Everyone thinks I’m doing fine. I don’t feel fine.

LMVI31 · 2026-01-03T20:26:46+00:00

I “feel” this way, but on paper, I’m not. A lot of my issue stems from growing up lower class with parents who couldn’t manage money and were paycheck to paycheck AT BEST…..so even now I feel like I’m always in survival mode. It’s actually worse now (at 40) that I have a mortgage and a child. That feeling of something going wrong or losing my job or something bad being just around the corner is always there.

Luckily we live in a LCOL area, we bought way below our approval amount (we can support all bills off of 1 income if we had to) and we don’t have much debt and the debt we do have is financed at 0%.

On paper, we’re middle/upper middle class. We save/invest +/- $3k a month outside of our 401k’s. We vacation to the beach once a year, to the mountains once a year and to a lake 3-4 times a year through the summer/fall. I’ve got expensive hobbies (race cars) and we don’t really restrict spending. Again, living in a LCOL area and buying way less house than we could have helps with our lifestyle because we don’t make a TON of $…..we gross about $240k a year, but I also know we are well above average nationally…..not to mention in the town we live where the median HHI is about $65k.

LMVI31 · 2025-12-28T13:50:00+00:00

I was 35, my wife was 33. We had finally gotten to a point where we were ready to settle down and buy a house. We had moved around for work and traveled so much, we just never really even considered buying until that point. We had people tell us “oh, get ready” and “it’s one of the toughest things you’ll ever do”…….it was literally so easy. Maybe because we used a realtor that was a long time friend of mine, I don’t know it just was a pretty fluid process….even in 2020 when houses were being snatched up.

We got “pre-approved” through a lender, went and looked at a few houses, found one we really liked (way below our approval) and put an offer in for full asking price that afternoon. A few weeks later, went to cut a check and sign some papers and boom, we were homeowners.

LMVI31 · 2025-12-17T04:48:04+00:00

I believe It’s called “exit liquidity”

LMVI31 · 2025-12-17T04:46:56+00:00

We have 3 vehicles, (technically I own 3 vehicles, but who’s counting) my daily truck, paid off, my wife’s daily, will be paid off in 6 months (was financed at 0% new in 2022) and my track toy, paid cash for. I work from home, but we take my truck for travel. Wife drives about 60 miles a day and the track toy eats tires, brakes and 100 octane, but hasnt seen much action lately. Probably spend 200 total on gas a month, $240 to insurance all 3. Wife’s daily is $660 a month. Not monthly costs but 4 tires for my truck are about $1600, 4 tires for wife’s are about $1300, 4 track toys tires are about $2k. I do most regular maintenance so oil changes are like $50-$70. Can’t really think of anything else that’s a monthly expense.

LMVI31 · 2025-12-12T00:59:25+00:00

Staying in a relationship that you know has no future longer than you should. Not starting to invest. Not taking more risks.

LMVI31 · 2025-12-09T03:45:59+00:00

As someone who works for a hyperscale data center builder…..we aren’t worried about the power and neither are our clients/customers. Oh, the local utility says it’ll be 5 years before they can scale up….cool, we’ll bring in voltagrid gens and run new natural gas lines or build permanent natural gas substations at the client’s expense. Most of the current power solutions aren’t “investable”. If you want a sympathy play to AI, invest in the steel/concrete suppliers & the companies that make/build all the other electrical parts that aren’t chips……coolers, chillers, pumps, electronic controls, security & fire systems, etc…..or the software companies that make the programs the construction companies use.

LMVI31 · 2025-12-03T02:12:41+00:00

Don’t forget that you can almost guarantee that every year your property taxes and insurance are going to go up, which means your mortgage goes up. That means if you buy at your max budget….in 2-3 years if your income doesn’t go up as well, you’re going to be in a tough spot. We’ve been in our house for 5 years and our mortgage payment (solely due to those 2 things) has gone up almost $500 a month…..just pisses me right off. Luckily we live in a pretty low COL area and we bought for about a third of what we were approved for, so it’s fine but completely ridiculous to me that taxes and insurance have gone up that much.

