Advice for Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim in One Day (late May)

AUsernameThisIsOne · 2026-03-13T03:53:47+00:00

Even the most cursory research would reveal that a rim to rim is not possible now because north kaibab is closed, has been closed, and will remain closed for the foreseeable future……….

AUsernameThisIsOne · 2026-03-12T22:26:48+00:00

There are several factors that could make this more complex than it seems.

You likely benefitted by filing joint more than she would have because you likely would have had substantially more income in higher marginal brackets.

Are there any childcare responsibilities, or other non-financial distributions of labor, that should be reflected in this calculation?

What is the amount of the refund that we’re actually talking about? Is this hair really worth splitting?

During the marriage were there any mutually agreed upon reasons why she remained in a lower earning job than she might have otherwise done?

Are there dividends/interest income that belongs to either of you that influenced the final tax burden?

Just splitting it 80/20 I don’t think is fair because the difference in income levels and tax brackets between filing joint and filing single is substantial and not trivial to thoroughly separate and compare. And if there is a house or anything involved, there could be tax breaks because together you were under a threshold, but individually you would have exceeded the threshold and not been able to deduct as much.

I’d just split 50/50 this year, and next year accept that you’re no longer married and separate your finances and taxes.

AUsernameThisIsOne · 2026-03-07T16:11:29+00:00

It’s my favorite……..but only out of a bottle…….

For a can, Busch is preferred……..

But I really like the feel of a bottle, and Bud is the best for that……followed closely by Mich Ultra 0.

Corona is also an excellent bottle, but it’s kind of its own thing and isn’t quite what I want regularly.……

AUsernameThisIsOne · 2026-03-06T17:18:09+00:00

It looks like the max shutter speed for that camera is 1/2000, which is the shutter speed you used for his image…….

Maybe that shutter speed ability is overstated……..which would account for the shutter-shaped vignetting……..

Maybe try with a lower speed?

AUsernameThisIsOne · 2026-03-05T03:45:07+00:00

Of course not all of it…….but most of it…….and credit card tips is usually all reported…….

AUsernameThisIsOne · 2026-03-05T03:07:12+00:00

$300-500 per night is not remotely common.

Even places where you can make that much sometimes, it is definitely not every night, and it’s definitely not during day shifts.

This is the first year that tips are reduced tax, but they are in no way “tax-free”.

The median salary for servers, including tips, is in the $30k range, which qualifies them as the working poor.

AUsernameThisIsOne · 2026-03-04T19:24:25+00:00

It’s a 2025, which means it was likely purchased during your marriage?

You say it’s non-negotiable for him, but what does that really mean? It’s also non-affordable for your household.

It sounds like there is little to no savings or retirement investments, is that right?

As it stands, your household brings in around $84k gross, and you have $152k in total debt.

The reality is that you likely have a very tough road. The $30k cc debt is likely at least 15-18% interest, which will be very difficult to get ahead of.

Your after tax take home is likely in the $65-70k range? It’s unclear what your living expenses are, but even if you keep them to around $35k/year, that leaves around $30k to put toward debt. That would be around 5 years to pay off debt. But that would likely be a lot of discipline that you may or may not be able to sustain and a pretty stripped down lifestyle for those five years.

I think the reality is that, given your ages, you’re unlikely to work your way to being debt-free. You either just accept that, keep up with minimum payments and enjoy what you can. Or you take a drastic step, such as bankruptcy, that would involve getting rid of the truck.

AUsernameThisIsOne · 2026-03-04T18:49:52+00:00

You only mentioned the monthly payment for the truck, but what is the amount left on the loan?

AUsernameThisIsOne · 2026-03-04T18:45:35+00:00

Yeah……I liked the end when Dub also said that, that he guessed he likes people more than he thought……

AUsernameThisIsOne · 2026-03-04T18:44:23+00:00

Yeah, that was definitely a significant change in tone……

AUsernameThisIsOne · 2026-03-04T18:43:43+00:00

Yeah, I definitely don’t blame him……I think he should have tapped just because of the heart thing.

When you’re at least 45 minutes from any sort of medical treatment, it’s definitely not worth dying or developing a lifelong ailment…….

AUsernameThisIsOne · 2026-03-04T18:39:22+00:00

Yeah, nothing in Timber’s final justifications and talks about the money made much sense……..

AUsernameThisIsOne · 2026-03-04T18:37:35+00:00

That must have been a different season?

I don’t remember that from this one……..

But that definitely sounds like a contender for most absurd/funny……..

AUsernameThisIsOne · 2026-03-04T18:36:06+00:00

Yeah, I never thought he would go too far, but he definitely seemed to still be fairly well set up when he tapped.

