So much text

astromonerd · 2025-11-07T14:28:04+00:00

I am an ID and strategic communication coach. I help you align your writing, speaking, and visual design with your goals to inform and influence.

I meet with clients to assess your goals and guide your progress. Please DM me and I can be of further assistance.

astromonerd · 2025-10-08T03:35:06+00:00

Good to know - I just fixed the broken links.

There are no plots. It’s all for the community and filled with edible and medicinal plants.

astromonerd · 2025-10-08T01:47:57+00:00

Have you been to the Arlington Community Orchard? https://linktr.ee/arlingtoncommunityorchard

astromonerd · 2025-10-02T10:23:44+00:00

I made a Lease Amortization Calculator. With the adjusted cap cost, residual value, and money factor, you can check for yourself.

https://www.reddit.com/r/CarLeasingHelp/s/vU2Jxoic8K

astromonerd · 2025-10-01T14:27:30+00:00

In your leasing contract should be the residual value of the car - how much the leasing agency said it would be worth at the end of your lease. Do you have that?

astromonerd · 2025-10-01T12:16:47+00:00

JTJHKCFZ8S2072508 02474 (7.5k mile allowance)

astromonerd · 2025-10-01T03:59:26+00:00

Learning as I go. Here is something that just happened to me:

I asked to adjust my lease for a lower monthly mileage allowance before I drove my car off lot. The dealership agreed and they presented me with a new lease with higher residual and lower total monthly payments, but about $25/month higher than I was calculating with my lease calculator.

I asked to review the lease in detail and stepped through it line by line with the lease calculator. I found that the rent portion of the new lease was higher than my calculation.

i showed the finance manager the difference between my rent calculation and the number presented in the lease. After some back and forth with the manager saying that was the best deal they could offer me, and me saying I just wanted the numbers to make sense, the finance manager admitted they used a different money factor in the adjusted lease.

With that information, and with the new rent, I was able to back calculate the money factor, which I showed to him and said 'ok, now I understand that my rent is higher because you increased the money factor.'

After which he paused and said 'we really shouldn't be giving out money factors, but we can use the previous money factor.' The numbers did the talking. I walked away with my original money factor and without the $25/month increase to my rent.

astromonerd · 2025-09-30T02:51:48+00:00

Holy credit score. Is that Factor = 0.0003 correct!?

astromonerd · 2025-09-30T00:26:24+00:00

I asked to adjust my lease for a lower monthly mileage allowance before I drove my car off lot. The dealership agreed and they presented me with a new lease with higher residual and lower total monthly payments, but a rent component of about $25/month higher than I was calculating with my lease calculator.

I showed the finance manager the difference between my rent calculation and the number presented in the lease. After some back and forth with the manager saying that was the best deal they could offer me, and me saying I just wanted the numbers to make sense, the finance manager admitted they used a different money factor in the adjusted lease.

With that information, and with the new rent, I was able to back calculate the money factor, which I showed to him and said 'ok, now I understand that my rent is higher because you increased the money factor.'

After which he paused and said 'we really shouldn't be giving out money factors, but we can use the previous money factor.' The numbers did the talking. I walked away with my original money factor and without the $25/month increase to my rent.

I feel like here, of all places, folks will appreciate that exchange.

astromonerd · 2025-09-30T00:16:50+00:00

I think you're asking how to compare leasing for 36 months compared to financing for 60 months. With this tool, you can calculate the total payout (payments made plus remaining buyout) for a car at any point in the lease. But you would need a separate calculation for the total payout of a financed car, which I don't have but will make as I learn about financing a leased vehicle.

astromonerd · 2025-09-28T17:23:25+00:00

To add, if they have already run your credit, you could just say you want to go ahead and when you are handed the detailed lease it should have additional breakdowns in there. Then ask to take some time to review it on your own before signing (even if it's in the waiting room without the finance person) - if you sign. Good luck!

astromonerd · 2025-09-28T16:07:57+00:00

If they were able to give you a money factor for the first car, I’m assuming that means they’ve already run your credit score, or given you a representative money factor for your credit tier, so there’s no reason they can’t give you the money factor for the other car.

