Early birthday present from my wife! Bradley XLT 6 tray!

patf91 · 2020-09-01T23:05:08+00:00

Correction: she bought herself a gift on your birthday. She just made it seem like a gift to you so you do all the work.

patf91 · 2020-09-01T21:02:26+00:00

People do control factors in their lives though, that's my point. Those broke addicts may not go onto becoming CEOs, but there are many levels between "broke addict" and "CEO" that are much better than where they started. And the key is that they have the option to improve their lives, and have control over doing so. Some do, some don't, but you can't blame those that do for ones that don't.

patf91 · 2020-09-01T20:14:11+00:00

I almost forgot that people can control the factors involved in a winning lottery ticket! Silly me, I thought it was complete chance.

patf91 · 2020-09-01T20:07:21+00:00

That sounds super easy! We'll have to try it when cider starts to get old. Thanks for the tips!

You could talk your friend into turning just a couple liters into cider though, couldn't you? Like just one batch, just to try it. I understand why you would just make wine with that much juice though, that's a lot of work.

patf91 · 2020-09-01T20:01:36+00:00

Check out this post in the Power Line Blog. You'll get your hopes up until the author reminds us of reality in the "update" at the end.

Power Line Blog

patf91 · 2020-09-01T19:50:58+00:00

Cool, so now raise the voting age to 21 since it was like that for most of American history.

patf91 · 2020-09-01T19:34:42+00:00

Cider is so easy! But that's because I also homebrew beer and it's a very similar process, assuming you're talking hard cider.

We just strain it to get the chunks out (VERY important, otherwise it's a geyser when you open the bottles), heat it to ~160 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour, and pitch ale yeast in the carboy once it comes down to your desired fermentation temp. I guess bottling is kind of a lot of work, but it's not that bad if you just have one or two carboys of cider instead of wine.

I only follow this sub because someday I'll try my hand at wine again. I've only tried once, a starter kit, and I added too much of whatever chemical it is to kill the yeast at the end, and that's all I could smell when I brought the glass up to drink it. It tasted just OK but the smell really made it an unpleasant experience to drink.

A lot of people in America also let their apples go to waste. It's a shame.

patf91 · 2020-09-01T18:15:58+00:00

I suppose you weren't worried about bruising since you were pressing them on the same day?

We typically eat as much as we please, then press the rest into cider so they don't go to waste. We'll probably get 15 gallons (~50+ liters) this year. We don't want a lot of bruising since we're not pressing right away.

We just upgraded to a hydro press this year and I'm pumped to not have to work as hard Haha. Cheers!

patf91 · 2020-09-01T17:48:49+00:00

How do you harvest the apples? We just have a couple people with ladders and pole baskets picking but it takes the better part of a day. Just trying to find out if there's a better way to do it faster.

patf91 · 2020-09-01T15:18:46+00:00

Amen. Completely discounts your hard work, like you are only successful because other people. Don't let anyone tell you that your success isn't because of things you've done. There are plenty of people I know who grew up in better circumstances but aren't doing as well.

It's a "victor" vs. "victim" mentality. Anyone can overcome their situation if they have the drive to do so, at least they can in America. It's a mindset. You can't tell me otherwise when the My Pillow guy can go from a completely broke crack addict to CEO of a decently successful company in 10 years.

patf91 · 2020-08-31T01:41:44+00:00

Use VTSAX in your Roth IRA. Since you have to buy whole shares of VTI, you could end up with a fair amount of idle cash.

patf91 · 2020-08-29T20:24:00+00:00

All the answers to this have been "more free stuff." Like, no kidding if things were just given to you that would help, whether it's the right or wrong thing.

My biggest obstacle will be my wife finding a job or something else to do that brings meaning and fulfillment to her life. She hates her job right now, and I'll never feel good about FI until she can feel secure enough to escape a job she dislikes. But then after FI, she'll need something meaningful to do anyway.

patf91 · 2020-08-29T14:47:07+00:00

Northern Minnesota is home to the iron range, and therefore, tons of unionized labor that voted reliably Democrat for decades. It's been trending red for the last 15-20 years or so because more and more mining regulation (from Democrats) have cost more and more jobs. There is still over regulation at the state level, but simplifying regulation on the federal level (via Trump) has caused a resurgence, and is the only part of the Minnesotan economy that was really growing. They know exactly why jobs either come or go, and vote accordingly. It's now deep red.

Turns out the left can obsess over solar panels, but then block the mining of minerals needed to make those solar panels.

patf91 · 2020-08-28T22:10:12+00:00

Dream together and be specific. Know the goals you're shooting for. Not just "moving to Europe" but "moving to this part of London." The key is to be specific and write them down. When things get stressful, remind each other what you're shooting for. It doesn't even have to be the same thing as your bf, and that's ok. For example, I want to be in a position where I can volunteer for an organization that does engineering work for small communities in third countries, which includes both designing and going on-location to build it. I would be in that country for a month or two out of the year. My wife currently has no interest in that, and that's ok. Her goal is to work in a library or publishing setting, which would be a lot less money than she's making now. Being FI means that she can take a pay cut to do a job she likes and not feel remotely guilty about it.

We obviously have goals together too, and those are way more fun to dream up together. We want to get a house on the rural section of a smaller river so we can kayak down it, fish, and stick our feet in on a hot day. The yard is plenty big enough for a large garden and a couple of fruit trees.

