Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

tjc78

So… my son asked to go to the Super Bowl if the Eagles make it. I said to him that it may be too expensive.

I decided to check how much it would really cost if we booked now for two of us as an exercise.

Cheapest nosebleed tickets - 11,000
Flights Philly to Phoenix - 4000
Hotel (cheapest) - $1750

So $16750 before you eat or drink. Quite the cost! I think I’ll have a party at home and pocket $16250 lol.

FWIW I estimated it at $10000 before I looked it up.

snakeweasel

@tjc78 said:
So… my son asked to go to the Super Bowl if the Eagles make it. I said to him that it may be too expensive.

I decided to check how much it would really cost if we booked now for two of us as an exercise.

Cheapest nosebleed tickets - 11,000
Flights Philly to Phoenix - 4000
Hotel (cheapest) - $1750

So $16750 before you eat or drink. Quite the cost! I think I’ll have a party at home and pocket $16250 lol.

FWIW I estimated it at $10000 before I looked it up.

Not sure where you are getting tickets but I looked up on ticket Master and they had packages starting at $5,500. There I saved you $5,500 I expect a 10% finders fee.

driver100

Cute dog!

kyfdx

@tjc78 You have to be flexible on flight days. Also, tickets should come down to the $2500-$3000 range, sometime in the week before.

We've found flights for about $500/ea into PHX, and $300/ea non-stop into Vegas (4 hr drive). In on Saturday, and out on Wednesday.

$250 rental car

$400/night in a Holiday Inn Express about 13 miles from the stadium

$6K for tickets
$1K for plane
$1.6K for lodging
0.25K for car
= $9K or so, total

Of course, if your team wins this weekend, the airfare goes through the roof, within about an hour. I know, because we were in the SuperBowl, last year ( I didn't go)., though I scoped it out. If you want to fly back on Monday or Tuesday, very pricey.

kyfdx

What I really need is a forums member in PHX area to put me up for four days.... lol

kyfdx

Just checked. AA non-stop, Saturday to Wednesday, $463 p/p non-stop into PHX. If I was really ballsy, I'd book that (spoiler alert: I am not).

Michaell

@tjc78 - couldn’t you fly out of EGR?

stickguy

Had to look that one up. Figured you meant Newark (ewr).

I used that sometimes. Philly airport is 15 minutes from him. Newark about 1.5 hours or so.

Unless I was independently wealthy (stinking rich) I would not pay 5 figures to go watch a football a game. Maybe not even then!

kyfdx

Turns out, maybe I am a risk taker: Booked the non-stop flights on AA: $463/pp.

We have other trips planned this year, so if we don't go, we can get credit towards other tickets on AA.

Michaell

stickguy said:

Had to look that one up. Figured you meant Newark (ewr).

I used that sometimes. Philly airport is 15 minutes from him. Newark about 1.5 hours or so.

Unless I was independently wealthy (stinking rich) I would not pay 5 figures to go watch a football a game. Maybe not even then!

Whoops, yeah, I meant Newark.

I used to know the codes pretty well, back in the days when I was traveling 1-2 times a month.

I'm thinking you could pay for an Uber Black to Newark for the money you save on the airfare.

explorerx4

Newark is a horrible airport. I hope I never fly through there again.

stickguy

explorerx4 said:

Newark is a horrible airport. I hope I never fly through there again.

still better than JFK and LaGuardia!

I did prefer Philly (and it was a lot closer to my house) but sometimes routes/fares made Newark a better option. especially international flights.

ab348

I flew into Newark just one time. Had to clear US Customs there. There was a huge crowd of people waiting to get into the lineups. One guy was juggling a couple of bags and placed the card they gave out on the airplane between his teeth for a moment to free up a hand. Suddenly a Customs agent appears and starts yelling at him to get it out of his mouth. I could understand his actions somewhat, but the yelling shocked me. Until I remembered I was in New Jersey.

Michaell

Have flown into Newark a number of times over the years. JFK less so (first time was in 1975, on a family vacation), but never LaGuardia.

Also flew into MacAurthur in Islip once, as well.

