What is PayPass called where you come from?

No idea, gave up using all cards for payment in 1998, Dec. 31.
We have debit cards but don't use them for shopping , cash only.
Used to walk around with a dozen or more cards on me with $10,000  to $20,000.max on each card... Too tempting to use so just tore them all up at the beginning of a new year.
Really does make your savings account grow fast when you have to actually count your cash and think over with parting ways with it.
Using a card for me was just too dangerous.
Way too dangerous...
More then once my husband "forced" me to pay off my own cards... Not fun to work knowing they money is all going to pay off a debt.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

No idea, gave up using all cards for payment in 1998, Dec. 31.
We have debit cards but don't use them for shopping , cash only.
Used to walk around with a dozen or more cards on me with $10,000  to $20,000.max on each card... Too tempting to use so just tore them all up at the beginning of a new year.
Really does make your savings account grow fast when you have to actually count your cash and think over with parting ways with it.
Using a card for me was just too dangerous.
Way too dangerous...
More then once my husband "forced" me to pay off my own cards... Not fun to work knowing they money is all going to pay off a debt.

Contactless payment is quite bad as for small value one can just tap to pay.  Despite it being "near field" of just 10s of cm, it can be read from further away with the right gear.  Not very cool as it makes it easier to just track people in the street.  Passports the same kind of thing.  Makes people targets on nationality.

Having uncontrolled debt is bad and controlled debt good.   So they would have you believe anyway as controlled debt shows good credit behaviour.   My own thoughts are to obviously live within one's means and borrow only what one can afford to pay back - debt should not be more than 30% of one's disposable income.  And over pay the debt by nibble away at it even if it takes years.  Spare cash, a bit here and a bit there on top and it will slowly come down.   

Old adage that cash is king: easily negotiated, anonymous and more or less untraceable.

Diamonds or gold even better! (but not bling).

By dangerous I mean I have no self control when I see something nice I must have now.
More clothing has been bought and given away over the years, could of opened up my own thrift store just from items from my closet.
I think money is a very personal thing for people.
It can break up marriages, friendships etc.
I confess I have always disliked working even though I usually scored decent fun jobs with good people.
My husband made enough on his own without me having to work outside the house, was really sweet to be able to take my son to school, pick him up afterwards, have time to visit friends and family during the week and always be fresh and ready with dinner and a smile when my husband got home from a long day of work.
When I over spent, which happened all the time with cards, I was sent out to pay off my own debt to teach me a lesson. Took many years to learn the hard way for me though.
One job I went back and forth with over the years, they always rehired me, once my debt was cleared, I'd quit until next time.
As soon as I paid my debt off I would start again, blame it on the sales and living in S. Ca.
I was bad at money management, period.
Even these days I don't carry more then a couple of bucks on me at any given time, I have a hole in pocket most times, or more like in my head.
My mother I must say was a very decent person with money.
She used to stash cash in the walls of her home for a rainy day.
When she passed on and she knew she was a goner, she sold her home and paid off all debts she had to the bank, credit cards etc. In the US legally she could of passed on and the debts would be cleared off the books.
She didn't want to leave the planet knowing she owed anyone anything, she had real class that way I think.
Yes we are very careful when we use or debt card to withdraw  funds.
If we don't like the people around us we go back later and forget the transaction for a bit.

I have a tale about why I am not a great saver unless forced into it.
Silly really but learned young that sometimes it's no good to save because things can still go wrong.
Was only 4 years old when I learned a hard lesson on saving.
Had a little piggie bank which I put every penny, nickle, dime and piece of silver I got from my grandfather, mom, dad over the years.
I was going to buy myself my very own 2 wheeled bicycle so I could ride with my sisters and cousins and not have to use a baby tricycle.
The big day came, dad and I went alone to the bike shop to buy my big girl bike.
The clerk broke open my bank and we counted out every cent.
had a bit over $40 and in 1959 that was some serious money for a 4 year old.
I had my eye on a shinny red bike with training wheels, my dad however decided we should buy a new bike that all the kids could enjoy.
What?!
He picked out a large Schwinn blue bike that was far to large for me, I couldn't reach the pedals or even handle the steering on it.
Even the clerks face looked sad for me, he asked my dad it he was sure about it.
I was taken after the purchase to get a soda and my dad enjoyed a couple of beers, probably also on my dime.
My mother had a screaming match with him when we got home but he refused to take the bike back to the shop and get one I could actually use.
Well, 5 long years later, I finally learned to ride a 2 wheeled bike, as soon as my legs were long enough to pedal my beat the heck up new bike.
My sisters and cousins sure enjoyed my new shinny bike over the years,
All scratched and rusty here and there, it was a beater.
Many years later when I was married, had a child and my own car my dad called me to his apt. on my BD because he had something special for me.
Went over with my son and he had a used bike for me.
Right away though he said , hurry and hide it in the trunk of your car, I then realized he had snagged a bike from someone, probably someone in his house.
I was so confused, didn't want to make a sense and get mad with my father but I didn't even need or want a bike any longer.
I gave it to my younger siblings but almost took it back to my dad's house felt horrible that he stole it from someone.
So that's why I hate saving for something that it too far off in the future to came into reality.
Not the lesson about money my grandfather had planned for me when he set up my piggie bank account.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

No idea, gave up using all cards for payment...
Really does make your savings account grow fast when you have to actually count your cash and think over with parting ways with it.
Using a card for me was just too dangerous.

