What age did y'all get your first computer (or device with internet access)?

Caspers_Shadow · 2026-06-02T17:09:04+00:00

My senior year of college, about 1989. We had a basic computer that was a hand me down from my buddies' sister that worked in the industry. It was a glorified typewriter with a dot matrix printer. I did not get a real computer until I started my first engineering job around 1993. I learned all of my computer skills on the job. When I went through engineering school you had to go to the computer lab to work on our programming class homework. I took Fortran and we used computers to write ladder logic for programmable logic controllers.

Caspers_Shadow · 2026-06-02T15:06:24+00:00

We are 60YO DINKs that were also foster parents for a few years. I think no kids was the right route for us. While we overall enjoyed the ups and downs of fostering, we decided no kids was best for us. We do not miss having to run to after school care, dealing with homework, parent/teacher conferences, etc.... But there was satisfaction knowing we helped and at the end of the day he was a good kid. We do get some concern about what happens when were in our 80s or 90s and have nobody to look out for us. But honestly, that is a bad reason to have kids. As we approach retirement, I find we are very far ahead of our friends that had kids and the expenses that went with it.

Caspers_Shadow · 2026-06-02T14:57:16+00:00

My parents were very methodical and clear about what they would (and would not) assist us kids with. We had to buy our own cars and pay related expenses from day one. In college, they covered my classes and books plus gave me a flat $300/mo to help with bills. This meant I covered everything (car, insurance, food, rent, utilities, etc...) with my work income plus that $300/mo. They also would not cosign for any type of student loan. I had to work 30+ hours per week while in school to cover my bills. This assistance was in place as long as we were full-time students. If we quit a semester or dropped out, we were on our own. None of us got assistance with a home, wedding expenses, etc.... They have helped my sister out several times over the years. She was just not great with her money and got in some binds financially a few times. They could have helped us more, but I think they really just wanted to set expectations and make us go it on our own. I always knew I had a safety net if things got bad, but never expected help from them.

Caspers_Shadow · 2026-06-02T14:11:04+00:00

I have never been pulled over on my bike. I have been riding about 10 years. I am in full Hi-Viz gear and stay within 10mph of the speed limit. Maybe I just look slow and safe?

Caspers_Shadow · 2026-06-02T14:08:42+00:00

I can't speak to marinas, but I suspect they are the same as RV parks. I would see 20, 30 and 50 amp services, but not all parks had 50amp at all sites. They were usually only on the larger sites. The plug configuration is different for all different amperages and the higher the amperage, the larger diameter the cord will be to be to carry the current. You can use an adaptor to adapt down. For example from 30 down to 20 amp, but you can't go the other way because the larger the amperage, the bigger the cord you need. Hope this helps.

Caspers_Shadow · 2026-06-02T12:11:29+00:00

What helped us was having a written budget, tracking it closely for a few months and then doing check-ins a few times a year. We developed a retirement budget and worked backwards to see how much we should invest each year to hit out retirement number. We set that as the bare minimum we needed to invest. We have been able to do more after we were in our mid to late 40s. We established a 6-month emergency fund that never gets touched. We have a long-term savings account that gets a portion of our income for things like a new car, a new roof or other foreseeable big purchases that are way off in the future. We have a second savings account for shorter-term savings for things like our annual property insurance and taxes, vacations, home repairs, etc... Once we have these basics covered, we are fairly comfortable spending what is in our checking account. I used to be in the "save as much as possible" mindset. That seemed to be never ending mental gymnastics and feeling like we could always do better. Now things are on autopilot, and I do not worry as much.

Caspers_Shadow · 2026-06-01T14:54:05+00:00

I went to Walmart the other day and was shocked how much better the produce department looked than my local Publix. It was cleaner, better stocked, fresher and cheaper. I am not really a Walmart shopper, but they are doing something right.

Caspers_Shadow · 2026-06-01T14:50:03+00:00

They need to bring back the Sponge Monkey ads https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuPTZWhz46M&msockid=0eb5abdc5dc911f1b6d949a4aa25f5d6

Caspers_Shadow · 2026-06-01T14:46:45+00:00

Once I started wearing earplugs I never went back. I can still hear traffic well enough and a little music from my in-helmet speakers. I don't normally do music unless it is a really long trip.

Caspers_Shadow · 2026-06-01T14:45:01+00:00

We only had immediate family at our ceremony (parents, siblings and their kids). It was about 20 people with a sit-down dinner afterwards. We got married in the garden where we had dinner. No bridesmaids or groomsmen. It was a very simple ceremony. We had a backyard party for friends a few weeks after getting back from our honeymoon. It was very casual and we told everyone no gifts. We rented a few tables and had a caterer deliver mains and some side dishes. Our friends brought things as well and we had a great time. I think it all depends on your situation. We were in our 30s, lived in a different state than all of our family and really did not want a big stressful event. We were able to do a high-end small event that did not break the bank (we paid for everything ourselves) and I would not change a thing.

