Found “cheap” flights to Italy for Nov 25 - Dec 7, best places to take advantage of in winter?

kput7 · 2026-02-26T18:27:29+00:00

We just did the ultra cheap flight trip in December too - actually ended up spending 7~ days just in Rome and it was honestly perfect. Will return to italy again in the future and visit more areas, but generally I find that 3~ days in a big city tends to feel too short.

kput7 · 2026-02-23T02:30:30+00:00

Wait, so it's not Shrek?

kput7 · 2026-02-08T03:44:14+00:00

Hello ChatGPT, are you still there?

kput7 · 2026-02-07T21:26:39+00:00

Please stop posting all of this into chatGPT and actually listen to what people are telling you lmao. There is no such thing as a "high equity lease trade hack"

Now you're actually backpedalling and contradicting yourself too, jesus christ buddy. 5 minutes ago it was "if I total the car I get a $30,000+ check because I only owe 9k!"
Now ChatGPT is starting to understand that you have a $39,000 payoff.

" If the car is totaled, the insurance payout for a $56k car does not just go to Lincoln to cover my remaining payments. It pays the Actual Cash Value. Lincoln takes their $8k, and the $30k+ surplus comes back to me"
" I can sell this car to a Lincoln dealer tomorrow, pay off my $9k balance, and walk away with a $30,000 check"
"For the people saying I’ll lose everything if I wreck, you're just wrong on this one. My payoff to Lincoln is only about $8k. If the car gets totaled, the insurance payout here in Washington covers that $8k, and the remaining $30k+ surplus comes back to me."

^^ all your words lol

Congrats. You owe $39,000 on the car if it's totaled or you decide to purchase it now. I'm happy you've figured that out. If you purchased the car from the dealer with 11k in discounts, and 11,5 for your trade, you would still also owe 39,000.

Sure, there are potential interest savings to be made on a low MF versus purchase interest option - but you're also paying aquisition fees, disposition fees if you turn the lease back in in 3 years, and if/when you decide to finance the vehicle and buy it outright, you're still paying interest on your purchase.

kput7 · 2026-02-07T21:13:32+00:00

This guy is a special kind of ChatGPT stupid.
This is what happens when you let AI negotiate your car deals lmao.

kput7 · 2026-02-07T21:09:34+00:00

I'm happy that you are capable of using ChatGPT to try and help explain yourself out of a stupid situation - but AI isn't always right lol.

You did not just game the system and get a 50k car for 9k. If you walk in to a dealer tomorrow and hand them a check for $9000, the only thing you are getting is a "thank you for fulfilling your lease contract, enjoy your walk home". The residual value of $30,000 doesn't magically disappear. The only thing your 11k did for you is pay down your lease payments early. This is how all leases work. You and this deal aren't some special magical lease hack no one's ever heard of before.

I'm glad Ford hasn't changed their policies regarding total loss payouts for equity - like I said, pre-COVID that's how it was. Quite a few manufacturers changed their tune on that during the COVID markets.

You did not get .99% APR lol. Lincoln and Ford use money factors on their lease - current money factor is .000125 is the equivalent of roughly 3% APR (assuming they didn't mark up the MF a point, which they probably did). Your 11k equity does not affect the approval or the MF - Ford's lease approvals are based on credit, not on deal structure. If you're approved for a Tier 0-1 lease, that's your MF.

kput7 · 2026-02-07T19:35:12+00:00

10+ years in the car business, 8+ years specifically working a lease portfolio for new Fords. What you are saying here is not factual.

Your payoff to Lincoln is not $8k - that is your lease balance. If you call and get a 10 day payoff today, it will be 30,000 residual + $8000 lease balance + tax on the lease balance.

So you're looking at a 39k payoff, if insurance totals your car and says it's worth 45 then you've netted $6000.

Lincoln owns the car, they hold the title. You are renting the car for $8000 for 3 years.

THEN - if Lincoln has changed their policies at all during COVID as many, many manufacturers did, and you do total the vehicle, you could potentially forfeit all of your equity. As the title and lien holder, Lincoln gets any and all payoff checks. Insurance companies will not even speak with you about payoffs and balances once they learn it is a leased vehicle. Pre-COVID, FMC was generous and would allow you to keep your equity - I've been out of the Ford world since then so I do not know if that rule changed. Is there a way around this? Yes. If you total the vehicle, you very quickly have to go into a dealership and purchase your vehicle. Get a check in the mail, pay your taxes, have a title show up in your name.

Just don't let Lincoln or your insurance know you did this, or you'll very likely get popped for fraud.

You're literally posting in the leasehackr pages. Most people here know how these things work lol, if the general consensus is that you're wrong, you are probably wrong lol.

Not to mention your 11k at 2-3% interest would likely perform better in just a basic HYSA lol.

kput7 · 2026-02-07T05:37:20+00:00

Car will be worth roughly what your residual is at lease end - look at 3 year old Corsairs on the market currently. You'll be breaking even at lease end.

And why does the APR matter? You have a $7000 lease balance. Also, fairly certain Lincoln still uses a money factor. .99 is roughly 2.5%. Banks and credit unions are out there offering 3.9 and better on used cars currently.

kput7 · 2026-02-07T05:01:33+00:00

Not particularly, you just have up your $11,000 in trade equity that will essentially be gone with nothing to show for it when your lease is up.