Yes, at least with a debit card you are spending money you actually have. i don't have any credit cards either, haven't had for about six years, and apart from the current account all of my money is tied up in cash well there are some savings for a rainy day. I seem to spend my life paying off the debts of other members of my family, though, too keen on buying things on the never-never.

You can bargain better with cash, too. No PayPass at the market. (Well, OK, there is some...)

There are PAYG credit cards which can be handy if you are buying stuff online where your debit card can't be used. You can only use money that you have topped up on it.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

By dangerous I mean I have no self control when I see something nice I must have now.

I disagree. It seems to me you have very good self-control, by simply avoiding the temptation. I myself have never had a big problem with credit, but others around me have abused my credit facilities and kinda forget to pay them back (I do NOT mean the missus). Neither a lender nor a borrower be, and all that.

We always have a bit tucked away for a rainy day, and credit is very useful IN EMERGENCIES, even a payday loan, but after you've paid it back quick-as-you-can, you tear it up and don't use it again.

I'm a bit like you, I enjoy work but home more. I work bloody hard renovating this fixer-upper and enjoy it much more than "real"work. So I tend to take permanent contracts, last about six months, then quit. Ideally I would like actually to do fixed-term contract work (over the winters when I can't do so much around the house) like October-March but I have to kinda pretend a bit because most employers want permanent staff here in Hungary. Never had a problem getting employed, but six months is enough and cos I don't have many outgoings beyond materials for home improvements, more than enough to live on for the whole twelve with a bit put aside for my old age, which will be here very soon.

I've been saving into a pension since I was 18 years old, not a lot, but it grows over the years, the initial lump sum will easily pay off the small mortgage we have on this property, in six and a half years time (unless they change the rules again), then a nice fixed income for life. They will change the rules again, of course, they always do. Which is another reason people won't save long-term, however much governments pretend to encourage it. Only took the mortgage as then there is access to home improvement loans etc which may be to our advantage in the future, it's not very much, I spend more on cigarettes each month, but is there as a responsible line of credit if we want to make larger improvements etc.

I would say I have a fairly balanced financial head. The missus, who works for a financial services company, is of course completely hopeless with balancing the books at home etc. Cobbler's children going unshod and all that. My mum was an accounts assistant before we were born, and she would sit every month and do the ups and downs, double entry, for housekeeping and what needs to go where. I still do it. Every bill is paid on the do, the housekeeping for essentials like gin and luxuries like washing powder is then set aside,, THEN we decide what to do with whatever's left over. If there isn't much left over, we simply don't do it. Neither of us gets paid overtime, so we simply have to wait. There is ALWAYS a special offer on special offer. It will be there next month, too.

You can also set the limit both on Credit Cards and debit cards these days. Set it to a limit you like, which is no different to taking out money to the said limit.

Many years ago my husband used to spend time finding the best prices to buy petrol in Ca. All that time spent trying to save a few pennies, in the end not really worth the hassle.
Everyone is different, when my niece visits Las Vegas and we are in town, she loves to take me to dinner or a nice lunch.
She has no problem spending hundreds of dollars on a meal  with drinks. I  would never spend that much on a meal no matter who was cooking what.
In Vegas my fried invited us for a simple pizza at a off the strip place, bill for a couple of drinks and a terrible pizza was over $100. I was blown away at spending on food like that. Just a waste in my mind.
Then again spending money on what I think is important is silly for other people.
My older sister bought a new car which is now getting on in years. She still will buy $400. tires for a car that isn't really worth that much.
Everything has to be top shelf for her.
As long as my tire/tyres are not going to blow out of go flat anytime soon, I really don't give them a second thought, just have a spare on hand.
To me having the best I can afford clothing is important where as other people couldn't care less what they throw on themselves.
Took me allot of time to realize actually no one really cares what you wear or what sort of car you drive etc.
Most times people are so wrapped up in themselves they don't even notice anyone else,what they have, what they wear or what they eat.
Wish I had learned these lesson ages ago, my bank account would be allot richer.