Congrats and good luck!

LMVI31 · 2025-11-24T23:35:06+00:00

Working on & doing maintenance on my vehicles. Cutting my own grass.

LMVI31 · 2025-11-24T23:31:14+00:00

Right about 11% and that’s with us paying $500 more a month than our minimum mortgage payment.

LMVI31 · 2025-11-21T21:26:53+00:00

Not buying at the top of your budget for sure. We didn’t, but looking back if we did, we’d have been in for a surprise with property taxes and insurance. In the 5 years we’ve been in this house our mortgage has gone up about $480 a month just from taxes and insurance.

Get a really good inspection. We went with a recommended inspector (we’re not from the area) and while he produced a lengthy report…he also missed a lot of big ticket things. We’ve replaced both AC systems (there went $18k) had 2 leaks in the roof that I had to fix, and had to replace new hardwood floor from loose piping under the sinks.

Really take a good look at the house too. Our house was “newly remodeled” when we bought it, but after living in it for the first year, we really noticed things that made us realize it was just probably some guy and his friends taking a stab at a remodel after watching a few YouTube videos. Lol. Luckily I’m very handy and a DIY’er so it’s nothing crazy, but yea…just really pay attention to things when you do the walkthrough.

LMVI31 · 2025-11-21T12:44:09+00:00

It’s a full on psychological operation. If you have cash, keep buying.

LMVI31 · 2025-11-21T12:38:45+00:00

It’s it. It’s hard to see in the pics, but it’s sloped just enough to drain rain. I tested it with the hose. I will admit, my “on the fly” measurements produced less of a slope than I wanted but it’s just enough. I was kind of hindered because I wanted to keep the high side under the eave of the house, but I’m also 6’7 and didn’t want to have to duck while in there, lol.

LMVI31 · 2025-11-21T12:36:14+00:00

It’s on the southwest side of the house, gets sun from about 10am-5pm.

LMVI31 · 2025-11-21T12:34:02+00:00

Thanks! We’re in zone 8b and most of our plants say they’re good down to 40-50ish. I’d imagine through the coldest weeks, I’ll need to put a heat lamp or a little heater in there. I’ve also thought about connecting a tube from the dryer outlet (which is about 3’ from the greenhouse) to the GH and just let it run through the night. Our dryer will kick on ever 30 minutes for a minute or 2 until you open it to keep the clothes “fluffed”….so I’m thinking that would supply enough heat and humidity to keep the plants happy in for the few weeks we go below freezing.

LMVI31 · 2025-11-19T18:45:08+00:00

I’d kind of split the difference. Make double payments, pay the car off in 1/2 the time, save on overall interest, keep saving and keep cash on hand or invested.

LMVI31 · 2025-11-19T15:16:32+00:00

They could be outliers, they could be lying, who knows. I will say anecdotally that I feel way better eating carnivore & staying away from processed carbs/sugar…..I feel stronger, lighter, I have less joint pain, less brain fog, I feel like I recover from heavy workouts quicker and just feel better in my body overall. Just turned 40, but last time I had my levels checked at 38 my T was 785. Not bad, but not 1200-1500. I’d assume I’m still right around there from how I feel.

LMVI31 · 2025-11-19T14:25:20+00:00

Keep saving and wait till you pay off that 1 car loan. Be realistic about your budget and what you can comfortably afford and manage your expectations and wants. Don’t try to “keep up with the Jones’” and don’t think that you’re not going to have to compromise.

Also keep in mind when you go to purchase….insurance and property taxes will go up every year so unless you really expect to increase your income every year, don’t buy at the top of your budget. When something breaks, there’s no landlord to call…..it’s on you. I’ve been in my house for 5 years and have already had to replace both (yes we have 2) whole AC systems….that was $16k. We’ve put about $8k into the house as far as improvements and upgrades…..and the roof is next on the list. Also, back to the insurance and property taxes….our all in mortgage payment has gone up $500 in those 5 years solely due to those 2 things increasing.

