A Gobble oven mitt set, $24.95
Blue Heron Gifts & Boutique, 454 Franklin Street, Havre de Grace.
Looking for a holiday gift? This set includes a Thanksgiving dish towel, cookie cutter and wooden spoon. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/Baltimore Sun)
Blue Heron Gifts & Boutique, 454 Franklin St., Havre de Grace.
Looking for a holiday gift? This set includes a Thanksgiving dish towel, cookie cutter and wooden spoon.
Western style turquoise pendant necklace, $74.95
Boutique 44, 140A N. Bond Street in Bel Air.
Add a bit of flair to an outfit with this bold necklace designed for everyday wear. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/Baltimore Sun)
Boutique 44, 140A N. Bond St. in Bel Air.
Add a bit of flair to an outfit with this bold necklace designed for everyday wear.
Oyster shell wine stopper, $20
The Cottage On St. John, 433 St. John Street, Havre de Grace.
Add some bling to that unfinished bottle of wine. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/Baltimore Sun)
The Cottage On St. John, 433 St. John St., Havre de Grace.
Add some bling to that unfinished bottle of wine.
Earrings by Funky Monkey, $20, echo autumn leaves. At The Cottage On St. John, 433 St. John Street, Havre de Grace. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/Baltimore Sun)
The Cottage On St. John, 433 St. John St., Havre de Grace.
Autumn leaves never looked so stylish. Rustic-looking earrings pair well with any jacket.
Scarf by Joy Susan, $28
Apricot Lane, 105 N. Main Street, Bel Air.
Who says fall colors have to be muted? Add to a jean jacket for a pop of color. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/Baltimore Sun)
Apricot Lane, 105 N. Main St., Bel Air.
Who says fall colors have to be muted? Add to a jean jacket for a pop of color.
Dolce Vita sneakers, $125
Apricot Lane, 105 N. Main Street, Bel Air.
Step into the season with a fun pair of fashion sneakers. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/Baltimore Sun)
Apricot Lane, 105 N. Main St., Bel Air.
Step into the season with a fun pair of fashion sneakers.
Pumpkin lantern, $25.95
Blue Heron Gifts & Boutique, 454 Franklin Street, Havre de Grace.
This ceramic gourd will cast a cozy glow with a tea light inside. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/Baltimore Sun)
Blue Heron Gifts & Boutique, 454 Franklin St., Havre de Grace.
This ceramic gourd will cast a cozy glow with a tea light inside.
Deviled egg platter, $25.95
At Blue Heron Gifts & Boutique, 454 Franklin St., Havre de Grace.
This pumpkin-shaped plate is perfect for a potluck. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/Baltimore Sun)
At Blue Heron Gifts & Boutique, 454 Franklin St., Havre de Grace.
This pumpkin-shaped plate is perfect for a potluck.
Mersi purse, $89.95
Boutique 44, 1410A N. Bond St. in Bel Air.
This vegan leather crossbody bag comes with two adjustable straps. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/Baltimore Sun)
Boutique 44, 1410A N. Bond St. in Bel Air.
This vegan leather crossbody bag comes with two adjustable straps.
Baby one piece outfit, $39.95
Blue Heron Gifts & Boutique, 454 Franklin St., Havre de Grace.
Cuddle your little Boo with a ghost-printed onesie. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/Baltimore Sun)
Blue Heron Gifts & Boutique, 454 Franklin St., Havre de Grace.
Cuddle your little Boo with a ghost-printed onesie.
Lots of movies can be recognizable by some of their most quotable lines, whether they’re spoken by antagonists or protagonists. So with this, we have listed the top 11 movie one-liners that are too good not to remember:
Photo Credit:Shutterstock.
1. Terminator 2
A Redditor shared this line from one of the most famous movies of all time, Terminator, “Hasta la vista, Baby.” One also commented with another line from the movie, “I’ll be back….” Another added, [That’s] literally the first thing I thought about when reading the post.”
2. Toy Story
One user said, “To infinity and beyond!” Another Redditor added, “HE’S NOT FLYING! He’s just falling…with style.” “There’s a snake in my boots!” replied one. Another shared, “So long… Partner.”
3. The Sixth Sense
One commenter posted, “I see dead people.” Another commenter identified the movie just from that line, “Sixth sense, if I’m not mistaken. Extremely good, I just saw it a few weeks ago.” One user also said, “It was before I was informed of it as well. It caught me by complete surprise.”
4. Truman
“Good morning, and in case I don’t see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and goodnight!” one Reddit user posted. Another one replied, “That movie is such a gem.” One also commented, “And it’s timeless; you could see it at the premiere, and you could see it now for the first time, and it would still make total sense.”
5. The Shining
A Redditor posted, “Here’s Johnny!”. One unknowingly replied, “All I need is a title…” Another commented, “Can’t murder now, eating.”
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.
6. Harry Potter
Another user commented, “Yer a wizard, Harry.” and one replied,” I’m a wot?” Another user also shared,” A WIZAHD.”
Someone replied,” But I’m jus’ ‘Arry!”
A Reddit user then ended with,” Well “jus’ ‘Arry,” yer a wizahd!”
7. Taken
Almost every user expects this one-liner from this movie, as one of the Reddit users posted, “I will find you… And I will kill you….”
A user replied, “I feel like the “very particular set of skills” part is the more iconic part.” Another one added, “Good luck…” while a user shared, “The most satisfying scene is when Mr. “Good Luck,” was the one Bryan strapped into the electric chair to interrogate him, and then keeping his word, once he had his intel he left the room with the switch thrown, leaving the scumbag to fry!”
8. Sparta
One user commented,” “THIS… IS… SPARTA!!!” Another replied, “Loved that episode of Frasier.”
9. The Lord of the Rings
One Redditor exclaimed online, “YOU. SHALL. NOT. PASS!!!!” Another user then replied, “GANDAAALFFF!!!”
10. Snakes on a Plane
A sharer commented, “I HAVE HAD IT WITH THESE MOTHERF***G SNAKES ON THIS MOTHERF***G PLANE!” Another user commented, “I have had it with these monkey fighting snakes on this Monday to Friday plane!”
11. Home Alone 2
One Reddit user posted, “Keep the change, ya filthy animal.” Another one then responded, “That’s a tricky one, though. Could be a quote from a movie within a movie.”
One user also shared, “I think we’re getting scammed by a kindy-gartner.”
Source: Reddit.
Image Credit: Troma Entertainment
We’ve all been there – sitting through a movie that we can’t help but cringe at, but somehow it still manages to hold a special place in our hearts.
These 10 Terrible Movies Are Still People’s Favorites
20 Cities So Bad People Will Never Visit Again
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.
Have you had a bad experience visiting a city and sworn never to return? Not every trip is a great experience.
20 Cities So Bad People Will Never Visit Again
10 of the Greatest American Bands of All Time
Image Credit: Shutterstock.
When it comes to music, the mantra “beauty lies in the eye of the beholder” holds truer than ever. Nevertheless, we’ve worked hard to pinpoint the best American bands ever.
10 of the Greatest American Bands of All Time
10 Crazy Good Movies Where Women Are the Bad Guys
Image Credit: Lionsgate
Are you looking for a movie night with a twist? Look no further than these Reddit-voted top ten films where women take on the destructive bad guy role.
10 Crazy Good Movies Where Women Are the Bad Guys
10 of the Worst TV Series Ever According to the Internet
There’s Seinfeld, The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, The Office, and other legendary shows. But have you considered that for each show that garners universal critical acclaim, there is an inverse show lurking on the other end of the IMDb rating scale?
