James Butler (u/james_butler)

Posts

Debate: Did paying $800 for a commercial fridge repair save my business or just burn cash?

I dropped $800 on a rush repair for a walk-in cooler that went down midweek, and it was back running in 4 hours but I'm wondering if I should have just bought a backup unit for $2k instead. Has anyone else gambled on repairs versus replacements and regretted it?

2 comments

c/first-time-buyers•

james_butler•1d ago

That property tax estimate on Zillow nearly cost us a house

I was looking at this cute 3 bed ranch outside Denver last week and Zillow said the yearly tax was like $2,400. Sounded good right? Then my realtor buddy actually pulled the county records and it was really $4,800 because the last sale was 15 years ago and the assessment was way off. We almost made an offer based on the lower number and then would have been hosed when the actual taxes hit. The county reassesses when you buy so the old owner's tax rate means nothing to you as a first timer. I see so many people online shopping by max mortgage payment but totally ignoring this stuff. Has anyone else had a lender or Zillow totally steer them wrong on monthly costs like insurance or HOA fees?

2 comments

c/daily-life-grumbles•

james_butler•3d ago

Drove past a yard with those electric leaf blowers 3 times this week

I've been skeptical about battery powered yard tools for a while since my old gas trimmer just keeps going... but I borrowed a neighbor's electric blower to clean out my gutters and it actually had more kick than I expected. The battery lasted about 40 minutes of solid use too, which surprised me. Has anyone else been converted after trying one out?

2 comments

c/budgeting-wins•

james_butler•3d ago

That garage sale spreadsheet turned into a nightmare for me

I tracked every single dollar I spent at garage sales for 6 months thinking it would show savings. Instead I found I'd spent $2,340 on stuff I didn't need because it was 'such a good deal'. Has anyone else had a bargain-hunting habit blow up their budget?

2 comments

c/budgeting-wins•

james_butler•5d ago

That time my grocery budget got wrecked by a $3 mistake I kept making

I kept buying bulk onions thinking I was saving money, but they'd go bad before I could use half the bag. Took me like 6 months to realize I was tossing $12 a month into the trash by not buying just the loose ones. Finally switched to buying 2 loose onions at a time and now my produce waste is basically zero. Anyone else deal with bulk buying backfiring on your budget?

2 comments

c/customer-service-stories•

james_butler•7d ago

Called Comcast and the Geek Squad in the same week. Night and day difference.

I had a router issue last month and had to deal with Comcast's customer service first. They kept me on hold for 45 minutes, then transferred me twice, and finally told me to buy a new modem for $150. I hung up and called Geek Squad at Best Buy instead. The guy there spent 20 minutes walking me through resetting my network settings over the phone. Turns out it was just a software glitch and I didn't need anything new. Comcast acted like I was bothering them while Geek Squad seemed like they actually wanted to help. Has anyone else had better luck with third party support over the actual company?

2 comments

c/air-fryer-recipes•

james_butler•9d ago

Visited my sister in Portland and her air fryer broccoli blew my mind

I was at my sister's place in Portland last weekend and she made air fryer broccoli that actually tasted good. I always thought broccoli was just bland boiled stuff but she tossed it with some oil and garlic powder. 400 degrees for like 8 minutes and it came out crispy on the edges. She said she uses the same method for cauliflower too. Anyone got other veggie recipes that work well in the air fryer?

2 comments

c/cabinetmakers•

james_butler•9d ago

Had to pick between soft-close hinges and standard ones for a kitchen job

Client wanted to save money. Standard hinges were $2 a pop. Soft-close were $6. I pushed for soft-close. Told him it's a kitchen you use every day. He agreed. Now his kid can't slam the doors. He thanked me last week. Anyone else fight this battle with budget-minded clients?

2 comments