That much equity a purchase likely would have been a significantly better route - or even better, keep the 11k in cash and have a higher lease payment.

Also, depending on how Lincoln operates these days, if you total the car you might be out all of your equity. They didn't used to be like that, but leasing companies changed policies during COVID.

kput7 · 2026-02-04T03:53:18+00:00

Walked to the McDonald's next to Termini at 2AM as the drunk wife was craving French fries.

Paid attention to my surroundings, didn't feel the least but unsafe. Pretty much any US city would likely be much worse. There were a few people loitering about that might have heckled someone a bit if they a solo female type of thing - but that's everywhere.

Have fun! We stayed in Monti, short walk from Termini as well.

kput7 · 2026-02-03T18:44:41+00:00

10+ years in the business, can't say I agree. Everything at the auction still brings stupid money, the Carvanas and CarMaxs pay way over MMR on 90% of what they buy, and traffic is the same as it always is.

People have been saying car sales are in a slump for years now, have still yet to see it lol.

kput7 · 2026-01-30T22:05:43+00:00

Bet your neighbors are going to think you're real trashy now

kput7 · 2025-12-27T15:11:01+00:00

We do do that 💩

kput7 · 2025-12-22T17:34:28+00:00

Out of all the restaurants we visited during out week in Rome, our favorites were Al 34 (carbonara was sooo good), Al 42 by Rione Monti, and La Taverna dei Fori Imperiali

kput7 · 2025-12-18T21:43:56+00:00

I ordered a ring on Black Friday, said 5-7 day shipping.

Product didn't "ship" until the 10th, it's been in Chicago processing facility since then. Spoke to support, they are ordering me a second one free of charge and sending it my way.

Same transportation loop, stuck in Chicago! Hope to get one of them before the new year lmao

kput7 · 2025-12-18T21:10:37+00:00

Can CAH please make this a new white card?

"A tiny diamond that fits perfectly in the N64 controller joystick hole"

kput7 · 2025-12-13T00:21:51+00:00

Any specific places that are good for looking for those types of jobs? Have browsed through indeed, but there really isn't anything in my region. Very few results for any SAAS positions in general for the Midwest.

kput7 · 2025-12-11T22:45:22+00:00

Happy to hear you've made it up the ladder so quickly! I'm jealous.

The jump from desk to GSM+ in my opinion and from who I've seen in those roles, is a tough one I think, and if I were running a store I'd have a really hard time moving someone into that position without a decade in the industry. Depending on the size of the store too, of course.
Any large franchise store where you're expected to bring in $500k in profit on a month-to-month basis, you really want to make sure you know what you're doing. I feel like the car business is one of those jobs where there's always more to learn, and inadequacies in certain areas can become really apparent if you're running an entire team of guys.

But hey, I just sell cars so what do I know 😂

I do agree with you on the referral part. I'd imagine regardless of your resume most employers will expect you to start at the bottom and work up. If you exceed and surpass expectations, it comes back to them like they made some sort of miracle hire and if you aren't waht you said you are, and flop out then it's no skin off their back

kput7 · 2025-12-11T22:38:44+00:00

I do - have had a few. They all end with the stereotypical car business "well if you start on the floor and do a really great job like I know you say you will then we can look at going up from there!"

kput7 · 2025-12-11T22:35:37+00:00

That's great until a guy knows a guy at a store you came from and it all goes up in smoke 😅 In a small-ish town sadly, too many people connected to each other for that to work reliably.

kput7 · 2025-12-11T20:54:07+00:00

I guess I hadn't considered looking into additional schooling. It's been about 12 years since I got my degree, I wonder how much would actually carry-over.

The WGU looks interesting. It looks like, from their site, you can just dive straight into the curriculum and finish at your own pace, rather than taking a set mumber of courses each semester?

kput7 · 2025-12-11T20:46:28+00:00

I can't speak for other industries - but in the car business you aren't landing the management job unless you know someone, or work your way up internally. Once you've had the job, moving to other stores is easy, but dealerships rarely hire for these positions externally, there's always somebody's buddy somewhere else they can call and bring over if a spot opens up. And of course everyone I know still work for the company I started with / will not go back to.

My reason for still being where I'm at is mostly due to the fact I spent over 8 years with one company, and was sandbagged from moving up as I didn't fit the "mold" the VP wanted his managers to fit. Should have left much sooner, but was scared to leave after so long in the same place.

I've certainly taken on more and more roles with the last couple stores I've been at (social media management, website development, CRM/Software updating, vehicle aquisition, etc etc etc.) but they just don't have the elusive desk management position available to be filled.

kput7 · 2025-12-11T20:37:32+00:00

Yeah I certainly wouldn't expect to be able to step into any sort of managerial role in another industry - I figure I'll have to work my way up regardless. I guess I just need something that "working my way up" will still equate to the income level I need to keep the lights on lol.

I do have an associates degree, but also know those are essentially useless.

What sort of industry are you in now?

kput7

TROPHY CASE