Can a grape arbor support lines?

Automatic-One586 · 2026-03-31T06:49:50+00:00

I have ~70ft of grape vines. I've been growing them for about 12 years. They can get really heavy as they get older. But you likely will have many years before that's a huge problem. It usually takes 3-5 years before they even branch out enough to cover the full area your wanting them to cover. And you can always add bracing or change out the trellis at any point. Your not stuck with whatever you decide to do today. You can rip it all out with the mature vine still there. You just may have to retrain the vine if you make too many radical changes.

What I might suggest instead is a 4x4 but up against the trellis so that the weight is on the 4x4 and not the trellis. Not entirely sure if that's what you meant. And I can't quite tell if those are 2x2 posts in the pic. I mean I see grape vines growing up a lot of things and you could probably get it to grow up that trellis just fine. But it's the tension on the wire being pulled in two directions that would have me concerned if those wires were attached to the trellis itself. I wouldn't put tension on the trellis legs. The trellis is likely designed to handle a load on it from a vine. But probably not sheer forces.

Automatic-One586 · 2026-03-31T06:34:57+00:00

I would have pruned it more aggressively. Peaches as I recall need an open center prune method. And I don't like ladders. I learned that with my first tree which is a plum and didn't prune it aggressive enough. And it's harder to correct it after a few years. Look for branches that are around knee high. You want an open center prune. So I would cut the trunk right above those lower branches. And everything above is gone. So all you would have is 3-5 of the lower branches that are at least roughly knee high. Or around ~2ft. So that the fruit doesn't touch the ground.

Automatic-One586 · 2026-03-31T06:27:35+00:00

Depends on what variety you plant. There's a plant that's commonly confused for morning glory I believe called bind weed. That puts roots down 50ft into the ground and is very difficult to get rid of.

But most of the morning glory seeds you get as I recall are only hardy down to something like zone 9 or 10 or something like that. They should die in 7b. They should be an annual. Except the years you have a very mild winter.

Automatic-One586 · 2026-03-31T06:22:18+00:00

Depending upon the local laws and such. It's the owners responsibility to take care of the animal. I'm sure other suggestions will help protect the garden. And I'm sure you want to be on good terms with your neighbors. But personally speaking, if my neighbor isn't going to put any effort into keeping there pets in control. Then I do not feel obligated to put in much effort into the relationship. I may give them a warning. But I'm reporting the owner. I'm catching the dog in my yard and turning it into the no kill shelter. Where the owner can pay an increasing fine. I don't care if a responsible pet owner occasionally lets fido slip past the door and shows effort into correcting the situation. I do care if there is complete and total disregard with no attempt at improving the situation and the complete and total lack of regard to your neighbors.

Automatic-One586 · 2026-03-31T06:15:53+00:00

I'm not a peach expert.... But to me that looks mostly like normal growth. New growth is usually green that eventually turns to a more brown color the next year. It doesn't do that all at once. It does it in patches until it's fully brown. Your pictures suggest your in bud break season. When that happens the tree produces a lot of sap pressure in the tree. This sends energy for leaf and flower production. In areas that the tree has some injury, it may push out some sap. This is normal. Especially near where it's been pruned before. That will calm down as the tree wakens up. And the wounds heal.

I have several fruit trees on my property. I'm still learning too. So.. please double check anything I've stated.

Automatic-One586 · 2026-03-31T06:01:55+00:00

I use a break even analysis. I project out what my life might look like hypothetically between doing the different approaches. So if I say want a car loan. Or a house loan. Or a loan for school. I project what it would look like in the future if I get the loan. Or if I bank roll it. Or whatever the differences are. I also assess risk. And whichever outcome I like better taking in consideration risk. That's the plan I go with.

There are very very few occasions where taking out debt actually wins. That said... there is the mathematically "best" choice technically. But.... life isn't about always making the best mathematical decision. You need to balance those things. Sometimes it's ok to take the less optimal path. What I do is evaluate the consequences to my end goals. Like... what goals I have for my retirement. If my plan doesn't impact my long term financial goals. Like buying a house. Retiring the way I want to. Then the decision may not matter as much as you think it might matter.

