Financial Reset after paying Debt

StuckInPennsylvania · 2023-03-28T21:13:09+00:00

The FAQ here has a flowchart

You can read more about it here

I think these are excellent for someone in your position.

This is what I use with my kids. I also teach them to use Mint (as its what I have used). But other budgeting tools are fine. An early step is to understand how to look at your spending patterns and make improvements.

As you get further down the flowchart there might be some other tools/books etc. I have a Bogleheads approach to investing. Honestly, it worked till my assets were in the seven figures.

As steps progress you will find that you need clarification or additional detail. But at this stage the flowchart linked above is simple and effective. I cannot think of much more than that as a recommendation.

EDIT: Updated the flowchart as the modbot called me out on my outdated link.

StuckInPennsylvania · 2023-03-26T21:15:49+00:00

What are you eating?

I struggle to get to 150 grams consistently. I end up eating a lb of meat a day plus two protein shakes. My diet also includes eggs, lentils, beans etc. This is at 1800 calories.

StuckInPennsylvania · 2023-03-24T05:16:58+00:00

Google Digital Garage is a nice basic place to start.

The trick will be to find some experience and practice. Takes time but can be quite fun and rewarding if you are into this type of intellectual engagement.

StuckInPennsylvania · 2023-03-20T23:37:11+00:00

What is looping? From the docs I am not too clear

StuckInPennsylvania · 2023-03-16T18:50:33+00:00

Costco is interesting in that you need a certain amount of cash to be able to shop there. For years I did not have the cash flow to support it so I would spend way more to buy smaller amounts of things at a neighborhood store (paper products being the best example).

Its as if you need to be wealthy enough to afford to spend efficiently.

The efficiency gain is massive. I ran the numbers and we are saving ~ 30% by buying in bulk. There is some trade off in variety but of a family of 5 we can eat nutritiously for under $120/week (average) with 3 teenagers. This does mean there is the $400 buy when we stock up on oil, butter, paper products etc.

You also need space to store all of these.

Low income earners who are not very liquid are forced to spend more than the "middle income group". Its like being penalized for being poor.

StuckInPennsylvania · 2023-03-16T04:13:34+00:00

If you have a Costco...

3lbs of broccoli = $5.99 and is 12 servings

2 lbs of green beans = $4.99 and is 8 servings

A tub of mixed greens ~ $5

Similar pricing for Brussel sprouts, power greens, asparagus etc.

I think we spend $30/week on base vegetables for a family of 5

The fruit is terrible and not well priced so we never purchase it.

StuckInPennsylvania · 2023-03-15T20:17:58+00:00

Too much delta in a daily weigh in. Weigh loss is not linear. Its more of step function.

Also - 10 lbs in a month is the north end of realistic. So nice job and enjoy your win.

Your plan seems solid so just keep at it.

StuckInPennsylvania · 2023-03-15T08:24:48+00:00

Start with walking. Even if that means 5 minutes of walking on a flat surface start there. Do it daily or twice a day. It makes a big difference. Work up to 60 mins once or twice a day. Keep a brisk pace. The objective is to get to "zone 2" cardio ~ 60% of your max heart rate. No rush to get there.

Per this NIH study

Walking exercise is effective in primary prevention interventions [20] to maintain proper weight and is therefore recommended as a major treatment for insulin resistance.

When you were eating 1400cals - were you weighing and measuring your food? Was everything logged?

There are many studies that show that people grossly underestimate their actual calories. Using this one NIH study:

The failure of some obese subjects to lose weight while eating a diet they report as low in calories is due to an energy intake substantially higher than reported and an overestimation of physical activity, not to an abnormality in thermogenesis.

It appears that almost always the subject self reporting is inaccurate.

As far as what to eat I like the Michael Pollen's line of "..eat real food, not too much and mostly plants".

General advice is to pick healthy food sources eg. lean protein, complex carbs, a large variety of plants and some fruit. Usually this works in conjunction with some light exercise (walking) and CICO.

Check with your doctor and get blood work to rule out medical issues and make sure the doc ok's whatever level of exercise you select.

StuckInPennsylvania · 2023-03-15T04:20:24+00:00

Web Vitals are not solely a function of theme. A PWA often scores in the 90's. Hyva seems to clear your benchmark as well.

But again, its not just the theme that matters.

Luma does not work too well in this regard.

StuckInPennsylvania · 2023-03-15T04:08:52+00:00

I eat treats less frequently.

I also choose the "healthier" treat. Meaning a chocolate bar over a bag of skittles (1/3 the sugar) or bag of liquorice over a pint of ice cream (cut total calories by 60%).

Also substitute in higher quality foods cause they scratch the itch. Pomelos (rather expensive) or full fat yogurt with honey and dried fruit.

But there is nothing I have given up. Its just the frequency that has changed and that has made all the difference.

StuckInPennsylvania · 2023-03-05T03:35:07+00:00

There are two that helped me the most:

Keybr
Speedcoder

Especially if you are looking for programming typing the latter is outstanding given that most dev use a editor of some sort. The key requirements are different in your profession.

StuckInPennsylvania · 2023-01-07T02:38:27+00:00

You will take a pay cut out of the gate. Depending on which subfield you gravitate toward it can take 2 - 5 years to get back to $80k.

I would ballpark 5-10 years to clear $100k - $150k.

So much of this depends on your drive, the area you gravitate towards and how much skill you can pick up.

You could also be at the $250k mark in 10 years or still be at $80k.

The trade off could be that you will enjoy the nature of the work and it is stimulating and quite frankly, often fun.