10 of the Worst TV Series Ever According to the Internet
The chasm runs the full length of the condominium complex, from the shuttered tennis court to the shuttered pool. Measuring more than 500 feet long and 20 feet wide, the gash divides the complex in two, its weed-choked perimeter cordoned off with chain-link fencing. A grimy trickle of water oozes along the chasm’s concrete floor a dozen feet below, like some ugly open wound that just won’t heal.
Welcome to Coyote Village, a 70-unit condo complex in suburban La Habra whose residents have been living out a homeowner’s nightmare. Over the last four years, portions of the tree-lined greenbelt that once shaded the complex have violently collapsed into a concrete maw below. That’s because, unbeknownst to most residents, the greenbelt wasn’t built on solid earth. Running beneath it is a cavernous flood channel that decades ago was sealed with a concrete lid then topped with mounds of soil and landscaped with pine trees.
The first collapse of the concealed lid came in January 2019, when a section of the greenbelt near the tennis court caved in, exposing the flood channel below. The second implosion came in March, when heavy winter rains saturated the greenbelt and the concrete lid couldn’t handle the weight of the soggy soil and towering pines. This time, the collapse took out a huge swath of the greenbelt near the community pool.
Advertisement
Most residents were shocked to learn that their complex was built on top of a private canal that plugs into Orange County’s larger Imperial Channel, which routes storm water out of La Habra, Brea and Fullerton. It stood as the only covered private channel in the county’s 380-mile public storm drain system.
And that “private” designation is where the residents’ encountered another chasm, in the form of a years-long legal battle.
After the 2019 collapse, the county did some cleanup work at the site and provided security fencing around the exposed portion of the channel. Following the March 15 collapse, La Habra brought in construction crews to excavate the channel, which at that point was clogged with dirt, tree limbs and concrete that the city worried would create a damming effect in the broader drainage system during future storms.
But the city’s work stopped there.
Over the last four years, portions of the tree-lined greenbelt that once shaded the Coyote Village condo complex have collapsed into a concrete maw below. That’s because, unbeknownst to most residents, the greenbelt wasn’t built on solid earth.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
La Habra officials have argued since the first collapse that the channel belongs to the complex. And worse, that the channel’s concrete lid had been improperly covered with a breadth of landscaping that violated what had been approved in the city permitting process. According to the city, the homeowners association that represents Coyote Village is responsible for repairing and rebuilding the channel.
The Coyote Village Homeowners Assn. has challenged that stance in a running legal battle, started in 2020, contending the channel is integral to a larger public system and was damaged by public use without just compensation. It has sued the city, the county and the county flood control district, among others, for relief.
“While the conduit runs through the HOA property, the water is public,” said John Peterson, an attorney representing the homeowners group. “The public needs to share in the responsibilities.”
Advertisement
State Sen. Josh Newman, a Democrat whose district encompasses La Habra, tried to broker a solution last summer and was able to secure $8.5 million in state funding to repair the flood channel. “The residents were wholly unprepared and financially unequipped to deal with this,” Newman said. “I was happy to secure those funds.”
But a year later, that money remains unspent.
La Habra initially questioned the propriety of expenditure, asking the state Atty. General’s Office if the allocation could be considered an improper gift of public funds. The state’s Legislative Counsel determined it was not. In the months since, the city and homeowners association have haggled over who would run the major construction project, with the HOA concerned it does not have the expertise and city officials reluctant to take charge of repairs on a canal they consider private property.
Residents have watched in a mix of frustration and resignation as the saga has unfolded.
Jan Duncan, an HOA board member, said she put her Coyote Village loft on the market in June and received six offers the first week. Then came questions about the flood channel and why it hasn’t been fixed in four years. In short order, every offer was rescinded.
“I cannot give buyers anything in writing to guarantee that this is going to be resolved,” she said. “Without that, they’re uncomfortable. I can’t blame them.”
Justin Marinello, who has a 4-year-old son, is among the parents who worry about the safety risk the exposed channel poses for children.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Justin Marinello is among the parents in the complex who worry about the safety risk the exposed channel poses for children. His condo looks out on the gritty channel and his 4-year-old son had a front-row view of the city’s excavation work after the March collapse.
“My son enjoyed watching the construction because he likes giant Tonka toys playing with dirt,” Marinello said. “But it would be nice to be able to open the door up and just have some grass for him to run on.”
On the other side of the chasm, Lizeth Ruiz knew about the exposed channel when she moved to her condo in 2019 but figured it would be quickly repaired. Instead, she finds herself fending off mosquitoes that breed in the canal’s dingy water. “Now, I keep everything closed and have to be more mindful about wearing pants instead of shorts,” Ruiz said, holding her newborn baby tight.
As the summer heat soars, the concrete channel is lined with dry weeds that rise taller than the 6-foot safety fencing. The channel itself is defaced with graffiti. Residents continue to pay $390 in monthly homeowners fees even though the channel’s collapse has sidelined amenities like the tennis court and pool.
It marks a wrenching chapter in the life of a property with an eccentric history.
In mid-century La Habra, a ranch owner flooded a portion of the area to create a lake and islet, deemed “Monkey Island,” where he let feral monkeys roam free. He also eyed the land for a track that would host ostrich races. At the time, ostrich farms were a popular tourist attraction in Orange County.
Later, the lake was drained and La Habra city leaders opted to go a development direction they considered more forward-thinking, erecting a shopping plaza and post office on the site.
In 1978, developer Loren Hendrix proposed an adjacent 70-unit condominium complex, when such communities were still novel in Orange County as an affordable alternative to single-family homes. Without yards to maintain, he envisioned residents being able to stroll along a landscaped creek — a dressed-up version of the flood control channel that crossed the property — as a key selling point.
But Hendrix faced stiff questions from city staff about how he planned to protect children from hazards posed by the channel-turned-creek. Archival records show the county flood control district rejected Hendrix’s creek design. The district recommended design changes Hendrix considered too costly. Instead, the complex would host an enclosed flood channel masked with landscaping.
La Habra City Council members approved the development in April 1979 on the condition that Hendrix’s design be approved by the city’s chief building inspector and the county flood control district. A year later, the building inspector wrote that the complex was “substantially in compliance” with applicable codes. It’s not clear in county records whether the flood control district ever approved the design.
In any case, the condo development and greenbelt were built. And for 40 years, storm runoff flowed through the underground channel unbeknownst to most residents until the 2019 collapse.
La Habra city officials say the cave-ins are more about what was built on top of the channel than what lies below.
Deputy City Atty. Gary Kranker contends that at the time of the 2019 collapse the soil piled above the channel ran 9 feet deep — 6 feet more than the greenbelt design approved by the city — and that the pine trees that by then stood 80 feet tall contributed to the channel lid’s failure.
“It’s the obligation of the individual constructing the channel, or in this case, the channel roof, to make sure it was done properly,” he said. “Based upon the calculations that we have, it would have been done properly had it only had 3 feet of soil.”
And he faults the homeowners association for failing to take aggressive action to alleviate the risks between the first cave-in and the implosion in March. “To be quite candid, [they] did not do anything to try and alleviate this condition,” he said. “They could have hired someone to remove the soil, one wheelbarrow at a time.”
The second collapse of the storm drain channel at Coyote Village came in March, when heavy winter rains saturated the greenbelt that concealed its concrete lid.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Last year, the homeowners association sued Hendrix, the complex developer, for fraud. The complaint alleged that he concealed the channel and any maintenance responsibilities from the association so he could sell condos “more quickly and at higher prices.” Peterson, the association’s attorney, said a settlement agreement compels Hendrix to find the insurance policies that covered the development and assign the rights over to the association.
