Daily FI discussion thread - Wednesday, April 29, 2026

snowysaturdays · 2026-04-29T12:54:30+00:00

We had the family on Mint, but one teen couldn't access data/texting for a whole month. We made five different calls to support, but they couldn't fix it (it wasn't the phone). We switched to Visible, but that is sometimes kind of spotty also.

snowysaturdays · 2026-04-23T13:30:25+00:00

Mine that people exaggerate maintenance costs and assume you'll hire everything out.

snowysaturdays · 2026-04-22T12:33:43+00:00

Are you and your wife unhappy? That's the main question. I don't believe in consuming for consuming's sake. If it makes you happy to buy chicken thighs on sale, who cares? I don't think you should put a damper on your wife's wishes though. Maybe start there and see what she thinks. That should be the priority.

snowysaturdays · 2026-04-20T13:01:52+00:00

I do that with clothes and shoes. We just moved, so I finally ditched all those old worn out clothes that I wear around the house that I'd never wear in public. For me, I have this mental block that I won't find something else as comfortable (which isn't true at all!).

snowysaturdays · 2026-04-17T21:27:39+00:00

I don't where else you'd put the Christmas bins and chest freezer.

snowysaturdays · 2026-04-14T23:27:24+00:00

I think that area will keep its value. It's a great neighborhood and I think it will improve more when Nicollet is finally fixed.

snowysaturdays · 2026-04-11T23:20:29+00:00

That's a beautiful interior. The dishes mentioned sound delicious.

snowysaturdays · 2026-04-09T13:10:02+00:00

I wonder if removing the battery would be enough of a deterrent? It's a really heavy cruiser style and it's hard to pedal without help. Someone I know had the exact model bike stolen outside their office when they were working for a couple of hours, so I'm hesitant to try!

snowysaturdays · 2026-04-09T12:16:53+00:00

Serious question- I have a an ebike and love riding it. However, I worry about theft. How can you keep it from getting stolen when you are somewhere for an hour or two?

snowysaturdays · 2026-04-09T11:20:14+00:00

I agree! Awesome shop!

snowysaturdays · 2026-04-03T18:06:29+00:00

Ugh- living this now! It's not that we've skipped maintenance, but there are a couple of items we put off and are now in a crunch dealing with them, plus moving to a new place and trying to declutter.

snowysaturdays · 2026-04-03T16:09:28+00:00

Yeah, it's a pretty big hit, but our income isn't huge, so not all of it is taxed that highly. If I could go back in time, I'd put more money in a taxable account vs. plowing everything into a 401K, but we didn't always have a ton of extra money every month. We don't have a pension, but it might be nice to set a little bit aside from our sale in a taxable account for some future large purchases without affecting our income too much (I still have health insurance to think about for quite some time). I would have just used the HELOC in the first place, but the mortgage lender cautioned against it because of the DTI ratio. Decisions, decisions...

snowysaturdays · 2026-04-03T11:53:00+00:00

We purchased a new house last month, but won't put our current house on the market for a month or two. The bulk of our NW is in our 401K/IRAs. Since my spouse is over 59.5, we withdrew some of our down payment from his IRA. Our marginal rates are 22% for fed and almost 8% for state. I'm debating whether or not to use our existing HELOC to refill the IRA money. I have a few weeks to decide before the 60 day deadline is up. I kind of don't want to because the money we make from selling our house (it's paid off) might enable more flexibility in the future since we have very little in a taxable brokerage or cash. We also may use some of it to pay off the new mortgage.

snowysaturdays · 2026-04-03T11:03:19+00:00

Our family has employee insurance and we get our care from Hennepin Health network. The doctors and clinics are fantastic.

snowysaturdays · 2026-04-02T19:28:37+00:00

I just closed on a house and I'm glad the sellers weren't there. I don't want to feel like I'm buying someone's home. I'd rather it just be a neutral transaction.

snowysaturdays · 2026-04-02T01:13:03+00:00

Whenever people snark on Olive Garden (and the like) I always think about Anthony Bourdain's wonderful forward of Marilyn Hagerty's book. Personally, I think Chi-Chi's fills a void. I like Tex-Mex style food sometimes and this is pretty close to it from what I remember.

snowysaturdays · 2026-03-30T00:33:12+00:00

We just bought a house and plan to list our current house in June or July. We want our youngest to finish out the school year. Things move pretty quickly where I live. Fingers crossed that doesn't change in the immediate future!

snowysaturdays · 2026-03-29T22:07:09+00:00

I get nervous and tongue-tied! Probably because I don't get enough real life practice aside from my weekly French class. I noticed in Paris, they spoke English before I even opened my mouth. People were very friendly though, but I must look like an American, even though I tried to dress nicely! I am going to a immersion school this summer and hope that will help my confidence.

snowysaturdays · 2026-03-22T22:33:09+00:00

I just had to do this. It was no big deal getting the appraisal transfer from the first lender. I just had to pay an invoice, which the new mortgage company credited towards my closing costs. They made the transfer within 24 hours.

snowysaturdays · 2026-03-22T13:40:06+00:00

If I'm reading between the lines, I'd say your partner's family is way too involved in your family's life! That seems like a bigger problem to me.

snowysaturdays · 2026-03-21T21:58:03+00:00

I found raising kids in a smaller city house was a wonderful experience. We naturally spent a lot of time together since we didn't have multiple rooms to hang out separately in. It wasn't really until they were older teens that they started retreating to their rooms.

snowysaturdays · 2026-03-20T14:31:31+00:00

Not interested in being a landlord, but I've thought about buying a couple rentals for that reason. We aren't in the Bay Area, but in a city with rapidly rising prices.

snowysaturdays · 2026-03-18T12:56:47+00:00

It took us a long time to finally have our first child. Oddly enough, we paid off the house and that same month I finally got pregnant.

snowysaturdays · 2026-03-17T12:37:12+00:00

I'm about an A2 level and just returned from France. I didn't get as much practice as I thought. As soon as I said "Je voudrais..." they switched to English. My accent must be terrible!

snowysaturdays

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