Posted by tim in I hate technology. on February 11, 2009

This post is kinda twofold. The first point is based on the previous car troubles I've mentioned.

I received my federal tax refund last week and decided I would go get a quote for the necessary repair, which turned out to be about what I would have expected to pay for doing it on my own. I had a feeling the actual price would be a bit higher when the work was done, so I went ahead and left the car at the shop last evening. They claimed they would be able to finish the job in about 2 hours, so I told them that was fine. About an hour and a half later, I got a call from the service manager, who informed me of what I had feared to be the case; that more work needed done, which would push the cost up about 250% of what they had previously quoted. Knowing that the guy wasn't just trying to make a sale, I told him to go ahead and take care of the rest of the work. Today, I went to pick up the car and pay my tab, and it turned out to be almost 300% of what I was quoted. When I looked at the invoice, I spotted no inconsistencies, so I just paid the dues. The price I paid was about 75% of my tax refund check, which made me sad, but here's to helping the economy.

Speaking of the pit we're in, today was an amazing day on the stock market. So amazing that I'm going to be one of the people who causes economic turmoil in the coming weeks. That turmoil being any shareholders waiting to break even, then dumping their investments. I don't know that I'll be doing that for everything; In fact, I may re-invest. However, the transportation and finance markets are not where I want my money to hang out. Yeah, I'm the one jerk who bought some FNM and FRE shares when they were on the way down, and I'm waiting for them to rebound to make a (relatively) quick buck. All they need to do is break $10/share.

I remain doubtful, but I really hope this economic stimulus package will cause enough of a jolt to get things back to normal.

  • It's quite possible that I'll be handing over about $1,000 to the US government this year (not including normal paycheck deductions) thanks to immigration filing fees and taxes not drawn from my paycheck.

    This money will be to keep things status quo btw, it's not for any huge or horrific changes.

  • So no "Teddy is an American"?

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