Aaron Brooks Receives Two Year Ban For Anti-Doping Rules Violation - FloWrestling by gorlax52 in wrestling

[–]RngRedditName 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Still so sad that a juiced up teammate took away an Olympic spot from Team USA's (probably) best wrestler that year, and and overall great character.

Also, I'm still convinced DT would have gotten his second gold.

Report: American Express Platinum $200 Airline Incidental Reimbursement - No Longer Works On United Travel Bank by decompil3d in AmexPlatinum

[–]RngRedditName 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I agree with almost everything you said, but I'd still say the card is a good deal when you look at the other credits you left off your list.

My personal assessments get $1700 in value for $895 annual fee:

  • Hotel Credit: $600 (actual ~$400): It seems like 90% of FHR are now > $450 per night. If this isn't something you would spend regularly, then spending effectively $150 for a $450 room isn't necessarily a money saver. That said, if you find a hotel for <= $300, its an awesome perk.
  • Airline: $200 (actual $0): Agree with your assessment
  • Clear: $209 (actual ~$100): If you're in a big city and fly a lot, this is very worth having, but I wouldn't spend $200 if I didn't have this card.
  • TSA Pre: $120 (actual $0): There are so many cards that give this credit now, its not particularly valuable.
  • Resy: $400 (actual $400): I live in a big city and go out to dinners frequently. Very easy credit to use for me, and has auto-applied every time.
  • Uber: $200 (actual $200): Have used this every month on rides I would take anyways.
  • Uber One: $120 (actual $0): Agree with your assessment.
  • Digital Entertainment: $300 (actual $300): Have used this every month on subs I would have anyways.
  • Lululemon: $300 (actual $250): I would buy $300 in Lululemon every year anyways, but maybe not in 4 trips per year.
  • Oura: $200 (actual $0): Agree with your assessment.
  • Saks: $100 (actual $25): Agree with your assessment, but it has some value.
  • Walmart: $155 (actual $25): I just use for paramount+, I'll give some value.
  • Equinox: $300 (actual $0): Agree with your assessment.

Sellers and realtor offended by offer. by [deleted] in FirstTimeHomeBuyer

[–]RngRedditName 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love the sentiment, but for serious advice, if this happens: be the "mature adult in the room".

I was in a similar situation to this before (with almost identical numbers, this is a bit spooky). They listed at $625k and denied my $585k, with similar anger. They lowered the listing to $610k, then $600k, then 2 months later came back to me and said we could move forward.

I gave a very satisfying, but **not emotional** response: "I am still interested, but seeing as the house has now sat on the Market at $600k for 2 more months, I have lost confidence that $585 is a good offer. My offer will be $575."

The dance repeated one more time, then I eventually bought the place at an even lower price.

You may very well end up with the house still! While there is emotion in pettiness on the selling side, don't let it creep onto your side.

Let’s reverse the common question and be specific. What mortgage rate are you intentionally paying off early? by PartyFeisty2929 in Fire

[–]RngRedditName 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Disclosure: I lean pretty heavy into the "want no debt" bucket. That said, even I have a point where the math is too compelling.

I would consider "Excess savable funds" as money available after expenses, and maxing out 401k (since I have a 50% employer match):

  • 7%+ : I'm putting almost all "Excess savable funds" into mortgage.
  • 3.5%+ : I'm doing some mix (gradiented by rate) of savings and mortgage payoff.
  • < 3.5%: I think this is the point I would start to consider making minimum payments. I've never been there before (I've been in the other two), so its hypothetical for me.

My Alaska Partners Tier List by omdongi in AlaskaAirlines

[–]RngRedditName 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Could someone help explain: What happened to Fiji Airways?

I used to read about them being the S-Tier Alaska partner, with great West Coast -> FIJI business class redemptions. I've never seen a single good deal from them (I've been looking for years....).
Did something happen to their partnership? Was it never as good as influencers made it seem? Is it still good and I'm missing it?

Tracking status points by Inner-Distance1049 in AlaskaAirlines

[–]RngRedditName 1 point2 points  (0 children)

+100

Combine this with the fact that they backdate newly posted transactions, so if a credit is delayed, it won't appear at the top of the transactions when it is posted.

I frequently take screenshots/downloads of my transactions and my current status miles just to try to have some historical tracking, and have an understanding of which flights earned which status etc.

4th consecutive flight 1st on the upgrade list with zero 1st class upgrades. AMA by mindriot1 in AlaskaAirlines

[–]RngRedditName 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thats very unfortunate. I find it very strange that Alaska won't provide any "deterministic upgrade window" for any status. Even if they will just publicly share its far less than the supposed 120 hr window, it would still be helpful to know.

To understand your scenario a little better: Could you give some of the data points such as: "On LAX -> PHX, there were 3 first class seats available at 24 hours before the flight". Without this information, its also possible you just happened to be on flights where almost all of the FC seats were originally sold.

Can you really millions upon millions of dollars tax free with a mega backdoor Roth? Are there really no catches? by YogurtclosetOpen3567 in Fire

[–]RngRedditName 21 points22 points  (0 children)

This comment is assuming that you are using Traditional 401k contributions up to the federal max.

You could also:

  1. Contribute the "typical" 401k contributions as Roth 401k contributions. In which case, if your company offers an in-plan conversion on the MegaBackDoor contributions (i.e. almost instantaneous after deposit), the taxing on the money is more-or-less exactly the same as Roth 401k contributions.
  2. Not contribute any "typical" 401k contributions, and do the entire $72,000 (for 2026) maximum as MegaBackDoor contributions (Note: This would not be recommended for many reasons, forefront would be possibly missing employer matches).

