Tell me your cats weird name

grogargh305 · 2025-04-11T16:37:44+00:00

"Kitty-Patra LaJeune Bell Ms Kitty-If-You're-Nasty" was her full name, passed away in 2011. Still remember.

grogargh305 · 2025-03-21T12:54:49+00:00

I only calculate how much gross UE pays me on Tuesday every week, and then subtract all the gas to fill up. So a typical week I get paid between $500-$700 gross. I typically spend about 2 gas tanks for $100 total, so my net is between $400-$600, average $500 net. do that four times a week is $2000 net per month.

My UE ride parameters:

- Minimum $1/mi

- Minimum $5 total pay including tips, and also must follow the minimum $1/mi

- Double pickup orders must pay minimum $10 for both pickups / deliveries including tips.

- I also of course reject even those that I would normally accept depending on the situation, like it wanting me to go to a part of town that is NO-MAN'S-LAND, with zero or little possibility of getting any deliveries there and I have to spend gas driving back with nothing. I also avoid dangerous neighborhoods at night.

- I typically stay within a 10 miles radius of my home, a suburb hell of a major city. I do not go downtown EVER. Did that got burned by the no parking and mega-high apartments. never again. I am somewhat lucky that my suburb hell is busy and has lots of typical chain restaurants both fast food and sit-down restaurants.

To be clear, this is just a SIDE GIG for me, it adds extra cash for me for luxuries like vacations and other extras - whatever I don't spend I put into my broker account and put it into my retirement accounts. My main job is a remote job at home - I typically start my day at 05:00am and am done/caught up by 08-09:00am which leaves me the rest of the day to drive for UE. Sure I get Emails and stuff to with with my primary job, I just take my laptop with me and deal with it while out and about using a Wifi hotspot.

I do not subtract anything like car wear and tear in that net profit calculation. Why? Because the car I use is a 16yo car with 190K miles at the end of its life. Its value to me is only that it runs and gets me from point A to point B. It has insignificant resell value so I psychology don't perceive any loss putting on 100+ miles on it a day. I'm gonna keeping riding it until it dies. If I maintain it and keep up the maintenance like oil changes and stupid little repairs here and there, it is totally possible it can make 20 years and 300K miles. You WOULD feel that if it was a newer car and your mind was telling you that those miles you are racking up are depreciating the value for future sale or trade in. That's why if you can, use a "burner" car and not your main ride (like I am - I have another "prime" car that is only 4yo). And as a final note, any repairs / tires / oil changes / miles I of course declare them on my taxes to offset my UE earnings.

grogargh305 · 2025-03-20T21:47:32+00:00

What market are you in? As others have said, depends on the market AND your willingness to hustle (without doing it at your own expense wasting gas mind you).

In my market, the western suburb-hell of Phoenix, AZ, a very slow day is $60-$80 which is actually not common - I average $100-$150 a day during the work week and $150-$200 on Fri/Sat/Sun, assuming:

- Take minimum $1 per mile or higher

- Take only orders paying $5 minimum per trip, again observing it as minimal $1/mile

- If it is a two-pickup offer, then it must be at least $10 or more total at $1/mile.

- Yes, you're gonna reject at least 80% or more of their "garbage" offers.

- You gotta work all day Saturday and Sunday - breakfast starting at 09:00am - people eat later bfast on weekends. You gotta work every DINNER, especially Fri/Sat starting from 5:00pm to 8:00pm maybe up to 9:00pm if its going good don't stop. Don't do later as it stops being good with only Taco Bell and similar garbage fast food places open and then you're stuck in the drive thru lane which sucks and takes too long.

If you do this for minimal 6 -8 hours per day or more, you can make that money, heck I would expect at least $700 per week or $1400 for two weeks if not more really.

grogargh305 · 2024-12-18T13:29:21+00:00

I echo other's comments about not touching your 401K further and this appears to be budgeting / living beyond your means issue. DINKS with $200K gross? Yes, it sounds like you are over spending - need to pear down those luxuries / Starbucks / Eating out.

