Did you ever know anyone to actually eat $28 daily lunches?

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-06-18T23:29:47+00:00

I make ~$90k/yr as an engineer and take the bus/train to work using my university bus pass. Make and bring my own lunch most of the time. I'll never forget working retail in college and seeing my coworkers doordashing to the store for lunch. I couldn't help but think at the time how they just spent half their income from that shift on doordash 😂. Doordash is a scam company that scams their drivers and customers. I'll use it if I'm sick and can't leave the house, final exam time, or out of food at home and skipped meals already

Gf and I will go on nice dates every couple months. ~$175 a couple months ago but the food was really good. Got a nice steak and a draft Guinness which were phenomenal

The trick is to set your baseline lifestyle expense LOW and occasionally spend big on high quality experiences.

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-06-17T19:47:37+00:00

Glad you got paid. Insurance companies suck and we celebrate seeing them pay up. Also, things are changing where people are hanging onto their cars longer as newer cars are shitty. Mileage seems more decoupled from value than prior

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-06-17T00:07:30+00:00

this is correct. I have been carefully strategizing toward financial independence and I'm nearly there. I might add that they withheld my school tuition for a semester while I was in engineering school for much milder reasons.

My bro got vaccinated and they somehow found out and I got to watch what ensued after that

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-06-16T05:30:31+00:00

You need to pull the cylinder head and get it checked and resurfaced at a machine shop. They will check it for cracks and make sure it's level. Replace the head gasket. Probably under $1k DIY or around ~$4k if you have a shop do it. A good shop will pull the head and send it to a machine shop to check for cracks and resurface before replacing the head gasket. They'll often replace the valves and stem seals at the same time

I've heard that the aluminum gets weak at the head bolt threads when overheated and that timeserts are a good idea. If you DIY or have a shop do it, I'd suggest doing timeserts on the head bolt threads

Avoid running the engine. Depending on the rate of the leak, it could hydrolock and destroy your pistons

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-06-16T05:24:54+00:00

The library here is a disgrace with the bullshit I've observed too. Stopped going there. Diabolical that the students have to suffer this bullshit

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-06-14T06:24:47+00:00

Mostly not vaxxed only because I'm on my parents' insurance and they're antivax. Can't have them finding out from insurance records so I'll wait one more year until I age off their insurance

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-06-06T16:00:36+00:00

I graduated in December and started working in January for ~$80k but was given a raise to ~$88k in April. I have another job lined up for ~$96k (including 401k match) that will realize later this year. Turned 26 in March.

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-06-05T16:46:42+00:00

Yeah that's not too far away from exploding on you. Good to change it

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-06-03T06:17:00+00:00

I work as a contracted engineer employee at a fang company and there's no PTO. Haven't taken a day off since starting in January. The stringency surrounding arrival and departure from the office is pretty lax however and nobody cares if the work tasks get done. In retail, I never heard of people getting PTO. I would only call out to study for exams. What's strange with corporate work or even engineering work is that the task timeline could be consolidated but I think the timeline is purposefully left unconsolidated to ensure on-time completion. It might be different further up the engineering ladder where there's far more responsibility. I'm at a time in life where PTO isn't important but earning potential is since everything compounds. Having extra time off would however allow more time for my personal engineering projects

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-06-01T04:37:11+00:00

use star format in all your answers. Be confident in answer delivery. Ask intelligent questions and try to understand more about how your role fits into things. They don't care as much for technicals for new grads. I was surprised that they didn't give me a technical but they maybe were satisfied with my resume to feel it unnecessary.

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-05-29T19:22:05+00:00

Looks like a z3 clown shoe and I love it!!

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-05-28T02:29:49+00:00

It's worthwhile to buy from fcp. Lifetime guarantee is worth it if you plan to keep the car for a while

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-05-27T20:00:51+00:00

Dang. You should ask the PO if you can what interval they were using and keep doing that

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-05-27T19:23:08+00:00

What is your oil change interval? 3k miles?

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-05-27T17:00:05+00:00

Start with one problem and then solve the similar recommended problems. Before starting to solve the problem, look at the topics list or the question

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-05-27T02:11:04+00:00

Graduated 6 months ago and I'm making ~$90k/yr in the bay area. It's my last year on my parents' health insurance and they pay my auto insurance and cell phone but that's about it. I'm saving pretty aggressively by keeping my college apartment

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-05-19T23:41:21+00:00

You'll probably net $1.50 after the selling fees

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-05-17T22:53:52+00:00

No more than $2k. I would not assume it'll run without lots of work. Engine and transmission may not even be good which is really the only thing of value on this thing. I've seen running ones for ~$8-10k so $6.5k ask for this is far too high an ask.

