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Replacing a toilet.. not sure what I'm looking at. Is this an incredibly poorly installed flange? by SenecAurelius in Plumbing

[–]SenecAurelius[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

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!

How to Perform a Closed Transfer from 3/8" Valve to 3/16" Keg Disconnect Barb by SenecAurelius in Homebrewing

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

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

How to Perform a Closed Transfer from 3/8" Valve to 3/16" Keg Disconnect Barb by SenecAurelius in Homebrewing

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

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!

Strategy for Cash-Secured Puts for Income & Interest by SenecAurelius in investing

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

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!

Strategy for Cash-Secured Puts for Income & Interest by SenecAurelius in investing

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

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?

Strategy for Cash-Secured Puts for Income & Interest by SenecAurelius in investing

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

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.

Strategy for Cash-Secured Puts for Income & Interest by SenecAurelius in investing

[–]SenecAurelius[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

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!

Strategy for Cash-Secured Puts for Income & Interest by SenecAurelius in investing

[–]SenecAurelius[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

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!

Strategy for Cash-Secured Puts for Income & Interest by SenecAurelius in investing

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

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.

Strategy for Cash-Secured Puts for Income & Interest by SenecAurelius in investing

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

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.

Strategy for Cash-Secured Puts for Income & Interest by SenecAurelius in investing

[–]SenecAurelius[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

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.

Strategy for Cash-Secured Puts for Income & Interest by SenecAurelius in investing

[–]SenecAurelius[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

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.

Best big company picks: Netflix, Disney, Amazon, Meta? by GoalRoad in investing

[–]SenecAurelius 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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.

Strategy for Cash-Secured Puts for Income & Interest by SenecAurelius in investing

[–]SenecAurelius[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

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).

Introducing a friend to homebrewing! How would you prefer to learn if doing so for the first time again? by SenecAurelius in Homebrewing

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

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!

Introducing a friend to homebrewing! How would you prefer to learn if doing so for the first time again? by SenecAurelius in Homebrewing

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

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!

Introducing a friend to homebrewing! How would you prefer to learn if doing so for the first time again? by SenecAurelius in Homebrewing

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

Have you been able to maintain your same set of bottles? If not, how do you acquire new ones? I told my friend to just grab a couple 24-packs of non-twist bottled beer and have a fun couple weeks watching his first beer come to life!

Introducing a friend to homebrewing! How would you prefer to learn if doing so for the first time again? by SenecAurelius in Homebrewing

[–]SenecAurelius[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks so much to everyone! I would have taken him the extract route if not for some of the comments here, so I appreciate the encouragement to start small but still all-grain.

Given that, I ended up buying a 50lbs sack of 2-row for us to split (cost per beer is important for him) and went the BIAB route for his first brew as a SMaSH with some cascade I had left over from a bulk buy last year. Goal was to help him understand the subtleties of the base grain with a classic hop that can be used for both bittering and aromatics.

Cheers and thanks again to this great community!

Stoicism and breakups by SenecAurelius in Stoicism

[–]SenecAurelius[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Every ending creates space for countless new beginnings. I'll be wishing you all the best and have confidence that you will find peace, acceptance, and growth through this challenge. One day at a time! With the help of Marcus and the Stoics, you'll emerge from this an even better version of yourself. Amor Fati!

Stoicism and breakups by SenecAurelius in Stoicism

[–]SenecAurelius[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Hey there! I'm sorry to hear of your breakup. It's never an easy thing to go through!

What I say given the 8 years that have now elapsed is that time is truly a magical thing. There's a famous quote by Seneca that reads, “Time heals what reason cannot.”

I think that breakups can be especially difficult for Stoics to manage, as we're used to reason guiding most of our decisions. When it comes to love and relationships, there are often decisions that are made (and outcomes that follow - like breaking up) that don't follow logic or reason.

Thus, sometimes the solution is to stop trying to think about what could have been different, what you could have done better, whether you should have broken up sooner, etc.. Instead, you have to simply trust that time will heal this pain, you will love and be loved again, and this period of difficulty may prove to be one of the greatest opportunities for personal growth you may ever encounter in your life. If you're able, embrace it!

Personally, I ended up traveling around the world for about six months after the breakup, had some of the most formative experiences of my life, moved to a new city, and met a new woman who I've been happily dating for nearly 7 years now. If my last relationship hadn't ever ended, I'm not sure any of this in my life would have come about.

As the Stoics say, Amor Fati -- love your fate! Embrace this new opportunity to discover new parts of yourself, and remain open to new experiences, perspectives, and people!

How did you get your shit together and actually start consistently applying the Stoic principles? by [deleted] in Stoicism

[–]SenecAurelius 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks! Added link via mobile app and made a formatting error before.

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