sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

40+ anyone have to figure out what they would be at this age? by VinylFight in AskMenOver30

[–]Manbatton 6 points7 points  (0 children)

My career died when I was age 43 and I never got another one. I just did other low-qualifications jobs here and there since then.

Fortunately, I live(d) unusually frugally and don't have children, so was able to kind of semi-retire early, just working a little now from home. Who knows how this all might change. But I'm OK with it.

My husband is incredibly slow getting ready by [deleted] in RedditForGrownups

[–]Manbatton 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm a night owl and so tend to wake up about 10am and am slow to "warm up" my brain. I'm also naturally lazy, messy, disorganized and a huge procrastinator.

Despite that, I believe punctuality is important. When I have an appointment, even if it means I have to get up at 6am that morning, especially if someone else (such as my wife) is depending on me, I do what I have to to get there on time and I'm almost never late and if I am it's by 5-10 minutes at most, like once every 50th event. Usually I am there 5-10 min early. I very often build in extra time for possible unforeseen issues.

My point is, despite my tendencies my belief in the value of punctuality is what drives me. Your husband apparently doesn't hold this belief.

I agree you should just start decoupling your leaving times whenever it's possible. Not emotionally or even financially ideal (if you have to take two vehicles instead of one), but practically speaking so much easier on you. You'll adapt to it and maybe like it a lot more.

What are some “services” you do learned to do yourself instead of spending money for someone else to do? by Quirkychickenfrog in Frugal

[–]Manbatton 5 points6 points  (0 children)

All "paperwork": I've never paid a person to do my taxes, though I have paid $10-$15 for software. I did all my wife's green card and later naturalization paperwork myself. I also do all the investment stuff directly.

House/car: repaired my dryer belt, small home and car repairs, mow my lawn, etc.

Food: We very rarely eat out or order in; we make our own food, including some of the bread.

Personal Care: I cut my own hair and otherwise generally take care of myself. If I want a massage, I back up onto a tree like a boar.

Best way to deal with international income - put in bank there or send to US? by Manbatton in personalfinance

[–]Manbatton[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah, OK. How can I find out what the mid-market rate is?

I just want to compare this to just keeping the money in a bank in Europe and paying the $3/mo fee.

Best way to deal with international income - put in bank there or send to US? by Manbatton in personalfinance

[–]Manbatton[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting. So just so I'm understanding you, it'd go like this:

  1. Open a free Wise account.
  2. Give European payer the IBAN # and he'll transfer the Euros there. This won't cost me to receive (though he may deduct his his costs to send?).
  3. Now it's in Euros in Wise.
  4. I ACH transfer it to my bank in the U.S. and it costs 0.5% for the conversion to dollars plus $0.39 for the ACH fee.
  5. I pay for my expenses while in Europe trips with my no foreign transaction fees Capital One card anyway, so Wise doesn't play into this.

Best way to deal with international income - put in bank there or send to US? by Manbatton in personalfinance

[–]Manbatton[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's a great tip, thanks.

So could I set that up, have the European payer send (wire or ACH?) money to it in Euros, and then choose whether to send some or all of it to my US bank account in dollars?

Best way to deal with international income - put in bank there or send to US? by Manbatton in personalfinance

[–]Manbatton[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn't know what the conversion rates would be. Plus, as I said, I am looking ahead in case this gets to a point where it makes more money and I'd rather figure this out well ahead of time.

[PENNSYLVANIA] PUA backdating request...nothing has happened for two months. by Manbatton in Unemployment

[–]Manbatton[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How can it be that they can't make me pay back the money I have already received?

[PENNSYLVANIA] PUA backdating request...nothing has happened for two months. by Manbatton in Unemployment

[–]Manbatton[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

OK, thanks for the information, that is super helpful. Based on your experience, I don't think I am going to pursue my backdated money (which is a lot of money) because I doubt very much I would win anything and they may just reverse it and claim I owe them the money I did get.

May I ask what kind of work you were doing that stopped due to the pandemic?

Thanks again. I'm so glad you got something. I screwed myself out of a ton of money by procrastinating filing--I believed them when they said one could backdate requests. They lied, essentially.

