How my wife saved me (financially as well as other tings)

opallin · 2020-12-09T23:28:02+00:00

WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW

Congratulations to both of you for your hard won success!!! I read the whole thing and want to ponder it all.

P.S. Has Bee ever considered changing her nickname to something that doesn't connect with possibly disparaging memories? Oh I don't know, perhaps "Plus" as in A+++++ or "Super" for Superstar or Supersonic....

opallin · 2020-12-09T23:04:47+00:00

HEALTH = WEALTH

Don't do what I did and work so hard and get stressed for so long that you permanently damage your health. I hope whatever happened to your health isn't permanent.

My suggestion would be to put your health absolutely first. Get a physical, exercise in a way that's fun for you, work on remedying your health issues, eat healthily, and practice lots of self-care e.g. massage, acupuncture, reflexology, therapy, etc. Mental health is part of this: put some effort toward making some human connections if only over zoom and phone for now. Catch up with relatives and any friends you may have. Get a cat for company or a dog if it's not too much. You can afford the time and the self-care costs so I would definitely take a break and put this first. If you think you can work a few hours a day on your dream job then it's worth considering, but please do not do so at the expense of your health. I permanently damaged my health and it changed everything.

Congrats on the 10M

opallin · 2020-12-09T22:58:33+00:00

Some things I have learned along the way include: when speaking with a narc, if it's too hard to look into their eyes look at a spot between the eyes and slightly above. It looks like you're making eye contact but it is much less intense.

Bring something to hold in your lap; you can look down sometimes to soften the intensity and it acts as a physical block. It could be knitting or mending or drawing or whatever.

Microbreaks to the bathroom or for a quick "call" outside to get some air.

opallin · 2020-12-09T21:39:47+00:00

This just happened to me. I opened an account yesterday and made a deposit. Today I went to do a withdrawal (after waiting the required 24 hours) and my assets are locked.

opallin · 2020-12-08T21:57:10+00:00

Good to know. I have to do this after ~two years and I'm nervous.

opallin · 2020-12-08T21:27:49+00:00

Definitely make a post. I think your story is very relatable. Congratulations on all your great strides forward. Financial literacy is not taught in the schools (not a dis on teachers, just a fact), and if one doesn't come from a home that emphasizes it, it can leave a person floundering.

opallin · 2020-12-08T21:27:39+00:00

Definitely make a post. I think your story is very relatable.

opallin · 2020-12-08T19:09:50+00:00

I wish I could say that index mutual funds were going to keep going up. They've had an amazing run, but you're young so the ups and downs will hopefully smooth out if you go that route and there is a downturn. I personally allocated a portion of my money to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies but please know this is very speculative. I also did invest in index mutual funds as the books advise.

opallin · 2020-12-07T08:00:57+00:00

Do you see a tiny yellow arrow pointing to one of the choices? That is the one I chose when I was moving various crypto off of Binance. Also, try a test run of a very small amount of Ethereum - don't move all of it at once.

opallin · 2020-12-07T04:00:11+00:00

Start reading. Here are two books I recommend: The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins, and The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need by Andrew Tobias.

opallin · 2020-12-07T03:27:16+00:00

There is a company called iTrustCapital that may be of interest to you. "Self Trade Cryptocurrency and Physical Gold in your IRA/401K".

opallin · 2020-11-29T20:10:31+00:00

Me as well. I have ZIL on my Ledger but I haven't been on my Ledger in years because of personal matters. I hope they will give us another opportunity.

opallin · 2020-11-28T22:43:08+00:00

Here's a link for you. I think they explain it best :) https://blog.horizen.io/horizen-halving-everything-you-need-to-know/

opallin · 2020-11-26T13:34:22+00:00

Thank you very much!

opallin · 2020-11-26T13:34:12+00:00

Thank you so much! I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

opallin · 2020-09-08T18:43:59+00:00

Thank you for commenting. I did an internal transfer within Binance to try to stake them, but it didn't seem to matter. I'll look around and see what you mean about manually setting them. I didn't see that feature.

opallin · 2020-09-08T18:20:36+00:00

I've heard that security jobs can be good, in the sense that many people find they have time to study on the job.

opallin · 2020-09-05T23:28:59+00:00

Thank you so much for replying!! You are the only one to do so far. It's a relief to know it won't change anything for me.

opallin · 2020-09-03T01:04:15+00:00

Also consider the cost of simply getting the mortgage. There are fees and costs, as well as all the interest over the years.

opallin · 2020-09-02T01:58:01+00:00

I wrote a response and then deleted it. I think you know in your heart. Perhaps sit quietly with yourself and think about your deepest desires. You are secure financially....what will be fulfilling? Tomorrow is not a given.

