The post whore thread.

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02-02-2016, 22:33
fly boy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Irving

No not Kazoo, the other one.

Kazoo helped me the other night actually.

Said, listen kid, quick being too damn nit-picky and realize what you are building. And then I bought the barreled upper for cheap.
02-02-2016, 22:35
theGinsue

Quote:

Originally Posted by Irving

I recently quit and got a much less stressful job.
The stress of having already received my last paycheck, and not being able to start the new job, in addition to them dropping the bomb shell on me yesterday of "We don't like your car, you're going to need to buy a truck or SUV instead," when I've been talking to them for months now is a little unfortunate, but I think it will pass and things will be great by this time next month.

I'll keep you in my prayers. If there is anything I can do for you in the mean time, let me know.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HoneyBadger

Ha! Oops! I just downed 1/3 carton of deliciousness.

Healing should take 5-6 weeks, but it was a bone graft and we won't know how successful it was for 6 months.

Just heal quickly. Too many launches in the near future for you to be down & out. The Air Force needs you son, the Air Force needs you!
02-02-2016, 22:44
Irving

Thanks Ginsue, The.

Just convince the multimillion dollar company that me driving around with a ladder on the roof rack of my car, is no less professional than driving around with a ladder on the roof rack of a truck or suv; and to buy a vehicle that uses twice the gas solely for aesthetics is unfiltered stupidity, especially considering that driving all over the metro area, every day, means that gas will be my number one over head cost far and above anything else. If you can do that, then everything will be fine.
02-02-2016, 22:58
HoneyBadger

Quote:

Originally Posted by HoneyBadger

Awesome. Mrs. HB and I spent a few days last week deciding what to do with the extra $1800 we're going to have available once my car is paid off in 8 months. That's the only non-mortgage debt we have left now.

Plans for the extra $1800/mo: (in order, for typical months)

Increase charitable giving outside of church by $100
Increase church giving by $100 (specifically to fund the school)
$458.33 goes to my Roth IRA (divided evenly between Growth, Growth and Income, Aggressive Growth, and International Mutual Funds)
$200 to a 529 for each baby HB (to be increased over time)
$200 to traditional IRA (divided same way as above)
The rest will be put toward saving for shorter term goals: Disneyland trip this spring, A Vacation next year just for mom-and dad (kiddos will likely be staying with my in-laws) a few basic home improvements, fixing the broken windshield in both our vehicles, etc.,
02-02-2016, 22:59
HoneyBadger

Sorry, that took me 35 mins to type up. Oxy finally kicked in and Mother-In-Law is ranting about her dysfunctional family... Multi-tasking is hard. and silly. lol
02-02-2016, 23:00
HoneyBadger

Quote:

Originally Posted by Irving

You got out sniped by a dude half out of his mind on scripts.

Truth! [ROFL1]
02-02-2016, 23:01
HoneyBadger

Quote:

Originally Posted by fly boy

Kazoo helped me the other night actually.

Said, listen kid, quick being too damn nit-picky and realize what you are building. And then I bought the barreled upper for cheap.

Kazoo does have some good nuggets of wisdom. :)
02-02-2016, 23:08
HoneyBadger

Forgot to mention above, that spending plan for the "extra" $1800 won't kick in until June. We will be putting all $1800 into our emergency fund until then.
02-02-2016, 23:09
wyome

Quote:

Originally Posted by Irving

I recently quit and got a much less stressful job.
The stress of having already received my last paycheck, and not being able to start the new job, in addition to them dropping the bomb shell on me yesterday of "We don't like your car, you're going to need to buy a truck or SUV instead," when I've been talking to them for months now is a little unfortunate, but I think it will pass and things will be great by this time next month.

Can you get a little giant ladder that you can fold up and put in your car?
02-02-2016, 23:15
hghclsswhitetrsh

Irving I use one of these.

