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[jamesinclair]

And they deleted 75% of the comments (there were 80+ last night) and closed it to new comments. :lol

Holy shit, she deleted all the critical comments and only kept the "good for you" ones :lol :lol :lol



And then theres this:

A ScottMiller 02:39 AM on 5/07/2010
It's amazing how some people forget how easy it is to get around by foot.

Also, bicycles are great. Sen. Schumer talks about biking NYC on HuffPost: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sen-charles-e-schumer/exploring-new-york-by-bik_b_218468.html

HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Alexa von Tobel 09:03 AM on 5/07/2010
I wish people had more advice about how to free commute -- bikes are excellent...are there any other ways we've missed?​

Are you fucking kidding me? She honest to God, just discovered walking and biking.

I dont know Alexa von Tobel, what other options are there to commute for free? Personally, I fly. Actually, someone should tell her about the subway. She probably think its free, because its what the masses use.

 

[KratosKilla]

Wonder if she knows what buses are? Maybe that's what her next lesson will be. "I have discovered buses"

 

[Jex]

I find it hilarious that she edited the price of her dinner from $32 to $22 :lol

Smooth, very smooth.

 

[mugurumakensei]

Smooth, very smooth.

She also edited her daily expenses from over $80/day to over $60/day :lol

 

[shintoki]

She also edited her daily expenses from over $80/day to over $60/day :lol

Damn, all she did was have to lift a finger and she cut off about 25% of her daily spendings.

I see how she got her financial mongering job now.

 

[Jex]

She also edited her daily expenses from over $80/day to over $60/day :lol

I guess she doesn't know that the internet never forgets!

 

[Slavik81]

She has a 20 minute walk to work...

If you make $200,000/year and don't like to walk, it's not that bad. Particularly if she wears high heels and would have to change to walk any significant distance.

Personally, I wouldn't take a taxi even if I were that wealthy. I enjoy the short time outside. I walk roughly 2.5km to work (~25-30minutes) but I catch the bus if I'm running late. Though, it kind of sucks when it's -30C. If I were rich, I'd probably buy a nice car and drive half the time... then again, it's New York. Maybe I would walk.

 

[Dead Man]

If you make $200,000/year and don't like to walk, it's not that bad. Particularly if she wears high heels and would have to change to walk any significant distance.

Personally, I wouldn't do take a taxi and I'd probably walk a decent amount since I enjoy the short time outside. I walk roughly 2.5km to work (~25-30minutes) but I catch the bus if I'm running late. Though, it kind of sucks when it's -30C. If I were rich, I'd probably buy a nice car and drive half the time.

Not much is going to take less than 20 minutes from door to door. You might save 5 minutes, but really, the exercise is worth it I would have thought.

 

[Korey]

Damn, all she did was have to lift a finger and she cut off about 25% of her daily spendings.

I see how she got her financial mongering job now.

lol @ Edit Button as a money saving tip :lol

 

[RustyNails]

Everyone defending Countess Von Tobel about how her article is for yuppies/upper class, you all take it the fuck back. The Duchess has spoken, and its pearls of shit:

See? She is trying to explain us 20 year olds how easy it is to save money. Thank you Madame Dumbass. What will you teach us next? Why buses are useful?

 

[Dead Man]

Everyone defending Countess Von Tobel about how her article is for yuppies/upper class, you all take it the fuck back. The Duchess has spoken, and its pearls of shit:

See? She is trying to explain us 20 year olds how easy it is to save money. Thank you Madame Dumbass. What will you teach us next? Why buses are useful?

How the fuck did she graduate from Harvard with grammar like that?

Starting to build this good habits early is very important. Good for you!

Please to be spending less money to make good. Happy now.


What the fuck?

 

[CassSept]

This is a troll, right? I can't believe 20 something only now discovered that it's faster to get through traffic on a bicycle.
I mean, how did she even get an idea to take a taxi every single time she goes to and from work? She is a financial analyst and it took her few years to notice this is a waste of both: a) time; b) money?

 

[RustyNails]

lol @ Edit Button as a money saving tip :lol

SMACKDOWN

 

[daycru]

The great thing about the mommy and daddy express (choo choo!) is that it never runs out of fuel.

Also, love how the comments section got closed. Huh? Sometimes people don't like what you have to say? A concept as baffling as it is novel.

