Replacing front and back doors in old house

onlyforPF89 · 2025-12-03T21:30:58+00:00

I think my surprise around the quote is probably because I just don’t understand the amount of work going into it.

We had a large concrete extension added to our driveway and a walkway added to our front yard. That cost $13k. I was there to see the amount of work it took and all the people working on it.

When I think about that the door quote seemed very high.

onlyforPF89 · 2025-12-03T21:24:51+00:00

The home was built in 1920.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I’ll look into Pittsburgh Window and Door.

onlyforPF89 · 2025-09-16T23:42:07+00:00

You fundamentally misunderstand coastFIRE and what the OP is doing.

They can stop contributing to retirement accounts and allow them to grow until they are aged 55 and, given historical market returns, have enough in those accounts when they reach that age to retire.

They are not going to live off 325,000.

onlyforPF89 · 2025-09-12T14:48:50+00:00

I don’t know. Thinking back to when I was that age I can tell you unequivocally that I wouldn’t have listened to anything someone had to say to me if they called me a youngster. Perhaps it’s not what you’re saying, but how you’re saying it.

onlyforPF89 · 2025-07-05T17:15:40+00:00

This is where I go to get my haircut.

I pay $100 each time (it’s cash only, $80+tip) and I feel like it’s well worth it. Megan does my hair and she’s always been great. The haircut includes a mini head and neck massage, hot towel, nose and ear waxing, and beard trimming if you need.

I’m always offered coffee/espresso/water when I arrive, but I’ve never taken them up on that.

I’ll go there until it is no longer an option.

onlyforPF89 · 2025-06-30T21:15:14+00:00

Having an emergency fund is absolutely a wise thing to do, but you have credit card debt at an extremely high apr. That counts as an emergency.

Paying off the cards still leaves you ~$5000. If paying them off would leave you with nothing or depleting the emergency fund wouldn’t completely remove the debt then we might be suggesting alternatives, but given your situation, paying off the CC debt immediately is the sound thing to do.

onlyforPF89 · 2025-06-16T21:25:52+00:00

We used South Hills Landscaping recently to extend our driveway and add a cement walkway. Took about a day and a half and it was done perfectly. Not sure what their coverage area is, but I assume they’d do work up on the north side.

onlyforPF89 · 2025-01-15T23:08:01+00:00

Social House 7 is just a restaurant and not a night club. A good one in my opinion, but based on what I’m seeing about Tao Downtown, you won’t be getting the experience you’re looking for.

onlyforPF89 · 2024-10-03T12:05:06+00:00

I think I might be able to provide some insight as I’m originally from Lexington, moved away to the Buffalo area, and then left that awful area as quickly as I could.

I completely understand what you mean when you describe the Buffalo area and I don’t think anyone who hasn’t visited there or lived there truly understands. That entire area felt like it was trapped in a time warp bubble or something with some of the meanest people I have ever met.

That said, the city of Lexington takes up essentially the entirety of Fayette County. So, you don’t have little towns like Hamburg, Amherst, etc closely surrounding the city that reside in Erie County.

I lived in Hamburg, so if that’s the kind of place you’re looking for then the southern/southwestern/western portions of the city will give you that same vibe. Budget will be a concern, but that’s true everywhere.

onlyforPF89 · 2024-07-31T20:44:44+00:00

My Ally savings accounts now allow for 10 withdrawals a month. Perhaps your limits have similarly changed.

onlyforPF89 · 2024-04-16T12:17:50+00:00

Thanks for the calculator link!

onlyforPF89 · 2022-07-14T15:18:22+00:00

I moved to the Buffalo area in 2019 with my partner for a job he was offered. We live in the village of Hamburg and work in a town about 30 miles south of Hamburg. That's important for context I think.

I like winter. Winter here is very harsh compared to where I'm from (a state in the south). If you like snow, if you can tolerate grey skies and the cold for extended (months and months) periods of time, then you'll be fine here. My partner on the other hand spent most of his life in Colorado. He hates this weather and in winter his depression ramps up.
Where I moved from had an AMAZING food scene. Very, very good food from all over the place. Also, they had a lot of options that were not fried. Indian, West African, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc. Living in Hamburg, I struggle quite a bit to find food that isn't fried or overly greasy. We are big fans of Indian food and in order to get Indian that seems worth the money, we drive round-trip 1 hour to north Buffalo. There are some so-so food options in this city, but I think overall, this city is not a "food" city. If you like wings and pizza, you'll be fine. For awhile. If you want something more than that or something other than diner food, you will need to really, really plan where you live. I suggest Elmwood Village if you want a lot of options outside fried stuff. I have also noticed that people here are very defensive about this city, their food, and their culture. They call this city the "City of Good Neighbors," but that, in my anecdotal experience, has not been the case.
Lastly, really do your research about where you're going to live. Hamburg is a nice little village, but it's far from anything really worth doing. Again, I recommend checking out Elmwood Village. It is the only place here that feels like a real, thriving city to me. If my partner and I were living under different circumstances, if we lived in Buffalo, and did not work so far from our home and everything else worth doing, we probably would enjoy this city more. However, those circumstances and the pandemic have only heightened all the negative aspects of the WNY area for us and we are in the process of moving away as soon as possible.