Hendrix did not respond to requests for comment through his attorney.
Last week, representatives for the city and homeowners association said they were closing in on an agreement for moving forward with repairs that would free up the $8.5 million in state funding. Once a resolution is reached, the canal’s reconstruction is expected to take at least a year.
Roma Damo, who has lived at Coyote Village for 35 years, doesn’t see much light at the end of the tunnel — or flood channel, in her case.
“I’m seriously thinking about renting this condo out and getting myself an apartment,” said Damo, 88, eyeing the degraded channel outside her condo windows. “I don’t want to spend the rest of my life here looking at this.”
My wife isn’t one of those women who can buy hundreds of dollars of groceries for $12.93. She is, however, a frugal shopper, and can often trim an $80 bill to a $60 bill. Here are some of her top tips:
Don’t shop for groceries if you’re hungry. You’ve probably heard this before, but it’s true. Studies show that folks who shop when they’re hungry buy more. It’s true for me: If I go to the store for milk on a Sunday morning without eating breakfast, I’m likely to come home with donuts and orange juice and Lucky Charms, too.
Shop with a list. Make a list and stick to it. The list represents your grocery needs: the staples you’re out of, and the food you need for upcoming meals. When you stray from the list, you’re buying on impulse, and that’s how shopping trips get out of control. Sure, a magazine only costs $5, but if you spend an extra $5 every time you make a trip to the supermarket, you waste a lot of money.
Choose a grocery store and learn its prices. As I mentioned yesterday, supermarkets monkey with prices. You can’t be sure a sale price is really a deal unless you know what the store usually charges. Once you learn the prices at one store, you can save even more by adding another supermarket to the mix. Learn its prices, too, and note how they compare to the first. Your goal should be to recognize bargains. You want to know when those Lucky Charms are really on sale.
Buy in bulk, when possible. You can save a lot of money by taking advantage of economies of scale. But there are times you shouldn’t buy in bulk, too: if the larger bundle is actually more expensive per serving, if you don’t have room to store larger packages, if you won’t actually use more of the product before it spoils. You don’t want stale Lucky Charms.
Stock up on non-perishables, if you have space. Investing in five tubes of sale toothpaste is better than buying one on sale now and four later at the regular price. If a favorite product goes on sale, buy as much as you will use before it goes bad. Again: be certain that the sale price is really a bargain. Great items to hoard include: dried pasta, canned foods, toiletries, baking supplies, cereal, and cleaning supplies.
If you do seasonal baking, stock up year round. Dried fruit and nuts will keep in the fridge or freezer. Decorating supplies can be stored in a cupboard or cellar. By planning ahead, you can purchase seasonal goods when they’re cheapest rather than when you need them.
Know when to shop at big box stores. Costco and Sam’s Club don’t always have the best prices, and their selection is limited. However, they do have great deals on many items, including vitamins, toiletries, baking supplies, pet supplies, and paper products.
Compare unit pricing. The biggest package isn’t always the cheapest. Stores know that consumers want to buy in bulk, and so they mix it up: sometimes the bulk item is cheaper, sometimes it’s more expensive. The only way you can be sure is to take a calculator. (Mapgirl says she uses the calculator on her cell phone.) Our grocery store posts unit pricing for most items, which makes comparisons easy.
Check your receipt. Make sure your prices are scanned correctly. Make sure your coupons are scanned correctly. Sale items, especially, have a tendency to be in the computer wrong, and yet few people ever challenge the price at the register. You don’t need to hold up the line: simply watch the price of each item as it’s scanned. If you suspect an error, step to the side and check the receipt as the clerk begins the next order. If there’s a problem, politely point it out. It’s your money. Ask for it.
Use coupons, but only to buy things you actually need (or want to try). Gather coupons from your Sunday newspaper, from weekly circulars, from in-store booklets, or from online sources. Ask friends and family to save them for you. Sort through them while you’re doing something mindless — watching television, talking on the telephone, riding the bus. Clip coupons for products you use (or cheap alternates), or for products you’d like to try.
Use coupons for staple foods and ingredients, not highly-processed foods.
Highly-processed foods have enormous markups. “You shouldn’t even buy processed foods because the markups are so high,” my wife advises. Coupon savings barely make a dent in the price. If you must buy processed foods, wait for a good sale and then add the coupon so that you can get them at an excellent price.
Take advantage of special coupons whenever possible. Double coupons are great. My wife’s likes the “get $10 if you spend $50 or more” variety. Coupons for produce are rare — seasonal produce is often the cheapest and freshest. These special coupons can yield big savings.
For maximum savings, combine coupons with in-store sales. What happens when you combine a steep in-store discount on Lucky Charms with a 50-cents-off coupon and a double coupon? You get very cheap Lucky Charms, that’s what.
Plan your meals around what’s on sale. Every week, before making a shopping list or planning what to eat, go through your flyers and coupons. Check the calendar to see if there are any big events approaching for which you’ll need food. If you like meat, plan your menu based on the sale cuts.
Examine sale flyers carefully. On the front page are the things that the store really wants you to buy. Be wary of these. Note any special bargains. This week, for example, our store had many items on sale at ten for ten dollars, including dried pasta.
Take advantage of “buy one, get one free” offers. Split with a friend, if needed. You many not need two pot roasts, but it’s the same as getting one for half price if you find a friend to split the expense. (Alternately, pay the normal price and give the second away as a gift. Who wouldn’t love a free pot roast?)
My wife’s final piece of advice? “Let your husband come with you for the company, but don’t let him put anything in the cart.” The experts agree.
Note: this entry started as a response to Punny Money‘s grand coupon experiment. Nick is convinced that he can’t save any money with coupons. I went to my wife for a rebuttal, but I didn’t get one. “Coupons are usually for things you don’t need,” she told me. “Sales are the same as coupons — you have to lump them together in your head. It’s all just finding bargains.”
For 35 years, Bay Area finance revolutionaries have been pushing a personal investing strategy that brokers despise and hope you ignore. [This is] the story of a rebellion that’s slowly but surely putting money into the pockets of millions of Americans, winning powerful converts, and making money managers from California Street to Wall Street squirm.
So writes Mark Dowie in a recent issue of San Francisco magazine. Dowie describes how Google prepared for its IPO in 2004. Aware that hundreds of young employees would soon be millionaires, the company brought in a series of financial experts to teach them to make smart investment choices.
Stanford University’s Bill Sharpe, winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize in economics said, “Don’t try to beat the market.” He advised the Google employees to put their money into indexed mutual funds.
Burton Malkiel, author of the classic A Random Walk Down Wall Street (in which he posits that a “blindfolded monkey” could pick stocks as well as a professional money manager) and former dean of the Yale School of Management said much the same thing. “Don’t try to beat the market … and don’t believe anyone who tells you they can — not a stock broker, a friend with a hot stock tip, or a financial magazine article touting the latest mutual fund.”
Jack Bogle is the founder and retired chairman of The Vanguard Group. What did this expert on mutual funds advise? The same as the others. “Brokers and financial advisors … are there for one reason and one reason only — to take your money through exorbitant fees and transaction costs, many of which will be hidden from your view.”
These experts, and many like them, recommend the same thing: take the slow, sure path to wealth. Invest your money in index funds. Index funds are low-maintenance, low-cost mutual funds designed to follow the price fluctuations of a broader index, such as the Dow Jones Industrials or the S&P 500. They are boring investments. But they work.
