<p>blankmind - have you ever considered stand-up comedy?</p>
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<p>I have a Corolla. I also live in Germany. Let me tell you where you can go in your Mercedes: right around me at 200 km / hr on the autobahn (uphill!). Now I’m not the sort to buy a Mercedes, but damn those things are sweet automobiles.</p>
<p>Re: Northface: Hello. Columbia fleece is what I buy my kids (on clearance, end of season, at Target). It’s great as a layer for one or two seasons. I buy my own stuff at R.E.I. or get the Northface. Why? Because I don’t want to buy another one in a couple of years.</p>
<p>Columbia is pretty cheap nowadays, sorry to say.</p>
<p>But the point is, some things are worth paying more for, if you are going to use the features (durability, speed, comfort).</p>
<p>And there’s nothing wrong with having a few nice things.</p>
<p>Have you ridden in a Mercedes? My husband has a '94 Mercedes with just 3,000 fewer miles than my Corolla. The difference between the rides is unbelievable.</p>
<p>a $50k car on a $150k income is no different than a $20k car on a $60k income. Most people who earn a lot and drive fancy cars are not flaunting anything.</p>
<p>I am not a car person but- I did really like my 1976 yellow Toyota Corolla SR5 sport coupe until that bad 'ol 1965 Mercedes 250 SE hit it. :(</p>
<p>ugh, then I had to get a * station wagon!*</p>
<p>I do really like this['lil roadster though-]( <a href=“Yellow Tesla Roadster - YouTube”>Yellow Tesla Roadster - YouTube) think of how much I would save on gas!</p>
<p>One thing I have always thought fascinating though, is people whose car payment is as much as their rent. 
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<p>However, every one has different priorities- for instance we opted to stay in the city & live in an older smaller house, than we would have if we moved to the burbs. We also opted to send the kids ( one for K-12) to private school- including the schools that the " elite" fight to send their kids to. ;)</p>
<p>Yes some of them did live in amazing houses- one of my favorites was 8,000 sq ft with 8 bathrooms- but hell, they had the money- if that is what they want to spend it on- why should I have a problem with that?
They weren’t any better, smarter or better looking than me ( ok they did dress better)</p>
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After taxes of course… lol</p>
<p>When hubby and I were dating, it was during the early years of designer jeans. In our region Calvin Klein was the big name. Fairly early in the process, DH asked whether I owned any of the jeans with the logo on the back. I said that I did and he asked which one. I responded: “Lee.” </p>
<p>Looking back on those early questions he asked (after having been married to him now for going on 28 years), I think he was trying to figure out just how high maintenance I might be. He’s still pretty thrifty, but the older I get, the better the thriftiness seems.</p>
<p>My uncle with the eight-figure income wanted to buy a six-figure auto, but decided against it when reminded of his five-figure tax liability. (Tax lawyers … gotta love 'em.)</p>
<p>Those darn taxes…</p>
<p>"Interesting,Schmaltz,There may be alot of people wondering why you need a Toyota then when a Kia could also get you from point A to B. A Timex will certainly tell you the time as well as a $120 watch last time I checked. It’s all relative. "</p>
<p>Last time I looked, Toyotas were just slightly more expensive than Kias, not 3 times the price. And if I’m on the road and happen to have car trouble, I like that you’re rarely far from a Toyota dealer…same can’t be said for Kia (or Mercedes). And I’ve had experience with cheapo watches, and found that going below about $60 is likely to get you a watch with suspect reliability. Seiko, Boccia, and other similar brands will give you an attractive, accurate, and reliable watch for somewhere in the $80-$120 range.</p>
<p>“I was in an accident involving a Toyota corolla and an older Mercedes. No one was hurt , one car was stopped the other moving abot 10 miles an hr.”</p>
<p>You are operating under the premise that I think women should be allowed to have drivers’ licenses. I don’t think anybody should have a license unless he can make a right turn without slowing down to 3 mph. Unfortunately that eliminates about 99% of women.</p>
<p>So happy that I am in your one percent, Schmaltz. Is it okay if I am on two wheels?</p>
<p>“I also have a Burberry trench, which I paid $400 for 30 years ago. It is virtually identical to the ones selling for $1,800- SHOULD I STOP WEARING IT?”</p>
<p>Straw man in caps.</p>
<p>I agree that many times it’s worth it to pay more for quality. My only point is that just as you may wonder about why someone needs a Merecedes,there may be people wonderig why you have a Seiko. Just as you do not owe them a long explanation (such as you’ve provided here)as to why you make the choices you do, someone buying a Mercedes really doesn’t owe any of us an explanation either. I have no need for a fancy car but it is really none of my business if someone else thinks they do.</p>
<p>Schmaltz, you’re walking on thin ice…</p>
<p>Back to the OP: I saw a young man at the grocery store this morning wearing a Harvard t-shirt. He was not terribly attractive, IMO. Clearly proves the OP’s point!!</p>
<p>Sevmom, who’s saying you have no right to waste your money on anything you want? Who’s saying anybody who spends $60,000 for a Mercedes instead of $20,000 for a Toyota needs to explain why her butt deserves the smoother ride that the additional $40,000 gets her? </p>
<p>Sounds to me like your own opulence is so obviously preposterous (even to you) that you need to claim I’m being a Communist who wants to control your life, rather than a logical person who’s just laughing at you paying a $40k premium to pamper your precious backside.</p>
<p>“A Timex will certainly tell you the time as well as a $120 watch last time I checked.”</p>
<p>A Timex won’t last anywhere near as long as a Seiko.</p>
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<p>And maybe he’ll fall through before he insults ALL the women here! ;)</p>
<p>“I have a Corolla. I also live in Germany. Let me tell you where you can go in your Mercedes: right around me at 200 km / hr on the autobahn (uphill!).”</p>
<p>Nice red herring that is irrelevant to the 99.9% of posters who don’t live in Germany.</p>
<p>Schmaltz,
You do miss that political forum, don’t you… This is the same ascerbic wit of yours I used to enjoy watching on occasion in that ol’ now dead forum. </p>
<p>Love your “Lee” line, MD-mom. Priceless.</p>
<p>We’ve often talked about the book “the millionaire next door” on cc. Hey look-- the book can now be bought for $3.97 
[Amazon.com:</a> The Millionaire Next Door (9780671015206): Thomas J. Stanley, William D. Danko: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Millionaire-Next-Door-Thomas-Stanley/dp/0671015206]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Millionaire-Next-Door-Thomas-Stanley/dp/0671015206)</p>
<p>“Schmaltz, you’re walking on thin ice…”</p>
<p>You’re right. Sorry. 98% of women. 0% of men under the age of 90.</p>