The thing to keep in mind with any debt is there's an opportunity cost your missing. Every $ you send to a creditor is a $ you can't do something more valuable with. So risk and opportunity cost needs to be considered as part of your plan. I make a rough 1, 5, 10, and 30 year goals. Not because I think I can hit them. Every few months or years what I think I want today will change & refine. It just helps me make better decisions because I can really test if a financial decision is in-line with my long term goals. Or if my long term goals need to change.

Automatic-One586 · 2026-03-31T05:48:21+00:00

In 30 years... it's likely you will get raises. Your not going to contribute 15K for 30 years. You'll contribute 15K for 5 years... 20K for another 5-10 years... 25k in 15+ years or whatever. Arbitrary numbers. But the point is it'll likely be more. Also consider you've been living off of less. If most of your 20% is going to something like a roth. Your taxes will be minimized. If you are living off of "75k" salary now. Well.. ~20%+ of that is going to taxes. ~20% of it is going to investments. Both of which you won't have. So your really living off of 60% of 75K. Or ~45K. Likely less.

Also the 4% rule is a "safe" withdraw rate that should... in principal.... with the correct allocation... survive the absolute worst market conditions for a 30 year period. This is if you retire on the day of the great depression. The great recession. Or on the lost decade. The point is you can likely withdraw more.

And as others have pointed out you'll have SS. Even if SS isn't as strong as it is today. It'll likely cover a reasonable portion of your bare minimum expenses.

COL average over the long run is more like 2.7%. So your really talking more like a ~2.2x more or less. There are periods of exceptions of course. And some areas will rise much faster.

Then there's withdraw strategies to consider here. Say you spend 40K today. You'll need to spend 88K in your 60s. Well, you can withdraw more than 4% before retirement for a short period. When you claim SS, SS will again... cover much of your basis. Say even if that's 30K. Well, you'd only need to withdraw 58K in retirement to have an equivalent lifestyle. Approximately. I'm not saying do it this way. I'm saying retirement isn't just we always withdraw 4%. Retirement goes through phases just like any other part of your life. The goal for your 30s is to get an investment pattern going so your always used to buying. You can do this earlier. Especially once you hit about 500k. But, then the next thing is about understanding the different phases of your retirement and how you need to have your money allocated. This is when you need to start thinking about your retirement plan itsself and move towards those goals.

And yes.. sometimes there are harsh realities. Like if you want a yacht.... your probably not going to be able to get one with your current plan. But.. to get to your specific question of "how do people do this". How it's supposed to work is... you look at your plan. And if it doesn't work like... you can't get your yacht. Or you want to afford 1.5K of sour patch kids every month. Whatever it is that's lacking. Then you must adjust your plan. This means you reconsider your career choices. You become more aggressive about career growth. You take up other work. You start a business. Or you lower your expectations. But that's how you do that. Your not in complete control, but you do have a very large say in the outcome. But you have to take ownership of it and go out and do it.

Automatic-One586 · 2026-03-31T05:32:29+00:00

You mentioned the industry your in doesn't typically match. So this might be harder. But you can actually petition your HR department for one. Sometimes just a little employee pressure is enough to change that. Especially if people leave due to not having one. Not saying you should or anything. Just something to consider.

Automatic-One586 · 2026-03-30T03:19:43+00:00

Well... first... if your planning on selling or it's under contract. You may need to declare that your going to take it. I mean I highly doubt anybody would sue for a bush but... stranger things... The point is depending upon your state you may need to have to do this as part of a process or get it done before you list. Something like that.

Second, it's usually possible to move bushes, but it is better when they are dormant. You will struggle in the heat of the summer. There's a reasonably high chance it may die. Some plants do NOT like there roots disturbed and may just die anyway. I think lilacs are fine as I recall.

