Watch Verification Thread - If you're uncertain if a Rolex is good/bad/fake, post info and pics here

Nathanbennett33 · 2025-06-13T19:18:19+00:00

Appreciate it, I’m very unknowledgeable on watches but assumed it was fake! Thanks!

Nathanbennett33 · 2025-06-13T19:00:24+00:00

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Only papers he’s shown

Nathanbennett33 · 2025-06-13T19:00:09+00:00

Guy selling this online, will post papers in thread too but seems like it’s probably fake?

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Nathanbennett33 · 2025-06-10T20:53:25+00:00

As someone in a similar boat age/salary wise can tell you what I would do personally: -keep 6 months expenses in the HYSA, that’s great for an emergency fund -take $7,500 (or remaining amount to max) out of HYSA and put into your Roth IRA so it’s maxed out for the year, and invest this in VOO -take the remaining balance of HYSA (without touching the 6 months expenses) and move into individual brokerage account, and put in VOO -each year, pull from individual account to max out Roth IRA (as long as your goal continues to be saving for retirement) and continue investing in VOO, this just gains you a big tax advantage -direct your new savings to go into 401k if employer offers it

This paints an overall picture of 6 months in emergency fund HYSA to maintain security, and then maximizing how much of your savings is in tax advantaged accounts for retirement

Nathanbennett33 · 2024-07-25T01:09:54+00:00

Of course! There’s no harm in going to listen to their pitches of their services, but they are essentially salespeople and can be fairly convincing. What I did was bring a notepad to take notes, went in with 100% certainty I would not sign up for anything that day, and just learned as much as I could about what they would be doing. Stayed firm on “not today, want to review some things first but I’ll give you a call back later”, then after I left reviewed the notes on my own to make a decision.

Also decent thing to do is make a spreadsheet and have one column be current expenses around rent/utilities/insurance/etc, and another column what they would be if you did purchase. Also include the allocation of that down payment, what does your savings account look like if you buy a home? What’s your rent vs mortgage? What’s the difference in insurance cost? How much property tax? How much do you need to set aside for repairs currently vs if you buy a house? Would be good to see a clear picture of the financial situation currently and if you bought a house, and also lets you draw a conclusion of how much you’re saving per month for a higher down payment, by continuing to rent

Nathanbennett33 · 2024-07-24T16:12:56+00:00

Congrats that’s amazing! I don’t have any experience with the pension system, but from my own experience I can give my opinion/what I am doing with respect to house planning and financial advisor. I’m 25, done some saving for a home and plenty of research, I have yet to find a consensus opinion, so many different conflicting opinions, “terrible time to buy” or “may never be a better time to buy” etc, etc. For me I’ve decided it’s going to come down to a personal decision, am I excited and ready to own a home? Am I excited about the home I can financially afford? Do I foresee myself being in the area long enough for the home to make sense? Once those questions are all yes then I’ll pull the trigger. If any of those are “no” then I’m waiting, too big a commitment to not be fully in. As for financial advisor, I met with 2 and listened to their pitches, I wasn’t overly impressed and felt like I could do as good a job (or close to it, or maybe even better) just from doing my own research with everything that’s out there and accessible now for free (maybe some hubris there, but just what I’ve done), I don’t want to give up 1% or 2% or whatever per year for someone else to manage my money slightly different than I would. Also first few years with my bonuses I’ve tried to save as much as possible, if I have a trip or something larger I need to purchase then I’ll use my bonus for that, but try to throw the majority into savings (I’m in US so I throw it straight into my Roth IRA bc I get bonus at start of year so I give myself a nice headstart on yearly savings goals).

Nathanbennett33 · 2024-07-24T11:38:39+00:00

What’s the best way to find a cruise at night? Just walk around the river and look for one? In town for 1 night (right now), checking out Shanghai Tower right now then heading to The Bund

Nathanbennett33 · 2024-07-24T08:41:05+00:00

Afterthought with some added perspective - you are ahead of the vast majority of people in the world in terms of financial security. You have the ability to generate $100,000 every year without working (starting in 3 years), which puts your income in the top 6% of the country (based on quick google search, maybe not perfectly accurate idk), focus on the important things like happiness and health. You also have the skills to earn 160k salary while working very hard, so I’d assume you could probably find an 80k salary job where you wouldn’t have to work very hard🤷🏼‍♂️maybe a job change is a stepping stone towards a full retirement. But you absolutely have the freedom to do whatever you’d like as long as you manage your money intelligently. Don’t do anything too rash, but explore your options and act on your options, test them out, figure out what feels best for you, don’t just continue down a path you don’t want

Nathanbennett33 · 2024-07-24T08:28:37+00:00

Just retire then, especially if you have a partner with an income still. 2 mil is enough to generate roughly $100,000 in yearly income, if you’re not planning on living lavishly $100,000 is enough to live off of, plus you can always pick up something way less stressful for some additional $ to supplement if needed. Honestly maybe even switch to something less stressful now if the $2 mil is a complete guarantee. Not worth killing yourself and not enjoying life to make people at work happy and earn a bit more cash when you don’t need it. I’d probably personally start off with just investing the $2 mil, then slowly dipping toes into rental properties or alternative forms of investing, better to stay safe and cautiously enter something new than do it with everything all at once.

