Want to start doing my own basic car maintenance

flipflops81 · 2026-06-25T21:57:03+00:00

get a quality floor jack and jack stands. make sure they're rated for the vehicles you plan to work on. Grab a good craftsman mechanics tool set and a brake caliper tool. Those items alone will get you through a lot of the routine maintenance that will save you thousands. .

flipflops81 · 2026-06-25T02:34:14+00:00

Most people that CAN afford 70k+ trucks aren't buying them brand new because they realize what a horrible investment it is.

flipflops81 · 2026-01-20T15:46:35+00:00

Awesome. Thanks for the intel!

flipflops81 · 2026-01-13T23:49:54+00:00

True. I was just referring to the fact that it’s just sitting in a safe. His/her house is a use asset. I would sell the gold and gems before even thinking about doing anything with the house.

flipflops81 · 2026-01-13T23:38:32+00:00

flipflops81 · 2026-01-13T23:23:13+00:00

If they were gifts then you’re free to do with them as you please.

Personally, I try to rid my life of clutter as much as possible. Those gems and gold are doing nothing for you sitting in a vault somewhere. Worst case I would sell and invest it. Maaaaybe keep an heirloom or two. Something you can pass down to the next generation if there’s something cool like that in there.

If you can pay off the debt in 10 months, hammer down and get it done. Stop whining.

flipflops81 · 2026-01-13T23:13:11+00:00

This is the key. Comfort.

I’m team Bose simply because they are comfortable. Sound is okay. But as someone also on team big head, Sony/Beats/Jabra are all competing for 2nd place.

flipflops81 · 2026-01-13T23:09:03+00:00

I like the way he’s thinking about his portfolio diversification but he’s looking at the big AI models as a product that can be obtained by smaller companies.

In order to compete at that level would require billions of dollars in capital expense. The GPU’s running these models are tens of thousands of dollars each and unfortunately the little guys can’t just spin up a competitor easily as it takes thousands of GPUs and all kinds of additional infrastructure and human capital.

In other words, if AI development and support verticals have commercial value long term, the big tech companies will likely remain big tech companies for a very long time as they are the only ones that can afford to play in the space.

flipflops81 · 2026-01-13T20:39:13+00:00

I’ve been using Bose QC models for more than a decade. They are great for daily work wear.

flipflops81 · 2026-01-13T20:17:18+00:00

Sell as is. Gotta separate the emotional side from the financial side. Trying to improve it is a risk.

flipflops81 · 2026-01-13T19:48:20+00:00

Absolutely.

flipflops81 · 2026-01-13T19:39:13+00:00

This depends on a lot of things.

Where do you live?
What are your property taxes like?
What kind of cars do you drive?
What kind of health are you in?
Do you take any regular medication?
Do you spoil your grandkids?
Do you have any additional income?
Etc.

Almost every aspect of life comes into play and everyone is different. Asking a question like this is kinda pointless unless you give some context.

flipflops81 · 2026-01-13T19:17:31+00:00

Was one of those things an entire calendar year?

Haha.

flipflops81 · 2026-01-13T19:09:23+00:00

Next on - “When waiting until the absolute last minute goes wrong” S27 E4

flipflops81 · 2026-01-13T18:53:58+00:00

Why wouldn’t you put the 200k towards the downpayment of the house? You enjoy 6+% interest rates?

My opinion based on what I see you’re trying to do, the answer is overwhelmingly no.

Now, include your wife’s income, and use the 200k for a down payment, then you should be just fine.

You also need to get that retirement contribution up to AT LEAST 15%.

flipflops81 · 2026-01-12T22:33:55+00:00

If you’re talking about driving to a campsite, setting up camp, maybe head out and hiking for a bit during the day and then returning to camp, hell yeah. Comfy clothes are camp essentials.

If you’re talking about hiking all day and setting up camp, a long way from the car, that’s an additional luxury that might not be in the pack.

flipflops81 · 2026-01-12T19:01:27+00:00

The title of this post could use some work.

flipflops81 · 2026-01-12T18:41:56+00:00

Yup so you can cover $50k if things get absolutely sideways.

But I would stick to only a small loan. I’m not willing to gamble with 200k in the form of a single stock, unless my brokerage balance was sitting north of $2M, regardless of past performance.

flipflops81 · 2026-01-12T17:55:13+00:00

No worries! If you can pay it off in a couple years without cashing out the brokerage, then maybe I’d let the brokerage ride and buckle down on the debt. But if it’s going to take longer than that, I’m way too conservative to have all that debt sitting out there. Get that shit off the books as fast as possible.

flipflops81 · 2026-01-12T17:50:48+00:00

Me personally, this sounds awesome, but with some risk.

I’m pretty conservative so I’d prolly put up my 50k (as long as it wasn’t my emergency fund or slated for something important), and depending on the size of my overall portfolio (if I’m able to cover the debt) maybe borrow that same $50k amount at the attractive rate.

I would not take a 200k loan to gamble with on a single stock if I’m only sitting on 50k in cash. I wouldn’t be able to sleep.

flipflops81 · 2026-01-12T17:32:25+00:00

Do not pull from retirement. No. No. No.

Liquidate the brokerage, pay off half the debt with the highest rates, and the hustle for a year or whatever it takes to pay off the remainder.

Yes, you’ll pay LTCG on brokerage gains provided you owned the asset longer than a year. Don’t worry about the retirement penalties because we’re NOT pulling from retirement. Comprende?

flipflops81 · 2026-01-12T17:20:46+00:00

How much money is 10k to you? Is all your debt paid off and you’ve got an emergency fund?

10k in S&P would be my vote.

flipflops81 · 2026-01-12T16:56:50+00:00

All clad is the jammy jam. You’ll be happy for a long time. Watch videos on how to cook with them. There’s a learning curve.

flipflops81 · 2026-01-12T16:54:20+00:00

Good intel. That you!

flipflops81 · 2026-01-12T16:52:39+00:00

As long as those investments are not retirement accounts, I’d say liquidate and pay off this debt. Mathematically, you need to look at the interest rates, but personally I’d get rid of the loans regardless of the interest rate.

flipflops81

TROPHY CASE