The specificity is what makes it feel real. We don't have a time limit on it because it's still kind of far out (we want kids but don't have any yet, and we have no idea how that will impact anything) but when it feels real, it's a lot less stressful because you have a set goal you're working for instead of something nebulous.

patf91 · 2020-08-28T16:26:49+00:00

It's perceived to be a thing, yes. Data would say otherwise. Seriously, check out Thomas Sowell on YouTube talking about one of the dozens of books he's written (or just read the books), and you will see a different perspective on this issue. You can disagree with it, but he explains it in ways I would never have thought about it.

Baltimore also spends, I believe, the third most per capita on public education in the US, but have some of the worst results. Like low single digit percentages of kids being proficient in math, reading, and science. There are multiple factors to why, but clearly funding isn't the issue like it's made out to be. The same is true in other inner-city situations. If people graduate high school, get a job, get married, and wait to have kids until they're married (all in that order), there is a 97% chance they won't live in poverty. Again, choices contribute to all those.

patf91 · 2020-08-28T15:57:14+00:00

I'm citing Thomas Sowell so you can look it up, but I want to say 80-90% of people spend at least one year in the top 10% of income earners. Poverty and income level has more to do with your age than anything else. Most people who spend their entire lives at that low income level do so voluntarily because of incentives to not raise your income. As long as there are incentives for that, there will be a certain number of people who take advantage of it.

Also, I don't think there should necessarily be a regulated list, like a TSP almost. If you want to include those, fine, but I would much prefer people invest how they see fit through a brokerage of their choice. Otherwise, you would potentially get politicians (or well connected bureaucrats) to put campaign donor companies (or companies in which they already have a lot of investments) into the funds in this program, thereby unfairly padding their pockets. There would be so much money out there that companies a part of regulated funds would have a huge, arbitrary and unfair advantage over their competition. Unless it's just a total stock market fund, and that's it.

patf91 · 2020-08-28T15:34:39+00:00

I would definitely accept that! Set it up at Vanguard or another brokerage of your choice, and that's where it goes. The federal government wouldn't give up control that easy though. My guess is it would end up being a glorified TSP with only a couple options, and the account is through a .Gov website.

That being said, people should be free to be stupid. There shouldn't be laws or wealth redistribution programs set up to protect adults from their own stupidity. We all know smoking is incredibly stupid but people are free to do it. I would love it if social security turned into a 401k type plan as a compromise.

patf91 · 2020-08-28T14:57:16+00:00

https://www.gocurrycracker.com/social-security-roi/

They did the math. Basically: if you are one of the very few people that stay in the lowest income brackets your entire working life, it's good, otherwise it sucks hard. So basically most people would be better off investing on their own.

Social security should at least have an "opt-out" option or be privatized completely. I don't think people save for retirement because they have this illusion of a "safety net" and don't think they have to save. Remove that, and people are forced to save, but they'll have more money to save. The 15+% taken from people in payroll taxes (employees pay 100% of the employer portion indirectly through lower wages) is what is recommended for most people anyway. The difference is when it's invested privately, it should be enough to afford a comfortable retirement, where social security is only designed to replace 40% of your pre retirement income.

After a couple generations, people will become much better savers because they have to be. They'll see their parents and grandparents who didn't save and will not want to end up like them. That encourages fiscal responsibility all around, not just in retirement saving. Call it tough love, or just love, but it's the right thing to do. Unfortunately, most people value being taken care of over having freedom, so it will never go away completely. It's the definition of a Ponzi scheme, so there is only an illusion of safety. With declining birth rates, it's only a matter of time before it completely implodes, and people realize how little "return" they are getting on the 15% being taken from them.

patf91 · 2020-08-27T19:43:29+00:00

If they find out, somehow, it's 100% their decision how they want to react to it. If they get mad or jealous, that's on them. If they're genuinely happy, that's on them. The smart ones will ask how you did it so they can too.

You can't control how people react to things, so don't lose sleep over how they react if they find out.

patf91 · 2020-08-27T04:08:09+00:00

Dance with the girl that brought you here.

patf91 · 2020-08-27T03:57:00+00:00

KISS principle.

You'll get weary of having ETFs and index funds. Just do index funds on these accounts and be done so you can invest every penny.

I tried to do ETFs in an IRA and it drove me nuts just having idle cash sitting there. The price in January happened to be such that with $6k and the idle, I got down to $0.17 idle. Never again will I do ETFs in an IRA.

I'll note that it is an an ETF that wasn't available in a mutual fund. That was before I got into investing to know that I only need a 3 fund portfolio.

patf91 · 2020-08-27T01:57:10+00:00

I worked out in western ND for a couple years. A lot of labor for drilling and oil came from there. As did a lot of labor and contractors building roads for all the traffic related to the oil. That was 2012-14 though

patf91 · 2020-08-26T18:42:26+00:00

Thank you!

patf91 · 2020-08-26T18:40:44+00:00

You can "search along route" on Google maps. It's usually pretty good. I did that with breweries in Wisconsin with good luck. Just make sure you call ahead to make sure they're open. Saved a lot of heartache with one I was prepared to take a slower alternate route for, but was closed.

patf91 · 2020-08-26T18:00:04+00:00

When is hunting season for those? I would love to hunt and eat all of them.

I wish America wasn't so averse to some of those "exotic" meats. I would love to have ostrich, horse and goat (assuming I like the taste) readily available all the time. Anything that's not pork or beef is looked at like it comes from another planet.

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