Exactly. $400 for mine. $100 would fill a shopping cart with groceries back then. Health insurance: $80-125/mo. Internet: $15/mo. Garage sales almost everything was less than $10, most of it was less than $5. Goodwill was a deal. DIY/homemade was a deal, a way to save money.
It was a different time. There’s no equivalent to that time today, today is pretty awful.
And now it’s all going to be so much worse thanks to MAGA, oligarchs, and Heritage.
(I have to assume wealth and intelligence have a decent correlation sometimes, but Heritage proves the relationship is certainly not 1:1)
They decidedly do not have a correlation. The majority of wealthy people inherited their wealth. Inheriting enough wealth to pay a competent finance professional has been the primary means of accruing wealth since at least the 80s. Those getting wealthy from startups and the like are outliers.
Yes, what is up with thrift stores charging almost the same as “first-hand” stores? Yet another example of how this generation is screwed (along with all of us old people).
Boutique thrift shops all try to act like they’re some amazing place to find funky retro fashion just waiting to be discovered on a Tiktok. It’s all overpriced. We’ve been to Goodwill and Habitat locally for stuff. Prices go from great to dirt cheap. They just want to move stuff, not hold on to someone’s idea of vintage cool.
Or they somehow want to price things off eBay prices. Bro, you are a thrift store. You aren’t some place that should be trying to get the absolute most out of an item.
Price it vaguely on what people might pay for some used, unwashed, beat to hell thing. If someone thinks they can get more by selling it online, that’s fine. That’s on them. You don’t have to compete with them. Turnover of items is more important than the most money on that old glass cup.
You used to be able to get grandpa’s old used golf clubs for $5/7 at goodwill and I put together a whole set for cheap. Moved and had to leave it behind now they put all the clubs straight online, you can’t even get them at the stores anymore. And the price is barely better than a newvset from Walmart. I wanna golf again :(
Video games are almost always ridiculous too. They’ll sell anything good online, and then charge like $10 for one of their 40 copies of Wii Fit.
The only good place to thrift nowadays is the small local places run by like churches. Goodwill sells shitty acrylic yarn for more than it costs new, wants $20+ for used kitchen appliances, sells current dollar tree shit for $5…
Goodwill fell off. It’s worth noting how the stuff we buy is basically worthless for resale the moment we buy it, since cheap new stuff is outcompeting it. It’s only value is use value.
I know it’s a little off topic but eBay is a fucking scam as well… So many used items go for prices very close to brand new.
I live in California, which charges VAT for ebay transactions. Add in shipping and I would be paying more than brand new for the vast majority of the inventory.
There are no good deals on ebay unless you spend a lot of time in bidding wars. You still risk getting a damaged item too…
Ive noticed this at chains, but not at my local stores. Goodwill for example, I always see dollar tree items marked as $2+. I know Theyre from dollar tree because theyre still in the damn package.
I found a neat looking board game at the thrift store once. I looked it up on my phone to check reviews, and learned it would be cheaper to buy it new than what they were asking. Usually they have good deals but not that time.
The only way for a wage earner to bootstrap their way up is to have money when historic opportunities to invest present themselves, like March 2020 and April 2025. If you have a few thousand to invest now, chances are that will turn into a massive profit over time. And even better, hold those securities for longer than a year and you get a preferred, lower tax rate on any profits.
But most people can’t do that. They’re stuck taking out an (air quotes) “interest-free” loan from Klarna to make sure they don’t starve this week. Our politicians are, thankfully, focused on the most important priorities, like drag queen story time. (And that’s sarcasm, btw.)
Please don’t invest right now. You are right that you can make a lot of money if you know what you’re doing, but it’s still a casino. With the people running the US right now, if they ever fully implement the tariffs, the market is going to eat shit. Then you can buy if there’s some glimmer of hope like Republicans losing Congress in 2026. I’m not trying to do US defaultism here, I believe this advice holds worldwide.
I pulled all my money out when Trump got elected, and that was a good choice. If I’d gone all in on options I’d be straight up hood rich, but I can’t gamble everything we have.
Yes… But if the US doesn’t collapse then you make a lot of money buying the dip.
So either the US survives, and you make a lot of money if you invested, or the US crumbles and your cash or investments are both worth the same amount (zero).
I switched my retirement accounts to cash apprx feb 28, before the tariffs announcement and the market starting crashing. I just moved back into stocks this week. I’m convinced we’ve seen the worst of the tariffs… too many people are in trumps ear telling him he’s a retard. It’s only up from here.