Related >> How to Invest in Index Funds
Jack Bogle’s common-sense approach has inspired a loyal following among savvy investors, many of whom participate in the Vanguard Diehards discussion forum.
[This] forum is characterized by its contributors’ commitment to low cost — primarily index — mutual fund investing, its unusually civil tone, and the thoughtful replies to almost all who post a question, no matter what their level of investing knowledge.
Some of these diehards call themselves Bogleheads in tribute to their muse. Three of them recently published The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing, which is an excellent guide to smart investment choices. In the book, the Bogleheads stress their philosophy: Make index funds the core — or all — of your portfolio.
But not everyone believes that index funds the best choice for personal investors. A week ago I shared a brief conversation about money with Sparky, a friend to whom I often go for investment advice — he reads widely on the subject, and is well-informed. He doesn’t like index funds. Also last week, Jim at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity urged his readers, “Don’t just buy index funds.” Another blogger is worried that even index funds may be getting too complicated.
Even some professionals prefer other stock investment strategies. For example, Lowell Miller wrote a well-regarded book entitled The Single Best Investment: Creating Wealth with Dividend Growth in which he touts high-quality, moderate-growth, dividend-producing stocks as the best choice. In The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need, Andrew Tobias admits the virtues of index funds, noting that over time they beat the returns on nearly every other sort of investment. But he notes:
For the prudent, thoughtful investor there is now the possibility of the ultimate fund. The one you put together yourself. The Personal Fund. It is no-load, of course, because you don’t charge yourself a nickel. And not just low-expense, like an index fund, but, rather, no expense.
This “personal fund” approach is exactly what my friend Sparky was trying to describe to me in our conversation last week. I like the idea of using some portion of my portfolio for a personal mutual fund. It’s easier for me to pay attention to my investments when they’re stocks I picked myself. But I will always want the core of my investments to be in index funds.
Despite the dissenters, most experts agree: index funds are an excellent way to get rich slowly. Dowie’s article on the subject is long, but is worth reading if you’re serious about your stock investments. Bookmark it. Print it. Save it for later. But make some time to read it.
Who doesn’t love a bad movie? The only thing better than a self-aware terrible movie is a bad movie trying to be good.
There’s a guilty pleasure in knowing that even some of the brightest, most talented filmmakers can flop sometimes. According to an online movie forum, these are the ten biggest flops meant to be a hit.
1. The Lawnmower Man (1992)
Photo Credit: Allied Vision.
It’s jarring to see a movie rated 5.4 on IMDb with Stephen King’s name attached, but one commenter claims the movie was so bad King sued to have his name removed from the film’s involvement.
The film was adapted from one of King’s books and was directed by Brett Leonard. This movie-watcher describes it as “bad, but it’s also strange, unpredictable, and fun.” They also cite that a scene in the movie about a monkey robocop had to be cut from the theatrical release because it was irrelevant to the rest of the film.
2. Who Killed Captain Alex? (2015)
Photo Credit: Ramon Film Productions.
Funnily enough, this terrible movie is rated 7.0 on IMDb because of the sheer amount of ironic 10s. One person jokes, “nothing but a true passion for cinema was poured into that movie.” Another user remarks, “They asked for terrible movies, not peak cinema.” Watching the amateur acting and terrible CGI in the trailer is a trip.
The synopsis of the film is beautifully ridiculous. The Ugandan president orders Captain Alex to defeat the Tiger Mafia but dies trying. Alex’s brother investigates and vows to avenge his brother. I give it a solid 10 out of 10 for the trailer alone.
3. Battlefield Earth (2000)
Photo Credit: Warner Bros.
This film stars John Travolta and Forest Whitaker and is set in the year 3000, where the ruling alien race Psychlos has enslaved humanity. It’s based on the book by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology.
A connoisseur of terrible movies insists this is the gold standard of unintentionally bad films, calling it the stuff of legends. To encapsulate just how bad they think it is, I leave you with this quote: “I simply couldn’t even fathom what perfect storm of events had to unfold to allow something so aggressively bad to exist on a multi-million dollar scale.”
Wait, they’re not done, “I honestly don’t think it could’ve been any worse if, literally, every person involved was actively trying to sabotage the film.” Quite possibly one of the lowest-rated films on IMDb, with a 2.5 rating.
4. Troll 2 (1990)
Photo Credit: Filmirage.
Troll 2 is a slight upgrade from the last film, at least earning a 2.9 IMDb rating. One individual thinks it gets funnier every time they watch it. The movie’s premise is a vacationing family discovers the town they’ve arrived at has been taken over by human-impersonating goblins who want to eat them.
A second user added more context, explaining the director was not a native English speaker but insisted the lines be spoken just as they were written.
5. Samurai Cop (1991)
Photo Credit: Hollywood Royal Pictures.
Samurai Cop follows the lives of two police detectives who try to stop the Katana, a killer gang trying to lead the drug trade in L.A. The movie is famous for its supposedly fluent Japanese-speaking main character mispronouncing every other character’s name and uttering cringe lines.
When one character asks him what katana means, he responds, “It means Japanese sword.” The flat delivery is fantastic; I highly recommend this terrible gem, rated 4.6 on IMDb.
6. Zardoz (1958)
Photo Credit: Twentieth Century Fox.
Rated 5.8 on IMDb, this X-rated film starring Sean Connery takes place in the late 23rd century. A savage who knows only how to kill is taken in by a bored community of immortals who are tasked with preserving man’s achievements. Someone says Zardoz fits the bill of an awful and amazing film.
Judging by the IMDb reviews, that assessment checks out. As one reviewer describes, it’s an “incredibly profound allegory disguised as a cheesy movie.” The trailer is simultaneously intriguing and disturbing.
7. The Fanatic (2019)
Photo Credit: Daniel Grodnik Productions.
Poor John Travolta — this is the second terrible movie on this list that he stars in. Directed by Fred Durst, this psychological thriller is about a rabid fan who, when cheated out of the opportunity to meet his favorite action hero, resorts to stalking and increasingly sinister methods of getting the star’s attention.
Someone comments this is easily one of the worst movies that weren’t intentionally meant to be terrible because it takes itself so seriously. A commenter named Emily gives it credit purely because everything the movie could have possibly done wrong, it got wrong, which is no easy feat. The Fanatic is rated 4.1 on IMDb.
8. Cats (2019)
Photo Credit: The Really Useful Group.
This film went viral online for supplying the internet with endless amounts of cringe. Despite having a star-studded cast including James Corden, Judi Dench, Taylor Swift, and Jason Derulo, the CGI was bizarre, and the tone was weird.
Cats is based on the famous musical about a tribe of cats called the Jelicles who, every year, select one among them to ascend to the Heaviside Layer — a type of heaven-like rebirth for cats. One person who saw the movie on a date comments the movie was so bad it ended the relationship.
9. Birdemic: Shock and Terror (2010)
Photo Credit: Moviehead Pictures.
There’s some debate over whether this film is intentionally bad, but one commenter insists it’s worse than The Room — the certifiable worst movie of all time. Another clarifies, “The director legitimately thinks he’s the next Hitchcock.”
This movie, directed by James Nguyen, is about a flock of mutated birds descending upon a quiet California town, causing casualties. Two citizens fight back against the birds. The movie is an homage to Hitchcock’s The Birds but with terrible directing and CGI. It stands at a shockingly low 1.7 on IMDb.
