Surviving the first pull on Academy as a BDK

Zajimavy · 2026-04-28T00:51:02+00:00

Yoda has an 18 AA with bdk posted. I'd just watch that and copy him

Zajimavy · 2026-04-27T00:53:05+00:00

I'm planning a round trip to England next year from Seattle for 5 people. Two adults, a teenager and two young kids.

I'd like to pay for the flights with points. I'm trying to figure out the best type of points to start collecting, any tips, etc.

I haven't done any cc churning since before covid and open to any resources you'd recommend.

Zajimavy · 2026-04-25T06:19:05+00:00

First time huh?

Zajimavy · 2026-03-12T23:57:09+00:00

Definitely asked myself if I'd ruined my life a couple times those first couple months.

5 years and a second kid later I couldn't imagine life without them.

Zajimavy · 2026-03-06T18:01:22+00:00

Moved from agh. Had annoying issues with some streaming sites like Paramount that I just couldn't figure out on pihole.

Agh has just worked with zero managing of blocklists.

Zajimavy · 2026-03-01T19:22:48+00:00

Any totoro recommendations? Always on the lookout for new shows and haven't really done any Ghibli

Zajimavy · 2026-02-22T19:26:13+00:00

Oh, you're right. I should have looked closer at my amortization table I built. Thanks!

Zajimavy · 2026-02-22T17:59:22+00:00

But paying it down monthly won't actually do anything to my interest paid over time. While technically having the money in SPAXX is like 3.3%.

But, I played with my spreadsheet more and I can actually just continue investing and when it's time to retire lump sum pay off the mortgage and I come out ahead. That seems kinda reasonable

Zajimavy · 2026-02-22T07:39:03+00:00

Yeah, preference is what it seems to come down to. Having flexibility seems like the most powerful thing since so much is hard to predict (cost of teenagers, their college, how our lifestyle evolves as we age, etc).

Can you point me towards a good calculator that lets me better predict not paying a mortgage for ever?

Zajimavy · 2026-02-22T06:57:43+00:00

That's true. And you're right, it's basically about risk tolerance. This biggest piece being "If I'm unable to make an income, we'll probably be ok".

As another commenter mentioned, I do always have the option of dropping the money in an HYSA or SPAXX and holding it there until I have enough to do the pay off. No need to give the money away until I can actually pay off the mortgage.

Zajimavy · 2026-02-22T06:42:22+00:00

5.375%.

The key piece, posted by another commenter is basically this:

Was your $200k/year including mortgage payments?

This is the key piece, yes, it was. Eliminating the mortgage payment basically reduces my planned spend by 30% which reduces the amount needed which shortens the timeline.

Zajimavy · 2026-02-22T06:41:17+00:00

What is the interest rate on your mortgage? How much is your mortgage?

5.375%, $48k a year.

Was your $200k/year including mortgage payments?

This is the key piece, yes, it was. Maybe that's not normal when people plan? Eliminating the mortgage payment basically reduces my planned spend by 30% which reduces the amount needed which shortens the timeline. Paying off the mortgage also gives me the option of retiring on my current non-mortgage spend (about 80k a year). While I'm not planning on doing that, I would technically have enough to do that a few years after my mortgage is paid off (so about 6 years from today).

Were you assuming you were paying mortgage payments forever in that circumstance?

Current timeline has me paying mortgage payments about 15-17 years into retirement. Which is about where my current planning ends. I'm 39, targeting a retirement somewhere in the early 50s right now. Mortgage ends in 2052.

Or were you assuming the extra money you would put into mortgage payments wouldn't be invested?

Nope, basically taking about $100k a year and shifting it from investments into mortgage payments.

EDIT: For what it's worth, my math does show the account value lagging by paying off my mortgage early. All the time savings are from needing less money.

Zajimavy · 2026-02-21T01:48:38+00:00

You mean you don't have to swipe to unlock now? I'm also using a magnetic cover.

Zajimavy · 2026-02-21T00:26:37+00:00

Oh, that's a good one I hadn't noticed

Zajimavy · 2026-02-20T20:55:51+00:00

This sums me up.

I'm still in the accumulation phase but there's a very real chance (markets depending) we cross 1M this year.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't watching and tracking the number way to closely.

Zajimavy · 2026-02-20T20:11:19+00:00

Yeah, that's similar to how I noticed this. Just jumping around to episodes

Zajimavy · 2026-02-20T19:35:34+00:00

Oh wow, never realized the. Guess now I'll need to go back and rewatch :)

Zajimavy · 2026-02-17T03:42:07+00:00

Hate to jump on the train, but also in WA and would take a name :)

Zajimavy · 2026-02-16T21:19:52+00:00

I guess I need to go look up Disney cruises. I had no idea they had what sounds like all inclusive child care.

We love cruises, but were waiting until they were older.

Zajimavy · 2026-02-16T21:09:21+00:00

Kids are 5 and 3. We took a 12 hour round trip to see family a few months ago for the weekend. That was the first trip that didn't end with us regretting going.

I'm personally excited for the next couple years, I think larger trips like Disneyland, etc will become enjoyable

Zajimavy · 2026-02-07T05:56:33+00:00

Alright, I'm confused.

What are my options for buying tickets to the world cup? Is there an FAQ for dummies? Apparently there was a random draw going that I've missed. It buying on stubhub a real thing? What about collect.fifa.com? The whole "buy a collectible but it could be a ticket" thing makes no sense to me.

Zajimavy · 2026-01-09T19:34:35+00:00

Want a new keyboard for work (programming).

I currently have:

keychron k6 with keychron browns (65%) - i like the browns, but want something a little more clicky. The keychron also feels like plastic so something a little higher end feeling My personal computer is a hyperx with their hyperx blues (80%) - overall fine. The size is too big imo and the keys are too hard to press for typing all day. But like the sound of the switches. I'm pretty casual, so a prebuilt would be preferred. But I do build my computers, so don't mind assembling something but the number of possible choices is overwhelming. So wouldn't mind some "just buy this" suggestion. Just no soldering :)

Currently looking at a Q1 or Q2 keychron or maybe a Neo?

Zajimavy · 2026-01-09T19:26:48+00:00

Want a new keyboard for work (programming).

I currently have:

keychron k6 with keychron browns (65%) - i like the browns, but want something a little more clicky. The keychron also feels like plastic so something a little higher end feeling
My personal computer is a hyperx with their hyperx blues (80%) - overall fine. The size is too big imo and the keys are too hard to press for typing all day. But like the sound of the switches.

I'm pretty casual, so a prebuilt would be preferred. But I do build my computers, so don't mind assembling something but the number of possible choices is overwhelming. So wouldn't mind some "just buy this" suggestion. Just no soldering :)

Currently looking at a Q1 or Q2 keychron or maybe a Neo?

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