Got pretty familiar with the Philadelphia airport, as we had a fair amount of business there and in Southern NJ.

tjc78

I don’t know about the tickets. Here is Ticketmaster sorted low to high.

Newark? Sure I could but that airport may actually be worse than Philly.

This was all an exercise, but crazy expensive no matter how you look at it. I’ll settle for some awesome takeout and watching it on the 120” movie screen

At any rate need to get past the niners next week.

tjc78

@kyfdx said:
@tjc78 You have to be flexible on flight days. Also, tickets should come down to the $2500-$3000 range, sometime in the week before.

We've found flights for about $500/ea into PHX, and $300/ea non-stop into Vegas (4 hr drive). In on Saturday, and out on Wednesday.

$250 rental car

$400/night in a Holiday Inn Express about 13 miles from the stadium

$6K for tickets
$1K for plane
$1.6K for lodging
0.25K for car
= $9K or so, total

Of course, if your team wins this weekend, the airfare goes through the roof, within about an hour. I know, because we were in the SuperBowl, last year ( I didn't go)., though I scoped it out. If you want to fly back on Monday or Tuesday, very pricey.

Good insight. I didn’t realize tickets would go down. So I’d assume everyone is just shooting for the moon right now?

Honestly my son (turns 9 in March) is still a little young for this. He would get much more out of it in a few years.

ab348

Michaell said:

Have flown into Newark a number of times over the years. JFK less so (first time was in 1975, on a family vacation), but never LaGuardia.

I flew into LaGuardia a few times, most recently in 2013. It was a night flight up the coastline from Virginia, and the view out the window was pretty fantastic as we approached NYC. My first look at the Freedom Tower was a thrill, as was seeing Manhattan at night. Flying in to LaGuardia itself was pretty neat too, coming in over the water. It was a bit crowded in the terminal but the area I was in had been recently renovated so it was good. I didn't even have to change gates to make my connection home, so that was a breeze.

stickguy

They did just do (I think it is done) a major remodel. Maybe even a new terminal. So I am out of date on that airport but do know popular opinion. It’s just too confined for the traffic.

driver100

tjc78 said:

@kyfdx said:
@tjc78 You have to be flexible on flight days. Also, tickets should come down to the $2500-$3000 range, sometime in the week before.

We've found flights for about $500/ea into PHX, and $300/ea non-stop into Vegas (4 hr drive). In on Saturday, and out on Wednesday.

$250 rental car

$400/night in a Holiday Inn Express about 13 miles from the stadium

$6K for tickets

$1K for plane

$1.6K for lodging

0.25K for car

= $9K or so, total

Of course, if your team wins this weekend, the airfare goes through the roof, within about an hour. I know, because we were in the SuperBowl, last year ( I didn't go)., though I scoped it out. If you want to fly back on Monday or Tuesday, very pricey.

Good insight. I didn’t realize tickets would go down. So I’d assume everyone is just shooting for the moon right now?

Honestly my son (turns 9 in March) is still a little young for this. He would get much more out of it in a few years.

It would be a great time to teach the value of what $9000 saved could do for you....as opposed to seeing one football game. $9000 wisely spent could launch a business that could give you an income for many years. I have a real hard time justifying that, I wouldn't spend that to watch any tennis match anywhere, no matter who was playing....but that's just me.

28firefighter

I would love to know what business I could successfully bootstrap with $9000 that will actually sustain.

I agree with helping understand the value of money. However, there are a number of folks that would happily spend this kind of money for an experience that creates a core memory vs say, cars. Because it isn't just about the game if you choose to go - you're paying for the memory of the experience. To each their own, right?

stickguy

I don't know as if a 9 YO will get enough valuable memories out of it to make a difference later in life!

however, $9k invested smartly to be used for a car in 8 years, that would be memorable.

stickguy

hey, who was it that found the good deal on a laptop at wally world? I recall it was an HP, but at this point, what are the key minimum requirements (gigs of ram, HD capacity, processor)? is 8 and 256 enough memory? and best to stick with an Intel i series (3 or 5) chip?

my current laptop has gotten very slow and boggy and gives me bad vibes that it could be on the way out, and laptops, like tires, are something I prefer to change out a little early, instead of too late!

roadburner

tjc78 said:

So… my son asked to go to the Super Bowl if the Eagles make it. I said to him that it may be too expensive.

