How much you can afford on upgrades?

spongtastic

yes, we all know that n=n+1 but for upgrades U=(cd)-(wc) where U is the total you can actually afford on upgrades, c is how much you think you can afford, d is how much you simply MUST have that shiney new part, w is how much grief you'll get from the wife all multiplied by c the number of children you've got.

It's proven by the fact that 10 years ago when single I could spend whatever I liked but now married with two children for April I'm stuck well and truly with a negative U value.

This is because I've got to pay car tax on 2 cars, 2 MOTs, 2 pairs of shoes, phone bill, internet bill, council tax, holiday, kennels whilst we're on holiday etc.

bails87

Well that'll teach you to have a fulfilling, well rounded life won't it

Now if you had no kids and no missus and not much else to do like me then you'd be able to spend what you wanted...

spongtastic

I know, I wonder sometimes how I managed to get it all right.

It's just that sometimes you also think what you wanted to do with your money when you had some, only to realise that when you've got it, it isn't yours!

bike-a-swan

it worries me that the first thing I noticed wasn't the fact that that was pretty funny, but the fact that the units don't balance on each side. CURSE YOU ENGINEERING!

llamafarmer

You can't use 'c' for 2 different values man! They cancel each other out. What you've got there is:

U=d-w

See me after class

ilovedirt

Being 19, i get to spend every last bit of my money on my bikes! Of course that's not a great deal of money, and it would be daft to spend it all, but i've got some nice bikes, so i don't mind

lawman

ilovedirt wrote:

Being 19, i get to spend every last bit of my money on my bikes! Of course that's not a great deal of money, and it would be daft to spend it all, but i've got some nice bikes, so i don't mind

+1, i work in my LBS so whatever i earn either goes back into the shop, crc or on beeer

MacAndCheese

My formula for this month is:

U = W-R-B-2D-S-M = big fat zero

where:

W=wages
R = Rent
B =Bills
D = Stag Do
S = New suit
M = mother's day gift


On the plus side it's my Birthday at the end of the month so you never know

ExeterSimon

Married, one little 'un, three bikes and whatever I need for new ones, upgrades etc.

Have I found the perfect balance for my about to be started Whyte E120 project build?

Northwind

You need to factor in selling off old stuff too

spongtastic

llamafarmer wrote:

You can't use 'c' for 2 different values man! They cancel each other out. What you've got there is:

U=d-w

See me after class

Oh yes I can, but I was always lazy annotating formula with lower case, that's probably why I didn't get on advanced maths.

bike-a-swan

strictly speaking, if the two c's were the same it would simplify to U = c(d-w), you can't just forget them altogether

spongtastic

lawman wrote:

ilovedirt wrote:

Being 19, i get to spend every last bit of my money on my bikes! Of course that's not a great deal of money, and it would be daft to spend it all, but i've got some nice bikes, so i don't mind

+1, i work in my LBS so whatever i earn either goes back into the shop, crc or on beeer

Thanks to raging hormones and a house full of women at University when I was 19 most of my money went on food, music and beer, and very little on bikes. It was only a few years later I discovered that bikes managed to counter the effects of the beer.

El Capitano

Ah, but you see, I also have a formula, with specific values:

A = number of days commute to work by car = £5 fuel
B = number of days commute to work by bike = ligitimate £5 towards upgrades
C = total upgrade allowance
D = total number of days worked in a month.

So if A>D-B then C =

However, if B>D-A then C =

So far this month, A = 3, B = 5, so currently C = £25.

joshtp

what do i spend on upgrades? well whatever i get for the old stuff, plus whatever iv got from my last few weeks paper round - whatever i spent fixing my bike from the last ridiculus crash - money spent on other junk, and coffee.

so, in all, not much!

bails87

joshtp/mbukman wrote:

what do i spend on upgrades? well whatever i get for the old stuff, plus whatever iv got from my last few weeks paper round - whatever i spent fixing my bike from the last ridiculus crash - money spent on other junk, and coffee.

so, in all, not much!

Aren't you like 15? Why do you need coffee?! :P

joshtp

bails87 wrote:

joshtp/mbukman wrote:

what do i spend on upgrades? well whatever i get for the old stuff, plus whatever iv got from my last few weeks paper round - whatever i spent fixing my bike from the last ridiculus crash - money spent on other junk, and coffee.

so, in all, not much!

Aren't you like 15? Why do you need coffee?! :P

ust becouse im only 15 doesnt mean im not sophisticated, darling!
what about that famnous quote?
"coffee is the opium of the people"

scale20

I've gone a little wiser with me old age, used to think censored it, buy it but now I try and ebay stuf to make up all or part of the cost. Just treated my bike to a new cassette, chain, steel pro 2 freehub and a rear pro 2 bearing replacement ready for summer. All that came from ebay sales.

Now do I put those Cobalt wheels on the credit card? :shock: :shock:

phz

im 'lucky' enough to be a dinkie (what a shite acronym that is) so all my stupidly expensive gear-intensive hobbies (bikes / archery / audio production) are well supplied with 'stuff'

and yes - i DO know how lucky i am to be in that position at this moment in economic time

slainte :oops: rob

scale20

pHz wrote:

dinkie (what a shite acronym that is)

Eh? :roll: :roll:

fletch8928

scale20 wrote:

pHz wrote:

dinkie (what a shite acronym that is)

Eh? :roll: :roll:

DINKY. Double Income No Kids Yet. Thought it didnt look right with ie

My formula is. If its broke mend it. If its shot, replace it.

peter413

I spend all my money on my bike except maybe 10% of it that I spend on other stuff usually leading back to bikes

I am only 14 though so don't really get to much money but I just took delivery of a Hope M4 for the front since I "broke" the last one and I just ordered some new red pedals

Thats my budget back down to ummmmmmmm zero :roll:

BTW Balis87, I like coffee as well so dinnie dis

phz

fletch8928 wrote:

scale20 wrote:

pHz wrote:

dinkie (what a shite acronym that is)

Eh? :roll: :roll:

DINKY. Double Income No Kids Yet. Thought it didnt look right with ie
My formula is. If its broke mend it. If its shot, replace it.

heh - didnt look right to me either TBH

double income no kids imminent ever ?

slainte rob

*AL*

What ever I make from my 2nd job

I only work 14 days a month for my main job, so I've managed to do a couple of 12hr days each week for the past 5/6 weeks which has taken me from upgrade time to new bike time.

The Spiderman

I`m not sure how this equation works but I`m sure that at the age of 40 I have less dsiposable income than I had than when I did a paper round.
That just might be something to do with a big mortgage,3 kids,2 cars and being a single income family.