I've been into g-bodies since about 98' and 8.5"s were a hot commodity then, just more options available now but also more demand for things to support hp/tq than it was 20+ years ago. I can't imagine earlier in their lifespan they were easier to get or too cheap, a posi 8.5" was $750-1,000 back then from what I recall. When I found my first one, summer of 99' I had Turbo Buick guys and others interested(I posted about it on a Turbo Buick mailing list, if anyone remembers those things) and that was the price range but kept it for my 305 SS 😀. Some other parts have increased at a higher margin from our cars IMO. Not to split hairs, just never heard anyone indicate they were common or easy to get at any point. I did find a somewhat crusty open 8.5" for $250 about 20 years ago that I re-sold to a friend, that felt like a steal back then, why I grabbed it and just held onto it for awhile.
Could You Retire On One Million Dollars $$ ? Can you even make 1 million?
- Thread starter 69hurstolds
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I've been into g-bodies since about 98' and 8.5"s were a hot commodity then, just more options available now but also more demand for things to support hp/tq than it was 20+ years ago. I can't imagine earlier in their lifespan they were easier to get or too cheap, a posi 8.5" was $750-1,000 back then from what I recall. When I found my first one, summer of 99' I had Turbo Buick guys and others interested(I posted about it on a Turbo Buick mailing list, if anyone remembers those things) and that was the price range but kept it for my 305 SS 😀. Some other parts have increased at a higher margin from our cars IMO. Not to split hairs, just never heard anyone indicate they were common or easy to get at any point. I did find a somewhat crusty open 8.5" for $250 about 20 years ago that I re-sold to a friend, that felt like a steal back then, why I grabbed it and just held onto it for awhile.
I too remember the mailing lists, and, when gnttype.org was both the mailing list and a go-to place for parts listing. Back in the 90s and early 2000s I chopped up a couple hundred turbobuicks, and a few dozen 442s.
Going rates ranged from about 4-800 for an open rear depending on rust, and, 700-1500 for a posi unit likewise.
Once in a blue moon you saw a $300 non posi, or a $600 posi, but they were usually pretty crusty and abused. I have no regrets about selling all our rears with my buddy Bob, the money grew far more by being used elsewhere than what the rears would've appreciated to.
The problem with debt is that it is the riskiest form of financing something. You don't alawys have to pay out dividends on stock, but you do have to always pay interest when due on debts and payback the principal. This is why debt is described as a lever, it levers up the rewards during good times but also levers up liabilities during bad times.
The only way you can win financing anything as a consumer is if you get those 0.0% financing deals, which is very rare nowadays. That's usually only on cars (maybe not going to see those again for a while if ever), and sometimes credit card balance transfer things. But you need to be real careful with those. If you don't pay the payments on time, they can either hit you with high fees and/or start charging you interest and back-interest, depending on the fine print.
Getting another credit card with 0% isn't permanent and it's usually only for 12 months or I have seen them advertise for up to 24 months max. You'd really have to be determined to pay it down or pay it off during the promo period. Otherwise that interest rate could snap back on you and bone you hard. Credit card companies try to put you in a trap and you will fall in if you don't have or learn financial discipline. Another trick that credit cards like to use is to send you nastygrams saying that you haven't used your card in ??? months. If you don't use it soon we'll close your account. Hahaha. Well, then, close it! I got a few of those that had 12 months inactive, then 14 months inactive, then 16 months...they're a bunch of chickens.
The other method is to ensure you pay off your entire card balance every single month on time. We don't carry credit card balances. We buy most everything with it that we'd buy anyway, and make one large payment per month. So we accumulate a tiny bit of bank interest while the money stays in the bank. I get those "payback" cards that gives you money back when you buy crap with their card. It isn't much, but I pay off the outstanding balance every month and then periodically reinvest the rebates into future balances. Can't even tell you what the interest rate is because I've never paid any. But we sure have got paid back in rebates. Even with that, you need to live within your income. Credit card companies probably don't like me too much, but the odds are in their favor that there's other fish that don't pay off balances and that 20%+ interest rate they're paying makes up for the paltry paybacks they're giving us. To those fish, we thank you for carrying large balances.
I even set up the wife's car payment to be paid via credit card every month, so that 0.0% financing payment is paid every month to the credit card company when I pay off the balance. Who then sends us back a little bit of money from that payment. So in effect, we have a slightly negative interest on the car loan. It's more than enough that on every anniversary of buying the car it buys us a lunch at Five Guys burgers with money left over. So technically, free lunches sorta do exist. 😛
Given the CC companies probably make as much or more off the transaction fees than interest, I'm sure they like you just fine 😀
True, but I don't care that much as I don't pay anything personally at a transaction than anyone else would. They tag the vendors for the transaction fees anyway for the "privilege" of accepting CCs. But to make up for it, they just tick up their prices to cover the fees. In effect, everyone pays those fees upfront. Even customers not using CCs pay it as higher retail prices, so why not use the CC anyway and get paid back? Buying with cash would net nothing extra. Unless it's like, say, at a gas station that discounts their gas when using cash.
What bothers me the most is that defined benefit retirement plans are pretty much gone. An IRA was a way for the big money boys to reward their underlings with a tax deferred payment. Now it is being touted as the best retirement plan in existence. NOT! It is relying on YOU to know how much and when to invest in your retirement. And believe me, if you think the average schlub is going to plan a solid retirement with smart investments and conservative spending in his younger years, forget it. I see a real train wreck coming and I wonder what the grasshoppers are going to do once they can't work anymore and reality closes in.
I was on a track to retirement at 55
Then I got divorced and had a spending contest with the ex.
Wasn’t quite ruined so I hooked up with a train wreck relationship for 5 years , then got caught by CRA for some stuff
Now 55 is a year away and I have no hope of ever retiring
Stay on your game boys,just because you’re doing well doesn’t mean things can’t change
I ain’t bitter - but I do regret some decisions 🤔
Then I got divorced and had a spending contest with the ex.
Wasn’t quite ruined so I hooked up with a train wreck relationship for 5 years , then got caught by CRA for some stuff
Now 55 is a year away and I have no hope of ever retiring
Stay on your game boys,just because you’re doing well doesn’t mean things can’t change
I ain’t bitter - but I do regret some decisions 🤔
I've had one credit card close out due to not using it. Which that one was on me because I never used it for 3 years. I use one for damn near everything and pay it off every month. Builds credit and no interest.
Not all are monthly tho, the Amazon card billing cycle is like 21 days, something like that. It's in the fine print, which is sneaky as hell. I have one because I got it with a $100 rebate if I applied for it, sits in my safe and eventually will close out because I have no desire to use it.
Not all are monthly tho, the Amazon card billing cycle is like 21 days, something like that. It's in the fine print, which is sneaky as hell. I have one because I got it with a $100 rebate if I applied for it, sits in my safe and eventually will close out because I have no desire to use it.
recent poll....in the high 30's% young people play the lotto for "retirement"....no joke