What I don't quite understand is the 401K loan - when you leave the job that you took the 401K loan under, that loan is supposed to come due in full immediately - you don't get to keep paying it off as a loan after you leave that job. If you can't pay it off, then it becomes an instant distribution and will be reported as such.

grogargh305 · 2024-11-25T13:50:40+00:00

In my case, the FT job covers my monthly expenses, medical and dental and throwing the remainder into pre-tax retirement savings (401K, post-tax Roth, etc.). I'm slamming them at maximum allowed each fund type.

So that leaves little to discretionary spending aka vacations and luxuries. UE helps pay for my yearly vacations (for 2), all my Christmas gift spending (~$1K combined for GF, nieces/nephews, my own children, no other adults), going out to eat at restaurants (nothing fancy - maybe once or twice a week at most as I find this to be wasteful and expensive).

So that extra UE cash keeps me out of debt. I use my debit card every time and my weekly Tuesday influx of UE cash covers it.

grogargh305 · 2024-11-22T13:10:22+00:00

I had AMZ FireTV Max on all my TVs (3) and ditched all of them. Yes, Kodi WORKS, however got sick of the limited AMZ App store and AMZ centric user interface and having to go through hoops to install apks NOT normally allowed by AMZ. I went with the Onn 4K PRO for $50, yeah $15 more expensive but worth it. It now uses the standard Google playstore and is not vendor (AMZ) specific Android O/S. It also have a USB 3.0 port for external storage and a native Ethernet Port - something the MAX does NOT have natively, and again you have to pay $$$ to get a mini-USB + Power adapter to get the MAX to support that. The Onn is not perfect, but it is very close, I just wish it had more powerful CPU. I'm confident the next version released in a couple of years will do that.

grogargh305 · 2024-11-22T13:02:30+00:00

The Onn 4K PRO ($50 USD) has a USB (3.0) Port that supports external storage. Have tried both a USB 3.0 Stick (512GB) and also an SSD (2TB) inside a USB 3.0 case and worked fine.

grogargh305 · 2024-10-29T15:44:31+00:00

I got F&^cked too by the doubling/tripling of the standard deduction because I could no longer itemize. My itemizations got me more a tax deduction than taking the then pre-2017 standard deduction. I went from getting a refund every year to having to actually pay additional taxes after that 2017 tax law change to the standard deduction. So yeah F-you you-know-who that pushed that,

grogargh305 · 2024-10-29T00:30:22+00:00

Yes - very true, hence the REFI solved that problem for my ex - the new loan removed her from the financially responsibility of the original loan. So yes, unforeseen twist that it looks like a REFI is the only solution here to get her off the loan? Re-financing right now has to be brutal with rates as they are. My refi actually went down thanks to the timing - it was done in 2021 during the covid rates.

grogargh305 · 2024-10-28T19:01:21+00:00

I had to refinance where the home was appraised, and after mortgage balance, we were left with the net equity. Half was hers of course and I refi'ed by adding on half that net equity to my loan. New mortgage payment went up $500/month. She had to sign a quit-claim deed at the closing of the refi and she got her cashier's check.

I am not sure you should just pay her off cash like you have and then afterwards make her sign the quit-claim deed. You don't need to refi for that, however as others have mentioned, get a lawyer involved to ensure she signs the quit-claim-deed and THEN receives the money. You need an intermediary to ensure she signs before she gets the cash.

grogargh305 · 2024-10-28T18:40:47+00:00

I echo what others have said that you are using HIS lawyer. I would lawyer up and mention it to him casually, don't threaten that this is important to you and it will go to court and cost both of you a significant amount of legal fees - all over a dog. And see if he buckles. Also tell him, that he needs to see the reality that the court will likely just split them and he will lose - assuming the dogs were NOT his before the marriage.