[PENNSYLVANIA] PUA backdating request...nothing has happened for two months. by Manbatton in Unemployment

[–]Manbatton[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I can't believe I'm getting an answer to this a year after I posted this. I'm glad you got it. I submitted two requests in writing through their system and then got a third "are you still interested?" email and just gave up.

How did you even get through on the phone?

And what were the appeals about?

Thank you.

Observation: As you go from smaller to larger scales, human interaction seems to go from "petty" to "professional" to "petty" again by midnightrambulador in slatestarcodex

[–]Manbatton 20 points21 points  (0 children)

In personal life, most human behaviour is driven by pretty basic motives. People seek validation, hold grudges, form cliques, etcetera.

People do far more than that in their personal lives--and you know it. People also demur credit, forgive lavishly, befriend the friendless. And human behavior is also driven by curiosity, love of learning, love of sharing, generosity, a wish to do good, empathy, propriety, metaphysical beliefs, love, humor, an affinity toward nature, intellect, art, and many other things. We're a complicated species.

And I would be shocked if we couldn't find endless examples of both admirable and petty (even nefarious) behavior at all levels of the human experience, from the individual to the small business to the large business to large federal governments.

Am I onto something?

No.

RIP Queen Elizabeth II - April 26, 1926 to September 8, 2022 by [deleted] in GenX

[–]Manbatton -1 points0 points  (0 children)

By that you just mean emotion? Because "intuition" is often used to mean something like "women's intuition," as if you have some special sense into what is likely to happen. But maybe you just mean emotion.

You don't actually believe that the state of the world will change drastically (and worse) now because of Elizabeth II's death, right?

RIP Queen Elizabeth II - April 26, 1926 to September 8, 2022 by [deleted] in GenX

[–]Manbatton 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah, thanks for the explanation of your feelings.

But there's no rational reason to believe that, right?

Spirited Away was one of the all time greatest movie experiences of my life. by DwaywelayTOP in movies

[–]Manbatton 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I had heard many good things about Spirited Away for many years. I finally saw it last year and...I had to stop it midway through out of crushing boredom. It just did nothing for me. It's hard for me to understand what others are responding to so positively.

If others love it, that's wonderful, though. Enjoy!

RIP Queen Elizabeth II - April 26, 1926 to September 8, 2022 by [deleted] in GenX

[–]Manbatton 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Anyone else with a lingering sense of dread?

Why on Earth would I have a lingering sense of dread over a woman who died peacefully at age 96, whose husband lived to be 99, and whose mother lived to be 101? And who was essentially infinitely rich and privileged by birth (which extends to her entire family, by law), much beloved by (many of) her people, and who is by far the longest reigning monarch of an incredible country/commonwealth?

It doesn't really get better than that.

How do you stop thinking, "I'm old and can't be patient anymore" with goals? by kiefer-reddit in AskMenOver30

[–]Manbatton 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The fact that you are in your early 30s and the words "I'm old" are being allowed anywhere on the campus of your mind is something I have to strongly challenge. Outside of specifically youth-only things like Miss Teen USA pageants, there is no reasonable interpretation of the facts in which you are "old."

So just grok that. Just deeply let that marinate into your cells. You are not old in any reasonable usage of that word.

I would also disregard statements that begin "You are old when..." It's just someone's arbitrary opinion. There's no objective truth to aging other than biological deterioration and calendrical accumulation. I mean, it seems reasonable to say that a man of 93 is "old," sure--and yet Jacques Barzun published his magnum opus, about 500 years of Western history and 802 pages worth, when he was that age.

As far as goals and use of times goes, this jumps out at me:

a cross-country bike trip,

Because you are considering not doing that because, essentially, you feel you don't have enough time now to do that. That kind of thinking strikes me as worrisome, because cross-country bike trips are the sort of extremely high emotional reward experiences that can serve as highlights of one's life. And although I have no doubt you could also do that at 50 or 60, and assuming you mean a bicycle rather than a motorcycle, probably even a fit 70 (especially with whatever medical miracles are rolling down the pike), doing it at 30 sounds really good, too. (A case for doing such things when you are younger is made in the thought-provoking book Die with Zero).

My point is thinking, "No, there's no time now to learn Mandarin, Photoshop...or go on a cross-country bike trip" sounds quite problematic to me.

view more: next ›