how to properly convey the message here but you clarified everything. collectables and tangible items are a totally different thing imo.

she also bought $100 of makeup on this shopping trip, didn't ask how often or question anything about it.

all i see is money circling down the toilet.

I see this all the time with friends, family, and coworkers. All that I can do is take comfort in the fact that my finances are in order.