Xtend & Climb 785P Aluminum Telescoping Ladder Type I Professional Series, 15.5-Foot https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JIL4Z8..._ZXySwbWGRAMFJ

Of course I have a 24' ladder on the roof of my van. But I use this for attics and quick roof jobs.
02-02-2016, 23:22
Irving

I have a 17' ladder that fits in the car and a 24' that will ride on the roof. I also have a 32' that will go on the roof. Boss seems to think I'll be needing the 32' every day. Talking to the techs who actually work out here, they say maybe only once a week do you actually need the 32'. Either way, the point still stands that you don't need a truck to haul a ladder. Maybe seeing a ladder on the roof of a car isn't what one might expect, but it's not like I've got it laying on towels and secured with a rope through open windows.

I understand the concern, but my car is clean, newer than it needs to be, doesn't have bumper stickers or body damage, and perhaps most importantly, has a rack to hold the ladders.

Thanks for the help on the ladder ideas guys, but I have to have the big sliders.
02-02-2016, 23:39
Irving

This is the 17' I have, it's great and fits in the car because it folds and extends. They make this style ladder all the way up to 27', but they get very heavy by that length.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Cosco-17-...1ASE/203642161
02-02-2016, 23:57
HoneyBadger

Any thoughts on my finance posts, Irving?
02-03-2016, 00:08
Irving

Well, as you know I've been reading the MrMoneyMustache blog from front to back, and this is the entry I landed on today. It is about increasing your charitable giving, so may be of interest to you. I haven't read it all, so I hope it's not garbage. I actually just came back here to tell you about it.

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/...-you-can-save/

As to your plan, I don't see anything that can be utilized by you right now. I like the idea of 401k's and IRA's, but since they aren't available to you (without heavy penalties) until you are old, I don't get very excited about them. You already have a rental, and while rentals can make great money, they aren't for everyone. While I'd like to turn my current house into a rental, I'm more excited about the income than the prospect of actually dealing with a rental. Especially since in my neighborhood, I can't set the price high enough to keep out riff raff (but I'll certainly try). You have more experience in the stock market than I do, but I've been very interested in index funds and stocks that pay dividends. The guest posting on MMM about the aristocrat stocks is interesting (http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/...d-aristocrats/).

You're way ahead of me when it comes to financial independence, so I don't feel all that comfortable commenting on any of your decisions. I like the college for the kids idea, and we also have had about $2,500 sitting around for a few years waiting to take a trip to Harry Potter land. We just finished the books a few months ago and need to actually book the trip, but I'd really like to do so once that remaining debt is paid off.
02-03-2016, 00:15
Irving

On the MMM note, I have to read something every day to maintain motivation long enough to make serious changes. I say this so it doesn't sound like I'm bragging about wasting my time reading, instead of doing. That said, I've just counted and I've read 272 blog entries, and have 192 left to go. He writes a lot less often now. He seems to have a bit of a liberal streak in him and for the most part does a pretty good job not trumpeting it. As I'm getting closer to current day, I'm waiting to see if he'll write about something that really pisses me off.

Here is a list of all entries, so you can browse for interesting topics. Lots of book reviews and other similar blog reviews early on.
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/all-t...nning-of-time/
02-03-2016, 01:36
Great-Kazoo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Irving

You got out sniped by a dude half out of his mind on scripts.

there's more than 1???[panic]
02-03-2016, 01:48
Great-Kazoo

Quote:

Originally Posted by HoneyBadger

Plans for the extra $1800/mo: (in order, for typical months)

Increase charitable giving outside of church by $100
Increase church giving by $100 (specifically to fund the school)
$458.33 goes to my Roth IRA (divided evenly between Growth, Growth and Income, Aggressive Growth, and International Mutual Funds)
$200 to a 529 for each baby HB (to be increased over time)
$200 to traditional IRA (divided same way as above)
The rest will be put toward saving for shorter term goals: Disneyland trip this spring, A Vacation next year just for mom-and dad (kiddos will likely be staying with my in-laws) a few basic home improvements, fixing the broken windshield in both our vehicles, etc.,

That $1800 per, consider a portion towards paying on the principle

Increase charitable giving by $50
$150 each for the kids
$150 for traditional IRA. This frees up $250ish (math's tough after the sun goes down) per you might set aside for "that rainy day" This surgery is the last, one would think. Realistically with 2 kids, you and the wife. That extra set aside might keep a roof over your head and food on the table. OR stashed away, being able to retire earlier.
02-03-2016, 12:31
HoneyBadger

Quote:

Originally Posted by Irving

Well, as you know I've been reading the MrMoneyMustache blog from front to back, and this is the entry I landed on today. It is about increasing your charitable giving, so may be of interest to you. I haven't read it all, so I hope it's not garbage. I actually just came back here to tell you about it.

