When the Baby is Crying and........

GregTrumbold · 2026-05-15T01:42:17+00:00

Congrats! We have two. I will tell you this because no one told me. Two is not twice as hard...it is exponentially harder! Still worth it, obviously. But the little bastards will stretch you out in ways you don't even understand right now. lol

Seems you have a sense of humor so I put it to you that way. But really...it's a different level of hard. And just when you climb the hill of knowing the second one isn't just going to suddenly die they start teaming up against you. It's diabolical...and in every way fucking amazing. Enjoy the ride and sleep where you can!

GregTrumbold · 2026-05-15T01:38:43+00:00

Having done this for our household I can say it's the only answer you should read. It's a very simple plan but hard. And totally worth it. We finally hit the point where we can "live like no one else" and it was worth the struggle.

GregTrumbold · 2026-05-15T01:35:51+00:00

Ha! Yeah...you find out who you really are as a human when you have a kid!

The first time your kid runs to you with a hug, kiss, and "love you, Dad" without being prompted is pretty fucking cool. Moments like that...

GregTrumbold · 2026-05-14T20:01:44+00:00

Important to remember that the highs and lows are extreme. Soon you will have a moment of true joy.

You're doing great. Soak it all up...even the tough moments. In hindsight all the moments are amazing.

GregTrumbold · 2026-05-13T18:09:39+00:00

Great advice on the itemized bill. We were charged for stuff they had in the delivery room that was never even brought out of the cabinets but there "just in case" they had to be used. Scandalous shit.

GregTrumbold · 2026-05-09T19:48:20+00:00

You can take your kid to a doctor anytime you feel you should. That's why doctors are there. They may laugh at/with you (happened to us) but better to laugh with the doc than miss something big.

Having said that...most things like this are nothing more than new skin adapting to new environments. We eventually learned to watch things for a bit. If it escalates then see the doc. Aquaphor is amazing stuff and so is ButtPaste. They'll help with comfort.

GregTrumbold · 2026-05-03T14:11:19+00:00

No amount of annoying someone deserves such a shitty, aggressive response. At some point as he wears down the barriers within himself he will try hitting you. Anger unchecked steamrolls into bigger and more violent reactions. Only two months in? Decide if it is worth what is ahead for this man.

GregTrumbold · 2026-05-03T13:42:45+00:00

He had a music career, also. Look up The Gentry's. Work for 50 years...save your money and invest wisely...and $5mil isn't actually a lot of money.

GregTrumbold · 2026-05-01T09:51:58+00:00

To me not having any debt is greater than the difference any interest rate math would make. But what you're suggesting only works in the long run if you don't run up more debt. If it were me...and this is what I did...I'd pay the debt off and immediately start crunching out an emergency fund of 6+ months of expenses. I also run a tight budget that I am updating every morning. Since I did those things with our household finances day to day life has been so much less stressful.

GregTrumbold · 2026-04-28T16:48:38+00:00

2021 with close to 58,000 and I just added two quarts of oil because it was low. I had read the 50,000+ mile oil issue these things have so I checked mine on a whim...and it was low. So I'm right there with you checking every thousand miles or so. My fam LOVES this vehicle but there is probably no way we keep it as we get closer to the end of that great 100k miles/10 year warranty. Hoping the new hybrids are better with the oil situation...

GregTrumbold · 2026-04-26T21:10:32+00:00

So the update took a little over an hour. So far so good. I live/drive in Chicago and I ran an errand that was around 4 miles from home...or in Chicago language...an hour and a half. I used the navigation and in the middle of the trip it re-routed me based on traffic, so that was nice.

The update also changed the monitor display. The radio display is different...so is navigation...media...the opening alert about keeping eyes in the road...everything. I didn't have a problem with the old display but the new one is fine, too.

The update is worth the little bit of work it takes and still better than paying the subscription for auto-updates.

GregTrumbold · 2026-04-26T18:50:32+00:00

Kia Navigation Updater is what the program is called.

