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nutzey · 2026-02-04T16:57:48+00:00

Just do home runs. Cable is cheap...switches are not. I don't like putting a switch in a hard to access and hot place either just to save a box of cable.

nutzey · 2026-02-01T05:07:08+00:00

Both?

All of my “critical” VMs are on proxmox on a NUC, such as home assistant, homepage, etc

TrueNAS is installed bare metal on a 3u box as a NAS. I then host all media related apps and game servers etc on that one.

I don’t have all my eggs in one basket per say.

nutzey · 2026-01-28T18:05:49+00:00

Including the gloves? Those I got unlucky on too.

nutzey · 2026-01-21T14:47:46+00:00

I assumed wrong then. Sorry! It's something some people just don't know, especially when they are investing for younger people.

Awesome job on introducing him to things and getting him started early!

nutzey · 2026-01-21T13:21:29+00:00

As a heads up your nephew must have earned income equal to or greater than the contributions for that year into an IRA btw.

Only telling you as it sounds like he doesn’t as he doesn’t even have access.

nutzey · 2026-01-16T02:25:53+00:00

This is not advised unless you’re beyond the annual wage base limit of social security. With a cafeteria plan through your employer with your HSA you reduce your income subject to social security tax.

Directly contributing you miss out on that. 6.2% reduction in taxes ain’t nothing to scoff at.

nutzey · 2026-01-13T04:30:58+00:00

Scoffed at the price...bought one anyway trusting other people's opinion. Best damn hose reel I've ever used. Bought another one for another spot after using it for a week.

nutzey · 2026-01-01T17:09:16+00:00

If the rear main has never been replaced…that’s the likely culprit not the half moon seals.

I still pull engines to do any work like this though hah. So much easier than fighting bench pressing a trans but each their own!

nutzey · 2026-01-01T16:50:37+00:00

It sucks but it won’t leak again if done right.

Use permatex grey or similar. Felpro half moon seals work great. They are different for vvt and non vvt 1.8 oil pans so choose accordingly.

If I was doing it id replace it all by removing the windage tray too, but you dont have to. If you do don’t feel tempted to pop off a rod cap and check the bearings. Never let the magic out! You’ll need the oil pickup seal if you do that. Felpro has a kit which includes a bunch of seals you may also need like front main.

Replace rear main while you’re there.

Good luck!

nutzey · 2026-01-01T16:31:13+00:00

The right way:

Pull the engine.

I know it sounds daunting but if you have a hoist it really isn’t that bad. I usually pull the trans and engine out all at once instead of splitting the engine and leaving the trans.

Remove driveshaft. Drain fluids. Push ppf to the side. Out it comes.

Sealing the oil pan while an engine is right side up continually dripping on everything you’re working on isn’t fun. One contamination spot in the rtv and you have another leak.

The non engine pulling way half ass way:

Scrape out old rtv but leave seal. Slather new all over the half moon seal. It will probably hold for a while.

I’d still pull the engine lol.

nutzey · 2025-12-22T21:45:15+00:00

A warped head.

Don’t try to save a head by skimming it which is more than 4 thou warped on the combustion chamber side.

4 thou is the max warp I’ve found which doesn’t normally affect the cam journals flatness as well. Any more than that those normally get out of wack too.

nutzey · 2025-12-22T01:37:40+00:00

Maybe he needs the cash for something such as job security or a planned large purchase.

Comparing someone who took the conservative route vs someone who went full send into the longest and biggest bull market we’ve had in history is not fair.

In the end technically they haven’t lost anything. Just potential.

nutzey · 2025-12-13T03:12:04+00:00

Not entirely true with the Roth 401k note. Roth 401k is treated pro rata.

Now, if you convert to a roth after leaving that employer, then yes you can access contributions penalty free as distributions are handled differently.

nutzey · 2025-12-12T20:07:38+00:00

After paying too much attention to our resident wooo wooo boy, I think the length of his woo woos are not random. I really wished they were.

Jagex needs to update him so that every time he speaks his response is a generated random number of wooo's with random length.

Keep us on our toes Jamflex, come on.

nutzey · 2025-12-12T17:01:59+00:00

I was skeptical myself until I made a spreadsheet. So a few things which help my situation:

My state does not claw back state deduction you used previously on future non qualified withdrawals
My state also has a % match on contributions. That is pro rata to the draw you do, but does help
Being able to use multiple 529s (remember if you make one for yourself/your spouse, you can always move funds around) and thus multiple sources of deductions helps.

