TubaForum.net

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/16/worst-p ... ation.html

You'll find the big three on this list: Fine Arts, Performing Arts, and Teaching.

Yep, that's me.

But I've done just fine. I certainly don't ignore money, as it is a part of our daily life. But I know it is just a tool. As with any tool, it can be used wisely or misused foolishly. Also, just focusing on a tool and forgetting a larger purpose is a bigger mistake than not having enough tools.

As an analogy, our illustrious Bloke writes about the value of being immersed in music and not being distracted by the instrument. He knows the difference between the goal and the means. One can have the finest instrument and not know what to do with it.

Getting back to money, what do we do with it beyond survival and comfort? What is the relationship between money and time? Which one of those is our lives made of?

Now that money is worth half what it was just a few months ago - like 39 months ago (thanks to our rulers - who care about us so very much), I'm thinking about it just a little bit more, particularly since I'm having to think more seriously about what I must charge for what I do - simply to buy 10 lb frozen bags of chicken thighs,10 lb chubs of 70% meat hamburger, chicken bologna, and ramen noodles... and no, we don't buy any fast food anymore. It's just too expensive.

...and other thing that we can buy no matter what:
All winter come we've kept the thermostat at 62, though I've sort of wondered whether we ought to have turned it down to 59. This summer, it will be up around 85. I think we also are going to end up having a talk about whether or not we're going to ensure this house anymore, because we are not required to have it, and frankly have never used it.

It's a tough call about your house. It's so beautiful and full of character. Lots of space to work and play, but lots of volume to heat and cool. An energy audit could identify the most cost-effective ways to reduce heat loss in the house.

This new world of remote work has boosted the value of a lot of rural properties and I hope yours has benefitted from that. Of course, that only helps you if you sell it.

sweaty wrote: ↑Mon Mar 18, 2024 1:13 am It's a tough call about your house. It's so beautiful and full of character. Lots of space to work and play, but lots of volume to heat and cool. An energy audit could identify the most cost-effective ways to reduce heat loss in the house.

This new world of remote work has boosted the value of a lot of rural properties and I hope yours has benefitted from that. Of course, that only helps you if you sell it.

The underwriter raised rates (even though the $ coverage is the same, and even though there is now a fully-staffed (NOT "volunteer") fire station only 1.2 miles from here.

bloke wrote: ↑Sun Mar 17, 2024 9:34 pm simply to buy 10 lb frozen bags of chicken thighs,10 lb chubs of 70% meat hamburger, chicken bologna, and raman noodles...

yeah, but what about lunch the next day?

Anyone that thinks insuring their $400k cost to replace home isn't worth $2k/yr to insure, go ahead and put that savings aside for 200 years.

Three Valves wrote: ↑Mon Mar 18, 2024 11:22 am Anyone that thinks insuring their $400k cost to replace home isn't worth $2k/yr to insure, go ahead and put that savings aside for 200 years.

says the insurance agent.

If insurance wasn't tremendously profitable, insurers couldn't afford to contract agents who make a good living selling it.

Filthy Lucre!

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I tend to agree with @Mary Ann, that the more available the scholarship money (to not particularly high-achieving secondary school
students) the less valuable the degree.

After having been hired to participate in so very many commencement exercises, I have some other opinions (based on consistent observations) as well...but I'm only going to say that they would likely trigger some, rather than to go ahead and express them.

I finally went to an insurance broker at the end of last year to see if they could beat my auto and home insurance rates. I had the same insurance company for both auto and home for the past 11 years.
The auto ins. for the two cars was about the same, BUT I saved close to $700-800 on my home owners insurance with even better coverage. Needless to say, I switched.
I am told it is wise to do this ...go to a broker...every 5 years....I had been meaning to go to a broker sooner, but was just lazy. Lesson learned!!

www.mlgw.com/residential/energydr

I don't know if this is your provider, but their energy audit is free. I would bet it's a good source of info.

sweaty wrote: ↑Mon Mar 18, 2024 1:56 pm www.mlgw.com/residential/energydr

I don't know if this is your provider, but their energy audit is free. I would bet it's a good source of info.

I appreciate the advice.
I am looking into seeing if someone will beat my (bundled) insurance rate, but (and you couldn't possibly have known) EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE FAR MORE DIFFICULT TO CATCH ON FIRE (being SOLID wood, and WITHOUT 14-1/2-inch-wide by 3-1/2-inch deep "chimneys" in every single wall), not may companies will insure log houses.

energy...??
23' ceilings aren't wonderful for that (roof-lines are the same as ceiling lines) but there is a foot of space/insulation between the two, but I am sticking ceiling fans where the "accent" lighting (up there) was located.
Also...all the windows/doors are Andersen, so....Its' just that the place is absurdly large, and (just having googled this) our utility bills are right at the average for the USA, and the square footage is well over double the average USA house's square footage (not to mention (again) CUBIC feet...It's just that we're struggling to recover from propping up a couple of dysfunctional adult children - over the last three years...and (as EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US IS EXPERIENCING) it's difficult to deal with everything (suddenly) costing 200%.

“General social sciences”—glad to know I’m making about the same as a sociology major

.
regardless of the current state of academia,
if you happen to have a few functioning brain cells you might understand when I say

going to college so you can get a job is like going to Paris so you can stay in a hotel

dp wrote: ↑Mon Mar 18, 2024 7:27 pm .
regardless of the current state of academia,
if you happen to have a few functioning brain cells you might understand when I say

going to college so you can get a job is like going to Paris so you can stay in a hotel

I've always sort of thought that anything other than trade school defines someone as getting a degree so they can remain in Academia teaching others how to remain in Academia. By the way, consider nursing school and medical school to be trade schools, as well as performance studies in music conservatories. Further, no one is guaranteed any sort of job regardless of papers that they might hold in their hand.

What about the people that their only shot of going to college is a good music scholarship… I know plenty of people like this.


While a tuba degree isn’t terribly usefull, it’s better than no degree. Paper ceiling and all. Going to college in modern times is very very expensive.

LargeTuba wrote: ↑Tue Mar 19, 2024 1:33 pm While a tuba degree isn’t terribly useful, it’s better than no degree. Paper ceiling and all. Going to college in modern times is very very expensive.

I'm not sure that I (and perhaps not a whole bunch of other people) would agree with this part.

It's also two, three, four or more years out of the most energetic and productive years of most people's lives...and it still costs money out of the pockets of those who matriculate.

After scratching my head to why I got a music ed. degree, I went on (for another year) into one of those things, and - after the year - realized that walking away was the best possible decision.