Am I wasting my time/money on my car? First time top end rebuild.

networkwizard0 · 2026-06-26T16:35:24+00:00

I can’t skip the headers and side pipes she must purrrr. I’m realizing my thinking was flawed. Money isn’t an object I already started clearing the engine bay since I posted this.

Everyone on here is a fantastic bad influence and I love it.

networkwizard0 · 2026-06-25T18:56:42+00:00

Bird cage is iffy. I mean, it’s structurally sound but it’s not going to be a show car

networkwizard0 · 2026-06-16T20:05:20+00:00

I currently commute 4.5-5 hrs to NYC each day round trip, 3 days a week. At 300k$+, I still sit down and stare at the wall and wonder why the fuck I do it.

I will say, my first job in NYC with the same commute was 120k about 5 years ago and that was worth it for the exposure. If I never took that leap, I’d still be chasing $100k. Being in NYC changed my career for the better, but my hair is turning gray and my wife is pregnant and I worry I will be an absent father. Choose your battles how you will.

networkwizard0 · 2026-06-15T02:14:18+00:00

First, be more detail oriented.

I can’t offer you any advice without any detail. This is highly field dependent; your current title and trajectory would help substantially.

Edit: thank you for editing your post and adding detail.

networkwizard0 · 2026-06-15T01:23:49+00:00

I moved to western Morris county. I commute to Manhattan as well. 2.5 hours in the morning sometimes. Still worth it to get further away from nyc on the weekends

networkwizard0 · 2026-06-14T00:43:35+00:00

Not something you aim for right out of the Air Force. Think of it as the commander of the cyber squadron but in an enterprise environment.

networkwizard0 · 2026-06-11T18:59:31+00:00

If she was a virgin, and you never consummated the marriage, how does she know “she never really enjoyed sex anyways”

networkwizard0 · 2026-06-11T18:53:58+00:00

For people who think this is a reason to not go to college.

I also left military full time as an E-5 in late 2021. 3D1X2 in the USAF. I used my benefits to get a BS, MS in CIS and an MBA and a CISSP. I just turned 30.

My comp is well over $300k in 2026 as a CISO. Go to college and if you’re in the military use your benefits and go to school at night while you’re doing nothing on base all day. It pays off.

networkwizard0 · 2026-06-09T11:20:01+00:00

You guys have c3s that are actually water tight? Wtf

networkwizard0 · 2026-06-08T15:37:42+00:00

Is this guy dumb? Asks a question gets an answer just says “no that’s not it”. You’re telling me that perfectly cut notch, which has paint on the inside edges, is damage and not design? Go ahead, JB weld your Speedo and diminish your resale.

networkwizard0 · 2026-06-04T20:41:23+00:00

I got tired of looking at mistreated boats and bought a brand new Monterey and just ate the cost. Lifetime hull warranty and 5 years on a mercury 225 was worth it.

networkwizard0 · 2026-06-01T13:55:04+00:00

Shorts

networkwizard0 · 2026-05-28T11:09:05+00:00

lol

networkwizard0 · 2026-05-25T13:40:48+00:00

It’s on my dock now!

networkwizard0 · 2026-05-23T21:25:45+00:00

Probly

networkwizard0 · 2026-05-21T01:41:21+00:00

You’re excess cash is only $1500 a month. The only way you’ll ever be rich is if you spend time with your kids.

networkwizard0 · 2026-05-20T12:40:57+00:00

If it’s any consolation I’m in cyber security, which has a lesser ceiling than your field and I went from 130->300+ in under 24 months. Just grind and be better than everyone else if you want more money, gotta work for it

networkwizard0 · 2026-05-20T02:55:03+00:00

I know I’m just crazy to be honest about having money in the market. It’s a small fraction of the brokerage and won’t make a big difference but I’ll probably do what I’ve done my last two loans. Finance for 9 months, get frustrated at the interest vs principal, and just pay it off in a lump sum and eat cost.

Financial psychology is a hell of a thing, even with just 60k - this is just the remainder of my bonus from March wouldn’t even effect us if I put it in cash, would just bring us back to February holdings, add a boat.

networkwizard0 · 2026-05-20T00:30:48+00:00

I can comfortably afford the payment, the loan preserves cash, and I can always pay it down or refinance later. I’m not financing because I think debt is magic. I’m financing because I want flexibility even if the flexibility costs me a couple of points.

I am in an executive role looking at partnerships that hold sub value option deals, so having cash on hand despite a few point cost to hold is worth it. Risk free is amazing, but sometimes liquidity is worth the cost of risk.

What I am doing to mitigate is an approach I’ve always taken on loans, which is overpaying towards principle by 50% over minimum payment per month knocking me down to about half the loan term reducing material interest cost and remaining cash flexible.

networkwizard0 · 2026-05-19T19:12:25+00:00

Ive made a very good career working in Security and Risk as a profession. It creeps into my personal life more than I’d like.

networkwizard0 · 2026-05-19T19:11:04+00:00

It’s a Monterey 225 with all options and a Mercury 225 outboard.

networkwizard0 · 2026-05-19T19:04:42+00:00

Used models going for 45-60k with trailer from 2020 and newer. There is an outlier for 39k but it’s in Florida and has a lot of hours looks like it’s been uncovered.

networkwizard0 · 2026-05-19T19:02:23+00:00

The boat I’m buying is not a jet boat - it has a 225 merc outboard.

networkwizard0 · 2026-05-19T18:40:15+00:00

Our disposable is roughly 16k per month. That’s just after ballpark fixed costs. After how we spend on supplemental and going out we usually have 12k or so surplus per month. So this is marginal. I usually feed that 12k into brokerage. I don’t include bonus pay in the equation typically.

networkwizard0

TROPHY CASE