[Newfie]

A place for the things that drive you nuts!

12oz can of Diet Coke
Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic = 70¢
Mainland USA = $1.50
Guadeloupe = 3.50.- 4.50 €

[Tanada]

A place for the things that drive you nuts!

12oz can of Diet Coke
Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic = 70¢
Mainland USA = $1.50
Guadeloupe = 3.50.- 4.50 €

Sugar really is very bad for you, despite the advertising campaign Coca-Cola and other major users do in the USA. However I suspect the price difference is far more tax driven than elsewise. Especially considering that Guadeloupe has been a sugar exporting island since the 1500's.

[Outcast_Searcher]

A place for the things that drive you nuts!

12oz can of Diet Coke
Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic = 70¢
Mainland USA = $1.50
Guadeloupe = 3.50.- 4.50 €

Bought how?

In the USA, by the 12 pack at a grocery store or Walmart, it looks more like 40 cents a can to me. I quit drinking soda 5 years or so ago, but I could usually find bargains for more like a quarter a can if I made the effort.

If you're talking from expensive vending machines -- don't let it drive you crazy, just shop more thoughtfully.

Since it's diet coke, sin taxes for sugar shouldn't be the issue.

[Newfie]

Bought over the counter, one at a time, in a store. I did get a Coke today for 2.50 euros. But 1.5 liters is 3€.

I invite others to add mundane things that aggregate or confuse.

[Outcast_Searcher]

Bought over the counter, one at a time, in a store. I did get a Coke today for 2.50 euros. But 1.5 liters is 3€.

I invite others to add mundane things that aggregate or confuse.

That large vs. small size with a small differential is something that I noticed in the states for years. I could often get an (unchilled) two liter bottle of soda X for about the same as a single chilled can or 16 oz bottle of X.

Now, if you're out somewhere well away from convenient chilled beverages and want a cold pop from a machine, that's one thing. But why that's necessary as one is leaving the store (as they're often placed, re impulse items for big profit margins) is beyond me in 99% of the cases.

The cost of such single small chilled bottles kind of sets my teeth on edge, but of course, people are paying for the convenience. And by my observation LOTS of "poor" people paid for that convenience (i.e. the ones liberals are constantly trying to get more social program money for, as they "can't afford to get by.")

I honestly think that some real help in simple budgeting and household financial planning would help more "poor" people (who really need/want help) with their plight than throwing more money at the same very-often-bad habits and huge lack of discipline.

[Outcast_Searcher]

For me, just having completed the 2017 tax season -- its the complexity of the income taxes in the US, that currently comes to mind.

I'm a reasonably intelligent guy, but I don't feel

a). Comfortable, given the way the laws change
b). Willing to do all the work and worry about all the details

to do my own income taxes.

So I have to pay someone to do it and STILL end up having to mess with things like badly flawed brokerage 1099's when a bank buys a discount brokerage, as happened to me this year.
Or discovering about $35,000 in legit investment expenses for the 2014-2017 tax season I'd missed, due to a question my preparer asked, and some investigation I did. There is no apparent standard in the way 1099-B's are prepared, and some brokerages completely leave entire categories of information off their forms that others supply.

So that was a nice surprise/help for 2017, but now this summer we "get" to file amended returns for 2014-2016 (only allowed to go back three years) to try and get the 35% or so between state and federal on that money back.

I made the needed spreadsheets in a couple of hours. But I, of course, have to pay the preparer to file those amended returns (properly) to get that money back.

There are other ways to do this. The IRS GETS all the 1099's etc and could do the calculations properly themselves. In that case, they might even support a reasonable STANDARD for such 1099's.

Simple one page returns and no returns required systems come to mind as examples.

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/ar ... rn/475899/

http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing ... tax-filing

But no, we have a system screwed up in a way that reminds me of our medical system, as far as difficulty in paying. "American exceptionalism" at its worst.

[Newfie]

Yeah, that’s the idea. There are so many times in our life we look at something and go. “WTF “

My Wife does the tax prep forms. Because of her business and some international investments she inherited and our rental property our taxes were a mess. She spends weeks just answering the mamouth prep forms. But the tax a countan office can’t figure out how to send her an editable PDF. Hopefully this will slow down this coming year.

Braille on drive through ATMs also come to mind.

Springer TV show is another.

[careinke]

On many occasions I have noted that "half" orders are cheaper than "whole" orders. For instance, six Tacos for $7 vs a dozen tacos for $15, or a 20oz coffee costing more per ounce than a 12oz coffee.

When I bring this up to the server, I get a blank stare. Once I had the manager come out to "Explain" it to me. It was pretty funny when he finally figured out what I was telling him.

Always do the math before ordering.

[jedrider]

A place for the things that drive you nuts!

12oz can of Diet Coke
Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic = 70¢
Mainland USA = $1.50
Guadeloupe = 3.50.- 4.50 €

Eight years ago when I visited Rome, Italy, it was about 5 US dollars.

If you want to see Rome, you don't complain.

I wonder where the locals do their shopping.

[MD]

A place for the things that drive you nuts!