Cluster B personality disorders don’t change their mind when called out, they double down. And interruption of the self constructed false reality makes them reactive.
I hope you’re correct for your benefit and the benefit of people who have retirement funds in the market.
I disagree however. Even if that fucking toddler-brained jackass backs completely off the tariffs (which I don’t think his ego will let him) he will do more heinous shit that will ruin the world economy in other ways. He’s also got several accelerationists in his ear that would love to see another great depression.
In less than 90 days the tariffs are back on, and the insane China ones are currently rolling I believe. Adidas put out a statement today saying the shoes are going to get a lot more expensive. Also, as of today, the oligarch Jeff Bezos is under federal investigation over a rumor that Amazon was going to tell customers what portion of the price of an item was due to tariffs. Just over a rumor. A rumor about a legal action that would be a smart business decision.
I’m keeping my money in the bank, and some in cash hidden in my home. Hopefully FDIC insurance still works.
Strongly agree. We’ve seen nothing yet and I think we’re going to see quarter after quarter of poor earnings and layoffs. Some empty shelves mid to late May. Housing crash at the end of this year or beginning of 2026. Hate to be somewhat doom and gloom but I’m also not going to miss this opportunity to jump back in with liquid. Good luck!
Yeah. We’ll see i suppose. The markets holding back a lot of suppressed upward mobility that we saw when the fake “tariffs are off” tweet happened. One whiff of good news will have us going up again.
In any case, at least I mitigated some of the damage. Can’t win 100% every time.
Just keep in mind the maxim- The market can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent. It’s more of a vibes casino than it ever was before the GME stuff.
Even though I think you could be right, please don’t bet the barn. I don’t want to see you get hurt.
Exactly. $400 for mine. $100 would fill a shopping cart with groceries back then. Health insurance: $80-125/mo. Internet: $15/mo. Garage sales almost everything was less than $10, most of it was less than $5. Goodwill was a deal. DIY/homemade was a deal, a way to save money.
It was a different time. There’s no equivalent to that time today, today is pretty awful.
And now it’s all going to be so much worse thanks to MAGA, oligarchs, and Heritage.
Pooooor Heritage Foo dation
Actually think their kids will be down to be obscenely rich in the future world where coral reef diving and backcountry skiing are only possible in VR
(I have to assume wealth and intelligence have a decent correlation sometimes, but Heritage proves the relationship is certainly not 1:1)
They decidedly do not have a correlation. The majority of wealthy people inherited their wealth. Inheriting enough wealth to pay a competent finance professional has been the primary means of accruing wealth since at least the 80s. Those getting wealthy from startups and the like are outliers.
Yes, what is up with thrift stores charging almost the same as “first-hand” stores? Yet another example of how this generation is screwed (along with all of us old people).
Boutique thrift shops all try to act like they’re some amazing place to find funky retro fashion just waiting to be discovered on a Tiktok. It’s all overpriced. We’ve been to Goodwill and Habitat locally for stuff. Prices go from great to dirt cheap. They just want to move stuff, not hold on to someone’s idea of vintage cool.
Or they somehow want to price things off eBay prices. Bro, you are a thrift store. You aren’t some place that should be trying to get the absolute most out of an item.
Price it vaguely on what people might pay for some used, unwashed, beat to hell thing. If someone thinks they can get more by selling it online, that’s fine. That’s on them. You don’t have to compete with them. Turnover of items is more important than the most money on that old glass cup.
You used to be able to get grandpa’s old used golf clubs for $5/7 at goodwill and I put together a whole set for cheap. Moved and had to leave it behind now they put all the clubs straight online, you can’t even get them at the stores anymore. And the price is barely better than a newvset from Walmart. I wanna golf again :(
Video games are almost always ridiculous too. They’ll sell anything good online, and then charge like $10 for one of their 40 copies of Wii Fit.
The only good place to thrift nowadays is the small local places run by like churches. Goodwill sells shitty acrylic yarn for more than it costs new, wants $20+ for used kitchen appliances, sells current dollar tree shit for $5…
Goodwill fell off. It’s worth noting how the stuff we buy is basically worthless for resale the moment we buy it, since cheap new stuff is outcompeting it. It’s only value is use value.
Good news! Tariffs just made new stuff significantly more expensive so the resale value will be higher now. /s
Watching new vs used prices on things will be intresting
They do employ people who might not be able to get a job elsewhere, so not evil, just halfway shitty.
