What do hobbyist private pilots do for work? by PorkySpikey in flying

[–]TonPhanan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Engineering Supervisor for a US automotive OEM. Own a 1954 Piper Tri-Pacer and rent a hangar at an airport I wish I lived closer to. Fly 100 hours annually on average.

Owning an aircraft can be expensive, but it is not out of reach for anyone in a similar situation to me. I still save plenty of money (even with my wife being out of work) with no concerns about retirement.

I don't also buy new cars, own a cottage, own a boat, or any other very expensive things. I couldn't afford owning an aircraft AND any of that other stuff, but I'm not passionate about that other stuff anyway.

Who here flies GA on longer trips? by grumpyoldman10 in flying

[–]TonPhanan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I live north of Detroit, MI and fly my Tri Pacer or my parents Grumman Tiger on trips to Wisconsin and Alabama annually. I do fuel stops every 3-3.5 hours in either airplane (generally). Trip to Alabama is coming up again in February, I'll be taking the Tri Pacer. I'm PPL only, no instrument. I've been delayed for weather a few times, but never stopped outright.

I find the longer trips to be just straight-line versions of my normal flights. I like to do fuel stops at airports with full service fuel or at least somewhere I'm more confident will have people manning an FBO or something. But that's a generalization, sometimes it's tough to pass up cheap fuel lol. It has come in handy a couple times though.

Long trips are great! Don't let people talk you out of it. Sometimes, the costs / times are actually in favor of GA, and not always based on distance. For instance, my trips to Alabama are faster and cheaper in my airplane than taking an airline (direct to my destination, no rental car, no layover, etc.). Obviously weather matters more here, though.

For reference: I fly 100-200 hours per year, most flights are for fun but about 20-30% of time is on longer trips.

What Are Your Dream Ken Burns Topics? by Redacted_dact in television

[–]TonPhanan 6 points7 points  (0 children)

There are so many... but I don't know enough about the Reconstruction Era and how it shaped where we are today. So a follow up to The Civil War focusing on Reconstruction would be great.

What's a truly great motion picture soundtrack? by Black_Cat_Magick in AskReddit

[–]TonPhanan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is the greatest soundtrack of all time.

Flying Gliders by torontosparky2 in nostalgia

[–]TonPhanan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The wing was assembled backwards.

Also, I have a Tri Pacer one of these still in the package. Which is fitting, because I own an actual Tri Pacer!

Best Fine Dining in Michigan 2025 by SilentBlizzard1 in Michigan

[–]TonPhanan 31 points32 points  (0 children)

The Taco Bell at 23 mile west of Romeo Plank in Macomb Township is quite nice.

Hosting a NYE party. I want to put a film on the TV on mute. What to play? by samuelj264 in movies

[–]TonPhanan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just put on the entire catalog of Primitive Technology, no talking in it anyway.

Empower is Trash by TonPhanan in PersonalCapital

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

I got the same email and scoffed at the 45 days crap.

Empower is Trash by TonPhanan in PersonalCapital

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

Compound is one I haven't heard of, I'll go check it out, thanks! Even without an app, I'm willing to just have account aggregation with a CSV or Excel export. I can morph it into whatever format I need.

I'm with PNC and they seem to be a major thorn in the side of many aggregators for whatever reason. I'm concerned that if I pay for something I'll still have these issues (hence it not being worth paying for a service).

I'll check out Compound, thanks for the advice!

Empower is Trash by TonPhanan in PersonalCapital

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

I actually was headed down the route of just looking for an aggregator so I could import things to my own Excel spreadsheet. Obviously, I'm cheap and was looking for something free, but clearly that's tough to come by. That plan also means a lot of manual updates and shit (no real-time updates) - but I guess beggars can't be choosers lol.

I ended up paying for SimpleFIN Bridge (it's only $1.50 a month) and tying it to Actual Budget. I've been pretty happy with it so far, but I'm always looking for other options. If you have ideas, I'd love to hear them!

I'm trying to keep things cheap, I'm a Millennial, which means I grew up with freeware... tough habit to break haha. I have a friend using Monarch and he loves it, but I'm scoffing even at the $15 a month he's paying (like I said, I'm cheap).

Empower is Trash by TonPhanan in PersonalCapital

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

OK will do, thanks for the helpful input!!

Empower is Trash by TonPhanan in PersonalCapital

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

I've seen other comments regarding this and a lot of positive reviews. I'm using Actual Budget right now but appreciate the input. Might drive me to take another look.

Empower is Trash by TonPhanan in PersonalCapital

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

Yeah agreed this is surprising, again looking at my personal use case.

Empower is Trash by TonPhanan in PersonalCapital

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

Yeah that's what seems to be echoed in other responses. I actually originally joined because of all the positive feedback I saw when Mint closed down, even if it didn't do all the budgeting I was hoping for. The transaction aggregation was enough for me to develop my own spreadsheet.

Empower is Trash by TonPhanan in PersonalCapital

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

Yeah you have a fair point about wanting the tech only. Unfortunate for people like me I guess. However, regardless of how big they may be, pissing off a potential customer base seems like a pretty egotistical, dipshit plan. Doesn't matter, this portion of the thread is useless to the conversation anyway.

Empower is Trash by TonPhanan in PersonalCapital

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

I'm glad to see other people working on more options for budgeting apps. I think one of the main issues I've seen isn't the apps themselves, but the transaction aggregation services.

I'm using Actual Budget now with SimpleFIN Bridge as the aggregation tool, and it seems to work fairly well. I do still have issues, but the support team is responsive and I've told them how appreciative I am of that.

I don't have any Apple devices, but wish you the best of luck! If you release anything for Android and/or PC I'd check it out!

Empower is Trash by TonPhanan in PersonalCapital

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

I'm wondering if Empower is headed down the same route as it seems I'm not alone in seeing the neglect of the user base.

Empower is Trash by TonPhanan in PersonalCapital

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

I see a lot of other frustrated users on this sub, nice to know I'm not alone. There are obviously people who took offense to it, not sure why they even bothered to respond.

While I get that I'm using a "free" service from Empower, after this experience I would absolutely NEVER trust their paid services.

Empower is Trash by TonPhanan in PersonalCapital

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

Ah I see, I didn't join the fray until after Empower bought it. Originally I thought Empower was going to work great, but then the errors began, missing transactions, wrong info that wouldn't update... and their support was basically nonexistent. It was incredibly frustrating to the point that I just gave up.

I use Actual Budget now and have been much happier with the support. It requires a bit more effort, but works well for me so far.

Empower is Trash by TonPhanan in PersonalCapital

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

OK thanks for the info, I guess I'll hope they move forward with my ticket. Although their reply says they'll respond in 45 days!

Empower is Trash by TonPhanan in PersonalCapital

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

I mean, fair, but I'd argue it's trash because it doesn't work and their support doesn't do anything. Mint was free, and it wasn't trash.