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No regrets from squeezing the juice
Weiss
Posts: 9,935 ✭✭✭✭✭
When I completed my last huge building project in August of last year, I figured I had a good stack of PMs and I'd worked hard enough to enjoy some fruits of my labor.
So I sold my 10 ounce bar of gold on 08-23-11 to Apmex. It brought $18,880--a LOT more than I paid for it.
That "appreciation discount" with my paid-off trade-in was enough for me to walk out of the Subaru dealership with a brand new fully loaded Outback (PZEV model, made 70 miles from me in a zero-landfill factory) with no out of pocket.
The same model today would set you back over $2,000 more. And selling that bar of gold today would bring about $3,000 less.
Of course, you could say the car has depreciated by that amount. Maybe even more. Fine. But I'd argue that I've had almost a year of driving a brand-new car, protecting my family with excellent crash-ratings, airbags, all-wheel drive through the winter, etc. Plus I've really enjoyed having the car. Great ride, great comfort, great hauling capacity and good gas mileage.
About a month after that (September of 2011), I happened to see the website for paintings by one of my favorite guitar players, John Squire of the Stone Roses. The Stone Roses were a huge and hugely influential band in the early 1990s, but drugs and poor management lead to an incredibly acrimonious break-up just as they were achieving international success.
Squire played a little after the Roses, but quickly left the music world to pursue his original passion: art. He's been gaining an international reputation over the last decade. And my father was an artist, so graphic arts have always had a place in my heart. After seeing his work, I toyed with the idea of buying a print, litho or maybe a small pen & ink of Squire's. After a series of emails between me and his agent, I found a piece I fell in love with. And negotiated a price at exactly what a 100 ounce bar of silver would sell for on 09-20-11. Again, that was much, much more that I'd paid for it. If it hadn't been for that "appreciation discount", I wouldn't have even considered an actual painting of Squire's.
But I did, and it now hangs on the wall across the room from me.
[And would you believe, the day the painting arrived (with a personalized hand-written note you can see framed on the reverse of the painting) the Stone Roses announced they were re-forming for a series of concerts that became the fastest-selling in UK history (150,000 tickets in 14 minutes!)].
So. Ten months later and I have zero regrets. I still have a good stack, but I have solid, real-world prizes for playing the game and taking my chips off the table at the right time.
So I sold my 10 ounce bar of gold on 08-23-11 to Apmex. It brought $18,880--a LOT more than I paid for it.
That "appreciation discount" with my paid-off trade-in was enough for me to walk out of the Subaru dealership with a brand new fully loaded Outback (PZEV model, made 70 miles from me in a zero-landfill factory) with no out of pocket.
The same model today would set you back over $2,000 more. And selling that bar of gold today would bring about $3,000 less.
Of course, you could say the car has depreciated by that amount. Maybe even more. Fine. But I'd argue that I've had almost a year of driving a brand-new car, protecting my family with excellent crash-ratings, airbags, all-wheel drive through the winter, etc. Plus I've really enjoyed having the car. Great ride, great comfort, great hauling capacity and good gas mileage.
About a month after that (September of 2011), I happened to see the website for paintings by one of my favorite guitar players, John Squire of the Stone Roses. The Stone Roses were a huge and hugely influential band in the early 1990s, but drugs and poor management lead to an incredibly acrimonious break-up just as they were achieving international success.
Squire played a little after the Roses, but quickly left the music world to pursue his original passion: art. He's been gaining an international reputation over the last decade. And my father was an artist, so graphic arts have always had a place in my heart. After seeing his work, I toyed with the idea of buying a print, litho or maybe a small pen & ink of Squire's. After a series of emails between me and his agent, I found a piece I fell in love with. And negotiated a price at exactly what a 100 ounce bar of silver would sell for on 09-20-11. Again, that was much, much more that I'd paid for it. If it hadn't been for that "appreciation discount", I wouldn't have even considered an actual painting of Squire's.
But I did, and it now hangs on the wall across the room from me.
[And would you believe, the day the painting arrived (with a personalized hand-written note you can see framed on the reverse of the painting) the Stone Roses announced they were re-forming for a series of concerts that became the fastest-selling in UK history (150,000 tickets in 14 minutes!)].
So. Ten months later and I have zero regrets. I still have a good stack, but I have solid, real-world prizes for playing the game and taking my chips off the table at the right time.
We are like children who look at print and see a serpent in the last letter but one, and a sword in the last.
--Severian the Lame
--Severian the Lame
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Comments
Neet trick, you have a time machine
Sorry about this but I heard about it on Jim Rome radio show and I snicker every time I see one now
Loves me some shiny!
PS..I hope that's a rain puddle under the car
<< <i>Text
Sorry about this but I heard about it on Jim Rome radio show and I snicker every time I see one now
No need to be sorry. It's a great car and I'd drive one even if you owned one.
--Severian the Lame
This is a good lesson for everyone that there actually is more to life than how much metal you have stacked up.
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Have you priced Squire's artwork lately? Who knows, maybe you could eventually turn a huge profit on that piece and get your gold back... LOL
"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." -Luke 11:9
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." -Deut. 6:4-5
"For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; He will save us." -Isaiah 33:22
Many members on this forum that now it cannot fit in my signature. Please ask for entire list.
<< <i>No reason to feel bad about taking something off the table and putting it to use. That Subaru isn't such a bad ride either. Last month I drove my brother's with the 3.6 liter and CVT. I was not at all impressed with that transmission, being a rather traditional person, and I wouldn't have it in one of my cars. And the steering was unnaturally over-sensitive and I couldn't get used to it. But overall it was a fast, fun and decent car to drive, and I had a helluva hard time keeping it out of the triple digits.
Have you priced Squire's artwork lately? Who knows, maybe you could eventually turn a huge profit on that piece and get your gold back... LOL
I haven't priced his work recently, but I did notice that many of his more recent pieces have sold without having shown since the Roses reunion announcement. Like me, their original fan base has hit that key demographic of more money than brains
And my Outback has the CVT but is the 2.5. I live in a small town, completely devoid of any hills, and put fewer than 7,000 miles a year on my car. My wife sold her 1997 Civic 2 years back with 45,000 miles on it
--Severian the Lame
Keep it for 20 years or until it completely dies and the early depreciation is not a factor.
I've never seen a UHaul behind a hearse.
I like these kinds of stories of enjoying the spoils of your labor and knowledge while you're on this side of the grass.
Too many positive BST transactions with too many members to list.
<< <i>I've never seen a UHaul behind a hearse.
I like these kinds of stories of enjoying the spoils of your labor and knowledge while you're on this side of the grass. >>
Best advice for everyone!
Enjoy your artwork, music and life!
"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." -Luke 11:9
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." -Deut. 6:4-5
"For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; He will save us." -Isaiah 33:22
I knew it would happen.