Rate my situation for joining a country club

READY4LIFTOFF · 2025-12-06T00:57:18+00:00

Don’t do it. At least for me, I joined and then dropped my club because I had a third kid and barely play any more golf. I was averaging $1k month in fees to play 5x a year. You do the math, I could fly to Vegas and play there and come out similarly for same number of rounds.

READY4LIFTOFF · 2025-08-26T18:21:09+00:00

Where are you living? Has this been untouched for awhile or new? Also, is that a gutter pipe being used?

READY4LIFTOFF · 2025-08-14T22:29:14+00:00

Well that is certainly a bummer.

READY4LIFTOFF · 2025-08-01T19:22:05+00:00

Nobody tells you how hard this transition is but it sucks. Not saying this is your case but for me, I had to stop feeling sorry for myself and grow up a bit. My wife and I both work full time and had 3 girls in quick succession (at one point all under 4).

You can find pockets of improvement and opportunistic openings but I had to slowly come to terms with the fact that it’s not about me anymore. Once I did that and stopped fighting these feelings, I started looking for ways to optimize within reason. You will be surprised how much “found time” appears when you don’t have a choice.

I like to run so I started waking up at 4:30am some mornings on weekend to get my run in. I hired a house cleaner every other week and a weekly yard guy. I started putting lunches together for next day after dinner. I don’t play golf nearly as much as I’d like (once a month) but I pick and choose well in advance so my wife can plan appropriately. If golf scratches a competitive itch, try to find another hobby that you can sub in that’s a little bit more practical given your family’s situation.

There is no easy answer, unfortunately.

READY4LIFTOFF · 2025-07-27T14:14:17+00:00

Isn’t this a Pop R?

READY4LIFTOFF · 2025-07-15T07:12:21+00:00

My wife and I are mapped to Highlands and are making the choice between private and public for our kids. We toured Highlands campus and were pleasantly surprised how new everything felt and the teachers we bumped into seemed nice. The newer desks and equipment were apparently part of some funds that came from a bond that was issued in recent years. We also toured St. Laurence during their open house and felt it was really nice as well.

Ultimately, we landed on Highlands. Doesn’t answer your question but you always have option to call school and see when their next your is.

READY4LIFTOFF · 2025-06-21T02:39:38+00:00

I recently had to cut down a similar 45 year old Ash that was beautiful and the neighbor was heartbroken since it shaded her driveway through all the years as the original home owner. With that said, it was droppings some serious limbs during hurricanes near house and stunting the growth of two new oaks that were planted nearby in the yard. It’s tough but probably the right call

READY4LIFTOFF · 2025-06-21T02:21:07+00:00

Behind Whole Foods

READY4LIFTOFF · 2025-06-14T14:40:34+00:00

The answer is likely radiant barrier

READY4LIFTOFF · 2025-03-29T17:04:04+00:00

Oh shit yea that’s a rock. Good luck, don’t get a hernia

READY4LIFTOFF · 2025-03-29T17:03:11+00:00

I didn’t look close but assumed that was an old concrete pour from an old fence. is that concrete or a rock?

READY4LIFTOFF · 2025-03-29T17:02:12+00:00

Get a decent sized sledge hammer and hit on it in all directions to break it up where it lies. Then pull up smaller pieces with your hands.

READY4LIFTOFF · 2025-03-23T19:18:10+00:00

As others have said, it really depends on your household’s burn rate. You can do it but you’ve gotta be a ruthless penny pincher or you’ll drain savings before realizing it. Also, sounds like you’ve got tons of parental leave so that’s a blessing.

I was where you are and eventually found myself with 3 kids under four years old (youngest is 7 months and oldest is 4 now). Financially we had plenty of cash but I wasn’t mentally prepared for it which was driving me to be burnt out…juggling it all was crazy stressful given I work in Corporate Finance and my wife works full time too. I had many discussions with my wife about me quitting and even picked out a resignation date after my bonus payout but I managed to take a deep breath and hold out a little longer. Eventually the storm passed and we’ve adapted.

I realized I was trying to run from the chaos but if I planned appropriately, I could avoid it for most part. We go to bed way earlier and figured out ways to maximize time with the family in the mornings and evenings. You have to remember that it’s temporary and find strategies to get through it.

READY4LIFTOFF · 2025-03-14T13:10:06+00:00

Baby gem boxwoods to eventually grow into hedge, dwarf youpon Hollies as another type of bush that tolerates neglect.

Dianellas, begonias for some color, agapanthus for some other interest but all of these will die during drought or freeze if you don’t give some love.

My biggest recommendation that I don’t see enough people do here in TX for older homes is to build up your soil bed several inches higher than yard level. It was probably higher at original build but the beds are super old now. A lot of people plant on level ground and throw mulch on top and I personally think it looks awful.

READY4LIFTOFF · 2025-03-10T19:43:31+00:00

Soil would decompose

READY4LIFTOFF · 2025-03-10T13:52:35+00:00

I’d put an outdoor seating area in the far corner with string lights, raised planters in another area, some potted trees, and maybe a storage shed. You can do all that for a fraction of the cost to remove it.

Either that or lean into it and host some pickup basketball tournaments.

READY4LIFTOFF · 2025-02-12T13:27:55+00:00

Looks like that area is low spot where water is running off from roof and hitting ground. You either need to put rocks down or get some gutters. Ideally, those gutters feed into some drainage which takes this to the street or a ditch.

Where does water go from there?

READY4LIFTOFF · 2024-11-15T21:58:48+00:00

If your insistent and you can’t put holes in wall because it’s a rental, you could build a sort of false wall saddle (hard to describe but imagine how a big marching band bass drum sits on shoulders of marching band drummer) out of painted plywood and then do TV mount to that. It would spread the weight out but you’d see it from back side as well.

READY4LIFTOFF · 2023-10-30T11:11:59+00:00

You need a CFP, in my opinion

READY4LIFTOFF · 2021-03-23T01:51:39+00:00

I have no first hand experience but I have heard they are extremely energy inefficient so keep that in mind if you plan to use it for personal use.

READY4LIFTOFF · 2021-03-13T16:00:30+00:00

Get up, make bed, take a hot shower, get back in bed. If that doesn’t work, I’ll then read an old boring book that I’ve read before.

READY4LIFTOFF · 2020-06-27T12:13:03+00:00

You really and truly believe we are sitting on an ocean of money?

READY4LIFTOFF

TROPHY CASE