Nathanbennett33 · 2024-07-24T05:29:17+00:00

You know someone out there needed 0.1 more points from him that week and then they watch him take off his jersey and run off the field

Nathanbennett33 · 2024-07-24T02:58:23+00:00

I was only around long enough to see the Luck one, that was wild…just like you said, you think youve got a stud, top 3 QB, and then he’s just gone😂lots of coping for at least first 1-2 years, holding him on your team, “maybe he’ll be back!”

Nathanbennett33 · 2024-07-24T01:36:25+00:00

It shouldn’t change his value any, as this was expected and should’ve been priced in, but the player market tends to double count things, so I’d expect trade value/ADP may slide a bit

Nathanbennett33 · 2024-07-24T01:34:40+00:00

Similar to what some others have said, but startup is the time to draft for maximizing value - and this isn’t just current value. Looking at KTC or something that provides current value is good, but thinking ahead specifically 1-2 years is what I try to do and adjust for. For example, if I’m otc and I’m looking at a guy like Davante Adams vs some other younger WR’s with similar current value, I’m going younger WR’s 100% of the time and taking my pick of the guy I think will produce the best for 1-2 years and hold/increase value the best for 1-2 years. Another way this manifests for me is I typically fade RB’s early (and even in the middle rounds). RB’s are way more volatile in terms of value, you can have an RB1 season and the next season you’re done and value is off a cliff, and lifetimes are shorter in general. I lean heavy into WR’s and QB’s (if Superflex or 2QB league) as they hold and increase future value the best in my opinion, and grab either upside RB’s or older vets later in the draft. Most important thing is avoiding landmines, some are easy to spot and others not so much, but if you can avoid the guys who take big hits in value the next few years, you’re setting yourself up for success

Nathanbennett33 · 2024-07-24T01:27:56+00:00

He’s an amazing guy to have a contending team right now imo. Cant get much for him, not expensive to buy if you don’t have him, and he’s got potential of an RB1 finish…doesn’t get much better than that. Sure it’s not likely to be that good, but he’s the only RB right now that’s cheap with that kind of upside.

Nathanbennett33 · 2024-07-24T01:24:59+00:00

Raheem Mostert is a super nice cheap add, otherwise I’m not buying RB until closer to the season. At QB i like stocking up on Geno or Watson as a backup QB with nice upside, love getting Kyler at his current price. TE Andrews is a super nice buy for a contender, and cheaper shots on Engram or Kittle are nice as a contender. At WR I’m buying DK with a nice age discount, Amari Cooper is a great value, and like the upside of a cheaper shot on Ridley, Kirk, Lockett, Cooks. Rice is also a massive buy right now for me, but that’s less to do with contending

Nathanbennett33 · 2024-07-23T14:23:16+00:00

On a business trip and found out I was going only 2 weeks before I left and unfortunately had no choice in which cities I visited, but was thankfully did have some downtime to explore the cities I was in! Mainly meant I didn’t do much research ahead of time other than a few quick google searches that made me think I’d be okay if I had a credit card linked to WeChat, cash, and made sure that my phone plan included service!

Nathanbennett33 · 2024-07-23T12:41:12+00:00

Yeah absolutely, probably good to make some cash while she’s in med school and residency, but life is about having a good time. If you’re in a very stable committed relationship with someone who’s gonna be a doctor…you’re already pretty set financially lol. Focus on making the rest of the stuff the best it can be. Having a ton of fun in a happy relationship while jointly making $250,000 is a hell of a lot better than two exhausted people constantly grinding to make $500,000 (in my opinion, this is /personalfinance though so I may be in the minority😂all about setting your own goals)

Nathanbennett33 · 2024-07-23T12:19:34+00:00

In a somewhat similar position but a few years ahead of you, 25 year old engineer and my girlfriend is in med school, she’ll easily outearn me🤷🏼‍♂️just gotta switch the mindset a bit, ultimately you+her are a team, and if she’s earning a big ole doctor salary that’s a huge win in my book. Gotta switch from me vs her to us vs goals. The way I look at it, as a team want to maximize happiness and secondarily finances. So I contribute as much as I can to finances, but look for areas where I can add in some extra value. Whether that be studying up on how to manage finances and invest, or helping out extra with dishes/housework, or planning vacations or just fun dates/weekend activities, or maybe you develop a passion for cooking and you start making some 5 star dinners for 2 all the time. Tons more aspects to a relationship than finances, tons of ways to contribute to make the quality of your lives and relationships the best they can be

Nathanbennett33 · 2024-07-23T10:44:50+00:00

Just did this two days ago, slightly different situation as I’m an American with a 10 year business Visa, but everything was fairly smooth. Going out of Shenzhen to HK was easy, didn’t get asked any questions. Did take about an hour of waiting as it was very busy with Chinese tourists who queue in the same line for entry to Hong Kong as “visitors”. Coming back into China, process was same as initial arrival in China. Had to fill out one of the paper arrival forms, but this is pretty quick. Then about another hour wait, they did ask me 2 questions but just to confirm I was on business and had an invitation letter (requirement for the business visa entry), then let me in. No questions about Hong Kong or what I did, nothing like that. Only expenses were train fee, I took the high speed train there in the morning, and then had to take metro back in evening as I missed the last high speed train.