10. The Happening (2008)
Photo Credit: Twentieth Century Fox.
This movie singlehandedly destroyed both M Night Shyamalan and Mark Wahlberg’s careers. It’s about a science teacher and his family trying to survive a plague that somehow causes those infected by a plant neurotoxin to commit suicide. Most of the ridiculousness of this movie can be attributed to the awful writing and delivery of the lines.
A final moviegoer recited the famous line, “What? Noooo!” which is uttered by Wahlberg’s character in response to a woman who asks if he’s going to murder her in her sleep — it’s hilarious because the line is supposed to be believable but is delivered more like an SNL skit.
Source: Reddit.
Image Credit: Shutterstock – Denis Makarenko
Who is one actress you can never stand watching, no matter their role? After polling the internet, these were the top-voted actresses that people couldn’t stand watching.
10 Actresses People Despise Watching Regardless of Their Role
These 7 Celebrities are Genuinely Good People
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.
We’ve all heard the famous adage that “no publicity is bad publicity,” and while it tends to be accurate, there are certainly exceptions. But what about those few stars who stay out of the limelight and get along without a hint of trouble?
These 7 Celebrities are Genuinely Good People
Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Have you ever known someone and thought you liked them—until you learned about their hobbies? Then you get to know them and then you’re like, “Wow, red flag.” Well, you’re not alone.
These 10 Activities Are an Immediate Red Flag
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.
Some celebrities definitely seem to enjoy the limelight and keep working to stay in the public eye. While others quickly move out of the spotlight. Many of these actors and actresses stepped out of the spotlight to live a more private life without constant media pressures.
10 Celebrities That Made the Big Times Then Disappeared Off The Face of the Earth
Image Credit: Troma Entertainment
We’ve all been there – sitting through a movie that we can’t help but cringe at, but somehow it still manages to hold a special place in our hearts.
These 10 Terrible Movies Are Still People’s Favorites
In 1973, Burton Malkiel published A Random Walk Down Wall Street, in which he argued that a blindfolded monkey could pick stocks as well as a professional investor. Though I bought a copy of Random Walk for $3.99 at the local Goodwill last year, I haven’t read it. It looks dense. I know it’s written for the layman, but it still seems rather academic.
In 2003, Malkiel published The Random Walk Guide to Investing, “a book of less than 200 pages in length that boils down the time-tested advice from Random Walk into an investment guide that [is] completely accessible for a reader who knows nothing about the securities markets and who hates numbers.”
Several patient GRS-readers have been recommending this book for the past year. When I stayed home sick yesterday, I finally found time to read it. I’m impressed. Malkiel has produced an easy-to-read straightforward investment guide that I’m happy to recommend to anyone. His philosophy matches my own:
The advice in this book is both simple and realistic. There is no magic potion in the investment world because the truth is that one doesn’t exist. There is no quick road to riches. And if someone promises you a path to overnight riches, cover your ears and close your pocketbook. If an investment idea seems too good to be true, it is too good to be true. What I offer are ten simple, time-tested rules that can build wealth and provide retirement security. Think of the rules as the proven way to get rich slowly.
Malkiel’s rules are familiar. We’ve discussed most of them here before:
Start saving now, not later. Don’t worry about whether the market is high or low — just begin investing. “Trust in time rather than timing,” Malkiel writes. “The secret to getting rich slowly (but surely) is the miracle of compound interest.”
Keep a steady course. “The most important driver in the growth of your assets is how much you save,” writs Malkiel, “and saving requires discipline.” To develop discipline, the author recommends that you learn to pay yourself first (invest before anything else, even paying bills), implement a budget, change spending habits, and pay off debt.
Don’t be caught empty-handed. Malkiel recommends that readers open an emergency fund. He doesn’t specify how much should be set aside, but he does cover a variety of places to put the cash: money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and online savings accounts. He also recommends purchasing term life insurance.
Stiff the tax collector. Make the most of tax-advantaged savings: Open an Individual Retirement Account, contribute to your company’s retirement plan, take advantage of tax-free savings for your child’s education, buy your home rather than rent. All of these things help to reduce the bite that taxes take out of your money.
Match your asset mix to your investment personality. Based on your risk tolerance and your investment horizon, choose the best mix of cash, bonds, stocks, and real estate. (Malkiel encourages investors to buy each of these through mutual funds.)
Never forget that diversity reduces adversity. Don’t just buy stocks — buy stocks, bonds, and other investments classes. Within each category, diversify further. And don’t just buy one stock — buy mutual funds of many stocks. (Malkiel makes his case with the stark example of a 58-year-old Enron employee who had a $2.5 million 401k — of Enron stock. When Enron went bust, the employee not only lost her job, but her retirement savings vanished completely.) Finally, the author recommends “diversification over time” — making investments at regular intervals using dollar-cost averaging.
Pay yourself, not the piper. Interest and fees are drags on your wealth. “Paying off credit card debt is the best investment you will ever make.” Avoid expensive mutual funds. “The only factor reliably linked to future mutual fund performance is the expense ratio charged by the fund.” In fact, the author advises that costs matter for all financial products.
Bow to the wisdom of the market. “No one can time the market,” Malkiel says. It’s too unpredictable. Professional money managers can’t beat the market, financial magazines can’t beat the market — nobody can beat the market on a regular basis. The best way to earn consistent gains is to invest in broad-based index funds. It’s boring, but it works.
Back proven winners. After Malkiel has preached the virtues of index funds, presumably converting the reader to his religion, he spends a chapter suggesting possible index funds and asset allocations.
Don’t be your own worst enemy. Malkiel concludes by admonishing readers to stay the course, warning them against faulty thinking. He discusses the sort of money mistakes I’ve mentioned before: overconfidence, herd behavior, loss aversion, and the sunk-cost fallacy.
Ultimately, Malkiel’s advice can be stated in a few short sentences: Eliminate debt. Establish an emergency fund. Begin making regular investments to a diversified portfolio of index funds. Be patient. But the simplicity of his message does not detract from its value. The Random Walk Guide to Investing is an excellent book because it sticks to the basics:
It’s short.
It’s written in plain English — there’s no jargon.
It’s easy to understand — concepts are simplified so the average person can grasp them.
It’s filled with great advice.
This book refers often to other books to bolster its arguments, and includes quotes from financial professionals like John Bogle and Warren Buffett. Though the advice may seem elementary, it’s advice that works. If you want to invest but don’t know where to start, pick up The Random Walk Guide to Investing at your local library.
Have you ever been excited about a film enough to go to the theater, and spend a fortune on concessions, only to be disappointed beyond belief in the movie? After polling the internet, here are twenty-five films people admitted were the worst they have ever seen in theaters.
1. Holmes and Watson (2018)
“Holmes and Watson. My friend turned a good Christmas into an unforgettable Christmas. But in a bad way. This movie was the end of those styles of comedies,” shared one.
A second admitted, “I was looking for this one. My ex and I saw it on Christmas, we wanted to walk out, but we had to see the garbage the whole way through. Just God awful. I would not recommend it to anyone!”
“My wife and I debated which movie to go see. Being a big Will Ferrell fan and loving John C. Reiley, combined with the amazing world of Sherlock Holmes, I was confident my movie pick was the right one. She conceded, and we went to it. Terrible. Horrible. We haven’t been to the movie theatre since,” a third user confessed.
2. Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011)
“Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. I hated this movie so much. It sucked so bad that I wanted to cry. So I took my daughter and her friend to see this. I still wanna cry,” one mom replied.