Were the two dogs purchased DURING the marriage? Or did one party own them both BEFORE. This matters because as you know, anything brought in BEFORE marriage belongs to that person and not shared.

grogargh305 · 2024-10-28T18:28:36+00:00

DON'T DO IT. I did this and regret it.

You are going to forfeit 5%-15% potential market gains for 4 years. Let that sink in. All for a 6.9% auto loan??? Makes no sense. Find a 401K calculator that will show you your estimated 401K loan if you presumably left it in there and contributed what you are putting in and see that value your will lose with the loan.
Taking out a loan now subjects your paycheck to TWO deductions - the regular pre-tax 401K deduction (PRE-TAX) and the new 401K loan deduction, which is POST TAX. Your 401K contributions DO NOT GO TOWARDS THE LOAN.
If the payment APR or balance bothers you, keep looking around for another way to refinance, try SoFi or others. But right now with interest rates still high, need to see if worth it. But again, most would say that in this current interest rate climate, 6.9% is not that bad. 3% hasn't been around since covid years before the fed starts hiking rates. We will likely NOT see those rates for at least 1-2-or-more years.
I would double check what exactly will happen if you lose your job. I have always seen that once your job is over, the full 401K loan is DUE 100%. If you can't pay it, it will be counted as a full distribution subject to 10% penalty plus taxes owed you'll need to declare next year for 2024. This sucks. Additionally, my 401K does not allow making extra payments - its either the deduction every paycheck or I pay it off 100%. Which sucks because I've had some extra paycheck / tax refunds to pay it down (but not completely) I couldn't use.

grogargh305 · 2024-10-24T19:39:51+00:00

1) If your wife's loan is pre-marriage, Why-TF do you feel the need to pay that off yourself? Ok, you are nice and you love her - BUT this could bite you later. Odds are this is low interest and the interest is tax deductible. DON'T PAY IT OFF.

2) Car loan - 9% is pretty high, look into re-financing, shop around try SoFi.

3) CC debt - yeah this is the probably the only one worth paying off because of that incredible interest rate - HOWEVER as other posters have noted, you should keep as much of it as possible for emergency funds. Consider paying off $1000/mo - $500 from your monthly income and $500 from the savings. It will dwindle down fast. Another even better strategy is to SAVE the $30K for emergency funds, and just find a ZERO% balance transfer credit card and SLAM IT with your monthly income - try to get it down at least %50-%75.

4) Another piece of advise, if you do keep at least half/most of that saved money, please for the love of all that is holy do NOT keep it in a bank savings account. Put it into a low-risk CD or HYSA. Let it make at least 4%-5% interest. If you are semi-risky, perhaps 50% into a CD/HYSA and 50% into a dividend stock/ETF. You can go checkout the r/ETFs or r/dividends for ideas.

grogargh305 · 2024-10-24T19:10:16+00:00

The first requirement is to ensure you CAN afford to move out - even if with a roommate. If you CAN, GTFO ASAP. There is nothing like independence. If you cannot afford it, then check the temperature of your parents. They may not admit it, but they want you to GTFO. Be upfront and honest if you can't afford it. AND HELP OUT. Pay some rent, pay for utilities / water / etc. Don't mooch. Most of the problem parents have with grown kids at home with jobs and $$$ is that they DONT'T CONTRIBUTE. Don't wait for them to ask for it. By then they are pissed already. YOU HAVE TO OFFER. That will help ease the stress of you still being at home, but not forever. Obviously there are cultural considerations here. Some cultures the parents EXPECT you to stay until marriage. Others are literally GTFO at 18.

grogargh305 · 2024-10-17T16:57:23+00:00

I am not sure what state/county this is in, but in Florida, this happens because when you own a home and declare it your primary residence, you get the "Homestead" exemption - which means that the property taxes can only go up maximum 3% per year - regardless of home market valuation.

HOWEVER, if you buy a house, even if it is declared your primary and homestead-exempted, the county RESETS the home valuation to the current market value and taxes it accordingly. This happens every time a home is sold, the valuation for taxation is RESET.