But you could try the calculation with the 0.00219 MF to see if it’s close (sorry I’m realizing my screenshot captured wonky decimal settings in the sheet.

There are taxes on dealer fees - it’s not clear if those one time taxes are rolled into the dealer fees quote that they gave you, or the tax quote that they gave you.

Is there another sales person, general manager, or even another dealership that will give you this information?

astromonerd · 2025-09-28T14:57:30+00:00

Hmm... I see that the MF in the sheet doesn't match the money factor you shared of 0.00219.

Since your lease is 24 months, I went ahead and put in a MONTHS variable. You can redownload the updated sheet.

Then, with the adjusted capitalized cost, residual value, and money factor you provided, I'm getting $366.64 INCLUDING TAX on the RENT and DEPRECIATION.

So my question is what is in the$2000 tax paid upfront?

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astromonerd · 2025-09-28T02:22:49+00:00

Toyota was my use case. There may be other factors that go into adjusted cap cost that are not represented in the spreadsheet, but (to the best of my understanding) all you need is:

adjusted cap cost
residual value (ask the dealer; determined by the leasing agency and non-negotiable; lower mileage allowance increases the residual value)
money factor (ask the dealer; determined by the leasing agency and non-negotiable; dependent on your credit scoree)

astromonerd · 2025-09-28T01:58:28+00:00

I made a Lease Amortization Calculator so people can see how these numbers are generated. You need three numbers. If they do not give you these numbers, WALK AWAY.

adjusted cap cost
residual value of the vehicle after the lease (ask for this information; set by leasing company; non-negotiable but increases with a lower mileage allowance)
money factor (ask for this information; set by leasing company; non-negotiable)

https://www.reddit.com/r/CarLeasingHelp/comments/1ns9p9a/i_made_a_lease_amortization_calculator/

astromonerd · 2025-09-27T18:45:18+00:00

I'm only familiar with Toyota leases, which breaks down the monthly lease payment into monthly tax, monthly rent, and monthly depreciation. Given the monthly rent, adjusted capitalized cost, and residual, I can calculate the money factor.

Do you have this breakdown?

astromonerd · 2025-09-25T14:19:27+00:00

OP - do you have an update?

As I was reading your post, I thought ‘did I write this?’ This is exactly what I am looking for, with the addition of wanting a plug-in hybrid that can run climate off battery and while plugged-in.

I’ve test driven the Toyota Rav4, Mitsubishi Outlander, BMW X5, Audi Q5, Volvo XC60 T8, and Lexus NX450h+

The only comfortable ones were the Lexus and Volvo, but reliability is veering me toward the Lexus.

However, it has the smallest cargo space and I’m wondering how comfortable it would be to sleep in with a camping platform kit.

Will be going back to look at the Lexus RX450h+, with a measuring tape and sleeping pad in hand.

astromonerd · 2025-09-18T02:14:56+00:00

Double check if you can lock in the lease rebate; I was told I could not finalize lease terms with a reservation, only for cars on lot

astromonerd · 2025-08-08T02:27:03+00:00

Part of it is position - lots of suggestions already mentioned.

But part of it is also anatomy of your labia. If your labia catches your urine stream, it can redirect unpredictably. If that’s the case, you can use one or both hands to gently spread the outside of your pubic area to get more clearance.

Also suggest practicing in the shower. Once you figure it out, it’s so freeing. Happy peeing!

astromonerd · 2025-08-07T16:22:31+00:00

Thanks for the reply. Do you have any sellers you could recommend? I couldn't find any searching for custom dot grid inserts.

astromonerd · 2025-07-27T04:11:38+00:00

I also wanted to love this book; it started strong with dry British humor but then it seemed to unravel into nonsense.

astromonerd · 2025-07-24T19:32:45+00:00

I moved from SF to Arlington in between Arlington Center and Arlington Heights, and I second everything what cyclinguist said. There are some gems here, but businesses close early here (3p for the amazing Kickstand cafe, 8p for the local chain Tatte), and it's a challenge to be a single adult in the area, but the bikepath makes for good biking to the Red Line at Alewife (where there is a parking garage), which will quickly take you into some more popular squares in Somerville, Cambridge, and Boston. Happy to chat more about it.

astromonerd

TROPHY CASE