San Diego Housing Bubble News and Analysis

I haven't noticed pan-handling. You might consider buying gas in a better neighborhood. I have noticed that a lot of people can't seem to pump gas without a mobile phone glued to their ear. I eagerly await my first live observation of spontaneous combustion. First aid will not be rendered.

I have noticed people are very careful not to spill when returning the pump back lately. I remember like a couple years ago when people would just drop gas all over the place spilling on their car and drop cash at the same time. Man those were the days!!! ....on another note...I decided on buying a push lawn mower today! Life is getting tough

I've had two different people approach me for gas and I was in Encinitas - not a bad neighborhood at all!

I have noticed people are very careful not to spill when returning the pump back lately. I remember like a couple years ago when people would just drop gas all over the place spilling on their car and drop cash at the same time. Man those were the days!!! ....on another note...I decided on buying a push lawn mower today! Life is getting tough

You should have asked me for mine. I'm trying to get rid of mine.

Found a gardener for $40/month.

if you haven't bought one already, you can have it if you pick it up in san diego, or pay for me to ship it to you, though I think it would probably cost the same if you just bought it online (with gas prices being what they are)

I'll tell you that my driving habits have slightly changed. I use to let my car idle for 2 minutes after driving it on the freeway to let the turbo cool properly (I drive pretty hard, and installed an HKS turbo timer in the car.  FWIW, those of you with a VW/Audi with a 1.8T/2.0T/or 2.7T, here's how to do it http://www.audiworld.com/tech/elec31.shtml).

Now, I just time my destination such that about the last 2 minutes of driving, I make sure I drive such that the turbo runs under very low load (i.e. drive like a pansy the last 2 mins of my destination).

selfportrait

----- Sour grapes for everyone!

At the military gas stations, the past couple of times, I've had my ID card checked. I can't remember ever having that happen before.

My coworker has a Diesel Excursion with a 40 gallons tank. She spends about $200 to fill it up.

She is getting about 15 mpg but she is taking the metro train from Riverside to OC to work now. Unlimited pass for $200 a month.

jimmyle,

I know, I drive into downtown L.A. 1-2x's a week and I've taken the Metrolink a couple times. Even though the company I work for reimburses for mileage ($0.51/mile) I'm thinking about using the Metro more often when it fits my time schedule. For a 200 mile round trip drive I get back $102 then subtract my 25 mpg (8x$4=$32) and I end up with $70. Of course there's the wear and tear on my car so if I make 8 LA trips/mo then thats $560/mo = $6720/yr. enough to pay for tires, brakes, car payments, oil changes and have some left over.

Happened to me in Carmel Mountain Ranch. Decent looking guy with a car.

Decent looking guy with a car.

What the heck is happening? Don't they realize they are becoming just well dressed beggars when doing that? Why drive if they are too poor to afford gas. They should start relying on other means of transport. What are they doing for insurance if they can't afford gas?

I have noticed that whether it be 11am or 3pm on any given day of the week, there are LONG lines at Costco to get gas. Friday's and Monday's seem to be the worst where lines run out to the street. There are a lot of people filling up who are not dressed as professionals, so I have to wonder how long they can continue to fill up their Escalades, Expeditions, etc if they are either not working, stay at home mom's, or working in blue collar jobs that are more likely to suffer from a consumer depressed outlook.

I know of a cleaning lady who barely speaks any English who's husband works construction. They have 2 small children. How is it she can afford to drive a Toyota Sequoia which I believe is a 50k car and gets 13/18mpg?

FLU, did you check the immigration papers on your lawn care professional? I am assuming he's cutting once a week. $40 a month - does that cover his gas? Is he pushing the old fashion reel mower around your yard? You know the one that requires a running start before hitting the grass.

golfgal, it depends on whose house the cleaning lady is cleaning :) If she's the cleaning lady for one of my brother-in-laws in OC who owns his own law firm and services only corporate clients (meaning he makes a lot of money) then she's probably making about $600 month just taking care of his house. If she has ten other clients like him who are paying her similar wages then she's making about $6000/mo = $72000/yr. I know that his cleaning lady has at least one of her kids at either UCLA or USC. Not bad for a cleaning lady :)

And if the cleaning lady is using her Toyota Sequoia for work then she's writing off the vehicle usage as a business expense as well: gas, insurance, maintenance, payments.

harrybosch she could also be getting the heavy vehicle tax deduction. IRS section 179, form 2290. It's a very fat deduction.

Writeoff for Heavy SUVs
Tax law allows you to claim the $25,000 Section 179 writeoff plus the "regular" first-year depreciation writeoff. For example, say you spend $60,000 in 2008 to buy a new Cadillac Escalade that is used 100% in your business. You can generally claim the following first-year deductions on your business's 2008 federal return: the $25,000 Section 179 writeoff plus $7,000 worth of regular depreciation [20% x ($60,000 - $25,000)]. So your first-year depreciation deductions add up to $32,000, or about 53% of the new Escalade's cost. This is a far better deal than if you spent the same $60,000 on a new BMW used 100% for business (in that case, your first-year depreciation writeoff would be limited to about $3,000 under the so-called luxury auto depreciation limitations).

I'm sure she is very carefully following IRS Regs and reporting all income. Of course she is. How could she not? She couldn't possibly be flying under the radar in the cash economy!

FLU, did you check the immigration papers on your lawn care professional? I am assuming he's cutting once a week. $40 a month - does that cover his gas? Is he pushing the old fashion reel mower around your yard? You know the one that requires a running start before hitting the grass.

First, the dude is asian. Second, he uses an electric mower (you know the one that you plug in to those funny little outlets that stick out from stucco walls). Third, he works on a few others on the street so it's a wash for him to add me.4th, my front lawn is a joke and I have no lawn in back, though I have a bunch of plants and bushes that need hedging occasionally, which he ends up using my sheers and edger (which is also electric). He does demand cash payment, but I don't know why :)

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----- Sour grapes for everyone!

HarryBosch

Help a brother out here!!

I have a stay at home MOM/WIFE on my hands that needs a job in the OC. She drives a big SUV and is milking me.. the cow!!!

If she could get that kind of gig I could stay at home and walk the kids to school and bake cookies all that stuff.....dream.....dream....dream

FLU thanks but my neighbor just gave me a offer to use his lawn mower for free with gas if I cut his grass too....which is awesome because he has cold beer and is the sharing type!