Gold, diamonds and such haven't been worn for years while I live in Hungary.
Way to flashy for my daily walk abouts  in the city.Custom items or simple silver is about it.
I don't even think diamonds are in fashion right now like they used to be.
The few times I have put on my "finery" here, it feels so alien, got so used to dressing down to fit in .
Still hanging onto a few nice pieces, never know when one may need to cash them in for a loaf of bread or a cup of water someday.Let's hope we never have to find out how much those silly things are really worth.

SimCityAT wrote:

You can also set the limit both on Credit Cards and debit cards these days. Set it to a limit you like, which is no different to taking out money to the said limit.

Have you tried it? Here is what usually happens. As you approach your limit, they increase your limit. It is very hard to persuade them not to. Or they let you spend on it anyway - when  you were expecting it to be refused and would have paid cash instead. Now you have an increased limit and unauthorised spending on it. This can be a serious problem if you are in the habit of using an overdraft  as a kinda payday loan at the end of each month (or two weeks or whatever), and just think oh I must have been paid early because of a public holiday or something, nope, they have increased  your limit without authorisation and will CHARGE YOU for the "unauthorised" transactions that they, er, authorised... Try it and tell me it ain't so.

Another problem with the banks' pernicious habit of doing this is it makes the customer liable up to their limit if their card is stolen, until the time they report the card (they may not have noticed). For that reason alone, you do NOT want a large facility that you're not using. But, try it, try to spend near your limit (make sure you have the money to pay it, of course). I will bet you all Lombard-street to a China orange that they will increase your limit, whatever the law says that they shouldn't.

SimonTrew wrote:

SimCityAT wrote:

You can also set the limit both on Credit Cards and debit cards these days. Set it to a limit you like, which is no different to taking out money to the said limit.

Have you tried it? Here is what usually happens. As you approach your limit, they increase your limit. It is very hard to persuade them not to.

One problem with the banks' pernicious habit of doing this is it makes the customer liable up to their limit if their card is stolen, until the time they report the card (they may not have noticed). For that reason alone, you do NOT want a large facility that you're not using. But, try it, try to spend near your limit (make sure you have the money to pay it, of course). I will bet you all Lombard-street to a China orange that they will increase your limit, whatever the law says that they shouldn't.

Yes, I tried it. My limit was set to €400 a day. When I was renovating my house last year, it was a pain having it set to that limit, so I increased it to €1500 for when I was shopping at OBI, and other hardware shops. After I finished the project, I lowered it again to €400. That was just with my simple bank debit card.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

....
In Vegas my fried invited us for a simple pizza at a off the strip place, bill for a couple of drinks and a terrible pizza was over $100. I was blown away at spending on food like that. Just a waste in my mind.
Then again spending money on what I think is important is silly for other people.
My older sister bought a new car which is now getting on in years. She still will buy $400. tires for a car that isn't really worth that much.
Everything has to be top shelf for her.
As long as my tire/tyres are not going to blow out of go flat anytime soon, I really don't give them a second thought, just have a spare on hand.
....

A badly made pizza won't kill you but a badly made tyre will.  I spend quite a lot of time on my car and I'm very careful to get the right parts. Generally though, here, you cannot buy tyres out of spec here as they are all manufactured to standard. 

It's the same with fuel.  I always thought the "specialist" fuel they sell at a higher price is absurd.  The higher cost of it will offset any gain in fuel efficiency or reduced engine wear.  All fuels is made to the same standard (in the EU) anyway.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

....
In Vegas my fried invited us for a simple pizza at a off the strip place, bill for a couple of drinks and a terrible pizza was over $100. I was blown away at spending on food like that. Just a waste in my mind.
Then again spending money on what I think is important is silly for other people.
My older sister bought a new car which is now getting on in years. She still will buy $400. tires for a car that isn't really worth that much.
Everything has to be top shelf for her.
As long as my tire/tyres are not going to blow out of go flat anytime soon, I really don't give them a second thought, just have a spare on hand.
....

A badly made pizza won't kill you but a badly made tyre will.  I spend quite a lot of time on my car and I'm very careful to get the right parts. Generally though, here, you cannot buy tyres out of spec here as they are all manufactured to standard.

A well made tyre will last longer and should be safer.

I have a friend who buys cheap shoes. he thinks he is making saving by paying 10 quid for a pair. They last not even a month, so constantly buying a new pair, so he is not really saving anything at all.

SimCityAT wrote:

.....
A well made tyre will last longer and should be safer.

I have a friend who buys cheap shoes. he thinks he is making saving by paying 10 quid for a pair. They last not even a month, so constantly buying a new pair, so he is not really saving anything at all.

Generally all things being equal you get what you pay for.  That's true for everything but not always, vis-a-vis:

I once drove a rented Daewoo Matiz from London to Lancashire.  That car was incredibly slow, really quite dangerous and hopelessly underpowered.  It had a top speed of about 60mph/100kmh.   Later, I drove a free upgrade luxury Audi on a similar route. Same "class" of car on the rental agreement as the Matiz but light years different.  Top speed could have been well past 120 mph/200 kmph.   I know as I got a ticket.  But at least I saved on the rental but ended up splurging on being fined with 3 points!