“I, too, took my daughter. It was her first movie, and she got to pick. I was hoping for Muppets, and I’ll never forgive Jason Lee. And David Cross! I love him. But I have not watched anything he’s been in since that movie. I read that he hated it too, and I’m mad that I can’t even enjoy him anymore,” a second added.
3. Catwoman (2004)
“I wanna go back in time to be in the editing room when they cut the basketball scene together. The number of cuts and the decision to have Halle Berry grinding on the guy in front of a bunch of kids is bizarre,” shared one.
“Wow… I, uh, man, I watched that. I know I watched that. And yet, somehow, as if some defense mechanism, my brain must have deleted that scene, and most of the film, from my memory,” another confessed.
“I can’t believe that actual professional filmmakers decided that any part of this movie was worth making. The whole thing is just such a pile of trash. I saw it for free — I worked for a part of the company that released the movie — and I STILL wanted my money back,” a third admitted.
4. Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)
“My parents dropped me off to see this movie when I was a kid, and I was the only person in the theater. I like the first one, but after that, I’m done,” one stated.
“Don’t get me started on Transformers with Marky Mark. I was nauseous, to begin with, in the theater when I watched it—nausea combined with awful storytelling. I fell asleep at like three different times,” a second expressed.
“Totally. You’ll have to take a lot of Dramamine to choke down Transformers: Age of Extinction. There were many moving parts, like the fast, third-person following the action of the bots running through the city while transforming multiple times. Then there was the banal cast I wish would get squished in one of the bots while they rode in them,” a third shared.
5. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
“I worked at a movie theater as a first job, and the owner got this movie for a week because he thought I would like it (nothing else going on at the time). I couldn’t apologize to him enough. It was awful. I remember the attendance was 25 tickets sold for the entire week,” someone volunteered.
“Came here to say this. I took my 8-year-old brother to see it for his birthday. The only thing I can remember was that I wanted to get up and walk out less than halfway through,” another confessed.
“It’s always painful to take someone to a movie as a special treat like a birthday or Christmas, and the experience sucks. For example, I took my son to see The Amazing Spider-Man 2 for his first theater experience, and I can barely hold back my disdain for it,” a third user expressed.
6. Mortal Kombat Annihilation (1997)
“I’m seriously dating myself here, but Mortal Kombat Annihilation. Five minutes in, Johnny Cage was like 80% of what made the first movie decent – dies; I felt the film was in trouble.”
“Then a recast Raiden walks in, and I knew it was all over,” said one. Another added, “I was a teenager when the first one came out… it was awesome! Finally, after years of playing the game in arcades, I loved it. So I went to the second without hesitation, leaving highly upset and bummed out. What a pile of trash it was!”
7. The Dark Tower (2017)
“The Dark Tower adaptation of the Stephen King book series was a trainwreck. I’m the most disappointed I’ve ever been with a film adaptation—Scratch that. I was more than disappointed. I was disgusted,” admitted one.
“My dad (70) wanted to see it. He has never read any of the books. I don’t think he’s ever read a single book. I cautioned him that it was NOT a western, which is what he likes, but I didn’t expect it to be such hot garbage. He was utterly confused, and I could tell he wanted to leave.”
8. Space Chimps (2008)
“Space Chimps. The things you will do for a loved one. I was a teen and took my kid sister to see this; so many bad monkey puns. This movie came out the same day as The Dark Knight, and I saw Space Chimps,” one digressed.
“My kid sisters were addicted to it when we didn’t have cable for a while. It was so bad, and I saw it originally in the theaters a few years earlier. I hated it the FIRST time I saw it,” another added.
9. After Earth (2013)
“That movie with Will Smith and his son. They were space travelers looking for something on Earth. I would look up the title, but I’ve already spent enough time on it typing this out. Time wasted,” one shared.
“I believe it’s After Earth! That is hilariously bad and another M. Night Shyamalan special. Based on this thread, I have learned that M Night Shyamalan deserves a Bad Movie Lifetime Achievement Award,” suggested another.
10. Howard the Duck (1986)
“I saw Howard the Duck at the theater the year after I saw Back to the Future. I remember thinking I wish this were as good as Back to the Future. It wasn’t. Howard the Duck is as memorable as Mannequin 2. I can’t believe I saw that turd in the theater,” confessed one.
“Prime Lea Thompson is the only reason anyone could have positive memories of the movie so bad that it led to firesales resulting in Pixar, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Disney buying all that plus Lucas and Fox,” a second noted.
11. Battlefield Earth (2000)
“Battlefield Earth was awful, and this is my answer. It is the ONLY answer. So I walked out,” shared one. Another confessed, “The first movie I ever walked out of was Battlefield Earth, it was awful, and it was the catalyst of why I hate everything Sci-Fi.”
12. The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)
“Watching The Adventures of Pluto Nash in a dingy hotel room at 3:00 am was perhaps the most hollow experience of my life. Of all the questionable things I have in my lifetime, this is by far at the top of the list of things I wish I could undo,” one shared.
13. Godzilla (1998)
“Then there are universally panned movies that I enjoyed. Godzilla comes to mind, which everyone hates, but I, who had never seen a Godzilla film in my life up to that point as a 14-year-old, thought it was pretty bizarre,” one stated.
“I finished the Godzilla movie, walked out, and snuck into Deep Impact. It was just starting, and I needed a way to make my money spend well. It’s not the worst film I’ve ever seen, but it is the worst I’ve seen in theaters,” a second answered.
14. Fant4stic 4 (2015)
“I remember sitting through a long dialogue/monologue scene with Miles Teller talking at length between Reed and Sue that went on long enough for me to turn to my friend and say, ‘this conversation has no point and could have been cut from the movie entirely,” one replied.
“And it turns out I was right. It didn’t set up a payoff later, didn’t develop the characters at all; it just added runtime to an already bloated movie.”
15. Drag Me to Hell (2009)
“I would say my worst movie experience was Drag Me To Hell because I’m already not a horror fan, and that movie has a jumpscare every four minutes, which meant I was looking at the film from the corner of my eyes most of the time,” shared one.
16. Ghost Dad (1990)
“I saw it in the theater. I was in a phase back then where I loved movies so much that I loved every movie I saw. But, Ghost Dad taught me that sitting through a movie could be awful,” admitted one.
17. Leonard Part 6 (1987)
“There are some excellent movies people list in this thread, which I find hard to agree with,” one said. Meanwhile, I saw Leonard Part 6 in the theater.”
Another shared, “I remember that there was a machine that was going to let the bad lady take over the world, which the good guy sabotaged by replacing the fluid inside with dish soap….only to find out the original fluid was dish soap anyways. Terrible, just terrible.”
18. The Village (2004)
“I was not too fond of it when I was younger when it first came out, but I thought I was going to see a monster movie because that’s what all the advertising at the time was making it seem to be,” someone admitted.
“The Village by M. Night Shyamalan is the same story as Running Out Of Time. Some random teen book that came out in the 90s. I had read it, and within the year The Village came out, it made the twist very predictable. So I didn’t like the film,” another expressed.
19. Old (2021)
“That was the stupidest movie I’ve ever seen in my life. My roommate wanted to watch it, and after the film, we were all sitting in stunned silence until I blurted out that it was the stupidest movie I’d ever seen in my life, and that’s the only thing I’d been able to say about it since,” answered one.
“I just watched Old not long ago, and that was quickly one of the worst movies I’ve seen in years. It was so bad. But, truthfully, Old and Glass are both pretty awful films,” a second added.
