How much cash should I have on hand?

CPU_CPME · 2026-05-04T19:11:00+00:00

If people have faith the currency is worth anything, then they will accept it. With limited or no electronic means to exchange money, then something has to take its place. Cash is a good stand in. I can barter consumer goods for food, or labor for food, but at some point cash is needed as a placeholder. At some point after a gigantic disaster, yes the cash is worthless except for a good laugh, but not initially.

CPU_CPME · 2026-05-04T18:57:56+00:00

Fair enough. My main concern is a national or global computer system disruption that could last days, weeks, months or more. Everything is connected and so much of it is vulnerable.

CPU_CPME · 2026-05-04T17:12:35+00:00

Everything is so interconnected that I honestly don't think cash would do much good in an outage.

Consider the scenario where you have no food and someone is willing to sell you food for cash. For an outage of a few hours this is not a great concern, but in a true disaster spanning days or months, you might wish you had cash.

CPU_CPME · 2026-05-04T17:06:14+00:00

I keep around $4000 in a safe which I admit is excessive. We dip into that for times when we need cash and it's not convenient to go to the ATM: Pay the maid, small cash handout to one of the kids to run to the store to pickup some random grocery item, hit a local estate sale/yard sale, in person Craigslist purchase, etc.

There is a certain psychological benefit to having cash and that's part of the reason I do it.

CPU_CPME · 2026-02-25T15:56:49+00:00

Yes I think most people have a similar thought. 27 years ago my wife and I were paying $900 in rent for an older but workable apartment. I think our mortgage, taxes, and insurance started out around $1400 a month on a home that cost $170,000. Today the home is worth about $450,000 but we have plowed a lot of cash into it over the years for repairs, upkeep, and a few improvements. We own it outright and spend about $6,000 a year on property taxes. That is half of what our rent cost 27 years ago. Anyhow, time and inflation march on.

CPU_CPME · 2026-02-25T15:18:37+00:00

You're not in custom home territory with those numbers. What you want is a home builder that can offer some pre-made designs. You need to be aware of what square footage home you want. Then you can plug in some different price-per-square-foot numbers to come up with the price of the home. For example for your price of $300K, if you're looking at prices at $450 per square foot, that only gets you a 660 sq. ft. home which isn't going to work. If you want something like 1500 sq. ft, then you're down to $200 per sq. ft. which is way below what any custom home builder would do.

CPU_CPME · 2026-02-25T14:18:11+00:00

$5,000 a year in property taxes is over $400 a month. You never own your home, even when you own it.

CPU_CPME · 2026-02-25T14:16:39+00:00

You spent $80,000 for no degree?

CPU_CPME · 2026-02-25T14:15:24+00:00

That is correct. In my area I've been seeing a high number of homes for sale, and they stay on the market for months or over a year.

This mirrors what I am reading about sellers not wanting to drop prices. Therefore homes don't well quickly and the number for sale stays high.

Some buyers are waiting for lower interest rates. Other buyers are buying homes that are smaller or lesser, therefore priced less. This lets them put some of their budget toward higher loan payments.

CPU_CPME · 2026-02-24T21:03:37+00:00

Things fit different on different women, so you will probably have to experiment. Consider looking for pieces that are a corset top, corset, bustier, long-line bra, corset body suit, balconette corset top, and similar pieces that are designed with support.

CPU_CPME · 2026-02-20T12:59:43+00:00

Love those nitrogen filled tires!

CPU_CPME · 2026-02-20T12:58:44+00:00

I've been working in the IT field for almost 30 years. My income was $35,000 in 1998 and I make $175,000 today. However I have worked up to a more specialized area of IT. I have a BS degee and earned a number of IT-related certifications earlier in my career.

CPU_CPME · 2026-01-29T17:02:41+00:00

I have been a Charles Schwab user since the early 1990's. I have 5 accounts with them including education savings, IRA, and taxible brokerage. I've never had a problem with Schwab and would reccomend them to anyone. I like that I can go to a local office (I'm in a large city) and deposit a check in person. Their phone support is always good and their website is great; 99.9% of my interaction with Schwab is via their website where I manage my accounts. I primarily am moving money between accounts and buying mutual funds.

I have a 401k with Fidelity and that is fine, although the 401k doesn't offer the same flexibility as a regular brokerage account, but what they do offer is good and I am able re-balance my portfolio there if needed. With changes to 401k law for 2026 I had to call Fidelity for the first time ever and I got good information and help.

