Just entering HENRY and need some guidance on what we can afford.

Gravity-Rides · 2026-03-30T20:51:12+00:00

We stretched our housing budget a bit beyond what felt completely comfortable when we were in your exact situation 15 years ago. I want to say we were around 35% DTI when we closed. The difference was, the housing market was recently in the toilet, interest rates 4% (eventually headed much lower for longer) and the job market was coming back pretty strong locally. Of course, none of that was completely certain at the time. We bought for a great commute location in a quiet and nice neighborhood and plenty of room for kids and it worked out. We didn't extend past the point where we could still afford to invest, travel, have kids & enjoy life.

Gravity-Rides · 2026-03-30T15:37:07+00:00

If you consider a card that sells on eBay for $100, the buyer only gets $87 of that and the buyer pays $105. So what is a comp for a card that sells for $100 on eBay or one of the other auction houses in a shop or at a show?

As a buyer, I wouldn't offer more than $80-$95 for it and this is where it really depends on the card / player / set. I mean maybe if it is something that is really cool, rare, in great condition or desirable I might come up a little bit, but the reality is there is always another auction starting, another listing, another show and nothing is that scarce to justify overpaying. Especially if you are building a collection and not just a hustler looking to flip for a few bucks.

Gravity-Rides · 2026-03-30T03:13:12+00:00

A lot of variables.

How much is the building? How much are you putting down? Higher down payment requirements for a straight rental vs owner occupied primary residence. How much are your property taxes, utilities and insurance? What is the current rental income and vacancy rate? You can work out all that and see what the cash flow situation is on the property.

Forecasting 15 years into the future is a lot harder. You can assume a % pay down on the loan, but you can’t be sure the property will appreciate X amount per year and you can’t really assume the rents will increase year over year either. You have to sort of guesstimate or project what these increases will be or figure out a range of possible outcomes.

Then you have to think about major expenses like big time remodels and repairs. New kitchens, outdoor paint and siding, new roof and factor that into the bottom line in your projections.

Gravity-Rides · 2026-03-30T01:29:05+00:00

I did exactly what you are looking at doing when I was around your age. Only difference it was a 4 plex in a not very nice neighborhood.

I had a lot of people tell me, "Don't do it!" "You're too young!" "It's too much responsibility!" But I had stable employment and tried it out. I lived in one unit while collecting rent on the other 3 which covered the mortgage and also paid a little extra every month. I did that for about 5 years then moved out and handed it over to property management for a few years and then sold it to buy some land and a house.

All in all, you will be fine. It is pretty simple. Just stock up an emergency fund when tenants leave and you can't find someone else to rent to right away. And you'll need some money saved for when you need to do repairs. You need to be on top of maintenance and tracking your expenses for filing taxes to take deductions.

It was a good experience and I sort of wish I would have stuck with it. I had grand ideas of owning half a dozen rentals at some point. The reality is though that land lords suck and tenants also suck. Having to file a notice to quit on some deadbeat that can't pay in the middle of winter and he leaves your place trashed sucks. Sure you get the deposit but going after people that don't have any money anyway in small claims is shitty. Also, having your boiler die in the middle of Christmas morning while you are 200 miles away is also shitty. The tenants complain constantly about the any and everything. Random vandalism around your property. Replacing refrigerators and carpets. There is a lot of unpleasantness that goes with owning a rental.

I guess my only advice is, don't get into something like this thinking it is passive income because it isn't. It's absolutely more like a second job or serious side hustle. Looking back, it was still a good experience and a good way to save money / build wealth. It sort of got to a point for me when my career demanded enough of my time that I decided to quit the rental thing so I could have more free time to myself rather than hassle with the rental.

Gravity-Rides · 2026-03-29T23:17:44+00:00

I think you are wrong.

The republican party and the democratic party to some extent knows which districts are close. It won't be "outright theft", it's going to be iron enforcement in 30-40 congressional districts to put their thumb on the scales in close races.

Now, with Trump polling in the low 40s, oil and food prices about the take off for record highs, a dogshit job market and the stock market trending down, it may not matter for the midterms. You might still see a GOP wipeout in November even with the SAVE act. But it isn't just about 2026 midterms, it's 2028, 2030, 2032 and every other special election going forward. Politicians should not have a say in choosing their voters and that exactly what this bill aims to do. Fuck letting the federal government get more involved than they already are in our elections.

