Listening Room

@immatthewj 8% is not a great rate, and no you did not do good, unless that was in the low range of rates available at the time. ( but hey, at least you bought a house). I was busy having fun As a younger man during that time, so what do I know. I certainly hope you refinanced, as rates plummeted to 2.3 and 2.5% at one point. Unless of course you paid it off. As far as not living in same world, I’ve sold on ebay for well over 20 years, and have never seen it this bad. Crap load of watchers and interested buyers, but hardly any sales. Once in a Blue moon someone will buy. I have well over 2k 100% positive feedback and I’m selling some popular audio things at pretty well discounted prices, not crap. People just want your stuff for practically nothing nowadays. Even tried selling things here. Had luck selling here years ago. The economy sucks. Wish I was in your utopia.

After becoming empty nesters, I coverted a 20' x 30' space to a listening room. Built up rig and room for listening. Sound absorbtion, diffusers, lighting accents, big recliner stayed at apex of speaker triangle. Wife and I shared the listening sweet spot.

Last kid that left came back with hubby and 2 kids a year ago so bye bye listening room. 

All due respect, he served our country 4 years, but back to square one for them.

Wife did offer living room for rig, but its a big echoy room. Alot of challanges if I get the time. 

Headphones a no go for me. Wife and I share the music moment.

@immatthewj

You must not be living in the same world I am, @audioguy85 .

I fear this will spiral into a political vortex quickly.

I have never see spending at this level, stores are full. restaurants are full, flights are full, and every 2 weeks there is a new Tesla on my street. At this rate, there will be nothing but Teslas soon.

@audioguy85

People just want your stuff for practically nothing nowadays.

I don’t have any experience as a seller, but I am thinking that must be nothing new.

Even tried selling things here. Had luck selling here years ago. The economy sucks.

From the posts I see here on this site on a regular basis, people are buying some pretty nice stuff frequently.

Wish I was in your utopia.

I don’t know about a utopia, but rates have been higher than they are now. All of my vehicles are over twenty years old, but that’s by choice, and every time I go to the grocery store (or just about everywhere) all I see are new cars on the road and in parking lots. I don’t have a dime in the stock market, but obviously there are a lot of people who do as the DJ is apparently touching 40k and the S&P is kicking tail. 401ks should be rocking and rolling. A house across the street from me sold a couple of years ago, and the buyer had a ton of work done (including an addition and a truly industrial size garage) and it’s not my business so I didn’t ask, but I can only assume that the ton of work cost a ton of money. My neighbor directly next door to me died in ’21 and in ’22 her son sold her house (and I do know what it went for, and I was surprised it went that high) and the buyer basically gutted it out and remodeled. He did a lot of the work himself, but still he had to buy materials and he did have an electrician over for many days. Personally, I thought the house was fine the way it was, and I wouldn’t have spent my money that way, but each to his or her own.

But I wouldn’t call any of the above "utopia," it just is what it is.

And on an edit: across the street next to the house that just got the garage and addition are an older retired gentleman and his daughter who is a teacher. I got to know them as they needed help with their dog starting last fall, and they both lease (I think) Nissans, and both of them had their lease run out at the same time early last spring and now they are both leasing brand new ones. (I am going over at 7pm to give them a quick hand with the dog, and I’ll double check what kind of his and her cars that they are.)

Back in ’05 I got laid off from being an airline mechanic, and I misread the future so I retrained as a RN, but I keep in touch with a buddy of mine, and recently they have a great contract going. If I would have seen that contract ever coming, I’d still be there.

. . . too late to get another edit in, but they are both Nissan Sentras. And I assume 2024s.

they both lease (I think) Nissans, and both of them had their lease run out at the same time early last spring and now they are both leasing brand new ones. (I am going over at 7pm to give them a quick hand with the dog, and I’ll double check what kind of his and her cars that they are.)

And thinking about it, once again adding on an edit, another across the street neighbor got into construction after he was laid off post 9/11 and he is always working. Which means to me that there must be a lot of builders who are building, and therefore I assume people must be buying. He rents, but that’s by choice best as I can tell, and he is driving a quite new F-250, so I can only assume that life, although it may not be a utopia, is going okay in his world.