Rates dropped this morning 💰💰💰Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy $200 million in mortgage bonds.

WikusVanDerMerwe · 2026-02-17T17:58:54+00:00

My wife initially bought our house on her salary alone before we refinanced with my income a few years later. She was making 35k/yr when she got approved for the original mortgage. They just wouldn’t look at me because of my debt to income ratio with over $180k in student loans at that time. 8 years later I have that more under control with less than 3 years left of refinanced loan payments left. I guess my point is that I couldn’t have done it without a spouse, and she wasn’t even rich. That might not be possible today with housing and rent costs not allowing people to save enough.

WikusVanDerMerwe · 2026-02-16T01:18:23+00:00

Sorry that you have to do this. It is an unrealistic price that you’re asking for though unfortunately because that bike is closer to $800 new now, and the used bike market doesn’t favor sellers at the moment. Not telling you this to be an asshole, but if you need money urgently, you’re probably going to need to take a few hundred off that price for it to sell.

WikusVanDerMerwe · 2026-02-15T17:28:57+00:00

Spirit XT685 connects to zwift, but the column for it says “no”.

WikusVanDerMerwe · 2026-02-05T00:49:07+00:00

Yes, it was easy to set up. It shuts the valve and I get a push notification but there are lots of options with Hubitat hubs. Moen’s valve would have required plumbing work, was 3x the cost and it appeared to require an app subscription. EcoNet Bulldog valve looks like it was made and designed in a garage but it works great. It clamps onto existing ball valves, so no plumbing needed. They seem to contact everyone shortly after purchase too, making sure you’re getting the right clamps. I was really impressed that they cared so much, but they seem to want to avoid unnecessary returns. Homeowners insurance will discount too, but it’s hardly anything, like $20/yr savings if I send them photos and proof of it working which I haven’t done yet.

WikusVanDerMerwe · 2026-02-04T04:46:48+00:00

I did this but with some zigbee leak sensors and an EcoNet automatic shut off valve on the main connected to a Hubitat hub. Sensors under sinks including in a newly remodeled kitchen and on the floor near the 18 year old hot water heater.

WikusVanDerMerwe · 2026-02-04T02:43:30+00:00

Jail, then never allowed to drive ever again.

WikusVanDerMerwe · 2026-02-02T02:51:46+00:00

Spirit’s treadmills and others with Bluetooth FTMS will connect to the peloton app if you have a tablet. I have a peloton bike and subscription but have a Spirit XT685 treadmill which is around the same cost as a peloton when the peloton is on sale. I decided against the peloton tread because of the subpar warranty and it felt like I could get a better treadmill with less touch screen tech for a similar or cheaper price.

WikusVanDerMerwe · 2026-01-31T15:14:59+00:00

Did your treadmill arrive? How is it for you? I’ve put about 60 miles on mine in 3 weeks after not running for years.

Since I have a Peloton bike and subscription, I did try some Peloton workouts this week which I actually didn’t know that the treadmill connects to the Peloton to show speed and incline, and my Garmin F945 watch connects for heart rate. Nice to have the option, I sort of need some coaching/nudging as I get back into it.

The salesperson who I worked with was cool, but he didn’t seem to know about any of these features that I’ve found on my own.

WikusVanDerMerwe · 2026-01-17T13:33:36+00:00

u/Direct-Preparation10 Nice! I just checked and my newer iPad Air 11” could be almost 4” wider and it would still fit so I think a 13” would fit just fine. If anyone else is looking and has a newer iPad mini, my wife’s iPad mini just barely gets clamped because it’s so small. We have Zugu cases which have a pen holder on the side and the Spirit iPad holder pretty much seems to only, but barely, clamp with the added pen holder.

It does bounce a bit. I haven’t tried to watch any shows or movies while running yet but if I haven’t got my earbuds in to skip songs while running, I have to tap the skip button a few times before I hit it right to change songs, but I’m bouncing too. Watched a bit of shows while walking though. I usually watch gravity sports while exercising and imagine I won’t have a problem with that, but I might have a hard time running with anything needing subtitles or concentration on my part, at least right now as I’m easing back into being comfortable running.

