Posts by GrreatTeacher

Vienne, waiting until you're 18 is probably smart because your insurance costs will be much less. That can sometimes be the most prohibitive cost of car ownership.

Stan, I shudder to think about where you found a spare mattress for your van!

Good on you for flipping the old banger and buying a new one!

82

Prediction: What Will Happen To Trump Now That Biden Will Be President?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i think he will have to deal with the attorney general of new york amongst other things.

i do think he will not simply go away quietly ..

GrreatTeacher

Sorry, storming the doors of the Capitol building and rooting through desks in the Senate is not peaceful.

13

Just helped my kid get his first used car.

by GrreatTeacher in

my son, only child, age 19, college sophomore, just got his first used car.

most importantly, he learned the fun and exhilarating process of buying a used car from a dealer.

he had saved some money, but everything around the $5000 range was basically a shit box on wheels.

GrreatTeacher

Here. Here. Good job, dad!

My boy works full time all summer, full time in January between semesters, and part time when college is in session.

His boss gave him a year end bonus, and you should've seen his face!

He helps pay for community college. He will be completely responsible for expenses for this car.

And fortunately, his employer has a defense contract so he was able to work through Covid.

13

Just helped my kid get his first used car.

by GrreatTeacher in

my son, only child, age 19, college sophomore, just got his first used car.

most importantly, he learned the fun and exhilarating process of buying a used car from a dealer.

he had saved some money, but everything around the $5000 range was basically a shit box on wheels.

GrreatTeacher

My son, only child, age 19, college sophomore, just got his first used car. Most importantly, he learned the fun and exhilarating process of BUYING A USED CAR from a dealer. /s

He had saved some money, but everything around the $5000 range was basically a shit box on wheels. After wasting enough time looking at them, we decided to double the budget for something newer and more reliable and we would help by financing some for him.

Step two in the process was grabbing a car before it was sold. The used car market is hot right now and we looked at several cars that he couldn't be bothered to change his plans to go look at and they sold. Cue disappointment, but lesson learned.

Found a car at price point and he got off his butt to go look at it. Test drove it, talked about positives and negatives. He liked it okay. I liked it okay. Then the sales lady showed us another vehicle slightly above our price point ( she was good), and he really liked it, I thought it was a better fit for him and my husband agreed and thought it would last longer. We decided to try to make a deal. Lesson: You don't get everything you want in a used car deal. Also, I negotiated with dear son whether he'd be willing to put more money down. We went back and forth on amounts and finally agreed on an amount.

Then, we asked the sales lady if this was the best price. Her manager took off another $300 bucks, we realized with the hot used car market that was all we would get and, it was a fair price. Lesson learned: always try to negotiate, but know what you'll accept based on the market.

So, we told the sales lady we're interested, but we'd like to look at financing part of the price. Enter the FINANCE MANAGER. He could get us 4.75%. We thanked him politely and told him we would contact our credit union in the morning. They wanted us to take the car home. We said no thanks. Lesson learned: you can often get a better deal on your own through your own bank and NEVER take the car home until you finalize the deal.

Next day the bank gave us 2.75% We went back to the finance manager who tried to sell us extended warranty and gap insurance, very pushy. After politely and continually rejecting it, we finished the sale. Lesson learned: the finance manager makes her money off selling extra stuff so she can get pushy. It's very uncomfortable but stand your ground.

Kid got a car, we got a loan and we no longer have to worry about his old truck breaking down.

Most importantly, he learned an excellent life lesson: how to buy a car without getting screwed. Quite a bit different than teaching him to tie his shoes, but kids grow up!

How have you dealt with this with your kids?

31

Why Do Some People Wear A Mask While Driving Alone In Their Car?

by minimus in

jw
friends

can anyone explain this to me??

?.

GrreatTeacher

Hmm, masks in a car...

Maybe their passenger farted?

18

Unraveling threads which expose WatchTower

by Terry in

cults are famous for controlling information about people, places and events which are embarrassing to their self-myths.in my experience from the beginning of my personal contact with jehovah's witnesses - i knew next to nothing at all.

i was in elementary school in the 6th grade, age 12. a school chum who was a jw befriended me and the indoctrination began straightaway!it took all of 6 years of studying and attending meetings before i agreed to be baptized on a date very easy to remember: it was november 23, 1963 - the day after president john f. kennedy was murdered a few miles away in dallas.

(during the convention i attended - not a single mention of assassination or kennedy or his family was spoken.

GrreatTeacher

As in Hudgings'

18

Unraveling threads which expose WatchTower

by Terry in

cults are famous for controlling information about people, places and events which are embarrassing to their self-myths.in my experience from the beginning of my personal contact with jehovah's witnesses - i knew next to nothing at all.

i was in elementary school in the 6th grade, age 12. a school chum who was a jw befriended me and the indoctrination began straightaway!it took all of 6 years of studying and attending meetings before i agreed to be baptized on a date very easy to remember: it was november 23, 1963 - the day after president john f. kennedy was murdered a few miles away in dallas.

(during the convention i attended - not a single mention of assassination or kennedy or his family was spoken.

GrreatTeacher

Sorry. Double post.

20

Do You Think Trump Will Abandon The Republican Party?

by minimus in

jw
friends

the way he’s talking, i wouldn’t be surprised if he creates a third party .

he’s unhappy with republican leadership.

can you see trump leaving the gop and going rogue?

GrreatTeacher

Trump will start Trump Media.

He's frustrated with FOX and likely believes he can do better.

28

I have a deep seated hatred for the leadership of the JW Cult

by mrquik in

i look back on my life & realize all major mistakes fall at the feet of the jw leadership.

no college, no birthdays, basically no celebrations.

lived my younger years as an outcast.

GrreatTeacher

LHG, I definitely agree with you that there was a double standard for women vs. men about working. Quite a sexist religion right down to its core.

I also feel that each congregation has its own standards and culture. My congregation was not particularly pioneer oriented. There was exactly one younger pioneer ( of course female ) who worked part time as a waitress. And one very old pioneer who never met with the group and worked on her own for all of her 100 hours per month. Weird.

The rest were just not extraordinarily zealous, not that they didn't believe sincerely, but every single elder held a full time job and no one pressured young people to pioneer when they left school. Many young wives worked full time and there was no particular stigma. The stigma in that congregation was about having kids, not seen as smart to do so very close to the end. In other ways the congregation was very conservative, though, and not fun to grow up in.

And then there was one congregation over that had half the congregation pioneering it seemed. And more than a dozen elders. And, yet they were more liberal. People often moved there deliberately.

It's amazing how different the congregation cultures could be.

Also, I'm sorry you went through that. Chained to a religion yet marginalized.