SimCityAT wrote:

SimonTrew wrote:

SimCityAT wrote:

You can also set the limit both on Credit Cards and debit cards these days. Set it to a limit you like, which is no different to taking out money to the said limit.

Have you tried it?

Yes, I tried it. My limit was set to €400 a day. When I was renovating my house last year, it was a pain having it set to that limit, so I increased it to €1500 for when I was shopping at OBI, and other hardware shops. After I finished the project, I lowered it again to €400. That was just with my simple bank debit card.

No, I didn't mean, did you try changing the limit. I meant, have you tried ever getting close to it or exceeding it? I will bet you, the bank will increase it automatically. That is to say, you can change the nominal limit but not the actual limit on the bank's own book. Obviously, changing the nominal limit is straightforward. My point was that the banks do not limit you to that limit. They let you exceed it, accidentally-on-purpose.

I don't know why you were paying in OBI in Euro in Hungary, but I guess they accept that. I am still trying to work out the translation for "six feet of four-by-two".

fluffy2560 wrote:

Generally all things being equal you get what you pay for.  That's true for everything but not always,

Statistically speaking, generalisations like that count 100% of the time to a first approximation.

I shall sign-write it above my door, the Word According to Fluffster, "That's true for everything but not always". Fluffy Logic.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Took me allot of time to realize actually no one really cares what you wear

Oh they do. I think Hungarians are very particular about "looking good" even when they haven't a crust of bread. Hungarians will never go out in dirty clothes. (if I am just nipping round the corner shop for a pint of milk, I will go in my blue overalls, my blues, but my missus will change out of her decorating clothes into something clean just to go round the corner shop, where they see us every day and kinda assume we wear different clothes occasionally, being normal. Only cartoon characters or people in dire poverty wear the same clothes every day, surely. You can't help the cartoonies but please help the homeless when you can. Thanks)

On the street or at work I tend to dress in a three-piece linen suit with a silk tie and cufflinks, panama hat, brown loafers, all British made from Hada, obviously. A, hat is a good accoutrement really, somewhat equivalent to a woman's handbag, useful for throwing all kinds of things into, sandwiches and keys and wallets and stuff when you get to your desk at work, can't beat a hat. (On the other hand the hatstand keeps ganging up on me during the night, it follows me around and trips me up when I get back from the pub.)

Hungarians like wearing hats, I am glad to report. So as I wander down the street in my linen suit and panama, often smoking a small cigarillo, for some reason people tend to assume I am a foreigner. This can work to your advantage if you know how to play it. If there is something I desperately want from someone who will not give it to me, especially a shopkeeper who has some goods that he is desperately proud of and wishes not to part with, acting the stupid foreigner and saying nem ertem a lot sometimes helps. Four thousand forints? Sorry I do not understand. (Negy ezer foring? Bocsanat, nem ertem). Ketto ezer (Two thousand?) Nem, nem ertem. Egy ezer? Oh, en ertem. Igen, ertem ezer foring. Itt. Kosszi.

On the other hand turning up suited and booted at a local hardware shop immediately points you out as a particlarly clueless person. Best to turn up in your blues. My opening line usually is "en tudom csinalni, de nem tudom beszelni" (I know to do but not to say). This is bad enough Hungarian that they will immediately help you out and off you go trying to work out what a 22mm tap fitting is in Hungarin (it is 3/4 inch, the bastards and you get there, but turning up suited and booted at that kind of place is patently not the right thing to do.

Hungarians who can't speak English buy all the world's cheap T-shirts with bad English on them. Sometimes you do really want to stop them and say "do you have any idea what this says? Because I don't, and I AM English".

SimonTrew wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Generally all things being equal you get what you pay for.  That's true for everything but not always,

Statistically speaking, generalisations like that count 100% of the time to a first approximation.

I shall sign-write it above my door, the Word According to Fluffster, "That's true for everything but not always". Fluffy Logic.

Not quite what I said as you missed out the first bit  "all things being equal..."...which is the randomised X factor.  You need a bigger a door or smaller writing.

Now back to.... Fear The Walking Dead.  I cannot keep up with these shows but I'm trying... Billions, Westworld, The Expanse.......

fluffy2560 wrote:

You need a bigger door

Not at all. I said I would write it above the door.., size isn't important  for shoving the wood into the hole.

All that being said, there seems to be some large bird of the crow family at the moment perched there,  quothing "Nevermore", so I better get rid him first to make room.

SimonTrew wrote:

I don't know why you were paying in OBI in Euro in Hungary, but I guess they accept that. I am still trying to work out the translation for "six feet of four-by-two".

