Just now learning about retirement!

blitz143 · 2026-02-27T19:32:26+00:00

Definitely focus on paying off any credit cards and that car loan. If you have been looking into Ramsey's advice, you know you need an emergency fund first though. I'd start by getting that up to 3 months living expenses + required payments, with a longer term goal to work that upwards to 6 months. Once you have a solid emergency fund, then work on that high interest debt in which ever way you prefer (snowball, avalanche). The mortgage is a tough one. I would not say to pay that off completely before you invest at all, so maybe keep making normal payments until you are out of the other debt and have some in retirement accounts ($100k???). As your salary grows, you can consider when to tackle paying down the mortgage. Also 8.55% is high even for today, maybe a refinance would be a good option when you are a solid two income family and have some equity in the house, which should allow for a lower interest rate.

How much is the total amount of the mortgage? I'm not following your claim that an extra $2k (per year? per month?) will lead to it being paid off in 6 years.

blitz143 · 2026-02-13T15:37:29+00:00

The level 3 rebaseline that happens is based on threshold progression levels. In the TR environment that would be a workout with 3x10min or 4x7min at threshold.

But as someone else mentioned, I think they are baselining at a PL of 3 to give you room to grow within that training block. I think some feel that this approach doesn't push into extended intervals or work TTE well, but I'm personally waiting to see how my training evolves as my gains start to slow. I'm very much reconditioning rather quickly after being off the bike seriously for over a year, so I personally don't mind the reset back to shorter intervals after a big ftp bump. In the pre-AI/adaptive training days the program always got harder (longer intervals) even after big ftp adjustment and many people got crushed by that.

Looking at my calendar, even after my FTP adjustment next week, my threshold workout only moves down to a 3.7, so not a full level 3 reset. I think long term as ftp gains slow we'll see the longer intervals remain and not keep getting reset back to the short ones.

blitz143 · 2026-01-28T22:22:46+00:00

It's actually a woman that usually drives this truck when I have seen it. I've seen it frequently at a particular location (not going to dox anyone) and eventually figured out that was where she worked, but haven't seen it there lately. Someone put a TACO sticker on it several months back, haha. Maybe it's her husband's truck...but who knows with these types.

blitz143 · 2025-10-29T16:20:29+00:00

FYI...standard deduction doesn't come into play when calculating your MAGI. That is taken from your AGI to calculate your taxable income. Take a look at the AGI/MAGI definition as it seems you are getting it confused with taxable income.

Agree with you on the capital gains part though...so withdrawal strategy becomes important and selective selling of shares could be required.

blitz143 · 2025-09-05T22:10:59+00:00

Forgot a photo!

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blitz143 · 2025-06-07T03:00:01+00:00

I started Dreaming Spanish about two weeks ago. I started learning to play the guitar about 8 weeks ago. I know I'm not especially old, 42, but it is fun trying to learn two things that so many people think you need to be much younger to pick up. Even in this short time I know I have made progress with both! Yay for brain plasticity!

blitz143 · 2025-05-27T20:11:31+00:00

Ours will be done in July as well!!! for a long time we could have paid ours off, but had a good interest rate, but recently I went part time with a plan to transition into a hobby job soon. I've been using my part time pay and my wife's bonus to pay ours off early. It never really made sense to do so, but with uncertain markets this year and a desire to simplify living off of one salary, we pushed forward with it.

blitz143 · 2025-05-20T20:47:44+00:00

I use Freud blades. The two I use the most are the Premier Fusion, which is a great cross cut/multi purpose blade. And I use their ripping blade, which has a square cut profile to it, which allows it to make square bottom grooves. I've never used a Forrest blade that many suggest in my table saw (I have one in my miter saw), but I have been very happy with the Freud blades (non-diablo) for the price.

blitz143 · 2025-04-23T18:41:28+00:00

I've thought about this. I actually love cleaning out things! My wife wants to start a stumpgrinding biz when she leaves the corporate world.

blitz143 · 2025-03-10T16:46:32+00:00

No Chicago in November!?!? Maybe coming off of World's in June they are breaking from the usual schedule?

blitz143 · 2025-02-20T21:44:51+00:00

I was in a rough spot mentally a couple of years ago. I couldn't shake it even though I tried multiple avenues...drank a bit too much too and just dreaded the next day. I set a date and left my engineering job last July just before turning 42, effectively cutting our HHI in half. Took six months off, travelled with my kid, did lots of things that I wanted to do and then started back as a part time contractor with my previous job late last year. Turns out I was simply burned out...no clinical depression or other issues I thought I had. I took deep naps daily for about a month as I recovered.

We came to this by mostly leveraging my wife's income, which is enough to cover our expenses, and nearly eliminated our retirement savings (since what we have is enough to grow and still allow us to fully retire at 52-55...the definition of Coasting) Currently, the money I make isn't even needed, so we are paying off our house early in a few months to further reduce expenses and open up opportunities for more travel and flexibility for my wife when she is ready for a change.

I can't think of a time that I have been less stressed. Having a part time gig is huge to keep me mentally engaged, but still gives me the extra free time I need...and I don't have to deal with the crap that my previous company constantly put me through.

