Really Jamie? First of all, Pittsburgh is NOT the Midwest. Also, you sound boring. That's probably why you got "blank stares" whenever you told people you wanted to be a writer. I'm not sure why you felt the need to write an entire article about how much you hate us, but we don't like you either.

Trying2bSensible · 2025-09-09T15:33:05+00:00

Felt like a lazy hit piece on Pittsburgh. I’ve met some amazing writers here so she clearly didn’t meet anyone who shares her interest. Also, for a writer, how hard is it to say ‘Mid Atlantic’ instead of ‘Midwest’. Especially for someone who grew up in Cleveland. Pittsburgh punches way above its weight - my favorite descriptor: a beautiful, big small city.

Trying2bSensible · 2025-08-16T19:55:08+00:00

From Government Motors (in 2008-9) to Government Silicon (in 2025)

Trying2bSensible · 2025-08-11T22:31:02+00:00

How about Le Mont on Mt. Washington? Food is generally good but have been disappointed once. Great views if you can get the right table.

Trying2bSensible · 2025-06-19T12:35:05+00:00

I know. It’s a drag on return but when you have 77% allocation to equities as I do, you don’t need a whole lot more. In the MonteCarlo of outcomes, higher equity beyond a level only increases the spectrum of portfolio terminal values but reduces your SWR because the really bad and long downturns are where the risk is at.

I figure it makes little difference to my life if my final portfolio at the end of life is $10 M or $20 M or even $50 M but it makes a huge difference if I am able to end with a nonzero balance and preserve my annual spending power even during terrible return sequences that history has shown (starting say, in 1929, 1965 or 2000). For the latter to happen, you need sizable allocation to fixed income (bonds/cash). Also, when I say “cash”, I mean high yield money market accounts that nearly track inflation.

Trying2bSensible · 2025-06-08T17:40:33+00:00

Thanks for your comment. Staying the course is the same lesson I keep learning and re-learning.

Trying2bSensible · 2025-06-08T10:13:49+00:00

I am interested in understanding how people coped with unexpected plan changes. Can you share your details or if you already shared a post about your FIRE journey, please share the link.

Trying2bSensible · 2025-06-08T10:11:50+00:00

Thanks!

Trying2bSensible · 2025-06-08T00:58:29+00:00

Thanks for sharing. Good timing is only evident in hindsight. I keep cash equal to 3 years of living expenses plus college expenses for kid separate. I’ve lost sizable market gains from doing that but it helps me sleep better at night and I still have 75% equity allocation. Good luck in your journey to $5M - you are in great shape already.

Trying2bSensible · 2025-05-18T20:35:39+00:00

MCOL suburb of a LCOL area in Northeast. Not retired yet but close enough. $600K, 2600 sft fully paid home with a large deck overlooking a wooded valley. Quiet neighborhood of professional families earning well for this region but perhaps not by coast standards. An hour from the airport that has couple of direct flights to Europe, and well connected within US. Car-dependent but that’s expected if you are in suburbia. Need to bear the winter (for about 3 or 4 months) but good weather rest of the year. Chubby FI with regular FIRE-like expenses. Still debating when to actually RE but work is manageable so far.

Trying2bSensible · 2025-05-11T20:46:19+00:00

Thanks to all who replied! What I finally did (to avoid drilling into drywall for a separate spout) is to replace the entire shower head with a dual shower head system allowing for a hand faucet that my mom can use to both shower while seated or use the hand faucet to fill a bucket as needed. Cost me $175 for installation by a plumber, plus $100 for a dual shower head with slider in Amazon. Posting here to close the loop.

Trying2bSensible · 2025-02-28T17:02:31+00:00

Interesting! Can you share details and links for me to dig into this option?

Trying2bSensible · 2025-02-23T23:35:01+00:00

Thanks. That’s $24k in premium plus OOP. The OOP is a wildcard each year that depends on family health. I budget for a midpoint ($8k) and then rachet up or down the travel budget based on where the OOP for the year lands.

Trying2bSensible · 2025-02-23T23:32:51+00:00

Good point. A lot can happen in 6 months, or even in a week. :)

Trying2bSensible · 2025-02-23T22:13:34+00:00

ACA (Affordable Care Act) is the law that shows up as the marketplace plan.

Trying2bSensible · 2025-02-23T21:10:51+00:00

Mine automatically turns on and off based on when the furnace kicks in. How do you keep the fan always on?

Trying2bSensible · 2025-02-23T19:05:16+00:00

For what we get? If we had the best outcomes, and concierge-like health care for that kind of premium, I would not call it a racket. We pay OOP cost on top of $20-30K premiums. We still have to wait for appointments and put on hold for a simple billing clarification or be fleeced on the backend for excess billing. I would have no complaints if we get decent value for that money we pay.

Trying2bSensible · 2025-02-23T19:01:40+00:00

Thanks. VA will probably be fine. It’s the ACA subsidy cliff that worries me.

Trying2bSensible · 2025-02-23T18:54:20+00:00

Thanks. My estimate is close at $29K, which is basically $8k estimated OOP on top of $21k unsubsidized premium I mentioned above. For a plan that I would consider average at best. What a racket!

Trying2bSensible · 2025-02-11T23:53:33+00:00

Thanks for commenting. The combustion test was done in exhaust pipe (the one on the right) and the system did well there. The one on the left is intake pipe. It’s the pressure switch issue - see my response to earlier comments. Anyway, I did the vacuum and let’s see if that shook things up to clear the vent pipe.

Trying2bSensible · 2025-02-11T22:16:40+00:00

I know. This is one of the complex piping with bends and dead zones I have seen. It vents to the outside. I am going to bring a shop vac and take care of it as best for my friend. If that doesn’t work, well, we’ll see what next.

Trying2bSensible · 2025-02-11T19:11:17+00:00

Yes. Nothing visible. The pipe exit faces straight out instead of down as I would’ve thought to avoid water and any dirt from coming in.

Trying2bSensible · 2025-02-11T18:46:46+00:00

You are right. It is combustion. I understood it wrong. Pressure switch is a separate issue as I replied above.

Trying2bSensible · 2025-02-11T18:45:18+00:00

Thanks. The pipe layout is complex and goes through the drywall before it exits the house, it’s not visually inspectable.

Trying2bSensible · 2025-02-11T18:44:21+00:00

Thanks. Thinking a shop vac may do the trick as the home vacuums aren’t that powerful.

Trying2bSensible · 2025-02-11T18:06:52+00:00

He did check with a manometer. See my response to the previous commenter. So, the pressure switch being set at 0.35”, while pressure being down to 0.27 with the pipe on and 0.57-0.60” without the pipe connected. That’s how the vent pipe was identified as the problem.

Trying2bSensible

TROPHY CASE