I live in Austria, but travel to Hungary very often, as the border is 30 mins away. FYI you can pay in Euros at the Tescos and other shops in Sopron.

SimonTrew wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

You need a bigger door

Not at all. I said I would write it above the door.., size isn't important  for shoving the wood into the hole.

All that being said, there seems to be some large bird of the crow family at the moment perched there,  quothing "Nevermore", so I better get rid him first to make room.

Hmmm.....I am sure you have a handle on it.

If that bird is a Jay, then avoid. 

They are horrible vicious things even though they are better to look at than an actual crow.

SimCityAT wrote:

SimonTrew wrote:

I don't know why you were paying in OBI in Euro in Hungary, but I guess they accept that. I am still trying to work out the translation for "six feet of four-by-two".

I live in Austria, but travel to Hungary very often, as the border is 30 mins away. FYI you can pay in Euros at the Tescos and other shops in Sopron.

I used to do that as well.  I hope you have  tried Chen's Chinese Cooking opposite Tescos.

SimCityAT wrote:

SimonTrew wrote:

I don't know why you were paying in OBI in Euro in Hungary, but I guess they accept that. I am still trying to work out the translation for "six feet of four-by-two".

I live in Austria, but travel to Hungary very often, as the border is 30 mins away.

Well, that makes sense. Friends of ours live near the border, on the Hungarian side, and do the opposite trip - the savings on cross-border shopping can be quite significant for some things. Of course, for me in Budapest it would rarely be worth it, and cheaper just to get large things delivered from Whereverland by the magic of Internet.

A lot of the local SPAR take euros but we don't tend to have much Euro currency, of course for relatively small amounts using it for currency speculation is entirely pointless because of the retail exchange rates etc take any possible frac out of it (it is gambling pure and simple when you are betting on retail exchange rates). Occasionally we will use euros if she has some small change left over from her business travels, but that's purely just to get rid of them. If you are paid in forint and all your bills are in forint, you are best off dealing in forint, it is one less variable in the equation. (Hint: not a good idea to get a mortgage denominated in a currency different from what you are paid in, however attractive it may seem at the time. Are you listening, Hungarians?)

The bureau de change at Keleti will accept British £1 and £2 coins, which is handy sometimes as they tend to accumulate ito the point where they become a nuisance. Of course the exchange rate is appalling but otherwise they tend to become sofa money i.e. just get lost somewhere, so I'd rather change them for £stupid/forint and then buy a beer or two. Similarly the missus tends to accumulate small change in zloti, krone and so on which is just not worth holding on to, so tends to go there. Not many bureaux de change deal in coin at all, so it's handy to know when you want to get rid of coin and get at least SOMETH(ING for it. I used to have a dual bank account denominated both in euro and forint but it was just not worth the fee for me, as I rarely need to deal in euro, if anything more in sterling, for others i guess it makes sense.

SimonTrew wrote:

Not many bureaux de change deal in coin at all

I think  most will accept €1 and €2 coins, but it's a better deal just to spend them in a shop that takes them. For smaller coins we tend to give them to friends' younger children to help build their "coin collection". That may be a bit evil, I don't know, because they are never likely to be able to spend them, but it seems pretty harmless to me and any kind of encouragement to build things up be it a "coin collection" or a collection of My Little Ponies or whatever seems like a good thing.

(Yet there are exceptions, run by the Italian publishing mafia of Panini stickers and deAgostini partworks. Of course collecting all the stickers for the album satisifies the law of diminishing returns, assuming there is a random distribution of stickers which Panini assures everyone there is. When deAgostini advertises a new partwork I tend to check up on how much the whole work will cost and it is usually something like €1500 to build your entire collection of the Battle of Trafalgar with a model of HMS Victory or whatever, and surely if you want to know about the Battle of Trafalgar you go to Wikipedia or the library, and if you want to build a model of HMS Victory you go to the model shop and buy a model kit for far less than €1500. I also always wonder too if you, say, are collecting a partwork on the A-Z of DIY and you have only got to part M what you do when you need to know about tap washers, do you leave the tap dripping for a year or two?  I heard somewhere that they kinda have a curve of how many of each edition they have to print as people get bored of it and tail off, I don't know how true that is. Similarly I heard that they're very popular with prisoners as it's just something to pass the time and look forward to, etc. Again, no idea if that is true.)

Our neighbours sep daughter is Hungarian who comes over every 2 weeks, so any change in Hungarian forint we simply give it to her and she gives us Euros. I had about 20 quid in loose change from my last visit to the UK and as she was going to London to see a friend I got rid of that as well for Euros. Pound notes I tend to keep unless the exchange rate is really in our favour then they go into the bank. I'm always watching the exchange rate because it can be quite good transferring money back and forth. I still have my UK bank account which I use when I am over.

fluffy2560 wrote:

SimCityAT wrote:

SimonTrew wrote:

I don't know why you were paying in OBI in Euro in Hungary, but I guess they accept that. I am still trying to work out the translation for "six feet of four-by-two".

