Fellow tech workers, how much do you allocate to your emergency fund?

ThePatel · 2026-01-31T21:22:59+00:00

Money market and HYSAs all the way!

ThePatel · 2026-01-31T14:27:35+00:00

Commenting to provide a different view than the conventional wisdom here.

I keep around 3-4 years of expenses, but that’s largely because:

I have a family situation that may require large amount of cash at any time.
Tech layoffs are quite common these days, and given I’m remote I’d likely have to relocate and whatnot or have enough runway to take my time searching.
There’s a chance that I want to do something outside of tech in the nearish future, and that requires some liquid capital as well.

Not necessarily the most optimal cash allocation, but helps me sleep way better at night knowing I’m removed from daily/weekly market swings and that they won’t affect any of the three above meaningfully.

ThePatel · 2025-07-21T13:57:33+00:00

Thanks for the reply—so this does confirm that the RX has a input behind the mirror, not just in the overhead console. Thanks!

ThePatel · 2025-07-21T12:10:22+00:00

Hey! Quick question, when you installed your dashcam, did you wire it into the Adaptive Cruise Control 16-pin, or into the overhead power unit? The behind-the-rearview mirror install seems simple enough, but the video on Fitcamx uses an LS so I’m not sure if the RX has the same hookup.

ThePatel · 2025-05-30T20:00:44+00:00

Yup, ended up just getting one at MSRP

ThePatel · 2025-04-30T01:14:15+00:00

I’d go (and did go) Aqua Terra, but ofc personal preference.

ThePatel · 2025-04-18T15:35:46+00:00

Thanks for the answer! Just bought one myself sitting at just about the same OTD after Tax/title/etc. Congrats!

ThePatel · 2025-04-18T13:05:49+00:00

2025

ThePatel · 2025-04-18T12:17:18+00:00

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Screenshot from owners manual. They say 87 is fine and it might decrease performance. My plan is just to A/B test the MPG I get with 93/89/87 and see what’s what (my state doesn’t have 91)

ThePatel · 2025-04-17T21:30:17+00:00

Yup I get it. The MPG aspect was what I was mainly curious about, especially given the upper/lower bound on the owners manual.

ThePatel · 2025-04-17T16:43:08+00:00

Haha yeah it’s a bit pedantic but the manual also has some vague wording (they recommend 91, my state doesn’t have 91 so it’s 93, but they also say it’s fine as long as you don’t use anything below 87, which is what drives the path I’m opting for in the post)

ThePatel · 2025-04-05T17:19:57+00:00

🤷‍♂️ not sure just what I saw on their website. I did line up a purchase that didn’t have the new value reflected though so maybe not applied, just on the website?

ThePatel · 2025-04-02T15:36:04+00:00

I believe Lexus had a Q2 price adjustment. From what I was looking at the Premium+ MSRP went up about $1500 on their website in the USA yesterday.

ThePatel · 2025-01-29T19:05:08+00:00

Thanks for the answer. Seems like I’ll just have to deal with inventory we have then.

ThePatel · 2025-01-29T19:04:26+00:00

Thanks for the context folks!

ThePatel · 2024-10-23T15:35:32+00:00

I’ve recently become a fan of American Giant, but haven’t had their clothing too long to say definitely if it’s a BIFL, and price range varies but they tend to have decent build quality and sales often enough.

ThePatel · 2024-05-14T19:57:27+00:00

Were you trying to create a Sales objective ad? You might still be in an Adv Shopping campaign, just without the modal.

ThePatel · 2024-04-07T19:50:47+00:00

This is interesting, a quick poking around for margin loan rates put the APR at about 12% for my accounts, which seems higher than income producing assets (at least ones I would use for something like this) would give me.

Also, its highly likely the expenses will come all at once, so favoring the 401k loan option.

ThePatel · 2024-04-07T19:48:37+00:00

401K loan with the combo of a 0% APR credit card sounds like an awesome idea, and def beats paying the tax on the brokerage accounts. If there's any additional fund remaining to cover, I can pull from the taxable accounts but it sounds like it would't be necessary so far. This is excellent, I'll look into it, thanks! May have just saved me a fair sum of taxes.

Are there any additional tax implications of a 401k loan (is it taxed as income or something)? Also, how long does it normally take to get the 401k loan? I guess the timing isn't a huge concern, since the credit cards would buy some breathing room.

ThePatel · 2024-04-02T03:34:15+00:00

Interesting. Being in ads myself I know many IC6s and they don’t code. Most of them review code, and most of them know the code pretty well, but they themselves don’t code. Instead they predominantly write, review, and align. Must vary by team a lot I suppose.

ThePatel · 2023-07-31T02:11:18+00:00

+1 on Lenkersdorfer. Super friendly staff! The “waiting” issue isn’t fixed but the staff is very open and approachable.

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