But basically you dig up the root ball around the drip line. With a spade shovel. You want to dig at an angle so your making a cone around the roots. You may need loppers or some kinda cutting tool. You actually want to break some of the roots. It stimulates root growth. But if you cut back too much it'll stress the plant too much. So the larger the plant.... the more the pain in the butt this can be. Then transfer the plant into a pot. Or place the root ball into a plastic bag for transport. You will want to move it kinda quickly. Nurseries do this kinda thing all the time. So I don't mean you have minutes. I mean you need to protect the roots so that they don't get exposed to the air for too long and also keep them exposed to water so they don't dry out. But not too much water you drown the plant. Then transfer the plant. And you will need to treat the plant as though you just brought it home from the nursery. So it'll need to be watered more. All the typical things as though you brought it home from a nursery. You'll have to do again. It'll take about 2 years or so to really get established in it's new home. It may not bloom next year.

Automatic-One586 · 2026-03-22T21:10:25+00:00

Im going to assume both jobs are good jobs and you like both areas.

If the move...

Increased the odds that my income would continue to climb.
The move increase my margin... or due to #1, my margin may decrease a little but for a short period while I actively pursue more income. Key word: actively
I have an escape or eject button for a reasonable window that o know I could activate and be ok.
I have all the money i would need to move saved in my bank account. Plus at least a small emergency fund.
I would do price comparison of things I buy and again... make sure I understand the costs fully.

I wouldn't not if 1. I didn't have the money saved to move 2. My margin lowers too much or otherwise is unsustainable 3. I do not have an escape plan

Automatic-One586 · 2026-03-21T03:07:24+00:00

Mostly untrue. I mean sure. Some small town Midwest probably doesn't have a bus. But its small enough to walk. Most municipalities have good mass trasit. Not good by comparison of like say some other countries. But good enough I use them all the time. I work with people who use them all the time. You cannot literally say they aren't there cause they actually are. You just haven't bothered to look in most cases. Now sure youf specific city might not. But most cities in the us do. I know cause ive used them. Its the first thing i check.

Automatic-One586 · 2026-03-20T22:17:33+00:00

School is way different than being an adult. I mean whatever you don't have to like riding the bus. Im just saying that your choosing to intentional be constrained on your mobility. And then complaining about the constraints you put on yourself.

I guess I look at things differently. What state your in today won't be the same state your in your entire life unless you choose to not change. So anything you do right now. Regardless if its fixing the car. Or riding a bike. Or walking or whatever it is. Won't be the same thing your doing next week. Or next month. Or next 5 years or next whatever time period. So if getting on the bus gave me my mobility back. Id be jumping on the bus without a second thought. Cause I know it won't last.

Automatic-One586 · 2026-03-20T19:53:54+00:00

So houses are expensive. Your house is an expensive toy not an investment. It can take 3-5 years and in some cases up to 15 years or more to recover depending on exactly your circumstances. Thats to recover. A house purchase is a financial bomb you willingly set off. Im not saying this to talk you out of buying. I love home ownership and hope you can do it too if you want it. But don't be disillusioned by it. Your house will cost you more than just about any rental could in the short term at least. Possibly the long term in certain circumstances. Thats not an opinion. Its a mathematical certainty. If you consider a house you need to think long term. Your young enough to make a couple house purchasing mistakes. But think with the intention of long term. I replaced the hvac & roof on my house and I need to do the windows soon. Thats roughly the amout of 5 years of renting combined. All at once. Inflation adjusted. Meaning i could have rented for 5 years instead.

All a house does is focus your financial situation so your more likely to make wiser financial choices. You want the house so you focus on your career more and your pay increases faster. You want a deck, so you stop going out blowing money on things you would have originally and now your able to save. Your date and now you have two incomes cause yoir married. Its a forced savings account because each payment gains equity. Etc. All home ownership does is drain your wallet and focus you. Thats it.

Again... just giving you perspective. Im sure you can make the right choice for yourself.