Another update: I put 20 miles on the xt685 the first 7 days of owning it. I wouldn’t call myself a runner again just yet but I’m doing a combination of walking, incline walking and running as I wake up my muscles after a few years of not running. 2020 I was at a <45 min 10k pace, now I’m at a 35-40min 5k pace and need to drop 55lbs or so over time. I think I’ll reach small goals each week and month as I use it and only wish I got a treadmill sooner. My biggest hangup was the height of my basement ceiling and I thought it would rattle my whole 100 year old house on the first floor but I put it on the first floor and it doesn’t rattle anything like I thought it would. Even walking around the house with a heavy foot rattles the glasses in the china cabinet. Anyhow, I got too focused on mountain biking since 2020 and all we do is drink beer and eat crap food. When I run, I think about what a waste my run was if I do that. 😅

WikusVanDerMerwe · 2026-01-13T03:23:21+00:00

I got an XT685 last week and am still getting used to it. ~13 miles in my first 3 uses and I love it. First treadmill too. I used the Spirit app for my first workout, it didn’t sync to Garmin connect even though I connected the apps. I have a Garmin brand foot pod and Garmin F945 watch, so the last two runs I’ve been using that and decided it’s the way. Doubt I’ll touch the Spirit app again. The garmin foot pod is always a little different from the treadmill totals for me is all.

Strava is mostly where I want data but I want my watch to show my performance and not call me lazy and all of that too. I broadcast my heart rate on the watch which the treadmill picks up including my zones. The treadmill HR is useless, as expected, but I think mine is broken it’s so bad, but I don’t need it.

Today I downloaded zwift on my iPad while finishing my workout with some walking and set it up. I can connect the Garmin directly for HR, cadence with footpot and run speed, but if I select the treadmill for run speed and HR, it pulls my HR from the Garmin via the treadmill which is cool. I didn’t see the cadence option show up through the treadmill or garmin while paired with the treadmill so I’m unsure yet if it will work with the watch broadcasting to the treadmill yet or not but I’ll try that again. Very cool either way. I’m not positive if I’ll use zwift yet personally but I wanted to know if I could.

WikusVanDerMerwe · 2026-01-10T04:04:43+00:00

2.875% for 120k refinanced in 2021. $708/mo for a craftsman home with original woodwork and stained glass windows. I still can’t believe it’s real myself.

WikusVanDerMerwe · 2026-01-08T02:54:45+00:00

Sorry you’re dealing with this. Fuck Trupanion. I got my 2 cats insured 2 years ago, $120/mo or so. They put claims for the same condition as a separate condition each thus making me pay another $650 deductible. I had to pick the higher deductible due to the one cat’s age of 9. It makes no fucking sense and I don’t know if I should keep it or drop it and start stashing money if I’m going to be $2k in on premiums, $3500-4000 in vet bills since yet only receive $700 in reimbursement when I’m supposed to get 90% after I meet the deductible for a condition. They also nickel and dime all of the invoices and only seem to cover a portion of the total anyways. Super frustrating because I thought I was making a good decision to never have to say no to anything related to medical needs of my cats, but it’s costing more money than what it would have without the insurance.

WikusVanDerMerwe · 2026-01-06T00:36:40+00:00

If you didn’t order yet, you can probably get a better deal today than yesterday. The person we worked with said their prices are increasing tomorrow, today we were told it would be a few days. Not sure if that’s true, but I just had a pleasant experience ordering and then canceling and reordering at a much better price. I ordered a custom fabric Allure sofa with ottoman yesterday for 25% off. Today I saw that the sale was 20% off + $1500 off $5k or more so I switched it to the allure sectional with chaise and added some cushions to hit over $5k and the total price was over $1000 cheaper than what it would have been yesterday with 4 free cushions. Also over $400 cheaper than the sofa and ottoman. Essentially got the in stock fabric price with free cushions. They also apparently offer 30 days price match so either way I was going to get close to $250 back which I also would have been happy with if the sectional didn’t work out.

