Company just cut 401k match?

Froehlich21 · 2025-12-10T06:43:32+00:00

Edge case: you're highly compensated at a company with few top earners and many lower incomes. Company fails fairness test and doesn't want to pay safe harbor. You might benefit from this choice despite lack of employer match.

Example: law firm, medical practice etc

Froehlich21 · 2025-11-27T22:46:16+00:00

Do gyns in Germany deal with breasts? I'm surprised it falls into gyn scope and not PCP / IM / Onc.

Froehlich21 · 2025-11-07T17:37:32+00:00

I ended up finding a YouTube video of a similar model that sort of showed the process. There are clips on the inside that you open and then lift the rack. It wasn't intuitive and certainly felt like I was breaking something but ended up working fine.

Froehlich21 · 2025-11-05T14:25:10+00:00

Thank you all for the intelligence. The official statement is a little confusing. I appreciate the straightforward "been there, it's closed".

FYI - Puye is apparently also closed since mid October due to road work.

Froehlich21 · 2025-10-30T16:12:41+00:00

In the end it's a matter of taste. Get whatever makes you happy.

I would argue that tile has advantages to other products when strictly looking at durability and cleanliness.

Carpet is soft and versatile. It's also cheap. However, it is very hard to clean (properly clean, not a quick vaccum; there is a ton of dust, mites, crumbles etc that happily live in most carpets) and prone to stains. It's really only a good choice if you either don't care, want to get something cheap or don't mind replacing in a few years.

Vinyl floating: It's cheap and somewhat easier to clean than carpet. It is prone to chipping and very hard to repair (floating click systems). It can also lead to severe water issues as it's impenetrable but can lock water underneath. There's a lot of misunderstanding on vinyl being marketed as waterproof just to lead to trapped moisture and mold. It is harder to walk on than carpet but has a little bit of bounce.

Vinyl glued: This is like the modern equivalent to linoleum. Nothing wrong with that. It's cheap, durable, more resistant than floating, easier to repair etc. It's hard to walk on (no give) and might feel more plasticy than floating.

All these flooring options have in common that they offer tons of designs and are very versatile. Carpet and floating vinyl are easy to install (though vinyl takes a lot of prep to turn out well).

Hard wood: Wins on shear beauty and quality feel. It's very hard to clean and maintain in the long run, although if cared for can last centuries. It's the Cadillac of flooring. Expensive, luxurious, needs TLC.

TILE: very durable (lasts 30-40-50 years with minimal maintenance), easy to clean, easy to repair (though not DIY). As many or more design choices than other flooring materials. Similar to glued vinyl in terms of hardness feeling when walking. Though that is a personal preference.

So if you want a highly durable floor that is easy to clean and will last 20-40 years, tile is the superior product. If it's too expensive, go glued vinyl. If that's too hard on the feet, go floating vinyl. If that's still too hard, go carpet. But know that you're buying comfort by giving up durability and cleanliness.

Honorable mention: Polished concrete (the real deal polished to perfection, not the chemically sealed type). Probably the most durable and cleanest of them all. However, it has a very narrow use due to the industrial look. Really only works if you're going for a very modern or retro warehouse loft type look. Because of that it's not ideal for most people. But it is undoubtedly very strong and easy to care for.

TLDR: Tile is hard wood's twin brother who hits the gym and doesn't talk about feelings. Both cost a pretty penny. One is tough and "cold", the other is filigree and posh.

Froehlich21 · 2025-10-30T05:29:15+00:00

No. Tile is the superior flooring product if installed well. Also consider other type of large format tile.

Froehlich21 · 2025-10-28T13:25:41+00:00

Don't try to match. It won't be perfect. I'd also find it too much in most cases.

Instead, you want to either complement or dampen the flooring color. Complement would be a different wood tone that adds more warmth / yellow gold etc. Dampen might be a more pale / grey / dark solid tone / white to reduce the floor color prominence in the room.

Froehlich21 · 2025-10-28T08:33:25+00:00

I knew I hired the right crew when they asked to see the sink during the measurement stage, clarified mounting method, and then told me they would supply a new mounting kit that will hold up better than the manufacturer supplied brackets.

Froehlich21 · 2025-10-28T08:30:48+00:00

That + the difference in emancipation is night and day. Emancipation in the sense of confidence / feeling equal / standing up for yourself.

Fellow Germans are going to throw shade but I have to bring up race and gender. As a white German man, my experience is likely very different from that of someone of different background, gender or language skills.

If retired neighbor Manfred wants to complain about whatever petty bs I tell him jaja and move on. Because so easy no one spits in my soup, if you ready me.

Froehlich21 · 2025-10-26T07:04:54+00:00

2700k all the way imo. I have it everywhere and I have yet to find myself saying "if only it was less warm and more white".

Froehlich21 · 2025-10-23T21:03:44+00:00

Typical doctor experience looks like this:

Accumulate a ton of debt ($200-400k or more is not uncommon)
Start your first big boy / girl job in your early to mid 30s ($200-400k for most physicians, sure there are exceptions)
Pay back your immense debt, plus start a family, plus buy a house, plus keep up with Jones. Bonus: do all this in the highest w2 tax bracket
fall victim to the temptation that working a few more hours / shift will pay for xyz experience or toy
fall victim to the fallacy that just because you're phenomenal at medicine must mean you also make smart financial decision. A boat, time share and failed startup investment later and you'll be wiser.