 

[HatterMadness]

Is it wrong that i want to spit on the writer of this article?

 

[CrankyJay]

Heh, she closed the comments section. Too bad, was about to call her an idiot.

 

[SmokyDave]

I really want to rage at this woman being utterly oblivious to how the rest of us live but then I look at her and go all googly-woogly. Curse my weakness for hot blondes.

She is out of touch though. Bless her.

I'm conflicted.

 

[CrankyJay]

All the hate: http://www.metafilter.com/91764/Im-...o-Trader-Joes-and-they-would-get-the-job-done

 

[Apath]

I don't know about you guys, but IMO the best thing to come out of this thread was that link to the Flickmotion app. It's the shit.

 

[AbortedWalrusFetus]

It's funny, but this article is a prime example of how you can tell whether or not a person grew up rich, or got rich in their lifetime. Only someone who was raised in luxury can spend to wantonly. It's pretty amazing how drastically a persons viewpoint changes when they've eaten from a silver spoon.

I just can't get over the audacity she had to actually write this article, or to even give financial advice to people. I tell you what, her advice is probably fantastic for other people who grew up in a similar circumstance, but for the average person? Garbage. She didn't need to suck dick to get where she did, because she probably got there on very little merit of her own. The fact that she was in a field with an unrelated degree makes that pretty obvious though.

 

[EvilMario]

About half my office is split between the 'leftovers every day for lunch, bring your own coffee crowd', and the 'spend ten bucks on lunch every day, and buy coffee switch per day' crowd. I hate that later group. When will they learn?

 

[Biff]

About half my office is split between the 'leftovers every day for lunch, bring your own coffee crowd', and the 'spend ten bucks on lunch every day, and buy coffee switch per day' crowd. I hate that later group. When will they learn?

lol... You hate them for buying lunch everyday? $10/day on lunch is way different than $80/day on taxis, Starbucks and $32 pasta dinners.... We have them at my office too, but I certainly don't hate them. Most of them are very nice people.

Perhaps they don't have an expensive hobby (i.e. gaming) and can therefore budget lunch into their monthly spending? Just a thought.

 

[Tenks]

I love how some posters immediately assume that all people calling the author out, are surely jealous.

I don't know how much does this girl make, but I make enough dough so $30 a meal 3 times a day is no big deal for me...

Yet I still don't do it.

BECAUSE I AM NOT AN IDIOT

I would rather not spend that money, and buy me cool shit like a new PC, TV, home gym or whatever. Or just save it for later when so I don't even have the need to work.

Jesus Christ, get Quicken

Weren't you in the girl-age thread like a month or two ago saying how you're too broke to take a girl out to dinner so you plan other stuff?

 

[Prisen]

She has a 20 minute walk to work...

As if a majority of Americans walk 2x20 minutes per day... or week :lol

 

[hulot]

As absurd as Frau von Trobel is, and rightfully getting criticized, I have to question the right to do so of those on this forum who often have enough of an income to spend on video games, which is a luxury item not even comparable with taxis and food that at least serve a functional role.

 

[Dennis]

As absurd as Frau von Trobel is, and rightfully getting criticized, I have to question the right to do so of those on this forum who often have enough of an income to spend on video games, which is a luxury item not even comparable with taxis and food that at least serve a functional role.

I don't think the issue is so much that she spends a lot on food and taxis.

Its more that she seems to think herself qualified to teach other people about her remarkable accomplishment: going one whole day without spending money!

 

[Mr. B Natural]

The article is dumb, but I wont mock it for trying to teach america the basics again. My country has gotten so dumb, fat, completely in debt and too lazy that we need "training wheels" articles, shows and ads to get us back to square one.

 

[koam]

As absurd as Frau von Trobel is, and rightfully getting criticized, I have to question the right to do so of those on this forum who often have enough of an income to spend on video games, which is a luxury item not even comparable with taxis and food that at least serve a functional role.

At least someone didn't create a thread about how they didn't spend money on a new videogame for a day.

 

[EvilMario]

lol... You hate them for buying lunch everyday? $10/day on lunch is way different than $80/day on taxis, Starbucks and $32 pasta dinners.... We have them at my office too, but I certainly don't hate them. Most of them are very nice people.