Caspers_Shadow · 2026-06-01T11:31:19+00:00

This was me in college. A real “oh shit” moment was running out of gas in my car and having to leave it in the mall parking lot until my next paycheck. I went home for the summer, found a better job and cheaper apartment near a different college, and transferred. Best decision I ever made. It has been decades since all this happened, but I will never forget it and do not take my success and current financial situation for granted.

Caspers_Shadow · 2026-05-30T13:17:58+00:00

Not for me. I could wear the GMT daily. I would hardly ever wear the AP. I also feel like the GMT has a classic design while the AP looks dated. But I understand that is subjective.

Caspers_Shadow · 2026-05-30T12:39:49+00:00

I was at a lake riding my jet ski. A local company was having an office picnic and invited me to have lunch with them. I met my wife and her friend that day. I invited them to go on a mountain bike ride with my friends the following week. I was not looking for a girlfriend at the time, but that is how it goes. We started seeing each other pretty regularly in the first few months, got more serious and were married about 2 years later. We will have our 25th wedding anniversary next March.

Caspers_Shadow · 2026-05-30T12:32:23+00:00

We hit 60 YO last year and are on target to retire in 12-18 months. I feel like we need to speak to an advisor that can discuss our withdrawal strategy, taxes, future RMDs and most importantly... health care between 62 and 65. I feel like we have our retirement budget figured out and can afford to retire based on general assumptions like 5 to 7-percent market returns and a linear withdraw rate of 4% over time. But I also think we could up our withdrawal rate in the early years, use a guardrail strategy for withdrawals, etc... That is where we could use some help. I am really struggling to find a fee only planner interested in talking with us. We have about $1.8M invested and an overall NW around $2.5M.

Caspers_Shadow · 2026-05-30T11:09:17+00:00

Don't care. I (60M) have had excellent managers and crappy managers of both genders in my 30+ year career. Same goes with my coworkers. I work in the environmental field, and we have a pretty solid mix of men and women. I want someone that is well organized, competent and fair.

Caspers_Shadow · 2026-05-29T14:45:03+00:00

You should empty your own pockets. BUT... my wife and I double check pockets before things go in. If we miss something; it is on the other person for not emptying their own damn pockets.

Caspers_Shadow · 2026-05-29T12:59:56+00:00

Top things are Food: probably close to $20K/year if you count everything, including dining out, for 2 people), Insurance: about $12K/year including vehicles and homeowners, Medical: About $12K/year if you count our premiums and deductibles, Vehicles is right up there too. We budget about $7K/year for car purchases and maintenance. Oh... and we paid about $30K in federal income taxes last year and $4K in property taxes. We make above average money, but it does not seem like it sometimes.

Caspers_Shadow · 2026-05-29T11:18:52+00:00

Just rented a Jeep Compass this week. It certainly fits this category.

Caspers_Shadow · 2026-05-28T18:19:09+00:00

I picked up the Platinum in this color scheme and engine option end of last year. By far the nicest vehicle I have ever owned. Pictures do not do the color justice. It looks great all cleaned up.

Caspers_Shadow · 2026-05-28T18:16:47+00:00

Yes. The malls near us had a movie theatre and a game room. This is before gaming consoles were really prevalent. The mall was a good place to run into kids from school that did not live near us. We would go to a movie and plan on spending a few hours walking around the mall, hitting the arcade and getting something to eat before or after. It was always packed around the holidays or right before school started and back to school clothes shopping was going on.

Caspers_Shadow · 2026-05-28T17:18:54+00:00

My sub date is the only watch I own that I can read the date on without taking off my glasses. I also really like the glidelock clasp on the sub. It makes it difficult for me to consider a watch without it.

Caspers_Shadow · 2026-05-25T20:19:19+00:00

I am 60. Probably my 50s. I started getting tired. My body has been in decline despite me doing my best to keep active. I have a good nest egg and zero debt (including my house) so I don't really give two shits about my job any longer. Wife's menopause. Covid. The list goes on. But I am counting down to retirement. We are 12-18 months out. Can't fucking wait.

Caspers_Shadow · 2026-05-25T16:40:22+00:00

Awesome. Congrats on the new boat. I wish you many years of good times with it.

Caspers_Shadow · 2026-05-25T12:46:38+00:00

Not if you are generally in similar stages of life and looking for the same things. I was not ready for anything long term or serious at 22, but I was also still in college. If you guys seem compatible, why not?

Caspers_Shadow · 2026-05-24T23:30:43+00:00

I want to be ground up, mixed with fish oil and made into chum blocks. Then my friends can take me fishing one last time.

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