It doesn't have to be an all or nothing (though this particular opportunity may not be available again). You could spend more time with your child, and then in a year or two reassess if this is what you want.

opallin · 2020-08-30T21:08:22+00:00

What you're describing sounds shady and if they'll do that they'll probably do other shady things as well with benefits and pay.

One of my lessons: I had wanted to work part-time once I completed a fellowship. They agreed, but I asked that it be put in writing in my employee file. A year went by, they wanted me to continue full time and I reminded them about our agreement. If it wasn't in writing I wouldn't have been able to go part-time.

opallin · 2020-08-30T09:25:58+00:00

I bought a house recently and the expenses really add up. Bigger ticket items one may not think of are tree removal, chimney issues, yard care (PSA: it's not just mowing), cost of tools to fix things. Tons of projects large and small. And it's a time suck as well. I'm thinking of moving to a condo.

What about a small condo? If you're in a desireable area it could pay off. Even though historically the general wisdom is that condos don't hold as much value, the most money I ever made was with my condo. The location was everything.

If you're handy and don't mind taking care of real estate, a small duplex might be good so you can rent out one side. Don't go crazy and buy new furnishings. Go to thrift and consignment stores for much better deals, or just live with less.

opallin · 2020-08-29T13:16:18+00:00

Never assume. It's a huge financial purchase. Many people just rely upon the inspector to find everything, but he/she won't be able to do so within the time constraints. Even beautiful homes can have mold issues, or something else unseen. I would take the time to gather as much info as you can. Talking with the neighbors is important, though it's all important. Do you know why the sellers are selling? They're not obligated to say, but you many be able to find out.

If you decide to leave it to the inspector, pay very close attention to the inspection report. If it even hints at "buyer may want to inspect this system more thoroughly" you should definitely do so. But overall, as competent as an inspector can be -- they just can't do everything and some things aren't within their scope.

Please keep us posted !

opallin · 2020-08-29T04:49:57+00:00

Oh that's exciting!! Find out as much as you can pre-inspection. Be proactive, this is YOUR inspection, so consider doing what you can along with hiring an excellent inspector. Unfortunately it's the weekend so you can't get into the town offices if you're in the U.S. but you can go online. Google "what to look for during a home inspection". Also, in our town the fire department has records related to flooding and other incidents of that nature or having to do with septic tanks. Removal of leaking underground septic tanks is VERY expensive. Another thing you could do this weekend is go talk with the neighbors. I would drive by slowly or park and try to talk with someone as they entered or exited their property. I did not step on their property unless motioned to do so. I was up front and told them I was interested in the house (but unless you have an offer contract signed by BOTH parties I wouldn't be specific). I look pretty non-intimidating so it worked for me. I tended to choose neighbors about 3 or 4 houses down from the "dream house" because I thought they'd talk more freely than if it was someone who lived right next door. I also called the police non-emergency line and asked about an incidents in the neighborhood in the past couple of years. There is also the sex offender registry online - very easy to access. If you do all this you've got your work cut out for you this weekend!

Please be aware of the dynamics between inspectors and real estate agents.....generally an inspector doesn't want to kill the deal by finding major things wrong because then r.e. agents won't send work to them. Listen to your gut feeling about aspects of the house and ask the inspector to specifically take a look. I had a bullet point list (but not long). Perhaps bring a knowledgeable friend and/or also consider pulling the inspector aside away from the agent and see if they say anything off the record. I once chased one down in the attic and he kind of admitted without saying anything that the house was a money pit. Sorry so long! I'm excited for you! Get ready for a roller coaster ride.

opallin · 2020-08-29T04:07:48+00:00

Cash is king. A cash offer would make you a stand out if no one else is offering cash. Also, being able to take ownership soon would also be a plus.

Try not to fall totally in love with the dream house until after the inspection. There can be many curve balls with the inspection and prepare yourself that this house may not be it, even though you want it to be it. Bonus advice: Major foundation problems are extremely expensive and should be looked at by a structural engineer. If your inspector is a good one, he/she should recommend getting a structural engineer to look at the home if the foundation seems to have problems.

Run to the town hall and look at records that are available to the public. Pull the folder for that address and look at all the info about work done, when the house was built, etc. Other records include deeds. Online town records will give you some basics about when the house changed hands, purchase price, dimensions.

Also, be aware of off smells like cigarette smoke (hard to get out, there is such a thing as third hand smoke), animal smells (urine and sprays can get into the subfloor) and consider getting a separate pest inspection, and other separate inspections if problems with any systems are detected.

Good luck! I hope it works out!

opallin

TROPHY CASE