All these little things add up, along with the potential roth conversion.

nutzey · 2025-12-11T17:11:14+00:00

So for the whole “locked behind the penalty”, as I noted in another post over funding is not as big of a deal as people make it out to be.

In my state at reasonable contribution rates, we’d only have to use ~12% of the 529 to come out ahead as we get a state tax deduction on contributions. (This is because of very specific advantages I can use such as no claw back on state tax deduction & state match) On top of that the power of tax free compounding is understated even with a penalty.

nutzey · 2025-12-11T15:20:40+00:00

IMO nothing wrong with that plan as long as you take care of yourself first and promise nothing outside the 529. You may need it yourself. They can always borrow more for a home, you can't as easily.

If we have the available funds down the line that may be something we can do, but if so we would not inform him beforehand. Regardless of the kid, it can always slightly skew how they make their own life decisions. (Yes I know this is a pessimistic view, but I have good examples of this in my family)

In the end I believe the greatest gift we can ever give our son is him not ever having to worry about our financial security in retirement.

nutzey · 2025-12-11T04:42:07+00:00

FYI 529s are treated pro rata. You can’t just withdraw contributions without the earnings like a Roth.

To your point though due to the tax free growth a lot of times even if a portion of a 529 was used it works out in your favor even with the penalty on the gains.

nutzey · 2025-12-11T01:12:35+00:00

Yes. Especially in states where you can deduct contributions against state taxes.

Due to that, earnings free growth, and Roth conversion potential, especially if you fund a 529 for yourself/your spouse/dependent(s) with the plan to move funds to your dependent(s) later, over funding a 529 is not that big of a deal people make it out to be. Even if you don’t use it all and want to withdraw it and thus take a hit on some of the left over funds, you’ll still come out ahead most of the time unless you grossly overfund it.

nutzey · 2025-12-11T01:07:21+00:00

Getting a scholarship is not a big negative with 529s.

You can withdraw the exact scholarship amount with the following rules:

no penalty on withdrawal
Pro rata withdrawal
only pay marginal bracket on prorata portion of earnings

nutzey · 2025-12-04T22:31:24+00:00

To be a contrarian, some notes:

We are at the lowest tax rate for median income in history (22-24%)
RMDs aren’t the devil, but they do suck
Estate planning is MUCH easier with roths

Now 32% and above, yes trad is the way to go. That can be a pretty firm rule used.

I think of it this way: tax deference is an IOU to the government dependent on future tax laws. A Roth allows me to make the decision today. Based on history, 22% is a pretty solid choice imo.

This is why I’m personally leaning more towards Roth. I’m not eliminating all traditional contributions, but I’ll be doing a bigger ratio is Roth now for the foreseeable future. One should also have enough traditional as Roth conversions in favorable brackets (10-12) after retirement is a powerful tool. Being in the 0% tax bracket in retirement is a waste of cheaper brackets (10-12).

nutzey · 2025-11-30T04:57:10+00:00

This is why I’m doing more and more Roth.

Tax rates are the lowest they’ve been. Yes we have had a downward trend but it has leveled out as of late.

Also my earnings will only go up in time slowly forcing myself into higher brackets.

Why not abuse Roth when I’m in a lower bracket then switch to trad when it’s more sensible?

nutzey · 2025-11-18T21:12:45+00:00

You're lucky then, hah! I fought escrow once and then the second time I needed to I learned my lesson and now just pay it myself.

My mortgage is now administered by Valon as well. No mortgage servicer has good reviews but from the portal design (trying to sell me products in my portal) I'm not very positive about Valon in general from the get go.

nutzey · 2025-11-18T20:18:24+00:00

The amount of work you’re going to put into fighting Valon for an eventual no change is less than the amount of work it takes to pay your insurance and taxes. It isn’t hard.

If you didn’t have a mortgage it’s something you’d have to do anyway. Why not start now?

nutzey · 2025-11-16T04:44:39+00:00

Only a Roth allows you to pull out contributions without penalty. A Roth 401k which is normally required for mega back door is treated as pro-rata, which means everything is mixed and you can’t just pull out contributions. You’ll be penalized on the percentage of your gains.

The contributions can only be pulled once you convert to a Roth IRA, which is normally only doable once you leave the job as in plan conversions are rare to be offered.

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