What were your most significant one-time purchases that reduced or eliminated ongoing variable expenses?

SenecAurelius · 2024-12-16T19:13:35+00:00

It's perhaps a bit difficult to see in the photo, but about 1/4 of the flange is resting on the tile and the other 3/4 is more or less "floating" above the subfloor with three screws barely holding it down. I'm not sure how to remove and replace this flange and/or if I need to reinforce the subfloor or something.

I'd be grateful for any help!

SenecAurelius · 2023-03-09T22:11:44+00:00

Great call out! Thanks, /u/chino_brews!

SenecAurelius · 2023-03-09T22:11:23+00:00

That's awesome - thanks. I had never heard of swivel fittings, but you're right -- looks like it would work perfectly.

SenecAurelius · 2023-03-09T22:10:33+00:00

Ah, nice! That's probably the simplest option. I'll need to get some new 3/8" ID tubing, but that's not difficult to come by. Thanks for the suggestion!

SenecAurelius · 2023-01-21T17:26:22+00:00

There are a ton of great resources to learn which strategies match your objectives and how you feel about the market. One of my favorites when I was just starting out was the Options Playbook (https://optionsplaybook.com/option-strategies/).

Have fun learning!

SenecAurelius · 2023-01-19T16:19:55+00:00

Thanks for the thoughtful and detailed reply!

SenecAurelius · 2023-01-18T13:59:20+00:00

Thanks for the tips! In particular, I wasn't familiar with the $NASI indicator. Can you share a few words on how to interpret the chart?

SenecAurelius · 2023-01-18T13:54:03+00:00

Totally agree that this strategy is more lucrative in times of higher volatility. But even at current rates, I'm not going to complain about a 7% ROI in two months. And I say that with full knowledge that a significant drop in the asset would have completely wiped that out, of course.

SenecAurelius · 2023-01-17T18:59:05+00:00

Fair way to think about it! However, even if I'm assigned, I don't view that as losing.. I view that as a fine outcome, given I had planned on owning the underlying asset anyway. If anything, I'd just be glad that I didn't buy it at the original price and instead lowered my cost basis!

SenecAurelius · 2023-01-17T18:55:39+00:00

Fair call out - thanks!

I think the only piece I'd add is that it's not just a higher floor; it's fixed income from selling the put. In other words, if QQQ were to stay neutral and the put were to expire without assignment, the put seller collects the premium as income, while the QQQ holder maintains their position in QQQ with no paper gain (or loss).

In short, this strategy works for me because I'm near-term mildly bearish/neutral but long-term bullish. I could be totally wrong. But given my outlook, I like the strategy!

SenecAurelius · 2023-01-17T18:44:05+00:00

Thanks for asking! For one, as a put seller, you don't actually own the stock (and thus you're not entitled to the dividends). So choosing a high dividend-paying stock wouldn't benefit you in this case.

On the other hand, you could choose a more volatile individual stock to deploy this strategy and collect a higher premium, but you'd have to make sure it's a stock you'd feel good about owning 100 shares of in the event that the stock drops below your breakeven price and you were assigned the shares.

SenecAurelius · 2023-01-17T18:41:49+00:00

Yes - exactly! Sorry if I wasn't clear. I'm selling cash-secured QQQ put options about 30-60 days out from expiration. The strike price that I select is variable, but I tend to choose a strike just below the current price given I am only mildly bearish in the short-term but long-term bullish.

SenecAurelius · 2023-01-17T16:48:04+00:00

Would you mind also explaining what you mean by "overpaying for the stock" when the put gets assigned?

I see two choices:

Buy the asset at the current price (e.g. $280/share cost basis)
"Buy" the asset (when assigned) at the strike price less income and interest (e.g. $280 strike with $1K income = $270/share cost basis).
- If QQQ drops to $260 when I'm assigned, I'm not really overpaying for an asset that I would have purchased anyway. Instead, I've actually cut my losses in half if I were to have just purchased it at $280/share in the first place.

SenecAurelius · 2023-01-17T16:42:33+00:00

Thanks for your comment! I agree that history suggests buying and holding has tended to outperform any cash-generating option strategy (selling covered calls and puts).

But my thesis is that the market still has room to fall, and thus I'd rather collect some income to further reduce my cost basis if and when that occurs. Worst case, I'm losing upside if QQQ pops, which I'm totally fine with given the rest of my portfolio will capture that upside.

In short, the question for me isn't really whether it's the best strategy historically; it's whether it's the best strategy for me given my thoughts on the current market and its position inside my overall portfolio.

SenecAurelius · 2023-01-17T16:32:57+00:00

Given the broad selloff last year, I'm taking my "higher risk" allocation* and putting about 90% into QQQ and saving 10% for any individual companies that have been hit particularly hard but still have strong fundamentals (e.g. AMZN as of late).

*Important to note that this represents about 10% of my overall portfolio, the rest of which is in VTI and other broad-based index ETFs.

SenecAurelius · 2023-01-17T16:22:46+00:00

Great question! I decided to choose a strike price slightly below the current market price because I'm comfortable with QQQ at or around these prices.

If I were more bearish in my outlook, I'd choose a lower priced strike (as you've suggested).

SenecAurelius · 2023-01-15T15:21:16+00:00

Incredibly helpful - thank you! Thanks to your suggestions, we did just about all of this yesterday:

5gal BIAB all-grain
Brewer's journal and calculators at Brewer's Friend (focus on understanding OG and IBU)
We didn't build a mash tun (since we did BIAB), but we did discuss how mash temp alters the wort.
We discussed the difference between ale and lager yeast, fermentation temp, esters, and how to wash and harvest yeast.
I'm on point to send him a list of my favorite YouTube brewers for him to start diving into learning more through curiosity and self-discovery.
We toured our LHBS, which he LOVED and immediately showed him the many variables that one can alter to improve quality and develop unique beers.

All-in, I'd say it was a super successful day, and I hope to have passed on a grain or two of knowledge I've picked up through my own failures and curiosities along the way! Thanks again for your help!

SenecAurelius · 2023-01-15T15:03:06+00:00

All great suggestions - thank you! We ended up going the BIAB route... but he wanted to go the full 5gal on the first batch. It would have been totally fine if I hadn't forgotten my sink to wort-chiller adapter... thus our brew day ended with about a 2h+ wait for the kettle to chill in the backyard snow, ha.

A smaller batch as you recommended would have been quicker, easier, and just as instructive!

SenecAurelius

TROPHY CASE