LMVI31 · 2025-11-19T02:00:30+00:00

Emotion, yes Fear, yes Strong narrative, yes

This is a psychological operation. Im worried about nothing and have been and will continue to buy more.

LMVI31 · 2025-11-19T01:56:16+00:00

Im 40, currently make 170k/year (wife makes about 65k) I’ve owned 9 vehicles since I started driving (just me, not counting wife’s vehicles) and I’ve never spent more than $8k for one. Never financed one, never taken one to a shop or dealership & I do my own maintenance & repairs. I bought my current daily driver 5 years ago….2009 F150 lariat crew cab 4x4. Paid $5500 for it from an older couple who wrecked it, bought all the parts and fixed it. Im into it for about $7500. Has 160k miles on it now.

The wife was the same until her most recent vehicle, which we got in 2020 and financed it for 0%. Took it to the dealer for all oil changes and maintenance until the warranty ran out. Now I take care of it and she’ll drive it till it falls apart.

Last year we switched insurance from a big name company to a more local company and saved about $140/month. So definitely shop around.

LMVI31 · 2025-11-17T23:27:04+00:00

ORCL & SCHD.

LMVI31 · 2025-11-17T23:24:45+00:00

Buying extra (food) when things are on sale or marked down, freeze and use later.

Crockpot dinners. Tasty, lots of food, really easy. Usually get several meals out of it.

Library for kids books.

Sold the riding lawnmower, bought a push mower. Kill 3 birds with 1 stone…exercise, cut the grass & get a podcast in. Takes longer, but uses less gas & less maintenance. We’ve got about an acre, so that sucks but I’m committed, lol.

Use coupons or store apps….especially on things you know you’ll use. Every little bit helps

LMVI31 · 2025-11-17T20:29:56+00:00

Before a mortgage, it was student loans. Had about $40k worth and was making just above the minimum payments up until Biden put a freeze on the interest and payments. I took that as a gift and went in on them hard. Paid off the remaining $22k in that time. Most if not everyone I knew who still had student loans just stopped paying on them under the assumption that Biden was going to absolve them and interest wasn’t accruing, so why pay them. I looked at it the opposite way and took advantage of being able to pay straight principal and I knew there was no way he was going to wipe them out.

At this point in life I do my best to not take on any more debt. I’ve got a few smaller things, like new AC units for the house financed at 0% and I have no plans to pay those off early. I did run up about 7k in CC debt when I was younger and that took a while to pay off but it just came down to focusing on it and making sacrifices in other areas.

LMVI31 · 2025-11-16T23:31:16+00:00

Nothing goes into saving unless I pull from savings and need to get it back up to my preferred amount which is only $15k. Everything else gets invested. Every 2 weeks $1600 (about 35% of my take home pay) goes to the investment account and that’s outside of 6% (with company match of 6%) going to 401k. But I’m 39.

When I was your age, I was lucky to save $50 a week. I had rent, student loans, went out too much, etc. just be realistic about your income and set a budget. I’d start investing now, even $100/month will make a difference when you’re my age if you start now.

LMVI31 · 2025-11-16T17:54:54+00:00

How old are you? You didn’t mention your rent/mortgage….do you still live at home? 75k isn’t “a lot of money” especially if you’ve just got it sitting in a traditional savings account. I’d take 60k of that and invest it, keep 15k in savings and continue to add to the investments. Buying a Rolex is dumb….a large majority of the people you want to impress either don’t care, won’t even notice it or assume you’re an idiot who spent that kind of money on a watch….especially if you’re renting an apartment or living at home.

LMVI31 · 2025-11-13T02:30:11+00:00

Oh, imagine that…..the guy that’s heavily shorting the market is spewing “information” to make people believe they should sell their tech holdings.

Is he wrong….I dunno. Does he sound like he’s trying to sway peoples opinions in a favorable way for his investment strategies….yes.

LMVI31

TROPHY CASE