Perhaps they don't have an expensive hobby (i.e. gaming) and can therefore budget lunch into their monthly spending? Just a thought.

It's obvious hyperbole on my part; I don't hate them, but I do smh. I might not find it so ironic, if only they wouldn't complain about having 'no money' for the weekend after their weekly spending, considering they all make a good salary.

 

[Jamesearlcash]

Jesus, what's worse is i couldn't stop the stupid voice in my head reading it, something out of clueless i think.

 

[otake]

Most twenty somethings go through college with very little money. Being a student full time without rich parents forces you to think of innovative ways to save money. I don't know, seems to me like this article is strictly for the children of rich powerful people. I bet George W got a kick out of it.

 

[MaxSteel]

About half my office is split between the 'leftovers every day for lunch, bring your own coffee crowd', and the 'spend ten bucks on lunch every day, and buy coffee switch per day' crowd. I hate that later group. When will they learn?

haha why would you hate those people?

i have the money to go buy a fresh ice coffee and lunch every day - why wouldn't i want to? what is there to learn?

i swear to god, these people on gaf - if you don't live your life the exact way they do their mind is blown

 

[MjFrancis]

I don't think the issue is so much that she spends a lot on food and taxis.

Its more that she seems to think herself qualified to teach other people about her remarkable accomplishment: going one whole day without spending money!

This self-important air of hers is what drives me to shake my head. Neither her occupation nor her schooling has made her an expert in finances, though she seems to think otherwise. Nevermind any of her habits or other credentials; her sole contribution in this article is pretending to be versed in a field where she lacks any real knowledge!

Maybe next time she won't write anything as vapid or absurd, but if she does, I hope it's good for a laugh if nothing else.

 

[RustyNails]

Reddit Link:
http://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/c1jd4

Wait was this article serious? I live in NYC and reading the article annoyed the shit out of me. I feel that NYC is actually full of middle, maybe even lower, class people who get by and then there's a horrible upper crust that pretty much drives prices up for everyone. It's definitely possible to get be relatively frugal in the Big Apple, if you just decide to do everything yourself rather than "outsourcing" everything.

 

[Google]

So many of you are up in arms over a woman's blog.

I've read worse on a fucking Nintendo blog.

 

[Angry Grimace]

I routinely spend 0 dollars a day. It's not exactly rocket surgery.

 

[EvilMario]

haha why would you hate those people?

i have the money to go buy a fresh ice coffee and lunch every day - why wouldn't i want to? what is there to learn?

i swear to god, these people on gaf - if you don't live your life the exact way they do their mind is blown

Like I said, it's because in the after fact they complain about being tight on money, or 'maybe not making rent'. It's mind blowing that people can't correlate spending $4 twice per day on coffee, to part their budget.. which they apparently never think about.

Not to mention the amount they're NOT saving.. smh

 

[CharlieDigital]

Seriously? Is this what we've come to?

Not as bad as the time the AP ignored Paris Hilton for a week and then promptly wrote a 1000+ word article patting themselves on the back for ignoring Paris Hilton for a week...

 

[MaxSteel]

Like I said, it's because in the after fact they complain about being tight on money, or 'maybe not making rent'. It's mind blowing that people can't correlate spending $4 twice per day on coffee, to part their budget.. which they apparently never think about.

Not to mention the amount they're NOT saving.. smh

or maybe they're OK with it? i live check to check, mostly because my rent is so high. but i'm not gonna stop buying the little things in life that make me happy - like coffee.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Not as bad as the time the AP ignored Paris Hilton for a week and then promptly wrote a 1000+ word article patting themselves on the back for ignoring Paris Hilton for a week...

They actually did this? Wow.

 

[Manics]

There were four morning spending hurdles that I had to tackle: the commute to work, my morning coffee, breakfast, and lunch.

Luckily, I have a short commute to work; it takes approximately 20 minutes to walk

Wow, quite the Herculean hurdle to overcome there, an entire fucking 20 minute walk? :lol :lol :lol

 

[BronzeWolf]

Weren't you in the girl-age thread like a month or two ago saying how you're too broke to take a girl out to dinner so you plan other stuff?

I don't think so.

I don't pay for girl's dinners out of principles, not need.