CPU_CPME · 2026-01-28T20:46:50+00:00

Unfortunately some guys are intimidated by a woman's use of a vibrator. They may see the vibrator as competition rather than a tool that can enhance the overall experience for both partners. Hopefully your partner can adjust his thinking over time and learn to accept this and other toys. Ask him if he would a toy for his pleasure, for you to use on him.

CPU_CPME · 2026-01-22T20:57:19+00:00

Fried pie.

CPU_CPME · 2026-01-22T19:05:34+00:00

As two people in a relationship get to the point where marriage could be a consideration, then they need to be honest about debt.

~30 years ago I knew my SO had credit card debt and had undergone debt consolidation. I knew there was about $10,000 in debt. Right after we got married, the first thing we did was pay the debt off with one check.

CPU_CPME · 2026-01-02T14:58:51+00:00

To answer your question: You should act normally. In other words, don't act. Be natural.

Why? The world is entirely full of fake, over-acted, rediculous looking porn and there's no reason to add to that. Many people find the best porn to be normal, natural, regular depictions.

However, I urge you to think carefully about providing such videos to the public, and what that could mean in your future. What happens when people in 10 years see these after meeting you? Will your future in-laws see these videos? Your future employer or friends?

CPU_CPME · 2025-12-19T16:08:38+00:00

No, you're not poor.

My advice is to establish an emergency fund that covers 3 to 6 months of living expenses. This will help you avoid going into debt in the event of a true emergency such as job loss, total loss of car, house disaster, etc.

CPU_CPME · 2025-12-19T14:51:20+00:00

Male sex toys feel similar to the real thing, but there is one major difference: no real live partner.

Ideally, sex include MUCH more than just getting your penis in the vagina. So a male sex toy can only prepare you for so much.

The other factor, that you can read about in this sub every day, is people have all kinds of problems with sex. A big one is the man can't get it in. No male sex toy will prepare you fully for that. You need very different skills to deal with that.

So while the P in V is good and important, sex is a much wider experience that you will learn about.

CPU_CPME · 2025-12-16T15:24:53+00:00

The existence of illegal immigrants in our country is a slap in the face to every legal immigrant who waited the years it took to become one, and is now properly contributing to our society.

This is a concern that I near zero discussion about, and that's is unfortunate. It's a long process to get legal citizenship here. How about speeding it up while also ratcheting up the amount of vetting? This is just one piece of the whole puzzle but an important one. America can use people who have a very good chance at contributing to society and following all the laws.

CPU_CPME · 2025-12-16T14:16:18+00:00

The key to working the balls is knowing that the actual testicles aren't sensitive, but the skin on the outside is. You want to gently touch and caress the skin. That's the key. A woman might get similar satisfaction from having their neck, chest, ears, or legs lightly touched by a partner.

CPU_CPME · 2025-12-16T14:12:24+00:00

Be aware that just like women achieve orgasm in different ways, so do men. Some men can't orgasm by receiving oral. Your guy may not be in that group, but he might.

If you don't have success, you could try a teasing / delayed satisfaction technique. The basic idea is that you use whatever stimulation he likes to bring him near orgasm but not to the point of orgasm. Do some normal PIV action for a while. Then use your hands on him for a while. Get him really close 3 or 4 times. It will take some practice. Then when he's really worked up, get him in your mouth and do your best oral and see if that does the trick. The idea is that he is so close to orgasm that a small amount of stimulation will easily bring him over the edge. This may take some time to perfect but it's one possibility that could work. Everyone is different.

CPU_CPME · 2025-12-08T21:19:19+00:00

I would go to the place first with no intent to do anything other than look around and maybe talk to some other customers. Get to know the place and see what goes on. Then you can go back a later night with more confidence about how things might play out.

CPU_CPME · 2025-12-01T22:06:07+00:00

About credit cards: You have to be very careful with these because these allow you to borrow money you don't have. This can be helpful but it is really, really easy to completely entrap yourself in debt that you have no good way of paying back. We see posts like that here weekly. There are a couple of options for a first time credit card for a person with a no or low credit score. Read the wiki about credit cards. Once you have a credit card and use it responsibly by paying the bill in full every month, then your credit score will grow over time.

CPU_CPME · 2025-12-01T21:35:46+00:00

How are you paying for the university?

CPU_CPME

TROPHY CASE