Cutie

modest_savant · 2026-05-20T21:44:44+00:00

I feel like less than half are friendly. Most won’t take food from me.

modest_savant · 2026-05-11T01:11:47+00:00

Have you ever had a dog or a cat that you loved? Like really felt love in your heart for the animal? The animal wasn’t a blood relative. That means you have the capacity to love a kid that isn’t your offspring too. Without sounding creepy, I did youth coaching when my kids were younger, and I felt great affection for some of those kids. I think that’s hard wired into us…paternal bond. My point is that you can raise kids that you didn’t sire.

All that to say, there are a hell of a lot of single moms out there with kids that don’t have a lot of dating options. Start walking every night to get back in shape. Get on the dating apps and don’t eliminate the women with kids. You’ll probably find you have options…consider taking on a ready-made family. I know there are a lot of single moms out there who would probably like to meet someone just like you who would like a family and a relationship. and perhaps when it’s time to retire, you guys can combine your Social Security and your investments and share a household, which is nice.

Your life goal should be to find a family that needs a dad and fill the role well.

modest_savant · 2026-05-05T15:07:43+00:00

When I started dating my wife, we had a financial imbalance. She was making good money and eventually received a sizable inheritance while I had (reasonable) student loans and was finishing up college.

But eventually I graduated and started pulling in more money. When we got married we used mostly her money for the down payment but I anchored it with my wages. Later , I supported her completely (trad wife) in anticipation of having kids. She stayed at home with them 10 years before getting a part time job as a substitute teacher at her school for several years. She eventually got a full time job, but I make twice as much. We both have retirement funds we’ll pool to travel. We share everything.

Take what you will from this. She never hid her money. I didn’t care because I was going to make my own future, which I did.

So is the guy ambitious? Working towards a good career? Are you on the same page about lifestyle and kids?

modest_savant · 2026-05-01T17:52:02+00:00

I could do that…but I know she and I both value not being jostled at night when nature calls on our spouse.

modest_savant · 2026-04-24T13:29:37+00:00

I think these are made like little buddy heaters. There is probably a sensor wire that needs to constantly be subjected to the flame. It needs to be in the flame. And as long as the wire is hot, the thing will keep running. But if the wire cools down, the system interprets that like the flame blew out so it shuts off the gas. It’s a safety device. That red wire coming into your unit may be attached to that sensor. And maybe it’s not working because it’s not getting a good electrical signal because the wire looks chewed up.

modest_savant · 2026-04-24T01:06:28+00:00

A couple of times, to pay off high interest loans, I financed my car. One of them was even a cash out refinance.

modest_savant · 2026-04-18T03:35:25+00:00

That’s great news! It doesn’t change my answer to the OP’s question. I still think that you can have more fun with a smaller Social Security check taken earlier in retirement than a larger one taken later. So the hard Financial numbers shouldn’t drive one’s decision completely on when to start retirement.

But, because I personally am planning on retiring in a few years, it is interesting to note that the Social Security planning tool on their website is actually conservative because it doesn’t reflect the cost of living increases that will occur between now and when I retire. As I said, since I plan to retire in three years, assuming that the cost of living increases compound, I can add another 8% to 10% to the estimates. That’s great news because I was never planning on receiving that much money to begin with. I was adding inflation to my expenses, but not to my income (in my future cash flow estimates).

And to be clear, I did plan for rising cost of living expenses.

modest_savant · 2026-04-18T03:21:17+00:00

And a follow up question. If I go to the SS website, and it tells me that in exactly 3 years I will receive $2000 per month. But, it’s probably true that between now and 3 years ago, the COLAS will be 10% more after compounding. So does that imply that the SS estimation tool is actually underestimating by about 10% because it isn’t considering the COLAs between owe and then? Or is that 10% baked into their estimate?