20. The Happening (2008)
“One person noted, “He has several movies on this list. The Happening is my vote. What a disappointing film included in such a disappointing character arc that M. Night Shyamalan had.”
“Seeing that movie made me feel legitimately shaken. I wasted a lot of time in my life, but only after sitting through that in a theater did I have these dark thoughts about how I would never get back that precious time that I could have been doing anything else. It made me confront mortality. I had an awful day that day,” a second shared.
21. Epic Movie (2006)
“Epic Movie. With my grandparents. It is partially my fault, nonetheless. Epic Movie was my first experience with a dumb parody/satire film,” someone confirmed.
“I’ve walked out of two movies in my life. Epic Movie is one of them. I was with five friends, including one who drove me there. I wished I could have walked out sooner. But, instead, we all learned our lesson from this movie,” a second replied. “After I sat through Epic Movie, I promised myself that I would walk out if I ever saw a film that bad again,” a third user commented.
22. Norm of the North (2016)
“I took my kids to see Norm of the North. Instead, I’d have watched Paint Dry, and my kids would have. But, unfortunately, I lost it with the addition of purple drank in a styrofoam cup added to the arctic snacks ideas,” one stated.
“I still point out how horrible it was, and my wife’s response is, it’s a kid’s movie. As if it being a kid’s movie excuses it from being a steaming pile of garbage. As if we use a different scale for kid’s movies despite agreeing that some of the best movies ever made are kid’s movies. I hate that movie so much,” a second user confessed.
23. The Last Airbender (2010)
One person shared, “I was 12-13 when this movie came out, and I LOVED the show. So my siblings and I all watched the show, and my parents agreed I could go with them to my first midnight showing since I loved the show so much.”
“So I shaved my head, painted blue arrows on my head, arms, and neck/upper back, wore a robe, and carried a staff.” “The movie freaking sucked. A movie ruined my first midnight showing, so terrible many deny its existence. I’m still angry at M. Night Shyamalan to this day.”
24. Eragon (2006)
“As a kid seeing their first movie with their same-age friends. Eragon. That move was such a massive waste of money. My buddies and I constantly read the books and saved pocket money for weeks to watch them. I’ve walked out of movies since, but the Supreme disappointment that movie had as a kid me cannot be beaten,” someone explained.
“I watched that terrible film on a DVD from Redbox years later once I had finally read the books. But, man, that was a major heartbreaking book-to-film adaptation, even then. I wished we hadn’t rented it at all,” a second agreed.
25. Lady in the Water (2006)
“It was the last nail in the coffin for me in terms of my hope that M. Night Shyamalan could have a rebound after his fall from grace. But, unfortunately, the plot (I’m being liberal with the word plot) was garbage. The idea and the execution were also trash,” said one.
“M. Night Shyamalan casts himself as a prophet in it. Aside from a few moments of unintentional comedy, it had no redeeming qualities. I got my money back for it despite having sat through all of it. The guy at the counter didn’t even ask follow-up questions; he was used to doing it for that movie,” a final user commented.
Source: Reddit.
Image Credit: Shutterstock – Denis Makarenko
Who is one actress you can never stand watching, no matter their role? After polling the internet, these were the top-voted actresses that people couldn’t stand watching.
10 Actresses People Despise Watching Regardless of Their Role
These 7 Celebrities are Genuinely Good People
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.
We’ve all heard the famous adage that “no publicity is bad publicity,” and while it tends to be accurate, there are certainly exceptions. But what about those few stars who stay out of the limelight and get along without a hint of trouble?
These 7 Celebrities are Genuinely Good People
Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Have you ever known someone and thought you liked them—until you learned about their hobbies? Then you get to know them and then you’re like, “Wow, red flag.” Well, you’re not alone.
These 10 Activities Are an Immediate Red Flag
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.
Some celebrities definitely seem to enjoy the limelight and keep working to stay in the public eye. While others quickly move out of the spotlight. Many of these actors and actresses stepped out of the spotlight to live a more private life without constant media pressures.
10 Celebrities That Made the Big Times Then Disappeared Off The Face of the Earth
Image Credit: Troma Entertainment
We’ve all been there – sitting through a movie that we can’t help but cringe at, but somehow it still manages to hold a special place in our hearts.
These 10 Terrible Movies Are Still People’s Favorites
I’ve already told you how the wife and I weed out our closets every summer and have a yard sale with the results. Last weekend, we did some big off-season pruning because — in a little more than a month — we’re moving to a smaller house (though it’s way cooler, closer to work, and in a better school district). Consequently, we have to get rid of a good bit of furniture.
Here’s the evolution of my furniture-buying history:
Stage of Life
Type of Furniture
College student
Dorm fare, boxes
Single college grad
Goodwill castoffs, sturdier boxes
Newlywed
Wedding gifts, furniture relatives no longer use
Up-and-coming professional
Begin to buy “nice” furniture because we’ll keep it forever
Family man moving to a different house
Sell “nice” furniture on Craigslist
Okay, so we have bought furniture that we’re likely keep for a very, very long time. But we’re also selling items that we thought we’d keep for much longer than we did — and getting a fraction of the price we paid. One example: I always wanted a roll-top desk, but I thought I didn’t deserve one until I became a real writer. So when I wrote my first book for The Motley Fool, I rewarded myself by using part of the money I earned to buy a swell-looking cherry roll-top desk, designed specifically to be used with computers. And I loved it…for a while.
But then I outgrew it. I don’t know why exactly, except that I now prefer to sit in a comfy chair with a laptop in my (guess!) lap rather than sitting at a desk — perhaps because I sit at a desk all day at work. I don’t want to come home and do it for another few hours. And the desk also takes up a lot of space, which we don’t want to devote to a desk in our new home.
So here’s my new thinking about furniture: Like clothes, furniture can wear out its style and usefulness. Our tastes in homes and the accompanying contents change; it just doesn’t make sense to pay up for something we may no longer want or have space for a few years later.
The flip side is that cheaper furniture may not last even a few years. That’s been our experience with the dressers we bought from Target and IKEA. So, for now, I think our best strategy is to buy high-quality stuff used. Or go back to eating off sturdy boxes.
Adventures on Craigslist
Obviously, other people agree, because within 48 hours of our listing seven items on Craigslist, we’ve sold three (including the roll-top desk). I assure you, they’re getting good deals. And we’re raising cash to buy furniture more appropriate for our new place — off Craigslist, of course.
That said, I’ve been the target of two attempted scams and possibly a third. Here’s how one went down: I received identical emails from “Mr J Benson” at [email protected], regarding two of the items we were selling. He asked if they were still available. I replied that they were, and again received two identical emails, as follows:
Thanks for the prompt response. I have instructed my account officer to mail (overnight) a certified check, while you hold this item for me. Let me know when you receive the check and I will have my mover will come pick up at your place. Please forward me the following info so I can issue your check . . .
1.Your full name 2.Your mailing address(Physical as Ups does not deliver to P.O.Box} 3.Your phone number.
** Please note that I will overnight the payment,and you should receive it tomorrow. I appreciate you holding this for me. Please delete the posting as I am definitely buying it from you and it would be sad for me to have the payment in the mail only to be informed of the its sale also am deaf and will like to be contacted via email.*
This immediately smelled stinky to me, and a quick Google search showed that plenty of other people have received this identical offer. From what I can tell, here’s how the scam works: The check that gets delivered is for more than the item being sold. The “buyer” instructs the seller to deposit the check anyhow, and just wire back the difference.
