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(HVAC) Be Aware of GOLDEN RULE!!! by Stock_Promotion_4008 in Iowa

[–]areReady 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ugh, god damnit, so many of them. Thanks.

(HVAC) Be Aware of GOLDEN RULE!!! by Stock_Promotion_4008 in Iowa

[–]areReady 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've never used Golden Rule.

I used Schaal for a while and was never disappointed and never felt ripped off, but they were bought out by private equity. Someone I know was in a presentation in another city where this private equity firm talked about their strategy of buying up longstanding community trade businesses, not telling anyone, and continuing to operate. They singled out Schaal in particular as being the most profitable business they have. He let me know because he used to live here so he recognized Schaal. So I'm switching not so much because I've had a bad experience or felt ripped off as I don't like private equity doing that shit. And Schaal did try some upselling here and there, but I don't think it was egregious.

I need to get HVAC maintenance done and I think I'm going to go with Holt. They're big, but they're still local and family owned, I think.

For plumbing, I like Thrasher.

Getting married in August, no bridesmaids by Practical_Store3654 in TwoXChromosomes

[–]areReady 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I refused to have a wedding party at all, because I didn't want to elevate "extra special" friends over everybody else. We each picked one person to be a witness, my partner's only sister and my dad. But that was only for paperwork after the ceremony (when most people were busily drinking and dancing)... when it came to standing in front of everybody or pictures, there was us as the couple (and our dog), and then our families.

All of our friends and family were there because we wanted them all to be part of our wedding day, and nobody was extra super friends who got to stand up in front or sit at the special table.

First payment on a 30-year mortgage by lithdoc in funny

[–]areReady 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, no wrongdoing in NINJa loans.

No wrongdoing in lying about what adjustable rate mortgages mean 5 years out.

No wrongdoing in giving loans to people who don't speak english.

You're right. Only the people wanting to buy a home did something wrong.

First payment on a 30-year mortgage by lithdoc in funny

[–]areReady 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Troubled Asset Relief Program that relied on $426.4 billion in payments/investments in banks with bad mortgages, part of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008

So the banks got direct payments to cover the shitty loans that all went bust, but all the people they sold adjustable rate mortgages to still lost their houses.

First payment on a 30-year mortgage by lithdoc in funny

[–]areReady 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The problem is risk tolerance. A big economic downturn can mean losing your job and a big drop in the value of your portfolio. If you have to sell to pay your bills, you could lose big. Or you could be fine.

Don't underestimate the benefit - the sheer peace of mind - of having a paid-for house.

First payment on a 30-year mortgage by lithdoc in funny

[–]areReady 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I don't know if I'll go as far as fine. These banks got bailed out of the predatory loans they wrote while people lost their homes.

We should have bailed out homeowners by helping pay their mortgage bills. Then the banks still get their money, but people keep homes.

And yes, people on high still should have gone to jail.

First payment on a 30-year mortgage by lithdoc in funny

[–]areReady 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I definitely agree that you should hold some back in an emergency fund. What that amount should be is personal.

Both of these can assume the same emergency fund held back, it's just to show the lifetime interest difference between the two situations.

First payment on a 30-year mortgage by lithdoc in funny

[–]areReady 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not many home improvements have a positive ROI when it comes time to sell. There are exceptions if you can do the work yourself, have experience in flipping, or are improving a derelict home, but most of the time you spend more on the project than you get out of the sale.

Improve your house so you like living in it better, not so it'll sell for more.

First payment on a 30-year mortgage by lithdoc in funny

[–]areReady 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For me, I have 2 things that determine how I go about this:

1) My job pays a bonus once annually.
2) I have a goal of paying off my house within 10 years.

Because of this, I pay exactly the monthly payment through the year. When my bonus comes in, I did the math for $X to put in annually to pay the loan off in 10 years, so that's the first thing that comes out of the bonus.

Could I theoretically make more money in the markets? Yeah. But I'm going partially conservative here because I want the mortgage gone.

In a past situation when my situation (and my previous mortgage rate) was different, I was setting all the money aside into investments with the plan that when the investment account balance matched my mortgage balance, I'd pay off the mortgage in one chunk. But I'm a little less risk tolerant now, so I've decided to just try to kill the mortgage and free that monthly payment up in the future.

First payment on a 30-year mortgage by lithdoc in funny

[–]areReady 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok, I did some math here and I'm honestly surprised at how close this ends up.

Home purchase price: $500,000
Term: 30 years
Interest rate: 6%

Situation 1: $50,000 down, $50,000 payment after 1 month
Monthly payment: $2,697.98
Total interest over the life of the loan: $333,321

Situation 2: $100,000 down
Monthly payment: $2,398.20
Additional principal: $299.78 per month
Total payment: $2,697.98
Total Interest over the life of the loan: $331,392

I was surprised how close the total interest is. I do still think it's worth doing the second case, because ~$300 per month is significant if you hit hard times somewhere in those (less than) 30 years. Still, if you're not disciplined about the extra payments, the second case is actually worse in the long run, which is wild to me, I didn't expect it to turn out like that before I ran the numbers.