12oz can of Diet Coke
Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic = 70¢
Mainland USA = $1.50
Guadeloupe = 3.50.- 4.50 €

Eight years ago when I visited Rome, Italy, it was about 5 US dollars.

If you want to see Rome, you don't complain.

I wonder where the locals do their shopping.

like all locals in tourist areas, they have their "quiet networks". I live a short drive from Orlando, and I live cheap. It's all about who you know. The tourists come in and spend their thousand dollars a day and leave thinking they've had the experience of a lifetime. lol.

[Tanada]

On many occasions I have noted that "half" orders are cheaper than "whole" orders. For instance, six Tacos for $7 vs a dozen tacos for $15, or a 20oz coffee costing more per ounce than a 12oz coffee.

When I bring this up to the server, I get a blank stare. Once I had the manager come out to "Explain" it to me. It was pretty funny when he finally figured out what I was telling him.

Always do the math before ordering.

The crazy thing is for some things this is the exact opposite. In my local IGA for example a quart of milk is $1.89 while a half gallon is $3.12 and a full gallon $4.09 (more or less, I didn't check today's prices). If you are going on a picnic or know you will be leaving for vacation in a couple days and don't think you will consume a gallon you still come out way ahead buying a full gallon and just dumping what you didn't consume if taking it home is inconvenient or if it is spoiled when you get back from vacation.

I can understand the cost of bottling a small container is about the same as a large container because it is all machine bottled, but why would it cost you almost double to buy four single quarts or two half gallons? Even worse the federal and state food assistance programs like WIC (Woman, Infants and Children) require the funds be spent in half gallon increments which I learned when I was a fostering an infant. WIC required us to buy three half gallons a week to get the free milk rather than buying two full gallons for a lower price. These kinds of bureaucratic rules are insane and wasteful, but there is not a thing the average person can do about it.

[Cog]

Things that drive me nuts? The logic of women.

[Outcast_Searcher]

On many occasions I have noted that "half" orders are cheaper than "whole" orders. For instance, six Tacos for $7 vs a dozen tacos for $15, or a 20oz coffee costing more per ounce than a 12oz coffee.

When I bring this up to the server, I get a blank stare. Once I had the manager come out to "Explain" it to me. It was pretty funny when he finally figured out what I was telling him.

Always do the math before ordering.

That's a great one. And it's not just ordering at a fast food place, etc.

I see this on occasion in stores, like grocery or general retail. Even when there is no obvious sale going on. It's generally worth doing the math, period when buying things, or paying attention (to catch them when they screw up or just lie to you (price from the register doesn't include the big discount on the sale tag was a common favorite at K-Mart). For me, it's a lifelong habit, which over time, has saved me quite a bit of money.

And yeah, you gotta love store managers who can't grasp the concepts of arithmetic and prices and how they're normally related for things like package sizes.

[Outcast_Searcher]

Things that drive me nuts? The logic of women.

Emotion and logic don't mix. And when they're mad, the more you try to be logical and unemotional, the madder they get (in my experience).

And THEN, they get even madder when you walk or drive away until they cool off awhile.

[Newfie]

It seems HR departments are banning knives on some ships.

Because someone might cut them self. As a person who generally carries 3 at a time I find this ridiculous.

http://gcaptain.com/an-alarming-number- ... stop-them/

[charmcitysking]

Getting your drivers license in the Republic of Ireland.

1 - You need a Public Service Identity Card in order to take the Learner's permit test. Doesn't matter if you have a Passport - you need this specific card to take the learner's test. This cost €30. You need to make an appointment at a social services building, they take your name, address, email, mobile phone number, job, mother's maiden name, what you had for breakfast that morning, etc. Then they POST you the card within 7 working days.

2 - You book an appointment (about a month in advance) to take the learner's test. This cost €40. 40 Question MCQ test, you need to get 36/40. If you pass, hurray. But you still don't get your learner's permit yet.

3 - Book another appointment at another location to actually go and collect your learner's permit. This cost €50. I'm not lying - you've now paid 30 bucks for a 'Public Service Identity Card', 40 bucks to take a test, and now 50 bucks to make another appointment to collect your learner's permit. But you don't actually collect it. You prove you passed the test and they POST IT OUT TO YOU within 7 business days. You've now paid €120 over two months and you still don't have your learners permit.

4 - You get your learners permit in the mail. You now have to take TWELVE, yes TWELVE (1-2) driving lessons with a driving school. These cost €40 a pop. But hey - it's your lucky day. If you pay a lump sum of €400 up front, you can save 40 bucks on the total cost. You've now paid €520 - €560 over 4-6 months and you still don't even have your license yet.

5 - You're finished your lessons. Now it's time to take the test. This cost €85. You pass the test. Hurray. You finally have your lic- OH WAIT, you have to make another appointment at the place where you collected your learner's permit, to collect your full licence.

6 - Another appointment, ANOTHER €50 JUST TO COLLECT YOUR LICENCE. You can sense a theme here. What a racket. But hey, at least now, finally, your have your lic- OH WAIT, NO, THEY POST IT TO YOU WITHIN 7 WORKING DAYS.