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/...-you-can-save/

Quote:

Originally Posted by MMM

Luckily he reconciles the viewpoint at the end of the book by suggesting a simple scale: allocate only 1% of your first $105,000 of income to charity, 10% of your next 100,000, and so on.

I think this is an interesting idea and the general idea matches our plans for increasing our giving with our ability to give over time. Obviously giving away 50% of a $50k/yr income is going to make it very difficult to build wealth. Our current level of charitable giving is somewhere between 2-3% of my income, and being out of debt allows us to help people in immediate need, like my high school friend who just had very rare mono/mono twins (more info here, if you're feeling charitable [Beer] http://www.plumfund.com/medical-fund...-gilbert-twins)

As to your plan, I don't see anything that can be utilized by you right now. I like the idea of 401k's and IRA's, but since they aren't available to you (without heavy penalties) until you are old, I don't get very excited about them.

This is just a part of the strategy. The $1800/mo is not all of our surplus, just the additional from paying off this debt. Tucking away money for later and letting it grow with (and hopefully much better than) the market. It's a pretty tried and true plan, but there is a reason I won't be putting EVERYTHING extra into IRAs. As my income grows, I plan to invest in real estate (without borrowing money to do so!) and some other business ideas. Ensure that if you do start putting into an IRA that you max out the contributions for a ROTH IRA before putting anything in a traditional IRA. With a Roth, all the growth is 100% tax free. If a Roth IRA grows up to $1M over time, that $1M is $1M. A traditional IRA at $1M is worth considerably less because you have a pay taxes on anything you take out. Another thing to consider: I plan on being in a much higher tax bracket when I turn 60 than I am right now, and hopefully you will be too.

You already have a rental, and while rentals can make great money, they aren't for everyone. While I'd like to turn my current house into a rental, I'm more excited about the income than the prospect of actually dealing with a rental.

It can be lucrative, but it can also bring a ton of headaches and if you get really unlucky or don't manage it well, it can turn into a money-pit. Also, don't ever own a rental property more than about an hour away from where you live. (Yes I broke this rule badly, but I had somewhat unique circumstances under which I moved and every day I pray that it doesn't bite me in the butt.) Also, I hope you already know this, but don't try to borrow your way out of debt - Don't buy a rental property unless you can pay cash for it. Right now, I would be in trouble pretty quickly if something happened to my CO house and the renters stopped paying, left, or badly damaged the property. A very disproportionate amount of my income is tied up in mortgages right now... and that's never a good thing. Our 5-year plan includes selling one or both of our houses and buying something substantially cheaper on a 15yr fixed rate mortgage in which the monthly payment is less than 25% of my take-home pay.

You're way ahead of me when it comes to financial independence, so I don't feel all that comfortable commenting on any of your decisions. I like the college for the kids idea, and we also have had about $2,500 sitting around for a few years waiting to take a trip to Harry Potter land. We just finished the books a few months ago and need to actually book the trip, but I'd really like to do so once that remaining debt is paid off.

I probably am not "way ahead" of you, if at all. In total I owe a huge amount of money that I really have no intention of paying off (As I said above, I plan to sell one or both houses before the term of the loan is up). Realistically, I don't think I've done that well. I did well securing a reliable income, but it's also reliably not going to pay as much as I'd like. [LOL] I've made some really bad financial decisions and done some bad investing (maybe I should call it "out"vesting since the money was going out instead of in). I have a lot of plans and I like charting things out in excel, but personal finance is 80% behavior and only 20% knowledge. Living below your means, etc... And I know you know that.
02-03-2016, 12:41
HoneyBadger

Quote:

Originally Posted by Irving

On the MMM note, I have to read something every day to maintain motivation long enough to make serious changes. I say this so it doesn't sound like I'm bragging about wasting my time reading, instead of doing. That said, I've just counted and I've read 272 blog entries, and have 192 left to go.