I live in Austria, but travel to Hungary very often, as the border is 30 mins away. FYI you can pay in Euros at the Tescos and other shops in Sopron.

I used to do that as well.  I hope you have  tried Chen's Chinese Cooking opposite Tescos.

I haven't will have to when I visit next time.

We have a few Chinese restaurants around here, but Indian Restaurants are a bit sparse unless you travel to Vienna.

SimonTrew wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Took me allot of time to realize actually no one really cares what you wear

Oh they do.

Meh. More to the point, why do you care what others think?

SimonTrew wrote:

I think Hungarians are very particular about "looking good" even when they haven't a crust of bread.

I have not found this to be true. But I live in the countryside. More informal here. Casual more than formal dressing is actually more the norm. Even in some business offices.

SimonTrew wrote:

On the street or at work I tend to dress in a three-piece linen suit with a silk tie and cufflinks, panama hat, brown loafers

IMHO, a bit overkill for the street. You must really look the dandy.

SimonTrew wrote:

Hungarians like wearing hats,

News to me. I think I am the only one here that wears a hat in the summer. And this is mostly because it is easier to wear at hat than try to sunscreen my bald spot on top.

SimonTrew wrote:

On the other hand turning up suited and booted at a local hardware shop immediately points you out as a particlarly clueless person.

Meh. Who cares what they think. What one thinks is irrelevant. Only what one knows is what is important. For example, recently I asked about stone drills at a hardware store and the clerk said they did not have any. Then I found them on the rack (labeled in four languages). Often the clerks here are the actual clueless ones. Despite how they dress.

SimonTrew wrote:

Hungarians who can't speak English buy all the world's cheap T-shirts with bad English on them. Sometimes you do really want to stop them and say "do you have any idea what this says? Because I don't, and I AM English".

There are people who get Chinese word tattoos and have no idea what they actually say. And sometimes it is pretty bad. At least one can take off a t-shirt.

Oh dear, crazy t-shirts...
We noticed a Chinese lady here in Hungary wearing a silly t-shirt that said, well dare I repeat it... " Spank the Monkey" we  kindly told her it wasn't really a shirt a nice lady should be wearing in public. She seemed happy to know what it meant.

In Vegas 4 years back I went to dinner with my wild niece and her 2 friends. Some reunion in Vegas with her friends and she wanted me to meet them.
As we were sitting down to dinner my niece jumped up and bought 4 matching t-shirts from a Mexican bar across from the steakhouse we were eating at.
I never have worn it, still has the tags on it. Plan was for us to wear them to a male strip review show but I got sick and had to have my husband collect me.
The shirts had a saying on them that one would really have to be in a group of other crazy women to wear in public plus be drunk outta your mind to wear. Too bad really nice they fit like a glove and were high quality cotton...Not going to repeat the saying but there is a little Tequila worm on the front... Something about nice girls...
I would never run over and drop a $100. bill for 4 crazy shirts but my husband bought one silly shirt that has never been worn in public either.
At least I will not be anywhere near him if he ever puts in on.
Totally silly Vegas stuff about liquor and poker, all I'm willing to say on that one.

SimCityAT wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

...I used to do that as well.  I hope you have  tried Chen's Chinese Cooking opposite Tescos.

I haven't will have to when I visit next time.

We have a few Chinese restaurants around here, but Indian Restaurants are a bit sparse unless you travel to Vienna.

Go during the week and have the buffet at Chen's.   If you like Chinese, it's not bad value. Maybe 4K HUF a head.

Never tried an Indian in Budapest.  Probably ludicrously pricey. 

We tend to go to Trofea here as it's an all you can eat buffet and it is (or was) free for kids under 12 during the week.  About the same, 4K HUF a head with free drinks too.

We do have a local Indian, but we have to order over €25 for it to be delivered and then they put €3 delivery charge on top.
As all other takeaways give free delivery if you order €7 of food.

fluffy2560 wrote:

It's the same with fuel.  I always thought the "specialist" fuel they sell at a higher price is absurd.  The higher cost of it will offset any gain in fuel efficiency or reduced engine wear.  All fuels is made to the same standard (in the EU) anyway.

Oh, it's better than that. It probably doesn't happen so much in the city, but in rural areas it is quite common to see a Shell tanker turn up to fill the OMV station or vice versa. Obviously there are different octane ratings etc but yeah, basically it is the same stuff. The magic additives for protecting your engine I presume do exist and are not just advertising guff (they have pictures of atoms floating arond so it must be true! Like they do on shampoo commercials!) and must have some basis of truth.

