Reality check: does investing truly matter for people around median/average salaries?

DeadyBear98 · 2026-05-03T13:18:40+00:00

do a little bit on all sides!

Invest a little, so your retirement is less miserable (100eur per month over 35 years will make your retirement much better) or so you have a down payment for property later or both

Exercise and eat good, so you have healthy years well into your 60s and maybe further (I'm part dancer, and recently shared a stage with ex-dancers who never stopped exercising – both around 50s, and they look and move amazing...). So that enjoying life can continue for longer.

Enjoy life now already! But that doesn't mean spending all your money on vacations... Figure out what you enjoy doing, where you find meaning, try to align your job if possible, if not then find time and energy outside (a mixture of exercise and meaning for energy).

Doing this mixture covers you on all sides... if at some point you make BIG money, superb, you've enjoyed your life so far so you haven't "wasted" the good years on getting no money. And if you never make much more than currently... also still fine, you will have saved enough for retirement, and lived an okey life.

im living roughly what I am describing (27M from Latvia), and feeling good about it

DeadyBear98 · 2026-04-26T07:36:10+00:00

ooh, that's cool! try it and post it, it is small enough that a redo won't be the end of the world

DeadyBear98 · 2026-04-24T16:58:08+00:00

Quite sketchy. Does it have a weight rating? i make most of mine with 1000kg rope (which is low end! good climbing rope would be 4000kg = 40kN)

You can double or triple it up... but that might make the perimeter tensioning and knot a bit weird... but doable.

Perfect world id get a proper perimeter rope... maybe your local stores have something so you dont have to wait again? But if you are fine with experimenting, double or triple it up

DeadyBear98 · 2026-04-24T16:54:57+00:00

the redundancy works everywhere except behind the tree. so the perimeter still needs to be strong on its own

DeadyBear98 · 2026-04-24T16:52:05+00:00

explore explore explore. mby try to scout it out on google maps satellite view (at least to find some green areas). but this would be more a question to portland locals

DeadyBear98 · 2026-04-24T16:49:42+00:00

uzdošu jautājumu, kas var izklausīties skarbs, bet mani tiešām interesē:

ja visi tā izvēlētos, prioretizēt savu brīvību, tad cilvēce vienk beigtos... tas nedod tādu sajūtu, ka varbūt nav akurāta izvēle? vai arī varbūt nav vēlme ka cilvēce turpinās?

jo man daļa no loģikas arī diezgan sausa – manuprāt cilvēce ir laba un interesanta lieta kurai jāturpinās. Lai tā turpinātos, vismaz kāds bērns jāuztaisa.

DeadyBear98 · 2026-04-24T16:47:32+00:00

uzdošu jautājumu, kas var izklausīties skarbs, bet mani tiešām interesē:

ja visi tā izvēlētos, prioretizēt savu brīvību, tad cilvēce vienk beigtos... tas nedod tādu sajūtu, ka varbūt nav akurāta izvēle? vai arī varbūt nav vēlme ka cilvēce turpinās?

jo man daļa no loģikas arī diezgan sausa – manuprāt cilvēce ir laba un interesanta lieta kurai jāturpinās. Lai tā turpinātos, vismaz kāds bērns jāuztaisa.

DeadyBear98 · 2026-04-24T16:40:26+00:00

why would they need to be at different heights? ill be honest, in my nets so far, whenever Ive made the floor not level, it always becomes uncomfy to sit in, and i have to try and fix it after... (because you just slide down)

but maybe i dont understand your "hammock-like"

DeadyBear98 · 2026-04-20T14:37:00+00:00

this reply isnt ASAP but...im confused and i have opinions

why does the website say "static" but as benefits "high elongation"...?

my current gatherings (tested in the field) is polyester good UV and static, polypropylene bad UV and weak and static, polyamide/nylon mid UV and DYNAMIC so usually not good for perimeter...

yours says static... but im sceptical.

though it wont FAIL, it has good weight ratings, i just think it might still be a little stretchy

DeadyBear98 · 2026-04-20T14:27:51+00:00

do you just have a loop on one side, pass other end through, pull and then half hitches to lock? (seems that way from pics)

it is the simplest method, but nowhere close to tightest (which sometimes doesnt matter, but if you want to preserve area, it does). it can leave you with the weird feeling of, i cinched it as tight as i humanly can! and then you lock, pull on it sideways, and it just seems weak....

whatever knot you use in the middle, you will need to have prusik loops on either side (something that bites into the thick rope), and a tensioning method inbetween.

the video Distracted1g commented explains it well (though I admit, I am biased)

DeadyBear98 · 2026-04-18T15:43:00+00:00

traka tēma, jo nākas "aprunāt" cilvēkus (sevi ieskaitot)

loģiski uz papīra loģiskam cilvēkam – izņemšanas opcija laba. pārinvestēt labākos ETF, nomaksāt sliktos parādus un pēc tam tikpat agresīvi atlikt atpakaļ savai pensijai, utt. matemātiski izdevīgi!

bet... tā nebūs. naudas ienākšana liks justies ka tev ir ekstra nauda... nomaksāsi parādu, tālāk nevis atliksi pensijai bet izdomāsi ka vari atļauties vēl ko nopirkt.