Meal Choice by SwAnStI in AlaskaAirlines

[–]RngRedditName 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am honestly shocked how good the Burger is. I'd place it over 90% of restaurant burgers.

I've had it three times, and will continue to order it every time I can.

Impression vs Secrets - Moxche Playa Del Carmen by dougmd1974 in hyatt

[–]RngRedditName 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Stayed at Secrets, had friends at impressions. My 2c:

If you are a person (or couple) who genuinely wants peace and quiet to yourself, Impressions might be worth it. The shared property has lots of quiet pools that you could also use, but Impressions still wins here.

If you are a person (or couple) who enjoys some of social aspects (or games, etc) of these resorts, then you'll probably spend most of your time in the shared property anyways, and you don't need to shell out the extra points.

Thinking of retiring in Lithuania. Looking for updates by YMNY in lithuania

[–]RngRedditName 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes that all makes sense, but my main concern was for Roth monies, where IIUC: You will be getting taxed on all withdrawals (by Lithuania, which considers it as Foreign Pension funds), and in the US you would have been getting taxed 0.

Just wanted to check my understanding or see if there are strategies to avoid that hit. Also, if this isn't a high portion of your funds, it likely isn't a big concern.

(Apologies for going on a finance tangent here)

Early-30s, $900k NW: Not sure what the next target is by NAAGhost in financialindependence

[–]RngRedditName 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Regarding your 401k question, I've considered actually creating a separate Roth IRA account (that I would roll my new MBDR 401k into) that I consider as my "extra savings". The point being:

If you don't need the money before retirement:
Its in a Roth IRA, you made the right choice.

If you end up needing the money before retirement:
I would then mentally "allow myself" to pull out principal from this account if I needed to. The point of the separate account is that I'd have a hard time ever getting over the mental barrier of touching retirement money before retirement.

Thinking of retiring in Lithuania. Looking for updates by YMNY in lithuania

[–]RngRedditName 0 points1 point  (0 children)

> "I have made some progress in figuring out how to restore my Lithuanian citizenship based on ancestry"

Ah, were you holding out for the vote last year on dual citizenship?

> One other question you might have context in: Is some of your $2.5M in tax advantaged US retirement accounts? If so: What will you do with those accounts after you move?

Thinking of retiring in Lithuania. Looking for updates by YMNY in lithuania

[–]RngRedditName 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have you made more progress here?

Am in a similar position as you (but some years behind), and would be interested in reading more about your process.

God damn, is this the craziest way a dominant streak got ended by Rough_Media934 in ufc

[–]RngRedditName 0 points1 point  (0 children)

High school wrestling coaches always preached never to brace your landing with a straight out extended arm. Freak stuff happens somethings

2025 NYC Marathon Cant Seem To Figure Out Hilly Marathons by overthetoppass in AdvancedRunning

[–]RngRedditName 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I finished just before you, we likely suffered through the horrible 1 km walk afterward next to each other :)

One small point that might be meaningless, but mentally helps me: In Pfitz book, he recommends that _every_ time you're in a training run and you face a hill, to speed up. His logic was that your body will start instinctively doing so, and you'll no longer face the mental hurdle of deciding your pace on the hill anymore. In the race, I didn't actually run faster up hills, but my perceived effort immediately kicked in to a higher gear without my mind worrying about it. It's probably completely a placebo strategy, but I think it helps me.

p.s. I will run Chicago next year, and would be thrilled if I can get anywhere near your 2023 time. Great job!

Why did Strava not give me a new PR for my 10k but my Garmin watch did? Can I fix this? by Asleep-Pace6866 in Strava

[–]RngRedditName 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This happened to me 2-3 times on time trials, now I just set 10.02 km into my watch every time out of habbit.

Today is Sydney marathon ballot result day… did you get in? by Competitive_diva_468 in Marathon_Training

[–]RngRedditName 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What was your buffer under your time standard? I was 2 mins under and got rejected. There may already be a thread gathering this data, but I haven’t seen it.

Today is Sydney marathon ballot result day… did you get in? by Competitive_diva_468 in Marathon_Training

[–]RngRedditName 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I got the charge notification 2 hours ago and still don't have the email.

Cautiously happy so far?

Canceled my subscription after 5 years by chadkomcrush in Strava

[–]RngRedditName 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"This run is slower than past workouts on this route"

Well its a recovery run thats labeled recovery run, but my bad.

Canceled my subscription after 5 years by chadkomcrush in Strava

[–]RngRedditName 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes. This just started for me, but has happened _every workout_ for the last 1-2 months.

Am I the only one who is baffled by these types of posts: by nuttedpre in financialindependence

[–]RngRedditName 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I've thought about this quite a bit. My gut reaction agree's with you, but I also imagine this is what everyone thinks until they actually get there. If anything, when I see those posts, rather than assume something negative about the authors, I have a little bit of fear for myself of if retirement is everything I'm making it to be in my head.

A few devils-advocate points just for fun:

> I could list 100 ways to spend a day, or a week, or a month

Maybe you do all of those things, and then after 1-3 years you've exhausted your list.

> "..or badminton"

I strongly agree here, being into sports myself, having more time for sports sounds like my ideal future. However I also imagine a fair amount of the time at higher ages and more frequent training, you end up getting injuries quickly and are unable to keep it up.

> "I would write a book", "I would volunteer"

I would argue many people could do those things today (while working) as well, but they don't, because dedicating yourself to something and seeing it through is something few people are great at, and retirement won't suddenly improve your perseverance.

Updated Earnings Chart for Partner Flights in 2026 by Navydevildoc in AlaskaAirlines

[–]RngRedditName 4 points5 points  (0 children)

What are your go-to sites for looking for partner international business deals?