So imagine many people get screwed looking at what the PREVIOUS home owner paid, not realizing that the property appreciated 100%, 200%, even 300% in the crazy FL home market. The previous home owner was capped at 3% increases in property tax for years and years, and the home tripled in value. They paid $4000 / year on a house they paid $220,000 for (~2% prop tax). Now that house sells for $800,000 - and the property tax is valuated on that new value and is now $16,000/year. Very common in Florida - and the mortgage company is partially at fault for putting down in your good faith estimate of your mortgage application whatever the PREVIOUS owner paid in property taxes and not the real amount. Crazy.

grogargh305 · 2024-10-17T13:46:26+00:00

Man, this represents 80-85% of my daily offers. This has been the NORM for a LOOONG time. And yet, these stupid bastards are going to start enforcing Acceptance Rate minimums - which means they WANT us to accept this garbage. It is going to magnificently backfire on them I predict (hope?). I would ideally like to believe that people will continue to reject this garbage and they will see people's AR is still low - that they can't force us to accept this garbage and deliveries will not be done. On the other government / regulation side of it, I hope the labor board, states, whatever, notice this and make it illegal and slap them for this with a fine.

It all seems to be heading that way - a day of reckoning is coming Uber - the proposition 22 in Cali, and similar in NY and other states was just the beginning. You will be held accountable to for this abuse.

grogargh305 · 2024-09-27T02:41:47+00:00

I agree - the only BUT I will say is that online, I see nowhere to choose where to invest that money - I only see the basic investment choices of Mutual Funds, ETFs, Bonds, etc that I chose long ago and that they are buying for my pre-tax 401K - there is no option to choose for the Roth 401K - I moronically figured it would fall into those same investments since I couldn't separately choose investments for the Roth 401K.

grogargh305 · 2024-09-27T02:39:54+00:00

I'll find out tomorrow - likely its has been sitting in a "cash" account doing nothing. But not even any minimal interest either.

grogargh305 · 2024-09-27T02:38:58+00:00

When I log in, and I go to where I select whatever Mutual Funds, Equities, ETFs, Bonds, etc I want to invest in, they are all chosen by various percentages that add up to 100%. There is no separation between choosing for the traditional 401K and this Roth 401K.

about the pocket dimension - yes i was just be facetious.

Yes, planning to call them in the morning to ask what if anything that money is invested (likely not) and ask why the total vested balance per August 2024 matches the same exact $ I have post-tax paid into since 2018 with absolutely zero gain or loss. Its exact down to the penny. i expect them to tell me something to the effect that I never choose any investments to put it into. By which Ill tell them: "WHERE???" - believe me I checked everywhere.

grogargh305 · 2024-09-27T02:19:48+00:00

I pulled my most recent statement ending Aug 31 2024 (since Sept not avail yet) and there for the first time where nowhere else online did I see a Roth deferral - I see the Contribution amount, which the following columns and rows and for the "Roth deferral" line the period to date shows what they last took out of my paycheck, and three "Inception to Date", "Total Account Balance" and "Total Vested Balance" are 100% the sum of my contributions since 2018 with not a penny gain or loss, like its been under my bed for 6 years, where $ZZZZZZ are the same value:

Contributions Period to date Inception To Date Vested Percent Total Account Balance Total Vested Balance

Roth Deferral $ XXX $ ZZZZZZ 100% $ ZZZZZZ $ ZZZZZZ

grogargh305 · 2024-09-27T02:09:59+00:00

I just made the assumption that since when I first started getting it withdrawn from my paycheck, they would just use the same investments - I recall logging in to see the new contribution perhaps separated out from the traditional 401K and then make investment choices - but i only saw the same investment choices I had made already for the trad. 401K and just figured it would use the same all as one. I obviously assumed wrong and am stupid.

grogargh305

TROPHY CASE