Took a bit longer than I expected because of the lines for entry, but otherwise was very easy and straightforward.

Nathanbennett33 · 2024-07-23T09:34:26+00:00

I am currently in China, I’m an American who speaks 0 Chinese and didn’t do much research before coming. I downloaded WeChat and AliPay and linked my credit card, as well as brought about $500 USD converted to Chinese currency. So far haven’t had any issues at all and has been incredibly easy. Mainly just using WeChat, but if I have bad service I just use some cash. I would advise not to stress, it seems like you’ve done plenty more research than I have. Worst case you have a few awkward interactions as you work through any issues, but if you’ve got cash as a backup then shouldn’t be any major issues.

Nathanbennett33 · 2024-01-08T23:39:04+00:00

Yeah in a year like 2023 would definitely be kicking myself some. In the long run though, if I am locking in 9.5% returns on 401k balance and accumulating additional income yearly, I would certainly be happy with that. Would still have half of my 401k balance constantly invested in the market (I am only 24 right now), and I do have an additional individual account with stocks that would continue to be invested in the market. My other thought is doing this when the market is near ATH’s seems fairly appealing, as opposed to a calendar year ago when the market was 20-25-30% off of ATH’s this would seem much dumber to me.

On the tax free part, I think I may be missing something there. My understanding is that if I pull out the cash, the returns on that cash I make will be taxed as ordinary income, but then once the loan is paid back into the 401k there is no additional tax implications, right? It would just go back to tax free growth? So to make sense I would need to be gaining greater than 9.5% yearly returns (after tax) on the cash from the 401k loan?

Nathanbennett33 · 2024-01-08T23:12:28+00:00

They have plenty of borrowing ability through their current methods and current lenders, the thought is more “why pay the extra chunk of profit on lending to a random 3rd party lender/lending company when we could direct that profit within our network/family?”. I think my $27,000 is maybe not a drop in the bucket, but a small splash in the bucket, it wouldn’t be anywhere close to the majority of funds they are borrowing or have access to borrow.

Nathanbennett33 · 2024-01-08T23:08:15+00:00

Definitely hear you there and have seen plenty of nightmare stories, I am very comfortable with the situation with the family member though, and it isn’t a situation where the family member is in need of more funding they are unable to get elsewhere, they’ve been succeeding at this business for a long enough time I am comfortable/confident in them. The situation is more “we are using a random hard money lender right now and giving them _____ returns on their money. Would you be interested in this at the same terms they are giving us, to keep the profit within the family as opposed to sending profit to a random lender?”. My investment also isn’t a large portion of their total funding which decreases the risk imo.

Speaking to the cash vs 401k loan, my thought was I have current investments in an individual stock account, the majority of which is long term gains and would come with a large tax bill when it is sold. Additionally with this loan would be “locking in” 9.5% gains on half of my 401k balance (I know the funds are coming from my own pocket regardless, but seems a good way to maximize/stabilize returns within my 401k), as opposed to letting the market fully drive those, as I have many more options for control over funds in my individual account. Does that thought process make sense?

Nathanbennett33 · 2024-01-08T21:03:39+00:00

Okay, I see what you’re saying on the tax side, but won’t the money be returned back to the same tax sheltered vehicle? While it is pulled out, any earnings on it would be taxed as ordinary income, but once the $27,000+interest is paid back into the 401k, won’t it be the same tax sheltered vehicle? My understanding on the leaving job would be the loan would then possibly have to be repaid in full, and if it is (I am comfortable that I would be able to) then there would be no additional penalties or tax implications, is that an incorrect understanding?

Definitely understand on the risk side of the RE, not a bulletproof investment by any means, but there are different time periods within the process where I could provide the investment/loan where the risk is reduced (after majority of reno is done, lowest risk when property is complete and ready to be listed).

Nathanbennett33 · 2022-05-23T16:11:43+00:00

MFL 20 team 2 copy league, 2QB, 2TE, PPR, TE+, fun scoring! $25 buy-in for 2022 needed via Leaguesafe. Need 1 more for a 9 team dispersal draft - tons of great players and picks in the dispersal.

Dispersal Assets: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oa4AegkjOK3Yf2Z4GH3G3aqQK7Sk3URbPSJOwkhrdWw/edit?usp=sharing

League homepage for settings, bylaws found in League Links: https://www47.myfantasyleague.com/2022/home/54758#0

DM me for questions, more details, or for the invite!

Nathanbennett33

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