How are You Spending the Stimulus Money?


Well - Providing we ever receive said funds ... The Spousal Unit will more than likely apply hers to a cruise with her sister next year. I will hold on to mine form a new water heater as I am sure that this one will not last forever being 12+ YO at this time.

EDIT -- Just found out the IRS said I would receive the 15th of the month ... I guess they were tired of me hounding them.
But did they specify in which month that 15th will occur? 😂 😂
 
Sherman Hill has a good plan. I had a friend (gone now) that used to get audited every year - and he was always filing late. His plan was (and he hated the IRS with a passion) that if they were after him that they were NOT bothering someone else. He rather enjoyed fighting with them!

My tax account for over 30 years lived in Ft Meyers and was enrolled before the IRS. About every two years I would go to see him and/or he would come to see me. He was a former muckety muck with the agency (I forget his title) and extremely well versed on tax law; he loved to pull their chain with many of his clients. He passed about 6 years back and it really bothered me - I did not file for 4 years (would have been longer if not for this damn state). Never was fined for late - just made sure that I had paid in enough beforehand except CA hit me a $100 fine for late filing twice. That man was worth every penny I paid him - he usually would get it back some way!
 

I drove out and saw the caboose in real life yesterday. It looks exactly like the pictures. Do I really want to buy it and if so where would I park it? I have lots of places I can park it, but as some of you know with my wife's death I've been thinking about selling properties off. If I would park it on one of those (one is only 12 miles from the BNSF) and then sell, I would have to move it again. Moving is almost as expensive as buying. I hate to "store it" somewhere and let the vandals get to it. Anyone have any serious suggestions?
 
From those of us who aren't getting a check, to those of you that are, you're welcome. :p

But on a more serious note, when things open up again, I am planning on hitting up my LHS's and making some big purchases. Not that I really need anything like more locomotives...but I want to help make sure they stay in business. I've got a couple here in the Twin Cities I plan to visit when they open, plus a couple in Portland OR (I've been aiming at moving out there in the not-too-distant future, although that may be delayed a bit now with current events), the Ace Hardware/hobby shop in Berkeley CA, and a few others around the country that I stop at when I'm in the area. Hopefully our LHS's, and the ones where you all live, will make it ok.
 
I drove out and saw the caboose in real life yesterday. It looks exactly like the pictures. Do I really want to buy it and if so where would I park it? I have lots of places I can park it, but as some of you know with my wife's death I've been thinking about selling properties off. If I would park it on one of those (one is only 12 miles from the BNSF) and then sell, I would have to move it again. Moving is almost as expensive as buying. I hate to "store it" somewhere and let the vandals get to it. Anyone have any serious suggestions?
I think I would decide what to do with the properties before deciding on the caboose.

If I were you, in a perfect world I would keep the school and put the caboose there.

From my experience, in the harsh light of reality I would keep one property, which ever requires the least amount of traveling and is close to your family. Unless of course you have more than one property that is close to the center of your world's hub then keep all of those.

Everything requires upkeep, the older we get the harder it is to do that work or even to oversee it.

Bottom line, do what makes your life easy and happy. I wish you all the best.
 
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From those of us who aren't getting a check, to those of you that are, you're welcome. :p

But on a more serious note, when things open up again, I am planning on hitting up my LHS's and making some big purchases. Not that I really need anything like more locomotives...but I want to help make sure they stay in business. I've got a couple here in the Twin Cities I plan to visit when they open, plus a couple in Portland OR (I've been aiming at moving out there in the not-too-distant future, although that may be delayed a bit now with current events), the Ace Hardware/hobby shop in Berkeley CA, and a few others around the country that I stop at when I'm in the area. Hopefully our LHS's, and the ones where you all live, will make it ok.
Thank you :)

I made good use of the stimulus. I pumped all of my share and more into the toy train economy.

Like Chet we did not need the money, but only a fool would try to send it back.

Our stimulus, my wife and I, went into the general fund. I did not set out to spend the stimulus, but all the time on my hands had me finding train deals on the web. I spent well over $2500 on my recent toy train binge. I don't yet have the total. I'm still waiting on a couple of eBay transactions and I'm still thinking about a few more items.

We buy whatever we want, whenever we want. The stimulus helped me to feel less guilty. :)

I don't have a local hobby shop. I don't have any loyalties to any hobby shop, not any more

I spread the money around. Lionel Store online, Train World, Graham's Trains, MB Klein, Mr. Muffin's Trains and eBay.

I am loyal to Lionel, but I buy strictly the lowest price. I even bought some MTH and Williams by Bachmann when I could not find equivalent Lionel items.

In my book; business is not charity, you want my business, earn it! That's how I made my businesses successful, now I reap the rewards of my hard work.

Now I'm disabled/semi-retired now, but I still make more then few dollars. I make more then enough so that my toy trains don't cut into my nest egg or I have to pay interest. I pray I never have to retire completely, I love this country and capitalism! :)
 
I drove out and saw the caboose in real life yesterday. It looks exactly like the pictures. Do I really want to buy it and if so where would I park it? I have lots of places I can park it, but as some of you know with my wife's death I've been thinking about selling properties off. If I would park it on one of those (one is only 12 miles from the BNSF) and then sell, I would have to move it again. Moving is almost as expensive as buying. I hate to "store it" somewhere and let the vandals get to it. Anyone have any serious suggestions?

Don't know if this sort of thing is anywhere close to an option for you, but I came across this picture while going through my archives for the other forum recently. I stumbled across this out in Montana back in 2013. IIRC, this was out in the boondocks somewhere near Helena, as I was driving out to a trailhead to go hiking. But as you say, the problem is finding a permanent site, as opposed to having to keep moving it around. Perhaps find a rail museum nearby that can store and display it for the interim, and then if you decide to move it in the future, pull it out of there?

IMG_5479.jpg
 
Perhaps find a rail museum nearby that can store and display it for the interim, and then if you decide to move it in the future, pull it out of there?
There is an idea. I did try that when the Illinois Gulf Central said that I could have all the E7/E8s in their dead line in 1980. I called every museum I could find listed and it was the same story, we are over crowded with our own stuff. That is except the Colorado Railroad Museum. Their response was "we don't do diesels", but look now they have F9s! Anyway all those glorious E units went to the torch. Now I have a lot more connections. Perhaps even my employer would store it on a track for me. And now that you mention it the Colorado Model Railroad Museum I am always talking about has a real spur. Maybe!
 
I used part of mine less than $300 to buy new clothes, Two pairs of jeans , T shirts , socks a dress shirt and another pair of pants pair of shoes and under wear. Not real expensive stuff Levi and Lee and I think Gildan. I got Levi high top shoes and most important new eye glasses on- line used a 10 year old script and got BOGO one pair is bifocal the other is just distance. My other script was from 2002 so they have to be better. Barely could read the drivers license eye chart last time 10 years ago and now I'm past 70 so I have to go in for each renewal.

Clothes these days are not want they used to be yet I'm running out of stuff . I haven't had jeans in years and the Levi's even 10 years ago didn't last long the knees always ripped first and the Converse high tops I got 2 years ago began falling apart after a few months.

Could use new tires and rear brakes on my 73 VW square back the tires are old yet not worn out. I do the brakes myself and everything else tires I can't do. Seems we have a lot of broken glass since this lock down virus thing. Maybe I should buy a new brain.
 
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