As absurd as Frau von Trobel is, and rightfully getting criticized, I have to question the right to do so of those on this forum who often have enough of an income to spend on video games, which is a luxury item not even comparable with taxis and food that at least serve a functional role.

haha why would you hate those people?

i have the money to go buy a fresh ice coffee and lunch every day - why wouldn't i want to? what is there to learn?

i swear to god, these people on gaf - if you don't live your life the exact way they do their mind is blown

The difference is that I don't delude myself when I acquire these luxuries.

When I buy a videogame, I am not thinking "Jeez this videogame is my life, I wonder how would I ever be able to make it without Mario". I think "It's great that I have a good job that allows me to indulge in some gaming without worrying too much"

It's the attitude.

 

[CloverCarr]

I'm 100% behind her on the taxi thing. I hate getting the peasant wagon anywhere & only do it when I can't afford a taxi.

Although if it was only 20mins away I'd walk it and probably wouldn't throw myself a fucking parade when I did.

Probably.

 

[Deleted member 47027]

What a horrible person!

 

[CloverCarr]

What a horrible person!

Hardly.

There's about a 50% chance of having to spend half an hour either: sitting next to someone who smells or listening to teenagers playing their "music" out of their phones at full tinny blast.

Then there's about a 30% chance of accidentally giving a fellow passenger a lapdance when I stand up to get off the bus and it lurches at full speed round a corner.

I'd just much rather pay an extra couple of quid to avoid it, especially first thing in the morning.

 

[MaxSteel]

Wow, quite the Herculean hurdle to overcome there, an entire fucking 20 minute walk? :lol :lol :lol

businesswomen can't be walking 20 minutes to work in 85, humid, traffic packed new york - they'll show up to work sweaty, etc

it's not as simple as everyone's making it out to be

yeah, the article is stupid, but her taking a cab isn't

 

[CharlieDigital]

They actually did this? Wow.

http://bloggasm.com/associated-press-ignored-paris-hilton-for-a-whole-week

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/17406452/

NEW YORK - So you may have heard: Paris Hilton was ticketed the other day for driving with a suspended license.

Not huge news, even by celebrity-gossip standards. Here at The Associated Press, we put out an initial item of some 300 words. But it actually meant more to us than that.

It meant the end of our experimental blackout on news about Paris Hilton.

It was only meant to be a weeklong ban — not the boldest of journalistic initiatives, and one, we realized, that might seem hypocritical once it ended. And it wasn’t based on a view of what the public should be focusing on — the war in Iraq, for example, or the upcoming election of the next leader of the free world, as opposed to the doings of a partygoing celebrity heiress/reality TV star most famous for a grainy sex video.

facepalm.gif

 

[jamesinclair]

The NYT comes out with the best times article ever:

"What’s the most expensive way to get to and from work if you live in New York City?

Not surprisingly, the answer is by taxi — even before the recent surcharge took effect — which may help explain why only 1 percent of the 4.3 million New Yorkers who commute to work every day take a cab. In fact, 10 times as many walk to work as take a taxi.

“This reminds me of the traffic engineer’s joke about New York City,” said Samuel I. Schwartz, a traffic consultant: “ ‘Shall we walk or do we have time to take a taxi?’ Those who can afford to commute by taxi probably have the luxury of time on their side.

The median cost of taking a taxi to and from work was $4,704 a year, more than twice that of any other means of transportation. Commuting by railroad was second, at $2,163. After that, the most expensive means was driving to work either by car ($1,932) or by motorcycle ($1,449). Those costs include tolls but not parking."​

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/10/nyregion/10commute.html?ref=nyregion

Of course, our money saving hero just discovered walking!

And there goes the argument that "CEOs value their time and need to get to work faster"


Note: The comparison does NOT include parking cost. Owning a car would cost much more than taking a cab.

From the article, commute breakdown:

37% subway
21% drive alone
11% bus
9.2% walk
6% bike
4.9% carpool
3.3% telecommute
1% cab
0.2% Ferry
0.04% motorcycle

 

[tino]

I routinely go to work without the wallet. I have the metrocard, bring my own lunch and drink and that's it.

Sometimes I buy some crap I do a record on xpenser.com (via email) just to calculate how much I use weekly.

 

[Mashing]

A bigger accomplishment would be if I didn't spend $50/week on lunches.