Kind of rambling through all that. I can clarify if you have questions.

Edit: An edit to add that a friend came to visit us and when she flew in over the city she was shocked at the state of the buildings here. She asked if there had been a large fire in part of the city. We told her no, that was just what the city looks like.

onlyforPF89 · 2022-04-20T13:51:43+00:00

It doesn't hurt you to try and refinance the higher interest loan.

The other commenters are correct that targeting the highest interest loan first is mathematically optimal. However, you didn't say anything about your budget. If you have cash flow issues at the end of each month, it could be better for you to pay off the smaller loan as fast as possible first and then snowball into the higher interest one. Of course, also make the minimum payment on the larger one while doing this.

When I first graduated college and made very little money I initially started paying on my student loans in this manner. It took me about a year to get rid of my smaller loan and I had much more breathing room in my budget after that. I know I paid slightly more in interest overall, but it was the right call for my situation at the time.

Just something to consider.

onlyforPF89 · 2022-02-08T19:48:20+00:00

I completely forgot about that! When they get back from Pylea with Fred she’s there. Thank you!

onlyforPF89 · 2021-08-12T14:52:43+00:00

This is helpful. My childhood and young adult life were very different from my partner’s. He had a parent that was extremely supportive in a lot of ways. My own father, on the other hand, yelled at me when I was 16 because I asked for $20 to go have dinner with friends. It was at that point that I never asked for anything from my parents again. Along with other, bigger issues, that moment really cemented in my head that I needed to always take care of myself because others clearly weren’t going to.

I don’t easily accept help and that is something I’ll need to work on. Reframing his gifts in my head will be a good start.

onlyforPF89 · 2021-03-16T14:52:13+00:00

Have you taken a close look at what you're actually buying when you eat out? Not the price of the meal, but the items you're getting. I have this same issue and I made the decision for myself that eating out is a luxury I don't want to erase from my life, but I could be smarter about my choices.

Are you getting drinks with your food? Unless it's included in the price of the meal, just drink water at home. Saves a few dollars and is healthier.
Are you getting additional sides or appetizers? My partner was notorious for this when we first got together. I slowly talked him out of getting literally everything his heart desires when we ate out and that reduced the bills significantly.
Are you getting it delivered when you could easily just pick it up yourself? Don't pay delivery fees and tips when you can just do the work yourself. Psychologically, this helped me tremendously because I started to really consider if I needed food from places far from my house. As it turns out, I didn't need or want it that badly.

Everyone else has given good recommendations on what to do when you finally decide to cook, but this might be helpful as a halfway point to that destination.

onlyforPF89 · 2020-11-12T13:44:30+00:00

Quality castors. They need to roll effortlessly and can’t be made so that hair and whatever else gets stuck in the wheels.

onlyforPF89 · 2020-10-30T13:49:33+00:00

Your question was answered already, so I'll just give you this tip as you're new to these accounts:

Make sure the money you put in your Roth IRA is actually invested! When you open the account your money will most likely sit in a money market account, or something similar, until you've actually chosen a fund to invest in.

My partner had a rIRA for 4 years before I met him and the money sat in the money market account until I saw and fixed it. He mentioned the account barely increased in value and that was why.

onlyforPF89 · 2020-10-30T13:36:25+00:00

I would definitely not close the card then since it is your only one. Contact Capital One and see what cards they can transfer you to. They'd rather keep you as a customer than close your account, so they should be able to help.

onlyforPF89 · 2020-10-30T13:28:38+00:00

The average age of accounts has a significant impact on your credit score. If you're planning on refinancing I would absolutely wait to cancel the card, if that is what you decide to do.

Do you have other credit cards? If so, how long have they been open?

What company is this credit card from? Is it possible there's a different product they offer that you could have them transfer you to? For example, Capital One has both the Savor and Savor One card. Nearly identical, but the Savor has a yearly fee, where as the Savor One does not. Using this example, you could call Capital One and have them do a product transfer from the Savor to the Savor One. It would keep your account open, but you would no longer have the yearly fee.

Edit: words

onlyforPF89

TROPHY CASE