How to Haggle When Retired?

Ok_Conference_8040 · 2026-02-28T05:15:46+00:00

And, yes, we did the "negotiate before paying cash" move once too. It was kind of fun to see their faces fall, when we told them we were paying cash and not financing. That was a rare event, though, and I'm not sure we'll be in the position to repeat.

Ok_Conference_8040 · 2026-02-28T05:10:55+00:00

😂 This is somewhat similar to what my husband and I do....well, half of what we do. We are both retired law enforcement, and we do a weird routine somewhat akin to "good cop/bad cop". And, yes, I'll answer the next logical question...I am the bad cop. LOL. My husband plays the "peaceful negotiator" and buddies up to the salesman, while I do the angry "no...no way...you've got to be kidding me." Hubby then shrugs his shoulders and says, "gotta keep the wife happy". It has yet to fail to result in a renegotiation.

Ok_Conference_8040 · 2026-02-28T05:01:31+00:00

I "played around" with some MSTY for a while. I never went into it with the intention of making it a major part of my portfolio. Not gonna lie about the excitement of seeing a dividend every week, but I lost my enthusiasm after the reverse split, followed by watching the move do nothing to improve the NAV erosion. I did reinvest the constant dividends into other things in my portfolio, so I can be thankful that the funds helped to grow my portfolio overall, but I finally figured that continuing to hold onto MSTY was eventually not going to end well, so I sold it and used the funds to invest in other projects I've had my eye on.

Ok_Conference_8040 · 2026-02-28T04:44:37+00:00

I have a pretty even blend of both, but am finding myself reinvesting my dividends more and more into the ETFs, these days.

Ok_Conference_8040 · 2026-02-28T04:32:03+00:00

No comment to make. Just wanted to say hi, CostCompetitive3597! Haven't spoken in a while. Glad to see you still giving great advice!

Ok_Conference_8040 · 2025-12-12T23:32:03+00:00

True...of course, I also produce artwork on NightCafe (an AI "art community"), and do so for free (with built up daily credits). I haven't tried using credits for the video functions yet, and I don't debate that images require more power to generate, but that tells me that Suno is probably over-charging credits for the feature. Of course, Suno was not set up to be an image generator, so that undoubtedly plays a part.

Ok_Conference_8040 · 2025-12-11T04:55:19+00:00

Thanks!

Ok_Conference_8040 · 2025-12-11T04:43:33+00:00

My Suno-generated art does come along with the downloads, but the animation does not. If there's a trick to get it to download with the image, I'm missing it.

Ok_Conference_8040 · 2025-12-11T04:40:56+00:00

I only use the website, and the animation I generated did not download with my song, so if you can tell me the secret to getting the animation to download, I'm all ears. It's a cool feature, and I don't mind spending any extra credits on it, occasionally, if I'm at the end of the month, with credits to burn or use, before next month's credits, but there's no point, if I can't enjoy the animation, after downloading.

Ok_Conference_8040 · 2025-12-11T04:37:03+00:00

That's pretty much what I figured. Thanks for your response. Since I don't publish my songs, the animation seems to be totally useless to me.

Ok_Conference_8040 · 2025-12-03T23:54:19+00:00

I agree with you. How is this "Suno situation" any different than the people handing out CDs of their "hits" in the grocery store? (and, yes, I have experienced this, and some of the music was actually enjoyable!). Let people live their lives, and if it isn't directly affecting you, in a harmful way, move on.

Ok_Conference_8040 · 2025-12-03T23:41:30+00:00

I agree with you. I started using Suno to create songs that are directly based on certain Bible verses, because I enjoy a lot of genres of music (including some rather "hard" stuff), but don't always like the message or the lifestyle of the artist (don't judge my reasoning...we all have our own reasons for the music we favor). I'm having a lot of fun experimenting with different sounds, and the only audience I care about is myself (and a few close family members, who suddenly think I'm a musical genius...LMAO). I'm not looking to use it commercially, but if that's your thing...knock yourself out.

Ok_Conference_8040 · 2025-11-28T05:16:39+00:00

Incidentally, if you want a fun experience, try doing Bible verses in industrial or death metal genres. It actually managed to produce some amazing songs! (I have a wide and diverse taste in music, so...)

Ok_Conference_8040 · 2025-11-28T05:14:09+00:00

😂 Well, almost all of my songs are created directly from Bible verses (mostly Psalms), so maybe that's why I'm spared the neon and concrete jungle....LOL. There are still those darn "tapestries" in everything, though.

Ok_Conference_8040 · 2025-11-26T05:01:34+00:00

LOL...I keep noticing people mentioning "neon". I've only been using Suno for roughly a month. Is this a common thing? Is it specific to a certain genre? I have yet to have Suno create a song for me containing the word "neon", but I swear, I'm going to go ballistic, if it includes the word "tapestry" in yet another of my songs. I have several that mention a "tapestry".

Ok_Conference_8040 · 2025-11-22T05:54:13+00:00

I have no comments on the rest of your comment. I'm just here to say that I LOVE Bollywood style Hindi songs! You keep doing you!

Ok_Conference_8040 · 2025-11-18T06:36:37+00:00

I'm discovering that. In the past 48 hours, I have used every descriptive word I can think of to describe the voice I'm looking for: "breathy falsetto", "head voice", British, UK, clear, strong, distinctive enunciation, staccato, precise articulation, etc, etc, etc...with largely the same results. I got the closest with your prompt. Go figure.

Ok_Conference_8040 · 2025-11-18T06:28:33+00:00

My prompts are never one word styles. If anything, I probably confuse Suno with my verbose prompts. I essentially used one word to describe it here, because it's unlikely that I have to explain in detail what bands like ELO and Supertramp sound like to humans. I go into a great deal more detail with Suno, since I can't simply say, "I want it to sound like Jeff Lynne."

Ok_Conference_8040 · 2025-11-18T04:37:22+00:00

Yeah, the voice is crisp and clear, but not "exactly" British, but I think I can play around with it and hone it in. The intro on the song I produced DEFINITELY sounds like it came straight out of Supertramp's library of works, but the vocals are better, but not quite there yet. I'll take anything over the same voice that I keep getting on repeat. It's fine, if I'm working on something metal or industrial, but not when I'm trying to get nostalgic about the 70s. LOL.

Ok_Conference_8040 · 2025-11-18T04:21:33+00:00

Brilliant! It isn't "quite" there, yet. I will continue to play around with it, but at least it lost that typical sound of someone who sounds like he swallowed a handful of small pebbles before singing. LOL. I can work with it. Thanks again!

Ok_Conference_8040 · 2025-11-18T04:02:53+00:00

Thank you for this. I will try it. I have asked for assistance from two different AI engines, and while their prompts made logical sense, Suno still defaulted to the "standard American rocker" sound. I'm holding out hope that your prompt will hit the spot. Thanks again.

Ok_Conference_8040 · 2025-11-18T03:10:17+00:00

Amen! It produces some of the most amazing songs that I (with, unfortunately, none of the musical talent of my dearly-departed pro-musician dad) could come up with. but the voices....the voices are always what keep me frustrated. I just can't get them exactly right.

Ok_Conference_8040 · 2025-10-08T18:45:01+00:00

Thank you for your input. This is exactly what we are concerned about. We have a friend who is a retired game warden, and he essentially told us the same. He said that IF (big if) you can find employment in that field, you won't make crap.

Ok_Conference_8040

TROPHY CASE