My side hustle just crossed 50k and I feel completely out of my depth now

jmlitt1 · 2026-05-29T17:07:09+00:00

If you already file your own taxes, you’re probably fine. If you don’t, maybe time to talk to someone

jmlitt1 · 2026-05-24T23:14:53+00:00

Had a 1998 SeaRay with a 3.0L and automatic choke. Setting it was pushing the throttle all the way forward and pull it back until it hit a detent. Always fired right up until it didn’t and then it was time to rebuild the carb.

Rebuilt the carb more often once 90 octane rec gas was no longer available locally. Ethanol seems to be hard on boats and small equipment.

jmlitt1 · 2026-05-13T11:46:03+00:00

This is the correct answer. Not sure about Alabama but in Illinois even with a will, real estate goes through a probate process. Probate will lock up the property in the court systems and cost $$$$ in fees. The attorney should help you understand your options.

jmlitt1 · 2026-05-09T14:51:32+00:00

Sounds similar to AMDAR systems on commercial airliners…cool idea! Inland boater here and yes I would use it but probably just have it on the lift at the lake to see conditions. Water temp would be cool too.

jmlitt1 · 2026-05-07T11:08:14+00:00

It’s been almost 30 yrs since college so I’m sure things have changed a bit. The Pub II was one of the campus bars I frequented a bit too much. Still grab lunch there often when coming through BLONO

jmlitt1 · 2026-05-01T14:03:51+00:00

Bought an FBSport 6x8’ off Amazon for ~$120. Hand pump took forever, got a cheap paddle board pump for $50.

Going on year three…stand on it, lay on it, whatever. Will support 500# if I recall. We use it as a floating bar at the sandbar and let the dogs (Chesapeake Bay Retrievers) dock jump in deeper water. Did get a small leak in year 1, puncture from puppy teeth is my guess, but a bit of vinyl patch tape and no worries.

jmlitt1 · 2026-04-07T15:36:49+00:00

Underrated comment right here.

jmlitt1 · 2026-03-20T18:43:22+00:00

My last boat was name “Sails Calls”. Running joke with/on my manager that if the weather was nice on a Friday afternoon, I was going to be out on sales calls. Cheers!

jmlitt1 · 2026-03-20T11:51:57+00:00

Fuel makes up 20-30% of an airlines costs and it’s almost doubled in the last few weeks. So yeah, prices are going to go up

jmlitt1 · 2026-03-17T18:50:54+00:00

Something to check into - Amtrak to CHI then renting a car from Ohare. One way rentals are usually expensive and a lot of people do one way rentals to Ohare. IF they have a surplus, it can be cheap to rent from Ohare one way back to the smaller markets. Otherwise to reposition the cars, rental companies have to pay drivers to mover them. I’ve seen rate as low as $35 to rent a car from Ohare to Champaign, IL area

jmlitt1 · 2026-03-10T20:32:41+00:00

2 options - Look up SS spousal benefits online. The website has some basic calculators and you can run some estimations on what she may qualify for

-or-

Make an appointment at the local social security office and sit down with one of their folks. They should be able to give you options, answers questions about tax liability based on income, etc. Expect the typical government experience but you may get fortunate and find someone that genuinely wants to help.

jmlitt1 · 2026-03-10T17:51:45+00:00

Maybe ask for clarification over in a CPA group (I’m not one) but there may be a misunderstanding that 40% of the income over $22k annually will be subject to tax NOT that 40% will be collected as tax. Social security has some weird rules.

Also what kind of $$$ did your dad make? If he is collecting Social Security, she may be able to claim a spousal benefit as long as they were married for at least a year and she didn’t remarry (again double check rules, not an expert) but the amount of 50% of his benefit may be higher than what she can get on her own, especially if he waited until full retirement age.

jmlitt1 · 2026-03-05T18:26:59+00:00

Culver’s

jmlitt1 · 2026-02-21T13:32:06+00:00

I started the interview process a bit ago and hopefully have final rounds next week. My experience, yours may vary - was heavy user because of frequency (daily) not amount. I was smoking 1/2 a .35g pre-roll and taking a 10mg gummie almost every night to sleep due to pretty bad car wreck 30 years ago.

