Grrl Power #1336 - Budget anxiety

Sounds like someone using their breasts to play with a coin. O_o

Kazzellin

Eh, that's fairly normal. Well, not the basketball court part, but otherwise, yeah. If I qualify someone for new carpet and they're replacing their carpet only because they're moving and their relator said to replace it, I tend to steer them towards something neutral-toned (beige or gray) in the low-end for pricing ($2-3/square foot) range, since there's a 50/50 chance the new homeowner will just take it out right away, if they can. Why pay $4-11/sf and wait two weeks for a pale green, high-warranty carpet when there's a good chance the new homeowner won't like it and just takes it out anyway? *shrug*

Kazzellin

It is also possible part of the spot the mind control victim training mentioned was to avoid prying about the suspected mind controller when possible, especially when they are around. "Isabella" is definitely on ARCs watch list now and will have her entire history dug up within a couple days for evidence. Depending on how well Sciona covered things up after taking over, plus the unlikelihood of her survival making her a low consideration, she will likely be confronted for her bodies original identity with confusion on her current motives.

Jared Kolbly

You need a certain amount of shameless greed to act filthy rich. Sydney isn't even close.

eddi_TBH

Consider this a deep breath before the plunge. Dave's probably thumbnailing action scenes as we type.

eddi_TBH

Those come out of China. No royalty issues.

eddi_TBH

The dress is too Barbie and not enough Leander. And should be an Arc-SWAT outfit anyway.

eddi_TBH

A deer stalker is a type of hunting hat, that's what it's designed for, Sherlock Holmes just wears it sideways with the ear warmer flaps propped up to act as brims instead of having them down (since that would cover his face) or all the way up.

Jacob Bissey

I don't have a boat. But my understanding is that a boat that you can live on costs about as much to maintain as a house. Most people think it should cost less, generally because they didn't sign up for maintaining two houses, one of which they don't spend all that much time on. If you think it costs more, how much are you putting in the sinking fund for your roof and/or window replacement? Boats do cost every year though, and putting off repairs does end up with worse results (you generally don't drown if you skimp on house maintenance). Sure a 200-foot yacht costs a lot to maintain. So does a 20,000 square foot mansion with an indoor pool and shooting range.

Mark Magagna

Deus may be in the position of not being able to spend money fast enough, so that the difference between not charging her and charging her isn't even a rounding error. Cf. https://www.tumblr.com/mckinlily/733007501666156544/plot-armor-but-its-bruce-waynes-wealth-bruce for how doing infrastructure improvement and worker benefits pays off more than it costs.

Greg Morrow

Hey, at least it's not a lifesize, anatomically correct doll.

Stephen Gilberg

Anyone is welcome to remodel after they move in, but showing a house with threadbare carpets and a shitty looking fence increases the difficulty level for selling. I'd rather spend the money to fix it up and sell it in a week or two than continue to pay the mortgage on it for 6 months.

Dave Barrack

It turns out that fixing up a house before selling it typically doesn't bring up a return on the investment. You should check to see what makes sense for your area. My neighbor had the carpets replaced and the house painted before they put it on the market. The buyers ended up ripping out the interior, replacing the windows, bulldozing the garden for a basketball court, and painting the place before they moved in.

M. Lampi

Deus gave Sidney a medal *and* made her speak to a crowd. That paid him off in lulz and was *far* more valuable than any money he might have charged her.

Hugh Eckert

"A boat is a hole in the water you pour money into." So a yacht might be even more money than you'd think. Although I'd like a replica of something famous like the Gjøa... but then I also would have to have a crew, and I'm not great with people... I think that Sidney mentioning "choice paralysis" is a clue as to why she isn't spending a huge amount of money. I get that... She did mention buying a horse at one point.

Hugh Eckert

Not so sound morbid, I would buy a decent-sized hill and turn it into a passage grave for when my spouse and I inevitably pass.

Hugh Eckert

I love that last panel.

BJ

Did we gloss over the memory stuff?

Reigys

I think the sherlock holmes hat is a dear stalker, not a hunter.

A Patreon of the Ahts

Once you pay off the mortgage (or buy a house if you were renting), it starts to become difficult to justify spending on other things in a similar price bracket. A second house? How would you use it? A cottage? If you weren't raised on cottaging to start with, it's less attractive? A nice vehicle? Probably much less than the house unless you're a collector. Then you get into things like yachts. But those tend to be much more than a house; or if about the same then it's about like a second house. Mind you, it's perfectly possible to end up spending lots of unnecessary money. But that tends to build up gradually, unless you're into binging on things. Sydney has shown that she can spend money on silly things, e.g. the Parfait sequence. But she seems to need some encouragement and an appreciative audience so far. It does help that her two jobs keep her busy not surfing the internet for stuff to buy for herself. If she were susceptible to that, Joel might do more of the comic shop buying. He's probably doing a lot more of that now anyway.

Mark Magagna

Yep! They were mostly filmed in the 80s, still had all of the 80s drive pushing them, and hadn't started to receive any of the 90s bullshit bringing them down.

Anton Schleef

Yeah, that sounds right.

Anton Schleef

Our D&D campaign came up with a new word accidentally. "Breastidigitation." Which, I suspect, is what happens when Dabbler turns her boob attraction up from passive to aggressive. ;)

Top Cat

Norm!

Mike

Norm!

Alessandro

I already knew profligate 😀 (yes, yes. Because of Fallout: New Vegas.)

Steve Ronuken

My dream, if I'm ever filthy rich enough that I have to invent ways to spend all that money, is to buy a decent-sized hill somewhere and then turn the entire thing into an 'underground' house, with secret passages and everything.

Magraal

Cheers cameo!

Ryan DeWeerd

Sydney pretty much has everything she wants.

Marc Vun Kannon

Michael Obert

It's surprisingly easy to be bad at being rich. When people aske what I'd do with a million dollars, I never have an answer for them other than "pay off debt?". Arc-Marketing is the natural progression. Barbie Maxima, with super-Kumg Fu grip! (Ages 14+ 😆)

Michael Obert

There's nothing more 80s than early 90s.

John Aldridge