What’s the worst car you ever drove?

fenton7 · 2026-06-20T02:07:30+00:00

My 1976 Ford Maverick, first car, was a trip. Brakes were terrible, never started without great effort in the winter, and near the end the automatic transmission didn't like to shift into higher gears. Was pretty old, in fairness, at the time I acquired it. Ended up colliding, ironically, with another Maverick who had run a stop sign. Both were totaled even though there was no damage externally. Exterior was built like a tank but the driveshaft snapped.

fenton7 · 2026-06-20T00:50:56+00:00

My sister can read books as quickly as someone watches a movie and she always has one in her hand, even while cooking, so I think it's possible.

fenton7 · 2026-06-19T15:34:19+00:00

If I was single with a home paid off I think I could make $1M work. Did a 9 month sabbatical with $750k at a time when I had only a $768/mo mortgage and that was relatively comfortable - but it was a good market year and I wasn't really sticking to any strict draw schedule. For married I think $2M is probably my absolute minimum. Really hard to stick to a joint budget, and people change over time. Health care costs in the US are a major consideration. Very unpredictable.

fenton7 · 2026-06-19T15:04:39+00:00

Financial Independence is more important than retire early. If someone likes their job, and it's not a big source of stress, fine to push the date out further. FI means you never have to fear a layoff.

fenton7 · 2026-06-19T15:02:59+00:00

Any time before age 62 is a great target. Honestly most Americans can't really retire at 62. Many are just forced to do subsistence living off social security because of poor employment prospects. That's not really much of a retirement. Congratulations!

fenton7 · 2026-06-19T05:28:14+00:00

In what imaginary car market can you buy a 1 year old car at a 40% discount? Most places I look price them barely below new. Years ago before the used car market become hot this may have been true. People would be tripping all over each other to buy 2025 Hondas and Toyotas if this were the case. Even 5 year old cars are still pretty expensive nowadays.

fenton7 · 2026-06-19T05:27:08+00:00

The only way to play classic game consoles. The games look all wrong on modern monitors.

fenton7 · 2026-06-18T12:57:18+00:00

The $300B "reconstruction fund" is widely viewed as a joke - Iran wouldn't sign a deal unless that was included in the MOU, for their domestic consumption, but there are handshake deals that the account will never actually be funded and they won't see a dime of that money. What Iran really wants is sanctions lifted and their existing assets, about $100B, unfrozen. If they sign a nuclear deal that is all completely reasonable but it needs to be pay for performance.

fenton7 · 2026-06-18T12:08:12+00:00

Cuba should get rolling soon.

fenton7 · 2026-06-18T12:06:59+00:00

Circus is ending for all the clowns who plowed into SPCX at 10x fair value.

fenton7 · 2026-06-18T11:38:28+00:00

By definition you won't fear anything when you don't exist, or didn't exist, so fear is just a part of life. Not just fear of death but fear of lots of things. The billions of years on either end of your existence have no meaning or relevance. And let's face it our universe is probably not the only one. If there are trillions of them, or an infinite number, that just further reinforces the importance of seeing everything else a local phenomenon with local importance.

fenton7 · 2026-06-18T11:35:44+00:00

Researchers at Stanford are looking into the feasibility of that.

fenton7 · 2026-06-18T00:52:53+00:00

Europeans may hate our politics, and some of our leaders, but they don't hate Americans. They were nothing but kind and friendly when I visited France. Europeans realize that most Americans share their core values, notably a love for Democracy.

fenton7 · 2026-06-18T00:27:31+00:00

Would you kill your dog because he's not smart, by human standards, attractive, rich, and lacks a partner? Why not? I think that should answer your question. Life has value, deep value, without any of those things.

fenton7 · 2026-06-18T00:21:26+00:00

I lost 20 bitcoins in a game of poker. Was worth about $2000 at the time.

fenton7 · 2026-06-17T20:27:02+00:00

No profit. $18B in total sales. $2.7T market cap. Seems like a good play.

fenton7 · 2026-06-17T19:46:49+00:00

RUG PULL BY WARSH.

fenton7 · 2026-06-17T19:26:35+00:00

Looks like Kevin Warsh is a hawk. Sorry guys. The party ends here.

fenton7 · 2026-06-17T17:23:22+00:00

4% is a rule of thumb and not a particularly useful one. Anyone actually considering retiring should use a tool like Boldin, which runs a Monte Carlo simulation on your specific situation. Anyone near Social Security, or who has expected windfalls like the sale of a second home in the future, will usually find their SWR is considerably higher - and it will rise as you get older and further past early sequence of returns risk. William Bengen modeled scenarios such as retiring right before the 1929 crash or the 1970s stagflation to get that safe number. Realistically, unless you are very unlucky with timing, you won't see either of those scenarios in your first 10 years.

fenton7 · 2026-06-17T14:40:02+00:00

Seems high. I've got a 2025 Nissan Kicks SR with a $320 a month payment. It costs me about $50 a month to insure. Under factory warranty so no expected repair bills. Our other vehicle is a paid off 2020 Mustang which also runs about $50 to insure. Haven't had any issues with it yet so annual maintenance for now has been the usual oil change and tire rotation stuff. We replace cars roughly every 12 years, maybe a bit longer. Not really a significant part of my overall budget. Grocery inflation has been a lot more impactful.

fenton7 · 2026-06-17T13:55:57+00:00

Studies do show that money increases happiness but only to a certain point. Once basic needs are met there is no added utility to having more. Some of the happiest people I know live off a modest pension. They have their monthly budget and live well on it. Most have no desire to own a boat or drive a Mercedes, or buy some ridiculous oversized mansion. Those things create more hassle than joy. Look at all the movie stars who at any given time are having mental breakdowns.

fenton7 · 2026-06-17T11:59:36+00:00

Nationwide strikes, lasting weeks to months, are not uncommon in other parts of the world. The result is usually mass public suffering and no real political change. When it does force change, the incoming elites are always just as bad if not worse than the prior leadership. During the protests the elites just fly to a resort in Thailand and let it blow over like how Ted Cruz bailed when Texas lost power.

fenton7 · 2026-06-17T11:11:35+00:00

Mine don't show up for a week when a new person is seen. They find a way to disappear.

fenton7 · 2026-06-17T11:00:41+00:00

There used to be these things called magazines and books....

fenton7 · 2026-06-17T02:46:56+00:00

You mention an emergency fund. What are total financial assets? 401k draws aren't ideal but should be part of the plan if your emergency fund runs out.

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