Yeah, I've done a lot of reading on higher-level economic philosophy (Mises, Hayek, Friedman, Sowell) and only a little reading on modern personal finance (O'Rourke, Ramsey, Thomas E Woods Jr., a little bit of MMM). I'm well on my way to being a millionaire someday, but instead of at 60, I'd really like to have that kind of money when I'm 35 or 40 (apart from my retirement accounts, which should hit $1M when I'm 39, but I won't be able to touch that money for another 20 years). I need a better plan to raise my income, which is pretty hard to do while in the military because there are specific limitations on having a traditional 2nd job. With that in mind, I need to find a way to independently create a second source of income on my own. i.e.: not working for someone else.
02-03-2016, 12:46
HoneyBadger

Quote:

Originally Posted by Great-Kazoo

That $1800 per, consider a portion towards paying on the principle

Increase charitable giving by $50
$150 each for the kids
$150 for traditional IRA. This frees up $250ish (math's tough after the sun goes down) per you might set aside for "that rainy day" This surgery is the last, one would think. Realistically with 2 kids, you and the wife. That extra set aside might keep a roof over your head and food on the table. OR stashed away, being able to retire earlier.

I'm not paying any extra in principle for either house right now, because they are one or both likely going to be gone in a few short years. I was paying a considerable amount extra on our Colorado Springs house for about 2 years, but stopped when we moved away. I paid enough to take about 2 years off the 30yr mortgage term. I really am not planning on keeping this house in CA. It's simply not a place where I want to own property.

As I said in post 73624 (which was after your post) the $1800 is not the only surplus we have in the budget, just the additional surplus from paying off the rest of our consumer debt. We are stashing away an emergency fund to cover about 6 months of our living expenses, in addition to a separate emergency fund for our house in Colorado Springs.
02-03-2016, 12:47
HoneyBadger

Okay, nap time for me. And time for more Percocet. zzzzzzZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...
02-03-2016, 12:50
Monky

Quote:

Originally Posted by HoneyBadger

Plans for the extra $1800/mo: (in order, for typical months)

Increase charitable giving outside of church by $100
Increase church giving by $100 (specifically to fund the school)
$458.33 goes to my Roth IRA (divided evenly between Growth, Growth and Income, Aggressive Growth, and International Mutual Funds)
$200 to a 529 for each baby HB (to be increased over time)
$200 to traditional IRA (divided same way as above)
The rest will be put toward saving for shorter term goals: Disneyland trip this spring, A Vacation next year just for mom-and dad (kiddos will likely be staying with my in-laws) a few basic home improvements, fixing the broken windshield in both our vehicles, etc.,

Wait your car is $1800/month? You're kidding right?
02-03-2016, 13:32
HoneyBadger

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monky

Wait your car is $1800/month? You're kidding right?

That's how much I'm currently paying on it. Actual payment due is $430/mo, but I'm dumping $1800/mo on it to get paid off ASAP.
02-03-2016, 14:01
Irving

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monky

Wait your car is $1800/month? You're kidding right?

It's an Xterra, and you thought Toyotas were expensive. I always over paid car payments as well. I've been over paying my mortgage by a few thousand dollars every year and it takes a 30 year mortgage down to something like an 18 year mortgage.

