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Pastimes : Clown-Free Zone... sorry, no clowns allowed -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Les H who wrote (58653)	1/17/2001 1:51:03 PM
From: Les H	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 436258

Breakfast cereals up 98% since 1982 according to BLS. If they put fluoridation in the frosted flakes and raise the price a buck, that should negate the price increase. Owner Equivalent Rent up 14% since 1998 for SF-San Jose.

To: Les H who wrote (58653)	1/17/2001 2:02:28 PM
From: GraceZ	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 436258

Cars are one of those segments of purchasing where even normally sensible people lose all objectivity. I could care less about my car, as long as it runs well, keeps me safe and doesn't cost me an arm and a leg, I'm happy. When I say "better" I mean air bags, cushy interior, larger more powerful engine, better suspension, perks like rear window defrost, keyless entry, etc. I will get the same amount of miles from this one. Toyotas and Subarus have the same maintence records.....which is none required until you roll past 100k. I had a conversation with my sister a few weeks ago where she was lamenting that she didn't know how they were going to afford even a state college for their 17 year old daughter, let alone the Ivy league school she is qualified to attend. Meanwhile I'm sitting there thinking that she has half the price of that Ivy league college education sitting out in her garage between the two cars that she and her husband lease (and will buy after the lease is up to make them even more expensive) when she doesn't drive more than 4k miles a year. She gave away a car that was in perfect condition, ten years old with 40k miles to get that big luxury car. This was an option she chose. People forget that they make these money decisions. A 35k car is not a neccessity and while it is considerably more expensive than her previous car.....that's not inflation. That's someone who thinks a luxury car is more important than living within their means. It's the same with those people building 9k square foot McMansions around me. Of course their housing costs went up.....they have heated floors and a wall of windows and a spa in every bathroom.....granite counters. Refridgerators that tell you when you hold the door open too long! If you have ever rented a Volkswagon beetle down in Mexico (they still import them and they are fundementally the same car that Volkswagon made in the 70s) you would have a really clear idea just how much cars have improved over the last twenty-five years. Its subjective whether you think its worth it to pay todays price for a "better" car.