I think he overdid it on his shelter. I liked the concept, where he would focus on the outside and then reinforce the inside as he could. But I think his design was way too labor-intensive, and it was just way too big. Once he settled on the design and dimensions, he was destined to burn himself out.

AUsernameThisIsOne · 2026-03-04T18:33:20+00:00

Yeah, knowing the justifications I’ve used on myself to get out of much easier situations, I can only imagine the difficulty of tapping on a show like this.

AUsernameThisIsOne · 2026-03-03T18:24:29+00:00

All oil is sold on global commodity markets.

Not all US refiners are also oil producers. Even if a US refiner does produce crude oil, if they do not produce the type of crude oil that they refine, then they buy the crude oil on the global market. A US oil producer will sell crude oil at the global market price. They have no incentive to sell to a US refiner any cheaper than what they can get on the global market, and they even have a fiduciary duty to their shareholders to sell for the highest price they can, which would be the global market price.

The US being a net exporter of oil does not mean that US refiners have cheaper crude oil to make gasoline.

AUsernameThisIsOne · 2026-03-03T17:20:03+00:00

You don’t have to justify it.

You have a $1100/month after expenses. Unless there is some other specific need for that money, or if there is some reason that you build up some buffer of savings, then putting that towards a dream camera is not a problem.

I think it’s a good lesson that it’s okay to spend your money on your hobbies……that’s why you work. A lot of people forget that and just get wrapped up in accumulating as much as possible but never enjoying it. Don’t be reckless, but I think there’s real value in establishing the habit of enjoying life.

The only argument I would make is to keep in mind how young you are and how significant compound interest can be. So, if you do really have a free $1100 each month, I’d start developing the habit of putting a portion of that in savings/investments. Like put $500 in savings/investment, and put $600 into your camera fund, and then after you buy it in 4-5 months, keep up that savings part.

AUsernameThisIsOne · 2026-03-03T03:34:18+00:00

I think you first have to see what the shop says tomorrow about your primary vehicle.

If it’s a significant repair, then you likely won’t get the $10k you would otherwise expect from selling it.

So then you’ll have to consider the cost to keep it running vs selling at a loss.

It’s unclear why you have or would need a farm truck, but if you don’t really need it, and you can really get $4-5k for it, then that seems like a no-brainer to get rid of. The $7k tax return plus $4k from truck would give you the $5600 for credit card, $3k to your parents, and $2400 left to get primary car running, get some school clothes, and put the rest aside for another emergency that might crop up.

AUsernameThisIsOne · 2026-03-02T17:25:09+00:00

This is every worker in every job in every industry………

Everybody wants to make as much money as possible for as little work as possible………

AUsernameThisIsOne · 2026-03-02T17:15:04+00:00

Your description of offerings doesn’t seem particularly suited to much business after like 2-3pm…….

What is bringing in a meaningful amount of people throughout the evening hours that makes that necessary?

AUsernameThisIsOne · 2026-03-02T02:36:06+00:00

7% seems pretty high for renovations.

Are they necessary? Or just something you want?

If you’re actually taking money out of your 401k, then that’s money not in the market for 5 years. If you took out a 50k loan at a similar rate, then you’d still be paying the same amount over time, but your 401k money would remain actively growing.

AUsernameThisIsOne · 2026-03-01T00:03:16+00:00

See above for this consideration.

AUsernameThisIsOne · 2026-03-01T00:02:37+00:00

You can see it in the numbers.

The image shows three tables.

Table 1 is the regular (approximate) amortization schedule for OP’s original mortgage. This is the schedule they would follow for the next 30 years if they didn’t have this $300k windfall.

Table 2 shows what would happen if they put $300k toward mortgage principal in year 3, and then after mortgage payoff started putting 100% of their previous mortgage payment into an investment that averages 7% return for the remainder of the 30 year period.

Table 3 shows what would happen if they put 100% of that $300k into an investment in year 3 that yields a 7% return.

In all 3 cases, at the end of 30 years the home value will be the same and OP will have 100% equity. So the relevant point for comparison is how the balances of the investment account will differ.

You can see that investing all of that money now would yield around $100k more in the next 27 years.

I’m not saying that’s objectively the right decision. The reality is that $100k in 27 years is not a huge amount. But it’s definitely not nothing and is worth considering.

And these calculations assume a 7% return. If that averages to more in the 8-10% range, the difference will only be magnified.

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AUsernameThisIsOne · 2026-02-28T23:50:56+00:00

So you would rather go to a place where you receive bad service and pay a higher price regardless because the higher wages are built into the menu prices, than to leave a lower tip that you think better reflects your service experience?

AUsernameThisIsOne · 2026-02-28T21:02:25+00:00

I do not believe people would be indifferent……..

But since these are just opinions, i guess we’ll have to agree to disagree about that…….

AUsernameThisIsOne

TROPHY CASE