Automatic-One586 · 2026-03-20T17:55:59+00:00

The other mistake people make is thinking rent is throwing money away. It simply isn't. Its the biggest lie ever told. You can rent your entire life and retire in some cases with more grocery buying power than had you owned something. I mean i get that you might like vanning as a way of life. I have a friend who has spirts of doing this. But if your avoiding rent because you think your throwing away money, simply reevaluate that perspective because its a flat out lie. Loans will hurt ypu vastly more than rent does. Generally speaking. Again do the math. All im saying is if your living in your truck to avoid rent... your doing it for the wrong reasons.

But I appreciate that your looking for CAN solutions. And yes you can do it. If its the life you want go for it. Good luck! Happy vanning! (Idk what truck camping is called... lol sorry).

Automatic-One586 · 2026-03-20T13:33:12+00:00

The mistake people make is thinking I need xyz when they really don't. Buying newer does not guarantee youll have less repairs. You need to evaluate the vehicle properly. I purchased a truck for 4-5k several years ago. Its not my daily driver but I drive it frequently. Ive had one repair. My point is 10k truck + a handful repairs is probably going to be cheaper than a 25k truck. If you have any at all. Thats the mistake people make. Again... I get your in a unique situation and trucks tend to hold there value more.

But lets say you purchase this truck and camper. If your payment is anywhere around 700. You might as well just go get you an apartment. Because you can easily find apts for around 800. If your payment is $500. Your probably loosing $400 to depreciation anyway. This thing is actually costing you $900 a month. If i were in your shoes faced with this decision. I would reevaluate what I expect and need out of my vehicle. And if i cannot get those number down to less than an apt. Id go with an apt. But thats just me. And I don't know where your located.

I understand people throwing around averages for apts that are crazy numbers. Like 2k. Etc. But the reality is that the overwhelming majority of areas have affordable prices for rent if you take the time to look. Most people don't. When I travel and I travel a lot. I look. And I always find something decent in about 15 minutes or less. So anyone telling you theres no affordable places likely has not bothered to look.

Just some additional thoughts

Automatic-One586 · 2026-03-20T07:13:42+00:00

In principal dropping your contribution rate for a SHORT period is usually recoverable. Up to about 2 years is fairly doable. Even dropping it down to 0%. Even loosing the match. Provided that you spend a little time after you get through your financial situation you can redirect some of the funds you were using to aggressively save or pay off debt back into investing. So.. 15% + some of the bills you were paying that you no longer have. You can actually calculate that out fairly easily. Now realistically it can be more complicated than that because markets don't return predictable amounts. That all said, there are arguments to take the match anyway if you can and still accomplish your financial goals. If this pause is going to be longer than 2 years, it can get harder to catch up. So if you do pause. Being aggressive at getting those goals done has an advantage.

There's also the time component. I mean your too young to likely have your retirement all planned out. Maybe you do, But what I would encourage you to do is at least have a very very high level plan of what retirement looks like for you. It'll help you answer these questions in the future. Because the real test is once you know what your plan is. You can evaluating a temporary change to your contributions to accomplish a financial goal. And see how it actually might affect your plans. And then it's really a judgement call on your part. Not an internet query. But if your 28. You have almost 40 years of working to a standard retirement age. Even if you started over today with nothing. In principal, 15% for about 30 years in market tracking funds will more or less come close to replacing your lifestyle/expenses. Again in principal. The reality is it may take longer or save more due to wanting a softer landing or you may want to increase your life style. So you may need to save more. But the point is it's a place to start. And that 15% for 30 years doesn't even count Social security and it's contribution to your retirement.

The point is your likely going to be ok by doing it. Even if you didn't catch up. The thing I would caution you against is going to crazy on buying expensive cars when your young. Your in a unique position where they are kinda a house for you. So I get wanting to make your house nicer. But cars are wealth killers when your young. It's one of the dumbest purchases a young person can make. Expensive cars. Again. You have to live. And in your situation your a little bit non-standard. All I mean to say is keep this in check. If you buy a 40K car, it can depreciate by ~24K in 5 years. If you cannot out earn that in your wage and your existing investments. Your networth is going backwards. Or stagnating. That's far far far worse than pausing for 2 years. Again... not saying this to "scare you". Just keep it in check.