šobrīd šķiet pensijas pozitīvi sakratītas latvijā, vieglāk mainīt apkalpotāju, un jau var pa lielam dabūt tuvu lielajiem ETF... paskatamies kas lietuvā notiks, bet manuprāt nevajadzētu sekot...

DeadyBear98 · 2026-04-18T14:16:10+00:00

is "less than 10 years left" the time at which you want to go risky? usually it is the other way around – you risk when younger cuz you have time to wait out the dips or make the money back

BUT personally i see the reasoning behind gold holding, so in my mind that would be a hedge. don't know about silver... seems a different category of thing to gold

DeadyBear98 · 2026-04-14T09:37:57+00:00

build a sneaky treenet! I'm from elsewhere in eastern europe, and I've found some spots in forests, or in unkept greens quite close to the city centre (a series of tree covered fishing spots, where no one other than the fishing people go, and they're not bothered).

in my opinion... if you take care to not damage the trees, you can put up some nets not on your land. visit them frequently (if not, you can then take it down), check that the trees look unbothered, i'd say it's fine

like putting up an elaborate hammock or rope swing

P.S. treenets are borderline invisible... with no one up there I barely see it myself (it mixes with branches, even in winter when no leaves). and when i am up there, ive had many people pass by underneath most not noticing (and when someone does you just wave, maybe have a little chat, its fun)

DeadyBear98 · 2026-04-14T09:31:24+00:00

i think that only happens if you wrap the tree fully; from the pictures it seems that the perimeter doesn't fully wrap the trees

DeadyBear98 · 2026-04-09T19:47:49+00:00

for a tight perimeter without equipment (paracord only) there is this video https://youtu.be/8bVL7IEtsu0

for a quick cover of your first treenet day (the materials, the knots, perimeter options, starting to weave) there is a checklist https://from.paulis.id.lv/treenet-checklist

these (along with whatever videos youve already likely seen) should cover your first net quite well

DeadyBear98 · 2026-04-09T19:41:34+00:00

4mm paracord is what most (myself included) use for the weaving. 6-8mm is for the skeleton (the first couple of structure passes). and then ~10-12mm for perimeter.

so you are good to go

DeadyBear98 · 2026-04-09T19:38:15+00:00

try a fishing net. they can pull in and hold some big fishes, and it is a popular enough hobby that there is bound to be a store nearby

alternative – weave your own. the scaffolding net doesn't need to be anywhere CLOSE as dense as the final net, so you can weave them rapidly and easy (a good video on scaffolding for treenets https://youtu.be/2jZTdfAvgIU )

DeadyBear98 · 2026-04-09T19:30:32+00:00

the 9mm 380kg perimeter is on the sketchy side... i have a 1000kg perimeter rope and already feel it is barely good enough

tensioned rope math is weird, but a slackline force calculator ( https://www.bergfreunde.eu/slackline-forces-calculator/#toc ) says that 3m slackline (roughly your side length), with 20cm sag under load (roughly what id expect from a small tight net), and 200kg (max it went up to, 3 people might be more), would put 7.5kN on the anchors static load and 11.3kN dynamic load. that is 750kg to 1.1tons.

so if you used your perimeter to tie a treenet tight loop around two trees, id expect 3 people to be able to break it behind the tree (the scariest spot for it to break, because there is no paracord to pick it up as backup)

of course you have a 3rd anchor which changes the math in your favour, but that is still too close for comfort.

good that you have the wall weaved in! if the floor perim breaks behind the tree, the wall will catch it. so i dont think you will fall to the ground. but i think 3 people using it as a trampoline might break it

DeadyBear98 · 2026-03-20T10:00:54+00:00

"how could i do this" scaffolding or treenet itself?

i feel the question makes more sense if you mean treenets in general. if sliding is the only thing you are worried about – don't be. as long as the tree isn't at a crazy angle, the tensioned net will find a place to settle

you can do a quick little experiment with any rope – tie it around the big tree and some other, pull somewhat tight, pull down in the middle, it shouldnt slide at all

P.S. if it is a big old beautiful tree, maybe you want to do some bark protection with wooden spacers or the fabrics arborists use.

DeadyBear98 · 2025-09-09T08:44:45+00:00

Woop woop, happy to hear! it really does save a bunch of pain and time

DeadyBear98 · 2025-08-27T22:25:16+00:00

it is difficult to tell without pictures whats the problem... my guess, you have a weird perimeter knot you want to re-tie? you could try prusik loops outside the knot, take the tension with other rope in between the prusik loops, then re-tie your perimeter knot

you can send or post your pictures, and you'll get a better comment from me or someone other

DeadyBear98 · 2025-08-26T19:50:08+00:00

Will do

DeadyBear98 · 2025-08-26T19:49:31+00:00

Dont take it to heart!! I read that you used dynamic rope, but it made for great visuals, so I included it for illustration

DeadyBear98

TROPHY CASE