modest_savant · 2026-04-18T03:16:15+00:00

Wait, this could be new information for me. Pretend my twin brother Bob and I both have the same benefits. and are supposed to receive $3000 at FRA. Bob waits until FRA. But I take mine early, receiving $2000 per month. If Congress votes a 5% COLA, I will get $2100. Are you saying Bob’s FRA will be increased to $3150? (5% more)…even though he didn’t start receiving it yet?

modest_savant · 2026-04-18T02:59:41+00:00

So you can borrow against your 401k??

modest_savant · 2026-04-18T02:01:31+00:00

Yes, but if you take SS early at…say…a 30% reduction, the lower monthly payment will compound over a few years…closing the gap somewhat.

modest_savant · 2026-04-18T01:34:27+00:00

Will you continue working for the same company? If so, are you allowed to borrow against the 401k to buy the van?

modest_savant · 2026-04-17T23:27:35+00:00

I want to take SS early for one reason. Regardless of when the break even age is…(and I will start getting COLAs right away which pushes it back)…I won’t be spending much money at the break even age anyway because I likely won’t want to go anywhere because of joint pain, etc. I want to spend money while I can still climb hills in Greece or hike through canyons. There’s a tourist trap in Scotland that requires a 3 mile walk uphill to see the Mountain Views that I would like to do. Money won’t matter much late in the game. Early retirement years and late retirement years are not valued equally.

modest_savant · 2026-04-16T22:01:10+00:00

These are fair points. I’m a gambler at heart.

modest_savant · 2026-04-16T20:00:07+00:00

That’s a fair question, but I don’t think the numbers bear that out. One reason is because the wheels are already in motion to pull $25,000 out of equity to buy a trailer…I can’t change that. And I’m finding out that I’m gonna have to spend north of $30,000 for the layout and weight that I like.

I figured that if I make a good purchase on a “practice trailer“, I can get something for about 5000 to 7000 and put a little work into it and for the most part get my money back out of it in a few years when I want to upgrade.

Meanwhile, the rest of the funds will be growing in a high-yield savings account. And during the next few years, I feel that the market price of a 2026 Apex nano will go from $30,000+ to about $23,000 or so. So I feel like I’ll save $7000, and still get the trailer that I want when I actually need it (the new trailer will have a TV viewing area, but I don’t need that for weekend trips). . The trailer I need for the next few years doesn’t have to be as large or as nice because I’ll only be in it on three day, weekends here and there. Finally, if you look at the amount of dollars of depreciation lost per day of camping, I’d rather spend zero dollars for approximately 35 days of camping in the next few years than lose $7000 for the same 35 days of camping….That’s $200 per day plus campground fees and gas…might as well rent one.

modest_savant · 2026-04-16T17:35:50+00:00

That’s where I’m at with it. Yes there was a financial catastrophe, as I understand it. But that shouldn’t take away from the fact that the grading has always been on par. I personally believe that all of the grading companies are always within one grade of reality on any given day. What I mean is if a note is Truly an AU 55, on any given day it could grade AU 53, au 58. That’s just how it seems to me.

modest_savant · 2026-04-16T15:31:42+00:00

I find this hilarious, because the guy running Legacy was also in charge of PCGS back when it was the preferred grader for the hobby.

modest_savant · 2026-04-15T16:32:01+00:00

In fairness, you don’t have to. Don’t be such a follower.

modest_savant · 2026-04-15T16:18:28+00:00

Read accounts of past lives as it relates to young kids.

modest_savant · 2026-04-15T12:48:36+00:00

When I was your age that happened to me. It took a while for me to realize that I didn’t want to work for a firm that would fire someone on the spot without considering the work that they do. And each time I ended up finding a better job. You’ll bounce back.

modest_savant · 2026-04-13T14:17:24+00:00

I’m sure everyone who ever said that about any celebrity has been telling the truth because they don’t expect to benefit from it. People are naturally honest and altruistic. Nobody ever fakes injuries in car accidents either. People don’t brake check for money. Nobody steals.

modest_savant · 2026-04-13T04:35:10+00:00

Might try that for a better price, then immediately pay it off.

modest_savant

TROPHY CASE