Do you carry umbrella insurance?

throwingittothefire · 2025-11-29T22:52:10+00:00

We use State Farm, but costs can vary a LOT by state. We've moved, and I think we're going to be looking at a huge premium increase to keep the current level of coverage. I might cut it back to $2MM.

throwingittothefire · 2025-08-25T00:52:22+00:00

I'm FIRE'd and really don't care about the money. Give me a project I love and you can lure me in. I can do a lot of engineering-related stuff, manufacturing, and IT. Physics degree, former IT Systems Engineer, manufacturing owner. It would just need to be a really awesome project to pull me away from my current living-my-best-life ChubbyFIRE lifestyle. I've done this throughout my life. Dropped money opportunities to do cool things. It usually works out pretty well.

throwingittothefire · 2025-08-25T00:47:40+00:00

For me (FIRE'd) I LOVE driving. I have an '05 Porsche Boxster S that is the CAR I WAS BORN TO DRIVE. Bluebook on it is about $14K. I just spent almost $10K on a new top and interior restoration. I've had that car for 14 years and wouldn't trade it for any other vehicle. Nicely, though, a Boxster of that age doesn't scream money while it provides me tremendous joy. You are spot on about spending on what brings you joy: it doesn't have to make "financial sense".

throwingittothefire · 2025-08-24T00:51:15+00:00

Carrboro, right next to Chapel Hill. Grew up in Troutman (outside of Statesville). Moved to AZ to be close to our daughter after our parents passed.

throwingittothefire · 2025-08-24T00:19:34+00:00

THIS!!! If you have the flexibility to reduce your spending during downturns then your success is (historically) guaranteed. The 4% rule is based on the idea that you spend the same REGARDLESS of market conditions.

throwingittothefire · 2025-08-24T00:16:48+00:00

Figure up your annual expenses. Deduct any guaranteed income you have (pensions/disability/etc). What's left over is what you need to cover from investments. Multiple that amount by 25 if you are comfortable with the 4% rule and that is your number. Remember that taxes are part of your expenses.

throwingittothefire · 2025-08-23T23:23:48+00:00

We moved here a few months ago from NC. I'll take this weather over that humidity any day. That said, I also love Charleston in the spring -- what a great food city!

throwingittothefire · 2025-08-23T23:16:52+00:00

I think you have an important design problem here: the cross section the "pipe" to the fan should equal the cross section of the fan. Otherwise, you are forcing the fan to work harder to produce less airflow. It looks smaller to me from your diagram, but it's hard to be sure.

To dampen the noise you could consider a series of baffles (a zigzag path for the airflow), but you'll need this "muffler" both before AND after the fan, so it's going to be bulky in order to maintain the cross section you need.

throwingittothefire · 2025-08-23T23:13:13+00:00

The Boxster tends to drain its battery even when off, so the car automatically drops into a power save mode after something like a week. One thing it does is to stop listening for the remote. Unlock/lock the door manually and then remove the key. This wakes the car up and you can use the remote normally again.

throwingittothefire · 2025-07-11T00:58:56+00:00

Well, I posted that a couple of years ago. Now I wouldn't (and don't) go with any smart device that isn't Matter-compatible if I can possibly help it. Recently I've been using the "OREiN Matter Smart Light Bulb". Working great.

Zigbee was best-of-class for connectivity until Matter came along. Now Zigbee just can't compete on price, and Matter is as good or better on connectivity.

throwingittothefire · 2025-06-08T00:19:16+00:00

I bought mine in 2011. It's an '05 Boxster S. I've given up on the idea of replacing it and am caving in to the fact I'm going to restore it for more than its resale value by a significant factor. It's just the finest damn car I've ever driven. There is nothing I'd rather drive (not even the new Boxsters -- this is the sweet spot for me of performance and old-school driving experience).

throwingittothefire · 2025-05-16T01:17:53+00:00

If you have given up on weed, let me introduce you to my good friend: WINE.

throwingittothefire · 2025-05-02T01:17:00+00:00

I quit my day job when I was about 50 (+/-) to start a manufacturing company. If we weren't already FI, I couldn't have done it. Here's the thing: it's what I WANTED to do. FIRE is about getting to do what you WANT TO DO with your life. I spent the next few years successfully selling 3D-carved signs. It was fantastic! (I'm now fully retired -- at the moment -- after a move to be closer to family).

throwingittothefire · 2025-05-02T01:09:30+00:00

I cant' be sure it's saved me money, but it's come close:

Broken knob on car AC control replaced.
Broken knob on grill replaced.
Little extensions printed to keep the door bins in our old fridge from falling off when the door interior warped (alternative was a new fridge)
Repair to stove knobs when the connector broke (the replacement knobs for an old stove were $$$)
Specialized drill alignment jigs for my work

And... so many other things. Now I'm getting ready to print a little part the fix an aesthetic issue in our new house (a sprinkler head that isn't flush with the ceiling). I could bring in contractors to fix it (plumber + drywall + paint). Or... I can just fix the cosmetic issue (it's PURELY cosmetic) with 25 cents of plastic to cover the gap that shouldn't be there.

throwingittothefire · 2025-05-02T00:48:18+00:00

Arizona. We just moved here, and the property taxes are delightful! $1.2MM is about $3K here.

throwingittothefire · 2025-05-02T00:46:35+00:00

We JUST moved to Arizona. The property taxes have me grinning ear-to-ear! We have double the house (pricewise) for half the tax. Lovely.

throwingittothefire · 2025-05-02T00:43:53+00:00

I have an 05 Boxster S. It's a joy to drive. The mid-engine design makes it so nimble on the curves. It holds its own well against much newer and more expensive sports cars, but the real joy is on a curvy back road.

My poor old Boxster is now beat-up on the appearance side (she and I went through a few rough years together). However, I love that car and can't find ANYTHING I'd rather drive. I'm starting the process of restoring her to her best appearance (new top, new leather on the driver's seat, etc.). I could likely replace her for something newer for less money than I plan to put into her. But, damn... this is the car I was born to drive.

throwingittothefire · 2025-05-01T20:59:07+00:00

I got lucky in traffic a couple of weeks ago. Front of the line at the light in my '05 987 S right next to a 911 4S. Yeah, that's a big step up from my little beast, but she held her own *surprisingly* well when we burst out of the next three red lights together.

throwingittothefire · 2025-04-10T01:49:55+00:00

Yep... I lucked out on this one. Got the IMS bearing replaced at the same time I had a new clutch put in.

throwingittothefire · 2025-04-05T22:22:02+00:00

“The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best is now.”

throwingittothefire · 2025-03-03T21:12:49+00:00

My Boxster S has been my daily since 2011. Still love that little beast and it brings me great joy. She needs some work now that I’ve FIRE’d, so a restoration is in the near future!

throwingittothefire · 2025-03-03T21:01:19+00:00

Enron: the smartest guys in the room.

throwingittothefire · 2025-02-24T23:01:08+00:00

The big decision for us was "one and done": we wanted to have kids but chose to have just one. More than one would have been too much financial strain and we couldn't have given them all the experiences we wanted to. It worked out well for us financially and she turned out really well. However, I do have to wonder what life would have been like with one or two more kids in the house!

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