I decided to check how much it would really cost if we booked now for two of us as an exercise.

Cheapest nosebleed tickets - 11,000

Flights Philly to Phoenix - 4000

Hotel (cheapest) - $1750

So $16750 before you eat or drink. Quite the cost! I think I’ll have a party at home and pocket $16250 lol.

FWIW I estimated it at $10000 before I looked it up.

I've had similar financial shocks pricing F1 tickets/accomodations and NCAA Final Four packages.

tjc78

I agree with you all. Like I said it was an exercise (which made good conversation). I would love to go one someday, but I too would think of all the other things that money could do.

driver100

28firefighter said:

I would love to know what business I could successfully bootstrap with $9000 that will actually sustain.

I agree with helping understand the value of money. However, there are a number of folks that would happily spend this kind of money for an experience that creates a core memory vs say, cars. Because it isn't just about the game if you choose to go - you're paying for the memory of the experience. To each their own, right?

Yup....to each his own is right, and a shared experience is worth a lot.
We started our business about 25 years ago with about $500 to $1000....and we eventually had sales of over $4 million a year.

IMHO once your expenses are covered and you can blow $9000 on a sports event, that is a personal choice and you should do whatever you want.....the views expressed are only my own, I am not telling anyone what they should do...just something to consider.

qbrozen

tjc78 said:

At any rate need to get past the niners next week.

As I told my son, if the Eagles and Niners who showed up this past week show up for their match against each other, the Eagles will win. The few times the Cowboys ran the ball (because they are a passing team), they made big gains, and the Eagles run game is far superior. And the Cowboys defense kept the scoring down, while the Eagles defense is also superior. But... any given Sunday. You just don't know. Fingers crossed.

jmonroe1

@28firefighter said:
I would love to know what business I could successfully bootstrap with $9000 that will actually sustain.

I agree with helping understand the value of money. However, there are a number of folks that would happily spend this kind of money for an experience that creates a core memory vs say, cars. Because it isn't just about the game if you choose to go - you're paying for the memory of the experience. To each their own, right?

————————————————
Being from the Burgh area there were 8 Super Bowls I had a vested interest in going to if I chose to do so. Never once did I seriously considered doing it. Just could not see spending that kind of money for seats I wouldn’t like or putting up with the hassle of all of it.

Maybe that was a good thing because that savings helped a little with school for my two sons for 4 of those Super Bowls.

FWIW, both of my sons went to the Steelers Super Bowl when they defeated the Cardinals in Tampa in Super Bowl XLIII in 2009. They cheaped out a little by staying with my cousin who lives in the Sarasota area.

When I asked both of them about spending money that could help pay for their kids schooling they both laughed and said, “saving a few grand wouldn’t put a dent in paying for their kid’s schooling today. The increase in school costs today is no where close to being proportional to when we went to school. The best that money would do is buy books for a couple semesters, if that”. They’re probably right. Maybe memories are the way to go today.

jmonroe

driver100

About 35 years ago my then girlfriend (not Mrs D100) won seats for an Air Supply concert......I know, but she won the tickets and it made for a romantic evening.....I thought. It was at an outdoor facility.
They sang about 5 or 6 songs and then the lead singer said he had a bit of a sore throat, and they said they fulfilled enough of the concert that they could call it off, and the final kick in the butt....he said I hope you come back and see us when we return next time.

Well, I didn't mind too much that Air Supply were calling it off....but, I learned not to go to any outdoor event that can be canceled and you have no recourse.

If we go to a major tennis game in Europe or something, I want there to be a roof, I'm not going to spend big buck$ and have the event canceled, and if they play for an hour or two you don't get another ticket or anything....you go home soaked and get to watch an hour of tennis...for your $1000 or whatever....I don't like those odds.

What happens if it rains on Superbowl day?

qbrozen

driver100 said:

What happens if it rains on Superbowl day?

they get wet.

venture

jmonroe1 said:

@28firefighter said:

I would love to know what business I could successfully bootstrap with $9000 that will actually sustain.