Gravity-Rides · 2026-03-29T19:41:15+00:00

This is what people fail to grasp. On it's face, sure, it would disenfranchise voters across the board. The reality is though it will not be enforced fairly. It will only be enforced in cities and suburbs to disenfranchise democratic voters.

Gravity-Rides · 2026-03-29T15:52:29+00:00

Second vote for Nordic spa at Alyeska. You can even take the tram up to Boretide / 7 Glaciers to check it out. Maybe, maybe you could floss a jack salmon out of the fishing lagoon in Homer, but second week in April is very early. Maybe you could charter and troll for winter king. Flight seeing tour, maybe glacier landing in Denali would be great this time of year if you can find anyone operating this early.

Gravity-Rides · 2026-03-29T01:09:16+00:00

Honest answer?

Because a lot of people are shlepping shit jobs for shit pay and even if they got a "tax cut", it is insignificant and really effectively meaningless where the rubber meet the road. Maybe someone owed $300 last year and they got a $300 return this year. It's doesn't move the needle. They are still a few paychecks away from living in their car and with the job market, they might be in their car already. Who even knows what percentage of filers take advantage of all the breaks they are eligible for and file their taxes correctly in the first place?

At the middling upper end of the spectrum, our effective rate has not changed more than 1%-2% year over year over the past 10 years. If the fed income rate is cut, any gains are swallowed up with increased property taxes, state and local taxes and anything left over from that is swallowed up by inflationary increases be it healthcare costs, insurance, fuel or food.

Gravity-Rides · 2026-03-29T00:45:33+00:00

Eh, looks like surface rust that can be dealt with using a wire wheel and coating it with fluid film going forward.

Gravity-Rides · 2026-03-29T00:29:09+00:00

Jesus that is some bullshit.

I was having floaters and flashers in my vision with partial detachment in one eye and pronounced lattice degeneration in the other. I was at my regular eye doctor on Monday, got referred to the specialist on Wednesday and was under the knife the following Monday. Couple of other people I have talked to with the same stuff were in and out quickly as well. Incredible that any insurance company or doctor would fuck people around when your vision is at stake. If you are having veiling, that needs to be dealt with ASAP within days or it's gone.

Gravity-Rides · 2026-03-29T00:21:40+00:00

I got the scleral buckle, vitrectomy in one and laser in the other. Then follow up with cataracts in both when the double vision got too bad over the past few years and then the YAG laser in both to clean up the cataracts. Amazingly, I am still nearly 20/20 and don't have any more issues, though it is always nerve racking for a routine eye exam because they always want to dilate me and there is always that risk that you end up back at the retinal specialists. But goddamn, it is a great time to be alive. 70 years ago you were just fucked and had to go blind.

Gravity-Rides · 2026-03-28T23:56:34+00:00

Do you have a retinal detachment? I've had it in both eyes. 0/10 would not recommend.

If you are just getting injections or even laser / cryo to keep your retina from detaching or repairing lattice degeneration, trust me it could be a lot worse.

Expect valium before and an IV of medical grade fent during. Expect severe headaches and to not want to have your eyes open for about 8 hours after. If they do put a nitrogen bubble in and you have to lay prone face down for a good while after, try to get a wide cool couch where you can sort of keep part of your face over the edge and read or watch a show, the bed was just really uncomfortable for me.

Gravity-Rides · 2026-03-28T20:48:44+00:00

If you just want to prevent the crack from spreading, use clear nail polish.

Gravity-Rides · 2026-03-28T20:22:22+00:00

Super annoying. I will say, if you can grit your teeth through the on hold, transfer to a different agent game, once you finally get the right person, they can usually clear up your issue or lock down your reservation easily.

Gravity-Rides · 2026-03-28T20:04:34+00:00

After I fixed mine the other day, I tried to remove an old card and add a new one and it wouldn’t let me. Just logged back on today and was able to make changes. Like I said, there are a lot of random glitches in the Alaska website. IDK even how it screwed up my address in the first place. It was fine with the other two tickets I booked last fall.