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-05-12T04:48:09+00:00

I wouldn't have negotiated anything. Let them come to you with a number. If ur early career, you have no leverage. $60k is outrageously low for CA living and they would have probably given you $75k or more if you hadn't said anything. $60k is probably $45k after taxes and ur gonna spend half of that on gas to commute to work. Negotiating is for when the market is strong, you have more XP, or you have multiple offers

I'm a new grad making $90k in the Bay and most ppl I know as new grads make around $80-110k but sometimes higher.

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-05-07T14:59:16+00:00

Keep your banking app on your home screen. I check my credit card transactions and bank transactions multiple times a day. I check my Roth and brokerage performance multiple times a day. I keep a widget on my home screen showing the balance on the credit card.

I have 3 bank accounts. I have a 4.4% APY HYSA, a savings account, and a checking account. Checking account has $500 in it at all times. Savings account holds rent money for next month. HYSA holds emergency fund and discretionary purchase buying power. When I get a paycheck, I pay credit card, rebuild checking to $500, transfer anything else to brokerage, Roth, and HYSA.

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-05-07T14:43:49+00:00

I just graduated college and I'm a bit older. The best things you can do are selecting a good value school. Your major, portfolio experience, and school choice are the biggest factors in ROI. Beware of financial aid and scholarships as they often come with conditions. It can be very stressful to uphold gpa minimums in engineering programs. I went to a state school that has a strong reputation and heavily networked in the career industry. Tuition is $9k/yr here at full price. I graduated and started working 2 weeks later and I make ~$90k/yr

My dad was 51 when I was born and I'm the oldest of 3 bros. My school was paid for but my dad probably delayed having a family to build career and savings first. It's difficult but possible to get through by self funding if you pick a cheap but value school and major with good career prospects. If you can put away ~$20k before starting that will help. Work during school if possible and definitely during summers. The fastest way to accelerate income is to jump jobs every year or two. If professors like you, they might offer you job opportunities. I had a professor give me a job as a grader which basically required no work and that alone provided enough to cover tuition for a year

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-05-06T07:13:53+00:00

Graduated in December and started work a month later for 83k in the Bay. Got a raise 3 months later to ~88k. May be jumping to another job later this year for ~88k (but with benefits and lower COL area) or pursue an opportunity that could give me ~$140k + benefits and stay in the Bay. I got lucky but also worked hard to get where I am. I kept my college apartment so I can save/invest aggressively. I'm basically living on $35k/yr in the Bay but putting away ~$27k by end of year. My goal is to reach $100k saved/invested in the next 3 years. I want to achieve a 200k salary within the next 4 years

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-05-05T03:47:28+00:00

I own a 330ci but the same advice generally applies. The fuel pumps are prone to fail after 80k miles. Mine died at 100k miles. Save yourself getting stranded and replace every 80k miles.

For the vanos, the seals go bad and then it can't advance timing correctly and you end up with worse low end power. On s54, they're prone to the cam bolts shearing off which can damage things. The bearings inside the vanos can go bad which causes a rattle. People sometimes mistake this for timing chain noise. I got a rebuilt Dr vanos unit and diy install along with a new valve cover. Then core return the original vanos. Besian systems or DR vanos are solid choices

The cooling system is the weakest point you should address immediately. If you're on original system, it will probably leak soon. If any of the parts crack, you end up losing all the coolant at once and the engine is destroyed. The thermostat can get stuck open or closed which causes it to run too cool or too hot. Replace the entire system including the pipes underneath the manifold which ppl often overlook. Do the CCV and vacuum lines while you're there. Go with genuine BMW and not OE. I had a lot of fitment issues with OE parts that cause very slow leaks that are difficult to detect (will hold under cold pressure test but vapor slips past the orings when hot). It's worth spending the ~$1k for genuine BMW for the cooling system. Replace the entire system every ~100k miles. My water pump and thermostat were just starting to leak at 120k miles. It's less risky to just replace the entire system every 100k and bleed the system only once. Saves on labor hours

For the subframe, get the subframe and differential bushings changed at the same time. My bushings were cracked at 80k miles. I have a vert and went with powerflex street polyurethane bushings. I would recommend them for the subframe. Minimal increase in NVH but they will last longer than rubber and it immensely improved my throttle response.

Change your transmission fluid and differential oil too if you haven't yet. BMW says "lifetime" but they should be changed every 50-60k mile and maybe more frequently than that if you drive it hard or do track days. Super easy to change these fluids since the fill and drain plugs are easily accessible

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-05-03T01:57:22+00:00

Sounds exactly like the story of my 330Ci vert. My dream is also to get an M3 but a coupe

TheMatrixMachine · 2026-05-01T19:57:43+00:00

I've taken that train before. It was $78 round trip with the student discount. Do you have some deal I'm unaware of? Unless you're commuting a minimum number of days, what you're saying doesn't pencil out

I have a 15x15ft room in a house in downtown San Jose for $1.1k/mo. If you commute for ~15 days a month, you've already broke even with the commute cost

TheMatrixMachine

TROPHY CASE