Perhaps you can guess how this ends. If not, here’s how it ended for a woman in Hawaii, according to a news story:
The buyer agreed to purchase the furniture for $230. She said she would send a check for $2,452 and asked the seller to deposit the check in the bank, deduct $230 and then send back the balance via Western Union. She said she would send a male friend to Western Union to pick up the check because she couldn’t leave the house. The seller agreed with the arrangement. After sending a check for the balance through Western Union, she learned that the original check was bogus.
The second scam attempt was similar — a woman saying she wanted to buy our couch as a Christmas gift for her father-in-law, and she’d send a check. I replied that I only deal in cash, and face-to-face. Her reply: “Cash on exchange is my preffered means of payment but i dont have the time .I believe you know how hard it is to get a job these days.Pls bear with me.” I don’t think we’ll be selling this person our couch.
The third interaction may be a scam or not. I’m selling my PlayStation 2 (including a bunch of games), and here’s the email I received:
I wanted to ask if you could help my son he really want a system but i lost my job last month and i couldn’t do thanksgiving good and he was sad and now he thinks christmas is going to be the same but i dont have money i was hoping i could work something out with you to help him im a good handyman i just dont like seeing him like this can you help and put a little smile on him for christmas if you can thank you and god bless if not that ok i just wanna to try to make it better for him
The only possible scam here is that he wants a free PlayStation when he could afford to pay the $90 I’m asking for it. Or maybe his story is legit. If it is, I’d be willing to help him out. Not sure what to do about this one. What do you think?
To sum up…What have I learned over the weekend?
You may not keep furniture as long as you think, so it may not be worthwhile to pay a lot or buy it new.
Accept only cash. Experienced sellers tell me that transacting through PayPal has worked for them, though I don’t have any personal experience on the seller side with it.
There are a lot of people on Craigslist who should be shopping for books or software that will improve their spelling and grammar.
If you want to get rid of stuff, Craigslist works — but you have to be careful of scambags. Though I’ve never sold anything on other sites — such as eBay or Amazon — they might work as well. If you’ve used them, let us know about your experience in the comments are below.
J.D.’s note: I’m a huge Craigslist fan, but you absolutely have to watch out for scambags, as Robert calls them. In my younger naive days, I’d let “buyers” talk me into all sorts of things. For example, I traded my Nintendo Gamecube for an obsolete digital camera instead of getting cash. And I also let somebody trade me a computer that ended up being on death’s door. I’ve learned that as the seller, you can’t put up with any monkey business.
Over the holidays, we said good-bye to an old family member. It was definitely her time to go. She leaked, she conked out at odd times, and she stank. Of course, I’m talking about our old vehicle: a minivan with 182,000 miles on it. I didn’t let go of her easily; after all, we didn’t get rid of our previous car until it had 264,000 miles on it. I figured we could get the minivan to at least 200,000.
But while visiting relatives in Florida, we had the opportunity to buy a used minivan from my sister’s meticulous neighbor for a great price. So we took it. I have to admit, it’s been a huge upgrade. It has all kinds of luxury features that our old minivan didn’t have, such as:
When you turn it on, it stays on until you turn it off.
When it rains, the water stays out of the vehicle.
There’s an electrical device in the cigarette lighter that I can use to charge my cell phone, rather than just an empty hole where an electrical device used to be.
The speedometer is an accurate reflection of the speed I’m traveling, rather than a number to which I have to add five to 15 mph.
The brake light comes on only when the emergency brake is actually engaged.
It has this thing called “air conditioning.”
It doesn’t stink. (The smell in the old car came from water coming in and getting the carpets all moldy.)
It has a “keyless remote,” which is a device on the key ring with buttons that, when pushed, cause the side doors to slide open.
(Regarding that last feature, here’s a trick you can play on the uninitiated: I put the keyless remote in my pocket, and told my mom and my aunt that the doors were voice activated, but you had to use the secret word. In this van’s case, I told them, the secret word was “monkey _____.” Since this is a family website, I can’t print the actual word, but use your imagination and you’ll be close. So I got my 70-something mom and aunt to yell, “Monkey ____!” at the van, pressed the button in my pocket, and — voila! — the doors opened. They just couldn’t get over it. “I have to get me one of those!” my aunt exclaimed. I let them yell, “Monkey ___!” at the van for another 15 minutes, closing and opening the doors, until I told them the truth. If I had videotaped it, we’d all be YouTube heroes by now.)
Drive a Lemon, Save Some Cabbage
I take my share of barbs from family and friends for driving clunkers. But for me, there are two driving (no pun intended) factors: 1) money, and 2) safety. Let’s look at the first one.
At what point is repairing an old vehicle just throwing good money after bad? Here’s one way to look at it: According to Comerica Bank, creator of the Auto Affordability Index, the average cost of a light vehicle last year was $25,500. If you had to finance that total amount over four years at the going rate of 6.56% (according to Bankrate), it would cost you $605.44 a month. If you spend less than that on repairs of the old vehicle, then keeping it saves money…at least for the next four years. At that point, the newer car would be paid off, and the old car would be really old.
But in the meantime, if it cost you only $200 a month to maintain the old vehicle, you saved $405.44 a month, or $19,461.12 over four years. Not too shabby.
While that’s helpful as a way to begin to think about the question, it doesn’t really help with determining a bottom-line number for an actual person because it’s based on an average number, 100% financing, and the purchase of a new car. To help someone like you — who is non-average, who likely wouldn’t finance the entire purchase, and who might be buying a “pre-owned” car (which, to me, is an inappropriate term, since “pre-owned” should mean “before it was owned,” that is, new) — you’ll have to whip out a spreadsheet and factor in all the costs. That includes assuming higher maintenance costs for the older car, but also higher insurance, higher property tax (if you, like me, live in a state that charges such things), and transaction costs after replacing your jalopy. It’s not an exact science, since it involves forecasting future maintenance costs — an impossible task. But it will give you some numbers to think about. In most cases, I bet the analysis will show that keeping the old car is the way to go, financially.
But then There’s Safety
Did I do just such an analysis when I decided to replace our old minivan? Not exactly. We had reached a point where we were spending more than $2,000 a year on maintenance, and I had a rough idea of how much it would cost to fix the major problems with our van. Then this opportunity came up, to buy a van from one of those people who perform regular maintenance and have the records to prove it, at a price $2,000 to $5,000 below what it would have cost me to get the same vehicle from Craigslist or Carmax.
But what really got me was that the old van just didn’t feel safe anymore. Something was always going wrong, and I didn’t want something major to happen while my wife was on the highway with our kids. And I must admit, it’s nice to have a car that stays dry, has A/C, and doesn’t stink…yet. If I ran the numbers, I suspect my spreadsheet would have said, “Keep the old car.” But as readers of this website know, financial decisions don’t always come down to dollar and cents.
So I feel comfortable with the decision we made. As for our old van, my sister and brother-in-law got the major problems fixed and arranged to have it donated to a church they work with, so we’ll get a tax deduction out of the deal (another factor that would have gone into the spreadsheet) and the van will hopefully last long enough to do some good. My relatives in Florida approved of the trade-off, especially those who make jokes about the heaps we’ve driven, and believe that any car should be replaced once it reaches 100,000 miles.
Yet the math clearly shows that driving a car well beyond that point is the right thing to do for your net worth. According to Comerica Bank, the purchase of a new car costs 21.9 weeks of a median household’s income. That’s working 42% of the year just for a car. To me, acquiring a new vehicle before it’s necessary is a bunch of financial monkey _____.