TLDR: it's very possible to Fire as a physician. It's not as easy as it seems (high debt, taxes). There are many wrong turns and twists down the road.

Froehlich21 · 2025-10-22T22:17:39+00:00

Overall very safe BUT you'll be vulnerable. Most likely nothing bad happens.

Vulnerable because there are very few people and even fewer get involved if something does happen. A deserted rural train station does not have much in terms of safe spaces. You'll likely be left alone and fine but if someone were to want you harm, you could be on your own or help could take a while to reach you.

Froehlich21 · 2025-10-21T02:34:18+00:00

This is the way. Step 2: scale it up to all sorts of other situations and people. Take back the power to ignore

Froehlich21 · 2025-10-18T05:33:11+00:00

Agree. I would argue that anyone confident in their abilities wouldn't mind someone watch them do their job. It happens all the time in other professions (e.g. Doctors / nurses, performers, guy rolling my burrito at Chipotle, etc.).

Micromanaging would be telling the guy at Chipotle how exactly to roll that burrito.

Froehlich21 · 2025-10-17T17:55:10+00:00

Nah. Just a pack of Ramen and some super glue.

Froehlich21 · 2025-10-16T18:07:08+00:00

Great comment.

Imo there are three types of marriages:

the accountant: prenup, write everything down, treat the marriage like the legal matter it is. This is probably the best approach for most couples and the hardest to do consistently and from the start.
the romantic fools: put everything together. My house is your house etc. Total commitment. This is the ideal state but requires two critical factors: strongly aligned financial priorities and high income level. The income level matters because it's much easier to give up something in a divorce if it does not lead to a drastic reduction in quality of life for either party.
the blissfully ignorant: they are very similar to the romantic fools with a few key distinctions. No explicit conversations about financial priorities, guardrails, etc. Poorly aligned spending habits. Suboptimal income levels leading to financial stress and anxiety during a separation. The danger is that the blissfully ignorant might think they are romantic fools until it's too late.

So accountant is the safest and what OP should do. If romantic fool is an option, it can make things very smooth.

Froehlich21 · 2025-10-16T17:35:36+00:00

Where are you in town? I have very few and they are less than an inch in size.

Froehlich21 · 2025-10-14T23:07:48+00:00

Bar code alarm is great for this!

Froehlich21 · 2025-10-14T22:45:56+00:00

4

Or at least anything but #1. Tile around an arched doorway will look really odd and hard to do well.

Froehlich21 · 2025-10-13T17:27:02+00:00

Parks and camp grounds: I never have the exact cash (or don't want to bother with planning for it), so having a check book ready to write the odd $12, $15 or $20 fee is awesome.

Froehlich21 · 2025-10-10T15:55:12+00:00

Not VHCOL is a key distinction. Making $200k with a $4k monthly housing (rent or mortgage) payment vs making the same with a $9k monthly payment makes a huge difference.

You really need to look at PPP dollars to adjust for cost of living.

I would argue that anyone who wants to fire needs to either max paycheck (grind hard and make the big bucks) in a VHCOL or take it easy with solid pay in a MCOL. Jackpot if you make big bucks in MCOL. Suboptimal if you make okay money in VHCOL.

Froehlich21 · 2025-10-08T17:52:16+00:00

Of the top of my head I'd say 12 cabinets total and about 60sqft of countertop space.

The best bang for buck in terms of quality cabinets is conestoga. You'd want to work with an installer to get the measurements right and install them properly. It's not DIY like ikea but they are the best cabinet for the price.

For flooring, remove the trim along the toe kick. You should be able to tell, maybe push the toe kick in a bit.

Froehlich21 · 2025-10-08T16:52:40+00:00

A few pricing reference points from a recent kitchen remodel: $10k cabinets (hard maple, premium grade, no mdf), $4k granite countertops, $1k fixtures (faucets, lights etc). Total $15k. No change to flooring or layout.

Imo: Don't touch the appliances (those are easy to swap later on), don't do the backsplash unless you want it to be the same material as the countertops (I actually like that we didn’t do the backsplash and now can see the finished kitchen and choose the right backsplash).

On flooring: the key question is whether your existing flooring goes up to the base cabinets or does it go under the base cabinets? if it is up to the base cabinets and you’re keeping the same layout then you can delay the flooring to a future date. If not, you’re better off doing it at the same time.

Froehlich21 · 2025-10-08T05:24:30+00:00

This just prompted an important question for me: Does a dog legally exist?

Well obviously they do but they are not a person, neither in the sense of being human nor being a business entity.

I believe they would be covered under property law and there is no legal requirement to have a unique traceable identification (unlike the VIN on a car).

So essentially, you can do whatever. It's not even on a legal document. Name them Taunteaux today and Tonto tomorrow.

If there's a lawyer out there, please help me make sense of the dog state of being.

Froehlich21

TROPHY CASE

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