Actually I worked for a long while doing molecular modelling software and companies go to great lengths to differentiate the same basic product. Mirabile dictu, all washing powders are not the same, neither is all fuel. But basic kero/benzene/petrol/gas is obviously the same stuff. The additives, assuming there are any (there used to be for anti-knock when unleaded first came out for example) I suppose they stick in the tank at the station. I am not quite cynical enough to beliece they simply don't exist. But 99% of it is just marketing bollox yes, with a few molecules of truth behind it.

Red diesel is green in Ireland, I think. i.e. what you get taxed less on for using only on farms, they add a dyestuff so thay can detect if you put it in your tank. Now, presuming that the Shell SooperDooperFuel cleans out all the pipes etc, how come it doesn't clean the red or grean dyestuff out, then?

(I've only once owned a diesel car, an old Ford Fiesta with a 1.6 litre Ford Transit engine in it, that went like shit off a shovel, the engine was way too powerful for the little car but climbing the  log gradient hill on the A505 from Hitchin to Luton I would be hitting 90mph at the top and the thing was still only doing about 3k revs. There's a crawler lane along that hill but WHEEEEEEE. Whatever idiot at Ford decided to stink a Transit lump in a Mk2 Fiesta was a bloody genius. Only the old Mini was more fun, it felt like light speed when you were doing 45mph down the country lanes. But that was an automatic so not quite as much fun, never got round to changing it to a manual).

fluffy2560 wrote:

Never tried an Indian in Budapest.  Probably ludicrously pricey.

No, there is a good one with reasonable prices not far from Heroe's Square. I forget its name, it is A Taste of India or something banal like that. I would give you the website but I am not sure what the rules are on here for that kind of thing. If you had Hero's Square on your left, Buda hills to the back of you, the street where the 75 trolley goes. That would be to the east of Hero's Square (Hozok tére). I have Indian friends who recommend it, and they are on Hungarian wages so it can't be kinda ridiculously pricey. I think the Trofea is very pricey, myself, if that gives you some kind of upper limit.

Trofea is pricey.
Our elderly neighbor is housebound but at least once a week she and her 65 year old daughter get home delivery from there.
They order out at least once a week.
Nothing else to save up for and since the older lady can't leave the house they spend their money on food and drink.
Sort of sad because the elderly women's problems are because she is too heavy to get around.
We took our next door neighbors to a buffet here in Hungary a few years back treated the 4 of them plus the two of us.
They seemed to enjoy eating and drinking at home but when we invited them out, they hardly ate a thing and hardly drank anything.
We didn't mind paying for everyone, it was our treat but seeing them not enjoying themselves hurt us some.
I mean seriously how much can I drink to cover the cost of 6 people, 3 Dreher's and I'm done to the max.
I know of a Indian restaurant in the 6th but not sure ATM of the name and looking at the prices and the location, I think it is a rip.
The place to me seems less then clean somehow.
Never really had much Indian food, it's OK from what I've experienced but personally would rather have Thai or Japanese food for my money.
We usually stay away from "ethnic" foods here if we ever eat out.
The few times we tried ethnic foods they always added a Hungarian twist to the food
When in Rome we eat like Romans, anything exotic doesn't seem to come close to what we had in the states at ethnic places.
Mexican in Hungary , I'll pass since we used to enjoy Alvero St. food in S. Ca. and lived in New Mexico, can't even come close here to the real deal. In Hungary we enjoy real Hungarian food, can't find such quality paprika etc. in the states.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

I know of a Indian restaurant in the 6th but not sure ATM of the name and looking at the prices and the location, I think it is a rip.

If it is the one I am thinking of you are right. We tried it out once, the 47 tram goes past the front on its way to meet the 1. The service was terrible and the meal so-so. We left no tip because no service, no tip. The British habit tends to be to leave a 1p tip if you have had bad service, it is more of a snub than leaving nothing at all, but the missus would not hear of it so we left nothing. The waitress was on her mobile phone all the way through, the food was OKish but I cook a better curry or whatever myself at home, we British because we have a long tradition of Indian restaurants from a long tradition of Indian immigrants tend to know when we are being ripped off, and if it is the one I think you are thinking of, in the VI kérulet, yes, that is I would not say a rip-off but completely indifferent. I think it cost us about 10.000 a head which is way way too much for an Indian. I had one beer and the missus a coke, and no puds for either of us, that was just the main. Took about an hour to arrive. I appreciate food is cooked fresh but your curries should have been in the tandoor/slow cooker all day, that is what a curry IS. It is kinda the Indian version of a porkolt really, just chuck in cheap cuts of meat, spices to suit you, cook it slowly to tenderise the meat, Robert Karoly's your uncle. Maybe add in some habtejszin to the stock at the last minute if you like a creamy sauce, and a bit of cornflour buszaliszt to thicken it a bit, rice in the rice cooker, son oncle s'apelle Bob. Aldi do poppadoms but they are very easy to make yourself.  Although Aldi's basmati rice is very good value.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Hmmm.....I am sure you have a handle on it.

