Posted by Babesy on May 02, 1999 at 24:39:51:
And the congregation said “AMEN”!!!
Need some paint? - Posted by Lonnie
Posted by Lonnie on May 01, 1999 at 15:56:59:
I just finished checking the Internet for airline tickets to Atlanta. The pricing system for airline tickets has to be designed and run by our elected government officials in Washington. I don?t know of anyone else with that kind of mentality. If anyone can come up with a better explanation, please me us know.
Here?s what Delta Airlines charges for a round trip ticket to Atlanta. Well, at least this was the price 15 minutes ago, in all probability it?s different by now. And some of the other Airline?s are even more ridiculous, plus they fly you all over the country to get you to Atlanta, a distance of 500 miles from Norfolk. At least Delta has a direct flight. (Note…the first class price changed $182 within 10 minutes).
Delta…couch fare $130. First class $994 ($864 more). Both tickets are for same flight, same plane… Round trip flight time from Norfolk to Atlanta and back is approx 3.5 hrs. That?s about $246 per hour extra you pay to sit up front and be pampered and be served a “free” (or I assume it?s free) glass of juice.
I think I would rather buy 3 connecting couch seats for $390 and just stretch out and sleep the whole trip. I would have 3 seats, plus $604 left over. That would buy me all the juice I could possibly drink in 3.5 hours, and I would still have enough money left to buy 4 couch seats for future flights. To put it another way, I think I would be willing to sit on the floor in the back of the plane for 3.5 hours for $864.
Another thought comes to mind. If you pay $864 extra to ride in the front of the plane, how much is that flight really costing you? Let?s run some numbers and see. If you invested that $864 in something that pays 15% return, you would have $3,836 in 10 years, .$17,034 in 20 years, and $75,635in 30 years. I don?t know about you, but nobody can pamper me that much in 3.5 hours.
Here?s a little story told by John Schaub, of Making It Big On Little Deals. I?m sure most of you either know John, or know of him. He?s been teaching RE investing for 23 years, owns half the country and working on the other half. He could buy his own airline if he wanted. In fact, he does own and fly a couple of his own planes.
John was boarding a plane one time and as he passed through the first class section, he heard someone call his name. He looked over and there sat one his tenants, dressed to kill, a glass of juice in his hand, gold chains around his neck and diamond rings on his fingers. John says he loves those kind of people, because he knows they will be his tenants for life. Since they never learned about money, they will never be able to afford to buy a house to live in.
Following is an article I recently ran across that I though you might get a chuckle from. The writer probably meant it as a joke, but seeing how the airline industry operates, it could very well be more reality than a joke.
Buying Paint From A Hardware Store
Customer: Hi, how much is your paint?
Clerk: We have regular for $12 a gallon and premium for $18. How many gallons would you like?
Customer: Five gallons of regular, please.
Clerk: Great. That will be $60, plus tax.
Buying Paint From An Airline
Customer: Hi, how much is your paint?
Clerk: Well, sir, that all depends.
Customer: Depends on what?
Clerk: Actually, on a lot of things.
Customer: How about giving me an average price?
Clerk No, I really can’t. The lowest price is $9 a gallon and we have 150 different prices up to $200 a gallon.
Customer: What’s the difference in the paint?
Clerk: Oh, there isn’t any difference. It’s all the same paint.
Customer: Well, then, I’d like some of the $9 paint.
Clerk: Not so fast, sir. When do you intend to use this paint?
Customer. I want to paint tomorrow, on my day off.
Clerk: Sorry, sir, but the paint for tomorrow is $200.
Customer: What? When would I have to paint to get the $9 kind?
Clerk: That would be in three weeks, sir. But, you would have to agree to start painting before Friday and continue painting until at least Sunday.
Customer: You?re kidding!
Clerk: Sir, we don’t kid around. Of course, I?ll have to check to see if we .have. any of that paint available before I can sell it to you.
Customer: What do you mean? You have shelves full of the stuff. I can see it right there.
Clerk: Just because you can see it doesn’t mean we have it. It may be the same paint, but we only sell a certain number of gallons on any given weekend. And, by the way, the price just went to $12.
Customer: You mean just while we were talking?
Clerk: Yes sir. The price of paint and the rules for its purchase change thousands of times a day. Unless you want the same thing to happen again, I’d suggest you get on with your purchase. How many gallons do you want?
Customer: I don’t know. Five gallons. Or maybe I should buy six gallons just to make sure I have enough.
Clerk: Oh, no sir, you can’t do that. If you buy the paint and then don’t use it, you will be liable for penalties and possible confiscation of the paint you already have.
Customer: What?
Clerk: That’s right. We can sell you enough paint to do your kitchen, bathroom, hall and guest bedroom, but if you stop painting before you do the master bedroom, you will be in violation of our tariffs.
Customer. But why do you care how much I use? I’ve paid for it!
Clerk: Sir, we make plans based on the idea that you will use all the paint, and when you don’t it causes us all sorts of problems.
Customer. That does it! I’ll buy’ my paint elsewhere.
Clerk: Well, good luck, sir, because we all follow the same rules. And thank you for painting with our airline.
Re: Need some paint? - Posted by Joe(IN)
Posted by Joe(IN) on May 03, 1999 at 08:26:50:
Lonnie:
This all sounds really familiar.
Last week I’m getting tickets for Atlanta. My sister is flying with me to see a friend. I look at Expedia. For 1 ticket they want $238. For two tickets they want $516 (this can’t be right). So I figure I’ll beat the system, and I reserve one ticket for my sister at $238. Then I go back in the system to reserve my ticket, and the price for my ticket 30 seconds later. . . you guessed it. . . $278.
Oh well! Maybe Ed and Terry can teach me enough to make up for it.
Joe
Re: Need some paint? - Posted by Barbara (ME)
Posted by Barbara (ME) on May 02, 1999 at 06:52:49:
Great post Lonnie… the return you mentioned by investing the amount saved was evidently not from investing in MH’s, since the return is ONLY 15%!! 
Barbara (ME)
Re: Need some paint? - Posted by Rob(WI)
Posted by Rob(WI) on May 02, 1999 at 06:43:14:
Lonnie:
It is amazing how the airlines operate. I travel (ARGH!) extensively on my j.o.b. (which I am presently working on “retiring” from, with help from REI). I have never been able to figure out what they are doing, or why they do it. I speak with other travelers all the time (on the same flight that I am on), and ask them what they paid for the flight. It is mind boggling, as I always hear a wide range of prices paid.
Anyway, I thought I would share some things that I do to “minimize” the pain of paying “by the minute”. You did exactly what I do, scan the internet for prices. There are several sites that I found to get a good value. One in particular seems to comeup with a “fair” price - http://www.1travel.com. There is also a site where you can put your travel plans up for bid. Travel agents will actually bid on the ticket price. Another site does the same - http://www.priceline.com
There are also “deals” found by waiting till the last minute (day of travel), because then they try to fill the plane by selling the empty seats. I have done this several times and picked up bargains. But of course, the flight that you want to take could be sold out by then.
Thank you for your posting, it gave me a good laugh.
Rob