I agree with helping understand the value of money. However, there are a number of folks that would happily spend this kind of money for an experience that creates a core memory vs say, cars. Because it isn't just about the game if you choose to go - you're paying for the memory of the experience. To each their own, right?

————————————————

Being from the Burgh area there were 8 Super Bowls I had a vested interest in going to if I chose to do so. Never once did I seriously considered doing it. Just could not see spending that kind of money for seats I wouldn’t like or putting up with the hassle of all of it.

Maybe that was a good thing because that savings helped a little with school for my two sons for 4 of those Super Bowls.

FWIW, both of my sons went to the Steelers Super Bowl when they defeated the Cardinals in Tampa in Super Bowl XLIII in 2009. They cheaped out a little by staying with my cousin who lives in the Sarasota area.

When I asked both of them about spending money that could help pay for their kids schooling they both laughed and said, “saving a few grand wouldn’t put a dent in paying for their kid’s schooling today. The increase in school costs today is no where close to being proportional to when we went to school. The best that money would do is buy books for a couple semesters, if that”. They’re probably right. Maybe memories are the way to go today.

jmonroe

I took my son to a Steelers game and a few Pirates games when he was young (the Pirates actually won one of them) and to a couple of Penn State games (I remember we saw Notre Dame and forget the other one).

When he was in High School I took him to an Alabama game in Tuscaloosa. We went into the stadium on Friday and went on the field and walked around in the end zone.

I didn't spend anywhere near $9,000, but still made memories we talk about occasionally.

Roll Tide

ab348

driver100 said:

What happens if it rains on Superbowl day?

Nothing. State Farm Stadium has a roof.

henryn

stickguy said:

hey, who was it that found the good deal on a laptop at wally world? I recall it was an HP, but at this point, what are the key minimum requirements (gigs of ram, HD capacity, processor)? is 8 and 256 enough memory? and best to stick with an Intel i series (3 or 5) chip?

my current laptop has gotten very slow and boggy and gives me bad vibes that it could be on the way out, and laptops, like tires, are something I prefer to change out a little early, instead of too late!

That would be me. I posted, separately, an exceptional deal on a Gateway notebook and a very good deal on an HP notebook. 8 gigs of RAM (Random Access Memory) and 256 gigs of SSD (Solid State Drive) are probably sufficient for most people, as you noted.

Here is a good deal from Walmart on a Gateway:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Gateway-15-6-Ultra-Slim-Notebook-FHD-Intel-Core-i3-1115G4-Dual-Core-8GB-Memory-256GB-SSD-Tuned-THX-1-0MP-Webcam-HDMI-Fingerprint-Scanner-Cortana-Wind/596897449?athbdg=L1600

And here is a good deal on an HP, also from Walmart:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-14-Laptop-Intel-Core-i5-1135G7-8GB-RAM-256GB-SSD-Natural-Silver-Windows-11-Home-14-dq2078wm/222768279?athbdg=L1600

Note they each have 8 gigs and 256 gigs, but the HP has a slightly better cpu. The main difference in cost is from build quality. The HP is built better and is more easily serviceable. But the odds are that either one will last until past the point of being obsolete.

roadburner

driver100

Just for comparison; And I don't think it had as many features but the one I got seems pretty good and is $399 on Amazon...just a few left now (I don't think I paid $399 though).
Laptop for Student and Home use, Intel Celeron N4120 4-Core(up to 2.6Ghz), 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Numpad, Fast Charge, HDMI, Win11 S (@henryn didn't like my Celerons)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09Y8XMGP4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

henryn

driver100 said:

Just for comparison; And I don't think it had as many features but the one I got seems pretty good and is $399 on Amazon...just a few left now (I don't think I paid $399 though).
Laptop for Student and Home use, Intel Celeron N4120 4-Core(up to 2.6Ghz), 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Numpad, Fast Charge, HDMI, Win11 S (@henryn didn't like my Celerons)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09Y8XMGP4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is true. I would advise anyone to skip over any computer with a Celeron processor.

oldfarmer50

28firefighter said:

I would love to know what business I could successfully bootstrap with $9000 that will actually sustain.

