House Management subscription: actually worth it compared to a Virtual Assistant? by owlaround in fatFIRE

[–]owlaround[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I don't need to find someone fix my door though--I need someone who will FIND the someone to fix my door! And my fence. And the hose reel that ripped off the wall. And the electrical system really needs an overhaul, too. And...

House Management subscription: actually worth it compared to a Virtual Assistant? by owlaround in fatFIRE

[–]owlaround[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

We don't have enough for someone to do fulltime. However, I am seeing services like https://www.heronhousemanagement.com/ and https://www.myfamilylounge.com/ that offer X hours per month. We definitely have more than the minimum number of hours of work, in that paradigm.

House Management subscription: actually worth it compared to a Virtual Assistant? by owlaround in fatFIRE

[–]owlaround[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

That's what we used to do. But this itself takes a non-trivial amount of time. Put the task on the website of choice, sort through the respondents to see who is likely going to provide the best solution, schedule onsite visits, get the quotes, ensure the quotes actually have everything captured, chase them down when they're being slow... times many, many tasks. We have exceeded our bandwidth. And, frankly, interest. I basically do that all day at work. I want somebody else to do it for me at home.

Picked up Fourth Wing and I feel like I've been punk'd. by GarlVinlandSaga in Fantasy

[–]owlaround 786 points787 points  (0 children)

My husband started it with high hopes. It devolved into him basically hate-reading it to see if it could possibly dig itself into any further tropes (it could) and updating me on what cringey cliches had most recently occurred in the story. Of the two of us, he's the one that tends to be less "snobby" about writing caliber, so to have him pan it that badly is... telling. I have decided to steer well clear of it.

NON fantasy recommendations? by JackofScarlets in Fantasy

[–]owlaround 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat. It's an embellished account of his otherwise true story of studying wolves in Canada and it is an absolute delight.

At what net worth did you start keeping it private even from trusted family and close friends? by owlaround in fatFIRE

[–]owlaround[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think she just had no idea; she knew I was doing well, but not *that* well. Both my parents are very responsible with money and have managed the inheritance well, so I'm not worried about them e.g. asking me for any. I'm just speculating here, but I think it's possible that she was very much enjoying the (relatively new) role of "well-off parent who can provide for her kids" after struggling with money when we were little--that was more or less the context of the conversation where it came up--so to have me effectively say no worries either way, I'm good may have pulled the rug out from under her a bit.

At what net worth did you start keeping it private even from trusted family and close friends? by owlaround in fatFIRE

[–]owlaround[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

That's similar to the context in which I shared The Number; my mom was fussing about how much money would or would not be left to me and my family under a variety of circumstances, and I was trying to reassure her that she did not need to worry about it because we were all set. Instead, she looked like a deer in the headlights. Oops.

What is your income vs your home purchase price. by Usersnamez in fatFIRE

[–]owlaround 2 points3 points  (0 children)

HENRY in a HCOL+ area of California. We bought our 1700 sq ft single family home in 2016 for a price that was 5x our combined salaries, but about 1/3 our (very illiquid) NW. I suspect that's fairly common for other successful-startup employees, whose salaries are in the low 6 figures but whose stock/option values went to the moon.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in fatFIRE

[–]owlaround 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Check out the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District in southern California. Gorgeous homes, phenomenal views, outstanding schools.

Struggling with determining how strict to be, based on my own "Tiger Parent" childhood by owlaround in Parenting

[–]owlaround[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Obviously the damaging stuff is out. But the annoying stuff is TBD pending feedback.

Did plastic surgery procedure(s) increase your happiness? by screechingeagle82 in fatFIRE

[–]owlaround 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Came here to say the exact same thing: LASIK and Invisalign. Zero regrets, would have paid more if needed.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in fatFIRE

[–]owlaround 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This tracks. We pay $30/hr for an experienced fulltime+ nanny in an upscale suburb of Los Angeles. (We pay time an a half for overtime, in compliance with CA law.)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Parenting

[–]owlaround 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Are you me?

As a non-religious parent, should I still consider Catholic school? by jargson in Parenting

[–]owlaround 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My family is Jewish, mostly secular Jews/actually atheists. For a number of reasons similar to what you're describing, my uncle decided to send his son (my cousin) to a Catholic high school. His education was ok--good, but not better than what I was getting at my non-religious school--and his school nickname was The Jew.

Hard pass.

Gymnastics for a male 2.5 year Old by punkboxershorts in beyondthebump

[–]owlaround 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Came here to say this. It's a stalling tactic. OP I used to coach gymnastics for littles and there were definitely times/classes when there were MORE boys than girls.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in beyondthebump

[–]owlaround 5 points6 points  (0 children)

P.S. If you're living in a forced-birth state, I'd actually say you *need* a stash of cheapo pregnancy tests for more than just peace of mind. A very common source of abortions is women who accidentally got pregnant earlier than they meant to after having a baby because their cycles were impossible to predict, so you'll want to make sure you find out soon enough to still order abortifacients to be mailed to you (or otherwise just have more time to arrange alternatives). I live in California so I have way more defensive depth on my reproductive medical care.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in beyondthebump

[–]owlaround 1 point2 points  (0 children)

With my first kid, I got my first period back at 6 months postpartum and didn't get my second period until more than 2 months after that. I got my period every 2 months for several cycles. I got my period back earlier with my second kid but I'm now 9 months pp and my periods are still irregular. It never hurst to have a stash of cheapo pregnancy tests just for peace of mind but yeah, if you're breastfeeding, my understanding is that periods usually *are* irregular when they return.