7 - Finally, you have your license. Now you have to pay vehicle tax, insurance, NCT tests once a year, ridiculously high European petrol costs. What a nightmare.

I grew up in Maryland. Got my permit on a 20 question MCQ when I was 15 yrs and 9 months. Took Drivers ED, 3 lessons with an instructor, logged some vehicle time in my book, took my test at the MVA and got my license when I was 16 and 1 month. Easy peasy Japaneesy. Whole ordeal cost me less than $100.

Moral of the story? God bless the USA.

[Tanada]

Getting your drivers license in the Republic of Ireland.

1 - You need a Public Service Identity Card in order to take the Learner's permit test. Doesn't matter if you have a Passport - you need this specific card to take the learner's test. This cost €30. You need to make an appointment at a social services building, they take your name, address, email, mobile phone number, job, mother's maiden name, what you had for breakfast that morning, etc. Then they POST you the card within 7 working days.

2 - You book an appointment (about a month in advance) to take the learner's test. This cost €40. 40 Question MCQ test, you need to get 36/40. If you pass, hurray. But you still don't get your learner's permit yet.

3 - Book another appointment at another location to actually go and collect your learner's permit. This cost €50. I'm not lying - you've now paid 30 bucks for a 'Public Service Identity Card', 40 bucks to take a test, and now 50 bucks to make another appointment to collect your learner's permit. But you don't actually collect it. You prove you passed the test and they POST IT OUT TO YOU within 7 business days. You've now paid €120 over two months and you still don't have your learners permit.

4 - You get your learners permit in the mail. You now have to take TWELVE, yes TWELVE (1-2) driving lessons with a driving school. These cost €40 a pop. But hey - it's your lucky day. If you pay a lump sum of €400 up front, you can save 40 bucks on the total cost. You've now paid €520 - €560 over 4-6 months and you still don't even have your license yet.

5 - You're finished your lessons. Now it's time to take the test. This cost €85. You pass the test. Hurray. You finally have your lic- OH WAIT, you have to make another appointment at the place where you collected your learner's permit, to collect your full licence.

6 - Another appointment, ANOTHER €50 JUST TO COLLECT YOUR LICENCE. You can sense a theme here. What a racket. But hey, at least now, finally, your have your lic- OH WAIT, NO, THEY POST IT TO YOU WITHIN 7 WORKING DAYS.

7 - Finally, you have your license. Now you have to pay vehicle tax, insurance, NCT tests once a year, ridiculously high European petrol costs. What a nightmare.

I grew up in Maryland. Got my permit on a 20 question MCQ when I was 15 yrs and 9 months. Took Drivers ED, 3 lessons with an instructor, logged some vehicle time in my book, took my test at the MVA and got my license when I was 16 and 1 month. Easy peasy Japaneesy. Whole ordeal cost me less than $100.

Moral of the story? God bless the USA.

I grew up in Michigan back way back when and Drivers training was an extracurricular summer activity like summer sports. You paid a fee, no idea what it was lo those many years ago, and spent 6-8 hours in a car driving with a teacher next to you and two other students in the back seat. You also had 20 hours of 'classroom' study with a text book and safety films and tests. I enrolled three months after my 15th birthday and spent a not unpleasant summer of 8 Saturdays in class and driving with two of my older buddies from High School. I got my learners permit the day I passed my final test in the class, a paper business card type document, and then had to wait 6 months until I turned 16. Then I walked into the nearest Secretary of State office, turned in my learners permit, took the 50 question test where I had to get 35 correct (I got 49 the test is mostly a joke), got my picture taken, paid $7.50 and they mailed me my first license. As an adult I moved back to Ohio and had to renew my license with a test for this state but all told it cost me about $50.00 for the whole deal eight years ago and last birthday I had to renew. That cost me $25.00, they took a new picture asked me to be seated and 5 minutes later handed me my new license with updated information and picture.

Sounds like the Irish bureaucracy is a but overblown and bloated (snicker) but I know from life experience not all states are as easy as Michigan and Ohio, though I have not heard of any as cumbersome as what you experienced in Ireland.

[Newfie]

In N.J. drivers ed was provided in high school. I can’t recall the specifics but it was stone stupid simple.

I’m all for making the drivers license test much harder,actually requiring you to have some skill and basic knowledge. Ditto owning a firearm.

I suspect that if we treated driving with the same regard as operating a fork lift in Home Depot a lot of folks would be off the street and others would up their game.

[ROCKMAN]

charm - You think that's bad listen to this. In Texas it costs $40 to get a concealed carry license that allows you to be prepared to use lethal force against a fellow human being wherever you happen to be. Just takes 48 hours and good for 5 years. But you do have to pass a training course to apply for that permit. I just found one that costs $39. If it's like the one I took as long as you don't shoot yourself or someone else during the 4 hour "training" you get your certificate.

There you go: for just $79 and 4 hours of your time you can become a walking "lethal weapon" 24/7. Which explains my earlier comment that I'm as afraid of permit carriers as I am the bad guys. Or drunken FBI "special" agents dancing in a bar. LOL