These conversations really have to be framed in the state of mind that there are more than one way to skin a cat. For example, even though I almost zero money in any retirement fund (due to previous job loss and working at places that didn't provide), I'm not really worried be because if things got very bad, I could move in with in-laws and immediately rent my house for $1200-$1500 a month, which would easily pay my mortgage that is only $870 a month.
02-03-2016, 22:15
bogie

Are you guys doing debt stacking?
02-03-2016, 22:34
HoneyBadger

I snowballed. None of the interest rates on my debts were significantly different. Plugging the numbers it was a $206 difference over 4.5 years and $105k. Barely a drop in the bucket for me.
02-03-2016, 22:36
HoneyBadger

Stacking is mathematically smarter, but as I said above (which just echoes Dave Ramsey) personal finance is 80% behavior and 20% knowledge. Gaining the momentum and motivation from paying off the smallest debt is much more valuable to me than my $206.
02-03-2016, 23:23
Irving

I had a lot of debt and did the snowballing method a few years ago. It worked so well for me that I started telling other people about it. Then one day I decided to check out Dave Ramsey and found that was what he has been promoting for years. I can second that the system does work to mentally condition yourself and actually get you some where against your second. Doubly so since I figured it out on my own before thinking to ask.

What is the debt stacking method?
02-03-2016, 23:35
HoneyBadger

Quote:

Originally Posted by Irving

I had a lot of debt and did the snowballing method a few years ago. It worked so well for me that I started telling other people about it. Then one day I decided to check out Dave Ramsey and found that was what he has been promoting for years. I can second that the system does work to mentally condition yourself and actually get you some where against your second. Doubly so since I figured it out on my own before thinking to ask.

What is the debt stacking method?

I had to look it up. Whereas Dave Ramsey suggests paying debts smallest to largest (in amount), "stacking" is where you order them largest to smallest in terms of interest rate, so you pay off the highest interest debts first.
02-03-2016, 23:53
Great-Kazoo

Quote:

Originally Posted by HoneyBadger

I had to look it up. Whereas Dave Ramsey suggests paying debts smallest to largest (in amount), "stacking" is where you order them largest to smallest in terms of interest rate, so you pay off the highest interest debts first.

Very Interesting
Outside a mortgage, we have no debt. However i also have no retirement fund. Oh well. Can't say i didn't enjoy life to the fullest over the years.

Nice to see you have long range plans, one of which doesn't require working in the later years. Hopefully
02-03-2016, 23:54
hghclsswhitetrsh

I see no budget for cocaine and strippers.

Edit: kazoo addressed it. [emoji41]
02-04-2016, 00:08
Great-Kazoo

Quote:

Originally Posted by hghclsswhitetrsh

I see no budget for cocaine and strippers.

Edit: kazoo addressed it. [emoji41]

I did?? The smart person has strippers bring their own cocaine. Or so i read, in playboy, sometime back. For the articles, no really, i mean it.
02-04-2016, 07:06
fly boy

Quote:

Originally Posted by HoneyBadger

Awesome. Mrs. HB and I spent a few days last week deciding what to do with the extra $1800 we're going to have available once my car is paid off in 8 months. That's the only non-mortgage debt we have left now.

Also, just for the record: Flyboy is a postwhore newb and secretly shops at Bath and Body Works for his OWN birthday presents. :D

You edited so it doesn't count. Wasn't there the first time.
02-04-2016, 07:06
fly boy

But yes, sometimes I do miss the top of the pages. I'm not trying, it just happens to be luck. I was 2 away this morning.
02-04-2016, 07:07
fly boy

http://funnyasduck.net/wp-content/up...ashed-pics.jpg
02-04-2016, 07:07
fly boy

Got the new page!
02-04-2016, 08:10
Monky

Quote:

Originally Posted by fly boy

I have no life and notice these things!

Fify

Sent by a free-range electronic weasel, with no sense of personal space.
02-04-2016, 08:47
Great-Kazoo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monky

Fify

Sent by a free-range electronic weasel, with no sense of personal space.

He's in cheyoming. With cattle grazing in feed lots. There's not much "entertainment" for him. If you know what i mean.
02-04-2016, 08:59
hghclsswhitetrsh

Sick kid today...
02-04-2016, 10:44
Great-Kazoo

Quote:

Originally Posted by hghclsswhitetrsh

Sick kid today...

And tomorrow.................. Hope he doesn't pass it on.

Being home, be a good time to fire up the smoker.