They pay disabled people 22 cents an hour.
What the fuck? Thanks for making my day even worse I guess. Seriously thank you for the information, they will no longer get my business.
I know it’s a little off topic but eBay is a fucking scam as well… So many used items go for prices very close to brand new. I live in California, which charges VAT for ebay transactions. Add in shipping and I would be paying more than brand new for the vast majority of the inventory.
There are no good deals on ebay unless you spend a lot of time in bidding wars. You still risk getting a damaged item too…
Hey, at least they employ people who might not be able to get a job elsewhere. Goodwill does anyway.
Ive noticed this at chains, but not at my local stores. Goodwill for example, I always see dollar tree items marked as $2+. I know Theyre from dollar tree because theyre still in the damn package.
I found a neat looking board game at the thrift store once. I looked it up on my phone to check reviews, and learned it would be cheaper to buy it new than what they were asking. Usually they have good deals but not that time.
Walmart cut costs to the bone and squeezed down on what thrift stores used to charge.
Thrift stores are a deal compared to Macy’s, JC Penny, and such.
I blame macklemore.
Now playing MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS - Thrift Shop
Agreed.
The only way for a wage earner to bootstrap their way up is to have money when historic opportunities to invest present themselves, like March 2020 and April 2025. If you have a few thousand to invest now, chances are that will turn into a massive profit over time. And even better, hold those securities for longer than a year and you get a preferred, lower tax rate on any profits.
But most people can’t do that. They’re stuck taking out an (air quotes) “interest-free” loan from Klarna to make sure they don’t starve this week. Our politicians are, thankfully, focused on the most important priorities, like drag queen story time. (And that’s sarcasm, btw.)
Please don’t invest right now. You are right that you can make a lot of money if you know what you’re doing, but it’s still a casino. With the people running the US right now, if they ever fully implement the tariffs, the market is going to eat shit. Then you can buy if there’s some glimmer of hope like Republicans losing Congress in 2026. I’m not trying to do US defaultism here, I believe this advice holds worldwide.
I pulled all my money out when Trump got elected, and that was a good choice. If I’d gone all in on options I’d be straight up hood rich, but I can’t gamble everything we have.
If the US collapses, the dollars you saved from pulling your investments is worthless…
That’s true, but so would the investments themselves.
Yes… But if the US doesn’t collapse then you make a lot of money buying the dip.
So either the US survives, and you make a lot of money if you invested, or the US crumbles and your cash or investments are both worth the same amount (zero).
I switched my retirement accounts to cash apprx feb 28, before the tariffs announcement and the market starting crashing. I just moved back into stocks this week. I’m convinced we’ve seen the worst of the tariffs… too many people are in trumps ear telling him he’s a retard. It’s only up from here.
Cluster B personality disorders don’t change their mind when called out, they double down. And interruption of the self constructed false reality makes them reactive.
I hope you’re correct for your benefit and the benefit of people who have retirement funds in the market.
I disagree however. Even if that fucking toddler-brained jackass backs completely off the tariffs (which I don’t think his ego will let him) he will do more heinous shit that will ruin the world economy in other ways. He’s also got several accelerationists in his ear that would love to see another great depression.
In less than 90 days the tariffs are back on, and the insane China ones are currently rolling I believe. Adidas put out a statement today saying the shoes are going to get a lot more expensive. Also, as of today, the oligarch Jeff Bezos is under federal investigation over a rumor that Amazon was going to tell customers what portion of the price of an item was due to tariffs. Just over a rumor. A rumor about a legal action that would be a smart business decision.
I’m keeping my money in the bank, and some in cash hidden in my home. Hopefully FDIC insurance still works.
Strongly agree. We’ve seen nothing yet and I think we’re going to see quarter after quarter of poor earnings and layoffs. Some empty shelves mid to late May. Housing crash at the end of this year or beginning of 2026. Hate to be somewhat doom and gloom but I’m also not going to miss this opportunity to jump back in with liquid. Good luck!
Yeah. We’ll see i suppose. The markets holding back a lot of suppressed upward mobility that we saw when the fake “tariffs are off” tweet happened. One whiff of good news will have us going up again.
In any case, at least I mitigated some of the damage. Can’t win 100% every time.
Just keep in mind the maxim- The market can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent. It’s more of a vibes casino than it ever was before the GME stuff.
Even though I think you could be right, please don’t bet the barn. I don’t want to see you get hurt.
Ill be ok. Been 100% in a vtsax equivalent for 10 years… not retiring any time soon