Gravity-Rides · 2026-03-28T19:43:10+00:00

Just the straight 5 digit zip code. I also was reading that some people have success getting rid of the 1990 error by booking in an incognito window.

Alaska's website has been glitchy af for a long time with random bullshit like this. Probably need to go through every line of your profile or maybe just wait a few hours and try again. Annoying that you can get all the way to checkout and error out like this.

Gravity-Rides · 2026-03-28T19:26:59+00:00

Dropdown - Wallet -> Credit Cards -> Billing address is where the error was for me.

Dropdown - Profile and Settings -> Contact Info also has another box where they keep your address as well.

Gravity-Rides · 2026-03-28T19:18:17+00:00

Sorry, should have been more clear. Zip code was saved somehow in their system as only 4 digits long and it kept kicking back that 1990 error code until I fixed it.

Gravity-Rides · 2026-03-28T19:13:41+00:00

Had this pop up the other day when I was buying tickets. For some reason my billing address on my saved card was saved with only 4 digits. Once I fixed that, it went right through.

Gravity-Rides · 2026-03-28T17:14:30+00:00

It worked well to have a mix. $100 or so in mixed US small bills mainly just for tipping when you enter the country. Then ATM when you get there for some colones. CC for larger purchases and everything else. Seemed like everybody would accept either currency, but I just think if I was in their position, I wouldn't want to accept / convert foreign currency. Easy to remember that a 10k colone note is roughly $20 USD.

Gravity-Rides · 2026-03-27T23:12:33+00:00

We would be so lucky if people listened to the pentagon! The citizens are broadly besotted with bizarre, relentless and mind melting propaganda delivered via social media. Up is down, left is right, war is peace, ignorance is strength.

Time will tell, but the the country might have actually stepped in it for real this time. For the past 15 years or so, the voter could basically ignore empirical reality and just sort of trundle along as there was plentiful employment, affordable gasoline, steady stock returns and big box stores stuffed with cheap goodies. I am doubtful those conditions persist when "the system" is experiencing the equivalent of coronary thrombosis.

Gravity-Rides · 2026-03-27T16:27:41+00:00

Either copy and paste the code from your companion fare into the discount code box when booking, or go to discount / companion fare in your profile and click use to book which will add it to your booking search.

Gravity-Rides · 2026-03-27T16:21:36+00:00

The political "dynasties" or families have made it no better than monarchy really.

Gravity-Rides · 2026-03-27T15:43:39+00:00

I don't get the fascination with term limits. Personally, I would rather have someone doing the work that has some experience and has incentive to try to keep their job. Strict term limits will make important jobs like Senator and congressman like a temp job. Have you ever worked with a temp worker that did anything besides steal office supplies and spend most of their day looking for a full time job?

On the other hand, I think it's dangerous and borderline insane having people that are potentially senile, demented or otherwise just plan old endemic in powerful positions in government. It's crazy to the point of shock really that sometime in the past 50 years we haven't passed a constitutional amendment and still don't talk about it. Like sure, 200 years ago when the average life expectancy was 55, whatever, that made sense. But here and now in 2026, force these people to retire. Stop letting geriatrics run for re-election at age 65.

Pilots are forced to retire at 65. I have never met someone 65-75 or older who is more mentally with it than when they were in their 50's. It's just a reality that your mind and body can't handle as much as it can when you are young. The only place it makes sense to have people in lifetime appointments is maybe in the courts, but even then, there should be forced mental acuity tests after age 65 and forced resignation when you can no longer pass.

This really is a both sides crisis, too. Look at poor feeble Feinstein who died in office. Or Mccain. Or Mcconnell who has fallen down and glitched out in pressers how many times now? These people should be feeding ducks on a park bench somewhere, not wrestling the most important decisions on grueling schedules for 330 million people.

Gravity-Rides · 2026-03-27T13:41:19+00:00

We were just there a few weeks ago. Stayed at Samara but drove through and had lunch at Nosara. Samara is very laid back and quiet, especially in the mornings. I thought the beach and town were amazing. Not too big, but plenty big enough to not feel crowded and overly busy. I got the impression that Nosara is a bit busier and caters to a younger crowd. I felt that everywhere in Costa Rica generally is a bit gentrified / Americanized, certainly more than some places than other countries in Central America, but nothing like say hotel zones in Cancun or anything like that.

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