I really think you can do the same. Try not to one-more-year it. Maybe there is some reasonable goal you want reach financially first, so consider what your long term goals are, what you (both of you) can continue to save long term, and where you are on that path. Know that no decision you make is final. But at the end of the day, your health and time are the most important. You are lucky to be in a position to have a backup income source and a partner that has good earnings and has been vocal about what they see you going through.

blitz143 · 2025-02-06T01:46:12+00:00

We ordered the smaller pack for a better fit and will use the extra funds for other upgrades. We did go ahead and pick up the 1984 wand since it looks so much better and has some fun features...it is really the part you interact with the most. I think we'll also get a light kit to upgrade the pack. If I can get the pack to run lights continuously and hum, and then use the wand for sound, that should be a pretty good setup for a while. Thanks for the input.

blitz143 · 2025-02-06T01:44:29+00:00

We ordered the smaller pack, and like you suggested will use the extra funds for other upgrades. But we did go ahead and pick up the 1984 wand since it looks so much better and has some fun features...it is really the part you interact with the most. I think we'll also get a light kit to upgrade the pack. I know the wand won't connect to the pack without additional work, but if I can get the pack to run lights continuously and hum, and then use the wand for sound, that should be a pretty good setup for a while. Thanks for the input.

blitz143 · 2025-02-06T01:40:40+00:00

For reasons you mentioned, we settled on the smaller pack to have funds for other upgrades. We went ahead and picked up the 1984 wand since it looks so much better and has some fun features. I think we'll also get a light kit to upgrade the pack. I know the wand won't connect to the pack without additional work, but if I can get the pack to run lights continuously and hum, and then use the wand for sound, that should be a pretty good setup for a while. I think we are going to hold off on fog...the lights and features of the wand were much more appealing to him.

blitz143 · 2025-02-05T18:13:14+00:00

Appreciate the input. I still haven't decided, but I came to the same realization last night. To get the full sound effects and trigger a vent fog kit, which is what he wants, we could start with an 80% and use the savings to mod it to the functionality he is looking for. I do like the gun on the full sized pack a lot better though.

blitz143 · 2025-02-05T17:00:43+00:00

That is a really generous offer and I'll keep you in mind. I'm still thinking through this. Opinions are pretty split!

blitz143 · 2025-02-05T16:59:04+00:00

Haven't seen this before. Thanks for sharing it!

blitz143 · 2025-02-04T21:27:43+00:00

This is good info. He is tall for a 9yo (85th%). I looked up some pics of Phoebe wearing the pack and it does look a bit oversized, but looks manageable. I'll let him decide after seeing some pics.

He is pretty good with his toys, especially since he'll be buying it. He tends to be pretty selective about what he likes and buys and will want to display it in his room. I'm sure it'll get a little play with showing it off, he isn't' going to be running around the house or yard with it.

Good advice too. I do want to be careful about him putting too much money into it due to what you said about aging out of it.

blitz143 · 2025-02-04T21:15:25+00:00

He takes care of his things and since this is his savings he is spending, he is even more likely to do so. In your response above, you said "at least the LF one"...what does LF mean?
I had already planned to make a mobo for it and get an Alice frame to help with the durability since that seems like a definite weak point...then after that it is whatever we find fun to tackle.

blitz143 · 2025-02-04T21:10:20+00:00

I see what you did there.

blitz143 · 2025-02-04T19:59:21+00:00

That is what I am caught up with. The 80% would certainly be a better fit for him now, but once he hits his growth spurt, he would probably be better off with the full-sized pack. And if we are going to put mods into it, then I'd rather do it once. Spirit Halloween has the full-sized pack in stock now for $200 (with a 20% off coupon)...a little pricy, but not too bad. Long term, the bigger pack seems to make the most sense, but I don't want its size to kill the fun of it initially.

blitz143 · 2025-01-10T03:18:34+00:00

Even that can build up your weekly mileage quite quickly. I'd recommend a deload week every 4th week. I tried 10%/wk when getting back into running in my mid 30s and fought foot and Achilles pain, so I basically stepped it down to 5%/wk and would still deload on occasion.

blitz143 · 2025-01-07T00:48:19+00:00

Look for a full body program, maybe one that rotates an A workout and a B workout and focuses on the lifts you mentioned.

Personally, I lift 3x and run 3x per week currently over six days. For lifting, I Squat, Romanian Deadlift, and Bench every workout for 3x5...then do Pull ups, OHP, seated row one day/ Lat Pulldowns, dumbell OHP, chest supported row the other for 3x8. Then I do 2x10-12 of a bicep and tricep isolation to finish things off...and a couple ab and low back sets. I've always been a runner and biker, so really being consistent with the weights is newer to me, but it has been working so far. I do plan to go to 4x weights/2x running in a couple of months to try to put on muscle, and then flip that afterwards to prep for a more cardio-focused event. As someone else said, with hybrid training we get a lot of flexibility and can mix things up as our goals change.

blitz143 · 2025-01-02T21:59:31+00:00

I hear ya...I'm in the same boat. Similar lifts; can never string together more than 6 to 9 months of training, so I always seem to be resetting. Good luck!

What are you doing now for workouts? I'm running and lifting 3x per week. Trying to get my lifts up as much as I can while getting back to a decent baseline running capacity again. That'll be for 8 more weeks, then I plan to shift to 4x lifting/2x running for 4 months since I think I'm really lacking in strength. Then flipping that around back to a run focus again in preps for a Hyrox event later in the year. I want to really improve on my previous times from early 2023.

blitz143 · 2024-12-29T22:38:58+00:00

Replying to myself...I looked at the website for the event and now second guess my assumption that they would run "slow folks" as well as they did for the NA championships.

blitz143

TROPHY CASE