I agree with helping understand the value of money. However, there are a number of folks that would happily spend this kind of money for an experience that creates a core memory vs say, cars. Because it isn't just about the game if you choose to go - you're paying for the memory of the experience. To each their own, right?

Start a sticker store. Here in NY some enterprising people are taking advantage of a loophole in the recently legalized pot laws to sell “stickers” for some exorbitant fee and include a bag of free pot as a bonus.

How many stickers would 9 grand buy?

stickguy

Thanks Henry. I was looking earlier and the selection is overwhelming.

I like the HP but think I will stick with a 15.6" screen since that is what I have now. though 14 could be fine too, and less bulky... but I am afraid I would miss the big screen.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

About 35 years ago my then girlfriend (not Mrs D100) won seats for an Air Supply concert......I know, but she won the tickets and it made for a romantic evening.....I thought. It was at an outdoor facility.
They sang about 5 or 6 songs and then the lead singer said he had a bit of a sore throat, and they said they fulfilled enough of the concert that they could call it off, and the final kick in the butt....he said I hope you come back and see us when we return next time.

Well, I didn't mind too much that Air Supply were calling it off....but, I learned not to go to any outdoor event that can be canceled and you have no recourse.

If we go to a major tennis game in Europe or something, I want there to be a roof, I'm not going to spend big buck$ and have the event canceled, and if they play for an hour or two you don't get another ticket or anything....you go home soaked and get to watch an hour of tennis...for your $1000 or whatever....I don't like those odds.

What happens if it rains on Superbowl day?

Your body paint runs.

You got me thinking, back in the late 60s I had a semi-girlfriend who had a concert promoter cousin. She got us front row seats to Chicago. I was never sure if she was interested in me or my car.

Michaell

stickguy said:

Thanks Henry. I was looking earlier and the selection is overwhelming.

I like the HP but think I will stick with a 15.6" screen since that is what I have now. though 14 could be fine too, and less bulky... but I am afraid I would miss the big screen.

The laptop I am using has a 17" screen, but I've got an external 24" monitor plugged into it, and a BT mouse and keyboard. I'm finding my productivity for moderating these boards and my job search is much higher with these accessories attached.

ab348

stickguy said:

Thanks Henry. I was looking earlier and the selection is overwhelming.

I like the HP but think I will stick with a 15.6" screen since that is what I have now. though 14 could be fine too, and less bulky... but I am afraid I would miss the big screen.

I went from a larger screen to a smaller one last time I changed laptops. The smaller screen was not an issue at all. What caught me off guard is that the smaller screen means a smaller keyboard too since there is less room. So you lose things like a usable separate keypad, and the various navigational keys are less easy to use.

stickguy

oh yeah, I forgot about the keyboard. I like my number pad!

separate monitor is not going to work well, since I take laptop literally, and I sit it my recliner with the computer on my lap!

driver100

stickguy said:

Thanks Henry. I was looking earlier and the selection is overwhelming.

I like the HP but think I will stick with a 15.6" screen since that is what I have now. though 14 could be fine too, and less bulky... but I am afraid I would miss the big screen.

stickguy said:

Thanks Henry. I was looking earlier and the selection is overwhelming.

I like the HP but think I will stick with a 15.6" screen since that is what I have now. though 14 could be fine too, and less bulky... but I am afraid I would miss the big screen.

I thought the same.......I had 15.6 and didn't want a smaller screen.

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

About 35 years ago my then girlfriend (not Mrs D100) won seats for an Air Supply concert......I know, but she won the tickets and it made for a romantic evening.....I thought. It was at an outdoor facility.
They sang about 5 or 6 songs and then the lead singer said he had a bit of a sore throat, and they said they fulfilled enough of the concert that they could call it off, and the final kick in the butt....he said I hope you come back and see us when we return next time.

Well, I didn't mind too much that Air Supply were calling it off....but, I learned not to go to any outdoor event that can be canceled and you have no recourse.

If we go to a major tennis game in Europe or something, I want there to be a roof, I'm not going to spend big buck$ and have the event canceled, and if they play for an hour or two you don't get another ticket or anything....you go home soaked and get to watch an hour of tennis...for your $1000 or whatever....I don't like those odds.

