I Win, I Win...Film Allegedly At 11

Have you ever noticed that the news people, especially the local news people will not commit to confirming even the obvious? Everything is allegedly or might have. One of our fine local channels did a report this evening about an unfortuante black bear that climbed a power pole, fell into some electric equipment and was killed. The news reporter on the scene reported that Arizona Game and Fish officials would not confirm that the bear was electrocuted. The reporter voiced-over some film showing the very dead bear being lowered by a crane. In other news, I was the winning bidder in an Ebay auction for a pair of lighty-used Mephisto Match, size 14 shoes. For the past 6 days, 23 hours, 59.5 minutes the price was $17.99. In the last 30 seconds of the auction, some other Ebay seller tried to outbid me. He bid $32 and I won at $33. I think this is a sign that I got a deal. Of course they are lightly used, which creeps out the lovely Mrs. Sneed, but $33 for a pair of shoes that retailled at $320 new isn't too bad. Unlike the lovely Mrs. S, I don't believe in cooties, at least shoe cooties. I personally don't find used stuff to be creepy, especially if I am careful about what I buy. For instance, used underwear is always a bad idea. I posted a few months ago that I lost my gold wedding band at the airport security checkpoint and replaced it with a used one from a pawn shop. I paid far less than a retail replacement. Yesterday, a fellow, who's frequent comments bouy my spirits and strenghten my resolve to keep blogging, despite the public's outcry that I stop immediately, commented on the folly of buying new cars. He is absolutely right. Buying a new car is a hugely bad idea from a financial perspective. People buy new cars for a variety of reasons and I have no quarrel with their motives, but financially it makes no sense. Consider the following example. There is a dealer in our fair city that has been selling nearly new good, reliable used cars since 1933. Currently listed in their inventory is a 2006 Ford Tauras SE, with 17,000 miles on it, for $11,995. According to the website CarsDirect, the MSRP for this vehicle is $21,515. That is a savings of 10 grand for accepting a car with a few miles and 2 years manufacturer's warranty left. A 5 year-old car is even a better deal. Anyway, that is about all that occurs to me today. Merle. Things in this blog represented to be fact, may or may not actually be true. The writer is frequently wrong and sometimes just full of it. Tag: Daily Life Personal Finance Humor