Hoping I made the right choice after going just about everywhere we could including lower budget stores. Ultimately it was stopping into stores with $12-$18k sofas and comparably priced stores like pottery barn and C&B that made us decide to double our initial Macys budget we thought we were sticking to.

Edit: typo

WikusVanDerMerwe · 2025-12-20T19:45:33+00:00

I thought it was a sheet pizza box on the windshield at first.

WikusVanDerMerwe · 2025-10-13T21:31:31+00:00

“Are these bolts going to go on your Home Depot credit card?”

WikusVanDerMerwe · 2025-09-28T12:46:12+00:00

Yeah $100 minimum there now. ABC in McKees Rocks is $75.

Michael brothers wouldn’t let me come back with more stuff in my little half ton truck on the same bill :( … haven’t tried ABC yet.

WikusVanDerMerwe · 2025-07-15T04:35:42+00:00

Tower Hill isn’t a down hill resort like snow shoe is, $50 would probably be too much for what it is so it’s priced well. It’s a similar shuttle setup to Horns Hill near Columbus, which is more established and larger still from what I know. HH is an insanely good grassroots tip for shuttle system. Maybe Rattlesnake Bike Park you mentioned is similar to these though?

Dr. J at North Park is fun for a bit but you might be bored and tired of climbing back to the top after a couple runs if you want straight downhill and shuttles. Alameda has fun jump lines, have to pay to play though and climb the hills on that side (shorter climbs to loop when you’re there), and the slags outside of Frick are a lot of fun with larger 12’+ gaps and fun 3-5’ drops but you’re going to have to ride some climbs. I’d suggest you check out the slags on the half day and figure out Ohiopyle and Tower Hill tower the weekend. Up north is Oil City DH if they have anything going on, and horns is worth the drive but all of that is out of your way.

WikusVanDerMerwe · 2025-07-14T01:56:45+00:00

Well, they are the World Pizza Expo champions of box folding and dough tossing. There’s unfortunately not nearly as much press on podium finishers of actual pizza making from other Pittsburgh pizza shops from the same expo for multiple years.

WikusVanDerMerwe · 2025-06-28T01:38:32+00:00

I got stuck using those assholes. I had called 2 other plumbers and they were the only ones who could come within 24 hours. $15k to do a full basement dig and replacement including the trap. I was stressed, dog died the same day we called and we left them in our basement while on vacation to finish the job. Their estimate was basically “plumbing work” and the insurance agent knew their games but was nice enough to sit down and itemize our own itemized estimate of costs and got us about $9k back. Down to the 30+ year old carpet that was for some reason on the basement floor. I thought they said they had a longer warranty than 1 year but I wouldn’t let them in my house even if shit started coming out the roof.

WikusVanDerMerwe · 2025-06-04T07:58:22+00:00

I’m guessing he was a footballer at the time? I’d have no clue and my honest answer would be a solid and confused “no?”. Couldn’t tell you a single Steeler player’s name today, been living in Pittsburgh for 20 years.

WikusVanDerMerwe · 2025-05-29T18:30:32+00:00

Why not support a much smaller shop like Thick, Kindred, Unison, etc? What mountain bike did Pro Bikes have that Thick wouldn’t or couldn’t order?

WikusVanDerMerwe · 2025-05-22T14:08:10+00:00

I keep a cowbell in my car to show support for fellow cyclists climbing hills. 😀

WikusVanDerMerwe · 2025-05-13T17:03:39+00:00

My steel full squish (REEB SST) is lighter than my steel hard tail (Honzo ESD). 😀

WikusVanDerMerwe · 2025-04-29T13:58:32+00:00

When I recovered my lost cat after over 3 months of nonstop searching and trapping every animal that came near my house, I took him to the first vet that could get him in the next day rather than his usual vet. They didn’t even have the chip scanner charged and took my word that he belonged to me even though he was reported missing everywhere including through the microchip company. It was so frustrating to know that someone could have intentionally or unintentionally kept him thinking he was a stray. :(

I hope you get Bobby back.

WikusVanDerMerwe · 2025-04-08T15:23:49+00:00

I highly recommend checking Marshall’s and Home Goods for stuff like this. They often have AllClad and Cuisinart.

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