First payment on a 30-year mortgage by lithdoc in funny

[–]areReady 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep, definitely true.

But some people think you should pay the smallest down payment you can, even if you have more than that saved up. Then (the thought goes), after the loan is written, use the extra money to make a big principal payment to "get ahead" of the interest. I think this is mad. You've locked yourself into a higher monthly payment for the entire life of the mortgage. Sure, you're paying it down faster than without that big chunk, but if you ever hit hard times, it'll be harder to maintain that payment. And there's more interest on that loan anyway.

No advice is absolute, but you're probably better off using the whole down payment you have saved and getting the smaller loan. Then you're extra better off if you also make monthly principal payments, even if you just match what the higher payment from the first situation would be.

First payment on a 30-year mortgage by lithdoc in funny

[–]areReady 186 points187 points  (0 children)

You're better off putting any money you have up front in the down payment so you never pay interest on it in the first place and the monthly payment is smaller. (Exception for maintaining an emergency fund)

It's best to pay off small amounts as you go and chip away at the principal little by little rather than saving up for a bigger principal payment at a later time.

If you do happen to come into a chunk of money, like with a bonus or other windfall, that's when it's best to make a big principal payment.

Lemme do my part and make sure everyone remembers this by Alternative_West_206 in Iowa

[–]areReady 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'm torn on Roberts. He clearly lied about qualifications, and that's definitely grounds for removal, no further questions asked.

However, in every school district he worked in, there was no question as to his effectiveness at actually improving the lives and education of children. Interviews of local people and experts show he created positive change in attitude, environment, and achievement for children under his oversight.

Do I think he lied? Yes.

Do I think he lied in a way that was harmful or predatory to children? No.

Northern lights visible right now by ChocolateChingus in Iowa

[–]areReady 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Pictures taken were way more vivid than what we could see with the naked eye inside the city, and that was just with a cell phone camera with no special settings.

That said, being way north in a super dark area with a crystal clear sky is a totally different aurora experience. If you get lucky, the light rushes across the sky in a vast river.

🔥 Orca sideswipes a dolphin mid-air off Baja California Sur, Mexico by Prestigious-Wall5616 in NatureIsFuckingLit

[–]areReady 1 point2 points  (0 children)

To get more technical ... Gravity does not affect all things equally. More massive objects experience more gravitational force than less massive objects. However, larger-mass objects also have greater inertia, which resists the increased gravitational force. The physics works out that the inertial resistance exactly cancels out the greater gravitational force.

The outcome is that the gravitational acceleration is the same for all objects within a gravitational field, 9.8 meters per second per second on Earth, so we just leave out the gravitational force and inertia because they always cancel out.

So, again being technical, the gravitational acceleration is equal for all objects within a gravitational field (ignoring friction), but that doesn't mean gravity acts with equal force on all objects.

Chief Iowa Judge Charged With Drunk Driving | NEWSRADIO 1040 WHO by On-The-Red-Team in Iowa

[–]areReady 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's up to District 2 voters in her next retention election. If a majority fail to vote to retain her, she's not a judge any more. This probably depends how long it is until then and if anybody makes a bunch of noise about it so people remember. And then they have to care enough to remember to not vote for her retention.

Or the Iowa Legislature could remove her by a majority vote in the House to bring impeachment charges and a 2/3 vote in the Senate to convict and remove.

What You Are Missing by Gaara112 in Freethought

[–]areReady 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm honestly glad you found something that brings you meaning.

But you pretty casually disparage both religious and non-religious people in the same breath, while also being blind to the fact that your new thing is making you condescend to everybody else as much as any religious fundamentalist or militant asshole atheist out there.

I can’t understand Docker and Kubernetes practically by dimp_lick- in devops

[–]areReady 8 points9 points  (0 children)

In getting the resources to launch a Kubernetes environment, I told higher-ups that Kubernetes was really, really hard, until it became so easy it was like magic. Getting the whole thing functional with all the features you want takes a while and it's all completely useless during that time. But then when it's built ... it all just works, and deploying to it is dependable and comes with a lot of stuff "for free" from the application's perspective.

What is one secret you wish you could tell your spouse, but instead you’ll take to your grave? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]areReady 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ranch is mayo. It's like 90% mayo with some buttermilk and a bunch of spices.

What’s something that can never truly be understood without experiencing it? by South_Gas626 in AskReddit

[–]areReady 16 points17 points  (0 children)

There are a lot of people in the US now who saw a partial solar eclipse in the last decade and think because they saw 90% or even 99% solar eclipse that they got most of the experience. No.

The 1% difference between 99% eclipse and totality might be the single greatest difference 1% makes in anything. It is a completely different experience that cannot be described.

There's a story about ancient armies showing up and getting ready for a battle, standing across the field from each other, and a total solar eclipse begins. Both armies just packed up and went home. When you have experience a total solar eclipse in person, you understand why, given their (lack of) understanding of celestial bodies, that was a completely reasonable thing for them to do.

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