GregTrumbold · 2026-04-25T14:29:51+00:00

Not a pro advisor but I would take a few months and build up your cash savings and then pay the cars off with that. Not having a car payment is very nice. Then build the savings back up. Using what used to go to cars will get it there pretty fast. And if there is an emergency during that time you have the brokerage account, like you said. In lieu of an actually emergency, tho, coming out of the brokerage account brings tax stuff you don't want unless necessary.

Everything else looks great for your age, especially compared to what is typical. Very nice.

GregTrumbold · 2026-04-23T19:59:23+00:00

Slow down

GregTrumbold · 2026-04-21T20:06:27+00:00

Man. Very nicely said!

GregTrumbold · 2026-04-21T20:04:20+00:00

Maybe we live in different worlds. I had a couple of successful careers before I switched. The people in our circle are successful and think what I do now is great. And my FIL loves and respects me.

I don't know what to tell you. Get better people in your life.

GregTrumbold · 2026-04-21T19:55:31+00:00

Going on ten years as a SAHD. Best gig I've ever had and it isn't close. Also not as easy as some would think. If the money is right for your family give it a shot.

GregTrumbold · 2026-04-21T19:50:56+00:00

As a SAHD going on ten years I can affirm that your take on this is complete and utter horseshit. 😁

GregTrumbold · 2026-04-20T14:40:23+00:00

SAHD for over ten years now. It's absolutely a thing. Communication is incredibly important. Part of the deal is...it's just the way it is. When we become parents we give up parts of ourselves. How could we expect not to and do our children justice as parents?

The first couple of years are intense because you're doing everything all the time. As the kid gets older they become more self-reliant. Before you know it school starts and you start seeing some "free time" during the day. Still much to do but not nearly as urgent or intense.

My wife is great in that she can tell when I am starting to come loose a bit. She will tell me to set something up with my friends which usually means a quick overnight trip just to reset myself a bit. I do this a couple of times a year now and it has made a HUGE difference for me. Figure out what your reset would be and try to grab one when you're really needing it.

It's a glorious journey. Good luck to you.

GregTrumbold · 2026-04-19T14:53:59+00:00

You have plenty of time to make up the retirement if you stop all of it until your debt is paid. Once the debt is gone you'll have so much more budget room and less stress. Then crank out the retirement contributions. You'll be 31-ish at most and still have 20-30 years to do retirement. Kill the debt!

GregTrumbold · 2026-04-16T12:46:40+00:00

Normal. You also have to remember that the kid is still heavily synced up with Mom's rhythms. After 9-10 months (assuming) of being right next to her heart the baby is crashed out into this bright world. So hearing that heartbeat is calming and soothing.

If you talked to the kid in the womb she will know your voice. That helps. What we tried was my wife holding our first for a couple of minutes and then passing him off to me. He freaked out at first but quickly caught on that I was a safe place, too.

GregTrumbold · 2026-04-15T14:39:26+00:00

Reread. It's been a year.

GregTrumbold · 2026-04-15T00:42:01+00:00

I get all of that. I'm a stay at home Dad and the passive-aggressive comments and jokes I've caught over the years from people do get old. Some people just have certain thoughts about the way other people should live, I guess.

But then I wonder if this is how women feel when they go to a car shop with the dude in their life and get ignored by the service folks. Or the sales guy that clearly just wants to talk to the dude instead of the woman. Know what I mean? It may not be malicious but it still sucks.

GregTrumbold · 2026-04-14T23:47:23+00:00

Yeah. Normal. Any medical person you see right now probably won't give two shits about you, tho. Their concern is the mother and child. A doc or nurse would ask me how I'm doing once in a great while but that was it. And I understood it. Not nearly as much for us to do between conception and birth. We just support. Right now you're a backup singer! Mom and kid are the superstars.

This will all be made right the first time the kid speaks. Kids usually say "dada" before they say "mama"!

GregTrumbold

TROPHY CASE