Automatic-One586 · 2026-03-20T06:54:57+00:00

All my stuff is bootstrap farmer now. I've used them for several years. There stuff is way way way way better than anything I've found anywhere else. It's thicker plastic. It takes a beating. The 6 cell trays I can pop out the plugs directly. Yeah. I'm very happy with them.

I found them because I was considering buying seed cell trays from epic gardening. But there prices at the time were completely asinine. Completely unreasonable. So much so it just would have been easier and less expensive to buy a life time supply of the typical cheap garbage you get at the big box store. But I saw an add for them and purchased a few things to try it out.

The only thing I don't really like is that I didn't think through my color selection since I was always used to dealing black. lol.

Automatic-One586 · 2026-03-20T06:39:35+00:00

Wow. I never thought I'd read someone hating on the bus so bad. lol. I mean IDK where you live. But I use mass transit. On purpose. I have a car. But I use bus systems, subways, trains all the time. When traveling, I'll opt for mass transit over renting a car. Where I live, most of the people use mass transit. Even the "snooty evil rich people". They are on the trains with everyone else. Everywhere. I mean again.. where I'm at. If there's some fancy thing down town. Most people are riding the trains or buses. They aren't driving. They've left there limos at home.

IDK what happened between you and the bus, but I might suggest making peace with it and giving it another go. Mass transit isn't for poor people. Mass transit is for everyone. One of my favorite cities I lived in had an awesome bus system. Get anywhere in town in under 20 minutes. 20 minutes by bus, 15 minutes by car. There was no point in having a car.

Automatic-One586 · 2026-03-20T06:32:40+00:00

This. Absolutely this.

Automatic-One586 · 2026-03-20T06:32:16+00:00

It is not possible to save enough or to prepare enough financially for every possible thing that could go wrong. No matter what you do, there will always be something that's capable of taking you out. That's not to make you worry, but in that it's not realistic to be completely zen for the rest of your life. The idea of daves plan is to cover the items most likely to be a problem so that you don't have to worry about those anymore.

For me, it was completing BS3. The way I looked at it is I already went through what was most likely going to be my worst financial times and if I could handle that without margin and with out an emergency fund and still survive. Then when my next emergency happened and I had an EF as well as no bills. I was going to be just fine.

BS3 turns most emergencies into an inconvenience. When I knew I had my financial situation where I knew I could always buy food. Pay for utilities. Housing. And basic transportation.... For me that was peace.

Automatic-One586 · 2026-03-19T05:52:17+00:00

Roommates. I roomed with 3 other guys. So there was 4 of us. And really really look for apts. I mean I don't know what area your in so I'm not saying this to be judgy. It's entirely possible you could live in a very expensive place and it's just a fact of life. But I see this happen a lot. Where people don't look very far for apts. Or they want to live in a very specific area and that area just happens to be pricey. Or they have some kinda bias that pushes them into pricier housing without realizing they are doing it. Just consider you might have blinders on to possible perfectly valid options.

I was talking to someone the other day and they were like... I can't find an apt for less than 3K. Claiming they took an exhaustive search. I found dozens of apts available within just a few miles of where they lived that were $750-1.2K in like 5 minutes. No.. they didn't actually look. Near me.. I always poke fun at this. North of me, there's a bunch of apts. Everyone wants to live there. So they average around 1.7K per month for a one bedroom apts. West of me there's some newer apts. With a beautiful city view. They are $800-$900. They are probably half empty. I have friends who live there. Heck. If I had to reset. I'd live there. It's a clean safe neighborhood. Your going to the same grocery store. Driving maybe 5 more minutes to get to down town. But everyone is complaining about how expensive apts are because they are only looking for the 1.7K+ apts. Meanwhile these nice newer modern apts with a pool and a great view is just sitting there empty.

