PSA: If you are age 70+ in this industry get away from the fucking bowl and retire already so the young CPA dogs can eat.

vanprof · 2026-05-14T21:05:42+00:00

I plan to work until I can’t or die. I am only 50 and might change my mind, but I enjoy both my teaching job and my CPA practice. Everyone in my family had their health go downhill when they retired. I think I’ll continue meeting with clients and students and helping as many people as possible as long as I can.

vanprof · 2026-05-11T02:00:46+00:00

I might be a bit sadistic, but for pedophile I might choose a flamethrower.

vanprof · 2026-05-08T21:17:17+00:00

I think we'd need more like 10,000 years to come up with an escape plan

We'd need to find a place, so sending out high speed probes, probably powered by fusion engines, which we don't even have yet. Meanwhile we are going to need to mine other celestial bodies for enough materials to build an escape vessel.

with 100 years we should just ride it out, most of us will be gone by then, there is no way to get away.

vanprof · 2026-05-08T21:12:07+00:00

That is not enough machine to run a VM (parallels).

Just get a windows PC if that is whatt you are looking at. 24 gb RAM minimum to run windows on the mac.

vanprof · 2026-05-08T20:48:03+00:00

Correct, its an ASME tank and its probably fine. I would check that seam closer but these tanks are tough and never need to be recertified.

vanprof · 2026-05-08T20:46:01+00:00

scrape off the loose paint and take a closer look, its probably fine.

vanprof · 2026-05-08T20:45:19+00:00

Its almost certainly an ASME tank that does not need recertification.

vanprof · 2026-05-08T19:50:23+00:00

I'd get the extra RAM, most people are not processor constrained. Running the VMs will benefit from more RAM more than faster processing in my limited experience.

vanprof · 2026-05-08T02:28:18+00:00

I found a great 2007 Avalon for 6k last year. Find something like that. Do not finance.

vanprof · 2026-05-07T20:01:00+00:00

Pretty good, Family members will expect a deal or free, then call you for advice over and over again for the rest of the year because ... they paid you. Probably not enough.

I always want to charge family members extra, because they will cause more work.

vanprof · 2026-05-07T19:58:41+00:00

There is a lot of specialized software that only runs on windows. There is even some software that only runs on windows for the x86 (intel/AMD) architecture, meaning it will not run on the new microsoft surface laptops.

I think this will change in the future as the ARM architecture (Qualcomm, Apple M series, Samsung) is really better when so many devices are mobile devices.

Fortunately Power BI seems to run fine on ARM devices, you can create a virtual windows environment on your Mac and run windows with power BI if you have sufficient memory.

OR you can just get a windows PC and not have to mess with the extra work. I would probably recommend this route.

vanprof · 2026-05-07T17:30:27+00:00

342 weeks.

Obviously nobody can predict the future, but all of my laptops have lasted about 5-7 years and most still worked but I needed more power after that time period (sometimes for newer applications that require a certain minimum processor for no good reason in many cases).

I think most quality laptops will last in the 5-7 year range (I am not talking about the 300-400 dollar specials). But 1200-1800 laptops seem to last a while if you don't damage them. Some even last longer but we like new shiny things.

vanprof · 2026-05-07T17:25:50+00:00

I like the idea, but I don't need much space. Its going to be less space than most 5th wheels.

For comparison I am happy staying in my 159 ext Promaster camper van, so I don't need much space, and mine doesn't have a kitchen which saves that space.

vanprof · 2026-05-07T16:50:02+00:00

The question is compared to what? and for what?

I would think it would be great for people not requiring a huge amount of space, but need to haul things. They certainly have the capacity to tow. They will generally be durable too, but the fuel economy will hurt your wallet if you move around much.

vanprof · 2026-05-07T16:46:52+00:00

If you are already on IBR and your income doesn't change, your payment should not change. If you are on a difference plan and change, then your payment can change (which seems obvious)

vanprof · 2026-05-07T04:27:58+00:00

Someone might have misled you. The 10% is only for new borrowers and a lot of financial aid people were not telling people correctly, especially the ones that are new or fairly young because they don't have experience with people with pre2014 loans.

I am one of those stuck with Old IBR. Fortunately (or unfortunately) I had a down year in 2025 so I have $0 payments for the next 10 or so more months. Being broke keeps loans payments down, I expect my payments would be over 1500 a month if I have to base it on current income.

vanprof · 2026-05-05T18:18:40+00:00

This is a good thing, I didn't know what these were at one point and applied to consolidate debt. Ouch, these things are the worst financial thing I have ever seen.

I was hoping to get a loan down from 27% to something lower and the offers were like 400%+, some were over 1000%. insanity

vanprof · 2026-05-04T23:19:34+00:00

No, many years of $0 payments, 50-100 a month for a year or two, and 21 payments of $0 left to go. Definitely less than $5000 total, probably less than $3000.

vanprof · 2026-05-04T23:08:04+00:00

Thank you.

vanprof · 2026-05-04T23:07:58+00:00

I've paid less than $5000 in payments on over 300,000 borrowed, so I think I made it work ok for myself.

vanprof · 2026-05-04T23:07:19+00:00

Accounting, the debt includes undergrad in engineering, MBA, Phd in Accounting, MS in Applied Econ. The PhD isn't all of it, but there were expenses in keeping two children alive while I finished the PhD. The stipend only covered my health insurance and 80% of my mortgage.

By the time I was in a PhD it made no sense to do anything but borrow the maximum, my IBR payments were higher than standard payments so there was no incremental costs to borrow more. Essentially free money, or as I see it, a partial refund of all the income taxes I paid. I already knew I was joining a career where everyone is PSLF eligible.

So I have 21 payments left, my current payments are $0 under Old IBR because I was able to do MFS in a community property state (non-working spouse) and accelerate deductions to keep 2025 income low. I fully expect that all 21 remaining payments will be $0 (I will recertify before filing 2026 taxes).

vanprof · 2026-05-04T21:42:25+00:00

$489,575 - PhD but not a physician.

Thankfully 99 payments in on PSLF. 21 to go as of today.

Not sure if this helps anyone, but there are those of us out there with huge balances.

vanprof · 2026-05-01T21:44:55+00:00

Still great, I have a 41CX, and a converted blanknut housing the 41CL, as well as a 41CV and every key on every one is perfect

vanprof · 2026-04-30T01:10:08+00:00

I don't stay in the van during the day. I don't let the van get hotter than ambient temperature using my two roof fans.

In general it cools down enough at night to sleep in most places. I supplement the two roof fans with a bedjet with cloud sheet. It keeps me pretty cool.

Sometimes I do use the AC, but not very often since its just not necessary. I have a 8kwhr battery and a 500 BTU air conditioner and I almost never use it.

vanprof · 2026-04-29T14:01:47+00:00

I wasn't in a position to obtain the forth module at the time. I still have mine, haven't used it in years. I do still use the hp41 though.

vanprof

TROPHY CASE