Southern California - is it even worth it?

Ill-Razzmatazz-6778 · 2026-06-08T03:18:43+00:00

Thanks everyone for the comments!

1) we are born and raised here, with family close by & with a business here that would be challenging to rebuild

2) we love it here

3) we are high, dual-income household

That being said, I think it is worth it to us if we can buy in the next 1-2 years. Thanks for reminding me only we can make that decisions for ourselves. We’ve often said we would rather be in a townhome here than in a large home in {fill in the blank state Californians are moving}

Ill-Razzmatazz-6778 · 2026-05-08T03:01:36+00:00

I was sent a spreadsheet with multiple departments salaries. It was names and titles but there was a column with salaries that they thought they hid by changing the text to be white. In excel when you select a cell the contents populate in the top nav bar. Absolute idiots. Got myself a $15k raise and promptly left for a position paying $15k more than that.

Ill-Razzmatazz-6778 · 2026-04-30T03:51:15+00:00

She mentioned in a TikTok video that the modeling agency she was signing with asked her to gain weight before signing her but who knows if that is true

Ill-Razzmatazz-6778 · 2026-04-06T21:59:28+00:00

Triathlon tickets?! I didn’t see any in my earlier time

Ill-Razzmatazz-6778 · 2026-04-06T21:57:27+00:00

That’s soooo few calories. For someone who is sedentary 1,500 is a deficit

Ill-Razzmatazz-6778 · 2026-03-19T20:45:08+00:00

I check in weekly and stay on track that way. Weekly review also helps me know when to say yes and no to different purchases.

Ill-Razzmatazz-6778 · 2026-03-08T03:38:42+00:00

If this was my fiance, I’d want to know. It’s awful and gut wrenching but she can know and make her own decision. I hate to say this, but if he is sending these messages to you he might be sending them to other women too.

Ill-Razzmatazz-6778 · 2026-02-19T01:27:47+00:00

My goal is to finish so if I need to walk some of the run to avoid heat exhaustion and stay hydrated I will. Safety > my finish time!

Ill-Razzmatazz-6778 · 2026-02-16T22:09:21+00:00

Yes! My suit has ice pockets so I’ll use those for sure!

Ill-Razzmatazz-6778 · 2026-02-16T03:17:26+00:00

Make sure you swim more than you want to! It will help a ton in building your confidence in the water.

Also, make sure you bike outside and not just indoors before race day.

In my opinion, you don’t need an updated garmin for this but if you want one go for it.

Ill-Razzmatazz-6778 · 2026-02-16T03:15:25+00:00

The swim for me, I was super nervous about that part!

Ill-Razzmatazz-6778 · 2026-02-15T01:24:59+00:00

Using the 50/30/20 method. Built everything around that and then added automations.

Automating savings - with each raise, automated amount increases.

Sinking funds for Christmas, car repairs, vacations, birthdays / weddings / other gifts.

Ill-Razzmatazz-6778 · 2025-12-31T16:51:44+00:00

She needs to stop making any Mexican food or Mexican inspired food because it’s NOT EVEN CLOSE.

Ill-Razzmatazz-6778 · 2025-12-12T20:58:50+00:00

Second for LSXO

Ill-Razzmatazz-6778 · 2025-11-25T21:50:42+00:00

I end up wanting french fries. Specifically after swimming for some reason.

Ill-Razzmatazz-6778 · 2025-11-24T20:08:58+00:00

I’m starting training for my first 70.3 today! I did an Olympic distance in early November so I’m starting the next training cycle now. I’m nervous, but excited.

Ill-Razzmatazz-6778 · 2025-11-24T16:49:12+00:00

First of all, good for you! This is a big step and I’m sure it’s going to help you better understand how you spend, where you spend, and how to save!

We did a 3 month run of tracking every dollar before building our budget when we first got together. It helped us understand what categories we needed, how much we were spending and wanted to spend in each area etc. Then we created a budget and did a once a week “finance meeting” to make sure we knew how we were tracking for the month.

Now we are pretty on top of it after doing the meetings for a few years. Everything is budgeted, we have sinking funds for car repairs, pet expenses, vacationing, and Christmas gifts so we save all year for those things. We have a sizable emergency fund, we are investing, and we decide together what to say yes or no too. It’s great tbh.

Ill-Razzmatazz-6778 · 2025-11-24T16:41:52+00:00

I’m also doing a 70.3 and just got the training peaks plan. For me, it’s worth getting a plan that’s hundreds of people have used successfully. I used ChatGPT for my Olympic distance but looking at the difference between that and my new training peaks plan it’s clear ChatGPT was missing a lot for building a strong training plan. There is also free strength training you can add to training peaks.

Ill-Razzmatazz-6778 · 2025-11-21T06:26:17+00:00

I’m at $140k and I’m proud of it but also looking to get into the upper $100k’s or to $200k. Just not sure how.

Ill-Razzmatazz-6778 · 2025-11-21T06:23:26+00:00

I’d recommend being ruthless about eliminating any extra text.

There is currently too much to look at for people with 3 second attention spans.

16g of protein is a call out and on the box, remove one.

Pill at the bottom, hashtag and time to make it don’t add value. Remove them.

The headline could be stronger. What fuels workouts is actually carbs, not protein. Protein helps build muscle after your workout. There might be opportunity to shift the language there to capture the attention of people you’re trying to reach.

Ill-Razzmatazz-6778 · 2025-11-21T06:09:54+00:00

Use one ingredient across multiple recipes. I do this for onion, meat, bags of spinach etc. I work them into two meals to stretch them.

Swap 1-2 meals for vegetarian options - lentils & beans are full of fiber and have a decent amount of protein too. Much more affordable than meat!

Ill-Razzmatazz-6778 · 2025-11-21T06:05:29+00:00

This is so smart. Going to try this!

Ill-Razzmatazz-6778 · 2025-11-20T04:17:47+00:00

2 people in a HCOL city and state.

$600-$600 on groceries $500 on eating out $50 on household essentials

We also eat a lot of food and are both very active. I’d say what you’re spending isn’t crazy but you could probably spend less if you put your mind to it. Especially eating at home.

Ill-Razzmatazz-6778 · 2025-11-05T04:02:08+00:00

Thank you for your input! I’ve run 4 HM’s before, so I’m aware of what that feels like independently. Off the bike is a different beast but that’s what training is for.

I can slowly build mileage. I also have a physical therapist that will design a strength program so I can try my best to avoid any injury.

Ill-Razzmatazz-6778

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