What happens if it rains on Superbowl day?

Your body paint runs.

You got me thinking, back in the late 60s I had a semi-girlfriend who had a concert promoter cousin. She got us front row seats to Chicago. I was never sure if she was interested in me or my car.

In the 60s,70s,80s one thing I was sure of, no women were interested in me because of my car, especially the 62 Comet with 3 on the tree.

henryn

Michaell said:

stickguy said:

Thanks Henry. I was looking earlier and the selection is overwhelming.

I like the HP but think I will stick with a 15.6" screen since that is what I have now. though 14 could be fine too, and less bulky... but I am afraid I would miss the big screen.

The laptop I am using has a 17" screen, but I've got an external 24" monitor plugged into it, and a BT mouse and keyboard. I'm finding my productivity for moderating these boards and my job search is much higher with these accessories attached.

Chevron went to equipping every knowledge worker with two 24 inch monitors about 15 years ago. Productivity increases will cover the cost of the monitors in a very short period of time. The last I heard, Exxon, Shell, and BP have all done the same.

If you make a living sitting in front of a computer, you need multiple large monitors, end of story.

henryn

Here's a 17 inch HP laptop. Note that this will cost you more than twice as much as the Gateway 15.6 inch I mentioned above.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-17-by4013dx-17-3-HD-LED-Display-Intel-Core-i3-1115G4-8GB-DDR4-SDRAM-256GB-SSD-No-Optical-Drive-Windows-11-Home-in-S-Mode-Silver/939353346?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=101107524

stickguy

thanks. That is actually too big for me. works better sitting in one spot on a desk.

Michaell

henryn said:

Michaell said:

stickguy said:

Thanks Henry. I was looking earlier and the selection is overwhelming.

I like the HP but think I will stick with a 15.6" screen since that is what I have now. though 14 could be fine too, and less bulky... but I am afraid I would miss the big screen.

The laptop I am using has a 17" screen, but I've got an external 24" monitor plugged into it, and a BT mouse and keyboard. I'm finding my productivity for moderating these boards and my job search is much higher with these accessories attached.

Chevron went to equipping every knowledge worker with two 24 inch monitors about 15 years ago. Productivity increases will cover the cost of the monitors in a very short period of time. The last I heard, Exxon, Shell, and BP have all done the same.

If you make a living sitting in front of a computer, you need multiple large monitors, end of story.

I would love to have a dual monitor setup, but my desk isn’t big enough to support it.

stickguy

that is how I had my work desk set up. laptop just sat on the corner closed, with a monitor, keyboard and mouse plugged into it. basically just used it like a desktop.

my wife has a stand like that but keeps her laptop in front of the monitor open, and uses that keyboard and runs the laptop screen as a 2nd monitor. I used to have duals but they were side by side. Having them in front of each other so top and bottom would drive me nuts!

Michaell

Up to two weeks ago, my work laptop was using the monitor, and my "personal" laptop sat to the right.

Years ago, I used my laptop as the center monitor, and had large monitors to the left and right - effectively 3 monitors total. This was on a much larger desk, however.

venture

Michaell said:

henryn said:

Michaell said:

stickguy said:

Thanks Henry. I was looking earlier and the selection is overwhelming.

I like the HP but think I will stick with a 15.6" screen since that is what I have now. though 14 could be fine too, and less bulky... but I am afraid I would miss the big screen.

The laptop I am using has a 17" screen, but I've got an external 24" monitor plugged into it, and a BT mouse and keyboard. I'm finding my productivity for moderating these boards and my job search is much higher with these accessories attached.

Chevron went to equipping every knowledge worker with two 24 inch monitors about 15 years ago. Productivity increases will cover the cost of the monitors in a very short period of time. The last I heard, Exxon, Shell, and BP have all done the same.

If you make a living sitting in front of a computer, you need multiple large monitors, end of story.

I would love to have a dual monitor setup, but my desk isn’t big enough to support it.

You could probably fit one in there someplace. Of course, your set-up is pretty nice. Mine is a mess (but it's in my office at home).