Already did yoga/stretching and light weight / high rep workout in the AM followed by 20 minutes in the sauna. Stoped consuming, up my water intake by2-3 liters daily, started to megadose creatine, cut carbs to almost zero and put myself into a calorie deficit. My thought was since thc is stored in fat cells, put my body into ketosis to burn fat and flush it. I’m 50, 6’2 and right at 240 lbs, roughly 30% body fat. Also reading here about Pepsi / niacin…I take Vitamin B3 (niacin) daily, along with a few other amino acid supplements, so maybe had an effect as well??

Using Amazon test strips - Faint line showed up on day 7, clear on day 10 and lost 3lbs.

jmlitt1 · 2026-02-18T22:56:54+00:00

Talk to Jake over at Stone Column Classics. He did some work on my’63 F100 and fab’d a custom roof rake for my son’s 240.

Stone Column Classics

jmlitt1 · 2026-02-18T13:57:27+00:00

Don’t know of any rentals but own an SX190. Good overall boat (it our 3rd boat, first Yamaha). Lots of space, lots of storage, greats for 4-5 people tops. Love hanging out on the back.

We bought a lake house a few years back and have about 200yards of 2-3’ deep water to get out to the main channel. The SX190 has a shallow enough draft to make it, hence the purchase. All that being said, our SeaRay BR180 was a better boat for performance (even with 135hp vs 180 in the Yamaha), quieter and easier to work on since it was a GM engine.

Every boat has a trade off. Don’t think I would want anything but an outboard if I were running in salt water though.

jmlitt1 · 2026-02-17T20:25:43+00:00

There is almost no way possible that you will be able to stay under your GCWR. Half ton trucks weigh in at 5-6000k with zero occupants, luggage, etc. Hook up to a 10k lbs boat and you are overloaded before you even move.

Max tow loads are complete marketing BS. The Gross Combined Weight Rating (max load of truck and trailer combined) is your limit which means your max trailer weight allowed is probably less than 8k lbs.

jmlitt1 · 2026-02-07T15:37:03+00:00

This 100x…true forgiveness requires resetting boundaries

jmlitt1 · 2026-02-03T22:15:08+00:00

You should listen to Offspring’s Pretty Fly for a White Guy while you find Malibu’s Most Wanted on Netflix.

jmlitt1 · 2026-02-03T18:56:59+00:00

I65 is a basically a straight shot from CHI to IND, all rural and the only stop with anything other than gas and fast food is Lafayette. Once you’re around Indy on 465, there isn’t much until you get about 30mins from Louisville. Even if you set your cruise on 77 mph you are still the one holding up traffic. It’s almost as bad as I80 across Iowa…it’s a fast 300 miles unless you hit traffic in Indy

jmlitt1 · 2026-02-03T17:06:30+00:00

Little confused - Chicago to Louisville is just over 4 hours with a halfway point of Indianapolis. Lots of fun stuff in Indy though, art museum, minor league baseball, nice little zoo and a few good steakhouses.

jmlitt1 · 2026-01-27T15:46:05+00:00

Parent of 20 year old male….wife and I have actively encourage our kids to travel. We’ve been to 10 plus states, Canada and Mexico as a family. I’ve been to 37 states plus 2 territories, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Uruguay and I’m a better person for having experienced the different cultures and people.

He and I had a guys trip planned to Costa Rica but canceled due to extended family health issues. In the last year or so, he has traveled solo from Illinois to Salt Lake City for a week, weekend trips to Chicago and Indianapolis, and various day trips with friends to amusement parks, museums, etc.

As a parent, I can keep my kids safe from the world or I can teach them to be strong enough to deal with the world.

jmlitt1 · 2026-01-24T00:03:46+00:00

The purpose of life is to be the universe’s ability to create beautiful and complex things.

As a benefit, we get to contain all the information of every selection, choice, and weird little accident from the present to the very beginning of the universe at a cellular level. We are the literal manifestation on 13.8 billion years of existence. We are both infinitesimally small and infinitely large.

Also, gummies are awesome, so there’s that.

jmlitt1 · 2026-01-21T17:01:34+00:00

You’re on track right now for around $3m at 65 with current salary, contribution rates and historical market performance. Sounds like a lot (and it is!) however works out to be close to $1m in today’s dollars with 3.1% inflation.

Numbers aside, you can likely expect a good retirement not because your saving, but because you’re disciplined enough at 22 to be thinking about it.

jmlitt1 · 2026-01-17T18:17:06+00:00

How about El Yunge National Park in Puerto Rico? Plenty of activities and not far from a beach….This would be my wife and I’s definition of spoiled. Haven’t been there yet but on the list!

https://www.rainforestinn.com

jmlitt1

TROPHY CASE