All Forum Posts by: Jim K.

@John Colin Rogers

You're looking for a Rich Dad. I'm going to talk to you like a real estate dad, OK?

First of all, there's a bit from Rich Dad you need to get drilled straight into your head, because it clearly isn't there right now. SPEND YOUR MONEY LIKE RICH PEOPLE DO, ON NECESSITIES FIRST AND ASSETS SECOND. Do not urinate your money away on liabilities.

Second, please let this be the last time that you'll post your credit score in a public forum NEXT TO YOUR FULL NAME. That was just silly. I won't hold it against you. I've done sillier in my time.

Third, MSRP on a 2018 Camaro starts at $25,905. Did you borrow anywhere near $26,000 to buy that car? If you did, could you explain what special benefits you're getting out of that car versus, say, a $4000 paid-off s***box that gets you from Point A to Point B?

Why exactly have you needed three credit lines in the past, at the age of 21? If you don't want to tell me in an open forum, and there would be no way I would, you can send me a message and we can have this discussion elsewhere.

Finally, I am jealous of you. I wish I was 21 and starting to learn what I know now. Because when I was 21, I was fully focused on graduating at the top of my class and getting a full fellowship to grad school. I did it. I went on a full PhD ride to the Ivy League. My parents cheered. And it was among the stupidest decisions I've ever made in my life, because I too was stuck with a poor dad who knew less than nothing about money.

What is money best for? Is it best spent by an individual to make life better for himself or herself, or to help others? And in helping others, is it better to help the people in your family, who may not need additional help, or to help others who most certainly do?

My wife and I don't have children. We do have nieces and nephews. My brother and my wife's brother have provided quite adequately for their education. We don't intend to give them lots of money when we go. We believe it would be a burden.

But it is a longstanding dream of mine to endow a struggling charity that I know well, to hand over just as much money to it as I can when I go. And every five dollars, every ten dollars, would make a difference.

Isn't it ironic that a forum thread like this makes an appearance on V-E day, the day the Nazis surrendered? One point not mentioned here is that Sylvia Bloom was, in point of fact, Jewish. And so I have to ask, just how many would make Oskar Schindler's choice if faced with it? How many didn't?

"This car. Goeth would have bought this car. Why did I keep the car? Ten people right there. Ten people. Ten more people. This pin. Two people. This is gold. Two more people. He would have given me two for it, at least one. One more person. A person, Stern. For this."

@Enrico Mariani

Go over there and ask him if you could please clean up his yard. That's the best chance you have of actually getting things done.

@Mark L.

Shoulda read more carefully. Sorry about that, Mark!

@Marie Withelidua

You are getting into a conflict with irrational people with an obvious history of making very bad choices. That conflict will escalate in one way or another before it is resolved. Please recognize and be prepared for your neighbors to do stupid things during this conflict. You have no idea what stresses these people are under, what makes them tick. It's obvious you only see them as objects of contempt, parasites on the a** of humanity. I'm sure they catch a whiff of that when they deal with you. The conflict to you is about civilization winning out over barbarism. To them, it might be more about you denying them their essential humanity, treating them like troglodytes fresh from a life underground. You are not in control of their perceptions, you will not be in control of their reactions. Be prepared for them to do stupid things based in unreason, and take actions that would forestall these stupid things.

The discussion I mentioned is part of that strategy.

@Joe M.

"Do you know other companies that do similar programs or a website with a master list or anything?"

Sadly, no.

@Nikkiah Wren

Do you have a job?

@Mark L.

Every week, like clockwork, this thread pops up. Should I invest in real estate or the stock market? Somebody goes in and plays with the calculators and quickly realizes he can get a better return elsewhere according to the numbers.

The answer is simple. If you have a question about it, of course you should invest in the stock market. Mutual funds are good stuff. Real estate's not for everyone.

But do you really think we can tell you everything we do and how we do it in a public forum like this one? Do you think stockbrokers can do so about their industry? Don't be naive.

@Jesus Moreno

Any time, man. If you want to know anything else, send me a message.

@Jesus Moreno

Just say smart, highly informed things. I really feel it was my review of a simple block plane and answering a question about a bathtub that led to the invitation. HD and its vendors have people who read these things.

So that answers some of your questions. I feel very popular products, regardless of the cost, probably make a bigger impact to the invitation than specialty items.

As long as "honest opinion" doesn't equal "ignorant slam," yeah, that's fine. I still remember one stupid review I did of popular six-inch fiberglass mesh. It's labeled alkaline resistance so I tried to use it to tape cement board corners in a shower stall. That did not work out well, and my review focused on how it falls apart . On the other hand, the stuff is fantastic for plaster repair, taping drywall screwed to lath to old plaster after you prefill with hot mud, then covering with taping compound. That's all I use it for now.

At the time, I knew nothing about nonwoven reinforcing fabric for paintable membranes like Custom's RedGard and Laticrete HydroBarrier. I wasn't waterproofing the board faces on any of my tile shower surrounds.

So as soon as I wrote that review, four or five people felt compelled to defend the product, insisting that it worked GREAT with RedGard, posting pics...but this is fiberglass mesh tape. It most certainly does NOT offer further waterproofing protecting when used with a paintable membrane.

I look back on that stuff and think to myself how often the blind lead the blind in home improvement.