I did some research, and there were so many million 78s produced that unless you've got a rarity, no one wants them. It would be like having a random Elton John cd kicking around in 80 years and seeing if anyone wanted it

Yeah, people are always inheriting boxes of old 78s and presuming they'll be valuable and they're usually thrashed and worthless.

Buy the house! Buy it! (Subject to the results of the inspection.)

But I would actually like them if you and your sister want!

I'll ask her to bring them next time she comes to visit, and I'll see what we actually have. My recollection is hazy, beyond "clothes". I'll be happy to send them to you.

My sister and I suffer from the idea that if we just hold on to X for 20 more years, it'll be valuable! We have to grab each other and say NO. But still... attic full of clocks.

Of all the antiques we got out of our old house, most were damaged in some way, either from having gone through the tornado or just from 50+ years of use. The pieces that are still useable, we're using. But the most valuable thing we found was a old plastic wind-up child's toy in the garage, that was worth a few hundred bucks.

Renting would make more sense for me financially, but I so hated living somewhere that belonged to someone else I really don't want to again. Also hated sharing walls with my neighbors.

This is me, although buying this house was a good choice for me financially. Moving out of central NJ to a place with a lower cost of living made it possible. I share a wall with my neighbors, but I never hear them; it's a good wall!

I may end up living in a tent at some point to meet both my financial and emotional requirements.

There was a point at the intersection of "dead broke" and "desperate for independence" that I considered living in a van in my sister's driveway. There's something really appealing to me about the idea of a small, mobile living space.

Zen, Airstream makes some very cool micro trailers.

I want to live in this one.

Tiny houses.

I would love to live in an Airstream! They seem expensive, though.

$50K for that little Airstream. Not bad if you can buy a small plot of land free and clear.

Honestly, having stuff is burdensome. Staying in consumerist cycle where you're shopping shopping shopping and for what?

I've been thinking a lot about Guy Debord's classic critique of capitalism "Society of Spectacle" and he talks a lot about creating the illusion of need to drive capitalist growth.

I always feel liberated when I get rid of stuff.

Especially now between Kindles and streaming media divesting makes sense.

t /Wild Eyed Marxist Moment

he believes banks are part of the great Illuminati conspiracy to control people.

I've heard crazier. Of course, I'm also a fan of Ancient Aliens, so take that as you will.

Mom use to tell me about her childhood home, where grandpa (not any kind of licensed contractor or electrician) ran the house's electrical wiring through the gas lighting pipes. Every room got exactly one electrical outlet, whether it needed it or not.

I've rented ever since I left home, and I love the look of nicely restored old houses. But the evil flipper link above is exactly what I'd worry about if I were to buy one. And buying one and then getting the work done sounds a bit worrisome. What do I know about general contracting?

We are closing today, coincident to this conversation. I'm excited, and happy we didn't end up getting a flipped house. My agent wouldn't have forgiven me if I had... He talked me out of one and into this house, which I'm pretty excited about.