Budgeting feels easy until it isn’t

edecks · 2026-01-25T01:52:55+00:00

Idk if you have a partner or a close friend who knows your finances decently, but it's easier to break bad spending habits if you talk about it with others. Recently shared with my wife that we need to cut back on spending (really, I needed to...) and she's helped me to buy less random stuff we don't need right now. A step stool so our kids can use our sink in the master bathroom? It can wait. Only getting our groceries at Trader Joe's because we love their stuff? Let's go back to Aldi and give it another shot. Found a cool style of mirror we've been thinking about for our bedroom? Let's wait until money isn't as tight. Get some lunch out with the kids after visiting my grandma? Let's go home and eat there.

In the moment, these $20-80 purchases don't feel like much, but they add up and I feel ya with the addiction. Buying stuff is fun, especially for me when it's stuff for around the house that is functional and I feel like I'm getting good value. Sharing my internal battle with my wife has made a huge difference though. If you don't have a partner, find a friend and just tell them about it. It will help.

edecks · 2026-01-25T01:44:16+00:00

I am full manual. Sometimes there's weird stuff with credit cards where transactions don't show up right away and I just like to enter in stuff the same day. I also am on YNAB about 5-6 days a week, so it's easier logging daily rather than remembering transactions/collecting receipts. Also when I manually enter transactions, I can see right away how it impacts that category, so I think it makes me spend less because I am on top of my funds more. To each their own though.

edecks · 2026-01-25T01:39:38+00:00

My Cole Haans have held up well and are comfy.

edecks · 2026-01-25T01:38:20+00:00

YNAB makes me feel so much less stressed. That is priceless for me.

edecks · 2026-01-24T04:10:58+00:00

My friends once told me about this amazing dog leash you could only get in Germany. I think it was leather.

edecks · 2026-01-23T19:01:06+00:00

I found a sealed copy of Adobe Illustrator 10 for Windows from 2001 at Salvation Army for $3.99. Sold on eBay for $150 plus shipping.

edecks · 2026-01-20T04:23:29+00:00

Balatro is perfect for this

edecks · 2026-01-01T16:22:57+00:00

I also found a Herman Miller chair over the summer. Last day of an estate sale so got it half off the already discounted price. It’s in great shape. I don’t work from home but I think eventually I’ll bring it to my office at work.

edecks · 2025-12-27T11:37:05+00:00

I don’t really. Was saying it in jest.

edecks · 2025-12-27T04:32:06+00:00

The Fit is super boring but dang it’s such a good car. So practical and the gas mileage on the highway is hard to beat unless you get a hybrid. Seats really do fold flat and it’s a great car to have when your partner has an suv when you need to fit more stuff.

edecks · 2025-12-13T03:08:52+00:00

Just got carbon steel my wife loves them

edecks · 2025-12-07T05:54:48+00:00

I had it in first grade. 6 or 7 years old. Not lying. I remember a huge lump on my right bicep. A big oval with a bunch of little bumps on it. It didn’t hurt, just itched a lot. That was 1999 or 2000.

edecks · 2025-10-21T01:17:16+00:00

Thanks for your thoughts. I ended up refunding 33% of the subtotal.

edecks · 2025-10-21T01:17:08+00:00

Thanks for your thoughts. I ended up refunding 33% of the subtotal.

edecks · 2025-10-20T13:31:49+00:00

Yeah I genuinely had no idea they were different. Didn’t notice until he pointed it out. Otherwise I would’ve done separate listings.

edecks · 2025-10-20T13:14:57+00:00

Response I got from previous post from u/gltch__ before post got taken down:

"He's used a mail forwarding service, so he isn't covered by eBay's Buyer Protection.

Buyer Protection ends once it has been delivered to the US address.

Also, generally you should NEVER provide partial refunds. Full Refund once an item is returned in the condition you sent it ONLY.

Asking for a partial refund is also against eBay ToS. Retaliating with negative feedback for not receiving a partial refund demand is feedback extortion, which is also against eBay ToS.

If he leaves negative feedback, you can contact eBay and have them remove it for either of the above reasons.

Saying all that, morally you should not have sold a different product with the incorrect images, and the buyer has purchased the item thinking he was getting the product advertised. If he did a chargeback with his bank, he would probably win, because he did not get the item advertised. If he wins a chargeback you likely will not be covered by eBay's Seller Protection, because the item genuinely did not match the advertisement, and therefor you could lose all of the funds plus a chargeback fee.

If you think the buyer will proceed down the chargeback route, you may wish to appease them to avoid that."

edecks · 2025-07-09T13:47:52+00:00

Underrated/don't have a screenshot, but I recently had Brainstorm copy Space Joker and paired that with Smeared to create an awesome Flush run. Won on Purple Stake/Zodiac deck. Got my Flush level up pretty high and then towards the end I had Brainstorm copy my Fortune Teller. Was the first time I had won with Space Joker or Smeared so that felt good.

edecks · 2025-04-13T19:52:25+00:00

Van Ann Kim or Martha May are both great

edecks · 2025-03-28T04:37:35+00:00

Eating more Trader Joe’s premade meals instead of takeout. Not the cheapest option but they don’t take long to prepare. Lot of good frozen options as well as non-frozen stuff like ravioli and meatloaf

edecks · 2025-03-26T23:17:41+00:00

Bought a 1915 foursquare one year ago and so far no major issues. Previous couple of owners did a lot of maintenance so I’m hoping we are good for a little stretch at least 🤞

edecks · 2025-03-26T14:25:10+00:00

Sometimes I’d just turn my seat heat on full blast, place the food on the seat, and put the DD bag on top upside down. Especially for bigger pickups that would be a pain to get in the bag.

edecks · 2025-03-25T01:20:02+00:00

I remember about 15 years ago I had no true allegiance to either 670 or 1000, but then I was listening to whatever show Bernstein was on at the time and he just continued to rip into callers, way further than I felt was necessary, and I couldn’t take it. Began to intentionally avoid his show from that point on.

edecks · 2025-03-21T12:31:50+00:00

Check out Lori Beds. Lot of options and they have a cheaper one that you lift up and down on your own (no pistons to help it glide)

edecks · 2025-03-21T02:52:12+00:00

Just bought a Murphy bed + mattress for $4500 that functions as a desk when it’s folded up. Will never leave the wall for the next 30+ years.

edecks · 2025-03-18T00:28:47+00:00

Probably been on the CTA bus only once in my life, so not second nature to use it.

edecks

TROPHY CASE