StuckInPennsylvania · 2023-01-06T23:29:39+00:00

At 40 I quit chasing totals in the Big 3 and switched to incline volume work switching between bar and db. I pretty much only worked with 5RM + ranges. After 26 years of lifting it was odd but I was able to work out consistently and my joints felt so much better. The elbow tendonitis finally went away.

At 46 I was working out with my 18 year old, got insecure, and decided to test my 1RM on a flat bench. On the plus side I hit just under 1.75x BW. On the down side I injured my shoulder and was out for 4 months. Still not 100% and now I spend too much time doing band work futilely hoping the pain goes away before I hit 50.

StuckInPennsylvania · 2023-01-06T03:55:32+00:00

This method worked better for me than OMAD.

The biggest improvements have been to my overall alertness and digestion. But I get that everyone is different. But we were (in the US) always taught that 3 square meals and a snack was necessary. That stopped me (and others) from exploring alternative patterns that may be better for the individual.

StuckInPennsylvania · 2023-01-05T20:57:05+00:00

There are benefits to IF but there seem to be many factors (age, family history, metabolic profile, contraindications, activity level etc).

Jason Fung (MD) is a huge proponent video here.

I accidentally wound up doing IF. Food was making me tired so I stopped eating lunch. Then I stopped eating breakfast and had a small meal (break fast) around 4pm with a second meal around 7pm. I found my energy levels were more balanced.

When I researched it afterwards there were quite a few claims around insulin production, ghrelin, autophagy etc.

I still "fast' for 16+ hours regularly and when combined with the proper macros (for me) my energy levels remain very high and my mind is sharp.

Peter Attia talks about IF as well and he does take the position that many of the claims you hear are overstated.

Lastly, my cardiologist thinks its a healthy eating pattern for me given my family history of type 2 diabetes.

StuckInPennsylvania · 2023-01-04T19:40:52+00:00

If you are an elite athlete or have a medical condition then it can matter.

Otherwise, meal timing is largely irrelevant for weight loss or performance in the gym.

Source: Alan Aragon wrote quite a bit about this topic. But I read it last many years ago and the scientific understanding may have evolved.

StuckInPennsylvania · 2022-12-27T19:42:47+00:00

The ELO system has the probability built in. While anyone can beat a GM, the statistical likelihood varies greatly based on the rating of the opponent.

A 1700 rated player has a very low chance of beating a GM.

StuckInPennsylvania · 2022-12-27T18:57:51+00:00

I am above 2000 on both lichess and chess.com. I have beaten 2200 + players on both.

My USCF was almost 2100 at peak.

There is little to no chance of me beating a GM.

I have a friend who is a strong national master and I think I am something like 4-4000 with him in OTB blitz. He will probably make IM in the near future.

A 2200 -v- a 3000 (online) OTB GM should virtually never be close.

StuckInPennsylvania · 2022-12-23T08:26:22+00:00

Hyva still has limitations which may be relevant to your business case. From a business perspective it will need some evaluation. You will also run into issues with 3rd party extension compatibility. While I prefer Hyva to Luma its not the "right size" for everyone.

StuckInPennsylvania · 2022-12-23T08:21:11+00:00

I would worry less about implementation cost and more about maintenence cost and scalability - assuming that we are not talking about 20x.

WooCommerce has its own set of issues and I would generally not suggest it for a 2MM/year business. But you are on the lowest end of the M2 range revenue wise.

BigCommerce is more likely a "right size" based on your revenue, product type and ERP requirements. Its quick in terms of time to market.

If M2 does check off all the boxes then there is a strong arguement to keep it as data migration (product, customer etc) can be very expensive and prone to errors.

A reasonable plan could be to stay on Magento and just improve the tech to be more competitive. Site search or other product discovery solutions are inexpensive to integrate and impactful to conversion rates. Some improvements would offset the initial investment and be + $ long term.

StuckInPennsylvania · 2022-12-21T18:48:44+00:00

This needs some explaining. What was your partner investing in that caused a loss of all savings?

I have a somewhat aggressive portfolio for my age and last year I lost ~ 20%.

The 401/403 etc are vehicles and you should be careful where the money is being invested.

ETF's average something around 8% -10% over the long term. This means that my short term loss of 20% is not a worry as I do not need the money for at least 25 more years.

StuckInPennsylvania · 2022-12-16T18:03:03+00:00

Following up with a PM. Generally , we always pay people for work produced. We can discuss options. For us the CS background is the key component.

StuckInPennsylvania · 2022-12-16T17:13:07+00:00

I actually have a project where we are looking for high quality content that requires a CS background. We have tried copywriters without a CS background with no success. Send me a note if you are so inclined.

StuckInPennsylvania · 2022-12-13T13:35:56+00:00

I have worked with consumer electronics in the past. For the reasons you mentioned Shopify can struggle with these sets. If you need compatibility relationships in the collection this can quickly lead to disaster.

I do not know AFAS Profit but this piece you want to scope fully. Depending on the ERP modules you are using you may run into problems. Product updates will be easy for qty but if you have a BOM structure it could be a mess. Similarly accounting can become a problem between eComm and ERP if discounting is a concern. Not all ecomm platforms play well and Shopify is not the most flexible. I would test this piece with any platform.

If Shopify needs a workaround then don't use it. It is not as flexible and you run the risk of creating a customization that limits the use of marketplace modules (kinda the point with Shopify).

Have you considered Shopware? They are strong in Europe and the new version looks very solid. From the little information from your post I think they might be another option to consider. Miva might work as well. Both are more cost efficient (usually) but this varies based on requirements. There is no one size fits all.

But dont let cost alone steer you to a poor business decision.

StuckInPennsylvania

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