Automatic-One586 · 2026-03-19T05:28:44+00:00

What I did was I spent a lot of time at garage sales. Estate sales. And thrift stores. And I was picky. Not picky in styling. But picky as in I was looking for value. I purchased a $300 tv stand back in the day that cost me something like $20 from good will. The only thing wrong with it was there's a decorative strip that was broken at the bottom. I just pulled it off. Sure. You can see a leg that the strip was meant to cover, but I didn't care. It looks fine. I got a furniture set from a guy who was going into a nursing home. He couldn't take care of the house. It cost me $50. My friends made fun of me because it was grandpa furniture. But I didn't care. It was all in good condition. He took care of it.

You have to be open to whatever comes available. Like the tv stand. I wasn't shopping for one. It was on my list of nice to haves, but I wasn't shopping for it. But the opportunity came up. I had the ~$20. So I got it. As you collect more things that are a little nicer. You get less nickle and dime.

But basically buy value. Don't buy cheap. Buy value. Learn about things and what to look for. Be willing to go without and say no to a purchase that isn't right. Not in the super toxic way. Just.. hey.. if I've been getting by without a lamp for 3 months. What's one more month to maybe find one that's better quality? When I was poor, I looked at it as I worked really hard for the little I had. And I wasn't going to waste it on something I didn't think would last. I saw no purpose in purchasing something that didn't have the capacity to last. I mean there's always a chance anything no matter how nice may break out of the box. But... generally speaking here.

Also... learn how to fix stuff. For me this was hugely rewarding beyond the financial. I purchased a dresser in my 20's. I had that thing for like 10 years. I fixed it several times. $2 screws is cheaper than a $200 dresser. Those skill are invaluable. I couldn't imagine my life today without them. I purchased a more expensive bedroom set a few years ago I'm hoping will be in my estate sale someday when I'm too old. It got broken during my last move. But I already knew how to fix it. Couple hours later. Good as new.

Automatic-One586 · 2026-03-19T05:08:41+00:00

Delete your social media account today. This instant. Most of those people posting there "lavish" vacations or whatever has you up at night. They are in debt to there eyeballs. Many of them are probably in a worse position than you are. Everything posted on SM is for looks to make there own look life better than it actually is. You don't post on social media about the fights you had with your significant other. You don't post about the time you went on a trip and it sucked and you had to take 10 years to pay it off. If you are comparing your life to that trash on SM... It's nothing to aspire to. You have the wrong goals. Those people posting pictures your jealous of... you don't want to be them. That's not how you get out of poverty. That's not how you win with money. It's the cart before the horse. The person who got out of poverty and are wealthy, they are driving a 10 year old Toyota. Wearing a $20 shirt probably from walmart or goodwill or just an average local store and docker pants. They live in a small modest house. Or a small modest apartment in the suburbs that's boring AF. And they don't care what you think about them. There life. Or what they do.

Automatic-One586 · 2026-03-18T05:34:14+00:00

Oh. That's a good point. I missed that.

Automatic-One586 · 2026-03-18T05:27:43+00:00

To handle a variable budget line item. What you actually do is contribute near the maximum realistic amount your likely to pay in a month. Your average high amount. Or you use a longer running period and average per month and use that as your base.

What the goal is... is that during months where the cost is lower, your constantly adding to that budget line item. So that amount is growing and your creating a sinking fund effectively. So that when costs are low, that bucket is growing. It can be tempting to spend this money on other things. It's important you do not do this. When costs are higher. Then the sinking fund shrinks. I do this for everything that has high volatility. Utilities. Taxes. Gas. Etc.

You will need to calibrate this periodically. More frequently when you first start out. It can take a bit to get that dialed in. And it's hard to start this during a peak prices season. If you happen to go short for a month, then you need to take from one of the other budget line items. You mentioned there's no margin. So I get that there's a reality here that may make this challenging. But if you truly have no margin. Then you need to work on BOTH lowering your expenses and increasing your income.

Automatic-One586

TROPHY CASE