No, I took the door furniture off  before I painted the door.

Worlds are completely different when someone says its expensive to another it can be so cheap to what they pay in their home country.

Petrol in America $3.00, we in Europe could be paying up to $8.00 a gallon as an example.

SimonTrew wrote:

....we British because we have a long tradition of Indian restaurants from a long tradition of Indian immigrants tend to know when we are being ripped off, and if it is the one I think you are thinking of, in the VI kérulet, yes, that is I would not say a rip-off but completely indifferent. I think it cost us about 10.000 a head which is way way too much for an Indian. .....Robert Karoly's your uncle. Maybe add in some habtejszin to the stock at the last minute if you like a creamy sauce, and a bit of cornflour buszaliszt to thicken it a bit, rice in the rice cooker, son oncle s'apelle Bob. Aldi do poppadoms but they are very easy to make yourself.  Although Aldi's basmati rice is very good value.

Good old Bob Bácsi.  Turns up everywhere.

Most Indian restaurants in the UK are actually run by Bangladeshis.  I've worked in Dhaka quite a bit and the style there is very similar to that found in the UK.  Most of the ingredients in a curry would cost about 400 HUF maximum so 10K is rather a lot of profit.   

BTW, I've started using UK gravy granules (vegetable or onion) to thicken stuff up. It works a treat if you can find it.  Lot better and more effective than cornflour.  For curries, we've also been using coconut powder which nicely creams things up but can make it a bit sweeter so we use it only sparingly.

My one cousin was married for nearly 50 years to her college sweetheart who happened to be from India, she relates to the Indian culture more then our Polish/American culture.
He daughter married a man from India who she met while going to school at the London school of Economics a couple years back.
Their first born is arriving this summer so I suppose it will learn all the traditions of India although they just moved to Dallas Texas, that's going to be a strange combo of cultures.
My other cousin is married to a Thai lady for over 30 years.
She often throws big parties at their home in Conn. and spends hours on end making Thai food and hand made rolls for over 100 people.
Really we as a family should open up a international buffet, would make a killing.

Tips, well some cultures don't tip and others do.
When I was a teenager I was "head hop" at a all American restaurant. Classic car hop work, usually great tips, we were located near Burbank film studios and many in the movie industry would jump in for a quick burger or cup of coffee.
It was a great "training" job for anyone who later wanted to be a server in a better venue, we all thought when we grew up and were 21, we would make a ton of money serving cocktails  in a classy
place near the studios.
It was actually a very strict place to work and very professional for a fast food joint. Had to be perfectly groomed and wear a hair piece like in the 1950's, fresh shirts under our uniforms, they dry cleaned them for us at no cost, wore a little "monkey" hat like a doorman in a classy hotel wears, nails had to be perfect and no bright polish, nice stocking, no runs, clean shoes and one weeks training of over 40 hours to learn how to write orders, set the trays, carry them( not easy) and how to respond to questions without yelling out orders etc.
The women who trained us at a location just for training, had a huge training center to teach how to carry, walk, talk etc. well this women had been doing that job for over 26 years!!! Blew my mind that she loved it so much. She was there so long that she actually styled her natural hair into a puffy updo from the 1950's, very funny stuff.
Was 18 years old and paying for my own apt., car everything with that nice little job.
Often got a buck for a coffee from some movie ex. coffee then was only 35 cents a cup.
One time a nasty women ( some depressed looking housefrau type) left me one penny on the tray as a insult. Never happened before or ever again. She was just nuts.. No problem I took the penny off the tray and gave it back to her, said," You look like you need this more then I do!"
Snap!
I always gave great food service so it was just her being rude.
When my niece took me out for sushi with her little girl, she left a $80. tip! I was thinking, dang I should start serving food again, there's money to be had.
Was still a hop at 19 when I met my husband.
One day on is lunch break, he happened to work in Burbank, he drove in with one of his friends for lunch to surprise me. He did that for sure, I was mortified for him to see me in the silly uniform with that hairpiece on. He thought it was cute but I felt like a idiot.
Later I got 2 Hungarian ladies jobs there, everyone was mad at me for it too.
One was just too silly, would take out a order and not be able to handle the trays and place a tray on the ground full of food.
Big no-no.
The other was very strict and not much fun, took things too far. She had been a member of the young communists in Hungary and loved being bossy.
I quit the job and she took over as head hop. I later returned for a few months and everyone was ragging on me because of her.
Her last name rhymed with the word" Bazaar ," that's what they called her behind   her back.Hardly anyone had the nerve to say it to her face.
Once served Micky Rooney a burger, he was a passenger in a baby blue VW bug. Very odd, was thinking to myself , he is either really undercover or going through yet another divorce and the payments are killing him.